By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
EMPORIA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team fell victim to a late Emporia State comeback on Saturday (Sept. 10), with the Hornets rallying from a 2-0 deficit to win in five sets (25-18, 25-16, 21-25, 15-25, 13-15). The Tigers (5-5, 0-2 MIAA) made a furious rally of their own in the fifth set, coming from behind to take the lead after a seven-point deficit before the Hornets (3-7, 1-1 MIAA) finished things off with the final three points.
The Tigers started out hot, posting attack percentages of .357 and .364 in the first and second sets, respectively. Fort Hays State jumped out to early leads in each set and never let up, going on multiple long runs to add to the advantage. Emily Ellis recorded four kills on four attempts in the first set while Riley Tinder added three kills on four swings and two service aces to help FHSU cruise to a 25-18 win in the first set.
Fort Hays State led by nine in a blink of an eye to start the second set with Tinder serving. The junior dropped in two more service aces while Morgan Christiansen added a pair of kills, helping the Tigers to a 10-1 lead. The Hornets trimmed the deficit to five midway through the set, but the efficient FHSU offense was too much to overcome. Gracie Rains tallied four kills on six swings in the set, while Christiansen was a perfect 3-0-3 in the second frame.
Things took a turn in the third set, leaving the door open for an ESU rally. After combining for just eight attack errors across the first and second sets, the Tigers recorded 11 errors in the third set alone to post a swing rate of .073. Emporia State, meanwhile, made just one error in the third. Four service aces helped the Tigers keep things close in the frame, including two more from Tinder and one each from Jaida Felix and Kirsten Evans.
Emporia State leveled the match with a win in the fourth set, holding the Tigers to a .028 swing rate. The Tigers had one more block than the Hornets in the set, 3-2, but a 20-13 edge in digs helped the Hornets send things to a fifth set.
The Hornets seemed poised to cruise to the win after taking the first seven points in the fifth set, but the Tigers managed one final run to keep things interesting. After trailing 7-0 and 10-3, the Tigers captured 10 of the next 12 points to go in front by one, 13-12. Tinder opened the run with a kill before three consecutive Hornet miscues put the Tigers within three. Christiansen and Ellis then combined for a block to end a 5-0 run before a pair of kills from Eshbaugh and one from Ellis helped FHSU tie things up at 12. Claire Olson followed with her eighth kill of the match to put the Tigers two points away from a win, but Emporia State finished things off by taking the final three rallies.
The Tigers posted an attack percentage of .181 for the match with an efficient 52 assists on 56 kills, 10 service aces, 56 digs and five blocks. Emporia State combined for a .261 swing rate, tallying 53 assists on 57 kills, eight service aces, 57 digs and eight blocks.
Tinder picked up a career-best six service aces while leading the team with 13 kills and 15 digs for her third double-double of the year. Christiansen and Ellis both added 10 kills and three blocks, while Olson totaled her eight kills on just 14 swings to post an attack percentage of .500. Elysia Glowacz tossed up a team-best 30 service aces, while Felix added 20 assists and eight digs. Brooke Hyland tallied 13 digs, while Evans added three service aces without committing a service error.
After playing their first 10 matches on the road over the first three weeks of the season, the Tigers will finally play at home next weekend (Sept. 16-17) when FHSU hosts Central Oklahoma on Friday at 6 p.m. and Newman on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Friday
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team opened conference play with a four-set loss on the road against No. 2 Washburn Friday evening (Sept. 9), 21-25, 22-25, 25-23, 17-25. The Tigers (5-4, 0-1 MIAA) handed Washburn (9-0, 1-0 MIAA) just its fourth dropped set of the season, but the efficient Ichabod offense was ultimately too much to overcome.
Washburn jumped out to an early lead in the first set, leading by as eight before the Tigers scored six in a row to close within two. Riley Tinder opened the run with a kill before Emily Ellis dropped in back-to-back service aces. Morgan Christiansen then picked up a solo block before teaming up with Caiya Stucky for another swat, while Tinder finished off the run with another kill to help the Tigers narrow the gap to 21-19. The Ichabods recovered down the stretch, winning four of the last six points to clinch the set, 25-21.
Fort Hays State led for much of the second set, going up by as many as five at 18-13 and leading as late as 19-18 before WU pulled in front. The Tigers broke open a 12-12 tie with a 6-1 run before the Ichabods finished things off with a 12-4 push.
Four early blocks helped Fort Hays State race in front in the third set,10-4, before a six-point Ichabod run leveled the score at 10. The Tigers regained control with a 9-2 run to lead by as many as seven, 19-12, but the Ichabods attempted another comeback. Washburn closed within one late, 24-23, but it was too little, too late as an Ellis kill gave FHSU the 25-23 win.
The Ichabods closed things out with a strong fourth set, posting a team hitting percentage of .472 in the final frame to win 25-17. Fort Hays State countered with their best statistical set as well, posting a swing rate of .206 with just four errors.
The Tigers posted an attack percentage of .135 for the match while WU countered with a swing rate of .270. Mykah Eshbaugh led the Tigers with 14 kills, while Riley Tinder tallied 12 kills and eight digs, while Jaida Felix dished out 21 assists. Libero Brooke Hyland led the Tigers with 11 digs alongside five assists and one service ace.