SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State volleyball team opens their postseason journey this week as they compete at the Lone Star Conference Tournament inside the Box at West Texas A&M. The Rambelles enter the tournament as the two seed and will face Oklahoma Christian in the opening round on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Belles closed their regular season this past weekend, sweeping DBU and UT Tyler on their home court. The Belles handed each team only their third sweep of their respective seasons. 

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 14.55 kills per set are sixth in the country and second in the region, while their 13.73 assists per set are fourth in the country and second in the region. Adeline Ortman is seventh nationally in assists, while Madi Parrish and Evelyn Torres are second and third in the LSC in points per set, respectively. 

BELLES RANKED REGIONALLY
The Belles were ranked third in the South Central regional rankings, released last Wednesday. They sit behind West Texas A&M and MSU Denver and ahead of Colorado Mesa, Texas Woman's, DBU, UT Tyler, and Colorado Christian. The NCAA Tournament bracket is set to be released next Monday night, with play scheduled to begin on December 5th.

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 .274 as a group and averaging 2.53 kills per set. 

HOME COOKING
Under head coach Chuck Waddington, the Belles have a 197-34 record inside the Junell Center - Stephens Arena, good enough for a .853 winning percentage. The Belles went 11-1 on their home court this season. 

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 10th in the AVCA/Taraflex Division II Top 25, totaling 719 points in the poll.
•The Belles are the two seed in the 2024 LSC 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 fifth-ranked West Texas A&M and receiving votes DBU.
•The Belles are on their tenth 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 OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN
AVCA RANK: N/A
2024 RECORD: 20-10, 9-7 LSC

Oklahoma Christian is 20-10 on the season and 9-7 in conference play. They are coming off a weekend in which they lost to UT Permian Basin in five sets before defeating Western New Mexico in four sets. The Eagles are 7-1 on a neutral court this season, with the lone loss coming at the hands of No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney. 
The Eagles hit .215 as a team, averaging 12.47 kills per set. Freshman Chloe Jones leads the attack with 3.26 kills per set while recording a .254 attack percentage. Camryn McGough leads the team with a .292 hitting percentage. 

OC's defense holds opponents to a .210 hitting percentage. Libero Sara Freeman leads the team with 3.59 digs per set, and Lauren Cary leads the team with one block per set. 

The Belles are 4-1 all-time against the Eagles, sweeping OC inside the Junell Center - Stephens Arena back on November 9th. The red-hot Belles hit .505 for the match, winning 25-14, 25-14, 25-10. That match saw Evelyn Torres record 16 kills on 29 swings for a .483 attack percentage. Setter Adeline Ortman assisted 34 times in two-plus sets of action, also recording 15 digs, and libero Caleigh Enax led all players with 16 digs.

THE REST OF THE FIELD
Top-seed West Texas A&M went undefeated in conference play to clinch the regular season championship and the right to host the LSC Tournament. They face Lubbock Christian, who is the eighth seed. LCU is one of four teams that ended LSC play with a 9-7 record as they vied for the final three spots in the tournament. The Belles suffered their only sweep loss of the season to the Lady Buffs in Canyon while they swept the Lady Chaps in San Angelo. 

Texas Woman's and DBU are the 4-5 matchups in the tournament, each finishing on a 12-4 record in LSC play. The Pioneers defeated the Lady Patriots in five sets in Dallas on November 6th. The Belles reverse-swept the Pioneers in Denton and swept DBU this past weekend in San Angelo.

The winner of the Belles-Eagles matchup will play the winner of UT Tyler and St. Mary's, the 2-7 matchup in the tournament. The Patriots finished LSC play with a 14-2 record, while the Rattlers finished with a 9-7 record. The Belles swept UTT to close the regular season and made a comeback to win in five sets in San Antonio over the Rattlers.

PERSONAL BESTS THIS SEASON
Thirteen Belles have recorded at least one personal best in 2024.

• Outside hitter Taryn Barnes recorded two kills three times this season. 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 against Texas Woman's on Sept. 28. She had a pair of aces at St. Edward's on November 1st.
• 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 1,65 career digs, which ranks 6th all-time and 5th 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 2,556 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.