SAN ANGELO – The No. 20-ranked Angelo State volleyball team is making its 16th Lone Star Conference Championship appearance this week and will open the tournament at noon on Thursday against Midwestern State in the first round at the WTAMU Fieldhouse in Canyon.

The Belles (21-8) are the No. 3 seed in the tournament and have a 32-11 all-time record in LSC championship play, while the Mustangs (17-12) are making their seventh tournament appearance and are 0-6 all-time in tournament play. In other action, No. 2 Texas Woman's will play No. 7 Texas A&M-Kingsville at 2:30 p.m., No. 4 Texas A&M-Commerce plays No. 5 Tarleton State at 5 p.m. and No. 1 West Texas A&M takes on No. 8 Eastern New Mexico at 7 p.m. The winner of the ASU-MSU match will play at 5 p.m. on Friday against the TWU-A&M-Kingsville match.   

Angelo State has won six LSC Championships in program history and have advanced to 10 tournament finals. The Belles have advanced to the title game the past three seasons where ultimately the Lady Buffs won the championship. WT has won 14 LSC titles, including the past seven.

ASU has made the tournament the past six seasons and having won nine of its last 11 matches coming into this year's tournament. The Belles swept the season series against Midwestern State this season and have won the past nine meetings between the two programs. Part of that streak includes a three-set win (25-18,25-16,25-14) over the Mustangs in the first round of the 2011 LSC Championship which was also hosted at WT.

The Belles lead the nation with 21.29 digs per set and finished second in the LSC with 13.73 kills and 12.89 assists per set.

REGIONAL RANKINGS

The Belles enter the tournament ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Division South Central region. WT tops the regional ranking, while Colorado School of Mines is second and Regis University third. The Belles possess a 19-5 in-region record this season. The NCAA selection show will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.


Belle Player Summary

Maddie Huth enters the conference tournament after having led ASU with 332 kills and 102 blocks in her senior season. A three-time LSC Offensive Player of the Week this season and a reigning all-America selection, Huth has 1,089 kills and 374 blocks in her career. She is only nine kills from passing Chelsea Gibson for ninth all-time in program history and 16 blocks from passing Jill Durham for third all-time in blocks. Huth has earned LSC all-tournament honors the past two seasons.

Shelby Wilt is the all-time digs leader in ASU history with 1,751 digs and is a three-time LSC Defensive Player of the Week this season. Wilt has 517 digs (4.83 per set) in her junior season and has 25 aces. She also has 105 assists this season and 272 in her career. Wilt is the reigning LSC Libero of the Year and was a Daktronics South Central Regional selection last year as a sophomore. She had 17 digs in the Belles' five-set win over MSU on Sept. 20.

Kaelen Valdez enters the postseason with 1,510 digs and 983 kills in her four-year career at Angelo State. The senior is currently fourth in program history in digs after finishing with 380 digs in the regular season. She also has 135 kills this year and needs only 17 kills to reach the 1,000 kill milestone. Valdez had 22 digs against MSU earlier this season in an ASU four set win on Oct. 26.

Arielle Bond finished the regular season with 307 kills and was a two-time LSC Offensive Player of the Week in her sophomore season. Bond had 3.13 kills per set and 34 blocks. She recorded a season-high 24 kills against MSU in the five set where she also had a .345 hitting percentage. Fellow sophomores Haley Bianco and Katie MacLeay have provided steady defense throughout the season with MacLeay finishing the regular season with 345 digs (3.22 per set) and Bianco 304 digs (2.92 per set). Redshirt freshman Cerbi Ritchey had 172 kills and 38 blocks, while freshman Courtney Bartusiak recorded 182 kills and 48 blocks in her first season in San Angelo.

Setter Maggi Jo Keffury finished the regular season with 1,159 assists and 282 digs in her first year at Angelo State. A junior who started her collegiate career at New Mexico State, Keffury finished second in the LSC with 11.14 assists per set and was a five-time LSC Setter of the Week.

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: 5 –  Haley Bianco vs. Eastern New Mexico (Nov. 9, 2013)
 
COACH QUOTES

Head coach Chuck Waddington (Sixth season at Angelo State, 139-60 record)

On his thoughts about the LSC tournament:
"We came into the conference tournament with a loss last season too. It's not the best way to go into the tournament, but it is an eye opener for our kids that we have to play at our best every time we go out there if we want to win. All the teams in the tournament are very competitive and have good wins and tough losses. I think it's a year where anything can happen. That's the message we are sending our kids. Anything is possible and you have to focus on the positive and work hard to advance."

On playing against Midwestern State in the first round of the tournament:
"Their talent level has really improved from the past. They have good kids on the court at all times and it can be a really tough match to win if they are able to get hot against you. We have to work hard to do what we want to do and keep them away from their strengths."

MIDWESTERN STATE MUSTANGS

The Mustangs return to the LSC tournament following missing out on the tournament last season. MSU went 17-12 this season, including a 7-9 conference record. The team is on a two-match winning streak following sweeps of Texas A&M-Kingsville and Southwestern Oklahoma State to conclude the regular season.

Caitlyn Wallace led the Mustangs this season with 277 kills (2.64 per set) and was second in the conference with a .336 hitting percentage. Wallace also led her team with 99 blocks in her senior season. Setter Sarah Rosinke was ninth in the LSC with 6.28 assists per set and finished the season with 465 assists. Casey Fletcher, a junior defensive specialist finished eighth in the conference with 3.95 digs per set and led the Mustangs with 399 digs while freshman Sarah Garfield added 76 blocks to the MSU defensive effort. Venera Flores-Stafford is in her 10th season as the Mustangs head coach.

Thursday, Nov. 21
Match 1: No. 3 Angelo State vs. No. 6 Midwestern State, 12 p.m.
Match 2: No. 2 Texas Woman's vs. No. 7 Texas A&M-Kingsville, 2:30 p.m.
Match 3: No. 4 Texas A&M-Commerce vs. No. 5 Tarleton State, 5 p.m.
Match 4: No. 1 West Texas A&M vs. No. 8 Eastern New Mexico, 7:30 p.m.
 
Friday, Nov. 22
Match 5: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, 5 p.m.
Match 6: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 7:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, Nov. 23
Match 7: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, 2 p.m.