SAN ANGELO – The No. 12 Angelo State volleyball team looks to face Texas A&M – Kingsville in its opening round on Thursday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m., as it plays host to the NCAA DII South Central Regional Tournament.
This will mark the tenth overall time that the Belles have participated in the NCAA DII South Central Regional tournament. Having earned the top spot in the region, this will be the second consecutive time that ASU has played host. Angelo State will enter this week's tournament with a 31- 3 overall record having just swept its way through the Lone Star Conference Tournament. The ASU attack has recorded a .269 attack percentage thus far and is averaging 14.3 kills per set. While the defense has held its opponents to a .136 clip and is averaging 18.1 digs and 2.1 total blocks per set.
The Belles own this year's three match series with the Javelinas (26-9) as it has swept TAMUK in all three matches. The winner of the Thursday's match-up between these two schools will advance to the next round of the Tournament where they will face the winner of the No. 4 seeded Colorado School of Mines versus No. 5 seeded Arkansas – Fort Smith quarterfinal match. The Belles are 17-0 at Stephens Arena this season.
Leading the attack for ASU will be Mallory Blauser, Brianna Sotello and Abbie Lynn. Blauser leads the Belles attack with 482 kills on the year. This has averages her a team high 4.27 kills per set. The senior has etched her name in the ASU history books as third all-time with 1,391 career kills. She is currently boasting a .302 attack percentage in 2016 and has assisted the defense with a team third 328 digs and 74 blocks. Sotello is currently second on the squad with 345 kills and a 3.29 kills per set average this season. This has allowed the San Antonio native to work her way up to 11th all-time in ASU history with a total of 1,093 career kills. She is also second on the ASU defense with 361 total digs and 50 blocks. Completing the group, Lynn has been a force from the right side as she is third on the squad with 254 total kills for an average of 2.42 kills per set. Defensively she has tallied 51 blocks in 2016.
Mallory Davidson, Morgan Seaton and Tulani Titley will be heading the Belles stout defense for the tournament. Davidson has quickly taken over the team lead in digs as she has accrued 446 on the season. The sophomore has recorded double-figure digs for the past 17 consecutive matches and is averaging 4.05 digs per set. From the service line she had racked up a team fourth 23 aces on the season. Seaton has been a dominant force along the net for the Belles as she has turned in a team most 100 total blocks for the season. The junior has also added a team fourth 229 kills from the middle blocker position to aid the offense. Titley follows closely behind with a team second 76 blocks and a team fifth 146 total kills on the season.
Meghan Parker will continue to set up the ASU offensive attack. She has marked 1278 assists on the season. A solid start to her ASU career, this has already placed her 10th all-time in program history. The freshman has also added a team fifth 260 digs to her numbers for the season.
Adding depth to the roster will be Micheala Sifuentes, Brooke Robertson and Leiyona Young. Sifuentes is currently fourth on the squad with 276 digs on the season. This is averaging the sophomore 2.88 digs per set. Robertson has also aided the defense this season with a 2.29 dig per set average. She has also added 10 service aces. Finally, Young has totaled 47 blocks in 2016 for a team third 0.85 blocks per set average.
Fans have the option of buying a tournament pass for adults for $20 or single day tickets for $10 each from the ASU Ticket office, which is located at the 1st Community Credit Union Stadium or online at angelostatetickets.com. Youth and student tournament passes are on sale for $10 and single day tickets can be purchased for $5.Tickets can be purchased on Thursday at the Junell Center ticket office one hour before the first match. All tournament matches will be broadcasted live in high definition on RamTV (Suddenlink channel 6 & 106HD)
