By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WICHITA, Kan. – After rallying to take a 2-1 lead, the Fort Hays State volleyball team fell in five sets Friday (Oct. 25) at Newman, 21-25, 25-14, 25-15, 21-25, 9-15. The Tigers move to 6-15 overall and 3-10 in MIAA play, while the Jets are now 1-21 on the year and 1-12 in conference action.
The Tigers had an advantage in numerous statistical categories, including attack percentage (.208-.166), total points (101-94), kills (56-50), aces (6-4), assists (54-46) and digs (74-66).
After Newman used a big run to pull away in the opening set, the Tigers did the same in the second frame. The teams traded points early on, but FHSU scored 16 of the final 20 points in the set to turn a 10-9 deficit into a 25-14 win. The Tigers recorded a .417 attack percentage (13-3-24) in the second set, their best frame of the night.
Fort Hays State jumped in front 6-2 in the third set and never looked back, holding the lead the rest of the way. The Tigers limited Newman to a .000 swing rate (8-8-36) in the third set thanks to four blocks.
The Tigers once again took control early in the fourth set, scoring four of the first five points. Newman kept things close before taking a 15-14 lead on four-straight points. Fort Hays State would retake the lead after three straight points before Newman battled back to tie things up at 19. Delaney Humm and Tatum Bartels recorded kills on the next two rallies, prompting a Newman timeout. The Jets battled back out of the huddle, scoring the next six points to level the match, 25-21. Newman then opened the fifth set with six-straight points, leading to a 15-9 win.
Humm led the Tigers with 17 kills, with Isabelle Reynolds adding 12 and Morgan West contributing 11. Abbie Hayes picked up a team-high 20 digs, while Katie Darnell totaled 13 digs alongside her team-best 42 assists. Emily Ellis recorded two blocks in the match, including FHSU’s only solo block.
The Tigers wrap up the weekend road trip Saturday (Oct. 26) against Central Oklahoma. First serve is set for 3 p.m. from Edmond, Okla.