FHSU Athletics
BOLIVAR, Mo. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team extended its winning streak to six matches with a pair of wins on day one of the SBU Invitational on Friday. The Tigers rallied to defeat Truman State in five sets before toppling Ouachita Baptist in four frames.
Fort Hays State is now 7-1 on the year, while Truman State dips to 0-10 overall and Ouachita Baptist moves to 6-4.The Tigers will wrap up the weekend Saturday when they take on tournament host Southwest Baptist at 11:45 a.m.
Fort Hays State 3, Truman State 2 (20-25, 25-22, 23-25, 27-25, 15-12)
The Tigers opened the weekend with a five-set battle against Truman State. The Bulldogs led for nearly all of the first set, winning 25-20. FHSU battled back with a 25-22 win in the second set, before TSU closed within one set of its first win of the season with a 25-23 victory in set three.
The Tigers stormed back, quickly taking a nine-point lead in the fourth set, 13-4. The Bulldogs responded with a run of their own, leveling the score at 19 before taking a 23-20 lead. Four-straight kills from Gracie Rains helped the Tigers reach set point before Grace Schmedding secured the 27-25 win with a kill.
Fort Hays State took an early three-point lead in the deciding fifth set before TSU scored five in a row to go up 8-6. The Tigers bounced back by scoring the next four points, regaining the lead on a combo block from Claire Olson and Taytum Lovesee. Caiya Stucky ended the match with a kill, completing a 15-12 fifth-set win.
Fort Hays State racked up 19 blocks in the win, the fifth-most in a match by a Division II program so far this season and the most by the Tigers since October 2022 (20 vs. Washburn, 10/11/22). Lovesee had 10 blocks, including three solo blocks, while Stucky and Ashlyn Reeves each had six. Olson and Rains both contributed five blocks.
Rains led the team with 23 kills, with Schmedding and Reeves chipping in 11 kills each. Stucky dished out 36 assists, with Abrey Galt tossing up 15 assists. Kirsten Evans led the way with 19 digs, while Delaney Gish recorded 13 digs and two service aces.
Fort Hays State 3, Ouachita Baptist 1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-23)
The black and gold Tigers bounced back from a slow start against the purple and gold-clad Tigers of Ouachita Baptist, winning in four sets after losing the opening frame.
Fort Hays State took control in the second set thanks to a 7-1 run that turned a six-all tie into a 13-7 lead. FHSU led the rest of the way in the set, ultimately winning 25-22 on a kill from Rains.
Ouachita Baptist scored the first point of the third set, but that was its only lead as FHSU scored the next four points to go in front for good. Fort Hays State later pushed the lead to 10 before OBU clawed back, closing within one after a 10-1 run. A service ace from Tallon Rentschler helped FHSU reach set point before Stucky ended the 25-23 frame with a kill.
Fort Hays State trailed by as many as eight in the fourth set, 17-9, before rallying back with an 11-2 run. The run began with four-straight blocks bookended by kills from Galt, quickly allowing FHSU to close within 18-15. Two kills each from Lovesee and Rains then gave the black and gold Tigers a 20-19 lead before Reeves finished off the match with a kill.
Rains again led the Tigers in kills, totaling 20 kills to go along with seven digs and two blocks. Reeves racked up 12 kills and seven blocks (two solo), while Galt distributed 43 assists alongside seven kills, one service ace and four blocks. Evans recorded 25 digs and a team-high four service aces in the win.