SAN ANGELO – The No. 23 Angelo State volleyball team swept Texas A&M – Kingsville (25-21, 25-14, 25-18) on Tuesday evening.
Hitting an outstanding .347 clip for the match, the Belles improved to 17-8 overall and 9-7 in the Lone Star Conference. The win allowed ASU to jump ahead of the Javelinas in the conference standings to fourth overall. Three Belles, Anna Graham (11), Haley Coulter (11), and Brianna Sotello (10) led the way for the attack with double-digit kills on the night. On the defensive side of the ball four players also marked double figures digs for the match in Bailey Mulder (16), Meghan Parker (10), Eadara Files (10) and Coulter (16). Turning in a team leading 45 assists, Parker also marked her seventh double-double of the season. With the loss, the Javelinas fall to 17-11, 9-7 LSC and drop to fifth place in the conference.
"It was nice to see our kids play well in front of a good home crowd tonight," commented Head ASU Volleyball Coach Chuck Waddington. "We kept them to a low hitting percentage and we came out swinging away. We got a little tentative in the second set and they made a little run, but when we got aggressive they had a hard time recovering from that."
Trailing 3-2 at the beginning of the first set, Graham fired in a kill that kicked off a 9-2 Belle run. This run also saw big swings from Sotello and Coulter, a quick kill by Parker and the first of a team leading two aces from Mulder. With the score sitting at 13-8 after a Javelina service errors Coulter and Morgan Seaton combined for the first block of the match. Seaton went on to lead the squad along the net with four total blocks on the night. This would be followed up with a Sotello ace to leave the score sitting at 15-8. TAMUK would work its way back into the mix as it closed the gap to one point with 21-20 on the board. Coulter would halt the Javelinas advance with a time kill. A solo block by Graham and another kill from Coulter would set the Belles up for the match point, which came on a TAMUK service error.
With the momentum on its side, Angelo State came out the gate with all cylinders firing as it took a 5-0 lead early in the second set. The run saw a pair of kills from Sundara Chinn, who finished the night with a team fourth nine to her name. The Belles would continue to steadily build the lead. With 15-11 on the board, Coulter, Graham and Chinn dropped in four quick points accompanied by a Graham, Chinn block. After a pair of points from the Javelinas, Coulter and Graham would continue the onslaught adding five more kills to secure the 2-0 set lead.
In the third set TAMUK struck first, but a swift three point rally from the Belles put the team back into the driver's seat. The Javelinas did not falter as they briefly took back the 9-8 lead. A block from Seaton and Parker, however would tie the match at nine and a Chinn kill would put ASU back out in front for the final time. Angelo State continued to put in work and, with a 19-16 lead, a final 6-2 run would send the Belles to the winners circle.
Angelo State hits the road for a pair of matches with Cameron and Midwestern State as it begins to wind down the regular season. The team first stop will be in Lawton, Oklahoma to face off against the Aggies on Friday, November 3 at 5:30 p.m. It will then head back south to Wichita Falls, Texas to face the Mustangs on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
