FHSU Athletics
EDMOND, Okla. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team improved to 9-1 with a pair of victories Friday (Sept. 19) at the MIAA/GAC Crossover, with the Tigers holding on to defeat Southwestern Oklahoma State in five sets before cruising to straight-set victory over East Central.
Fort Hays State dropped in 18 service aces on the day, including eight from libero Kirsten Evans. Ashlyn Reeves led the team with 20 kills and eight blocks across the two matches, while Ella Goodwin added 19 kills.
The SWOSU Bulldogs dip to 2-9 on the year with the loss, while the orange and black Tigers are now 2-11 overall.
Fort Hays State 3, Southwestern Oklahoma State 2
The Tigers edged out Southwestern Oklahoma in a tight five-set match to begin the day, winning 25-17, 28-26, 17-25, 19-25, 15-11.
The first set opened with a back-and-forth exchange, but Fort Hays State gained momentum with a critical 7-0 run, highlighted by a pair of combo blocks from Reeves and Caiya Stucky Reyes, bringing the score to 11-5 at the midpoint. Gracie Rains and Reeves were instrumental in extending the lead, with each securing pivotal kills to thwart the Bulldogs' efforts. The set concluded with Fort Hays State securing a confident 25-17 victory thanks to 15 kills compared to only one error, good for an eye-popping swing rate of .500.
The second set began with Fort Hays State and the Bulldogs again trading points before SWOSU slowly took control. The Bulldogs later scored five in a row to lead 22-17, but a 4-0 Tiger run including kills from Reeves and Goodwin and an Evans ace helped FHSU close within one. The Bulldogs then reached set point at 24-21 before the Tigers again scored four in a row to retake the lead, 25-24. SWOSU answered back with back-to-back points to again reach set point, but the Tigers made the final push with three in a row to take the set, 28-26, on a Carsyn Cormaney kill.
The teams traded the lead six times early in the third set before SWOSU closed the frame on a 14-5 run to extend the match, 25-17.
Two service aces from Peyton Bergschneider helped the Tigers take an early 3-0 lead in the fourth set before the Bulldogs rallied to take the lead at 10-9. FHSU kept things close until SWOSU broke open a 16-16 tie with a 9-3 run, taking the set 25-19 to send the match to a fifth set.
Southwestern Oklahoma State led by as many as three early in the final set before the Tigers used a 3-0 run to go on top for the first time at 7-6. Back-to-back kills from Cormaney and two from Grace Schmedding helped the Tigers go up 11-8 before three kills from Rains helped the Tigers reach match point. Reeves finished things off with her team-high 14th kill, giving FHSU the match with a 15-11 win.
Reeves added a team-high five blocks, while Evans recording five aces and added 15 digs to her defensive efforts. Reyes coordinated the offense with 28 assists and added eight kills, nine digs and four blocks for a well-rounded performance. Rains chipped in 12 kills and one block, while Goodwin and Cormaney each had nine kills and three blocks. Hailey Smith and Paris Patterson both racked up 15 kills, with Smith adding six blocks to lead the Bulldogs.
The Tigers narrowly edged SWOSU in attack percentage, .165-.163. The Bulldogs racked up 16 blocks, compared to eight for the Tigers, while both teams totaled nine service aces. The Tigers held a 75-69 edge in blocks and a 54-46 advantage in assists.
Fort Hays State 3, East Central 0
After battling SWOSU for nearly 2.5 hours to start the day, Fort Hays State returned to the court 90 minutes later to sweep East Central, 25-22, 25-19, 25-17. FHSU recorded nine service aces for the second-straight match, overpowering ECU throughout the match. The victory was highlighted by a dominant attack percentage of .219 compared to East Central's .110.
Fort Hays State came into the first set with momentum, racing in front by as many as seven before ECU used a 9-2 run to tie the score at 22. Back-to-back kills from Bergschneider thwarted the run before an ECU error brought the frame to an end at 25-22.
East Central took control early in the second set, leading by as many as five at 13-8 before an FHSU timeout. The Black and Gold responded with a 6-1 run to level the score at 14 including two kills from Goodwin and one each from Schmedding, Cormaney, Reeves and Bergschneider. The teams then traded sets before a Cormaney kill gave FHSU its first lead of the set at 18-17. That kick-started a 6-0 FHSU run before Schmedding delivered the final blow for a 25-19 win.
In the third set, Fort Hays State secured a decisive 25-17 win highlighted by two Evans service aces and five kills from Goodwin. A 5-0 run in the heart of the frame gave FHSU control for good, including two kills from Goodwin, one from Bergschneider and a Cormaney ace.
Goodwin led the FHSU offense with 10 kills on 15 attempts, posting a hitting percentage of .533. Annie Eaton orchestrated the attack with 24 assists while adding two service aces. Reeves tallied six kills and three blocks, while Abrey Galt paced the team with eight digs alongside 14 assists and one ace. Jayla Buford led ECU with 12 kills alongside two blocks.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will wrap up competition in the MIAA/GAC Crossover on Saturday (Sept. 20) in Shawnee, Okla. when FHSU battles Northwestern Oklahoma State at 9 a.m. and Oklahoma Baptist at 12:30 p.m.