BY FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State made noise early by taking the opening set 25-23, but No. 2 ranked Nebraska-Kearney cleaned up mistakes and rolled through the next three sets 25-13, 25-13, and 25-14 to preserve its MIAA standings lead. The Lopers moved to 25-1 overall on the season, 11-1 in the MIAA, while the Tigers moved to 8-16 overall, 2-10 in the MIAA.
Neither team could find a lead of more than three points in a very tight first set. UNK had a 22-20 lead before Fort Hays State closed out the opening set on a 5-1 run. Azlyn Cassaday, who had a hot hand in the first set with five kills, triggered the run with a kill. Kendall Schroer of UNK had a kill to make it 23-21, but backed that with an error to pull the Tigers back within one. Setter Lindsey Smith of UNK had a pair of ball handling errors on sets that all the sudden pushed FHSU into the lead and an attack error by MK Wolfe of UNK sealed the 25-23 win for FHSU.
After a seven-error first set, the Lopers played nearly flawless volleyball on the attack the rest of the night. Meanwhile, the Tigers saw a progression downward in net play, committing 26 of their 31 errors in the match over the next three sets. UNK had 14 kills and no attacking errors in the second set, 14 kills again in the third set with just two errors, and then 10 kills with just one error in the fourth set. The Lopers hit .380 over the final three sets (38 kills, 3 errors, 92 attempts), while holding the Tigers to a .000 hitting percentage in that span. FHSU finished at just .046 for the match, while UNK surged to .329 overall.
Azlyn Cassaday had 15 kills, the only Tiger in double figures, while Ashley Webb added eight. Madison Elwood, who saw action late, finished 1.000 on the night with two kills on two swings. However, six Tigers finished with negative hitting percentages on the night. Bre Becker produced 34 assists for the Tigers, while Abby Groth and Taylor White tied with a team-high 13 digs.
Schroer was a force for the Lopers throughout the night, racking up 18 of her match-high 19 kills in the first through third sets. She hit .395 for the match with just four errors on 38 swings. Julianne Jackson hit .317 for the Lopers with 15 kills and just two errors on 41 swings. Anna Squiers finished with a team-high 29 assists for UNK, while Smith added 12. Four Lopers reached double figures in digs, Ellie McDonnel leading the way with 16.
The Tigers get another test against a ranked opponent on Friday night when they host No. 11 ranked Washburn. Match time is set for 6 pm at Gross Memorial Coliseum.