After suffering a frustrating five-set loss to Central Oklahoma the night before, the Fort Hays State volleyball team bounced back to defeat Pittsburg State in five sets on Sunday at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays. Trailing two sets to one, the Tigers won the fourth set 25-20, then dominated the fifth set 15-4 to move to 23-10 overall and 7-7 in the MIAA.
FHSU held the lead throughout much of the first set, but Pittsburg State rallied past the Tigers late to take the set 25-23. The second set remained tight throughout and the Tigers were able to go on a three-point burst to lead 22-19 and then took the set 25-22.
Pittsburg State took control of the third set early and never looked back, eventually winning the set by eight. The Tigers would not go quietly, as they came out swinging in the fourth to build an 8-2 lead and eventually led by 10 at 16-6. The Gorillas made it a bit closer in the end, but the Tigers still won by five.
Fort Hays State left no doubt in the fifth set by going on a 10-0 run to start the set, nine points while Tara Hoekman was serving. The Tigers had five kills coupled with five attack errors by the Gorillas to open the set, two of the errors were on blocks by the Tigers. FHSU hit .500 in the final set with nine kills and no errors on 18 attempts, while Pittsburg State hit -.083 in the final set. After the Gorillas hit over .230 in each of the first three sets, the Tigers held them to .073 in the fourth and then the negative percentage in the final set.
Madison Schwartz led the attack for FHSU with 15 kills and 13 digs for a double-double. Jenna Ulrich had 14 kills and eight blocks. Taylor Mares also reached double figures in kills with 12. Kayla Zoglman led in assists with 54 and added 11 digs for a double-double. Tare Hoekman led FHSU in digs with 21, followed by Makenzie Weinman with 19. Sara Hewson also reached double figures in digs with 11.
Crystal Whitten and Brooke Fay tied with a team-high 15 kills for Pittsburg State. Nicole Rockhold added 14 and Haylee Gregory had 10. Becca Pearson led PSU in assists with 36 and Crista McCaw had a team-high 24 digs.
Fort Hays State hits the road to face Washburn, currently ranked No. 3 in Division II, on Tuesday in Topeka, Kan. The match is set to begin at 7 pm.
– FHSU Sports Information –