SAN ANGELO, Texas – The No. 23 Angelo State volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking five set match to Arkansas Fort Smith (21-25, 25-15, 25-22, 17-25, 15-13) in the championship match of the NCAA DII South Central Regional Tournament on Saturday at Stephens Arena at the Junell Center.

The loss ends the Belles season with a 33-6 overall record. ASU finished the season as Lone Star Conference Tournament Champions and NCAA DII South Central Regional runner-ups. UAFS improved to 29-3 on the year and will advance to the NCAA Elite Eight in Tampa, Florida. 

"I think at the end of the day when I look at my team all I see is love and pride," commented ASU head volleyball coach Chuck Waddington. "There was no end to the fight in my team and that's due to [Katie MacLeay and Maggi Jo Keffury] because they gave us everything they had. Katie [MacLeay] has been here for four years and Maggi Jo [Keffury] for two and I couldn't ask for two better players, leaders, or people. The first and fourth set were really good but they just made more plays down the stretch in set five and that's what made the difference. You have to be able to execute under pressure when it matters the most and we did not do that."

Keffury tallied 48 assists and 14 digs for the night earning her 21^st double-double of the season. The senior finished the season by recording at least 40 assists in 25 matches. During her final season she claimed both the sixth all-time career assist spot with 3,146 and the second all-time single season assist ranking with 1,697.  Blauser finished the night with 21 kills and a .259 hitting percentage. The junior finished the season recording nine matches with at least 20 kills and an overall .274 clip. Finally, Lynn finished the regional tournament marking over .300 clips in two of the three matches and 10 digs. She also hit double- figure kills two of the last three matches. All three were named to the South Central Regional All-Tournament team. 

Brianna Sotello closed out the night with 16 kills and 19 digs, giving the sophomore her team leading 24^rd double-double of the year. She fired in a team high two service aces against UAFS. The sophomore capped off her year with a three block match in the regional final. She averaged .53 blocks per set and a total of 66 total blocks.    

Senior Katie MacLeay, freshman Michaela Sifuentes and junior Taylor Lee Seaton led the Belles defense against UAFS. MacLeay added a team high 24 digs to her total and became the single season record holder with 739 digs. It was the senior's 18th match of at least 20 digs. She ends her career at No. 2 on the ASU career list with 1,889. Sifuentes collected double-digit digs for the seventh time this with 16 against the Lady Lions. Seaton rounds out the defensive standouts blocking a team high five balls in the final match.

Despite scoring the first two points of the match, the Belles would endure a battle to take the first set as the lead changed hands four times. Midway through the match tied at 15, Sotello fired in a kill for the final lead change of the set. The Belles would hold on to the lead besides UAFS making several attempts to regain. Sotello would once again line up a kill shot to give ASU the set win and the match lead.

UASF would not falter and took the next two sets to hold a 2-1 match lead over the Belles. In the fourth set Angelo State would once again jump out and score the first point of the set. The two squads traded points until the score was 19-16. Sotello once again started a run that would push the Belles to a sizable eight point lead. Arkansas Fort Smith would give ASU the set winning point on an attack error.