By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Despite collecting 12 more points than the visitors throughout the evening, the Fort Hays State volleyball team suffered a narrow defeat Friday (Oct. 1) inside Gross Memorial Coliseum, falling to Missouri Western in five sets (21-25, 25-12, 22-25, 25-16, 12-15). The Tigers move to 8-6 overall and 2-3 in conference play, while the Griffons are now 10-3 on the year and 2-2 in MIAA action.
The Tigers led in the majority of the statistical categories, including kills, 65-57, total team blocks, 13-6, assists, 61-50, hitting percentage, .202-.186 and points, 82.0-67.0.
The back-and-forth nature of the match started right away, with the first set featuring five lead changes and 12 ties. Neither side led by more than three until late in the set when a Griffon service ace pushed the MWSU lead to 22-18. Fort Hays State fought off a pair of set points before the visitors secured the opening set, 25-21.
Fort Hays State responded with authority in the second set, leading wire-to-wire before heading to the locker room with a big 25-12 win. The Tigers scored the first four points of the set and eight of the first nine to take a commanding 8-1 lead. Riley Tinder, Emily Ellis and Jaysa Wichers recorded kills on the first three rallies before Ellis and Tinder combined for a block to make the score 4-0. Wichers answered a Griffon kill with another spike before teaming up with Morgan Christiansen for a block. Christiansen followed with a kill of her own, stretching the lead to 7-1 and forcing a Griffon timeout. Wichers capped off the run with another kill out of the huddle.
The Tigers went on another big run late, scoring six-of-seven points to turn an 18-10 lead into a set point situation at 24-11. Multiple MWSU miscues opened the run before a block from Christiansen and kills from Tinder and Claire Olson helped the Tigers reach set point. A Griffon service error two rallies later brought the set to a decisive close and leveled the match at 1-1.
Fort Hays State led by as many as seven midway through the third set, 12-5, before the Griffons went on a 9-2 run to tie things up at 14. The teams traded points for the next several rallies, later leading to another tie at 21. Missouri Western scored the next two points, prompting a Tiger timeout. Wichers responded with a kill out of the break, but the Griffons managed to finish off the set with a kill and a block.
The fourth set was close early, including four ties, but the Tigers never trailed in the frame. Fort Hays State scored three in a row off MWSU errors after an 11-11 tie, prompting a Griffon timeout. The Tigers went on to stretch the run to 10-3, expanding their lead to 21-14. The home team scored four of the final points to take the set by nine and force a decisive fifth set.
Fort Hays State led by as many as three midway through the fifth set after a Tinder kill stretched the lead to 8-5, prompting a Griffon timeout. Fort Hays State led as late as 11-10 before Missouri Western scored four of the final five points to steal the win, 15-12.
Olson led the Tigers with 15 kills and a .400 attack percentage after recording just one error on 35 swings. Christiansen added 12 kills and seven blocks (one solo), while Tinder contributed 12 kills, 13 digs, three blocks and three service aces. Elysia Glowacz dished out 30 assists and totaled nine digs, while Olivia Hessman tallied 27 assists and six digs.
Isabelle Reynolds led the team with 24 digs alongside eight kills and one block, while Jaden Daffer added 23 digs, one service ace and two assists.
Tiger volleyball fell in three sets against the 13th-ranked Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State on Saturday.