HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team picked up a pair of non-conference victories Tuesday night during its Fifth Annual Pass, Set, Pink Night. The Tigers coasted to a three-set victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State before outlasting Northwestern Oklahoma State in three sets.
Through t-shirt sales and silent auction items, the program raised in excess of $1400 to go towards the Dig Pink scholarship, established by the team to annually support an FHSU student directly impacted by cancer. The scholarship fund has now eclipsed $10,000 and is now a fully endowed scholarship.
Sandwiched between matches with Fort Hays State, Northwestern Oklahoma State swept OPSU in straight sets, 25-17, 25-21, 25-13.
The Tigers are now 18-5 overall and finish the year 14-1 in non-conference play, the best mark under head coach Kurth Kohler. Fort Hays State will return to MIAA play this weekend when they host No. 10 Central Oklahoma and Pittsburg State on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Fort Hays State 3, Oklahoma Panhandle State 0 (25-10, 25-11, 25-10)
The Tigers played all of one point while trailing Oklahoma Panhandle State to open the day, steamrolling their way to a three-set victory. The Aggies dropped to 3-17 overall with the loss.
Fort Hays State hit at a .400 clip for the match, its best outing this season. The Tigers held OPSU to a -.043 attack percentage, the second-lowest for an opponent this season and only behind the last time these two teams met (-.182). The Tigers picked up 17 more digs than the Aggies (47-30) with each team recording three total blocks.
Crystal Whitten led the match with nine kills while leading the Black and Gold with nine digs. The senior outside hitter added one block assist and one service ace. Callie Christensen added six kills on eight swings. Madison Elwood came off the bench to throw down three kills on six attempts, while Keely Ruby and Abbie Hayes both recorded the first kill of their collegiate career.
After taking an early 5-3 lead, the Tigers scored eight of the next 10 points to extend the lead to eight, 13-5. Five-straight Aggie errors helped FHSU score the final six points in the frame to secure the 25-10 victory. No Tiger picked up more than two kills in the frame, with just nine points coming off kills. OPSU recorded 10 errors in the set, leading to a -.133 attack percentage.
The Tigers were most efficient in the second set, swinging at a .455 rate with 17 kills and just two errors. Fort Hays State opened the frame with a 7-1 run and never looked back, leading by at least five for the remainder of the set. Back-to-back kills from Whitten followed by a powerful swing from Anderson made the score 13-4. After OPSU scored the next two, the Tigers captured eight out of 10 points, bringing the score to 22-8. Rebekah Spainhour delivered the final blow, giving FHSU the 25-11 win.
The Aggies scored the first point in the third set to take their only lead of the match, 1-0. Whitten followed with a kill and an ace to return the lead, and the rout was on. After OPSU tied the score at three, the Tigers went on an 11-1 run to put the game nearly out of reach. Later, the Tigers again scored seven straight, extending a 16-point lead, 21-5. Freshman Magan Alexander posted the final kill to finish off the match, 25-10. Becca Page was efficient distributing the ball, recording 13 assists at setter in relief of Hannah Wagy who recorded a team-high 17 in the match.
Fort Hays State 3, Northwestern Oklahoma State 0 (27-25, 25-13, 25-12)
After failing to seize an opportunity to beat the Tigers at the beginning of the season, Northwestern Oklahoma State opened the match with revenge on the mind. The sides battled back-and-forth for the entirety of the opening set before the home team finally ended things, ultimately coasting to its second straight-set victory of the night.
The Rangers did not look like a 3-19 team in the opening set, swinging at a .302 clip with just three attack errors. The Tigers were able to match NWOSU blow for blow, leading to 19 ties and eight lead changes in the frame with neither team leading by more than two. Rebekah Spainhour recorded three of her six kills in the set in a four-point span to give the team a 15-14 lead, but the Rangers had an answer at every turn. After a Ranger kill put the Tigers behind 24-23, Spainhour kept the set alive with a strong kill on pass from Hannah Wagy. NWOSU then won another shot at set point, but threw it away with a service error. A big block from Megan Anderson and Wagy gave the Tigers the serve with a shot at taking the set, and Crystal Whitten delivered with a strong swing to seal the 27-25 win.
The visitors came unraveled after their heartbreaking loss in the first set, scoring just 25 points in the second and third set combined. The Tigers jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set thanks to three Ranger errors, matching their first-set total in just seven rallies. With Fort Hays State leading by just one, three-straight kills from Whitten followed by another Ranger error quickly made it 12-8, prompting the NWOSU coach to use a timeout. The Tigers later used an 8-1 run to all but put the set away, taking a commanding 21-11 lead. Kills from Spainhour and Whitten gave the Tigers a chance at set point before another Ranger error handed the Tigers a two-set lead.
The Tigers led wire-to-wire in the final set, swinging a highly efficient .429 in the frame with 15 kills to just three errors. A seven-point run with Kailey Klibbe put the Tigers in front by 12, 20-8, and the rest was history.
Whitten led all hitters in the match with 14 kills, adding eight digs and two assists. Wagy posted 41 assists, second-most in a three-set match this season (43 vs UCCS). Spainhour added 12 kills and two blocks (one solo), while Sydney Dixon’s 10 kills helped her to double-digits for the second time this year (11 vs. Minot State). Callie Christensen was incredibly efficient, throwing down eight kills on 10 swings without an error while adding three blocks on defense (one solo). Klibbe worked for a match-high 20 digs, adding three service aces and four assists.
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