KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State Volleyball received the No. 5 seed for the MIAA Tournament as the bracket was released on Saturday evening. FHSU tied Central Missouri for fourth in the conference standings, but UCM held the tiebreaker on FHSU for the No. 4 seed. Therefore, the Tigers head to Warrensburg, Mo. for the opening round on Tuesday evening at 6 pm.
Fort Hays State did all it could to take the No. 4 seed in the tournament by defeating Southwest Baptist on Saturday, but the hopes were dashed later in the evening when Central Missouri pulled out a five-set win over Northwest Missouri State. FHSU needed an NWMSU win to host a first round game and NWMSU had three match points, but UCM rallied and denied FHSU from hosting.
Fort Hays State reached the 25-win mark for the first time under head coach Kurt Kohler on Saturday, just the third time the program has reached that accomplishment in its NCAA Division II history. A win in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament would push the 2016 squad to the second-most wins alone in Fort Hays State’s NCAA history. They have matched the 25 wins of the 2003 squad. The 31 posted by the 2004 team is the only mark better.
Fort Hays State split the regular season meetings with Central Missouri. The Tigers won 3-1 in Hays, but the Jennies won 3-0 in Warrensburg. The win for FHSU in Hays was one of the biggest of the season, knocking off a No. 6 nationally ranked Jennies team. UCM was ranked No. 15 for the meeting in Warrensburg and currently holds the No. 16 ranking in the nation.
The Tigers have played well down the stretch of the regular season, winning five of their last six contests. FHSU enters the match at 25-8, while UCM is 22-9. Both finished 11-7 in the MIAA. The winner will potentially play either No. 1 seed Nebraska-Kearney or No. 8 seed Emporia State in the tournament semifinals on Friday at the site of the highest remaining seed in the tournament.
The tournament schedule is below.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 (at higher seed)
Game 1: #8 Emporia State at #1 Nebraska-Kearney 7 p.m.
Game 2: #5 Fort Hays State at #4 Central Missouri 6 p.m.
Game 3: #6 Northwest Missouri at #3 Central Oklahoma 7 p.m.
Game 4: #7 Missouri Western at #2 Washburn 7 p.m.
Friday, November 18, 2016 (at higest remaining seed)
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 TBA
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 TBA
Saturday, November 19, 2016 (at same location as Friday matches)
Game 7: Semifinal Winners TBA