SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State volleyball program is set to compete in its fourth straight NCAA Division II South Central Championships this weekend and will open against No. 8-ranked Colorado Mesa at 8:30 p.m. (CST) on Friday in Grand Junction, Colorado at the Brownson Arena.

The Belles (21-8) have advanced to the last two NCAA DII South Central Championship finals and are 5-3 in the past three tournaments. ASU is making its eighth appearance in program history at the NCAA regional tournament. ASU and the Mavericks (27-3) faced each other last season at the Angelo State Invitational at the Junell Center with the Belles earning a sweep. CMU earned the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's regular-season and tournament championships this season and enters the NCAA postseason on an 18-game winning streak which includes a sweep of No. 22-ranked Metro State last Saturday in the RMAC Tournament finals. This is the first season CMU has hosted the NCAA regional tournament in its program's history.

The regional tournament's first round will also include matches between Colorado School of Mines and Arkansas Fort Smith, Metro State and Tarleton State and Regis vs. West Texas A&M. The Lady Buffs enter the tournament as the fifth seed and have won the past two NCAA DII South Central Championships. ASU and WT would meet in the tournament for the third straight season if both teams are able to advance out of Friday's opening round.

Quotes – Chuck Waddington, Angelo State head coach
On the opportunity of playing in the NCAA Division II South Central Championship this weekend in Grand Junction, Colorado:
"The biggest thing in this tournament is that anything can happen. It never really matters what number is next to your name or what seed you are. Everyone that is there has a chance to win a national championship. Our goal is to make the most of this opportunity and our kids are motivated to play well. We feel our team is as good as anyone out there and now it's time for us to go up there and prove it."

On the Belles drawing on prior experience of playing in the regional tournament:
"Our experience from our returners is a huge plus for us. They are sharing their wisdom with the freshmen and transfers on what to expect. We have a mix of returners and newcomers, so the experience may not be as big of a factor as we want it to be despite our success the past three seasons. Our returners understand what this tournament is about and we are relying on them to show the way."

On playing against Colorado Mesa on Friday in the opening round of the tournament:
"They are the top seed for a reason. They beat a lot of good teams this season and have had a great year. They are middle-oriented with strong middle blockers along with explosive outside hitters and an experienced setter. We are going to have our hands full with this team and we will have to make sure that we are doing everything we can to slow them down as much as possible."
 
BELLE ROSTER REPORT
Shelby Wilt is the only Angelo State volleyball player to compete in four NCAA Division II regional tournaments and is also the program's all-time digs leader with 2,456 digs in her record-setting career with the Belles. Wilt has 594 digs this season entering Friday's match and is averaging a career-high 5.50 digs per set in her senior season. She has recorded double-digit dig performances in 28 of 29 matches this season and also has 197 assists for the Belles. Selected as the LSC's Libero of the Year for the second time in her career, Wilt has a season-high 36 digs in a match against WT this season and a career-high 41 digs against the Lady Buffs on Oct. 26, 2012.

Mallory Blauser earned the LSC Newcomer of the Year and was selected to the LSC first-team in her first season with the Belles after transferring from the University of Cincinnati this season. A sophomore from Round Rock, Blauser leads the Belles with 353 kills this season and is averaging 3.76 kills per set. She has recorded 18 double-digit kill performances this season, including a career-high 29 kills in a non-conference match against Newman. She also provided 23 kills in a five-set loss to West Texas A&M and had 21 kills against Arkansas Fort Smith and Texas A&M-Kingsville. Abbie Lynn is second on the team with 283 kills this season and was selected to the LSC second-team and to the LSC all-tournament team. Lynn, who is a freshman from Amarillo, is averaging 2.83 kills per set and has recorded 15 double-digit kill performances. She is coming off the LSC tournament where she had a season-high 21 kills in the win over ENMU and then provided 10 kills against Cameron and then 14 in the finals against Tarleton State.

Alexa Johnson was selected to the LSC second-team in her first season with the Belles and enters the NCAA tournament with 1,123 assists (13.45 per set) and also has 249 digs (2.54 per set). A sophomore from Nebraska, Johnson established a career high with 60 assists on Oct. 31 in a five-set match against West Texas A&M at the Junell Center. She also has 14 double-digit dig performances this season and is coming off the LSC tournament where she had 53 assists in a four-set match against Eastern New Mexico and a 57 assists in the semifinals against Cameron. In the LSC finals, Johnson had 51 assists and 14 digs against Tarleton State in the five-set loss.

Zoey Hanrahan leads the Belles with 96 blocks coming into the regional tournament and has also provided 212 kills this season. A sophomore from Pflugerville, Hanrahan has seven double-digit kill performances this season with a season-high 15 kills coming against Cameron in the LSC tournament semifinals. She has recorded three or more blocks in 20 matches this season with a season-high and career-high seven blocks coming against West Texas A&M. She currently has 102 blocks in her career. Brianna Sotello is third on the team with 221 kills and also has 218 digs in her freshman season. A San Antonio native, Sotello has recorded 11 double-digit kill performances this season and five straight. She recorded a season-high 24 kills in a five-set win over Tarleton State where she also had 20 digs. She had a team-high 15 kills in the finals of the conference tournament and has recorded 10 double-digit dig matches this season. Daeleigh Castile is second on the team with 62 blocks this season and has also added 133 kills in her freshman season. Castile recorded a career-high 13 kills last Friday in ASU's win over Cameron in the semifinals and has three or more blocks in 14 matches this season. She had 32 kills in the three-matches at the LSC tournament with 12 in the quarterfinals and seven in the finals against TSU to go along with her career-high 13 in the win over CU. She hit .524 in the win over ENMU and then .500 against Cameron.

Katie MacLeay earned LSC Academic Player of the Year honors and leads the Belles with 24 service aces this season to go along with 366 digs from the defensive specialist position. MacLeay, a junior from San Antonio, is averaging 3.39 digs per set for the Belles this season with 18 double-digit dig performances and six matches with 20 or more digs. She has 1,148 digs in her career at ASU entering the NCAA tournament. Haley Bianco has added 147 digs this season and has 767 digs in her career, while Kelly Hasbrouck has 156 digs and Brooke Robertson has 131 digs in their freshmen seasons.  Arielle Bond has added 125 kills this season and has 598 kills in her career entering the NCAA postseason, Cerbi Ritchey is at 75 kills this season and 298 in her career and Kailyn Troxell has 61 kills in her career. Troxell will be playing in her third regional tournament along with Bond, Bianco MacLeay, while Hanrahan and Klohe Harrion will be competing in their second NCAA tournament. The freshman class of Lynn, Sotello, Castile, Robertson and Hasbrouck will be playing in their first national postseason along with Blauser and Johnson who are sophomore transfers.