SAN ANGELO – The No.11 Angelo State volleyball notched its first conference win on Friday night with a sweep of UT – Permian Basin (25-13, 25-19, 25-18) in the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center.
The Belles improve to 8-4 overall and 1-3 in the Lone Star Conference with Friday's victory. Marking a .263 clip for the match the ASU attack spread the ball around with five players recording over seven kills. The team's defense also did an excellent job as three players turned in double-digit digs for the night and held the Falcons to a .079 hitting percentage for the evening. With the loss, the Falcons slide to 4-8 and 1-3 LSC.
"It feels good to win again," commented ASU Head Coach Chuck Waddington. "We did a nice job with our serve and receive to give ourselves lots of options. When you can accomplish that you can score in a lot of different ways. Our serving was tough tonight which kept them out of system and we did a good job of finishing off sets."
Sundara Chinn and Brianna Sotello headed the offensive efforts against UTPB. Both players tallied a team leading nine kills for the night. Chinn added a pair of blocks to her numbers, while Sotello also turned a team third 12 digs and three assists for the match.
Distributing for the Belles, Meghan Parker recorded her third double-double for the season as she led the squad 22 assists and tallied a squad second 13 digs. This also marked a season high in digs for the sophomore. Also assisting the ASU attack was Eadara Files, who recorded a team second 15 assists.
Anchoring the defense was Morgan Seaton, Abbie Lynn and Micheala Sifuentes. Seaton had a monster night as the senior led the Belles in Blocks (3), service aces (2) and turned in a team third eight kills. She also marked a team best .471 hitting percentage against the Falcons defense. Lynn joined as she also recorded a team leading three blocks. The right side hitter also fired in six kills. Rounding out the trio Sifuentes continued to the head the Belles with 18 digs.
Also making major contributions for the Belles were sophomores Tulani Titley and Haley Coulter as both capped the night with seven kills. Along with a .375 clip, Titley marked a season high in kills and assisted the defense with a pair of blocks. Coulter also inked season highs in kills and digs (8).
UTPB struck first in the match taking a 3-2 lead. However, kills from Chinn and Coulter turn the lead over the Belles. A Seaton kill and ace would push the led to 6-4 and ASU would not look back. With a 14-10 advantage, Coulter returned to set the team off on its first lengthy run (11-3) of the night with a big swing. This was followed by a Titley, Chinn block. Moments later each fired in a kill. Coulter and Lynn also added kills to the run and a pair of UTPB errors would set the Belles up with a 1-0 set lead.
Sotello started Angelo State off in the second set dropping in a kill to place the first point on the board. The Falcons would rally and briefly take a 5-4 lead before a Lynn blazed in kill to jump start a 7-2 run for the Belles. Down 19-11, UT – Permian Basin put together four straight points, but a Titley kill would halt the Falcons advance and ASU headed into the break with a 2-0 set lead.
The two teams kicked off the final set exchanging the lead several times. Trialing by a score of 14-12, ASU kicked it into gear to take back the lead for a final time with three consecutive kills from Seaton, Chinn and Titley. The Belles then secured the victory with a final 9-2 run, with Anna Graham dropping in the final kill for match point.
Angelo State returns to the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center to face West Texas A&M, which is 8-5, 3-1 LSC. The Lady Buffs will be seeking to rebound after being swept by Tarleton State on the road. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. This match will be broadcasted live by RamTV (Suddenlink channel 6).
