The Lone Star Conference begins league play this week with eight matches on Friday and Saturday.  The LSC is utilizing a single round-robin scheduling model, in which every team plays a single game versus each conference team to determine the LSC champion.
      LSC volleyball teams are 61-62 overall this season.  The squads are currently 13-15 combined against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, the other league in the NCAA Division II South Central Region.
      LSC schedule and results available here: http://www.lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=wvball&
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Kailyn Gilbreath, Angelo State, SR, Public Health, RS, Fort Worth, Texas, Boswell HS
Gilbreath was everywhere on the court for the Belles in their matches this past week in Colorado. The senior recorded a season-high 24 kills and three blocks versus Lynn in the opening match of the Colorado Premier Challenge. Against No. 17 Wayne State, Gilbreath buried 15 kills, hitting .448.  For the week, she averaged 3.82 points per set.  Her play this past weekend landed her on the all-tournament team as ASU advanced to the gold bracket.
 
DEFENSIVE
Baleigh Allen, Angelo State, SR, MBA, Middle Blocker, Katy, Texas, Taylor HS
Allen was dominant at the net for the Belles in their road trip to Colorado. The senior recorded two solo blocks and nine block assists against Lynn at the Colorado Premier Challenge. Against Regis, she recorded six block assists.  For the week, she posted 1.41 blocks per set and was named to the all-tournament team as ASU advanced to the gold bracket.
 
SETTER
Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce, JR, Industrial Engineering, Setter/Right Side, Guadalajara, Mexico
Vela totaled 9.6 assists per set this past weekend, facing four of the top teams in the country at the Colorado Premier. She set her career-high in assists twice on Saturday, recording 43 against Cal State San Bernardino. Vela had 54 assists in A&M-Commerce’s 3-1 victory over Lynn.  In the four games, she posted three double-doubles, adding 22 kills and 42 digs.  She is 11th in the LSC with 154 assists despite having played the fewest sets of any players above her in the leaderboard. 
 
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
S-7       Christina Escamilla, UT Tyler
S-14     Kailyn Gilbreath, Angelo State
 
Defensive
S-7       Savannah Guzman, UT Tyler
S-14     Baleigh Allen, Angelo State
 
Setter
S-7       Kailyn Gilbreath, Angelo State
S-14     Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce
 
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Jackie Alanis, Texas A&M-Kingsville, in a five-set battle with Ouachita Baptist, put on a spectacular offensive showing, reeling off 24 kills with a .351 hitting percentage and 10 digs. Of those 24 smashes, 11 came in the second and third sets, when Alanis helped her team turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead. In the fifth and final frame, the sophomore from McAllen tallied three more kills to help TAMUK close out a 19-25, 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 15-12 victory. Her 24 kills in one match were the most by a Javelina since Oct. 27th, 2018.
 
   Nicki Gonelli, Texas A&M-Commerce, amassed her career-high in kills twice this weekend at the Colorado Premier against three ranked teams and one that is receiving votes. She had 63 kills in total this weekend, including 23 against Lynn on Saturday, after having 22 against Cal State San Bernardino earlier in the day. She is averaging 3.94 kills per set, which is third in the LSC.
 
   Caroline Swan, St. Edward’s, was named to the all-tournament team after leading the Hilltoppers in attacks. SEU faced their toughest opponents yet and went 1-2 on the weekend. Swan posted a .258 attack percentage and added four aces and 11 digs on the weekend.
 
   Torrey Miller, West Texas A&M, was named to the All-Tournament team at the Rosella Meier UNK Fall Classic after leading the Lady Buffs to a pair of sweeps over Chadron State and Southern Nazarene. The Brownwood, Texas native averaged 3.56 kills through nine sets for a .310 hit-percentage with only six attack errors.
 
   Alicia Virthe, St. Mary’s, for the second-straight week was named to an all-tournament team, being awarded at the Gorilla Classic, hosted by Pittsburg State. Virthe led the Rattlers with 3.44 kills per set and was second on the team with a .339 hitting percentage. She led the club with seven blocks and was consistently the go-to player when the team needed to finish a point. Virthe has been a key to the Rattlers getting off to a 6-1 start, the best record for StMU since 2011.
 
   Aaliyah Gray, Lubbock Christian, was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Mountain Lion Classic hosted by UCCS in Colorado Springs, Colo., producing 48 kills in the four matches in Colorado, at a pace of 3.43 kills per set. She also had 2.07 digs per set and produced her first two career double-doubles of her college career. Two of LCU's matches in Colorado were against nationally ranked opponents, and Gray, a true freshman, posted 21 kills (.341 attack percentage) and 17 digs in a double-double performance against No.4 Washburn. The 21 kills was the most by a Lady Chap since Ashley Vanfleet had 22 vs. Texas Woman's on Nov. 1, 2019. The mark also tied the amount for the second-most kills in a four-set match by a Lady Chap since 2008. Overall, on the week, she hit .299 with 56 kills (3.29 per set and 11.2 per match) and 31 digs (1.82 per set).
 
   Yolaine Lopez, Oklahoma Christian, had 45 kills (2.81 per set) with a strong .267 hitting percentage to go with seven block assists and 12 digs during four matches in the Central Oklahoma-Oklahoma Christian Invitational, during which OC went 2-2, beating Newman and East Central and falling to Western Colorado and Central Oklahoma. She recorded double-digit kills against Newman (12), East Central (16, in a three-set sweep, along with a .560 hitting percentage) and Western Colorado (10).
 
   Daylee Doggett, UT Permian Basin, was strong defensively for the Falcons as they held opponents to a .162 hitting percentage.  The Falcons went 3-1 at the Denton Volleyfest including a come-from-behind 5 set victory over Ouachita Baptist.  Doggett leads the LSC in digs with 140 on the season and digs per set with 4.83.  As a team the Falcons are second in the LSC with 530.
 
   Chandler Vogel, West Texas A&M, was named to the All-Tournament team at the Rosella Meier UNK Fall Classic after leading the Lady Buffs to a pair of sweeps over Chadron State and Southern Nazarene.  She led WT's defense with 5.33 digs through nine sets as the senior moved her career digs total to 2,238 which ranks third in the program's all-time list.
 
   Brylie Berryman, Oklahoma Christian, forced into extended action due to a rash of injuries on the Oklahoma Christian squad, led the Eagles with 82 digs (5.13 per set) and added 22 assists during four matches in the Central Oklahoma-Oklahoma Christian Invitational, in which the Eagles went 2-2. She had a double-double with 25 digs and 10 assists in a five-set win over Newman and had 30 assists in a five-set loss to Western Colorado. OC also beat East Central and lost to UCO.
 
   Lyric Hebert, Texas A&M-Commerce, recorded 57 digs in four matches this past weekend at the Colorado Premier. Her highest total of the weekend was 17, which came against Cal State San Bernardino. Through four matches, she is averaging 3.56 digs per set.
 
   Maya Smalls, St. Edward’s, was named to the all-tournament team after leading the Hilltoppers at the net, recording five blocks on the weekend. She added 15 kills with a .387 attack percentage with three aces.
 
   Ayanna Jackson, Texas A&M-Kingsville, helped anchor an outstanding defensive effort for the Javelinas, who outlasted Ouachita Baptist on Wednesday in a five-set victory. Jackson's nine total blocks included two solo rejections and her efforts helped the Javs hold OBU to a .117 hitting percentage. Her stat line also included eight kills, three assists and a pair of aces. Jackson's average of 1.10 blocks per set currently has her in the top 10 in the LSC.
 
   Emily Tran, St. Edward’s, again ran the offense and helped the Hilltoppers to a .358 attack percentage over the weekend against some of the toughest opponents they have faced to date.
 
   Madeleine Stolzer, Texas A&M-Kingsville, making her first appearance of the season, matched her team's season-high by tossing out 43 assists as the Javelinas thwarted an upset bid by Ouachita Baptist. Stolzer's work helped her team hit .344 with just two errors in the second set to even the score and .276 in the fifth frame to seal TAMUK's fifth straight victory. Stolzer's 43 helpers were also a career high.
 
   Jalee Sims, Lubbock Christian, competed in the Mountain Lion Classic in Colorado Springs, Colo., where they battled No.4 Washburn and No.15 Colorado School of Mines. Sims had three double-double performances of LCU's five matches on the week. She posted 34 assists and 17 digs against Washburn and helped the team post a .304 hitting mark against Colorado School of Mines. Against Colo. Colorado Springs (UCCS), Sims posted a career-high 46 assists and contributed 14 digs, as LCU was able to come back from a 2-0 match deficit with a 15-13 fifth set win to win the match 3-2. Her marks have helped rank LCU third in the LSC in hitting (ranked 16th in the category last season) with a team percentage of .239.
 
   Analise Lucio, UT Permian Basin, reached 2,000 career assists with another big week for the Falcons.  She helped them go 3-1 at the Denton Volleyfest and moved into fourth place in the LSC.  The Falcons started the weekend strong with a hitting percentage of .316 in a win over Florida Tech and closed the weekend with a win over Southwest Baptist in which the team hit .281.  In those contests Lucio racked up 23 assists and 39 assists.  In the Falcons comeback win over Ouachita Baptist, Lucio nearly recorded a triple-double with 9 kills, 34 assists, and 17 digs.  She also flashed how good she is defensively with 49 digs in four matches.
 
   Spencer Plato, Oklahoma Christian, during four matches in the UCO-OC Invitational, Plato recorded a pair of double-doubles with 30 assists and 10 digs in a win over Newman and 36 assists (one off her career high) and 10 digs in a loss to Western Colorado. She also had nine kills in OC's four matches. The Eagles also beat East Central in straight sets and lost to Central Oklahoma.
 
   Kailyn Gilbreath, Angelo State, was the main facilitator of the Belles offense this past week in Colorado. Against Adams State, she recorded 32 assists. Against Lynn in the Colorado Premier Tournament, the senior recorded 24 kills to go along with 22 assists. She recorded another double-double with 15 kills and 14 assists against #17 Wayne State. She also assisted 26 times in a win over #1 Concordia - St. Paul en route to being named to the all-tournament team.