FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team cruised to a pair of three-set sweeps Friday (Aug. 28) on day two of the FHSU Tiger Classic, easily beating Regis and Midwestern State. The Tigers (3-0) hit a combined .383 across the two matches, including a .324 effort against the Rangers and a blistering .442 performance against the Mustangs, the latter of which was their first .400 or better performance against an NCAA Division II opponent in 10 years (.400 vs. Oklahoma Pahandle State, 10/11/16).
The Tigers will wrap up their home tournament on Saturday (Aug. 29) when they host Eastern New Mexico beginning at noon.
Fort Hays State 3, Regis 0 - 25-17, 25-16, 25-20
The Tigers set the tone early in the first set of the day, scoring the first four points with a block and kills from Ella Goodwin, Mylie Brown and Ashlyn Reeves. The home team soon padded its lead to 12-4 before maintaining the edge the rest of the way, winning 25-17.
Fort Hays State only trailed the Rangers once, falling behind 6-3 early in the second. But a timely 5-0 rally put the Tigers back on top for good, including key freshmen contributions in a Sofia Ricci kill and a Sophie Sander ace. FHSU led the rest of the way, closing the stanza with a 7-2 run to win 25-16.
Five kills from another freshman, Hannah Schade, propelled the Black and Gold to a 25-20 win in the final set. The Tigers led 20-13 before a 4-1 Ranger run extended the match. Back-to-back kills from Brown helped FHSU reach match point before Ricci sealed the deal with the final kill.
Eight different Tigers totaled at least four kills, led by nine each from Brown and Goodwin. Annie Eaton distributed 21 assists, while Haylee Wolf paced the team with 12 digs.
Fort Hays State 3, Midwestern State 0 - 25-12, 25-15, 25-17
The Tigers turned things up a notch offensively in the nightcap, swinging a blistering .429 in the first set before following that up with an uncanny .559 effort in the second. FHSU never trailed in either set, scoring seven of the first eight points in the opener and 10 of the first 11 one stanza later.
FHSU hit the Mustangs from every angle, with Reeves and Goodwin combining for nine kills in the first before Peyton Bergschneider and Carsyn Cormaney combined for nine in the second. Eaton distributed 41 assists on the night, averaging 13.7 per set.
The Mustangs mounted one rally all evening, scoring four in a row in the third to turn a 9-6 deficit into a 10-9 lead. But the Tigers quickly thwarted the threat, scoring three of the next four to go back on top. FHSU finished things off with an 8-1 run, including three more kills from Brown and two from Reeves to cap off the dominant win.