FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team accomplished something Friday night (Sept. 30) it had only done once in 25 tries – beat Central Missouri. The 14-3 (2-2 MIAA) Tigers dropped the opening set but came back to beat the No. 6-ranked Jennies in four sets, outmatching the perennial powerhouse in every facet of the game down the stretch. With the loss, UCM falls to 12-3 overall and 2-1 in MIAA play.
The only other Tiger victory over UCM came in 2003, an opening-weekend match in Lawton, Okla. FHSU is now 1-9 against the Jennies inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. The win snapped a nine-game winning streak for the visiting Jennies.
Fort Hays State managed a .239 attack percentage in the match, holding UCM to a .178 effort. Thirteen Jennie service errors haunted the visitors, with FHSU giving away just three free points off the serve. The Tiger block party was out in full force, picking up 10 blocks on the night.
The Jennies appeared to be en route to an easy night after the first set, hitting .342 to take the frame 25-20. FHSU struggled to a .107 attack percentage in the set, picking up 10 kills and seven errors. The league-leading Tigers did not block an attempt in the frame while UCM managed three swats. The visitors never trailed in the set, leading by as many as eight after a 7-3 run made the score 21-13. Kurt Kohler’s squad didn’t roll over, scoring five of the next six points to narrow the gap to four on kills from Rebekah Spainhour, Hannah Wagy, and Crystal Whitten. A kill off the hand of Callie Christensen fended off one set point before a Tiger attack error handed UCM a five-point victory.
The Tigers came alive in the second set, picking up an eye-popping .387 attack percentage while limiting the powerful Jennie offense to a .000 outing. FHSU picked up six blocks in the set, with Spainhour contributing two solo and two assists. The Black and Gold jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a pair of bizarre plays, giving them a lead they would never relinquish. Libero Kailey Klibbe served the team to six-straight points to take an 11-3 lead, with Spainhour throwing down two kills and one solo block during that stretch. The teams traded points for the rest of the match before Wagy finished things off with a quick attack at the net, giving the Tigers a 25-14 win. The Jennies’ 14 points are tied for the fewest points they have scored in a set this season (vs No. 19 Angelo State, 9/9/16).
Fort Hays State stayed hot out of the break, taking the third set 25-19. Whitten led the way with six kills, six digs, and one solo block in the frame while Azlyn Cassaday added five kills on nine swings without recording an error. There were three early lead changes in the set before Whitten handed the Tigers the lead for good at 7-6. The Tigers went on a 7-1 run later in the frame fueled by three-straight kills from Cassaday, making the score 22-14. A Jennie block closed the gap to five before Whitten sealed the victory with an authoritative kill after a pass from Wagy.
Both sides fought with everything they had in the fourth set, leading to 18 ties and seven lead changes. The Jennies outhit FHSU in the final set, .195 to .119, but five service errors ultimately put the Jennies away. Neither team led by more than one point before Cassaday put away a pass from Wagy to make the score 11-9, prompting UCM to burn a timeout. The Jennies stormed back with four-straight points to take a momentary lead until another service error leveled the set at 15. There were six more ties down the stretch before Spainhour handed FHSU the lead for good at 23-22 with a powerful kill. The Jennies fought off one match point after another Spainhour kill made it 24-22, but a strong swing from Whitten following a perfect set from Wagy brought the match to a close, 25-23.
Whitten led the Tigers with 14 kills, throwing in 15 digs and one solo block through the night. Spainhour added 13 kills to just two errors for a .458 attack percentage while adding five total blocks (two solo). Cassaday came off the bench to match her career-high with nine kills, all in the third and fourth sets. Klibbe was everywhere on defense, leading the match with 18 digs. Wagy tossed up a match-high 39 assists, adding five kills on six attempts (.833 %), 10 digs and three total blocks (one solo).
The Tigers look to make it two-straight tomorrow (Oct. 1) when they face off with Lindenwood at 6:30 p.m. Fans with a ticket to Saturday’s football game will receive free admission to the volleyball match later that night.