SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State volleyball team begins the second half of Lone Star Conference play this weekend with matches against Texas A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman's at the Junell Center.

The No. 16 Belles (13-6, 5-3 LSC) host the Lions (14-4, 4-3 LSC) at 7 p.m. on Friday before taking on TWU (13-6, 5-2 LSC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. ASU dropped its first match against each of the two opponents in midweek contests last week and are currently fourth in the conference standings behind West Texas A&M (7-0 LSC), TWU and Tarleton State (4-2 LSC). Click for Belle Notes

ASU is coming off a sweep of Tarleton State last Saturday in conference play and then split a Tuesday night doubleheader in Odessa with a five-set loss to Wayland Baptist and a four-set win over Texas-Permian Basin. The Belles are 8-1 on the Stephens Arena court this season and has won 25 of their last 26 regular-season home matches.

Friday's match against A&M-Commerce is Military Appreciation night.
 

BELLE PLAYER SUMMARIES
Maddie Huth is only 29 kills from 1,000 in her career and leads Angelo State this season with 214 kills (3.10 per set) and 70 blocks (1.01 per set). The senior, who is a three-time LSC Offensive Player of the Week winner this season and a reigning all-American, is fifth in the conference with her kill total and fourth in the LSC with her blocks per set average. Huth enters the weekend 12th in program history in kills and has 342 blocks which is fifth in program history. She has 91 kills (3.25 per set) in the first eight conference matches of the season.

Shelby Wilt is sixth in the conference with 4.44 digs per set and remains one of the most consistent defensive players in the nation. Wilt, who was the LSC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, has 311 digs this season with 140 of them coming in conference play. Wilt also leads the Belles with 20 aces this season and is ninth in the conference in that statistic. Wilt, a junior from Dalhart, has 1,545 digs in her career which ranks third all-time in program history. She is rapidly approaching the top of the list, behind only Shelby Pitcock (2001-04) who has 1,562 digs and Jennifer Glass (1993-96) who is the program leader with 1,603.

Katie MacLeay is second on the team with 239 digs (3.41 per set), while Haley Bianco has 184 digs (2.75 per set). The Belles are second in the nation with 20.41 digs per set.

Maggi Jo Keffury, who has won three LSC Setter of the Week honors this season, is currently third in the conference with 10.72 assists per set. Keffury has 718 assists this season for the Belles, including 316 in conference matches. Her career-high is 55 assists in the loss against WT. Keffury has also contributed 163 digs in her first season at ASU after transferring from New Mexico State.

Kaelen Valdez has contributed 205 digs in her senior season and has 1,335 digs in her career. A co-captain, Valdez also has 11 aces and 49 kills this season. She is only three kills away from 900 in her career. Leah McWilliams is third on the team with 154 kills (2.66 per set) with Arielle Bond second on the team with 179 kills (2.93 per set). McWilliams has added 110 digs and 16 blocks, while Bond has 21 blocks and is eighth in the conference with her kills per set average.

Courtney Bartusiak is fourth in the LSC with a .305 attacking percentage and has 121 kills (2.37 per set) in her freshman season. Bartusiak has also contributed 32 blocks with Cerbi Ritchey adding 25 blocks and 89 kills.

 
COACH QUOTE

Head coach Chuck Waddington (Sixth season at Angelo State, 131-58 record)

On this weekend's matches against Texas A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman's:
"The biggest thing we have to do is compete on every point. We have to minimize our unforced errors. We were high-error and we can't beat many teams playing that way on our side of the net. We have to do better job of taking care of the ball and force ourselves to compete for every point – not just big points in the matches."
 
Texas A&M-Commerce Lions at Angelo State (7 p.m. on Friday)

Texas A&M-Commerce (14-4, 4-3 LSC) comes into Friday's match on a two-match winning streak following a midweek non-conference victory over Ouachita Baptist and a five-set win last Saturday against ENMU. The Lions lost last Friday to West Texas A&M in straight sets after their win over ASU.

The Lions are second in the conference with a .219 team hitting percentage and are first with 13.05 assists per set. Amy Davault leads the Lions and the conference this season with 3.65 kills per set and 241 total kills. She was named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.Kayla Bond has added 187 kills, while Jordan Neal leads the LSC with 11.73 assists per set and has 774 total assists. Bond leads the Lion block with 62 blocks this season (0.94 per set).

ASU had a seven-match winning streak snapped against the Lions and moved to a 37-20 all-time record over A&M-Commerce after its loss in Commerce last week. The Belles swept the Lions at home last season before taking a four-set match in Commerce. Katie MacLeay established her career high in the match at Commerce with 22 digs, while Kaelen Valdez had 25 kills. The Lions finished last season with an 11-9 record in conference play and a 20-11 overall record. Craig Case is in his fourth season as the head coach in Commerce and Neal was named to the LSC second-team as a junior.
 
Texas Woman's Pioneers at Angelo State (2 p.m. on Sunday)

Texas Woman's (13-6, 5-2 LSC) is currently second in the conference standings and is coming off losing in three sets to West Texas A&M last weekend. The loss to the Lady Buffs snapped a two-match winning streak for TWU which included LSC victories over the Belles and Eastern New Mexico.
 
Kayla Rivero leads TWU with 365 assists with Kimberly Bell having 350 assists in the Pioneer two-setter offense. Rivero was named the LSC Setter of the Week on Tuesday. Senior middle blocker Chloe' Tate has 160 kills and Marcela Alves has 143. Mallory Kuechle, a freshman outside hitter from Tyler, is contributing 135 kills and is second on the team with 156 digs. Morgan Wilson tops the Pioneers with 333 digs (4.62 per set).
 
TWU is 11-5 away from home this season and will play Tarleton State on Friday before coming to San Angelo. The Pioneers are 3-3 against ranked teams this season with wins over ASU, Adams State and Washburn.
 
One of the most exciting matches in the Belles' 2012 season was against Texas Woman's in the semifinals of the LSC Championship. ASU pulled out the match in five-sets to end the Pioneers' season and reach the title match. Leah McWilliams had 14 kills in the win to establish her career high at Angelo State. TWU handed the Belles one of two losses in the regular season, taking a 3-1 win over ASU in Denton in the regular-season finale. ASU possesses a 29-13 all-time advantage over the Pioneers after their match last week. Shelly Barberee is in her 11th season as the head coach at TWU and is the longest serving coach in the conference. Tate earned LSC first-team honors for the Pioneers last season as a junior, while Alves was a second-team selection.
 
UP NEXT: Angelo State will return to action next week with weekend matches at Cameron and Midwestern State. The Belles will play at 7 p.m. next Friday, Oct. 25 against the Aggies in Lawton, Okla. before playing at 2 p.m. against the Mustangs in Wichita Falls. ASU will then return home to host St. Edward's on Wednesday, Oct. 30 in the team's Dig Pink match. For more information on the Dig Pink match, go to www.asuvolleyball.com.