FHSU Athletics
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team fell in five sets Saturday (Sept. 24) at Missouri Western, 19-25, 25-15, 25-23, 21-25, 7-15. The Tigers (6-8, 1-5 MIAA) led the way in kills, service aces and blocks, but the Griffons (4-9, 1-4 MIAA) built enough of an edge in offense to take the match.
The lead changed hands three times early in the first set before Missouri Western pulled away midway through the frame. Fort Hays State rallied late to close within two after trailing by as many as six, but the Griffons finished off the set with a 6-2 run.
Fort Hays State pulled away after and early back-and-forth in the second set, scoring eight in a row to turn a 6-5 deficit into a 13-6 lead. Gracie Rains opened the run with a kill before five consecutive Griffon errors, including a solo block from Emily Ellis and a combo block from Ellis and Caiya Stucky. The lead grew to nine later in the set following an ace from Ellis and kills from Morgan Christiansen and Stucky before a Rains kill finished off the 25-15 rout. Fort Hays State recorded a .343 attack percentage in the set while racking up four blocks.
Three service aces and 13 more kills helped Fort Hays State take a 2-1 lead in the match with a narrow 25-23 win in the third set. The Tigers led by as many as three, 13-10, on a Kirsten Evans service ace before Missouri Western stormed in front by four, 21-17. Fort Hays State called a timeout to regroup and promptly scored five in a row to regain the lead, 22-21. Rains opened the run with a kill before Jaden Daffer dropped in an ace. A block from Claire Olson and Ellis gave the Tigers the lead before Ellis later brought the set to an end with another kill.
Fort Hays State jumped in front by three early in the fourth set, but MWSU quickly bounced back to take a 7-6 lead. The Tigers later trailed by four, 15-11, before storming back to tie things up at 19 with an 8-4 run. The Griffons regained control after that point, scoring six of the final eight points to win 25-21, before leading for most of the fifth set to win 15-7.
A pair of Tigers reached double figures in kills, led by 12 from Riley Tinder and 10 from Ellis. Tinder added 13 digs for her second double-double of the weekend and fifth of the season, while Ellis also chipped in a team-high three service aces and five blocks (two solo). Felix recorded 19 assists, with Stucky adding 18 assists, four kills, eight digs and one block. Missouri Western was led by Danielle Moje's 15 kills.
Fort Hays State will wrap up a three-match road trip Tuesday (Sept. 27 6 p.m.) at No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney before returning to Gross Memorial Coliseum to host No. 11 Northwest Missouri State for the annual Dig Pink match on Saturday.