Sep 26, 2021

🏐 FHSU volleyball holds off Jets in five

Posted Sep 26, 2021 5:21 AM

  WICHITA, Kan. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team outlasted Newman in five sets Saturday afternoon (Sept. 25), taking the second, third and fifth sets to secure its second conference victory of the season (23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 15-13). The Tigers are now 8-5 on the year and 2-2 in league action, while Newman is now 5-5 overall and 1-3 in MIAA play.

The match was close all afternoon, featuring 37 ties and 11 lead changes. The opening set included 10 of those ties and six of the lead changes, with neither side leading by more than three at any point. Fort Hays State scored three in a row on kills from Emily Ellis and Claire Olson and a service ace from Elysia Glowacz to take an 18-17 lead before Newman bounced back to go back in front. A kill from Mykah Eshbaugh later tied the score at 23, but the Jets responded with the next two points to take the opening set, 25-23.

The teams traded points early in the second set before a 3-0 run turned a 14-14 tie into a 17-14 Tiger lead. Ellis opened the run with a kill before Olson doubled the lead. Ellis capped the run with a solo block, forcing the Jets to use a timeout. Newman later closed within two, 20-18, but the Tigers closed the set on a 5-1 run to level the match.

Fort Hays State trailed as late as 14-12 in the third set before going on a 5-0 run to leap in front, 17-14. Olson began the run with back-to-back kills before Isabelle Reynolds dropped in a pair of service aces. Newman fought back to tie the score at 17, but the Tigers scored the next three and never looked back, going on to win 25-21.

Newman started to pull away midway through the fourth set, but Fort Hays State battled back to tie things up at 18 on a kill from Riley Tinder. But the run would end there for the Tigers, with the Jets taking the next five points to go up 23-18. Fort Hays State scored three-straight to close within two before Newman scored on the final two rallies to send the match to a decisive fifth set.

The Tigers got to work early in the fifth set, securing the first three points to take the lead for good. Newman kept things close, closing within one point on five occasions. But the Tigers had an answer each time, including on a long final rally when Morgan Christiansen recorded a solo block to give the Tigers the win.

Five different Tigers recorded 10 or more kills while a sixth added eight. Olson paced the team with 19 kills and added one solo block, while Christiansen had 12 kills and five blocks, including four solo. Eshbaugh, Ellis and Tinder all tallied 10 kills, with Ellis chipping in four solo blocks and Tinder picking up a double-double with a team-best 25 digs. Reynolds picked up eight kills and 19 digs. Elysia Glowacz totaled 32 assists and one kill while Olivia Hessman recorded 25 assists and six digs. Jaden Daffer racked up 23 digs while adding five assists and one service ace.

Fort Hays State collected 11 more kills than Newman did on the day, 70-59. The Jets were credited with 19 blocks, while the Tigers picked up 10 stops at the net. FHSU recorded five service aces in the victory, including two each from Glowacz and Reynolds. The Tigers recorded a .199 attack percentage on the day while holding Newman to a swing rate of .162.

The Tigers will return to Gross Memorial Coliseum when they host a pair of conference opponents over homecoming weekend. FHSU will first battle Missouri Western on Friday (Oct. 1) beginning at 6 p.m. before turning around to host No. 13 Northwest Missouri State on Saturday (Oct. 2) at 3 p.m.

FHSU Athletics