KEARNEY, Neb. – After coming out of the gates strong, the Fort Hays State University volleyball team dropped its first match of the season Tuesday night (Sept. 20) at No. 3-ranked Nebraska-Kearney. The Tigers are now 12-1 overall and 0-1 after falling in the inaugural MIAA contest for both squads. FHSU handed the Lopers (15-0, 1-0) just their second set loss of the season after capturing the opening frame.
With her third dig in the match, senior Crystal Whitten joined 1,000/1,000 club for her career. The outside hitter now has 1,194 kills and 1,009 digs in her three-and-a-half seasons of collegiate volleyball.
The loss was the 22nd-consecutive loss to the Lopers and the 27th-straight loss in Kearney for the Tigers.
The Tigers fell behind early in the match before a kill from Rebekah Spainhour handed them a 12-11 lead. The sides continued to trade points before Fort Hays State took the lead for good at 18-17 with a kill by Whitten. Multiple kills from Megan Anderson extended the Tiger advantage before Hannah Wagy delivered the final kill of the set, handing the Tigers a thrilling 25-22 victory to open the contest.
Fort Hays State fell behind by four to open the second frame, prompting head coach Kurt Kohler to use an early timeout. Spainhour and Whitten tallied consecutive kills coming out of the timeout, but the rally was short lived. The Lopers scored seven of 10 points later in the set to take a commanding 20-13 lead, holding off a Tiger rally to take the set 25-18.
Nebraska-Kearney took four of the first five points coming out of the break to open the third set, never trailing in the set. The Tigers were unable to put together a rally, never scoring more than two-straight points with UNK winning the point 12 of the 16 times FHSU served. The Lopers won the set with a powerful serve from Lindsey Smith on set point.
Fort Hays State fought hard in the fourth game, battling back from a 4-1 deficit to take an 8-6 lead. Big blocks from Callie Christensen, Sydney Dixon and Anderson followed by consecutive kills from Spainhour prompted a UNK timeout. Spainhour added kills on three of the next five rallies to help the Tigers extend a four-point lead. The sides swapped points until a four-point rally by the Lopers leveled the score at 16, forcing Kohler to use a timeout. Another Spainhour kill ended the UNK run, but a block by the Lopers two points later handed them the lead for good. UNK took seven of the final 10 points of the match to win 25-21.
The Tigers hit .235 as a team, highlighted by a blazing .333 start in the first set. The Lopers, one of the best attacking teams in the nation, managed a .333 attack percentage for the match. The top two blocking teams in the conference certainly did not disappoint in that category, with 17.5 total blocks being recorded in the match (FHSU 8, UNK 9.5).
Spainhour paced the team with 18 kills, adding one solo block and the lone Tiger service ace. Whitten picked up her sixth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 12 digs. Christensen led the match with five total blocks, adding six kills and a .429 attack percentage. Anderson threw down 13 kills and reached for four blocks. Wagy contributed 52 assists, 10 digs and two kills while libero Ari Jacobsen saved 10 digs on the day.
The team will return to Gross Memorial Coliseum for its home opener on Friday (Sept. 23) against Emporia State. First serve is set for 6 p.m.