SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State volleyball team wraps up its month-long road trip this weekend when they travel to Canyon and Portales to take on No. 9 West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico. The Rambelles and the Lady Buffs Friday at 6 p.m. before closing the weekend at 3 p.m. against the Greyhounds in the Land of Enchantment. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Belles went 2-0 to open LSC play, going on the road to sweep Midwestern State before overturning a two-set deficit to Texas Woman's. The Belles are one of six teams to start LSC play undefeated. 

TORRES NAMED OFFENSIVE PLAYER  OF THE WEEK
Outside hitter Evelyn Torres was named the conference's outside hitter of the week following her performances against the Mustangs and Pioneers. She averaged 5.75 points per set and hit .357 for the week. Against TWU, she had 25 kills and 24 digs, a new career high in kills. She became the first player in the LSC to record a 20-kill, 20-dig double-double this season. 

WINNING WAYS
The Belles are on an 11-match winning streak, tied for the sixth-longest in the country. This is the Belles' longest winning streak since the spring 2021 season when the Belles won their first 13 matches. The streak is the longest in the South Central Region. 

HELPING HANDS
The Belles lead the LSC with 13.53 assists per set, which has propelled them to a .244 attack percentage, third-best in the LSC. Adeline Ortman leads the league with 11.57 assists per set, and three Belles own a hitting percentage above .250. 

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
The Belles' freshmen attackers - Demi Carter, Sydney Thornton, Julia Hopkins, Amelia Creacy, and Taryn Barnes - have supplemented the Belles' offense this season, hitting .275 as a group and averaging 2.23 kills per set. Carter and Thorton have earned two of the LSC's four "Freshman of the Week" honors. 

BELLES SET ATTENDANCE RECORD
The Belles' match on Friday, September 6th, against New Mexico Highlands featured 3,315 fans in the stands, which set the Lone Star Conference record for single-match attendance. The match was the third-most attended Division II volleyball match in history and the third-most for a sporting event inside the Junell Center—Stephens Arena.

BELLES IN THE POLLS
•The Belles are 14th in the AVCA/Taraflex Division II Top 25, totaling 586 points in the poll.
•The Belles were the third seed in the 2023 LSC Volleyball Tournament. Under Waddington, the Belles have qualified for the tournament every season. 
•The Belles were picked third in the LSC Preseason Poll behind West Texas A&M and DBU, receiving two first-place votes. 
•They are one of three LSC teams in the poll, joining ninth-ranked West Texas A&M and 23rd-ranked DBU.
•The Belles are on their third straight week in the top 25. The Belles are amongst the nation's top 25 for the first time since September 2022; they had featured in the receiving votes section every week since the start of the 2023 season.
•The Belles started the 2021 season ranked first in the country off the heels of the 2021 AVCA National Championship; they spent the entire 2021 season within the top 25 of the poll. 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
WEST TEXAS A&M
AVCA RANK: 9
2024 RECORD: 9-3, 2-0 LSC

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West Texas A&M, the ninth-ranked team in the country, is 9-3 on the season and, like the Belles, started conference play with a pair of wins, sweeping Western New Mexico and UT Permian Basin. 
The Lady Buffs lead the league with a .252 hitting percentage. Middle Angelina Oliver is third in the LSC with a .391 attack percentage, and Emma Becker leads the team with 3.13 kills per set. 

Taytum Stow is still a force to be reckoned with at the net, leading the league with 1.15 blocks per set. The backline is led by libero Bryli Contreras, who is sixth in the LSC with 4.44 digs per set. 
    
The Belles are 28-65 all-time versus the Lady Buffs, winning two weeks ago over WT at the LSC Challenge in Dallas. The Belles hit a season-best .372 against the Lady Buffs as Madi Parrish recorded 22 kills and was named the AVCA Division II National Player of the Week. 

The Belles have lost their last four matchups in Canyon, last winning in 2019. Chuck Waddington is 3-13 all-time in Canyon against the Lady Buffs. 

EASTERN NEW MEXICO
AVCA RANK: N/A
2024 RECORD: 3-10, 0-2

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Eastern New Mexico is 3-10 on the season and winless in its first two conference matches. It is one of six teams in the LSC yet to claim a conference win. 

The Grayhounds hit .146 as a team, the third-lowest mark in the LSC. Darcy Dodd leads the team with 3.57 points per set, and setter Cayla Reyes leads the team with 4.74 assists per set. 

Libero Imahni Brown leads the team with 4.17 digs per set, and junior middle blocker Brianna Hernandez leads the team with 0.91 blocks per set. 

The Belles are 51-20 against the Grayhounds and have won the last three matchups in Portales, dating back to 2017. Waddington is 10-2 all-time in Portales against the Grayhounds. 

PERSONAL BESTS THIS SEASON
Twelve Belles have recorded at least one personal best in 2024.

• Outside hitter Taryn Barnes recorded two kills against No. 23 Central Oklahoma on Sept. 6 and three digs against Fort Lewis the next day. 
• Middle Demi Carter recorded 15 kills against No. 20 DBU on Sept. 19. She had two digs against New Mexico Highlands. She recorded four blocks against DBU and WT.
• Right side Amelia Creacy recorded seven kills against Fort Lewis, hitting .250, and a pair of digs against the Skyhawks. Against No. 3 WT, she had three blocks. 
• Defensive specialist Allie Duitsman recorded a pair of digs against Fort Lewis on Sept. 7. She notched her first career ace to clinch the match against DBU on Sept. 19.
• Libero Caleigh Enax set a new career best with 38 digs in the Belles' five-set win over TWU on Sept. 28. 
• Outside hitter Julia Hopkins had ten kills in the Belles' comeback win over Texas Woman's on Sept. 28. She also had three digs and a block against the Pioneers. 
• Setter Adeline Ortman tied her career high with 58 assists twice this season and tied a personal best with a pair of blocks.
• Outside hitter Madi Parrish set a new personal best with 23 kills in the Belles' win over No. 3 WT on Sept. 20; she notched four aces in the Belles' sweep of Western Colorado on Sept. 10.
• Defensive specialist Krizia Perez notched ten digs for the first time in her career in the Belles' win over Texas Woman's on Sept. 28. 
• Middle Hannah Spencer tallied 12 kills in the Belles' win over Texas Woman's on Sept. 28, her second-ever match with double-digit kills. 
• Middle Sydney Thornton had 14 kills in the Belles' win over No. 15 Colorado Mesa on Sept. 14. She recorded her first ace and five blocks against Adams State the previous day.
• Outside hitter Evelyn Torres recorded 25 digs and 57 attack attempts in the Belles' five-set loss to No. 23 Central Oklahoma on Sept. 6. She set a new career watermark with 25 kills in the Belles' win over Texas Woman's on Sept. 28. She has tied her personal best of four blocks twice this season.

RETURNING STATS

• ASU returns four starters and ten letter winners from last year's team while adding ten newcomers, including three Division II transfers.
• Angelo State returns 46.9 percent (746 of 1589) of its kills, 67 percent (134 of 200) of its service aces, 70.7 percent (1337 of 1892) of its digs, and 50.8 percent of its blocks (99 of 195) from last season's team.

BELLES ADD TEN
Angelo State brought in ten newcomers in 2024, with seven freshmen and three Division II transfers joining the ten returners from last year's team.

    Adeline Ortman
    Graduate Student * 5-7 * Setter
    Rhome, Texas * UT Tyler
Two-time All-LSC selection who ranked fourth in the LSC in assists last season for UT Tyler

    Raelee Allen
    Freshman * 5-9 * Outside Hitter
    San Antonio, Texas * Reagan HS
6A Offensive Player of the Year in 2018-19

    Taryn Barnes
    Freshman * 5-9 * Outside Hitter
    Southlake, Texas * Carroll HS
Two-time All-District selection for the Dragons

    Sydney Thornton
    Freshman * 5-10 * Middle Blocker
    Prosper, Texas * Prosper HS
Recorded 594 kills and 289 blocks in her prep career

    Julia Hopkins
    Freshman * 6-0 * Outside Hitter
    Austin, Texas * Westwood HS
District MVP for the Warriors

    Amelia Creacy
    Freshman * 6-1 * Right Side
    Cypress, Texas * Bridegland HS
Two-time Offensive Player of the Year at Bridgeland HS

    Demi Carter
    Freshman * 6-2 * Middle Blocker
    Bridge City, Texas * Bridge City HS
Recorded 1,353 career kills, 258 blocks, 522 digs, and 221 aces; District 19-4A MVP in 2022

    Allie Duitsman
    Freshman * 5-6 * Defensive Specialist
    Prosper, Texas * Prosper HS
2023 First Team All-District selection

    Ella Unterweger
    Junior * 5-9 * Outside Hitter
    Oconomowoc, Wis. * St. Cloud State
Member of the 2022 NSIC Tournament Championship team

    Marta Roicka
    Graduate Student * 6-0 * Setter
    Warsaw, Poland * Gannon
Helped Golden Knights to two PSAC championships and an appearance in the Elite Eight

RECORD WATCH
With her fifth dig against Central Oklahoma on September 6th, senior libero Caleigh Enax became the 17th player in program history and the 12th in the rally-scoring era to eclipse the 1,000-dig mark. She has 1,224 career digs, which ranks 11th all-time and 8th in the rally-scoring era. 

Additionally, teammate Adeline Ortman recorded her 2,000th career assist in the Belles' win over West Texas A&M on September 19th. She has 2,123 career assists, second-most among active players in the LSC. Evelyn Torres is closing in on 1,000 career kills.