By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State volleyball rolled to a 3-1 senior day victory over the Missouri Southern State Lions on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 16).
This victory moves FHSU to a 7-21 overall record and a 4-16 mark in conference action to end the 2019 campaign.
After an early 9-8 scoreline in favor of the Tigers, Missouri Southern, lead by Janelle Brehm with 17 kills throughout the match, snatched five straight points to push out to a 13-9 lead.
Continuing their fight, FHSU saw kills landed from freshman Delaney Humm, senior Morgan West, and freshman Mykah Eshbaugh, but couldn’t crack further than three points into the Lions lead. Missouri Southern would go on to take the first set, 25-20, on a service ace by Alicia Pickett.
The Tigers opened up the second set with the first point on a service error from Missouri Southern’s Morgan Nash. However, the Lions entered a three-point swing to own a 3-1 lead. Fort Hays State would regain the advantage on a five-point run headed up by Humm, which included two of her three service aces in the match.
The second frame would move on to feature runs by both sides, until the Tigers were able to establish control with senior Abbie Hayes behind the service line. FHSU would continue to enter their fifth run of the set by collecting the final three points at the hands of Humm and Eshbaugh.
Humm and freshman Emily Ellis lead the opening action in the third frame for FHSU, claiming responsibility for six of the first 10 points. Still down by two, junior Tatum Bartels’ kill provided a spark that lead to lead-changing momentum.
With the Tigers recently gaining the lead at 13-12, junior Taylor White stepped behind the line and sent her second ace of the afternoon over the net, forcing the Lions to call a timeout. Eshbaugh, Humm, and Bartels would be the only Tiger athletes to register points for the remainder of the set.
FHSU locked up their second consecutive set victory on Humm’s 18th kill of the match.
Holding their first 2-1 lead since facing off against No. 14 Northwest Missouri State on Nov. 2, the Tigers battled to open the final frame. Neither the Lions or the Tigers were able to establish much separation until the Black and Gold earned five straight points, headlined by three kills from freshman Morgan Christiansen. This created their first lead since a 6-5 score earlier in the set.
Missouri Southern evened the game back up at 21 points each. A bad set by the Lions’ Morgan Nash and an attack error by Shaylon Sharp created a small window of separation for the Tigers. Two points later, Bartels would end the day with her 11th kill.
Freshman Delaney Humm lead the way for the Black and Gold, landing 20 kills at a .370 clip and notching 19 digs-two shy of her career best in both kills and digs. Bartels was responsible for 11 kills on the day while Ellis and Christiansen trailed her with five each.
All three of the seniors honored on Saturday afternoon saw action in the match. West contributed three kills and a block in two sets played, while Kyle Brown collected her minutes in the first frame.
Hayes starred at libero in her final appearance as a Tiger and featured a team-leading 21 digs, just one behind Missouri Southern’s Emalee Lowe. Following the match, the Tigers No. 43 moved into sole possession of fifth place all-time for digs per set in a career with 3.51.