By MAYAN PAZ
Tiger Media Network
A serious challenge awaits FHSU volleyball this Saturday in Gross Memorial Coliseum. The No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney Lopers are scheduled to arrive in Hays. UNK has an impressive 20-2 overall record and 7-2 mark in the MIAA. Last week, the Lopers played Arkansas-Fort Smith and Central Oklahoma, winning both games.
The Tigers (14-7, 3-6) also faced UCO and UAFS, splitting with a 3-0 loss to UCO and a 3-1 victory against UAFS. The win against Arkansas-Fort Smith was their first win after five consecutive losses, and a sigh of relief was sounded by the volleyball team coaches and players.
Libero Kirsten Evans, who leads the Tigers with 275 digs this season, said it was a great feeling to win against the Lions, especially after losing 16 sets in a row before their win.
“It was awesome,” Evans said. “It’s been tough, losing five in a row now, before that, and it was just a great feeling. Even after winning the first set that we did, it was just like, ‘Oh, we’re back. We’re better.’ And it was awesome. We practiced on Monday, and we all came in a lot more light, and we had more fun, more communication, and it was really good.”
Following recent results in the MIAA and their win last week, the Tigers are now ranked 7th in the MIAA and look to keep improving their position ahead of the final stages of the season. FHSU already faced the Lopers earlier this month and lost 3-0 on the road. The Lopers are a part of the Northern half of the MIAA, a half that the Tigers will face twice this season. This will be the first match of the second round against the Northern teams.
FHSU Head Coach Jessica Wood-Atkins said the team knows there is a complicated challenge lying ahead.
“I think it’s in two parts. We just saw them two weeks ago, and so I think there’s a sense of confidence in the girls, in knowing that we’re coming on strong, and we just saw them, and so we’re pretty familiar with their style,” Wood-Atkins said. “At the same time, we’re heading into the north again, and it’s significantly stronger and tougher. And so I think that it is putting a sense of urgency in how strongly we practice and how well we play in them. But as a coach, I think that’s a good thing.”
After some injury struggles, the Tigers are enjoying a week with only one game, as opposed to the usual two-game week. This allows the players to recover and also to invest more effort in training ahead of the weekend’s matchup.
Wood-Atkins said that this is a meaningful break for the Tigers.
“We don’t have any midweek games, and we’ve got one match this weekend, so I think the girls are actually doing better,” she said. “We’re not dealing with the same injuries that we were. And so I think we can afford to push. We don’t need to be as conservative with injury prevention as we were about two weeks ago.”
The Tigers will host the Lopers at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Gross Memorial Coliseum, trying to create a winning streak and improve their position in the MIAA standings.