FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State pushed nationally-ranked Nebraska-Kearney to the brink, but couldn’t pull off the upset as the Tigers fell, 3-2 (11-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-15, 12-15), to No. 4 UNK.
The Tigers (5-4, 0-1 MIAA) forced a fifth set with the Lopers for the first time since 2003, when FHSU last defeated UNK.
Rebekah Spainhour and Mallory Flagor had 11 kills apiece to lead the team, followed by Taylor Mares‘ 10 kills. Callie Christensen, a true freshman, played heavily in the match and had nine kills and six blocks (a team-high). Mares added five blocks as well.
Libby Ary had 28 assists to lead the squad, sharing the rotation with Kristin Conor, who had 19 assists.
Defensively, FHSU had three players with double-digit digs, led by libero Keanu Bradley‘s 19. Kelsey Broadwell played well as a reserve, digging up 15 attacks, while Sara Hewson had 12 digs.
FHSU struggled in the opening frame against a Loper attack that hit .500, digging up just eight attacks and hitting .032 as a team.
Trailing 7-3 early in the first, a called timeout helped the Tigers start a 4-2 run to climb back within three (9-6). From there, however, UNK strung together nine unanswered points, pushing the lead to 12 (18-6), and never looked back. The Tigers broke the run with two quick points of their own, but couldn’t recover as the Lopers took the set, 25-11.
Down 1-0 in the match, Fort Hays State rebounded in the second set to tie the match, using a negative hitting percentage by the Lopers (-.050).
Early in the set, with FHSU trailing 5-4, both teams traded three-point bursts before a 6-1 run by the Tigers (including a streak of four unanswered) pushed the visitor’s lead to four (13-9). Fort Hays State held a lead for much of the second set, though a 5-0 run by UNK midway through the second gave the Lopers a brief 19-18 lead.
FHSU answered to break the run, though back and forth play took it to 21-all, and 23-all. The Tigers wouldn’t yield, however, and scored two quick points, taking the set on Callie Christensen‘s third kill of the evening, 25-23.
Out of the intermission, Fort Hays State hung tough with the nationally-ranked squad, but were unable to take the set. Tied at 3-all, a kill from Rebekah Spainhour and a Loper attack error gave FHSU a 5-3 lead, but UNK responded to tie it at 6-all and take the lead for good, though the Tigers stayed within striking distance throughout.
Behind 16-13, the Tigers allowed fell behind five (18-13) before stalling the momentum and answering with three points of their own – two of which came on a block assist and kill from Christensen.
It was all Tigers in the fourth, capitalizing on a .306 hitting percentage, 13 kills and an 86 percent side-out percentage to roll to a 25-15 set victory.
Tied 6-6 early on, the Tigers broke out on a 7-3 run to take a 13-9 lead on a kill from Flagor, forcing a UNK timeout. Though the Lopers answered with a point after the pause, FHSU started a 5-0 run to jump ahead eight points and take control for good. The Tigers’ largest lead of the night, 10, came at 24-14 and set point, 25-15.
For the fifth and decisive set, Fort Hays State battled tough but couldn’t pull out the road victory.
Down 8-6 at the switch, FHSU gave up one more point before rebounding with a two-point run, pulling back within one on a block assist from Christensen and Taylor Mares. Facing match point, 14-10, FHSU rallied to 14-12 with kills from Flagor and Wade, but couldn’t complete the upset as they fell, 15-12.
Fort Hays State returns to Gross Memorial Coliseum for its home opener on Friday (Sept. 19) against Missouri Southern at 6 p.m.