COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Whether it was the long drive or just the altitude, the Angelo State volleyball team needed a set to get going before defeating Western State Colorado and UC-Colorado Spring 3-1 on Tuesday.

The Belles (6-0) dropped the opening set in each match before winning the next three sets. It marks the third time ASU has been 6-0 to start a season under head coach Chuck Waddington.

The night cap against UC-Colorado Springs (2-3) started much like the first match of the day. ASU trailed throughout the first set before tying at 16 with one of Lynn's 15 kills. The Mountain Lions went back up by two and would take the set 25-22.

"UCCS really pushed us tonight," ASU head volleyball coach Chuck Waddington said. "It was their home opener and they played well. We learned a little bit about ourselves tonight. Despite coming out slow again, we pushed back in the next three sets and did what we wanted to on the court."
 
The Belles stepped up their game in set two and set three hitting .273 and .286, respectively. ASU never trailed in set two or set three. The Mountain Lions were limited to a -.01 hitting percentage in set three.

The final set was one the best on the block by ASU this season. The Belles recorded 5.0 total blocks and held UCCS to a .089 hitting percentage to secure the victory 25-23.

Three players recorded double-digit kills and four finished with double-digit digs in the second match of the day. Maggi Jo Keffury had a stellar match with her second double-double of the year. The senior setter contributed 44 assists and a season high 20 digs.

Katie MacLeay led ASU with 26 digs while Kelly Hasbrouck set her career high with 20. Brianna Sotello's streak of double-doubles continued with five straight as the sophomore had 16 kills and 14 digs. Mallory Blauser led all players with a season high 21 kills. Abbie Lynn recorded her third match with double-digit kills with 15.  

"While Brianna Sotello, Mallory Blauser and Abbie Lynn carried the load for us offensively, it was our serving and defensive pressure that made the difference," Waddington said. "Kelly Hasbrouck, Brooke Robertson, and Marinda Killeen all played key roles in our comeback. Katie MacLeay and Maggi Jo Keffury were everywhere on defense tonight. Heading into the Colorado Premier Challenge at 6-0 is exactly where we want to be."

The first test came early against Western State Mountaineers (2-4) losing the first set 25-18. The Belles responded to win the next three sets 25-22, 25-18, 25-18.

"We had a shaky start for sure," Waddington said. "Western State runs a lot of quick stuff that we struggled with early on. We were very high error in set one to make it even more difficult. Set two was much cleaner. We served tougher making it harder for them to run their quick stuff."

The Belles struggled to find a rhythm early, but righted the ship after Waddington took a timeout trailing 7-3 in the second set.  Out of the timeout, the Belles went on a 7-0 run and wouldn't look back.

"We also made some blocking adjustments that helped as well," Waddington said. "Sophomore Morgan Seaton came in and really did a nice job being disciplined with her blocking movements. It helped us make some key runs in the middle of sets. It was a good comeback win on the road for us."

The Belles tallied a season high 16 blocks. Zoey Hanrahan contributed five assisted blocks and Seaton had one solo and two assisted blocks. ASU also capitalized on several Mountaineers errors as they committed nearly double the errors (39) than the Belles.

Once again, Blauser, Sotello and Lynn were the catalysts for the Belles. Blauser led all attackers with 14 kills and Sotello recorded her fourth straight double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Lynn added 12 kills in the win.

MacLeay also led all players with 24 digs while Keffury dished out 35 assists and was one dig away from a double-double.

The Belles will now travel to Denver, Colo., for the Colorado Premiere Challenge. ASU opens the tournament against No. 2 ranked Concordia-St. Paul at 1 p.m. CDT followed with tournament host Metro State at 4 p.m. CDT.