SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State volleyball team claimed its second consecutive Lone Star Conference Volleyball Tournament championship with a sweep of Tarleton State Saturday afternoon in the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center.

With a 2-0 set lead in the match the Belles jumped out to an early 10-7 lead in the third set. However, The TexAnns would fight back and bring the match to an even 15 on the board. A service error from the TexAnns would then kick off a 7-2 Belles run that would see big swings from Morgan Seaton, Mallory Blauser and Brianna Sotello. With a 22-19 lead and the victory, Sotello slammed in another kill, but an ASU service error would make the score 23-20 and return the serve to TSU. Tulani Titley would get the Belles back track with a timely kill and Sotello would put the Championship in the bag for Angelo State hammering in the final kill.

The Belles, which swept its way through every match in the 2016 tournament, climbed to 31-3 on the season. The ASU offense chalked a masterful .422 hitting percentage only committing a season low two hitting errors. Its stout defense held the TexAnns to a low .189 clip, while ASU also out blocked TSU 7-1.  This marks ASU's eighth LSC Tournament title in program history and sixth time that the Belles have claimed both the regular season and tournament titles. The tournament win also guarantees Angelo State an automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. Tarleton State falls to 26-6 on the season, and like ASU will look forward to Monday's NCAA selection show to determine what seed they receive for the South Central Regional Tournament.

"I feel great," said ASU Head Volleyball Coach Chuck Waddington. "My team played exceptionally well against a really talented team. Tarleton has got a really talented team, but we came out with a game plan today and executed it well. The match was tight all the way through and we made the plays that we needed to so we could create gaps and close out the sets."

Once again Sotello, Blauser and Abbie Lynn led the way for the ASU attack. Sotello headed the offense as she recorded 15 kills for the afternoon. This was accompanied by eight digs on defense. Blauser turned in a team second 13 kills for her 13^th consecutive match with double-figure kills. This also allowed the senior to record an outstanding .429 clip. The outside hitter led the defense with four blocks on the day. Lynn followed with nine digs and a .409 clip against the TexAnns.

Mallory Davidson, Tulani Titley, Morgan Seaton and Micheala Sifuentes led the Belles defensive efforts against TSU. Davidson tallied a team most 23 digs and added a pair of assists to her numbers. Titley was second on the Belles defense with three blocks for the match. She also donated eight kills for the potent Belles attack. Seaton also recorded a team second three total blocks against the TexAnns and added five kills and an ace to her total numbers.  Sifuentes inked six digs for the day and also dropped in an ace.

Dishing out the rock for Angelo State was setter Meghan Parker. With a team leading 38 assists and 10 digs, the freshman added a 10^th double-double to her accomplishments for the season.  

Tarleton State opened the match firing on all cylinders, taking a 8-3 lead right out of the gate. Taking advantage of a TSU service error the Belles began its rally. Cutting the TexAnns lead to 11-7, Seaton blazed in a kill to kick start an 8-0 run for ASU. Tarleton State would not be able to regain it lead, and with a score of 24-20 Lynn and Seaton combined for a massive block to set the Belles up with a 1-0 set lead in the match.

The TexAnns started the second set much like the first taking another early 4-0 lead. TSU would continue to hold on to its lead until, with 16-12 on the scoreboard, Sotello got the Belles rolling on another big 12-1 run that saw big points from herself and Blauser, as well as two major blocks from Titley and Leiyona Young. Blauser would shut down the set for the Belles firing in the final three consecutive kills.

With the automatic bid, the Belles will advance to the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament, which will take place from December 1 through December 3. ASU will find out its NCAA tournament fate and whether it has earned the right to host during the NCAA volleyball selection show on Monday, November 21.