KINGSVILLE, Texas - The No. 16 Angelo State volleyball team came out on top of a five set marathon as it downed conference foe Texas A&M - Kingsville (18-25, 25-12, 23-25, 25-23, 16-15) on Saturday night.
After rallying from a 22-16 deficit to take the fourth set, the Belles opened up the fifth set slow. However, after trailing 2-0 early on, kills from Sundara Chinn and Bailey Drum would bring things back to even. Brianna Sotello followed with her second of two aces on the night to take the lead. This marked a season high for the senior. Texas A&M - Kingsville did not go away and took a 14-12 lead late in the fifth. Facing the extremely long ride home with a road loss, the Belles dug deep and took advantage of a Javelinas' error. Making her first appearance of the season, Baleigh Allen hammered down a kill to bring the two teams back to even at 14. Eadara Files, who marked another career high in assists against the Hogs with 21, dropped in a timely service ace to place ASU one point away from taking the match. Allen would then return as she teamed up with Drum for a monster block that would secure the win for the Belles. It marked a team-high three blocks for Drum.
With Saturday night's victory, Angelo State climbs to 11-4 overall and 3-3 in the Lone Star Conference. The ASU attack recorded a .269 clip for the match and out served the opposition from the line with eight aces to just one from TAMUK. The Belles offense also had a pair of attackers in Sotello and Chinn mark with a team-high 18 kills on the night. This along with a team second 15 digs on the night aided Sotello to her team leading sixth double-double on the season. Meghan Parker distributed the ball to the attackers as she tallied 29 assists and continued to lead the team from the setter position. Rounding out the Belles top performers, Micheala Sifuentes continued to head ASU in the digs category as she finished the night with 19. With the loss, Texas A&M - Kingsville slides to 10-6, 3-2 LSC on the season.
"I am so proud of the team tonight," said ASU Volleyball Head Coach Chuck Waddington. "We had our backs against the wall in both the fourth and fifth sets and they found a way to get it done. I cannot say enough about our resiliency in tonight's road match!"
ASU got off to a rough start in the match dropping the first set to the Javelinas 25-18. However, the squad would bounce back in the second as Sotello and Chinn went to work and placed the Belles in front, 5-3. Tulani Titley and Anna Graham would then check in with a kill to continue to ward off the Javelina advancement. With the set tied at eight, Sotello, Drum and Chinn jump started an 8-1 run with consecutive kills. The run also saw an ace from middle blocker Morgan Seaton, who also recorded nine kills and a pair of blocks for the night. After TAMUK placed several consecutive points of its own on the board, Titley returned with a stifling kill to halt the Javelina drive. This sent Bailey Mulder to the service line for seven straight ASU points. During the 7-0 Belles run she contributed a pair of service aces allowing her to co-lead the team in the department. With a team clip of .400 for the set, ASU would tie the match at an even set a piece.
In the third set Texas A&M - Kingsville retaliated taking back the lead. The Javelinas would lead throughout the set, despite the Belles attempt at a late rally that brought the team within a single point of forcing extra points at 24-23. The Hogs would try to take a trip to the winners circle as it took a 22-16 lead in the fourth set, though ASU had other ideas. Placing six straight on the score board, the Belles tied the set at 22. TAMUK then squeezed in a kill to make it 23-22, but Sotello quickly answered as she fired in a kill followed by an ace. Chinn then secured the set victory and sent the teams to the tie breaker set scoring the final point via a kill.
Angelo State will now return home for its annual "Dig Pink" match on Friday, October 6 as it takes on Midwestern State at 7 p.m. The Belles will be selling "Dig Pink" t-shirts and auctioning off special edition pink jerseys to benefit the Side Out Foundation for breast cancer awareness. ASU will then complete the weekend home stand with a 2 p.m. match up against Cameron on Saturday, September 7.
