SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State Belles volleyball team swept the competition in the first day of the ASU Invitational as the Blue and Gold defeated both the Texas A&M International Dustdevils and the Western New Mexico Mustangs in three sets. Angelo State moves to a 10-0 record overall.
 
Game One Against Texas A&M International:
Angelo State and Texas A&M International traded points back and forth throughout set one until the Dustdevils tied the match up at 5-5. A kill from Elsa Lamphere gave the Belles a 6-5 lead over TAMIU, and a kill from Lindsey Ledyard gave ASU a two point lead over the Dustdevil, 8-6. A kill from Nailah Gordon sent Makenna Hanssen to the serving line for the Belles, where she served for three straight points, with Kailyn GIlbreath and Lamphere each registered a kill, 14-8.
 
The Dustdevils managed to cut the Belles lead to four at 14-10, but several kills Gilbreath and Lamphere, along with several errors from the Dustdevils, brought ASU to an 11 point lead over Texas A&M International, 21-10. Chloe Patton served for six straight points in ASUs seven point run over the Dustdevils.
 
Kills from Gilbreath, Alyssa Meyer, Baleigh Allen, and Gordon ended set one in favor of Angelo State as the Belles defeated the Dustdevils, 25-18.
 
Several errors from the Dustdevils, plus kills from Gordon, Grace White, Lamphere, and Gilbreath brought Angelo State to an early 6-2 lead over Texas A&M International to begin set two. The Dustdevils manage to cut their deficit to two points, 7-5, but a kill from both Lamphere and Allen brought ASU back to a four point lead over TAMIU, 10-6.
 
The Belles kept their lead of four for most of the second set, until two errors from the Belles cut their lead to three over the Dustdevils, 17-14. A kill from Allen brought Sophia Berg to serve for the Belles, where she served for two points and brought ASUs lead to six over TAMIU, 20-14.
 
An error from the Dustdevils sent Hanssen back to the line once again, where she served for three straight points, one of which was a kill registered by Gilbreath, and served two back to back service aces to end the second set to give the Belles a 2-0 set advantage over Texas A&M International, 25-16.
 
The Dustdevils came back with a vengeance in set three, taking an early 6-1 lead over the Belles off of multiple errors from Angelo State. A kill from the Dustdevils brought their lead to 10-5, where two quick back to back kills extended their lead to seven over the Belles, 12-5.
 
A kill from Anamarija Mikovic brought Ledyard back to the serving line for the Belles, where she served for four points, as kills from Gilbreath and Delaney Fuller, along with errors from TAMIU, cut the Belles deficit to just two points, 12-10.
 
Several kills from the Dustdevils, along with an error from ASU, brought the Dustdevils lead to five over ASU, but a kill from Gilbreath turned things around in the third set for the Belles. With Gilbreath back to serve, she served for five unanswered points, registering two aces. A kill from Berg, along with multiple errors from TAMIU, gave the Belles a one point lead over the Dustdevils, 18-17.
 
Texas A&M International tied the third set at 18-18, but a kill from Mikovic gave Delaney Fuller command of the serve for the Belles, where she served for the remainder of the set, registering a service ace and the final kill to end the third set, and the match, in favor of the Belles, 25-18.
 
Key Players:

• Kailyn Gilbreath led the Belles offensively against the Dustdevils, scoring 18.5 points and registering 16 kills, hitting with a .400 hitting percentage. She grabbed 14 assists and three digs, finishing with one block assist and two service aces against Texas A&M International.
• Chloe Patton led the Belles defensively, registering 27 digs for the Belles against the Dustdevil offense. Patton finished with four assists against TAMIU.
• Lindsey Ledyard continues to show her skills as the Belles main setter, registering 25 assists for Angelo State. She registered one kill on offense, scoring a point for the Belles, and eight digs on defense.

 
Game Two Against Western New Mexico:
The Belles began set one with an energetic start, as several kills from Kailyn Gilbreath, Grace White, a service ace from Makenna Hanssen, and multiple errors from the Mustangs brought ASU to a 7-1 lead. Hanssen served for four straight points. A kill from Elsa Lamphere sent Chloe Patton to the serving line for the Belles, where she served for three straight, with Lamphere and Sophia Berg both registering kills to bring Angelo State to an 11-2 lead over Western New Mexico.
 
An error from the Mustangs brought Angelo State back to the serving line once again with Morgan Preston to serve, where she served for four straight points for the Belles, with Baleigh Allen and Nailah Gordon both grabbed kills to bring ASU to an 18-4 lead over WNMU. Kills from Berg and Gordon, along with a service ace from Berg brought the Blue and Gold to lead by 17, 22-5.
 
A kill from Erin Lyons, along with an error from the Mustangs ended the first set for Angelo State as the Belles took the first set, 25-10.
 
Set two started slowly for both teams as the Belles and the Mustangs traded points back and forth throughout the second set, until Lindsey Ledyard came to serve for ASU. Ledyard served for 13 unanswered points for Angelo State, with multiple kills from Gilbreath, White, and Delaney Fuller helped bring ASU to a 15 point lead over the Mustangs, 22-7. Ledyard registered two service aces as well.
 
A kill from Fuller and several errors from the Mustangs brought the second set to an end as Angelo State defeated Western New Mexico, 25-11.
 
A kill from Sydney Mundkowsky and several errors from WNMU gave the Belles an early 3-0 lead at the beginning of the third set, but the Mustangs quickly retaliated and scored two quick points to cut the Blue and Golds lead to one, 3-2. Several kills from Fuller and Allen brought ASU to a 9-7 lead over the Mustangs, but a quick kill and an ace from WNMU tied the match at 9-9.
 
Several errors from the Belles, plus a kill and ace brought WNMU to lead over the Belles at 14-12, but two kills from White and Mundkowsky tied the game at 14-14. A kill from White sent Preston back to serve for ASU, where she served for four straight serves, with two kills from Gilbreath and several errors from the Mustangs gave the Belles back the lead at 20-15.
 
A kill from Fuller and several errors from the Mustangs quickly ended the third set as the Belles swept the Mustangs in day one of the tournament, 25-17.
 
Key Players:

• Gilbreath led the Belles offensively with eight kills against the Mustangs, scoring nine points and hitting a .400 hitting percentage. She registered seven assists, two block assists, and seven digs against the Mustangs.
• Chloe Patton led the Belles on defense again, registering 20 digs, while grabbing four assists as well.
• Ledyard showed her skills for the Belles as she registered 15 assists against the Mustangs, grabbing three service aces and seven digs, scoring three points for the Belles.

 
Up Next:
The Belles continue play in the ASU Invitational tournament on Saturday, February 27. Angelo State plays the Midwestern State Mustangs in the Stephens Arena, where first serve is slated for 6 p.m.