FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State moved to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA with a 3-1 win over Missouri Southern in conference play on Friday night (Sept. 19) in Hays. Tied 1-1 in the match, FHSU reeled off four straight points to win the third set by two, then went on to hold off the Lions in the fourth.

FHSU took control early, holding a four-point lead in the first set eight times before taking their biggest lead at 24-19. FHSU closed out the set by five with a 25-20 win. Rebekah Spainhour, Mallory Flagor and Taylor Mares all had four kills in the opening set, while Keanu Bradley posted 11 digs.

A rash of inconsistency plagued the Tigers in the second set, committing 10 attacking errors even though they recorded 19 kills in the set. It was not enough to counteract a .270 hitting percentage from the Lions in the second. MSSU led by four at 20-16, but FHSU rallied to tie the set at 23-23. The Lions had two set points before pulling out a 26-24 win to even the match. Spainhour added five kills in the set, while Mares added four.

The third set was a rollercoaster with the Tigers moving out to a 13-10 lead midway through the set. Missouri Southern stormed back with an 8-1 run to take an 18-14 advantage and kept the Tigers at arm’s length, maintaining the lead at 21-17. The Tigers started to chip away, going on a three-point run to get within one. With the Lions leading 23-21, the Tigers rallied for four straight points to grab the pivotal third set 25-23. The Lions committed three straight hitting errors to close the set, including an assisted block by Spainhour and Mares to win the set. Teresa Wade had the hot hand in the set with five kills, helping the Tigers to a .433 hitting percentage in the set (16 kills, 3 errors, 30 attempts).

Wade continued that hot play in the fourth, putting down six more kills to finish with a team-high 15 for the night. Her service ace made it 18-14 in favor of the Tigers, their biggest lead of the fourth before the final point made it 25-20. Wade finished the night with a great stat line, 15 kills and 0 errors on 29 attempts, hitting .517 for the match, while adding 16 digs for a double-double and two service aces.

Flagor added 14 kills, hitting .312, Spainhour had 11 and hit .200, and Sara Hewson had 10 and hit .318. Kristin Conor led FHSU in assists with 29, while Libby Ary added 22. Reagan Vanderplas saw action over the final two sets to add 11 assists. From the libero position, Kanu Bradley led FHSU in digs with 26.

Fort Hays State finished the night hitting .271 as a team with 69 kills overall. Missouri Southern hit .201 as a team, but the Tigers held them under the .200 mark in both the first and fourth sets.

Katie Politte led MSSU in kills with 21, while Callie Whetstone and Krishna Merriman each added 11. Abby Finder had 42 assists and posted a double-double adding 15 digs. Katie Wiele led MSSU in digs with 16.

The Tigers look to move about .500 in conference play on Saturday when they host Central Oklahoma at 3 pm.