Joplin, Mo. —The Fort Hays State volleyball team came up short in a five-set thriller Friday night at Missouri Southern. Individual set scores were 23-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-20 and 12-15.

Fort Hays State (12-8, 1-5 MIAA) trailed 18-7 and 20-11 in the first set and were down 23-15 before scoring eight straight to tie it at 23 on a kill from Jenna Ulrich, but an attack error by Ulrich on the next point and a block gave Southern (4-13, 2-3 MIAA) the set.

The Tigers led the second set 13-7, but Southern fought back to get within one at 14-13, forcing a FHSU timeout. The lead for the Tigers reached five at 20-15, forcing a Southern timeout and the set would be tied at 24, before FHSU scored the final two points on kills from Camille Hubert and Kylee Hoagland.

The third set featured nine ties and four lead changes, but the Lions took the lead for good at 18-17 on a kill from Elin Skei. Fort Hays got within one at 21-20, but Southern scored four out of the next five points to win the set.

The Lions took an early 3-1 lead in the fourth set, but Fort Hays tied the set at five and took a 6-5 lead on a Southern attack error. They would take the lead for good at 7-6 on a kill from Megan Glandon.

In the fifth and final set, the Lions led 8-6 at the turn, but Fort Hays came back and scored the next four points to take a 10-8 lead and forced a Southern timeout. The Lions, however, came back and scored three straight points to go up 11-10, and went ahead for good at 13-12 on a kill from Katie Politte. A Southern block and an error on the Tigers gave the Lions the match.

Fort Hays returns home Sunday to host Pittsburg State at 2pm. Fans who bring their ticket stub from Saturday night’s football game receive free admission.