By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
The Fort Hays State volleyball team extended its winning streak to five matches after a pair of four-set victories Saturday (Sept. 9) on day two of the 2023 Tiger Classic, defeating both Minnesota State and Cameron. The five-match winning streak is the longest for the Tigers since they started the 2016 season with 12 consecutive victories.
The Tigers were the lone team to finish the weekend undefeated, picking up wins over all four teams that made the trip to Hays for the Tiger Classic. Minnesota State finished the weekend 3-1, while Southern Nazarene had two wins and two losses. Cameron turned in a record of 1-3, with New Mexico Highlands going winless on the weekend.
Emily Ellis matched her career-high with 10 blocks against the Mavericks, recording a double-double thanks to 10 kills. Taylor Hawkins anchored the offense in the second contest of the day, racking up 17 kills to lead all players.
After two weeks and nine matches of non-conference preparation, Fort Hays State will jump into league play next weekend (Sept. 15-16) with a road trip to play Emporia State (Friday, 6 p.m.) and Washburn (Saturday, 6 p.m.).
Fort Hays State 3, Minnesota State 1 (14-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-23)
The Tigers struggled out of the gate in the opener, falling to Minnesota State, 25-14, before bouncing back to pick up a dominant win of their own in the second set, 25-15. After posting an attack percentage of zero and allowing a swing rate of .400 in the opening set, FHSU turned in a rate of .276 in the second set while limiting the Mavericks to an attack percentage below zero -.077. Claire Olson and Gracie Rains both contributed four kills each in the set, while Ellis totaled three blocks.
Four team blocks helped the Tigers to another wire-to-wire victory in the third set, winning 25-23. Fort Hays State led by as many as nine midway through the set, 17-8, before the Mavericks crept closer the rest of the way. MSU closed within two down the stretch, 23-21, but a kill from Rains handed the Tigers the win and a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set was close the entire way, with FHSU only falling behind when it was 2-1. The Tigers took the lead two rallies later, but MSU hung around by tying the score six more times through the set. The teams were tied at 23 before a kill from Ellis and a combo block from Caiya Stucky and Ashlyn Reeves sealed the FHSU victory.
Two other Tigers joined Ellis in double figures in kills, including Rains with 11 and Olson with 10. Stucky dished out 37 assists while adding nine digs and four blocks. Brooke Hyland paced the team with 24 digs.
Fort Hays State accumulated 14 total blocks in the contest, compared to just five from the Mavericks.
Fort Hays State 3, Cameron 1 (25-22, 25-15, 23-25, 25-23)
The Tigers seemed poised to pick up a sweep in the final match of the weekend after wins of 25-22 and 25-15 in the first two sets against Cameron. The third set was a different tune, with neither team leading by more than two points the entire way. The score changed hands seven times during the frame to go along with 18 ties. Fort Hays State led as late as 23-22, but three-straight points from the Aggies extended things to a fourth set.
Fort Hays State held on in the fourth, winning 25-23 thanks in part to five kills from Ellis, four from Tinder and five Aggie service errors.
Hawkins’ 17 kills are second-most in a match by a Tiger this season (Gracie Rains, 18 at Colorado School of Mines, 9/1/23). Tinder led the team with 18 digs, while Stucky tossed up 41 assists and added four blocks. Ellis totaled four blocks (one solo) to give her 14 across eight sets on the day (1.75 per set).
The Tigers recorded seven service aces in the win over Cameron, including two each from Hyland and Kirsten Evans.
Friday
The Fort Hays State volleyball team opened the 2023 Tiger Classic with a pair of victories Friday (Sept. 8) inside Gross Memorial Coliseum, knocking off New Mexico Highlands in four sets before sweeping Southern Nazarene in three. The Tigers are now 4-3 on the year after winning each of their first three home matches.
Gracie Rains and Riley Tinder both accounted for 26 kills on the day, with Tinder adding a team-high 28 digs across seven sets. Emily Ellis racked up four blocks in each contest, while Caiya Stucky distributed a total of 83 assists, averaging 11.9 per set.
Fort Hays State 4, New Mexico Highlands 1 (25-22, 25-14, 18-25, 25-14)
Fort Hays State never trailed in its first set of the day, using several runs to build multiple leads of five and six points. Each time, however, the Cowgirls managed to claw back within one or two before the Tigers pulled away once again, with FHSU ultimately winning 25-22.
The second set was back-and-forth early on before the Tigers broke open an 11-11 tie with a 14-3 run, winning the frame 25-14 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the set. Tinder stepped up big in the set, totaling five kills on eight attempts without recording an error, while both Ellis and Rains had four kills each in the set.
Highlands responded with an early jump in the third set and held on the entire way, winning 25-18 to force a fourth set. Fort Hays State used an early 9-2 run to take the lead for good in the final set en route to a 25-14, match-clinching win.
The Tigers managed a sizeable advantage in attack percentage, swinging at a .203 rate (56-29-133) compared to .132 for the Cowgirls (39-23-121). NMHU held an 11-6 edge in blocks, but the Tigers led 50-41 in digs and 6-4 in service aces.
Tinder contributed 15 kills, nine digs and two aces in the win, while Rains had 13 kills and one block. Ellis was second on the team with 14.0 points thanks to 12 kills and four block assists. Kirsten Evans also recorded two service aces, while libero Brooke Hyland paced the team with 12 digs.
Fort Hays State 3, Southern Nazarene 0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-16)
The Tigers and Crimson Storm were locked in a tight battle in the opening set, which included 10 ties and six lead changes, before the Tigers took control down the stretch. Fort Hays State posted an attack percentage of .267 (46-14-120), including individual set percentages that improved as the night wore on. The Tiger defense totaled eight blocks, helping limit SNU to a swing rate of .154 (33-15-117).
Fort Hays State trailed as late as 14-13 in the opening set before going on a 9-4 run to build a five-point advantage, 22-17. SNU stormed back to tie things up at 23, but a kill from Rains and a combo block from Rains and Ellis handed the Tigers a 25-23 win.
The second set was close early on before the Tigers closed things out with by scoring 12 of the last 17 points, turning a 13-13 tie into a 25-18 victory. The third was more of the same, with Fort Hays State outmuscling the Crimson Storm the entire way.
Rains led the team with 13 kills, including seven in the final set to seal the win. Tinder recorded a double-double with 11 kills and a team-high 19 digs while adding two blocks and one service ace. Ellis and Ashlyn Reeves each tallied four blocks, while Claire Olson and Rains chipped in three blocks each.