FHSU Athletics
SHAWNEE, Okla. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team finished up the GAC-MIAA Crossover with a pair of wins Friday, sweeping Ouachita Baptist in the battle of the Tigers before topping Southeastern Oklahoma State in four sets.
The Tigers are now 10-3 heading into Wednesday's (Sept. 16) conference opener against rival No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
Fort Hays State 3, Ouachita Baptist 0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-18)
Fort Hays State defeated Ouachita Baptist 3-0 in the opener, winning 25-16, 25-19, 25-18. Fort Hays State hit .277 for the match and nearly doubled OBU in kills, 46-29. FHSU also totaled eight service aces and 62 digs, compared with four aces and 49 digs for Ouachita Baptist.
The Tigers pulled away in the opening set after a 13-11 lead, with a Jaden Goldberg service ace, kills from Mylie Brown and Ella Goodwin, and a Sofia Ricci/Goodwin block helping build a 21-13 advantage. Brown later served consecutive aces to make it 24-15, and Goodwin closed the set with a kill for a 25-16 FHSU win.
Fort Hays State closed the second set with the final four points after Ouachita Baptist made it 21-19, finishing a 25-19 set win on Regan Widener's kill from Sophie Sander. Carsyn Cormaney served the last three points of the set, with FHSU also getting two Ouachita Baptist attack errors during the closing stretch. Earlier, Brown and Peyton Bergschneider each supplied multiple kills as the Tigers built a 15-9 lead.
FHSU used two four-point service turns to separate in the third set, first with Haylee Wolf serving three straight aces as the Tigers moved from 6-4 to 10-4. With FHSU ahead 15-13, Hope Duncan served four straight points to make it 19-13, including two Ricci block points and a Bergschneider kill. The Tigers finished the set 25-18 on an Ouachita Baptist attack error.
Goodwin led FHSU with 11 kills while hitting .333 and added three block assists. Wolf recorded 20 digs, six assists, and three service aces. Ricci finished with six total blocks and added six kills on 14 attacks without an error. Annie Eaton tallied a team-high 18 assists and added eight digs.
Fort Hays State 3, Southeastern Oklahoma State 1 )17-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-19)
Fort Hays State concluded the weekend with a 3-1 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State, winning 17-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-19. In the fourth set, Fort Hays State moved from a 12-11 deficit to a 16-13 lead before closing out the set. FHSU finished with 57 kills and 82 digs, while SEOSU had 36 kills, 59 digs and hit .123.
After falling behind 3-0 to open the first set, Fort Hays State could not pull even in a 25-17 loss to the Savage Storm Mylie Brown and Carsyn Cormaney helped the Tigers get within 9-7, but Southeastern Oklahoma State soon built a 21-12 advantage. Ella Goodwin and Sofia Ricci added late kills before the Savage Storm closed the set.
Fort Hays State broke from a 6-6 tie in the second with four straight points, getting kills from Cormaney, Brown and Regan Widener to take the lead for good. The Tigers kept control from there, closing the set with two Widener kills and a Cormaney service ace for a 25-16 finish.
In the third set, Fort Hays State protected a 21-20 edge by taking four of the final five points, with Cormaney and Peyton Bergschneider recording kills before Southeastern Oklahoma State errors ended the set. While FHSU never trailed in the frame, the Savage Storm kept things close throughout, forcing five ties as late as 18-18.
Trailing 12-10 in the fourth set, Fort Hays State surged in front by winning eight of the next nine rallies. Aces from Annie Eaton and Hope Duncan and kills from four different Tigers pushed the set to 18-13. The Savage Storm managed to close within 20-19, but a 5-0 Tiger run closed out the win. Kills by Brown, Widener and Bergschneider helped FHSU reach match point before a SEOSU error brought things to a close.
Ricci led Fort Hays State with 11 kills and six blocks (three solo) while hitting .474. Haylee Wolf recorded 18 digs and five assists. Eaton finished with 25 assists, 13 digs and one service ace. Widener added nine kills on a .368 hitting percentage with two block assists.