SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State volleyball team hits the road for the final time in the regular season, taking on Midwestern State and Lubbock Christian in a pair of matches that hold postseason implications for all three teams.

ASHCRAFT NAMED LSC SETTER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore setter Gabi Ashcraft was named the LSC Setter of the Week for her performances last week. Averaging 8.20 assists per set, she helped the Belles' offense to hit .301 as they swept Western New Mexico, Eastern New Mexico, and defeated No. 14 West Texas A&M in four sets.

LAST TIME OUT
The Belles swept Eastern New Mexico last Friday night, hitting .371. Julia Hopkins tied her career-high with 18 kills. On Saturday, the Belles defeated No. 14 West Texas A&M, snapping the Lady Buffs' 11-match winning streak. Madi Parrish had 21 kills, and Demi Carter set a new personal best with 20 kills in the four-set win.

SCOUTING MSU
Midwestern State is 15-8 this season and 8-6 in LSC play; they are 9-1 at home. The Mustangs, who are in the midst of their best season since 2013, are ninth in the LSC standings. They hit .220 as a team, led by Isabella Dickens' .287 attack percentage. Trinity Vinzant leads the team with 3.26 kills per set, while Dickens is second with 2.76. Setter Alayna Guerrero is tied for the conference lead with 10.41 assists per set. The Mustangs hold opponents to a .172 attack percentage. Jaiden Wright leads the defensive effort at the net with 0.83 blocks per set. 

SCOUTING LCU
League-leading Lubbock Christian is 21-5 on the season and 13-1 in conference play, with its lone blemish a five-set loss to West Texas A&M in Canyon last Tuesday. They are 9-2 inside the Rip Griffin Center, with losses at the hands of CSU Pueblo and Fort Lewis. The Lady Chaps hit .220 as a team, which is led by senior Lily Bickley's .335 attack percentage. San Angelo Central product Emilee Sikora leads LCU with 3.25 kills per set and has recorded double-digit kills in the past nine matches. Setter Camdyn Sears is tied for the league lead with 10.41 assists per set. Defensively, the Lady Chaps hold opponents to a .155 attack percentage. Abby Dominguez leads the team with 4.81 digs per set, and middle Bryleigh Schweer leads the defensive effort at the net, averaging just under one block per set (0.97).

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 1,035 career kills, which ranks 13th in program history. She is 26 kills away from 12th-place Christen Cumberland (1984-87).

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 211-34 inside the Junell Center-Stephens Arena, boasting an impressive .856 winning percentage. The Belles are a combined 36-2 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 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.