SAN ANGELO, Texas – The No. 6 Angelo State University volleyball team will hit the road to Central Texas to begin Lone Star Conference play, facing St. Mary's Friday, Sept. 18, before traveling to Austin on Saturday, Sept. 19, to take on St. Edward's.

LAST TIME OUT
Angelo State closed nonconference play by hosting West Texas A&M and Lubbock Christian for the Lone Star Conference Challenge at the Junell Center/Stephens Arena. Despite dropping a set in each match, the Belles responded with efficient offensive performances to defeat both opponents and improve to 10-1 on the season.

SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
St. Mary's enters the weekend with a 7-3 record in nonconference play. The Rattlers opened the 2026 season at the Rollins Invitational, winning three of four matches, before splitting four matches at the Javelina Volleyball Classic hosted by Texas A&M-Kingsville. St. Mary's fell to MSU Moorhead and Findlay at the Javelina Volleyball Classic while earning wins over MSU Billings and the host Javelinas. The Rattlers then hosted Texas Woman's and previously undefeated UT Tyler, earning victories in both matches to enter the weekend riding a four-match winning streak.

Offensively, St. Mary's ranks third in the Lone Star Conference with a .234 attack percentage. Laurene Robinson leads the Rattlers with 185 kills while hitting .347. The graduate outside hitter has recorded at least 20 kills in four matches and at least 15 kills in seven matches this season. Running a 5-1 offense, Haleigh Wilk directs the Rattlers' attack with 393 of the team's 484 assists.

Defensively, opponents are hitting .178 against St. Mary's. Kaylee Cavazos leads the team with 152 digs, while Madyson Carr and Olivia Rubio pace the Rattlers at the net with 36 and 33 blocks, respectively.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
St. Edward's enters the weekend with a 5-5 nonconference record. The Hilltoppers opened the season at the Bahama House Classic, splitting four matches, before again splitting four matches at the Mountain Lion Classic hosted by UCCS.

St. Edward's earned wins over Midwestern State and South Dakota Mines while falling to Michigan Tech and UCCS. The Hilltoppers then traveled to Odessa for the LSC Challenge, sweeping UT Dallas before falling to UTPB in a five-set thriller.

The Hilltoppers are hitting .190 as a team, which ranks 10th in the Lone Star Conference. Kelli Fording leads the team with 124 kills while hitting .232. Althea Morris runs the 5-1 offense for St. Edward's, recording 406 of the team's 485 assists this season.

Defensively, opponents are hitting .198 against the Hilltoppers. Giselle Ojeda leads the team with 178 digs, while Grace McDonald has recorded a team-high 24 blocks.

AVCA COACHES' POLL, SEPTEMBER 14TH
The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its fourth weekly poll on Monday, September 16^th, with the Angelo State Belles checking in at No. 6 after its 10-1 start to the season.

THE PROWESS OF PENA
Olivia Pena earned Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Week honors Tuesday 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 Prosper, 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.

HOP-PING HIGHER
Julia Hopkins leads the Belles in both kills with 101 and points accounted for with 118.5 entering the week. The junior from Austin also ranks third on the team with 11 service aces and continues to improve her attack percentage from her 2025 mark.

PARRISH DOING PARRISH THINGS
Preseason Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year Madi Parrish ranks second on the team in points accounted for with 116.5 entering the weekend. The senior from Saginaw, Texas, has recorded 98 kills while adding 13 service aces and nine total blocks. She also ranks second on the team with 117 digs.

HAVE A DAY, ALLI K!
Alli Kirkpatrick went on a tear during the 2026 nonconference season. The senior right side recorded 85 kills and a .315 attack percentage through the team's first three weeks of competition, more than 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.

SYD THE KID
Sydney Thornton continues to make her presence felt early in the 2026 season, ranking second on the team with 113.5 points accounted for behind 87 kills, a team-high 33 blocks and five service aces. The junior from Prosper, Texas, was named LSC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8 after helping lead the Belles to a 4-1 week 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. Thornton totaled 43 kills while hitting .373 and added 16 blocks during the five-match stretch. She also recorded 16 digs, three service aces and an assist.

THE ASHCRAFT WAY
Gabi Ashcraft has recorded 160 assists to begin the 2026 season and is currently on pace to surpass her assist total from last season. The senior is averaging nearly six assists per set, compared to the 5.38 assists-per-set mark she posted in 2025.

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.

THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Three of Angelo State's six newcomers have made immediate impacts through the team's first eleven matches. Leah Klueber has recorded 50 kills from the right side, while Vivian Parker, the Belles' lone incoming transfer, has accounted for 62 points. Olivia Pena has also provided a solid pairing with Ashcraft in the setter role. The freshman from Helotes, Texas, has recorded 167 assists while averaging 4.91 assists per set.

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 220-34 record inside the Junell Center-Stephens Arena, good for an .864 winning percentage. The Belles are 41-2 at home over the past three 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.