FIRST SERVE
Midwestern State squares off with Angelo State in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament Thursday afternoon at WTAMU Fieldhouse. First serve is set for noon.
 

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Midwestern State vs. Angelo State
Thursday, Nov. 21 | Noon
WTAMU Fieldhouse | Canyon, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (17-12); Angelo State (21-8)
Live Video: FoxSportsSouthwest.com  
Live Stats: LoneStarConference.org  
 
SCOUTING THE RAMBELLES
Angelo State dropped a five-set thriller at Tarleton State in its finale, but still closed the regular season on a solid run winning nine of its last 11. The 'Belles are led by a trio of solid attack options in senior middle blocker Maddie Huth (3.13 kps), sophomore outside hitter Arielle Bond (3.13 kps) and senior outside hitter Leah McWilliams (2.66 kps). Junior setter Maggi Jo Keffury ranks second in the LSC and 20th in NCAA II with 11.14 assists per set while directing the offense to 13.73 kills per set and a .189 team attack percentage. The 'Belles lead the nation averaging 21.28 digs per set paced on the back row by junior defensive specialist Shelby Wilt (4.83 dps), senior outside hitter Kaelen Valdez (3.73 dps) and sophomore defensive specialist Katie MacLeay (3.22 dps). Huth also leads ASU at the net with 102 total blocks this season.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Angelo State meet for the 34th time on the court Thursday at the WTAMU Fieldhouse. The Rambelles own a 22-11 edge in the series including a season sweep of the Mustangs this season. ASU has claimed wins in three of its four matches with MSU played at neutral sites.
 
THIS SEASON VS. ANGELO STATE
Angelo State swept the season series claiming a hard-fought five-set victory on Sep. 20 in San Angelo before edging the Mustangs in four frames on Oct. 26 in Wichita Falls. The teams have combined for a staggering 400 digs in nine sets of volleyball -- an average of 44.4 ups. MSU was unable to close out the Belles in the first meeting despite taking a 2-1 set lead, and then led 10-7 in the deciding set before giving away five attack miscues allowing the Belles to escape with the win. Junior Kaitlyn Molloy had a team-high 13 kills to lead a quartet of MSU players with at least 10 kills including Caitlin Wallace (12 kills), Nicole Marzik (12 kills) and Sarah Garfield (11 kills). Arielle Bond paced the Belles with a match-high 24 kills. MSU got off to a quick start by claiming the opening set of the second meeting before Angelo State stormed back to claim the final three handily at 25-16, 25-21, 25-10. Cerbi Ritchey led the Belles with 14 kills while Marissa Olivares and Marija Jovanovic had eight kills each for the Mustangs.
 
MUSTANGS AGAINST THE 'BELLES IN LSC TOURNAMENT PLAY
Angelo State claimed a straight-set win over Midwestern State in their only other meeting in Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament taking a 25-18, 25-16, 25-14 decision on Nov. 10, 2011 in Canyon. Hillary White knocked down 11 kills to lead the Mustangs, while current MSU assistant coach Kiara Jordan had 17 digs to pace the back row. Kaelen Valdez paced the Belles' robust attack with 13 kills as ASU combined for a .257 team attack percentage.
 

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ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
The winner of the eight-team single elimination tournament stakes claim to the Lone Star Conference automatic bid into next week's NCAA Division II South Central Regional. West Texas A&M claimed the top seed and hosting honors by rolling through the league with a perfect 16-0 mark. Texas Woman's claimed the No. 2 seed with an 11-5 mark taking the tiebreaker over third-seeded Angelo State who finished with the same league mark. Texas A&M-Commerce took fourth with a 9-7 record followed by Tarleton State (8-8), MSU (7-9), Texas A&M-Kingsville (6-10) and Eastern New Mexico (4-12). Cameron is the lone program to not quality for LSC postseason as the Aggies finished 0-16.
 
LSC POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
WTAMU Fieldhouse
Canyon, Texas
Nov. 21-13
Thursday, Nov. 21
Quarterfinals
Game 1: Angelo State vs. Midwestern State, Noon
Game 2: Texas Woman's vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: Texas A&M-Commerce vs. Tarleton State, 5 p.m.
Game 4: West Texas A&M vs. Eastern New Mexico, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 22
Semifinals
Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m.
Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 23
Championship
Semifinal Winners, 2 p.m.
 
MSU IN THE LSC TOURNAMENT
Midwestern State makes its seventh appearance in the Lone Star Conference Tournament searching for its first postseason win of the NCAA Division II era. The Mustangs suffered opening round defeats to West Texas A&M in 2005 and 2009, to Cameron in 2007, to Texas Woman's in 2008, to Tarleton State in 2010 and to Angelo State in 2011.
 

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ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Midwestern State closed the season winning 10 of its last 15 matches after suffering through a six-match skid at the start of Lone Star Conference play. More recently, the Mustangs claimed victories in four of their last five matches of the regular season. Senior middle blocker Caitlin Wallace paces the MSU attack with 2.64 kills per set and ranks second in the LSC with a .336 attack percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Marissa Olivares puts down 2.30 kills per set while senior outside hitter Beatriz Villalba adds 1.99 kills per set. Freshman setter Sarah Rosinke averages 6.25 assists per set while directing the MSU offense to 12.63 kills per set and a .172 team attack percentage. The Mustangs rank 25th in NCAA Division II with 18.04 digs per set paced by junior libero Casey Fletcher (3.95 dps), redshirt-freshman defensive specialist Madelyn Johnson (3.31 dps) and sophomore outside hitter Nicole Marzik (2.92 dps). Wallace (0.94 bps) and freshman Sarah Garfield (0.85) lead the Mustangs at the net.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Marzik put down a season-high 15 kills to lead Midwestern State to a 25-22, 25-19, 25-17 win Saturday at Southwestern Oklahoma State. Senior middle blocker Caitlin Wallace led a strong effort at the net with five total blocks to go along with a flawless six-kill, no-error attacking game. Senior right-side hitter Michelle Blount posted a similar line with seven kills with one error to go along with four total blocks. Junior libero Casey Fletcher paced the back row with 15 digs as the Mustangs limited SWOSU to a .112 team attack percentage.
 
MIDWESTERN IN NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Senior middle blocker Caitlin Wallace ranks 46th in hitting percentage (.336), 110th in blocks per set (0.94) and 256th in points per set (3.27). Junior libero Casey Fletcher rates 166th (3.93) and redshirt-freshman Madelyn Johnson ranks 262nd (3.31) in digs per set. Freshman middle blocker Sarah Garfield is also 170th in blocks per set (0.85). Freshman setter Sarah Rosinke ranks 197th in assists per set (6.25) and 273rd in aces per set (0.32).
 
THREE...DOT...THOUGHTS...
Midwestern State recovered from a loss at Dallas Baptist to claim wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville and Southwestern Oklahoma State to complete the regular season with a 17-12 mark... The 17 wins are the most since the 2008 squad won 25 matches... MSU heads into the LSC Postseason Tournament as the No. 6 and opens with Angelo State Thursday at noon in Canyon... Angelo State survived the Mustangs in five sets in the first meeting between the teams this season in San Angelo then took a 3-1 win last month in Wichita Falls... Midwestern makes its seventh appearance in the LSC Postseason Tournament dropping first round matches in each showing in 2005 (WT, 3-1), 2007 (WT, 3-1), 2008 (TWU, 3-1), 2009 (WT, 3-0), 2010 (TSU, 3-2) and 2011 (ASU, 3-0)... Senior middle blocker Caitlin Wallace finished the season ranked second in the LSC and 52nd in NCAA Division II with a .336 hitting percentage... Wallace's 28 kills last week moved her into 10th place on the program's all-time kill list with 924 moving past Geneva Hammond (908, 1987-90)... Wallace is second on the school's all-time block assists chart (256) and third on the total blocks list with 298... Wallace ranks eighth in the LSC and 116th in D2 with 0.94 blocks per set... Midwestern ranks 17th in team digs per set led by junior Casey Fletcher (3.95), redshirt-freshman Madelyn Johnson (3.31), sophomore Nicole Marzik (2.92), junior Kaitlyn Molloy (2.43) and sophomore Marissa Olivares (2.32)... Senior right-side hitter Michelle Blount has multiple blocks in each of her last five matches including a 7-kill, 4-block effort in the regular season finale Saturday at Southwestern Oklahoma... Sophomore Marissa Olivares delivered her seventh double-figure dig effort with 15 digs Tuesday at Dallas Baptist... Senior middle blocker Caitlin Wallace recorded her ninth match with at least five blocks Saturday at Southwestern Oklahoma State... Freshman middle blocker Sarah Garfield hit .297 averaging 1.89 kills per set. She had five kills without a miscue in 10 attacks Thursday against Texas A&M-Kingsville also recording her fourth match with 5-or-more blocks with six... Senior outside hitter Brandi Flores appeared in two matches last week finishing with two kills at Dallas Baptist and against Texas A&M-Kingsville... Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Marzik put down a season-high 15 kills with nine digs Saturday at Southwestern Oklahoma... Marzik also delivered her eighth double-figure dig performance with 12 Tuesday night at Dallas Baptist...