SAN ANGELO, Texas – The No. 6 Angelo State University volleyball team will close out the road trip with the shortest trip of the season, traveling to Odessa to continue Lone Star Conference play against UT Permian Basin on Saturday, Oct. 10.

LAST TIME OUT
Angelo State began the road trip with stops in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to take on UT Dallas and UT Tyler. On Friday against the Comets, Julia Hopkins notched a career-high 19 kills to power the Belles past to victory in four sets. Then on Saturday against the Patriots, the Blue and Gold handled business in a battle atop the Lone Star Conference standings, with the Belles winning in four sets.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
UT Dallas goes into the weekend with a 5-8 overall record and 0-7 in LSC play. The Falcons began the season 3-1 at this season's Kathleen Brasfield Invitational, defeating Fort Lewis, MSU-Moorhead and CSU Pueblo in straight sets before dropping a tough five-set match against East Central.

Serving as ASU's travel partner in the Lone Star Conference, the Falcons also faced UT Tyler and UT Dallas in reverse order of the Belles, but did drop both contests, being swept by UTT on Friday before dropping a tough five-set match to UTD.

Offensively, the Falcons rank 14^th in the Lone Star Conference with a .172 team attack percentage. Kaitlyn paces the team with 150 kills on a .204 attack percentage while Makenna Grimes and Nickilah Whatley are tied for second with 92 kills apiece.

Running a 6-2, UTPB sees a solid split of assists between team leader Kierra Freeman, 245, and Emma Gonzalez, 219.

Defensively, opponents are hitting .177 against UT Permian Basin, which ranks sixth in the LSC. The Falcons boast six players who have registered over 100 digs, led by Freeman, who has notched 141. At the net, Precious Johnson leads the team with 42 blocks, followed closely by Whatley, who has 39.

AVCA COACHES' POLL, OCTOBER 5TH
The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its seventh weekly poll on Monday, Oct. 5, with the Angelo State Belles reclaiming their highest rank of the season at No. 6.

PARRISH DOING PARRISH THINGS
Preseason Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year Madi Parrish leads the Belles in both points accounted for (221), while being second in kills (185). The senior from Saginaw, Texas, has also recorded 27 service aces and 15 total blocks while ranking second on the team with 204 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 paces the team with 191 kills and is second with 216.5 points accounted for entering the weekend.

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 187.5 points accounted for behind 143 kills. The junior also leads the Belles with 52 blocks and has added 11 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 134 kills while hitting for a .308 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 321 assists and is currently on pace to surpass her assist total from last season. The junior is averaging 5.63 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 307 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. Leah Klueber has recorded 90 kills from the right side, while Vivian Parker, the Belles' lone incoming transfer, has accounted for 92 kills.

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.