BY RAEGAN NEUFELD
Too many early mistakes set the tone for Fort Hays in their 3-0 loss to Pittsburg State on Friday.
A number of unforced errors caused the Tigers (10-17, 5-14 MIAA) to fall behind early in the first set, at one point by as many as ten. While FHSU was able to close the gap slightly, the Gorillas (16-13, 10-10 MIAA) ultimately won 25-19. The Tigers led the entire second set until the last five points, losing 25-20. PSU was then able to close out the game in the third set, 25-19.
“We started too slow and made too many errors, and that was the story of the game,” Head Coach Jessica Wood-Atkins said. “When we were in it we were playing good ball, but then we made errors at really bad times.”
The Gorillas had the edge over FHSU in every statistical category, the most notable being kills and attack errors. PSU recorded 40 kills and just 15 attack errors to the Tigers’ 34 and 25.
FHSU had previously beaten PSU 3-2 earlier on in the season. The difference, according to Wood-Atkins, was the Gorillas’ preparation.
“We had shifted our lineup [last time] and they weren’t ready for that,” she said. “We had the same lineup this time. They were certainly ready for it and we didn’t adjust well. We were trying to hit the same shots and do the same things, and not recognizing that we needed to change our game a little bit.”
The perspective of the players was similar.
“I have to give props to [PSU],” said outside hitter Riley Tinder. “They really scouted us well tonight and I think we weren’t as prepared as we wanted. If we can fix our errors we’re a much better team.”
Tinder led the Tigers in kills with nine, followed by Mykah Eshbaugh who had eight. Setters Caiya Stucky and Jaida Felix dished out 15 and 14 assists, respectively. Tinder also led the team in digs with 16. Finishing behind her were libero Jaden Daffer with 14 and defensive specialist Kirsten Evans with 10.
“We just need to eliminate some of the unforced errors that we had,” Daffer said. “Keep swinging no matter what, keep diving for everything and keep communicating and encouraging each other as much as we can.”
The game tomorrow against Missouri Southern marks the end of the regular season for FHSU. Fixing their errors from Friday night will be a big focus for the Tigers, among other things.
“We’re just going to go back to having some fun and remembering why we play,” Tinder said. “We just need to come out with some grit and fire and play for our seniors.”
The Tigers will play in Gross Memorial Coliseum for their last game on Saturday, starting at 5:30 p.m. The match will serve as senior night honoring seniors Eshbaugh, Emily Ellis and Morgan Christiansen.