ASU enters the season ranked No. 15 in the AVCA preseason poll and are the defending Lone Star Conference Champions after going 18-2 in LSC play last season. The Belles finished the season with a 29-6 record and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Division II South Central Championships for the first time in program history.

Angelo State is starting its 38th season of playing volleyball and has advanced to the NCAA tournament the past two seasons. The team returns eight players from last season's championship run and welcomes in five newcomers (four freshman and Maggi Jo Keffury, a junior setter who transferred from New Mexico State).

Team Captain: Maddie Huth has been named the 2013 Belle captain and is coming off an all-American junior season. A middle blocker from The Colony, Huth had 87 kills, a .355 hitting percentage and 131 blocks last season. In 100 matches played at ASU, she has 757 career kills (17th in program history) and 272 blocks (8th in program history). Along with her all-American status, she was also a LSC first-team selection and an AVCA All-South Central performer. She was named the LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

Co-Captains: Kaelen Valdez, Leah McWilliams, Shelby Wilt

Shelby Wilt was named the LSC's Libero of the Year last season and enters her junior season as the conference's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Wilt ranks sixth in program history with 1,234 digs after only two seasons at ASU. The Dalhart native was an AVCA All-South Central performer after providing 649 digs and 109 assists. She also earned four weekly defensive awards from the conference last season.  

Kaelen Valdez enters her senior season with 94 matches of experience and 848 kills which ranks 15th in program history. Valdez was named to the LSC second team last season after accumulating 288 kills and 435 digs. Her strongest match last season resulted in 25 kills against Texas A&M-Commerce.

Leah McWilliams comes into her senior season after providing strong depth to the Belle roster last season. A Marfa native, McWilliams started her collegiate career at Alaska-Anchorage before transferring to Angelo State where she redshirted in 2011 before playing in 26 matches last season. She has 65 kills and 62 digs in her career at ASU entering the year.
 
Coach Quotes

Head coach Chuck Waddington (Entering sixth season with a 118-52 record)
On where the team is at entering the first matches of the season:
"I think we are starting to gel offensively and defensively. I'd like to see our serving get tougher but I like where we are at and I think we are ready to compete."
 
On starting the season off strong and the implications the matches have:
"The importance of this first weekend is huge for us," Waddington said. "All four matches are in-region and will have major implications towards postseason play. I think our goal is to focus on our side of the net and at a high level. We need to set a high bar and continue raising it. A good starting point is very important."
 
On the opponents coming to play at the ASU Invitational:
"This is going to be a very competitive tournament with all four teams being very talented. Arkansas Fort Smith was an NCAA tournament team last season and the rest of the teams all had strong years too."

 
Angelo State vs. Dallas Baptist Patriots (Noon on Friday)
At noon on the sixth day of September, the 2013 season will start for the Belles when they take on Dallas Baptist. The Belles hold a 2-0 all-time advantage over the Patriots with the previous two matches coming in the 2004 and 1998 seasons. ASU owns a 6-1 set-advantage in those matches. The Patriots are coming off a 19-9 season in 2012 which included an 11-3 mark in Heartland Conference play. DBU was 2-1 last season against LSC schools, including wins over the conference-departed Abilene Christian Wildcats and Incarnate Word Cardinals and a three-set loss to West Texas A&M.  ASU is 3-2 in season-openers under Waddington and 21-16 in the program's history of season-openers.
 
Angelo State vs. Colorado State-Pueblo ThunderWolves (6 p.m. on Friday)
The second match of the season comes just six hours after the start of the first as the Belles take on the ThunderWolves at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6 at the Angelo State Invitational. The all-time series is tied 2-2 with the last match between the two schools resulting in a 3-2 win for the ThunderWolves in Waddington's first game as the Belles head coach. CSU-Pueblo finished last season with a 15-15 record and went 6-13 in RMAC play.
 
Angelo State vs. Colorado Mesa Mavericks (Noon on Saturday)
Second-day competition at the Angelo State Invitational starts at noon on Saturday, Sept. 7 with the Belles taking on the Colorado Mesa Mavericks on the Stephens Arena court. The all-time series between the two schools is tied at 2-2 with the Mavericks sweeping the last match which was played in 2005. Colorado Mesa is coming off a 17-11 record in 2012 and went 11-8 in RMAC play.
 
Angelo State vs. Arkansas Fort Smith Lions (6 p.m. on Saturday)
A match between two teams coming off back-to-back NCAA postseason appearances will conclude the Angelo State Invitational as the Belles take on Arkansas Fort Smith. The Lions are coming off a 28-3 season which was ended at Regis University in the opening round of the NCAA DII South Central tournament with a 3-0 loss to West Texas A&M. UAFS went 14-0 en route to the Heartland Conference championship in 2012. This will be the first meeting between ASU and UAFS on the volleyball court.

Up next: Following the ASU Invitational, the Belles will travel to Colorado next weekend for the Colorado Premiere Challenge being hosted at Metro State and Regis University in Denver, Colo. on Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14. ASU opens the tournament on Friday with No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney before playing Metro State. The tournament's second day will be determined by results from the first two matches.