SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State volleyball team closes its three-match home stand against UT schools this Saturday as they host rivals UT Permian Basin at 2 p.m. inside the Junell Center/Stephens Arena. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Belles swept UT Dallas and UT Tyler last weekend, improving their winning streak to four matches. The Belles handled the Comets on Dig Pink night, holding them to a -.035 attack percentage, before turning around and handing the Patriots their first conference loss of the season. 

SCOUTING UT PERMIAN BASIN
UT Permian Basin is 6-11 on the season and 4-3 in LSC play; having played in the season-opening Kathleen Brasfield Invitational, the Falcons are 1-3 inside the Junell Center/Stephens Arena this season. The Falcons hit .174 as a team, led by Ashlee Macias' .253 attack percentage. The Falcons' offense runs through Makenna Grimes (148 kills), Nickilah Whatley (144 kills), and Macias (136 kills). Opponents are hitting .201 against the Falcons. Libero Isabel Rodriguez leads the team wth 188 digs, and Lauren Demuth has turned back 37 attacks at the net. 

PARRISH CLOSING IN ON 1K KILLS
Madi Parrish is sitting at 960 career kills, just 40 off the 1,000-kill mark in her prolific career. Parrish, a product of Boswell HS, would be the first Belle to reach the century mark in kills in an Angelo State uniform since Brianna Sotello crossed that threshold in the 2016 season. Parrish would be the 16th player in program history to bury 1,000 kills representing the Blue and Gold. 

BELLES NAMED LSC PRESEASON FAVES
The Belles were listed on top of the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll, receiving 933 total votes and 30 of 54 first-place votes. They lead West Texas A&M, UT Tyler, DBU, and Texas Woman's in the conference's preseason poll; St. Mary's, Oklahoma Christian, Lubbock Christian, UT Permian Basin, and Texas A&M-Kingsville round out the poll's top ten. This is the Belles' first time being picked atop the LSC Preseason Poll since the 2021 season, when they claimed the LSC Regular Season Championship. 

PARRISH NAMED LSC PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Junior outside hitter Madi Parrish was named the LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, as announced in the conference's preseason polls and awards on August 25th. Parrish, an AVCA Second Team All-American in 2024, is coming off a season in which she recorded 498 kills, the fifth-most in a single season in program history. Parrish is the first Belle since Kailyn Gilbreath in 2021 to be named the conference's preseason offensive player of the year. Gilbreath, like Parrish, is a product of Boswell HS, and in 2021, Gilbreath led the Belles to the LSC title en route to being named the LSC Player of the Year.

RETURNING STATS
The Belles return 66.4 percent of their kills from last season (1,201 of 1,810 kills), 51.2 percent of their blocks (130 of 254 blocks), and 35.2 percent of their digs (762 of 2,162 digs). The Belles return 13 letterwinners from last season's squad, including two All-Americans in Madi Parrish and Demi Carter. Sydney Thornton, an All-LSC and LSC All-Freshman selection, also returns for the Belles. 

A YEAR FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
The 2024 campaign turned out to be the single-best season in Angelo State Volleyball's 50-season history. The Belles went 32-3 overall and 15-1 in LSC play, winning the LSC Tournament, the NCAA South Central Regional, and advancing to the National Semifinals for the first time in program history. Five Belles - Adeline Ortman, Madi Parrish, Evelyn Torres, Caleigh Enax, and Demi Carter - earned AVCA All-American honors, and Chuck Waddington was named the AVCA South Central Region Coach of the Year. The season also featured a 20-match win streak that extended from October 5th to December 13th, when the Belles' season ended in the national semifinals. 

HOME COURT DOMINANCE
Under head coach Chuck Waddington, the Belles are 208-34 inside the Junell Center-Stephens Arena, boasting an impressive .857 winning percentage. The Belles are a combined 33-2 on their home court since the 2023 season, with both losses coming against ranked opponents who would go on to win their region later that season: No. 5 West Texas A&M in 2023 (South Central) and No. 23 Central Oklahoma in 2024 (Central). 

ATTENDANCE
On opening weekend, the Belles led all Division II programs in attendance, with 5,152 fans watching the Belles go 4-0 at the 2025 Kathleen Brasfield Invitational. The Belles had 3,123 fans in attendance in their season-opening sweep of Arkansas-Monticello. The Belles' match against No. 23 Colorado Mesa saw 851 in the stands, the second-highest attendance at a Division II match on opening weekend. At the 2024 KBI, the Belles set a new program and LSC attendance record when 3,315 fans packed the Junell Center-Stephens Arena to watch the Belles' season-opening sweep of New Mexico Highlands. The Belles are consistently one of the biggest draws in Division II. In Chuck Waddington's time leading the Belles Volleyball program, the Belles have drawn 37 crowds of over a thousand fans, going 32-5 in matches with over a thousand fans inside the Junell Center - Stephens Arena. During last season's South Central Regional, 4,237 fans watched the Belles win their three matches to claim the South Central Regional Championship and clinch their spot in the Elite Eight. The Belles bested their previous attendance record from the 2023 season, where 2,936 fans filled the seats of the Junell Center - Stephens Arena to watch the Belles sweep Southwest at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Waddington and the Belles lost six players from last season's regional champions - three of whom were All-Americans in 2024. The Belles have restocked their talent, bringing in three transfers - Gabi Ashcraft (Palm Beach Atlantic), Madison Scrivner (North Texas), and Indiah Maroney (Liberty) - alongside four true freshmen: Chanelle Cancel, Mary Johnson, Annie Witt, and Journi Jones.