SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State volleyball team makes their 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament this week when they compete at the South Central Regional in Canyon. The seventh seed in the regional, the Rambelles open their postseason schedule with RMAC Tournament Champions Regis on Thursday at noon. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Belles won their first match at the LSC Tournament since the Spring 2021 season with a 3-1 victory over UT Tyler in the quarterfinals before falling to West Texas A&M in the semifinals. Hannah Spencer recorded seven blocks against the Patriots, the most for a Belle in a match this season, while Hannah Kinnison hit .302 and recorded 3.71 kills per set as the duo was named to the LSC All-Tournament Team. 

SIX BELLES EARN ALL-LSC HONORS
Hannah Kinnison was named to the All-LSC First Team and the LSC Academic Player of the Year; the Belles have won six of the past ten Academic Player of the Year awards in the LSC. Laney Dale and Elsa Lamphere were named to the All-LSC Second Team, Evelyn Torres was named an Honorable Mention, and Madi Parrish was named to the LSC All-Freshman Team. 

WADDINGTON IN THE TOURNAMENT
Chuck Waddington is 12-10 in the NCAA Tournament and is 3-0 all-time against Regis, last defeating them in the 2021 South Central Regional in five sets. 

BELLES' HISTORY AT REGIONALS IN CANYON
The Belles are 4-3 all-time in regionals hosted by West Texas A&M; the last time the Belles played in a regional hosted by the Lady Buffs, the Belles made it to the regional final in 2013 with wins over Adams State and Regis before falling to the hosts.

BELLES IN THE POLLS

•     The Belles are receiving nine votes in the AVCA Top 25, the second-highest placed LSC team in the AVCA poll.
•     The Belles were the three seed in the 2023 LSC Volleyball Tournament. The Belles have qualified for the tournament every season under Waddington. 
•     The Belles were picked fifth in the LSC Preseason Poll behind West Texas A&M, UT Tyler, DBU, and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
•     They are one of four LSC teams to appear in the poll, joining fifth-ranked West Texas A&M and ahead of receiving votes DBU and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
•     The Belles started the 2022 season ranked 13th in the country before dropping to 23rd the following week and falling out of the poll the next week, failing to rejoin at any point during the rest of the season. 
•     The Belles started the 2021 season ranked first in the country off the heels of the 2021 AVCA National Championship; they spent the entire 2021 season within the top 25 of the poll. 

NCAA South Central Regional
(7) Angelo State vs. (2) Regis
Thursday, November 30th - 12 p.m. 
The Box

The Rangers are 23-6 on the season and went 12-2 in RMAC competition this season. The Rangers won the RMAC Tournament in five sets over MSU Denver, coming back from a 2-1 deficit to win the match on the Roadrunners' home court. 

The Rangers are hitting .264 as a team, 12th in the country, and average 13.29 kills per set. Four Rangers - Klaudia Sowizral, Nadine Burbrink, Ameila Davis, and Mara LeGrand - are hitting over .270, with Sowizral leading the team with a .340 attacking percentage. 

Defensively, the Rangers hold their opponents to a .134 hitting percentage. The Rangers lead Division II with 2.84 blocks per set, and Davis (1.33 blocks per set) and Burbrink (1.31 blocks per set) both rank in the top ten nationally in blocks per set. 

LAST TIME VS. RU
The Belles are 6-4 all-time versus the Rangers and have won their past six matchups dating back to 2012. The last time these two teams met was in the regional in 2021 in Denver, which the Belles won in five sets. The Belles have three holdovers from that year's team - Elsa Lamphere, Caleigh Enax and Jaedyn Woolley - who all played against the Rangers. Lamphere had four kills while Enax had 14 digs and Woolley assisted 19 times and recorded nine digs. 

PREVIEWING THE REST OF THE BRACKET
West Texas A&M, the top seed in the region, are hosting the South Central regional for the first time since 2013; the defending natiional champions, the Lady Buffs won the LSC Tournament and went 28-3 on the season. They open the tournament against eight seed UT Tyler, who went 17-11 on the season and 1-7 against teams that qualified for the South Central regional, with that lone win coming on the season's final day against Angelo State. 

Colorado Mesa, the fourth-seeded team, went 24-4 on the season and 12-2 in the RMAC; three of their losses this season came against MSU Denver (two) and Regis (one). They take on the fifth seed DBU, who went 23-7 on the season and won the LSC Regular Season Championship; the Lady Patriots went 4-4 against teams in the South Central Regional this season. 

The other side of the bracket features the third seed MSU Denver taking on the sixth seed, Texas A&M-Kingsville. 

The Roadrunners went 23-6 on the season and 13-1 in RMAC play and made it to the RMAC Tournament finals before falling in five sets to Regis. The Javelinas went 21-10 this season and 11-5 in LSC play, defeating UAFS and DBU en route to the LSC Tournament finals; they went 5-2 against teams in the South Central regional, with both losses coming to West Texas A&M. 

PERSONAL BESTS THIS SEASON

•     Twelve Belles have recorded at least one personal best this season.
•     Setter Kayla Baer had three service aces against UAFS on Sept. 16, including two in a row that gave the Belles the lead in the fifth set.
•     Setter Laney Dale recorded a pair of kills against New Mexcio Highlands on Sept. 5; she has seven kills this season, exceeding her total from the 2022 season. She also set a new career high with four service aces against Oklahoma Christian on Nov. 4 and has nine double-doubles this season. 
•     Libero Caleigh Enax recorded 36 digs against Cameron on Oct. 7; her career-best is tied for the fourth-most digs in a single match in program history.
•     Outside hitter Hannah Kinnison set a career-high attacking percentage of .750 against University of the Southwest on Sept. 1. She recorded a career-high 23 kills against Cameron on Oct. 7.
•     Setter Alli Kirkpatrick assisted 26 times against East Central on Sept. 9, the most in her debut season; she also recorded eight digs against TAMUK on Sept. 14.
•     Outside Elsa Lamphere hit .833 in the season opener versus Southwest, a new career-high for the senior. 
•     Outside hitter Madi Parrish buried 15 kills against Texas Woman's on Sept. 27. She recorded 15 digs against UAFS on Nov. 3 and had four blocks against TAMIU. 
•     Defensive specialist Krizia Perez recorded six digs against Cameron on Oct. 7. She also recorded her first ace against MSU on Sept. 30. 
•     Middle Marina Sanchez had 13 kills vs. CSU Pueblo on Sept. 8, the first time she's had ten or more kills in a match in her career. She also had eight digs against the Thunderwolves, a career-high.  
•     Middle Hannah Spencer recorded seven blocks against UT Tyler on Nov. 16; she also recorded ten kills in her LSC debut versus WNMU; she hit .625 against UTPB on Sept. 23. 
•     Outside hitter Evelyn Torres set a new career high with 18 kills against UAFS on Sept. 16; she tied that mark again on Sept. 27 against Texas Woman's. She tied a personal best with four aces against DBU on November 10. 
•     Outside hitter Kamryn Williams recorded four kills each against Huston-Tillotson and Southwest; she hit .667 against the Mustangs.  

RETURNING STATS

• ASU returns four starters and 12 letter winners from last year's team while adding seven newcomers, including a pair of in-conference transfers.
• Angelo State returns 79.8 percent (1052 of 1319) of its kills, 94.7 percent (107 of 113) of its service aces, 88.3 percent (1572 of 1780) of its digs, and 34.2 percent of its blocks (81.5 of 238.5) from last season's team.

BELLES ADD SEVEN
Angelo State brought in seven newcomers in 2023, including a pair of transfers from within the LSC. 

    Alli Kirkpatrick
    Freshman * 5-11 * Setter
    Bonham, Texas * Bonham HS
Recorded 1,939 kills and 1,375 digs at Bonham HS; two-time district hitter of the year
    
    Madi Parrish
    Freshman * 5-9 * Outside Hitter
    Saginaw, Texas * Boswell HS
Recorded 981 kills and 1,049 digs at Boswell HS; two-time all-district selection.

    Krizia Perez
    Freshman * 5-6 * Defensive Specialist
    Laredo, Texas * United HS
Led United HS to four district championships; first-team all-district selection

    Maya Smalls
    Grad. Student * 5-10 * Right Side
    San Antonio, Texas * St. Edward's
2022 All-LSC First Team selection at St. Edward's; recorded 361 kills for the Hilltoppers in 2022

    Hannah Spencer
    Freshman * 6-1 * Middle Blocker
    San Antonio, Texas * Cornerstone Christian
Tallied 385 kills and 210 blocks; two-time all-district selection

    Evelyn Torres
    Senior * 5-9 * Outside Hitter
    Fort Worth, Texas * UT Tyler
All-LSC Second Team in 2022 for UT Tyler

    Kamryn Williams
    Freshman * 6-0 * Outside Hitter
    Wall, Texas * Wall HS
All-time kill leader at Wall HS with 1,260; most kills in a season with 448; 2021 All-West Texas MVP