FHSU Athletics
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team split a pair of matches for the second day in a row at the Volley in the Valley tournament Saturday (Sept. 5), losing to Adams State in five sets before sweeping Sul Ross State in the weekend finale. The Tigers are now 7-2 on the year, while the Grizzlies move to 3-5 and the Lobos dip to 0-8.
The Tigers will continue non-conference play next week (Sept. 10-11) in Shawnee, Okla. at the GAC-MIAA Crossover. FHSU will first play host RV Oklahoma Baptist (10 a.m.) and Southern Nazarene (6 p.m.) on Thursday before taking on Ouachita Baptist (11 a.m.) and Southeastern Oklahoma State (4 p.m.) on Friday.
Adams State 3, Fort Hays State 2 (23-25, 25-18, 24-26, 25-17, 16-18)
Despite a significant statistical advantage, including a 113-104 edge in total points, a .217-.135 margin in swing percentage, a 13-6 lead in total blocks and a 98-80 difference in digs, the Tigers suffered a five-set defeat to Adams State in the first match of the day. The teams swapped sets all afternoon, with the Grizzlies taking sets one, three and five by just two points while the Tigers won sets two and four by seven and eight points, respectively.
The Tigers trailed by as many as five midway through the first set, but a 4-0 run later tied the score. ASU bounced back to take a 24-20 lead before the Tigers saved three set points to pull within 24-23, but the Grizzlies ended the run to take the set 25-23.
FHSU finally broke through in a back-and-forth second set when the Tigers scored four in a row following a tie at 12, including two Peyton Bergschneider kills and an Annie Eaton-Carsyn Cormaney block. Two kills from Mylie Brown and a final kill from Ella Goodwin helped the Tigers finish the set on a 5-2 run, leveling the match with a 25-18 win.
The Tigers trailed for much of the third set, but wiped out a 23-18 deficit with a 5-0 run to battle back. Brown and Reeves both contributed two kills during the run before the Grizzlies battled back to win three of the next four points, winning the set 26-24.
Adams State scored five of the first six points of the fourth set to keep rolling before a 14-4 Tiger run put FHSU in complete control. Three blocks helped the Tigers to six-straight points before three Cormaney kills pushed the lead to 15-9. FHSU maintained the momentum the rest of the way, with a Brown kill securing a 25-17 win.
Playing in a fifth set for the second time in as many days, the Tigers led by as many as five at 9-4 following a Delaney Gish service ace. ASU fought back with an 8-2 run to momentarily take the lead before FHSU bounced back to reach match point on a Goodwin kill. ASU was able to fend off a pair of match points before scoring three in a row to seal the 18-16 win.
Brown led the Tigers with 20 kills and committed just three errors while hitting .309. Reeves recorded 13 kills on a .308 hitting percentage and added eight total blocks for 18 points. Eaton finished with 51 assists, 20 digs and four block assists. Haylee Wolf collected a team-high 30 digs and added one service ace.
Brown's performance was the first 20-kill match for a Tiger since October 2024 (Gracie Rains 23 kills at UAFS, 10/19/24). Eaton's effort was the first 50-assist outing since that same UAFS contest (Caiya Stucky 53 assists), while Wolf's 30-dig outing was the first for the Tigers in four years (Jaden Daffer 31 digs vs. NWOSU, 9/3/22).
Fort Hays State 3, Sul Ross State 0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-5)
The Tigers left little doubt in the nightcap, trailing for all of two points while swinging at a .425 rate (39-5-80) to cruise past the Lobos, 25-12, 25-21, 25-5. It was the second time this season the Tigers posted an attack percentage over .400.
Four different Tigers recorded six or more kills with three recording multiple service aces. The five points allowed in the third set are the fewest allowed by the team since 2018 (25-5 second set vs. Science and Arts, 8/24/18).
The Tigers built a 15-8 lead midway through the first set before Jaden Goldberg served FHSU to a 7-0 run including two aces. After Sul Ross State scored three straight at set point, Carsyn Cormaney closed the set with a kill from Annie Eaton to seal a 25-12 win.
The Lobos claimed quick leads at 1-0 and 3-2 In the second set, but a 5-1 run including kills from Hannah Schade and Ashlyn Reeves put the Tigers back on top. FHSU led by as many as four before the Lobos rallied to tie things at 20, but another 5-1 run gave the Tigers the 25-21 win.
A pair of 7-0 runs allowed FHSU to dominate the third set, winning 25-5. The Tigers did not commit an error in the set, swinging at an incredible .684 rate after recording 13 kills on just 19 attempts. FHSU had five service aces from five different players in the set, while Cormaney tallied five kills on six attempts.
Cormaney shared the team lead with eight kills, hit .571, and added three block assists. Regan Widener also recorded eight kills on .571 hitting and contributed two block assists. Eaton finished with 17 assists, six digs and one service ace. Duncan collected a team-high 10 digs and added two service aces.