FHSU Sports Information Department
ALVA, Okla. – Fort Hays State won both of its matches in a triangular at Northwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday (Oct. 27). The Tigers defeated the host Northwestern Oklahoma State 3-0 in their first match of the day, then survived a five-set match with Oklahoma-Panhandle State, 3-2. The Tigers moved to 16-11 overall on the season.
Fort Hays State 3, Northwestern Oklahoma State 0
After the Tigers hit .371 in a conference match with Lindenwood this past Saturday, they followed it with another great offensive effort against Northwestern Oklahoma State in non-conference play. The Tigers hit .360 as a team against the Rangers, cruising to a straight-set win.
The Tigers hit .469 in the first set as they put down 19 kills. After struggling a bit to a .163 hitting percentage and just 14 kills in the second set, FHSU caught fire again in the third and hit .487 with 20 kills. Meanwhile, the Tigers limited the Rangers to a .179 hitting percentage overall.
Crystal Whitten put down a team-best 13 kills and hit .400, while Megan Anderson added 11 kills and hit .625. Mallory Flagor also reached double digits in kills with 10. Sydney Dixon and Rebekah Spainhour each recorded eight kills. Hannah Wagy notched 43 assists and Kailey Klibbe had a team-high 17 digs.
Ashanti Banks led NWOSU (8-14) with eight kills, Kaydee Yukawa had 13 assists, and Carley Geer had 16 digs.
Fort Hays State 3, Oklahoma-Panhandle State 2
Only six days after cruising to a straight-set win in Goodwell, the Tigers found themselves in a match with a struggling Oklahoma-Panhandle State team with just one win on the season. The Tigers were able to escape in five sets, moving to 16-11 overall, while OPSU dropped to 1-25.
The first set looked very similar to the week prior as the Tigers blitzed the Aggies by a score of 25-12. However, the Aggies retaliated with a 28-26 win in the second set to square the match. The Tigers had two set points but could not convert as OPSU rallied for the final three points of the set.
The Tigers took command once again in the third and coasted to a 25-18 win, but then let a five-point lead slip away in the fourth. Up 14-11, the Tigers allowed OPSU to go on an 8-0 run with four straight points in the run coming on service aces by OPSU’s Celci Bakos. OPSU nearly blew several set point opportunities as FHSU rallied for four straight points to make it 24-23, but FHSU committed an error to close the fourth set.
The fifth set was closely contested up to a 9-8 lead by FHSU, but FHSU took six of the final seven points in the set to escape with the win.
Rebekah Spainhour put down a team-best 19 kills and hit .630 in the match with just two errors. Crystal Whitten had 14 kills and Mallory Flagor added 13, while hitting .417. Megan Anderson and Sydney Dixon each had seven kills. Hannah Wagy produced 53 assists, while Kailey Klibbe had a team-high 14 digs.
Fort Hays State heads back on the road this weekend in conference play at Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist.