HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team struggled to keep pace with second-ranked Nebraska-Kearney Tuesday (Nov. 5), falling 12-25, 12-25, 17-25. The Tigers move to 6-19 overall and 3-14 in the MIAA, while the Lopers’ perfect season continues at 27-0 and 17-0 in league action.

Isabelle Reynolds paced the Tigers with 12 kills, tallying a .333 attack percentage after recording just three errors on 27 swings. Madison Miller and Taylor White led the way with 12 digs each, with White adding eight assists and one service ace. Katie Darnell tossed up a team-high 12 assists. Jordan Eshbaugh and Emily Ellis teamed up for a pair of blocks to lead the team.

Nebraska-Kearney recorded a .385 attack percentage in the win, including just five attack errors. The Tigers posted a .061 swing rate on the night.

After the Lopers pulled away in each of the first two sets, UNK appeared to be headed in the same direction in the third set, up 18-8. The Tigers called a timeout to regroup before scoring nine of the next 12 points to close within four, 21-17. Reynolds opened the run with a kill before Jordan Eshbaugh and Ellis teamed up for a block. Another Reynolds kill and another block from Jordan Eshbaugh and Ellis made the score 18-12, prompting a UNK timeout. The teams traded the next several rallies before Delaney Humm dropped in two of her nine kills on consecutive rallies, helping the Tigers narrow the gap to four. UNK battled back to take the next four points, securing the three-set victory.

The Tigers will hit the road for the final time in the regular season later this week when they travel to St. Joseph, Mo. to play Missouri Western. First serve is set for 5 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 7).