EDMOND, Okla. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team captured the first two sets against No. 19 Central Oklahoma on Saturday (Oct. 15) before the Bronchos rallied to win in five sets, 27-25, 25-22, 16-25, 26-28, 9-15. The Tigers (10-12, 5-9 MIAA) recorded season highs with 99 digs, 63 kills and 59 assists, but Central Oklahoma (20-3, 10-3 MIAA) did just enough late to complete the comeback.
The match was back-and-forth all afternoon, featuring 52 ties and 23 lead changes. Neither side led by more than three in the first set, with the teams trading points throughout the frame. The Tigers fought off a UCO match point with a Morgan Christiansen kill before the senior middle hitter gave FHSU its own set point opportunity at 25-24. The Bronchos responded with a kill, forcing the 17th tie of the set, before Claire Olson tallied back-to-back kills to give the Tigers the 27-25 win.
Both sides traded points early in the second set before Central Oklahoma started to pull away, leading by as many as eight at 18-10. Down by seven later in the set, 20-13, Fort Hays State finished the set on a 12-2 run to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. The Tigers scored seven in a row to tie things up at 20, including three kills from Mykah Eshbaugh, one from Olson, one from Emily Ellis and one Kirsten Evans service ace. UCO later tied things up again at 22 before kills from Riley Tinder and Christiansen and a Broncho error handed FHSU the 25-22 win.
The third set was close early on, with the Tigers trailing by one as late as 13-12 before Central Oklahoma pulled away to extend the match with a 25-16 win. Fort Hays State had two match points in the fourth frame that included 15 ties and nine lead changes, but Central Oklahoma managed to fight back and force a fifth set with a 28-26 win. UCO led by as many as four early on, 12-8, before the Tigers tied things up at 14 with a 6-2 run. Neither side led by more than two after that point, with UCO ultimately reaching set point following a Tiger error. Christiansen kept the Tigers alive with a kill before a Broncho error helped the Tigers reach match point, 25-24. UCO hung around with a kill before an Ellis kill gave FHSU another chance to finish things off, but the Bronchos scored the next three points to force a fifth set.
The Tigers led for much of the fifth set, going up by as many as three, 9-6, following an Ellis service ace. But the Bronchos fought back by scoring the next nine points, finishing off the comeback with a 9-0 run to take the fifth set, 15-9.
Four Tigers reached double figures in kills, led by 16 from Christiansen, 15 from Tinder, 13 from Eshbaugh and 11 from Olson. Tinder added 15 digs for her ninth double-double on the year, while Christiansen and Olson each had six block assists to lead the Tigers. Caiya Stucky led the Tigers with a season-high 29 assists while adding three kills and one block. Jaida Felix picked up her fourth double-double with 21 assists and 13 digs.
Jaden Daffer led the Tigers with 31 digs, the most by a Tiger in nearly three years (Abbie Hayes, 31 digs vs UCO, 11/1/19). Fort Hays State tallied a .203 attack percentage, while UCO countered with a swing rate of .233.
The Tigers will return to Gross Memorial Coliseum for five of their final six regular season contests, including three in a row beginning Friday (Oct. 21) against Missouri Western beginning at 6 p.m. Fort Hays State currently sits in seventh place in the MIAA standings with three weeks remaining in the regular season, including matches against both teams just behind the Tigers in a tie for eighth in Missouri Southern and Missouri Western.
Friday
WICHITA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team used a well-balanced attack to defeat the Newman in four close sets on Friday (Oct. 14), completing the season sweep of the Jets. All four frames were decided by three or fewer points, with the Tigers (10-11, 5-8 MIAA) coming out on top 26-24, 25-23, 22-25, 26-24.
The Tigers led by as many as six midway through the first set, 15-9, before Newman (7-15, 2-10 MIAA) rallied to tie things up at 15. FHSU bounced back to go back up by three, but the Jets managed to storm in front with a four-point rally. The Tigers took a timeout down 21-20 before a Riley Tinder kill tied things up at 21. Newman followed with three-straight kills to reach set point, but the Tigers responded with a pair of Tinder kills and a block from Morgan Christiansen and Claire Olson to tie things up at 24. Tinder finished things off with her sixth kill of the set two points later.
Newman jumped in front by four early in the second set before the Tigers slowly chipped away at the lead. Fort Hays State fought its way in front, 19-18, after an Olson kill before the Jets scored the next two points to go back up by one. A Tinder kill and a Newman miscue put the Tigers ahead before the teams traded points to a 23-23 tie. Fort Hays State proceeded to finish things off with back-to-back kills from Emily Ellis and Tinder.
The Tigers seemed poised to complete the sweep after pulling in front by four early in the third set, 11-7. Newman had other plans, however, scoring 11 of the next 12 points to take a six-point lead, 18-12. The Tigers managed to pull within three on four occasions, down the stretch, but the Jet defense would not allow FHSU any closer.
Despite the narrow margin of victory in the final set, the Tigers never trailed across the entire fourth frame. Fort Hays State led by as many as four at five different points during the set, but Newman managed to keep things close the entire time. Consecutive kills from Christiansen followed a Tinder strike, giving FHSU a 10-6 lead early on before the Jets rallied to tie things up at 13. Aces from Kirsten Evans and Ellis helped the Tigers score six of the next eight points, giving FHSU a 19-15 advantage. Back-to-back kills from Olson later gave the Tigers a 23-19 edge, but Newman once again fought back to tie things up at 24. Ellis gave the Tigers a chance at match point with a kill before a Newman error brought the match to a close.
Three Tigers reached double figures in kills, led by Tinder with 16, Olson with 14 and Mykah Eshbaugh with 13. Ellis nearly reached double digits with nine kills, while Christiansen added six kills and two blocks. Jaida Felixdistributed 25 assists and added 12 digs for her third double-double of the year, while Caiya Stucky dished out a season-best 24 assists.
Jaden Daffer led the Tigers with 25 digs, including 12 in the first set alone. It was her seventh outing with at least 20 digs this season. The libero also dropped in three of FHSU’s six service aces. Tinder added 17 digs for her eighth double-double on the year.
The Tigers were outhit by the Jets, .230-.183. Newman also topped the Tigers in both blocks, 9-2, and digs, 93-88, but the biggest difference on the stat sheet ended up being seven ball handling errors on Newman to zero on the Tigers.