The No. 10 Belles (11-3, 4-1 LSC) will start the week with a 7 p.m. match on Tuesday against TWU (11-5, 3-1 LSC) at the Kitty Magee Arena before playing the Lions (11-3, 2-2 LSC) at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the A&M-Commerce Field House. Click for Belle Notes TWU and A&M-Commerce are both coming off losses last weekend to Texas A&M-Kingsville, while Angelo State enters the week following a four-set loss to West Texas A&M last Saturday following a sweep of Eastern New Mexico at the Junell Center.

ASU is 4-2 away from San Angelo this season, including sweeping Texas A&M-Kingsville two weeks ago in its last road match. The Belles are currently tied with Tarleton State for second place in the LSC standings with 4-1 records behind WT's 4-0 conference record. ASU is third in the LSC with a .212 hitting percentage in conference play and leads the conference by limiting opponents to a .108 hitting percentage. ASU top the LSC with 14.06 kills per set and with 21.33 digs per set through its first five conference matches. The Belles lead the nation with 19.75 digs per set throughout the season.

ASU will return home to host Tarleton State (9-6, 4-1 LSC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Junell Center.

AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25

The Belles moved to No. 10 in this week's poll following their loss to West Texas A&M and remain in the top-10 for the fourth straight week. Historically, ASU has now been ranked in the last 30 polls and in 63 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 three weeks ago and No. 7 the last two weeks. The last time the Belles were not ranked was in the Sept. 5, 2011 poll.


BELLE PLAYER SUMMARIES

Maddie Huth leads Angelo State this season with 158 kills (3.16 per set) and 53 blocks (1.06 per set). The senior, who is a three-time LSC Offensive Player of the Week winner this season and a reigning all-American, is fourth in the conference with her kill total and second in the LSC with her blocks per set average. Huth enters the midweek matches with 915 kills in her career which ranks 14th in program history and with 325 blocks which is sixth in program history. She has 59 kills (3.28 per set) in the first five conference matches of the season.

Maggi Jo Keffury, who has won the past three LSC Setter of the Week honors, is currently second in the conference with 11.31 assists per set. Keffury has 543 assists this season for the Belles, including 221 through the first five conference matches. She is coming off a career-high 55 assists in the loss against WT. Keffury has also contributed 114 digs in her first season at ASU after transferring from New Mexico State.

Shelby Wilt is sixth in the conference with 4.10 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 209 digs this season with 78 of them coming in conference play. Wilt also leads the Belles with 17 aces this season and is fourth in the conference in that statistic. Wilt, a junior from Dalhart, has 1,443 digs in her career which ranks third all-time in program history. She is rapidly approaching the top of the list. Second in program history is Shelby Pitcock (2001-04) who has 1,562 digs. Jennifer Glass (1993-95) is the program leader with 1,603. For those not wanting to do the math, Wilt is 160 digs away from tying the all-time record.

Kaelen Valdez is coming off a career-high 29 digs against West Texas A&M and has contributed 165 digs in her senior season. A co-captain, Valdez also has 11 aces and 44 kills this season. She is ninth in the LSC with her 3.37 digs per set. Leah McWilliams is second on the team with 132 kills (2.75 per set) with Arielle Bond adding 127 kills (3.02 per set). McWilliams has added 97 digs and 15 blocks, while Bond has 16 blocks and is sixth in the conference with 3.02 kills per set.

Courtney Bartusiak is third in the LSC with a .331 attacking percentage and has 78 kills (2.36 per set) in her freshman season. Bartusiak has also contributed 22 blocks along with Cerbi Ritchey. Katie MacLeay is second on the team with 160 digs (3.14 per set) with Haley Bianco having 104 (2.17 per set).
 
COACH QUOTES

Head coach Chuck Waddington (Sixth season at Angelo State, 129-55 record)

On playing against Texas Woman's on Tuesday in Denton:
"They are a very terminal team that is able to put the ball away. We will have to work hard to get them out of system and make it harder for them to score. There is going to have to be a lot of defensive intensity in order to get a win. More than athleticism, they are able to vary their offense and can score from multiple positions."

On playing against Texas A&M-Commerce on Wednesday:
"Commerce is athletic and well coached and has a lot of good things going on there. I expect it to be a tough midweek match for us."

On what the response he wants to see from the Belles after their loss last Saturday to WT:
"Mentality is the key. We have to compete for every point. We can't go into a match and hope teams lose. We have to go in and be part of the equation and compete for every point. If we don't play like that we're not going win."

 
Angelo State at Texas Woman's Pioneers (7 p.m. on Wednesday)

Texas Woman's (11-5, 3-1 LSC) is currently in fourth in the conference standings and are coming off a five-set loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville last weekend. The loss to the Javelinas snapped a three-match winning streak for TWU which included LSC victories over Midwestern State and Cameron.
 
Kayla Rivero leads TWU's offense with 310 assists, while senior middle blocker Chloe' Tate has 138 kills and Marcela Alves has 121. Mallory Kuechle, a freshman outside hitter from Tyler, is contributing 120 kills and 130 digs. Morgan Wilson top the Pioneers with 285 digs (4.52 per set).
 
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 29-12 all-time advantage over the Pioneers. Shelly Barberee is in her 11th season as the head coach at TWU and is the longest serving coach in the conference. LSC first-team selection Chloe' Tate returns for her senior season for the Pioneers, while middle blocker Marcela Alves is also back after earning second-team honors as a junior.

 
Angelo State vs. Texas A&M-Commerce Lions (5 p.m. on Wednesday)

Texas A&M-Commerce (11-3, 2-2) are also entering its match against ASU following a five-set loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville. The loss to the Javelinas came after three straight wins over Henderson State, Midwestern State and Cameron. A&M-Commerce's other conference loss came to TWU in a four-set match in Denton.

The Lions are second in the conference with a .227 team hitting percentage and are first with 13.16 assists per set. Amy Davault leads the Lions and the conference this season with 3.61 kills per set and is second in the LSC with 184 total kills. Kayla Bond has added 150 kills, while Jordan Wallace leads the LSC with 11.73 assists per set and had 598 total assists. Bond leads the Lion block with 52 blocks this season (1.02 per set)  with Davault having 171 digs to lead the team.

ASU possesses a seven-match winning streak and a 37-19 all-time record over A&M-Commerce entering the 2013 season. 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 entering his fourth season as the head coach in Commerce and has a 45-43 record in his first three seasons. Setter Jordan Neal gives the Lions experience, returning for her senior season after being named to the LSC second-team as a junior.
 
UP NEXT: ASU will return home to host Tarleton State (9-6, 4-1 LSC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Junell Center.