SAN ANGELO – The No. 22 Angelo State volleyball rebounded with a sweep of Texas A&M – Commerce (25-19, 25-19, 25-17) in the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center on Friday night.
Improving to 14-6 overall and 6-5 in the conference, the Belles came out on top in a match that held major LSC and regional weight. Holding the Lions to a .032 clip for the night, the Belles defense had two players tally double figure digs in Bailey Mulder (17) and Micheala Sifuentes (13). This marked a career high for Mulder, who made her debut at libero for ASU. With the loss, the Lions fall to 14-8, 9-3 LSC.
"Energy and effort was the focus of the entire week, and tonight's win was huge," commented ASU Head Volleyball Coach Chuck Waddington. "After stubbing our toe in the first half of conference and we are working her to make up for it. We've committed 100 percent to playing hard and we are going to be hard to beat that way. We need to make sure we stay on track because we play another tough team tomorrow and we need to be ready for that."
Angelo State came out strong in the first set with Anna Graham slamming down the first kill of the match. This was the first of Graham's team leading 10 kills for the night. After a Lion attack error and a follow up kill by Morgan Seaton, who marked a phenomenal squad high .636 attack percentage, the Belles found themselves with a 3-0 lead. TAMUC, however, quickly responded and took a 4-3 lead and it would be the last time the Lions would lead in the set. ASU broke off a five-set which was headed with three consecutive blocks from Tulani Titley, Bailey Drum and Seaton. These three Belles led the team along the net with Titley marking five total blocks, Drum marking four and Seaton finishing with two. With ASU leading 8-9, Sundara Chinn dropped in a kill to get into the action and keep the offense rolling. ASU would keep the lions at bay for the remainder and a Sifuentes ace gave the Belles the 1-0 set lead.
In the second set the Belles once again came out swinging as Brianna Sotello hammered down one of her seven total kills on the night. Angelo State then jumped out to 10-6 lead, but a 5-1 TAMUC rally would place the score at an even 10. ASU immediately answered the challenge with its own 5-1 run to push its lead to four with 15-11 on the board. The Belles then held on to the lead for the remainder of the set and a Graham kill, a Titley and Drum block followed by a Texas A&M –Commerce error would send ASU into the break with its eyes on securing the sweep.
TAMUC started the final set with a block and would take a 6-4 lead right out of the gate. A resilient Angelo State squad would then piece together a 7-2 run to regain its footing and the set lead. The Belles would continue to build on its lead, but the Lions continued to hang around. With 18-15 on the board in favor of ASU, a Titley kill and a Titley, Sotello block would jump start the Belles final 8-2 run to ensure the sweep. Meghan Parker, who topped ASU with 20 assists for the night, placed a check in the winner's column for the Belles with a final ace to secure the match point.
Angelo State returns to the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center on Saturday, October 21 as it seeks to add to Friday night's win with a match against Texas Woman's. The 10-11, 7-5 LSC Pioneers will be looking to rebound after a road loss to Tarleton State. First serve for the match is set for 2 p.m.
