By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WICHITA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team outlasted Newman in five sets Saturday afternoon (Sept. 25), taking the second, third and fifth sets to secure its second conference victory of the season (23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 15-13). The Tigers are now 8-5 on the year and 2-2 in league action, while Newman is now 5-5 overall and 1-3 in MIAA play.
The match was close all afternoon, featuring 37 ties and 11 lead changes. The opening set included 10 of those ties and six of the lead changes, with neither side leading by more than three at any point. Fort Hays State scored three in a row on kills from Emily Ellis and Claire Olson and a service ace from Elysia Glowacz to take an 18-17 lead before Newman bounced back to go back in front. A kill from Mykah Eshbaugh later tied the score at 23, but the Jets responded with the next two points to take the opening set, 25-23.
The teams traded points early in the second set before a 3-0 run turned a 14-14 tie into a 17-14 Tiger lead. Ellis opened the run with a kill before Olson doubled the lead. Ellis capped the run with a solo block, forcing the Jets to use a timeout. Newman later closed within two, 20-18, but the Tigers closed the set on a 5-1 run to level the match.
Fort Hays State trailed as late as 14-12 in the third set before going on a 5-0 run to leap in front, 17-14. Olson began the run with back-to-back kills before Isabelle Reynolds dropped in a pair of service aces. Newman fought back to tie the score at 17, but the Tigers scored the next three and never looked back, going on to win 25-21.
Newman started to pull away midway through the fourth set, but Fort Hays State battled back to tie things up at 18 on a kill from Riley Tinder. But the run would end there for the Tigers, with the Jets taking the next five points to go up 23-18. Fort Hays State scored three-straight to close within two before Newman scored on the final two rallies to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
The Tigers got to work early in the fifth set, securing the first three points to take the lead for good. Newman kept things close, closing within one point on five occasions. But the Tigers had an answer each time, including on a long final rally when Morgan Christiansen recorded a solo block to give the Tigers the win.
Five different Tigers recorded 10 or more kills while a sixth added eight. Olson paced the team with 19 kills and added one solo block, while Christiansen had 12 kills and five blocks, including four solo. Eshbaugh, Ellis and Tinder all tallied 10 kills, with Ellis chipping in four solo blocks and Tinder picking up a double-double with a team-best 25 digs. Reynolds picked up eight kills and 19 digs. Elysia Glowacz totaled 32 assists and one kill while Olivia Hessman recorded 25 assists and six digs. Jaden Daffer racked up 23 digs while adding five assists and one service ace.
Fort Hays State collected 11 more kills than Newman did on the day, 70-59. The Jets were credited with 19 blocks, while the Tigers picked up 10 stops at the net. FHSU recorded five service aces in the victory, including two each from Glowacz and Reynolds. The Tigers recorded a .199 attack percentage on the day while holding Newman to a swing rate of .162.
The Tigers will return to Gross Memorial Coliseum when they host a pair of conference opponents over homecoming weekend. FHSU will first battle Missouri Western on Friday (Oct. 1) beginning at 6 p.m. before turning around to host No. 13 Northwest Missouri State on Saturday (Oct. 2) at 3 p.m.
Friday
EDMOND, Okla. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team couldn’t keep pace with Central Oklahoma on Friday (Sept. 24), falling to the Bronchos in three sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-16. The Tigers are now 7-5 overall and 1-2 in MIAA play, while UCO improved to 9-2 on the year and 2-1 in league action.
The Tigers fell behind 6-1 early in the first set but scored the next four points to battle back within one. The Bronchos followed with two big runs to pad their lead to 17-8. FHSU traded points with the Bronchos down the stretch but ran out of time to complete the comeback.
Fort Hays State kept things close early in the second set, but UCO began to pull away after the home team turned a 7-6 lead into a 13-6 advantage with six-straight points. The Tigers battled all the way back to tie the score at 15-15 with a 9-2 run. Emily Ellis, Claire Olson and Morgan Christiansen all recorded kills for the Tigers during the big run. UCO went back up by three, but an Olson kill and a service ace from Isabelle Reynolds helped FHSU close within one, 21-20. The Bronchos closed things out after scoring four of the last six points.
The Tigers scored first in the third set to take their first lead of the match. A kill from Reynolds gave the Black and Gold a 3-2 lead before Central Oklahoma took the lead for good with five-straight points. Fort Hays State later closed within two on a Mykah Eshbaugh spike, 12-10, before the Bronchos pulled away to complete the sweep.
Olson led the Tigers with nine kills. The freshman posted a .500 attack percentage after recording just one error on 16 total attempts. Riley Tinder added five kills and two solo blocks, while Eshbaugh had five kills and two blocks. Elysia Glowacz distributed 17 assists and one dig while Olivia Hessman added 13 assists and three digs. Jaden Daffer led the way with 12 digs.
While the Tigers posted a .107 attack percentage in the match, FHSU managed a .250 swing rate in the second set. UCO tallied a .333 swing rate and added nine blocks and 47 digs on defense.