No. 21 Angelo State Opens Season 4-0 After Perfect Weekend at Kathleen Brasfield Invitational

SAN ANGELO, TX — No. 21 Angelo State opened the 2026 volleyball season with a perfect 4-0 record, winning the 16th annual Kathleen Brasfield Invitational after posting victories over East Central, Fort Lewis, Minnesota State-Moorhead and Colorado State-Pueblo at the Junell Center-Stephens Arena.

The Belles swept East Central and Fort Lewis on the opening day of the tournament before defeating Minnesota State-Moorhead in four sets and closing the weekend with a sweep of Colorado State-Pueblo.

Angelo State opened the tournament with a 25-18, 25-14, 25-8 victory over East Central. After a slow start, the Belles finished with a .365 hitting percentage and committed only two attack errors over the final two sets.

Sydney Thornton led Angelo State with seven kills while hitting .538. Madi Parrish, Julia Hopkins and Vivian Parker each added six kills. Gabi Ashcraft recorded 19 assists, Madison Scrivner added seven assists and Taryn Barnes led the defense with 15 digs.

The match also marked several milestones as Parker and Leah Klueber recorded their first kills as Belles, with Klueber's coming in her collegiate debut. Malia Miller also made her collegiate debut and finished with three digs.

In Friday night's second match, Angelo State defeated Fort Lewis 25-18, 25-12, 25-18 behind a .330 hitting percentage, 48 kills and eight service aces.

Allie Kirkpatrick led the Belles with 10 kills, becoming the first Angelo State player to reach double figures this season. Hopkins added nine kills, while Klueber and Parrish finished with eight and seven, respectively.

Freshman Olivia Pena posted the team's first double-double of the season with 19 assists and 11 digs. Hollie Santos, Pena and Kennedi Walls all made their collegiate debuts, while Allie Duitsman and Krizia Perez each recorded three service aces.

The Belles dropped their first set of the season Saturday against Minnesota State-Moorhead before rallying for a 21-25, 25-17, 25-18, 26-24 victory.

Angelo State finished with a .202 hitting percentage, 27 attack errors and was blocked 13 times, but responded with 13 service aces. Parrish and Hopkins combined for 10 aces.

Kirkpatrick led all players with 20 kills while hitting .385. Thornton and Hopkins each recorded 10 kills, Parrish added eight, Ashcraft finished with 29 assists and Pena contributed 16 assists.

The Belles closed the tournament with a 25-20, 25-11, 25-21 sweep of Colorado State-Pueblo. Angelo State hit .248 and held CSU-Pueblo to a .106 hitting percentage.

Parrish paced the offense with nine kills, while Parker added eight. Kirkpatrick, Thornton and Hopkins each finished with six kills. Pena recorded 13 assists and Ashcraft added 12.

Angelo State improved to 4-0 with the tournament championship and will play its first road match of the season Tuesday at Adams State before traveling to the Colorado Premier Challenge next weekend.