By FHSU Sports Information
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Fort Hays State Volleyball suffered its first two losses of the season on Friday at the Augustana Invitational. Black Hills State and Northern State each swept the Tigers in three sets. FHSU is now 4-2 overall on the season.
Black Hills State 3, Fort Hays State 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-17)
The Tigers led early in the opening set, but the Yellow Jackets rallied in the middle of the set and took control late for a 25-22 win. The Tigers hit .366 in the opening set, but gave up a .462 clip. From that point, FHSU struggled offensively and eventually hit only .144 for the match compared to .320 for BHSU. The Yellow Jackets took the next two sets by seven and eight points respectively for the three-set sweep.
Isabelle Reynolds led the Tigers with 11 kills, followed by Morgan West with eight. Bre Becker had 21 assists, while Amirah Bentley added 12. Abbie Hayes was the only Tiger to reach double figures in digs with 10.
Jadie DeLange led BHSU with 11 kills, while Madison Hoopman added 10. Laurel Lech had a double-double for the Yellow Jackets with 31 assists and 13 digs.
No. 7 Northern State 3, Fort Hays State 0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-11)
Seventh-ranked Northern State was too much for the Tigers in the nightcap, controlling play throughout for a three-set sweep. The Wolves dominated with a .430 hitting percentage and nine team blocks, while the Tigers hit just .066 with three team blocks.
Azlyn Cassaday led the way for FHSU with seven kills, followed by Isabelle Reynolds with six and Tatum Bartels with five. Bre Becker finished with 23 assists, while Cassaday and Abbie Hayes each had seven digs.
Jenna Reiff averaged more than four kills per set, finishing with 13 to lead NSU. Hailey Busch added 11 kills. Setter Ashley Rozell distributed 38 assists and Reiff also led the Wolves in blocks with six.
The Tigers return to action on Saturday with two more opponents. FHSU faces University of Mary at 9 am before facing No. 22 ranked Augustana at 2 pm.