By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State fell to No. 3 ranked Washburn on Tuesday night (Oct. 22) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers moved to 6-14 overall and 3-9 in the MIAA, while the Ichabods improved to 18-2 overall and 10-2 in the MIAA.
The Tigers put pressure on the Ichabods in the first set, making the opposition win by two. Washburn closed out the set with a kill by Allison Maxwell and then a ball handling error by the Tigers. FHSU tied the set at 24-24 after an attack error by the Ichabods and then a kill by Delaney Humm. Morgan Christiansen knotted the score at 25-25 with a kill before the Ichabods picked up the final two points.
From that point Washburn cruised by taking set two 25-19 and then set three 25-16. Washburn jumped out to a 6-1 lead in set two and kept FHSU at arm’s length the rest of the way. In set three, Washburn opened the set on a 14-0 run before the Tigers jumped on the board. However, FHSU outscored WU 16-11 the remainder of the set.
Humm was the only Tiger to reach double figures in kills with 13. Christiansen went errorless for the match and put down four kills to hit .400 individually. Katie Darnell provided 19 assists and Humm picked up a double-double with 17 digs. Abbie Hayes added 11 digs.
Erica Montgomery led a balanced attack for Washburn with 10 kills. Allison Maxwell and Kelsey Gordon each added nine kills, and Genna Berg had eight. Allison Sadler dished out 37 assists and Faith Rottinghaus led the defensive effort with 21 digs.
The Tigers head on the road this weekend to take on Newman University on Friday and then Central Oklahoma on Saturday.