TYLER, Texas – The No. 7 Angelo State University volleyball team continued its historic start to the 2026 season Saturday afternoon, defeating UT Tyler 3-1 (25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 25-19) at the Herrington Patriot Center.
With the victory, the Belles improve to 17-1 overall and 7-0 in Lone Star Conference play, remaining perfect through the first seven conference matches of the season. UT Tyler falls to 13-3 overall and 4-2 in LSC play.
Angelo State controlled the match offensively, outhitting the Patriots .286 to .163 while holding advantages in kills (63-45), aces (7-3), assists (58-43) and digs (51-49). UT Tyler held a 11-6 edge in blocks.
The Belles came out firing in the opening set, recording 20 kills while hitting .500 as they cruised to a 25-18 victory. ASU continued to control the second set, overcoming seven attack errors to hit .206 and take a 2-0 lead with another 25-18 win.
UT Tyler responded in the third set, edging the Belles 25-23 despite ASU recording 16 kills. Angelo State quickly regained control in the fourth, hitting .243 while forcing 10 Patriot attack errors to close out the match with a 25-19 victory.
Madi Parrish and
Julia Hopkins led the offensive attack with 16 kills apiece. Parrish hit .387 while adding two aces and 12 digs to finish with a team-high 18.5 points. Hopkins added 16 kills on .289 hitting.
Sydney Thornton contributed nine kills while hitting .421 and added four total blocks.
Hannah Barnhill recorded seven kills and two blocks, while
Vivian Parker added three kills and three block assists.
Gabi Ashcraft paced the Belles with 23 assists and added two aces and nine digs.
Olivia Pena finished with 20 assists and four digs.
The Blue and Gold received a strong defensive performance from
Allie Duitsman, who led the Belles with 13 digs.
The Belles will be back in action in exactly one week on Saturday, Oct. 10, when they travel to Odessa to face UT Permian Basin. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
