FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State Volleyball started out the season in impressive fashion Friday, Sept. 5, picking up two wins at the Henderson State Classic in Arkadelphia, Ark. FHSU defeated McMurry, 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 26-24) to start the day before a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-23) win over Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Combined statistical leaders for the two matches were Malloy Flagor with 33 kills, including a career high 24 against SOSU, Libby Ary with 52 assists and Keanu Bradley with 33 digs.
The Tigers close out the invitational on Saturday (Sept. 6) with matches against Union (Tenn.) and Henderson State. Live stats will be available for the HSU match.
A complete recap of individual matches is below…
Fort Hays State def. McMurry, 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 26-24)
FHSU never trailed in the first set, using a kill from Flagor to start the match before jumping out to a 6-2 lead, helped in part by a block and kill by freshman middle hitter Mikalah Hughes.
Up 9-5 later in the set, a kill by Rebekah Spainhour started a 6-1 run for the Tigers to give them a 15-6 advantage. That lead grew soon after, when up eight (18-10), a quick five-point burst for FHSU put the Tigers within two of the set point (23-10).
McMurry broke the run with a point, but a War Hawk error and a kill by Teresa Wade gave FHSU a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second and third frames proved to be more of a battle, though the Tigers were victorious in each.
Tied 13-all in the second, a quick three-point burst for the Tigers with kills by Spainhour and Bradley put FHSU ahead, 16-13, but the War Hawks answered with three points of their own to re-tie the match, 16-16.
Soon after, FHSU pulled ahead two, 20-18, and closed out the set, taking advantage of three McMurry errors.
Neither team could establish themselves in control of the third set. The squads traded points back-and-forth until 12-all, when McMurry grabbed two quick points (14-12), only to have FHSU climb back to tie it at 15.
Later in the set, tied at 20, three McMurry errors put Fort Hays State ahead 23-20, but three straight kills from the War Hawks’ Catherine Heath tied the score again. At 24-24, FHSU took advantage of two McMurry errors to close the set, and win the match.
Flagor led the way offensively with nine kills for the Tigers, hitting .318, while Spainhour had seven kills and Sara Hewson added seven. Freshman Mikalah Hughes was strong in her collegiate debut, tallying six kills and three blocks (one solo).
Ary and Raegan Vanderplas shared time as primary setters, as Ary had 19 assists and Vanderplas totaled 16. Defensively, libero Keanu Bradley had 15 digs while outside hitter Teresa Wade dug up 12 attacks, in addition to adding five kills of her own.
Fort Hays State def. Southeastern Oklahoma State, 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-23)
Fort Hays State used a strong attack from the right side to defeat SOSU, with a career high 24 kills from Flagor and 17 kills from Taylor Mares.
FHSU led for much of the first, with its largest lead of the set coming midway through, up 14-10. That, however, would not hold as the Savage Storm closed the gap to tie it at 16-all. FHSU again took a lead, 20-18, but SOSU closed the frame on a 7-2 run to win the point, taking advantage of three Tiger errors.
Fort Hays State recovered in the second frame to tie it, hanging with the Savage Storm in a back-and-forth game. Up four (17-13), FHSU looked to be on the verge of pulling away before SOSU climbed back to tie it at 19-19. Tied at 21-all, a kill from Flagor sparked a 4-1 run for FHSU to close the set, 25-22.
The Tigers controlled most of the third set, never trailing en route to grabbing a 2-1 lead in the match. FHSU had two runs of four unanswered in the set (up 6-5 and 13-7), providing the team a burst to pull away to its largest lead of the night (19-11). SOSU pulled back within five at set point (24-19), but a kill from Sara Hewson gave FHSU the win.
Down 4-6 early in the set, FHSU stormed back on a 5-0 run to take the lead for good, slowly extending its lead to six (17-11). With the Tigers looking for match point (24-18), Southeastern Oklahoma State climbed back to within one before Ary’s kill moved Fort Hays State to 2-0 on the day.
Ary’s 33 assists were a team high, followed by Kristin Conor’s 13 assists. Defensively, Keanu Bradley (18 digs), Sara Hewson (17 digs) and Haley Corkill (15 digs) led the squad.