By MAYAN PAZ
Tiger Media Network
FHSU volleyball returns to Gross Memorial Coliseum this weekend after a five-game road trip. The Tigers (13-6, 2-5) host Central Oklahoma and Arkansas-Fort Smith with hopes of ending a four-game losing streak and staying in the top-8 of the MIAA conference standings.
FHSU will start the weekend on Friday against UCO. The No. 4 nationally-ranked Bronchos come to Hays 18-2 overall and 4-2 in MIAA play and will be a formidable challenge for the Tigers. Fort Hays has not won a set in its four-game losing streak, which included two top-10 teams – No. 2 UNK and No. 9 Washburn.
Head Coach Jessica Wood-Atkins said she takes every game one at a time and is focused on preparation for the Bronchos.
“I think we need to take each team individually, one at a time. You can look at our conference and see that we’ve got five teams ranked in the top 20. We also know we can defeat all of them,” she said. “And so I think the key is to not look at the overall picture, but to look at what’s right in front of you. And yes, Central Oklahoma has a higher ranking, but they have a very definite approach, a very clear approach, which is a little bit easier to prepare for.”
Sophomore middle blocker Carsyn Cormaney is one of FHSU’s best point-scorers, averaging 2 points per set and is fifth on the team with 128 points overall. She reiterated that the Tigers are, first and foremost, concerned about their own performance level.
“Every weekend, we play a new team, and every team is very talented, and everything is very different, so we kind of just have to take control of our side and just prepare ourselves, instead of focusing on who’s on the other side of the net,” she said.
On Saturday, FHSU will continue against Arkansas-Fort Smith (12-7, 3-4). This will be a direct battle for a spot in the MIAA standings, as the Lions are 7th in the standings, one spot above the Tigers.
Wood-Atkins said that she takes a positive approach after each match in order to make the transitions between games easier, especially back-to-backs. She added that the team is working on fine-tuning the little issues that are damaging their results so far.
“I think I’m just honest with the girls, and I think that they appreciate that, because they want to win, and they know we want to win. And I think the positive thing that we have is that they know that sometimes the coach has confidence in the players, and they don’t have confidence in themselves,” she said. “But I would say this year, we all have confidence. Last week, that could have gone either way. We played very well. And so I think they know that we’ve got to capitalize on some of those tighter balls, clean it up a little bit, and that’s a difference maker. Those things are easy to fix. And so I think they recognize just how close they are.”
FHSU and Central Oklahoma play at 6 p.m. tonight in Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers and UAFS Lions will play at 1 p.m. on Saturday.