SAN ANGELO, Texas – The No. 3 Belle volleyball team maintains their winning record and extends it to 8-0 overall and in conference after defeating the UTPB Falcons in the second match in four sets, 3-1. UTPB falls to a 2-7 overall record and a 1-7 conference record.
 
Set one started slowly for the Belles and the Falcons as both teams traded points and kills back and forth until UTPB managed to grab two kills in succession to take a 7-5 lead over Angelo State. ASU caught up quickly however, tying the match at 7-7 and gaining a one point lead over the Falcons, 8-7. UTPB tied the set at 8-8 again and both teams continued to trade points again until Chloe Patton came to serve for ASU on a kill from Grace White to tie the match at 11-11.
 
Pattons serving abilities, plus some errors on the Falcons caused Angelo State to take a two point lead over the Falcons, 14-12. UTPB tied the set back up at 16-16, but Sophia Berg, back to serve for the Belles, served for three straight points as Nailah Gordon registered a kill and Berg snagged an ace to take a four point lead over UTPB, 20-16.
 
The offensive might of Gordon, Kailyn Gilbreath, and Elsa Lamphere proved too much for the Falcons defense as Angelo State took set one over UTPB, 25-21.
 
The Falcons came back with a vengeance in set two, quickly taking a 10-1 lead over Angelo State on multiple kills and errors from the Belles. A block from White and Gordon cut the Falcons lead to six over Angelo State, but several kills from the Falcons and an error from ASU brought UTPB to a nine point lead over the Belles, 15-6.
 
The Blue and Gold managed to register several more kills against the Falcons defense, but too many errors early in the second set proved too much for the Belles as the Falcons took the second set, 25-15, over the Blue and Gold.
 
Set three began slowly for both teams as neither one could gain any sort of advantage over the other until a kill from Berg and an attack error from UTPB gave the Belles a two point advantage over the Falcons, 5-3. Another kill from Berg brought freshman Delaney Fuller to the serving line for ASU, where she served for three straight points, registering an ace. Berg, with the assist from Lindsey Ledyard, racked up another kill to give the Belles a five point lead over the Falcons, 9-5.
 
UTPB was quick in response to the Belles lead growing and quickly registered several kills of their own to cut their deficit to just one, 11-10. A kill from White sent Makenna Hanssen to serve for ASU, where Lamphere registered another two kills to bring ASUs lead back to four, 14-10.
 
UTPB and ASU traded points and kills back and forth for the rest of the set, until an error from the Falcons brought Fuller back to the serving line for the Belles, where she served the Belles to the end of the set as several attack errors from the Falcons ended set three in favor of the Belles, 25-22.
 
ASU and UTPB fought tooth and nail in the beginning of set four as both team tried to gain an advantage over the other until the Falcons gained a two point lead over ASU due to attack errors from the Belles, 8-6. Two kills from Berg and Gordon tied the match at 8-8, and the Belles took the lead from the Falcons on a kill from Gordon and an error from the Falcons, 10-9.
 
UTPB managed to take the lead back from the Belles on an error from Gilbreath, but an error from the Falcons and two rapid succession kills from Gilbreath brought the Belles to a two point lead over UTPB, 14-12. A kill from Gordon brought Ledyard to serve for ASU, where she served for three unanswered points as errors from the Falcons and a kill from Gilbreath brought ASUs lead to four over UTPB, 21-17.
 
Lamphere showed her offensive power for the Belles as she delivered the last three kills for the Belles to end the fourth set and the match for Angelo State as the Belles defeated the Falcons in set four, 25-21, to take the victory over UTPB.
 
Key Players:

• Lamphere led the Belles offensively against the Falcons, registering 14 kills and scoring 15.5 points for Angelo State. Lamphere also grabbed five digs and three block assists on defense for Angelo State.
• Ledyard continues to be Angelo States most versatile player, registering 31 assists for the Belles and 16 digs.
• Chloe Patton led the Belles defensively, registering 34 digs while grabbing four assists for Angelo State.

 
Up Next:
Angelo State hosts their ASU Invitational tournament on Friday, February 26 and Saturday, February 27. Three conference teams will be participating in the tournament and playing in non-conference game, including Texas A&M International, Western New Mexico, and Midwestern State. First serve will commence at 11 a.m. as the Dustdevils take on the Belles in the Stephens Arena in the Junell Center.