SAN ANGELO, Texas – The No. 7 Angelo State University volleyball team will hit the road once again, traveling to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to continue Lone Star Conference play. The Belles will start the weekend in Richardson to face UT Dallas before going to Tyler to take on UT Tyler on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT
Angelo State closed out its homestand with a 3-0 record after recording a sweep over Sul Ross State on Tuesday evening. Every active Belle saw time on the floor, with 11 of them recording kills led by Leah Klueber, who notched 11 on a .421 swing percentage.

SCOUTING THE COMETS
UT Dallas goes into the weekend with a 7-6 overall record and 3-1 in LSC play. The Comets are in the midst of a four-match home stand, kicking off with a three-set defeat to UT Tyler on Sept. 26 but are coming off a four-set victory over St. Mary's on Sept. 30.

Offensively, the Comets rank 10^th in the Lone Star Conference with a .181 team attack percentage. UTD boasts three primary attackers, with Jane Burkhardt pacing the team with 190 kills on a .185 attack percentage, while Scarlette Young has 120 kills from the right side and Laura See notching 94 kills on a team-best .355 clip, which is also good for third-best in the LSC.

UTD has a bit of a hybrid offense on paper, as Young also is the team's primary setter with 248 assists while Abby Gentner follows with 194 assists.

Defensively, opponents are hitting .187 against UT Dallas, which ranks eighth in the LSC. Avery Gray far and away leads the team with 247 digs while See and Savannah Welch have earned a combined 73 blocks.

SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
UT Tyler begins the week with a 12-2 overall record and 3-1 in LSC play. The Patriots began the season with 13 straight road games as they competed in non-conference tournaments in Arkansas and began LSC play on the road. The Patriots were successful in their home opener, sweeping St. Edward's on Sept. 30.

Offensively, the Patriots rank third in the Lone Star Conference with a .244 team attack percentage. UTT has three players who have eclipsed 100 kills, with two more that are less than 10 kills away. Melanie Merrill paces the team with 118 kills on a .264 attack percentage. Maya Jones closely follows with 115 kills and Autumn Perry having 105.

Running a 6-2 offense, Riley Clinton leads the way with 261 assists, while two additional setters, Kate Christiansen and Ava Collins, combining for 232 assists.

Defensively, opponents are hitting .123 against UT Tyler, which is best in the LSC. Anna Arceneaux leads the team with 222 digs, while Makhai Lewis and Kailey Manes have combined for 91 blocks.

AVCA COACHES' POLL, SEPTEMBER 28TH
The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its sixth weekly poll on Monday, September 28^th, with the Angelo State Belles checking in at No. 7.

PARRISH DOING PARRISH THINGS
Preseason Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year Madi Parrish leads the Belles in both points accounted for (191) and kills (160). The senior from Saginaw, Texas, has also recorded 23 service aces and 13 total blocks while ranking second on the team with 176 digs.

On Saturday, Sept. 26, Parrish became the 13th player in program history to record 1,000 career digs. Parrish also became just the third player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs while surpassing 1,300 career kills, joining Jennifer Glass (1993-96) and Brianna Sotello (2014-17).

HOP-PING HIGHER
Julia Hopkins ranks second on the team with 156 kills and 180 points accounted for entering the weekend. The junior from Austin also ranks fourth on the team with 13 service aces.

SYD THE KID
Sydney Thornton ranks third on the team with 159 points accounted for behind 122 kills. The junior also leads the Belles with 44 blocks and has added nine service aces. Thornton was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8 after helping lead the Belles to a 4-1 record at the Colorado Premier Challenge against a challenging field that included then-No. 5 Ferris State, No. 7 MSU Denver and Bentley, which was receiving votes in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll. The Prosper, Texas, native totaled 43 kills while hitting .373 and added 16 blocks during the five-match stretch. She also recorded 16 digs, three service aces and one assist.

HAVE A DAY, ALLI K!
Alli Kirkpatrick became the fourth Belle to reach 100 kills in 2026. The senior right side has recorded 125 kills while hitting .320, already surpassing the 69 kills she recorded across her first three seasons in the Blue and Gold. The Bonham, Texas, native's best performance thus far came at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational, where she recorded 20 kills in Angelo State's four-set victory over MSU-Moorhead.

THE ASHCRAFT WAY
Gabi Ashcraft has recorded 270 assists and is currently on pace to surpass her assist total from last season. The junior is averaging 5.51 assists per set, compared to the 5.38 assists-per-set mark she posted in 2025.

THE PROWESS OF PENA
Olivia Pena has made her mark in the Belles' 6-2 system alongside Ashcraft. The Helotes, Texas, native is second on the team lead with 269 assists. Pena earned Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 15 after helping guide the Belles to a perfect 2-0 record during LSC Challenge Weekend against West Texas A&M and Lubbock Christian. The freshman from Helotes, Texas, totaled 44 assists while averaging 5.5 assists per set. She also added 10 digs, one kill and one service ace during the weekend.

THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Along with Pena, two additional newcomers have made immediate impacts through the team's first 15 matches. Leah Klueber has recorded 84 kills from the right side, while Vivian Parker, the Belles' lone incoming transfer, has accounted for 83 kills and 93 points.

SCRIVNER IS HER
Madison Scrivner has demonstrated the Belles' depth and ability to step up when called upon. During the Lone Star Conference Challenge, the junior recorded back-to-back double-doubles, totaling 43 assists and 25 digs across matches against West Texas A&M and Lubbock Christian.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
BELLES NAMED LSC PRESEASON FAVES
Angelo State was selected to repeat as Lone Star Conference champions in the league's preseason poll, receiving 951 points and 41 of the 54 available first-place votes. The Belles were picked ahead of West Texas A&M, Lubbock Christian, UT Tyler and St. Mary's, with Oklahoma Christian, Texas A&M-Kingsville, DBU and Midwestern State rounding out the top 10. It marks the second consecutive season Angelo State has been selected as the LSC preseason favorite.

PARRISH NAMED LSC PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior outside hitter Madi Parrish was selected as the LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Parrish, an AVCA First Team All-American in 2025, returns following a standout junior campaign in which she led the conference with 435 kills. She became the first Belle to earn consecutive LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year honors.

BELLES IN THE (PRESEASON) RANKINGS
Angelo State began the 2026 season ranked No. 21 in the AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Belles have appeared in 14 consecutive AVCA polls dating back to Sept. 17, 2024. Four of Angelo State's 28 regular-season matches are scheduled against teams ranked in the preseason top 25, with the Belles potentially facing two additional ranked opponents during the Colorado Premier Challenge on Sept. 4-5.

RETURNING STATS
The Belles return a significant portion of their production from last season, including 66.1 percent of their kills, 89.8 percent of their blocks and 65.9 percent of their digs. Angelo State returns 12 letterwinners from the 2025 squad, including All-American Madi Parrish and former All-LSC selections Sydney Thornton and Julia Hopkins.

BELLES' 51ST SEASON
The 2026 campaign marks the 51st season of Angelo State volleyball. Through its first 50 seasons, the program has compiled a 1,118-638-3 record for a .634 winning percentage, including a 406-189 mark in LSC play. The Belles have captured 12 LSC Tournament championships and advanced to 17 NCAA Tournaments, including two regional championships.

HOME COURT DOMINANCE
Under head coach Chuck Waddington, Angelo State has compiled a 225-34 record inside the Junell Center-Stephens Arena, good for an .867 winning percentage. The Belles are 50-2 at home over the past four seasons, with both losses coming against ranked opponents that went on to win their respective regions later that season. Angelo State fell to No. 5 West Texas A&M in 2023 and No. 23 Central Oklahoma in 2024.

ATTENDANCE
Angelo State volleyball continues to rank among Division II's top draws. At the 2024 Kathleen Brasfield Invitational, 3,315 fans packed the Junell Center-Stephens Arena to watch the Belles sweep New Mexico Highlands, setting program and LSC attendance records. During Waddington's tenure, Angelo State has welcomed more than 1,000 fans to 40 matches, posting a 35-5 record in those contests. During the 2024 South Central Regional, 4,237 fans watched the Belles win three matches inside the Junell Center-Stephens Arena to claim the regional championship and advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The 2024 regional attendance surpassed the previous program record of 2,936 fans, set during the 2023 Kathleen Brasfield Invitational when the Belles swept Southwest.