SAN ANGELO – The No. 19-ranked Angelo State volleyball team travels north this weekend to play Lone Star Conference matches against Cameron University and Midwestern State.

The Belles (15-6, 7-3 LSC) are currently second in the conference standings and lead the nation with 21.04 digs per set. ASU has won its previous three LSC matches, including topping Texas A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman's last weekend at the Junell Center. ASU will open this weekend at 7 p.m. on Friday against CU (6-15, 0-9 LSC) at the Aggie Gym before taking on MSU (11-9, 3-7 LSC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Click for Belle Notes

Both matches will have live stats and video provided by Cameron and Midwestern State. The links to video and stats can be found here with Angelo State athletic communications providing in-match updates at www.twitter.com/AngeloSports.

BELLE PLAYER SUMMARIES
Angelo State junior Shelby Wilt enters this weekend with 1,600 digs in her career and is only four away from passing Jennifer Glass's all-time ASU record. Wilt, who has 366 digs this season with 4.63 per set which ranks third in the conference. She has 5.27 digs per set in conference matches this season and was selected at the LSC's Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. The LSC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year has won two weekly awards this season after being named the conference's Libero of the Year last season as a sophomore. Wilt and Katie MacLeay lead the team with 20 aces each.

MacLeay is second on the team with 271 digs this season, while Kaelen Valdez has 252 digs and Haley Bianco has contributed 214 (2.82 per set). Valdez is currently ninth in the conference with 3.79 digs per set in LSC play with MacLeay 10th with 3.73 digs per set in LSC play. Valdez is currently fourth in program history with 1,382 digs in her career. She is 15th in program history and is only three kills away from passing Marci Sanders (1997-98) in the record books.

Maddie Huth is coming off a strong weekend where she had 18 kills against Texas A&M-Commerce and 13 in the win over TWU. Huth has 1,002 kills in her career which ranks 12th in program history. Huth leads ASU this season with 245 kills (3.14 per set) and 76 blocks (0.97 per set). She has 348 blocks in her career which ranks fifth in program history. The all-time blocks record belongs to Gail Allison (1989-92) who had 475 blocks in her career. Huth is a three-time LSC Offensive Player of the Week and is a reigning all-American.

Maggi Jo Keffury also has three LSC weekly awards this season at the setter position. The junior, who is in her first season at ASU after transferring from New Mexico State, currently has 829 assists this season (10.91 per set). She leads the conference with a 11.54 assists per set average in LSC matches this season and has also been steady on defense with 194 digs.

Arielle Bond has added 205 kills (2.93 per set in LSC play) with Leah McWilliams adding 154 kills. Courtney Bartusiak has 138 kills and leads the Belles with a .273 hitting percentage in her freshman season. Cerbi Ritchey is second on the team with 37 blocks and has added 114 kills with Kailyn Troxell contributing 37 kills and Zoey Hanrahan supplying 27 kills.

Belle Single-Match Highs
Blocks: 8 (2- 6) Maddie Huth vs. Southwest Minn. St. (Sep 14, 2013 in Denver, CO)
Attacking Percentage: .667 (13- 1-18) Courtney Bartusiak vs. CSU-Pueblo (Sep 06, 2013)
Kills 3-Set: 16 (16- 3-34) Leah McWilliams vs. Cameron (Sep 21, 2013)
Kills 4-Set: 16 (16-4-33) Maddie Huth vs. A&M-Commerce and West Texas A&M
Kills 5-Set: 24 (24- 5-55) Arielle Bond vs. Midwestern State (Sep 20, 2013)
Assists: 57 (5s) Maggi Jo Keffury vs. A&M-Commerce (Oct. 18, 2013)
Digs: 32 (5s) Shelby Wilt vs. A&M-Commerce (Oct. 18, 2013)
Aces: 4 –  Maggi Jo Keffury vs. A&M-Commerce (Oct. 18, 2013)
 
 
 COACH QUOTES

Head coach Chuck Waddington (Sixth season at Angelo State, 133-58 record)

On maintaining the level of play the Belles had last weekend in wins over Texas A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman's:
"I think our team was struggling in the confidence area for a couple of weeks and it is important to keep our momentum going. It was a nice to get back on the winning track last weekend. There are still areas that we need to continue improving in to get to where we want to be at the end of the season."

On playing at Cameron on Friday:
"They have talented players and we can't overlook them. We aren't a team that can overlook anybody right now. We have to go up there with a job to do and stay focused on what we need to take care of."

On playing at Midwestern State on Saturday:
"Their setter is healthy now and they've won four of their last six matches. They are playing at a high level and they almost beat us when they were here. We have to be mentally ready for that match."


AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25

The Belles moved to No. 19 in this week's poll following going 3-1 last week with wins over A&M-Commerce, TWU and Texas-Permian Basin after a loss to Wayland Baptist. Historically, ASU has now been ranked in the last 32 polls and in 65 AVCA polls in the program's history. ASU started the season at No. 15 in the preseason poll before moving to No. 11 after the first week and then to No. 9 before reaching the a program's best No. 7 ranking on Oct. 1 before slipping back to their current ranking. The last time the Belles were not ranked was in the Sept. 5, 2011 poll.
 

Angelo State vs. Cameron Aggies (7 p.m. on Friday)
Angelo State has won the previous eight meetings against Cameron and will look to continue that trend with a 7 p.m. match on Friday. The Belles swept the first meeting between the two teams this season at the Junell Center with McWilliams leading the way with a career-high 16 kills and Keffury had 37 assists in the three-set match. Kelle Carver, a sophomore from Shawnee, Okla., leads the Aggies and the conference this season with 266 kills, while Kat Evans has 82 kills. The Aggies are hitting .134 this season with Kayla Hebert leading the offense at setter. Hebert, a true freshman from McKinney, has 625 assists (8.80 per set) for the Aggies with Lauren Acuna leading the defense with 215 digs. Acuna is sixth in the conference with 4.48 digs per set.

The Belles possess a 23-11 all-time advantage over the Aggies, including taking both matches last season. Cameron also missed out on the conference tournament after going 4-16 in LSC play and finishing with a 10-22 overall record last season. Doug Tabbert is in his third season as the head coach of the Aggies.
 
Angelo State vs. Midwestern State Mustangs (2 p.m. on Saturday)
The Belles and Mustangs went five sets in their first meeting of the season with ASU pulling out the five-set win at the Junell Center on Sept. 20. ASU has won eight consecutive matches against MSU and owns a 26-9 all-time advantage in the series. Caitlyn Wallace, a senior middle blocker from Amarillo, leads MSU with 195 kills and a conference-leading .354 hitting percentage this season, while Casey Fletcher has 319 digs in her junior season. Wallace is also eighth in the conference with 0.93 blocks per set (67 overall). Fletcher, a defensive specialist, is averaging 4.62 digs per set with junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Molloy adding 2.65 digs per set and 151 overall. Setter Sarah Rosinke has 342 assists (6.11 per set) and is second in the conference with 0.38 aces per set (21 overall). Marija Jovanovic, a senior transfer from Florida A&M, has added 259 assists and 124 kills.
 
The Belles won both matches with sweeps last season and had not dropped a set to the Mustangs in the last four matches coming into their first meeting this season. MSU is coming off a 7-23 overall record and a 5-15 record in conference play in the 2012 season. The Mustangs did not qualify for the conference tournament. Venera Flores-Stafford is in her 10th season as the Mustangs head coach. Caitlin Wallace returns for her senior season after taking second-team honors as a middle blocker during her junior season.
 


Up Next: The Belles will return to action next week with two home matches. ASU will host its Dig Pink match on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. against St. Edward's and then will welcome Texas A&M-Kingsville to the Junell Center at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1.