SAN ANGELO – After a weekend in which the Belles lost to Texas A&M-Commerce before rebounding to give #15 UT Tyler their first loss of the season, the Belles now hit the road for a pair of matches, traveling to Odessa to take on UTPB on Thursday before heading to Silver City to take on Western New Mexico on Saturday.

The Belles are 17-3 overall on the season and 10-1 in conference play; they sit tied for second in the LSC standings with West Texas A&M, with both teams sitting a half-game back of the Patriots, who are 11-1 in conference play.

The Belles have been outstanding defensively this season as a team, ranking in the top two in the LSC in opponent hitting percentage (second - .129), opponent assists (first – 9.45 per set), opponent kills (first – 10.25 per set), opponent service aces (first – 0.80 per set) and blocks (second – 2.16 per set).  

The nation's sixth-ranked team haven't been too bad on the offensive side of the ball either, ranking in the top three in the LSC in hitting percentage, kills and assists.

Individually, Kailyn Gilbreath leads the squad with 206 kills and a .357 attack percentage, also notching 7.38 assists per set, all of which put her in the top ten in the LSC in those categories, while teammate Baleigh Allen leads the conference with 1.18 blocks per set and is sixth in the LSC with a .344 hitting percentage.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
UT Permian Basin is 14-5 overall and 9-2 in the LSC standings; they sit tied for fourth in the standings, only one game back of the Belles.

Under head coach Chuck Waddington, the Belles have won 18 of their past 19 matches against the Falcons, including winning all four of their matches this past spring. The Belles' lone loss in that stretch came in Odessa back in 2018.

The Falcons' offense is led by Aquincia Strambler and her 236 kills on the season while also hitting .280. The senior's 236 kills are tied for third-most in the LSC, and her 3.69 kills per set is fourth.

Daylee Doggett paces the Falcons' defense with 4.74 digs per set, sixth best in the LSC; teammate Taurie Magee leads the team with 57 blocks on the season.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Western New Mexico is 4-16 on the season and 3-8 in conference play and currently in a three-way tie for 13^th place in the standings.

The Belles are 11-1 against the Mustangs under Waddington, with the lone defeating coming in a five-set match back in 2017.

Bria Augustine is sixth in the LSC with 216 kills on the season; she has accounted for 27.3 percent of all her team's kills this season. The senior also leads the team with 3.01 digs per sets while teammate Kayla Judd leads the squad with 46 blocks on the season.

After this weekend, the Belles come back home for their final regular season matches inside the Junell Center, with matchups against West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico.