SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State volleyball team is back home this weekend after a three-match road trip that saw the Belles go 2-1. The Belles host Eastern New Mexico on Friday evening before closing their weekend with No. 14 West Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon.  

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
Saturday's match against West Texas A&M will see the Angelo State SAAC host their annual Fall Festival. Fans will have the chance to play games with ASU student-athletes, and kids wearing costumes get in free with an accompanying adult. 

Saturday's match is also Shannon Appreciation Night, where Shannon employees with their Shannon ID Badge and their immediate family will be admitted free of charge.

LAST TIME OUT
The Belles swept Western New Mexico in Silver City last night, hitting .333, their highest mark in an LSC match this season. Madi Parrish had 16 kills, hitting .394, while Krizia Perez recorded a new career-high with 15 digs. 

SCOUTING ENMU
Eastern New Mexico is 4-18 this season and 1-10 in LSC play; they are 2-6 on the road and have lost their last four road contests. The Greyhounds hit .120 as a team, led by Amya Speller's .205 attack percentage. Sophia Valdez leads the team with 3.64 kills per set; she has recorded double-digit kills in 15 of 23 matches and three matches with 20 or more kills. Opponents hit .206 against ENMU; Ihahni Brown leads the team with 4.49 digs per set, and Speller averages 0.76 blocks per set. 

SCOUTING WT
West Texas A&M is 18-4 on the season and 10-1 in conference play; it has won 10 matches in a row, the longest winning streak in the LSC. The Lady Buffs possess one of the best attacks in Division II, averaging 13.25 kills per set on a .258 attack percentage. Carrie Marusak and Emma Becker average 3.56 and 3.22 kills per set, while All-American middle Taytum Stow is hitting .409. Combined with their potent offense is one of the most formidable defenses in the nation, holding opponents to a .133 attack percentage. Four WT players average two or more digs per set, and at the net, Stow leads the LSC with 1.56 blocks per set. 

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 RECORDS 1K CAREER KILLS
Junior outside hitter Madi Parrish became the 16th player in program history to record 1,000 career kills on Tuesday night against Western New Mexico. Parrish is the first Belle to reach the milestone since Brianna Sotello did so in the 2016 season. Parrish is on 1,005 career kills, 19 away from 15th-place Kaelan Valdez. 

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 209-34 inside the Junell Center-Stephens Arena, boasting an impressive .856 winning percentage. The Belles are a combined 34-2 on their home court over the past two seasons, 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 BLOCKS
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.