FHSU Athletics
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team went 1-1 on day one of the Volley in the Valley tournament Friday (Sept. 4), sweeping Fairmont State before coming within one point of a reverse sweep against host RV Colorado Mesa. The Tigers move to 6-1 on the year, with the Falcons and Mavericks, who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll, both now 4-2 overall.
The opening win over FSU helped the Tigers move to 6-0 at the time, their best start since winning a dozen in a row to start the 2016 campaign 11 years ago.
FHSU will wrap up the trip to Colorado on Saturday (Sept. 5) with two more matches against Adams State (noon/11 a.m. MT) and Sul Ross State (4:30 p.m./3:30 p.m. MT).
Fort Hays State 3, Fairmont State 0 - 26-24, 25-21, 25-16
A season-high 14 blocks and five or more kills from five different Tigers helped FHSU to a 26-24, 25-21, 25-16 sweep of Fairmont State in the first match of the day. Fort Hays State hit .250 and held Fairmont St. to .054, finishing with a 49-30 advantage in kills.
Neither side led by more than three in a tightly contested opening set that included 11 ties and eight lead changes. The Falcons led as late as 23-22, but the Tigers scored four of the final five points to take control of the match. Mylie Brown and Ella Goodwin helped reach set point with kills before back-to-back blocks from Goodwin and Ashlyn Reeves on the first and Goodwin and Carsyn Cormaney on the last. Reeves was crucial on offense in the first set, converting her first six swings into kills and finishing the frame with seven kills on eight attempts.
Fairmont State scored three of the first five points in the second set, but with Haylee Wolf serving FHSU built control and never trailed again in the match. The Tigers scored five in a row behind two Cormaney/Peyton Bergschneider blocks, a Cormaney kill, and a Goodwin kill. Two Brown kills helped the Black and Gold to a 7-2 run, extending the lead to 16-9 before Goodwin finished the 25-21 win with another kill.
The Tigers scored the first three points in the third set and never looked back, leading wire-to-wire to complete the sweep. An 8-2 run that featured kills from five different Tigers ballooned the lead to 21-12 before Brown's seventh kill in eight swings in the set secured the 25-16 win.
Reeves finished with 10 kills on a .421 hitting percentage and totaled nine blocks for a team-high 15.0 points. Brown led Fort Hays St. with 14 kills while hitting .571 and added three digs. Goodwin recorded 11 kills and seven blocks, while Eaton finished with 25 assists and nine digs.
RV Colorado Mesa 3, Fort Hays State 2 - 19-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-17Fort Hays State nearly completed a reverse sweep against the tournament hosts in the nightcap, losing to Colorado Mesa 19-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-17. In a match that included 31 ties and 16 lead changes, the Tigers had two chances at match point before the Mavericks rallied to score the final three to seal the win.
Fort Hays State led 18-15 in the first set, but Colorado Mesa scored 10 of the final 11 points to take it 25-19. Earlier, Hope Duncan served an ace and Peyton Bergschneider put down two kills as Fort Hays St. erased a 5-2 deficit and moved ahead 7-6.
The second set saw Colorado Mesa maintain momentum, leading wire-to-wire to win 25-16. Sofia Ricci did what she could to keep the Tigers in the mix, securing three of FHSU's six kills in the set on just four swings while adding a pair of blocks.
Fort Hays State won the third set 25-23, creating separation with a four-point stretch on Haylee Wolf's serve that moved the score from 15-12 to 19-12. Ella Goodwin supplied two kills during that run, and Colorado Mesa answered late to get back within 24-23 before Bergschneider finished the set with a kill from Annie Eaton.
The momentum really started to shift late in the fourth set when the Tigers mounted a huge rally, erasing a 22-17 deficit with seven straight points. The hosts led the entire way before a Bergschneider kill sparked the push. Jaden Goldberg helped the Tigers pull within one before a crucial successful challenge leveled the score at 22. Bergschneider later reached set point with another kill before a Maverick error sent things to a fifth set, 25-23.
The back-and-forth affair continued in the fifth, with neither side leading by more than three points in a frame that included nine ties and five lead changes. Kills from Ricci and Reeves and a combo block from the same two Tigers pushed the FHSU advantage to 12-9 before Mesa scored eight of the final 11 to hang on for the win. A pair of kills from Goodwin helped FHSU twice reach match point, but the Mavericks were able to hold on.
Bergschneider led with 14 kills and added four digs. Eaton finished with 32 assists, 15 digs and one service ace. Wolf recorded a team-high 16 digs and added six assists. Carsyn Cormaney posted five total blocks (three solo) and added one service ace.