SAN ANGELO, Texas (October 18, 2025) – Playing in its lone match of the week and taking on a team that was ranked No. 2 in the country to start the season, the UT Permian Basin volleyball team lost 3-0 (25-23, 25-8, 25-11) at Angelo State University during the Rambelles' Homecoming on Saturday afternoon.

UTPB was bested 52.0-26.0 in points, 41-23 in kills, 4-2 in service aces, 7-1 in blocks, 38-21 in assists and 65-51 in digs. UTPB hit a season-low .000 percent as the Falcons committed just as many attack errors as kills (23).

The Belles hit .273, highlighted by a .500 mark in set two, where the Belles had 18 kills and only two errors on 32 attempts. Julia Hopkins led all players with 10 kills, not committing an error in 19 attempts for a .526 attack percentage.

Lauren Demuth and Makenna Grimes both had five kills for UTPB while Grimes matched Emma Gonzalez with a team-high 10 digs. Setter Kierra Freeman finished with 11 assists and eight digs while Gonzalez was not far behind with eight assists.

The first set featured 13 ties and six lead changes. UTPB last led 11-10 after an ace by Grimes and was last tied at 19-19 after a kill by Demuth. From there, three of the next four points went to ASU via the kill, including two kills by Sydney Thornton to make it a 22-20 lead. The Belles then led 24-21 after a ball handling error and a bad set, both on the Falcons. A kill by Grimes followed by an ASU attack error got the Falcons to within one (24-23), but an attack error by Grimes ended it.

UTPB falls to 6-12 overall and 4-4 in the Lone Star Conference while ASU (13-6, 7-1) picks up its fifth win in a row and fourth sweep in a row after falling 3-2 at Oklahoma Christian on October 3. In addition, the Belles are now 9-0 when playing at home this season.

ASU is currently receiving votes in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II WVB Poll after being ranked as high as No. 2 in the preseason poll. The 2024 campaign turned out to be the single-best season in Angelo State volleyball's 50-season history. The Belles went 32-3 overall and 15-1 in LSC play, winning the LSC Tournament, the NCAA South Central Regional, and advancing to the National Semifinals for the first time in program history.

This was the start of four straight road matches for the Falcons, who next week will play at Dallas Baptist University at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 24, and at Texas Woman's University at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 25.