SAN ANGELO, Texas – The No. 5 Angelo State University volleyball team will close out the 2026 regular season with Lone Star Conference action on the road. The Belles will first head to Kingsville to take on Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday, Nov. 6, before traveling to Laredo for a match against Texas A&M International on Saturday, Nov. 7.

POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS
Entering the weekend, the Belles find themselves one win away from claiming the outright regular season Lone Star Conference Championship, the program's 13^th total LSC Title.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Belles closed out the 2026 regular season home season with matchups against Midwestern State and Lubbock Christian. The Belles picked up their eighth and ninth straight sweeps to close out an undefeated month of October. Furthermore, the Blue and Gold honored their five seniors: Taryn Barnes, Hannah Barnhill, Alli Kirkpatrick, Madi Parrish and Krizia Perez on Friday night. Then, on Saturday, the Belles raised nearly $5,500 during their annual Dig Pink match with proceeds benefiting the Side-Out Foundation.

SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS
Texas A&M-Kingsville goes into the weekend with a 17-9 overall record and 10-5 in LSC play. If the season ended today, TAMUK would be the fifth seed in the Lone Star Conference Championship. The Javelinas are coming off a 1-1 road trip in the DFW. Beginning with a four-set loss to UT Tyler before collecting a sweep against UT Dallas.

The Javelinas will be hosting the Belles for their Military Appreciation match on Friday night.

Offensively, the Javelinas rank ninth in the Lone Star Conference with a .207 team attack percentage. TAMUK has two players who have achieved over 200 kills, led by Cambelle Brammer with 335 kills on a .242 attack percentage, while Natalee Rush follows with 253 kills on a team-best .311 clip.

Running a 5-1, TAMUK is led by Alayna Guerrero with 958 assists, which averages to 9.58 per set.

Defensively, opponents are hitting .174 against Texas A&M-Kingsville, which ranks fifth in the LSC. The Javelinas boast four players who have registered over 200 digs, led by Tayae-Renae Garcia, who has 460. At the net, Karrington Crawford leads the team with 91 total blocks, followed closely by Rush, who has registered 82 this season.

SCOUTING THE DUSTDEVILS
Texas A&M International goes into the weekend with an 8-18 overall record and 2-13 in LSC play. The Dustdevils are in the midst of a rough stretch, having lost three straight matches and nine of their last 10 dating back to the beginning of October.

The Dustdevils will be hosting the Belles for their Senior Day match on Saturday.

Offensively, the Dustdevils rank 14th in the Lone Star Conference with a .173 team attack percentage. Mia Molina paces the team with 266 kills on a .174 attack percentage.

On paper, TAMIU looks to run a hybrid 5-1 system, led by Giulia Gainelli with 540 assists, followed by Deanna Montgomery, who has registered 280.

Defensively, opponents are hitting .226 against Texas A&M International, which ranks 14th in the LSC. The Dustdevils have two players who have registered over 200 digs, led by Mia Perez, who has notched 218, followed closely by Gainelli, who has 202. At the net, TAMIU is paced by Fernanda Izar with 66 blocks.

NCAA POWER INDEX UPDATE
Through matches on Nov. 3, ASU finds itself No. 5 overall in the NCAA Power Index Rankings and No. 1 in the South Central Region. If the season ended today, the Belles would host an eight-team field of Colorado School of Mines, DBU, Colorado Mesa, MSU Denver, UT Tyler, St. Edward's and South Dakota Mines.

AVCA COACHES' POLL, NOVEMBER 2ND
The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its tenth weekly poll on Monday, Nov. 2, with the Angelo State Belles maintaining their highest rank of the season at No. 5. The Belles have appeared in 25 consecutive AVCA polls dating back to Sept. 17, 2024.

HOP-PING TWICE AS HIGH
Julia Hopkins sits atop the team with 285 kills and is second with 317.0 points entering the weekend.

The junior from Austin was named Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second time on Tuesday, Nov. 3 after averaging 5.17 kills per set while hitting .419 to lead the Belles to a 2-0 weekend and cap an undefeated month of October. She totaled 31 kills across sweeps of Midwestern State and Lubbock Christian, recording 14 kills against the Mustangs before adding 17 against the Lady Chaps.

Hopkins earned the accolade for the first time this season on Tuesday, Oct. 5, after 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.

PARRISH DOING PARRISH THINGS
Preseason Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year Madi Parrish leads the Belles in points accounted for (317) while being second in kills (269). The senior from Saginaw, Texas, has also recorded a team-high 36 service aces, while ranking second on the team with 350 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).

SYD THE KID
Sydney Thornton ranks third on the team with 245.5 points and fourth with 182 kills. The junior is also tied atop the team with 69 blocks and has added 18 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.

THE BARN ROOF
Hannah Barnhill is tied for the team lead with 69 blocks after recording 12 blocks two weeks ago in sweeps over Western New Mexico, Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M that earned her Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday, Oct. 27. During the Belles's eight straight sweeps, the San Antonio native has recorded 27 blocks.

HAVE A DAY, ALLI K!
Alli Kirkpatrick became the fourth Belle to reach 100 kills in 2026. The senior right side has recorded 188 kills while hitting for a .282 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 472 assists and is currently on pace to surpass her assist total from last season. The junior is averaging 5.83 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 410 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 122 while Leah Klueber became the sixth member of the 100-kill club for the season against Western New Mexico, as she now has 108 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 25 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 231-34 record inside the Junell Center-Stephens Arena, good for an .871 winning percentage. The Belles are 57-2 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.