SAN ANGELO, Texas – The No. 5 Angelo State University volleyball team will hit the road once again for Lone Star Conference action, first traveling to the Land of Enchantment to face Eastern New Mexico on Friday, Oct. 23, before returning to the Lone Star State to face West Texas A&M on Saturday, Oct. 24.

LAST TIME OUT
The Belles closed a three-match home stand with their fourth-straight sweep; this time of Western New Mexico on Tuesday evening. The Blue and Gold notched 45 kills and swung a .333 clip as a team. ASU also racked up 10 aces, eight blocks, 41 assists and 49 digs in the victory over the Mustangs.

SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
Eastern New Mexico goes into the week with a 7-15 overall record and 3-8 in LSC play. The Greyhounds just closed off a three-match road trip having been swept by UT Dallas, UT Tyler and Midwestern State in straight sets. ENMU have now lost four matches in a row lost seven of its last 10 matches dating back to Sept. 25.

Offensively, the Mustangs rank 16th in the Lone Star Conference with a .163 team attack percentage. Sophia Valdez paces the team with 278 kills on a .161 attack percentage while Amya Speller follows with 213 kills on a team-best .255.

Running a 5-1, ENMU is led by Sydney Pipkin with 644 which averages to 7.65 a set.

Defensively, opponents are hitting .206 against Eastern New Mexico, which ranks 13th in the LSC. The Greyhounds boast five players who have registered over 100 digs, led by Jordan Garcia, who has 259. At the net, Speller leads the team with 63 total blocks.

SCOUTING THE LADY BUFFS
West Texas A&M goes into the week with a 12-10 overall record and 7-4 in LSC play. The Lady Buffs are just concluded a three-match road trip of their own, defeating UT Tyler and Lubbock Christian in four sets while suffering a three-set sweep against UT Dallas this past Saturday.

Saturday will be the second time this season the Belles and Lady Buffs will face off as they did for the first time for the Lone Star Conference Challenge back on Sept. 10, where the Blue and Gold won the match in four sets.

Offensively, the Lady Buffs rank 13th in the Lone Star Conference with a .178 team attack percentage. Kaycee Cavanaugh paces the team with 288 kills on a .185 attack percentage.

Running a hybrid system, WT is led by Casey Loewer with 535 assists while also registering 133 kills. Hannah Pemberton plays a more traditional setter role who has 293 assists this season.

Defensively, opponents are hitting .182 against West Texas A&M, which ranks third in the LSC. The Lady Buffs boast three players who have registered over 200 digs, led by Cavanaugh, who has notched 299. At the net, WT are fourth in the conference with 2.18 blocks per set. Loewer leads the team with 75 blocks.

AVCA COACHES' POLL, OCTOBER 19TH
The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its ninth weekly poll on Monday, Oct. 19, with the Angelo State Belles reaching a new highest rank of the season at No. 5. The Belles have appeared in 23 consecutive AVCA polls dating back to Sept. 17, 2024.

PARRISH DOING PARRISH THINGS
Preseason Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year Madi Parrish leads the Belles in points accounted for (269) while being second in kills (226). The senior from Saginaw, Texas, has also recorded a team-high 32 service aces and 18 total blocks while ranking second on the team with 254 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 sits atop the team with 233 kills and is second with 262.0 points entering the week.

The junior from Austin was named Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, Oct. 5 when she averaged 4.38 kills per set while hitting .329 to help lead the Belles to road victories over UT Dallas and UT Tyler. She opened the weekend with a career-high 19 kills on a .368 attack percentage in ASU's 3-1 win over UT Dallas before following with 16 kills on .289 hitting in another 3-1 victory over UT Tyler.

SYD THE KID
Sydney Thornton ranks third on the team with 214.5 points accounted for behind 162 kills. The junior also leads the Belles with 60 blocks and has added 13 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 166 kills while hitting for a .293 attack percentage, 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 389 assists and is currently on pace to surpass her assist total from last season. The junior is averaging 5.64 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 370 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 for the team this season. Vivian Parker became the fifth Belle to reach 100 kills as she now has 108 while Leah Klueber became the sixth member of the 100 kills club for the season against Western New Mexico, as she now has 103 on the year.

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 23 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 227-34 record inside the Junell Center-Stephens Arena, good for an .869 winning percentage. The Belles are 53-2 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.