BY RAEGAN NEUFELD
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It was a \u2018get your money’s worth\u2019 type of game for volleyball fans on Friday night at the Gross Memorial Coliseum.
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The Tigers started off the 2021 Homecoming Weekend by playing the Griffons of Missouri Western State University. Coming into the game, Missouri Western boasted an overall record of 9-3 and a conference record of 1-2, while Fort Hays sat at 8-5 and 2-2.
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Both teams put the pressure on from the beginning. Despite resulting in a 3-2 loss for the Tigers, Head Coach Jessica Wood-Atkins was not disappointed with her team\u2019s performance.
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\u201cWe played great,\u201d she said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t be more proud of the way the girls showed up and competed.\u201d
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Out of their last five matches, this is the third that has gone to five sets. Wood-Atkins acknowledged her team\u2019s resilience in those games.
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\u201cWe\u2019re getting pushed and we\u2019re pushing back. That\u2019s something that we\u2019ve had to work on and I think they\u2019re coming into nicely,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen it goes to five it\u2019s tough, it\u2019s a 50\/50 chance. We\u2019ve done well in the last two and unfortunately this one didn\u2019t go in our favor, but it very well could have.\u201d
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The Tigers and Griffons alternated wins, for an outcome of 21-25, 25-12, 22-25, 25-16, and 12-15.
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Aside from the second, each set was very close for the majority of the time. Several long rallies occurred throughout the game, entertaining the crowd with the determination of both teams.
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The stats between the teams were fairly even. Missouri Western had only two fewer attack errors, slightly better reception percentage, and six more digs, which goes back to Wood-Atkins comment about the game being 50\/50.
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For the Tigers frontline, Claire Olson led with 15 kills, Morgan Christiansen and Riley Tinder coming behind her with 12 each. Christiansen also picked up a solo block, as did Jaysa Wichers, which contributed to the 13 total team blocks. Elysia Glowacz and Olivia Hessmann only had one setting error each throughout the entire game.
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The back row was equally as solid. There were only four total reception errors on the night. Isabelle Reynolds and Jaden Daffer led the team in digs, with 24 and 23, respectively.
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As for serving, Daffer dished out one ace and Tinder three, while the team served 97.1 percent as a whole.
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Christiansen and Daffer agreed that the loss would help them for the next game
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\u201cWe played good, even though we lost,\u201d Christiansen said, \u201cTomorrow we\u2019re going to come back. That\u2019s one of our best volleyball games we\u2019ve played, and we\u2019re going to do a lot better with our shots tomorrow.\u201d
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Daffer also noted that as the game went on, everyone was trying to bring their energy up even more and will take that into the next game. \u201cI think tomorrow we\u2019ll be ready as ever,\u201d she said.
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\u201cWe\u2019ve still got a few pieces to put together, but that\u2019s part of growing together as a team,\u201d Wood-Atkins said. \u201cBut our girls are learning how to fight and it gets better every time.\u201d
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With the loss, Fort Hays\u2019 record goes to an overall 8-6, and 2-3 in the MIAA.
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The Tigers also played on Saturday, dropping a 3-0 decision to Northwest Missouri State. FHSU will be back in action at 6:00 p.m. on October 5th versus Nebraska-Kearney, at Gross Memorial Coliseum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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