SAN ANGELO – The No. 17-ranked Angelo State volleyball team will play its final Lone Star Conference home match at 7 p.m. on Friday against Texas A&M-Kingsville at the Junell Center.

The Belles (18-6, 9-3 LSC) are riding a six-match winning streak and will honor seniors Evan Case, Maddie Huth, Leah McWilliams and Kaelen Valdez prior to the match. ASU is coming off a non-conference sweep of St. Edward's on Wednesday and would reach a season-high seven match winning streak with a victory. The Belles swept the first meeting between the two teams on Sept. 28 in Kingsville.

ASU enters the match with an 11-1 overall record at home this season.

BELLE PLAYER SUMMARY

Maddie Huth leads the Belles this season with 282 kills (3.17 per set) and 83 blocks in her senior year. Huth, who is a three-time LSC Offensive Player of the Week and a reigning all-American, has 1,039 kills in her career and 355 blocks. Kaelen Valdez is only 65 kills away from 1,000 in her career and also is fourth in program history with 1,435 digs in her career. She established a career-high 29 digs in a match earlier this season against West Texas A&M and was named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday for her work last weekend in wins over Cameron and Midwestern State. Fellow senior Leah McWilliams has 154 kills this season and 16 blocks.

Shelby Wilt established herself as the Angelo State volleyball program's all-time digs leader last weekend and enters this week with 1,655 career digs and 421 this season. The junior is averaging 4.68 digs per set and has also provided 22 aces. She is a two-time LSC Defensive Player of the Week this season and is the reigning LSC Libero of the Year.

Maggi Jo Keffury enters Friday's match with 960 assists (11.03 per set) after providing 43 assists in the win over St. Edward's. She also has a team-leading 23 aces. The junior is a four-time LSC Setter of the Week winner and has also provided 235 digs this season.

Defensive specialist Katie MacLeay has added 298 digs this season with Haley Bianco contributing 254 digs in their sophomore seasons. MacLeay is averaging 3.31 digs per set with Bianco at 2.92 per set for the Belles. Arielle Bond is second on the team with 241 kills (2.98 per set) with freshman Courtney Bartusiak leading the team with a .279 hitting percentage and supplying 160 kills and 44 blocks which is second on the team. Cerbi Ritchey, who had a career-high 14 kills in the Belles' win over Midwestern State last Saturday, has 141 kills and 33 blocks in her redshirt freshman season.

MacLeay led the Belles with 14 digs and Huth had 14 kills in the first meeting against the Javelinas this season.

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, West Texas A&M, Cameron
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, 136-58 record)

On playing against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday:
"They are a scary team to play because they are athletic and can take some big swings that other teams can't make. They've beaten some very good teams in our conference on the road, so we have to be prepared for them. We went down there earlier in the season and played well, but it's late in the season and they're trying to earn a spot in the conference tournament. We have to be ready to play at our best."

On seniors Maddie Huth, Leah McWilliams and Kaelen Valdez:
"This group of seniors is very resilient. They've been here since we were building a program and have been an important piece to that puzzle. This season they have helped us through the ups and downs and have us playing well right now. They have great leadership and a strong presence on the court. You really can't measure how important they are to our team."
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas (14-12, 5-5 LSC)
The Javelinas come into San Angelo following a five-set win over Texas A&M International in a non-conference road match following a three-set loss last weekend to West Texas A&M. A&M-Kingsville is 8-7 this season away from home and has LSC road wins over Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Commerce this season.

Dedra Brown, a senior from Sweetwater, and Kelsey Washington, a junior from Cuero, lead the team with 266 kills each, while Sarah Fountain has 795 assists (8.55 per set) and Stephanie Johns has 76 blocks. Washington leads the team with 307 digs with Brittany Gutierrez adding 294 digs. Brown and Washington were both LSC second-team selections last season. Brown led the Javelinas with 12 kills against the Belles in the first meeting with Fountain providing 21 assists.

High school connections between Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville include: Zoey Hanrahan and Mariah Catlin (Pflugerville Hendrickson), Kaelen Valdez and Alexia Bustamante (San Antonio O'Connor), Katie MacLeay and Brittany Gutierrez (San Antonio Brandeis).

The Belles have won their last seven matches over Texas A&M-Kingsville dating back to the 2008 season. The Javelinas advanced to the LSC tournament last season after going 9-11 in conference play and finished their season with a 17-14 overall record. Tanya Allen is in her third season as the head coach in Kingsville. ASU holds a 52-10 all-time advantage in the historical series after the first meeting this season.

UP NEXT: The Belles will travel north next weekend to face No. 6 West Texas A&M in Canyon on Friday, Nov. 8 before heading over to Eastern New Mexico to play at 7 p.m. (CST) match on Saturday, Nov. 9. ASU will then host Incarnate Word on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. in its final home match of the season.