By FHSU Sports Information<\/b><\/p>\n
GOODWELL, Okla. – Fort Hays State remained perfect on the season with a pair of wins on Saturday (Aug. 25) at the Aggies Challenge, hosted by Oklahoma-Panhandle State. The Tigers defeated University of St. Thomas (Texas) 3-1 in their first match before sweeping University of the Southwest in the nightcap.<\/p>\n
Fort Hays State 3, St. Thomas (Texas) 1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 25-16)<\/strong><\/p>\n Fort Hays State needed four sets to turn away the University of St. Thomas (Texas). The Tigers jumped out of the gates with a 25-22 win in the first set before dropping the second set by four. FHSU regrouped and took control with set wins of five and nine points to close out the match.<\/p>\n Azlyn Cassaday<\/a> produced a new career high in kills with 20, hitting .204 for the match. Isabelle Reynolds<\/a> and Tatum Bartels<\/a> provided efficiency on offense. Reynolds produced 16 kills with a .394 hitting percentage, while Bartels added nine kills and four blocks with a .333 hitting percentage. Morgan West<\/a> was right behind Bartels with eight kills.<\/p>\n Bre Becker<\/a> produced 30 assists for the Tiger offense, while Amirah Bentley<\/a> shared the distribution duties with 22 assists. Abbie Hayes<\/a> averaged six digs per set to anchor the Tiger defensive effort, while Taylor White<\/a> added 11 digs and Abby Groth<\/a> had 10. The Tigers had 17 more digs than UST, holding a 68-51 edge in that category.<\/p>\n A 5-0 run by the Tigers in the first set, highlighted by a pair of service aces from Becker and kills from Reynolds and West, pushed the Tigers out to a 14-9 lead. St. Thomas closed the FHSU lead to one point three times, but a pair of kills from Bartels closed out the set. The Tigers produced a .448 hitting percentage in the opening set.<\/p>\n A rash of four straight attacking errors into the St. Thomas block put the Tigers down by three early. The Tigers knotted the score up at 14-14 with a 5-1 run and the remainder of the set was close until the Celts closed out the frame with a 3-0 run on Tiger mistakes (one bad set and two attack errors).<\/p>\n The Tigers used a 4-0 burst in the third set to push a two-point lead to six points. The Tigers coasted to a five-point win in the set thanks to a .317 hitting percentage in the set.<\/p>\n FHSU closed out the match by holding UST to a -.097 hitting percentage in the final set, using blocks to generate four points. A 7-0 run for the Tigers broke a 7-7 tie and they never looked back, leading by as many as 10 before the final margin settled at nine.<\/p>\n Bresha Orange led UST in kills with 13, while Brooke Garcia added 10. Hannah Westerlage had 22 assists and Kelsie Walker added 17. Libero Lauren Fernandez-Miller led the Celts in digs with 17.<\/p>\n Fort Hays State 3, University of the Southwest 0 (25-18, 25-6, 25-21)<\/strong><\/p>\n Fort Hays State remained perfect on the season with a three-set win over University of the Southwest in its final match of the Aggies Challenge in Goodwell, Okla. The Tigers cruised to a 2-0 lead before having to make a comeback from seven points down in the third set to win 25-21 and sweep the match.<\/p>\n Ashley Webb<\/a> and Kayla Vitztum<\/a> led the Tigers with nine kills each, while Webb added four blocks for the match. Amirah Bentley<\/a> (18) and Bre Becker<\/a> (17) shared the assister role, while Abbie Hayes<\/a> averaged six digs for the second straight match to finish with 18.<\/p>\n The Tigers held a steady lead all throughout the first set to eventually win by seven points, then dominated the second set with a 25-6 win. In the second set, the Tigers dominated with a .647 hitting percentage, while holding the Mustangs to -.208.<\/p>\n