By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
The Fort Hays State volleyball team fell to Central Oklahoma in three sets on Saturday (Oct. 23), 25-14, 25-14, 25-19. The Tigers move to 11-12 on the year and 5-9 in MIAA play, while the Bronchos are now 16-6 overall and 9-5 in conference action.
The Tigers kept things close early in the first set until UCO went on a 7-1 run to build a 17-9 lead. Fort Hays State led by as many as four early in the second set and as late as 9-8 before the Bronchos took control. The visitors used a 12-2 run to turn an 11-11 tie into a 23-13 lead before heading to the locker room with another 25-14 win. FHSU again led early in the third set, but the Bronchos used another controlling run to secure the sweep, 25-19.
Morgan Christiansen connected on a team-high eight kills while adding one block. Riley Tinder contributed seven kills and 12 digs, while Mykah Eshbaugh, Emily Ellis and Isabelle Reynolds all had five kills each. Elysia Glowacz dished out 16 assists, while Olivia Hessman added 14 assists, one service ace and eight digs. Jaden Daffer led the team with 19 digs.
Central Oklahoma had six players with at least six kills and collected eight team blocks. Libero Katie Le racked up 28 digs and setter Mallory Hendrix totaled 31 assists.
Fort Hays State will be on the road next weekend (Oct. 29-30) to face off with No. 6 Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western. The Tigers will first play the Bearcats in Maryville, Mo. on Friday beginning at 6 p.m. before facing off with the Griffons in St. Joseph, Mo. on Saturday starting at 2 p.m.
Friday
A balanced attack offensively and a strong
presence at the net defensively helped the Fort Hays State volleyball team
defeat Newman in four sets (25-23, 25-22, 24-26, 25-21) on Friday (Oct. 22),
completing the season sweep of the Jets. The Tigers totaled 60 kills on the
night from six different players, including five with at least eight kills,
while tallying 10 team blocks.
Fort Hays State improves to 11-11 overall and 5-8 in MIAA play, while Newman is
now 8-11 on the year and 4-9 in conference action.
Neither side could pull away early in the first set, with the teams staying
within two points of each other until Newman scored three-straight to built a
16-13 lead. Fort Hays State called a timeout to regroup before erupting for a
7-0 run, going in front 20-16. Riley
Tinder opened the run with a kill before Mykah
Eshbaugh added another. Eshbaugh and Morgan
Christiansen combined for a block two rallies later before
Christiansen teamed up with Isabelle
Reynolds for the next point. Reynolds then added a kill before
Newman recorded an error, prompting a Jet timeout facing a four-point deficit.
Newman responded just as FHSU had, scoring five in a row out of the huddle to
regain the lead. But a Christiansen kill thwarted the run and tied things up at
21. The Tigers used another timeout with the score tied at 23 before coming out
to score the final two points on a kill from Emily
Ellis and another Newman error.
The Tigers got things going a little earlier in the second set, scoring five in
a row to take a quick 9-3 lead. Fort Hays State later led by as many as eight,
16-8, before Newman went on a run to close within two, 22-20. Fort Hays State
scored the next two points to reach set point before Claire
Olson delivered the final kill, sending the Tigers to the locker
room with a 2-0 lead.
The Jets took the early lead out of the locker room, leading by as many as
four, 11-7, before the Tigers started to claw back into the third set. A
service ace from Jaden
Daffer and a block from Christiansen and Olson gave the Tigers
a two-point lead, 18-16, but the Jets later fought back in front. Another block
late in the set from Olson and Ellis gave the Tigers a serve at match point,
but Newman responded by scoring the next three points to steal the set, 26-24.
After averaging 4.3 kills per set over the first three frames, Olson capped off
a strong performance with six more kills in the fourth set to help the Tigers
clinch the match. She opened the set with a kill before bringing the match to a
close with a kill, both off passes from Elysia
Glowacz. The Tigers trailed as late as 19-18 before going on a
6-1 run to reach match point, 24-20. Olson and Ellis opened the run with a
block before Olson gave the Tigers the lead for good with a kill. Reynolds and
Ellis added kills out of a Newman timeout before another Daffer service ace
helped the Tigers reach match point.
The Tigers posted an attack percentage of .220 while holding Newman to a swing
rate of .130. Fort Hays State matched its season high with six service aces,
including three from Daffer.
Olson matched her season-high with 19 kills in the match, one shy of the most
in a match by a Tiger this season. The freshman also added three blocks while
hitting .386 on the night.
Christiansen compiled 13 kills and five blocks, while Ellis added 10 kills and
two blocks. Mykah
Eshbaugh totaled eight kills, four blocks (one solo) and five
digs.
Glowacz distributed a team-high 30 assists while adding two digs. Olivia
Hessman passed out 24 digs and tallied one service ace.
Tinder led the team with 24 digs, her fourth match this season with 20 or more
digs. Reynolds (23 digs, eight kills, one service ace, two blocks) and Daffer
(22 kills, three assists) also eclipsed the 20-dig mark in the match.