Match Notes
Live Stats ( ASU | UTPB )
Watch Live
Tickets
CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M volleyball is back in Canyon this weekend when the No. 15 Lady Buffs (11-4, 4-0 LSC) host Angelo State (8-8, 4-0 LSC) and UT Permian Basin (7-7, 1-2 LSC) for more Lone Star Conference action. WT will go against rival foe ASU on Friday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. before facing UTPB on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. for Homecoming.
Elementary students will receive free admission to the Lady Buffs match on Saturday including admission to a free 30-minute clinic following the match.
LIVE COVERAGE
A live stream and stats will be provided by the WT Communications departments. Both matches will be streamed on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. Fans will be able to purchase a $10 daily pass that will give them access to all contests on the network that day as well as access to previously aired games from the current season for 24 hours.
Fans can also purchase a $50 volleyball season pass that will give them access to all Lone Star Conference volleyball matches. In addition to live and archived streaming options, viewers will have the option to purchase and download games from the 2022 season for $10 each.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Angelo State
Angelo State and WT will meet on the court for the second time this season after the Lady Buffs defeated the Belles in three straight during the LSC Crossover. WT leads the all-time series 60-28, including a 31-7 overall record in Canyon.
The Belles come to Canyon with a perfect 4-0 record in league play under 15
th-year head coach Chuck Waddington. The New York native has guided ASU to 10-straight NCAA Tournaments including a run in the Elite Eight.
Hannah Kinnison leads the way with 127 kills on 396 swings with 65 attack errors to hit .157, averaging 2.40 kills per set. Laney Dale has guided the offense with 304 assists (5.24/set). Caleigh Enax leads the back row with 250 digs to average 4.46 per frame while Marina Sanchez has totaled 60.0 blocks including 1.40 per set which ranks first in the LSC and seventh in the nation.
UT Permian Basin
The Falcons come to Canyon 7-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play while posting a current two-game win streak after defeating Midwestern State and Texas Woman's. UTPB is led by eighth-year head coach Tim Loesch who has guided the Falcons to a 83-117 overall record since taking the reins in 2015.
The two programs meet for the first time since the 2021 LSC tournament where WT defeated the Falcons, 3-1, to advance to the championship match. WT leads the all-time series 20-0 including a 13-game win streak inside of The Box.
Aquincia Strambler leads with 133 kills on 386 swings with 53 attack errors to hit .207, averaging 2.61 kills per frame. Devin Alcoser has guided the Falcons offense with 227 assists (4.20/set). Daylee Doggett has posted a team-high 20 service aces on the season and leads with 205 digs (4.02/set) while Taurie Magee has totaled 51.0 blocks.
LAST TIME OUT
The Lady Buffs grabbed their first sweep since early September as they defeated St. Edward's and St. Mary's in three during week two of league play to move to 4-0 in LSC action.
Against the Hilltoppers, freshman
Emma Becker led WT after matching a season-high 12 kills on 15 attempts with a single error to hit an outstanding .733. Two players reached double figures in assists with
Ainsley Malis (19), the LSC Setter of the Week, and
Blair Moreland (12).
Emma Patterson led the back with 10 digs while
Kayla Elliott had a season-high seven aces.
In the matchup against StMU, Miller and
Taytum Stow each tallied nine kills in the match while
Ainsley Malispaced the offense with 16 assists.
Blair Moreland and
Bryli Contreras each posted 10 digs in the back row while Miller led with two blocks.
A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
WT heads into the weekend ranking second in the league in attack percentage (.247), kills average (13.51) and blocks per frame (2.53) while limiting opponents to hit just .156 which ranks fifth in the league.
Three Lady Buffs rank in the top five in four categories with junior
Torrey Miller and freshmen
Taytum Stow and
Emma Becker. Stow leads the LSC in hitting percentage at .351 followed by Becker in fourth at .323. Miller averages 3.94 kills per set which ranks four while standing third in points average (4.55).
Blair Moreland leads the team with 280 assists, Kayla Elliot leading in aces (15), and
Emma Patterson leads with 212 digs.
In the national rankings, Stow ranks ninth in seventh in blocks per set (1.30) and 22
nd in total blocks (65.0) while Miller ranks in the top 30 in kills per set (3.94), points per set (4.55) and total kills (209).
AROUND THE LONE STAR
The Lady Buffs and Angelo State lead the conference standings with a perfect 4-0 LSC record while the Lady Buffs are 11-4 (.744) overall to win the tiebreaker. Texas A&M International sits in third at 12-4 (3-0 LSC) followed by DBU (13-3), UAFS (9-6), UT Permian Basin (7-7), Oklahoma Christian (11-6) and UT Tyler (10-6) rounding out the top eight. The top eight programs from the conference will advance to the league tournament on Nov. 10-12 hosted on the campus of the top seed.
IN THE POLLS
WT is one of five schools from the South Central Region represented in the AVCA coaches' poll with MSU Denver (2
nd), WT (15
th), Regis (17
th) Colorado Mesa (21
st), and Colorado School of Mines (23
rd) while Colorado State-Pueblo is receiving votes.
WT HEAD COACH KENDRA POTTS
Kendra Potts begins her fourth season as the helm of Lady Buff Volleyball with an overall 69-20 (.775) record and 41-10 (.805) in league play. Potts led her alma mater to the program's 14
th NCAA Elite Eight Appearance after capturing the South Central Regional title to become the sixth head coach in program history to guide WT to the Elite Eight.
MAKING HISTORY
Following the LSC opening weekend, WT swept the LSC weekly awards for the first time since 2011 as
Ainsley Malis was named the Setter of the Week while
Torrey Miller and
Taytum Stow earned Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors. The trio became the first Lady Buffs to sweep the weekly honors since Nov. 2, 2011, with Ashley Davis, Erin Dougherty, and Lacy Hayes where WT finished 34-3 overall.
HOME DOMINANCE
WT houses one of the best home environments in the country across all of NCAA volleyball. The WTAMU Fieldhouse, best known as "The Box" is home to 20 Lone Star Conference Championships, 14 regional titles and three NCAA Division II National Championships. At "The Box", the Lady Buffs are 513-83 since 1980 for an incredible winning percentage of 86.1% and 90.4% during conference play.
BRITKARE COURT
WT Athletics proudly announced a new state-of-the-art court for the historic home of Lady Buff Volleyball thanks to a generous gift from BritKare Home Medical that highlighted the 2021 season. BritKare Court at The Box features a top-line Taraflex court surface that is widely used in Division I arenas, professional volleyball and was most recently featured at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
UP NEXT
WT will head to Wichita Falls to take on Midwestern State (Oct. 7) before facing Texas Woman's (Oct. 8) in Denton. Following the road trip out East, the Lady Buffs will have a midweek non-conference matchup with Southwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Oct. 11.
FOLLOW THE LADY BUFFS
Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Lady Buff action on online and on social media. Follow the Lady Buffs on Twitter (@WTVolleyball), Instagram (@ladybuffvolleyball), Facebook (@WTVolleyball) and now Tik Tok (@WestTexasAMVB).
