ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Facing a deficit at every turn, the Fort Hays State volleyball team rallied on multiple occasions to defeat Lindenwood in five sets Thursday evening. The win gives the Tigers (20-6, 6-5) a second-straight 20-win season for the first time since 2003-04. Lindenwood falls to 8-12 overall and 4-6 in MIAA play after the loss.
Fort Hays State is now 4-0 in five-set matches this season, while the Lady Lions dip to 2-2 in matches that go the distance.
The Tigers hit .177 for the match, racking up 62 kills, 53 assists and 11 blocks. FHSU held the Lady Lions to a .130 hitting percentage, with the home team posting eight blocks and five service aces.
Crystal Whitten led the Tigers with her 14th double-double of the season, chipping in 21 kills and 21 digs to become the first Tiger with a 20-20 match since Lilian Rezende accomplished the feat three times in 2008. Megan Anderson added a career-high 15 kills with just four errors, totaling a .379 hitting percentage. Callie Christensen posted eight blocks (one solo) to go along with eight kills and a .353 swing rate. Senior setter Hannah Wagy topped the 50-set plateau for the fifth time this year, accumulating 50 assists, two kills, two blocks and nine digs. Libero Kailey Klibbe recorded a match-high 23 digs.
The Tigers were strong from the first serve, jumping out to a 9-4 lead to open the match after back-to-back kills from Whitten. Lindenwood rallied to take the lead, scoring seven of the next eight points. Fort Hays State grabbed a slim lead shortly after, 14-13, but another big run from the Lady Lions put the set out of reach.
Fort Hays State took the lead in the second set and never looked back, never trailing in the frame. After Lindenwood tied the score at one, the Tigers captured the next two points to grab the lead for good. Leading 8-6, FHSU scored nine of the next 12 points to extend an eight-point lead, prompting the Lady Lions to burn their second timeout of the set. After the home team closed within five (18-13), the Tigers put the set on ice by outscoring the Lady Lions 7-2 down the stretch with Chandler Hillman delivering the final blow with a perfect serve between the defenders dropping in for an ace.
Although the Tigers stayed within striking distance, the Lady Lions led for the majority of the third frame before taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-23 win. Any time Lindenwood would string together a few points, the Tigers would answer to narrow the gap. After the Lady Lions extended a 23-20 lead, a service error and a kill from Anderson helped the Tigers close within one. Lindenwood then went to Jessica Krygsheld, its leading hitter with 14 kills, for the final two points of the set.
The Tigers again answered back with a strong fourth set, never trailing in the frame and hitting .306, their best set of the day. Service aces from Azlyn Cassaday and Rebekah Spainhour helped the Tigers extend a 5-1 lead early in the set, and the rout was on. The Lady Lions picked up points on their serve just four times in the frame, with FHSU siding out at a 75% rate. Conversely, Fort Hays State tallied 13 points while serving, holding LWU to a .054 hitting percentage. A block from Wagy and Spainhour brought the set to a close and sent things to a deciding fifth set.
Both teams had their chances in the final frame, in which there were eight ties and four lead changes. The Tigers appeared to have the match in hand after they extended a 12-7 lead behind three-straight Lindenwood attack errors, but the Lady Lions strung together six-consecutive points to take a 13-12 lead. Consecutive Lady Lion errors gave the Tigers match point, but the home team again bounced back to tie things up at 14. Anderson handed FHSU a serve for the match with a kill before Christensen delivered the final swing on an over pass from Lindenwood, securing the 16-14 fifth set victory.
The Tigers will return to the floor on Friday, October 21 when they face off with 15th-ranked Central Missouri at 7 p.m. in Warrensburg, Mo. The Tigers and Jennies (15-6, 5-4) currently sit in a virtual tie for fifth place in the MIAA. Fort Hays State topped UCM in their meeting earlier this season, just the second win over the Jennies in program history.