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Mallory Blauser, a sophomore transfer from the University of Cincinnati, currently leadsAngelo State with 83 kills and has also provided five blocks for the Belles in her first season." alt="12479" src="/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=14&image_path=/images/2014/9/11/DM2_0995.jpg" />

SAN ANGELO – On the road for the first time this season, the No. 25-ranked Angelo State volleyball team will play at 7 p.m. on Friday against Cameron in Lawton, Oklahoma before facing Midwestern State and Harding on Saturday in Wichita Falls.

The Belles (4-1, 1-0 LSC) opened Lone Star Conference play on Tuesday with a four-set win over Texas Woman's and are currently on a three-match winning streak. Cameron, which is coached by former ASU assistant Qi Wang, has started the season with a 3-1 record and will be playing its first home match and its first conference match on Friday. The Mustangs (4-1) open their LSC play on Friday against Tarleton State before playing the Belles at noon on Saturday. Harding (4-1) plays out of the Great American Conference and is currently on a two-match winning streak going into Friday's match against the TexAnns.
 
Quotes: Chuck Waddington, ASU head volleyball coach
On the progress of the Belles five matches into the season:
"I'd like to see us continue developing our blocking game. I think we showed some improvement on Tuesday night, but I don't want to be a one-hit wonder. We have to continue improving in that area all the time. We also want to put a lot of pressure on the other team with our serve and to be consistent."
 
On playing against the Cameron Aggies on Friday:
"They are an all new team and they are learning how to win. It's been a while since they've been 3-1 to start a season and it's their home opener. They're playing with confidence and there will be a lot of people there rooting for them. It's going to be a challenge and they'll be expecting to win. We will have to be ready to combat that."
 
On playing against Midwestern State on Saturday:
"They are a very feisty team that serves tough and plays great defense. Their setter is doing a great job of moving the ball around and their team has a lot of players who are recording kills. It's not just one player dominating for them. We've got to be prepared for a good team that already has some quality win. We expect a battle."
 
BELLE ROSTER REPORT

Shelby Wilt enters this weekend needing just 58 digs to reach 2,000 digs in her record-breaking career at Angelo State. Already the all-time digs leader in program history, Wilt has recorded 99 digs through the first five matches of her senior season including a season-high 28 digs against Arkansas Fort Smith. A captain for the second consecutive season for the Belles, Wilt has recorded 4.95 digs per set and has a .950 reception percentage. The defense is also bolstered by Katie MacLeay who has provided 70 digs (3.50 per set) and freshman Kelly Habrouck who has 65 digs. MacLeay, who is serving as a team captain with Wilt, has recorded double-digit dig performances in four of the five matches this season with a season-high 21 digs coming against UAFS. She currently has 841 digs in her career at ASU. Hasbrouck, a true freshman from New Braunfels, led ASU with a career-high 20 digs in Tuesday's win over Texas Woman's.

Alexa Johnson was named the LSC Setter of the Week on Tuesday for her work during the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational and leads the Belles with 223 assists (11.15 per set) this season. A sophomore transfer from Lamar University, Johnson has also provided 40 digs and has three aces. He produced a season-high 57 assists against UAFS and has recorded 47 assists in the past two matches against Western New Mexico and TWU.

Mallory Blauser and Arielle Bond are leading the offensive attack for the Belles this season with Blauser providing 83 kills (4.15 per set) and Bond at 51 kills (2.83 per set). Blauser, a sophomore transfer from the University of Cincinnati, has recorded double-digit kills in all five matches with a season-high 21 coming against UAFS. Bond, a junior from El Paso, has a .247 attacking percentage and produced a season-high with 15 kills against UAFS. She surpassed the 500-kill mark in her career last weekend and comes into Friday's match with 514 career kills. Abbie Lynn, a freshman from Amarillo, is third on the team with 47 kills (2.76 per set) and sophomore Zoey Hanrahan has 29 kills. Hanrahan leads ASU with 14 blocks this season, while freshman Daeleigh Castile has added 13 blocks and 22 kills for the Belles.

  Cameron Aggies
Friday @ 7 p.m. /  Lawton's Aggie Gym
Angelo State's first road match of the season will come against Cameron when the Belles travel to Lawton, Oklahoma on Friday. The Aggies (3-1) are coached by Qi Wang who helped coach the Belles as Chuck Waddington 's assistant the past four seasons. Wang is tasked with turning around an Aggie program which went 7-23 last season and was 0-16 in Lone Star Conference play.

The Aggies come into this weekend's play with a 3-1 record and on a three-game winning streak. CU opened the year with a loss to Northwestern Oklahoma State, but has since secured victories over Colorado State-Pueblo, Fort Lewis College and Molloy College. Kat Evans, a junior outside hitter, leads the Aggies with 46 kills (.288 per set) while Jordan Escobar has 38 kills to start her freshman season. Ingrid Boatman is the team's primary setter and has 89 assists (5.93 per set), while Kayla Hebert has 65 assists. Boatman is a junior from Decatur and Hebert is a sophomore from McKinney. Wang's defense is being led by Cristian Viera who has 68 digs (4.25 per set) and Paige Holt who has contributed 13 blocks. Holt is a 5-foot-9 middle blocker from Granbury who also has 11 kills on the stat sheet.

ASU took both meetings between the two teams last season and enter this season with a 24-11 all-time advantage in the series. The Belles have won the previous nine matches against the Aggies. Cameron, which went 2-9 on its home court in the 2013 season, finished last season on a three-match losing streak and missed out on the postseason. The Belles will host the second match against the Aggies in mid-October.
 
Midwestern State Mustangs
Saturday @ 12 p.m. / Wichita Falls' D.L. Ligon Coliseum
The Belles went 3-0 against Midwestern State in the 2013 season, including taking a 3-1 win to end the Mustangs' season in the first round of the LSC tournament in Canyon. ASU was forced to five sets in the first meeting of the 2013 season against MSU before taking the next two matches in four sets. ASU's Arielle Bond established a career-high with 24 kills, while Katie MacLeay had 24 digs against the Mustangs.

MSU is 4-1 on the season after earning wins over CSU-Pueblo, Fort Lewis, Southwestern Oklahoma and Dallas Baptist. The team's only loss came last Saturday in a five-set defeat to Arkansas Tech. Kat Malloy, a senior from Seattle, Washington, leads the Mustangs with 55 kills from the middle blocker position and Nicole Marzik has added 53 from the outside hitter position to start her junior season. Sarah Rosinke orchestrates the offense from the setter position for MSU and has 203 assists (9.55 per set). A sophomore from League City, Rosinke also has 44 digs this season. Casey Fletcher, a senior from Eddy, leads MSU with 146 digs (6.64 per set) and Malloy tops the block with 22.

Midwestern finished its season with a 17-13 overall record and was 7-9 in conference play. ASU owns a 28-9 all-time record against the Mustangs. The Belles have won the previous 10 meetings against MSU. Venera Flores-Stafford is entering her 11th season as the head coach at Midwestern State where she is also the associate athletic director for business operations and senior woman administrator.
 
Harding University Lady Bisons
Saturday @ 3 p.m.  //  Wichita Falls' D.L. Ligon Coliseum
Angelo State will meet up with Harding University in a neutral court match on Midwestern State's campus the second weekend of the season. The Belles and Lady Bisons have not played each other since HU took a 3-0 win over ASU on Sept. 19, 2003. Harding is coming off a 27-8 overall record in 2013 and ran off a 14-0 record in Great American Conference play. The Lady Bisons lost 3-0 to Arkansas Tech in the championship game of the GAC tournament and did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA regional tournament. Harding is led by Meredith Fear who is entering her third season as HU's head coach. The Lady Bison beat Texas Woman's 3-0 in their only match against an LSC opponent last season. ASU leads the all-time series 3-2 over Harding.
 
UP NEXT: Angelo State will return to action on Tuesday with another non-conference match. The Belles will travel to Odessa to face Texas-Permian Basin at 7 p.m. at the Falcon Dome and will then host Texas A&M-Kingsville at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20 at the Junell Center.

 

Zoey Hanrahan and the ASU volleyball team hit the road this weekend for the first time this season. #BelleYeah pic.twitter.com/rZyOZTQTih

— AngeloSports (@AngeloSports) September 11, 2014