Fort Hays State pushed its win streak to four games with a sweep of Friends University in Monday’s doubleheader. The Tigers took Game 1, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-21) and Game 2, 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-23).
FHSU (10-12, 1-7 MIAA) inched closer to the .500 mark with the victories, while Friends dropped to 19-8 (10-1 KCAC).
In the first match, The Tigers were led by Haley Corkill (12 kills, 13 digs) and Camille Hubert (12 kills, 12 digs). Tara Hoekman was close behind with nine kills.
Kelsey Broadwell (21 assists) and Raegan Vanderplas (17 assists) split time in the setter role while Rebekah Spainhour, Hoekman, Rachel Szczepanski and Lacie Shoemaker all had block assists in the match.
Tied at 15-all in the first set, FHSU would jump ahead 19-16, but Friends would not falter, tying the match at 19 and 21 before the Tigers took control, winning the set point on a Szczepanski kill.
In the second set, the Tigers would lead by as many as five before Friends tied the match, 15-15. After a timeout, however, FHSU would regain composure and cruise, closing the game on a 10-3 run to take the set, 25-18.
FHSU would again fall behind to start the third frame before rattling off four unanswered to lead, 5-3. Later in the decisive set, tied 15-15, the Tigers burst out on a 5-0 run, pulling ahead for good. FHSU won the set, and match, 25-21.
In the second contest of the night, FHSU’s Madison Schwartz and Taylor Mares led the way with 15 kills. Mares’ .421 hitting percentage was a team high.
Vanderplas (26 assists) and Broadwell (20 assists) once again sparked the Tigers. Jenna Ulrich continued her torrid pace as a blocker, knocking down six attacks (one solo block) on the night.
Makenzie Weinman’s defense played a crucial role in the four-set win as she dug out 34 attacks, 22 more than the nearest Tiger (Schwartz).
Despite leading by as many as six (12-6) in the first set, FHSU would falter, 25-21 to fall behind in the match, 0-1.
The second set started slow for the Tigers as Friends jumped out to a 7-1 lead before FHSU slowly crawled back into contention. Down 7-11, FHSU sprung off four straight points to tie. Those four unanswered points were part of a larger 6-1 run that gave the Fort Hays State a 13-12 lead. Tied at 15-all, FHSU broke out on a 5-1 run to grab the lead for good. The Tigers would take advantage of three straight errors by the Falcons to take the set, 25-22.
Out of intermission, FHSU led until 11-11, when the two squads would start back-and-forth play that brought them to a 23-23. At that point, Mares and Schwartz capitalized with kills to put the set away, 25-23.
The final set of the night proved to be another battle for the Tigers, as both teams played back-and-forth throughout. FHSU would lead by as many as three and trail by as many as two, until 23-22. Mares’ 14th and 15th kills of the night sandwiched a Falcon kill to give FHSU the match, 25-23.
Fort Hays State continues its home stand this weekend with conference matches against Missouri Southern on Friday, Oct. 25 and Southwest Baptist on Saturday, Oct. 26. Friday’s action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
-FHSU Sports Information-