By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team grabbed its third win in a row Saturday evening (Oct. 8), outlasting Pittsburg State in five sets, 25-19, 24-26, 17-25, 25-16, 15-13. Mykah Eshbaugh went off for a career-high 21 kills in the win, the most by a Tiger in more than three years.
Fort Hays State (9-10, 4-7 MIAA) came from behind in the first set with multiple big runs, turning a 14-11 deficit into a 25-19 set victory after scoring 14 of the final 19 points. Eshbaugh jumped out to a quick start, totaling six kills on 11 attempts in the first set alone.
The second set featured 11 ties and eight lead changes, with the Tigers leading as late as 24-22 before Pittsburg State (12-9, 6-6 MIAA) scored the final four points to level the match at one. The Gorillas maintained control in the third set, winning 25-17, before FHSU responded with an equally-dominant fourth set win, 25-16. The Tigers recorded an attack percentage of .364 in the fourth set, totaling 14 kills as a team to just two attack errors. The teams traded points early on before Fort Hays State secured the set on a 16-6 run, turning a 10-9 deficit into a nine-point win.
Pittsburg State led by as many as four early in the fifth set, 5-1, before the Tigers fought back to tie things up at six. The teams traded points until FHSU rattled off three in a row to take its first lead of the set, 12-11. The Gorillas then tied the score at 12 before another Eshbaugh kill and a PSU error helped the Tigers reach set point, 14-12. Pittsburg State appeared to win the next two rallies to level the score at 14, but a successful challenge on the final point found that a Gorilla touched the net on an attempted block, giving the Tigers the win and giving Eshbaugh her 21st and final kill of the match.
Riley Tinder also reached double figures in kills, totaling 13 kills and 12 digs for another double-double. Jaida Felix also tallied a double-double with 30 assists and 10 digs, while Caiya Stucky added 16 assists, three kills and two blocks. Emily Ellis racked up eight blocks (one solo), while Claire Olson had six (one solo) and Morgan Christiansen had four. Jaden Daffer paced the Tigers with 17 digs.
The Tigers totaled 13 team blocks, their second-most in a match this season, while combining for an attack percentage of .215 and holding PSU to a swing rate of .139. Fort Hays State also led the way with nine service aces, compared to seven for the Gorillas.
Fort Hays State, now seventh in the MIAA standings, looks to make it four in a row when the Tigers return to Gross Memorial Coliseum to host No. 12 Washburn on Tuesday (Oct. 11) at 6 p.m.
Friday
The Fort Hays State volleyball team picked up its second-consecutive sweep of a conference opponent Friday (Oct. 7), defeating Missouri Southern in straight sets on the road, 25-17, 25-20, 25-20. The Tigers (8-10, 3-7 MIAA) picked up 10 total blocks and dropped in eight service aces while limiting the Lions (8-10, 3-6 MIAA) to a .122 attack percentage.
Fort Hays State took control early in the first set with an 8-0 run, turning a 7-6 deficit into a 14-7 lead. Riley Tinder got things going with three-straight kills before Emily Ellis and Caiya Stucky teamed up for a block, putting the Tigers up by three and forcing a Lion timeout. Brooke Hyland dropped in a pair of aces after the timeout, bookending kills from Ellis and Stucky that helped balloon the lead to seven. Back-to-back blocks, first from Stucky and Morgan Christiansen and then Tinder and Christiansen, pushed the lead as high as nine at 18-9 before FHSU finished off the 25-17 win on a Mykah Eshbaugh kill.
The Tigers led by as many as five early in the second, 10-5, before Missouri Southern battled back to tie the score at 14. The frame was tied as late as 18-18, but the Tigers wrapped up the set on a 7-2 run thanks to service aces from Ellis and Jaida Felix and one final kill from Christiansen.
Missouri Southern took its largest lead of the evening early in the third set, going up by as many as four before the Tigers battled back. Fort Hays State took first lead of the set at 14-13 in the midst of a 6-1 run that culminated in an 18-14 Tiger advantage. Ellis recorded a pair of kills and one block assist during the run. The Lions kept things close down the stretch, but could never get within any fewer than three points of the Tigers. Claire Olson secured the sweep with a kill on the last point of the match, giving the Tigers another 25-20 set win.
Eshbaugh took over in the third set, tallying seven of her team-high 12 kills in the final frame while recording zero errors on 13 swings. Tinder also reached double figures with 11 kills alongside seven digs, four blocks and one service ace. Ellis racked up eight kills, six blocks and two aces, while Jaden Daffer led the team with 16 digs. Felix tossed up 20 assists with Stucky adding 15 assists, four blocks and two kills.