FHSU Sports Information Department
DENVER, Colo. – Fort Hays State Volleyball moved to 6-4 overall on the season with a strong offensive effort on Friday (Sept. 18) in Colorado. The Tigers won each match in straight sets, defeating Johnson & Wales (Colo.) and Benedictine-Mesa. The Tigers hit over .400 as a team in each match.
Fort Hays State 3, Johnson & Wales 0
After fighting off a pesky effort by the home team Johnson & Wales in the first set, the Tigers rolled to a straight set win in their first match of the day. FHSU won by scores of 26-24, 25-22, and 25-13.
With the first set tied 24-24, Rebekah Spainhour and Crystal Whitten put down kills to lift the Tigers to victory in the opening set. The Tigers scored 20 of their 25 points in the set with kills, led by Azlyn Cassaday with five.
With the Tigers up 24-22 in the second set, Hannah Wagy pushed the Tigers to a commanding 2-0 match lead with a kill. Whitten had six of FHSU’s 17 kills in the set. Mallory Flagor turned her game up a notch in the third set, putting down 10 of FHSU’s 17 kills in a 12-point runaway win to take the match.
Fort Hays State hit a red-hot .429 overall in the match, over .400 in each set. Flagor led the Tigers with 16 kills, while hitting .406. Whitten had 11 kills and just one error to hit .357 in the match. Spainhour put down 10 kills with just one error and hit an efficient .562. Wagy hit .800 in the match with four kills on five attempts, while distributing 42 assists. Whitten produced her fifth straight double-double overall with a team-high 14 digs.
Fort Hays State 3, Benedictine-Mesa 0
The Tigers used both offense and defense to blitz past Benedictine-Mesa in their second match of the day. FHSU won by scores of 25-18, 25-12, and 25-13.
The Tigers hit. 407 as a team in the match, heating up as the match progressed. After hitting just .276 in the first set, FHSU hit .448 and .500 in the next two sets to run away with the match. The Tigers held Benedictine-Mesa to just an .075 hitting percentage in the match.
FHSU had a total of 45 kills and eight blocks in the match. Crystal Whitten led the way with 14 kills, while hitting .333. Mallory Flagor added 11 kills and had just one error to hit .588, while adding six blocks. Hannah Wagy churned out 41 assists. Whitten, Kailey Klibbe, Azlyn Cassaday, and Rebekah Spainhour all tied with a team-high seven digs.