SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State volleyball team plays their final road matches of the regular season this weekend as they travel south to take on St. Edward's and St. Mary's. The Rambelles enter this weekend with an 8-1 road record this season and have won their past three matches away from San Angelo. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Belles hosted Lubbock Christian this past Saturday as a part of Homecoming and swept the Lady Chaps in a massive defensive effort that saw the Belles block LCU 14 times.

KILLIN' IT
The Belles lead the LSC in points, kills, and assists as they possess one of the most potent attacks in Division II. Their 14.39 kills per set are eighth in the country and third in the region, while their 13.62 assists per set are seventh in the country and second in the region. Adeline Ortman is seventh nationally in assists, while Evelyn Torres and Madi Parrish are second and third in the LSC in kills per set, respectively. The Belles and San Francisco State are the only two programs in the country to have two players ranked in the top 40 nationally in kills per set. 

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 .276 as a group and averaging 2.51 kills per set. Carter and Thorton have earned three of the LSC's seven "Freshman of the Week" honors. 

HOME COOKING
Under head coach Chuck Waddington, the Belles have a 193-34 record inside the Junell Center - Stephens Arena, good enough for a .850 winning percentage. Five of the Belles' last seven matches this season will occur on their home court. 

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.

BELLES IN THE POLLS
•The Belles are 14th in the AVCA/Taraflex Division II Top 25, totaling 613 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 eighth-ranked West Texas A&M and 25th-ranked DBU.
•The Belles are on their seventh 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 ST. EDWARD'S
AVCA RANK: N/A
2024 RECORD: 9-12, 1-9 LSC

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St. Edward's is 9-12 on the season and 1-9 in LSC play. After going 8-3 to start the season in non-conference play, the Hilltoppers have only mustered one LSC win, sweeping Cameron on October 4th. Four of their nine wins have come on their home court. 

A young roster, 13 of SEU's 16 student-athletes are either freshmen or sophomores and are now under the direction of interim head coach Capri Davis. 

The Hilltoppers average 13.21 kills per set and hit .205 as a team. Mia Clay leads the team with 3.43 kills per set (which ranks 7th in the LSC), and Cora Young paces the squad with a .318 attack percentage. 

Kelli Fording leads the team with 21 aces this season, and setter Althea Morris assists 10.36 times per set, fourth-best in the LSC. 

SEU's defense allows opponents to hit .200 against them, as they rank second in the league with 17.40 digs per set. 

The Belles are 23-9 all-time versus St. Edward's and have won the last eight matchups, five of which took place in Austin. 

SCOUTING ST. MARY'S
AVCA RANK: N/A
2024 RECORD: 13-8, 5-5 LSC

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St. Mary's is 13-8 on the season and 5-5 in LSC play. After starting conference play 4-0, they have only won once in their past six matches. They are 8-4 inside Bill Greehey Arena this season. 

The Rattlers hit .229 as a team and averaged 13.45 kills per set. They average 16.97 points per set, which is the fourth-best in the LSC. Alicia Virthe averages 3.42 kills per set on .302 hitting while Dallasstar Johnson leads the team with a .343 attack percentage, which is sixth in the LSC. 

Virthe is tenth in the league with 0.36 aces per set; setter Cali Nims is third in the LSC with 10.62 assists per set. 

Opponents hit .229 against the Rattlers, recording 17.26 digs and 1.90 blocks per set. Alyssa Koehl paces the conference with 5.62 digs per set, and Johnson is fifth in the LSC as she tallies one block per set. 

The Belles are 26-14 all-time against the Rattlers and swept StMU in both matchups last season. The Belles fell on their previous trip to San Antonio in 2022, snapping a five-match winning streak in the Alamo City.

PERSONAL BESTS THIS SEASON
Thirteen 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. She has recorded three digs twice. 
• Middle Demi Carter recorded 15 kills against No. 20 DBU on Sept. 19. She had two digs against New Mexico Highlands. She recorded eight blocks versus LCU on Oct. 26.
• 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 three digs against Sul Ross on Oct. 18. She had a kill and three digs against the Lobos. 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 Alli Kirkpatrick recorded three kills and four blocks against Sul Ross State on Oct. 18. 
• Setter Adeline Ortman tied her career high with 58 assists twice this season and set a personal best with three blocks versus LCU on Oct. 26. 
• 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 seven blocks versus LCU on Oct. 26. 
• Outside hitter Evelyn Torres recorded 25 digs in the Belles' five-set loss to No. 23 Central Oklahoma on Sept. 6. She set a new career high 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 1,365 career digs, which ranks 7th all-time and 6th 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 2,405 career assists, second-most among active players in the LSC. Evelyn Torres recorded her 1,000th career kill in the Belles sweep of Texas A&M-Kingsville on October 12th, with the milestone kill finishing off the second set for the Belles.