FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State Volleyball dropped a 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 28-26) contest to eighth-ranked Washburn, spoiling the Tigers’ Pack the Gym event on Tuesday (Sept. 23).

FHSU (6-6, 1-3 MIAA) battled to within two points of forcing a fourth set, but couldn’t complete the set victory as Washburn (11-1, 3-1 MIAA) sealed the win.

With the Tigers leading 4-1 in the first, Washburn rallied to tie it at four before back-and-forth play brought it to 8-all. From there, the Ichabods ran off two quick points and never relinquished the lead. Though FHSU rallied to within one (20-19) late in the set, WU closed the frame on a 5-1 run to take a lead in the match.

In the second frame, the Ichabods broke out on a 10-2 lead before FHSU answered on a 10-4 run. Down two (14-12), the Tigers allowed 11 straight points by WU and dropped the set, 25-12.

After intermission, FHSU hung with the Ichabods until 8-8, when a six-point burst forced a Tigers’ timeout, down 14-8. After the reset, FHSU began a climb back into contention, tying it at 17-all and taking a 19-17 advantage. The final six points of that rally were unanswered by the Ichabods. 

Later in the set, FHSU led by four (23-19), but a 5-0 run by Washburn gave the Ichabods an advantage, looking at match point (24-23). Fort Hays State forced a win-by-two situation after Mallory Flagor‘s final kill of the night tied it at 24, but after battling to 26-all, FHSU dropped two quick points to the Ichabods, and the set, 28-26.

Flagor pushed her double-digit kills’ streak to 11 games with 10 kills in the set, finishing as the only Tiger in double-digits. Flagor added three block assists as well.

Sara Hewson had six kills to go with 11 digs on the outside, while Rebekah Spainhour had five kills and three block assists, tied for second on the team. 

Taylor Mares had four block assists, while Callie Christensen added four total blocks (one solo). 

The announced attendance of 1,123 for Pack the Gym night was one short of tying the school’s single game attendance record for a volleyball match at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Fort Hays State hits the road this weekend to begin a four-game road trip, which starts at Southwest Baptist on Friday, Sept. 26. Match time in Bolivar, Mo., is set for 7 p.m.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State men’s golf finished ninth among MIAA teams at the Northeastern State Classic, held in Bartlesville, Okla., at the Hillcrest Country Club. Overall, the Tigers finished 15th in a tournament with a total of 18 teams.

Trey Herman led the way for Fort Hays State, carding rounds of 77, 73, and 78 to finish in a tie for 32nd overall. With this being an MIAA event, Herman tied for 13th individually among MIAA golfers, earning .333 points towards the individual standings. He is currently 12th in the MIAA standings after the two mandatory conference events in the fall with 8.333 points. Travis Mays, last year’s MIAA Player of the Year, currently leads the standings with 24 points.

Nick VonLintel tied for 45th overall after rounds of 78, 79, and 75. Grant Storey tied for 67th, carding rounds of 82, 75, and 81. Kade Megaffin tied for 88th, with rounds of 84, 81, and 87. Billey Frey was 97th, with scores of 87, 85, and 94.

Wesley Jackson of Central Oklahoma was the top MIAA golfer in the tournament with a total of 214. He tied for first overall. Central Oklahoma won the event and holds the MIAA standings lead after winning both fall MIAA tournaments. Central Missouri has been second at each event. Fort Hays State is currently ninth with six points, finishing in that position in both fall tournaments.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State men’s golf sits in 15th place after the first day of competition at the NSU Men’s Golf Classic (Sept. 22-23). The tournament is being held at the Hillcrest Country Club in Bartlesville, Okla., a par-72 venue. This is the second MIAA sanctioned event of the season.

Besides the 11 MIAA schools that are required to play in the tournament, seven other Division II schools are competing in the event. Placement of the seven non-MIAA schools will not be figured into the points awarded towards the MIAA individual and team standings for the year.

Trey Herman leads the way for FHSU after day one, tied for 24th overall. Among MIAA players, he is tied for 11th. He shot an opening round 77, then trimmed four strokes in his second round with a 73. He is currently 6-over par for the tournament. Travis Mays of Central Missouri leads all MIAA golfers with a two-round total of 141 (3-under par).

Grant Storey carded rounds of 82 and 75 to sit seven strokes back of Herman in a tie for 58th overall. Nick VonLintel is tied with Storey after rounds of 78 and 79. Kade Megaffin is in 84th after rounds of 84 and 81. Billy Frey is 91st after rounds of 87 and 85.

Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri are tied for second overall behind Arkansas Tech, but share the lead among MIAA teams at 591. Northeastern State (599) is eighth overall, but third among the MIAA standings. FHSU is currently ninth among the 11 MIAA teams competing.

The final round of the tournament will be played on Tuesday.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State Women’s Soccer played to a 0-0 draw with Emporia State on Sunday (Sept. 21) at FHSU Soccer Stadium. 
 
The Tigers (3-2-1, 1-0-1 MIAA) put together a strong defensive effort in the double overtime match, with goalkeeper Kristen Thompson tallying six saves and three Tigers’ defenders playing all 110 minutes (Gabrielle Makatura, Jamie Babyak and Mallory Diederich).
 
Both squads had several scoring opportunities, as FHSU had 16 shots and ESU posted 12, but neither team yielded.  The Tigers set the pace in extra time, firing five shots in the final 20 minutes of play, while ESU had just one shot in both extra periods (none on goal).
 
Nearing the end of the first overtime, Davey found herself in a scramble inside the box and fired a shot, but a diving save from Hornet goalkeeper Yadira Rivera kept the game-winner from crossing the goal line.
 
Offensively, Davey had four shots (three on goal) to lead the team, while Jasmine Beaulieu and Jordan Hester each had three shots (one on goal). 
 
The Tigers hit the road next week to start a four-game road trip, taking on Southwest Baptist on Thursday (Sept. 25) at 4 p.m., in Bolivar, Mo.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

The Fort Hays State defense held Lindenwood to 20 rushing yards, picked off two passes and recovered two fumbles, leading the Tigers to a 20-7 win over Lindenwood in front of 3,928 at Lewis Field Saturday night. The Tigers have won two straight, and improve to 2-1 while Lindenwood loses their second straight and falls to 1-2.

Chris Brown Postgame Interview

 

Brock Long / Edward Smith Postgame Interview

 

Game Highlights

 

The Tigers led 7-0 at the half thanks to a two-yard touchdown run by Edward Smith which was set up by Justin McPhail’s second interception of the season. Smith would gain 99 of FHSU’s 201 rushing yards.

Lindenwood threatened to tie the game late in the second quarter but Rashad Dunigan intercepted a pass in the endzone to preserve the first half shutout.

After holding Fort Hays State to a three-and-out on their first possession of the third quarter, the Lions put together a seven-play 67-yard drive ending in a three-yard touchdown pass to Alex Robinson to tie the game 7-7.

The Tigers answer with a five-play, 81-yard drive keyed by a 28-yard Edward Smith run and capped with Kenneth Iheme’s 40-yard touchdown run.

Lindenwood’s Tre Roby fumbled the ensuing kickoff setting up a 30-yard J.P. Maciel field goal which put the Tigers up 17-7. Maciel, who would miss a 48-yard try off the crossbar, nailed a 28-yard field goal with 8:25 to play to push the lead to 20-7.

In addition to Smith’s 99 yards rushing, Kenneth Iheme ran for 60 yards and  score. Quarterback Treveon Albert completed only 11 of his 27 pass attempts for 84 yards. Tight end Zach Gaughan had three catches for 17 yards.

The Tigers play at No. 8 Pittsburg State next Saturday afternoon. The game, which will be televised on the MIAA Television Network (Eagle Cable 204, 601) kicks off a 2:07pm.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State Volleyball battled with undefeated Central Oklahoma, but dropped a 3-0 (23-25, 23-25, 22-25) contest to the Bronchos on Saturday afternoon inside Gross Coliseum.

The Tigers (6-5, 1-2 MIAA) hit .205 as a team but were hurt by 14 hitting errors and 28 total errors.  UCO (11-0, 3-0 MIAA) hit .258 and had 18 hitting errors.
 
FHSU started hot, rolling to a 6-1 start in the first set before a UCO timeout. The Bronchos climbed back to tie it, 11-11, and back-and-forth action brought the score to 21-all late in the set. 
 
Two quick UCO points forced an FHSU timeout, and though Mallory Flagor broke the run with a kill (23-22), the Bronchos recovered to take the set, 25-23.
 
Down 1-0, FHSU looked to respond in the second set, but trailed 17-7 midway through the break.  After see-saw play put the Tigers down 20-10, a kill from Rebekah Spainhour started a 5-0 run for FHSU that included three UCO errors and a Kristin Conor ace. 
 
UCO broke the run, but FHSU ran off three unanswered in the next sequence, cutting the lead to three (21-18).  A kill from Sara Hewson shrunk the deficit to one (24-23) at set point, but a kill by UCO’s Barbara Jackson sent the Tigers to intermission, trailing 2-0 in the set.
 
In the match’s final frame, FHSU again played even with the Bronchos until late in the set, tied 17-all midway through. A two-point run for UCO provided the visitor’s separation, and though FHSU stayed close (24-22) at match point, the Tigers couldn’t complete the comeback and fell, 25-22.
 
Flagor hit double digits in kills (13) for the 10th consecutive match, leading the team while hitting .333.  Spainhour added nine kills from the middle with two blocks, while Teresa Wade had seven kills and three blocks (one solo) on the outside.

Setters Libby Ary (22 assists) and Libby Ary (12 assists) saw action in all three sets, and Keanu Bradley led the team with 21 digs.  It was Bradley’s fifth match with 20-plus kills this year.

FHSU closes out its three-game home stand this Tuesday (Sept. 23) against No. 5 Washburn for Pack the Gym night at Gross Coliseum.  Tuesday’s match is set for 7 p.m.

FHSU Athletics

No. 23 Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer dropped a 2-0 conference road matchup to Southern Nazarene on Saturday (Sept. 20). 
 
The loss was the Tigers’ second straight, moving the squad to 2-3-1 (0-2-0 MIAA) for the year.
 
FHSU started hot, firing three shots in the opening 10 minutes, but it was SNU that found the net early on, capitalizing on the first on Javier Caballeros’ two goals in the game.
 
The Tigers continued to push the tempo offensively, finishing the first half with 10 shots, but couldn’t score before the break. 
 
In the second half, Fort Hays State again attacked the goal, firing nine shots in the final 45 minutes of regulation.  SNU, however, put the game out of reach in the 78th minute on Caballeros’ second goal of the day.

Kent Freund played the entire 90 minutes in goal, saving three shots. 

Offensively, Diego Cabral led the team with five shots (three on goal), while Maurizio Costa had four attempts. 
 
FHSU returns home next week for a contest with MIAA rival Lindenwood on Thursday (Sept. 25).  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., from FHSU Soccer Stadium.
 

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State Women’s Soccer opened conference play with a golden goal victory on Friday (Sept. 19) evening, defeating Nebraska-Kearney, 1-0, on Hailey Davey’s double overtime game-winner.
 
FHSU (3-2-0) had 13 shots in the game, seven of which came in the two overtime periods, and snapped a two-game losing streak as MIAA play begins.
 
Scoreless after regulation, FHSU failed to put a shot on goal in the first half, and had just one shot on goal in the second.  In the 79th minute, FHSU had its best scoring opportunity of regulation, but a header from Ceynada Guzman sailed just wide of the goal.
 
Nearing the end of the second overtime, Kelsey Steffens dribbled down the right side of the box and hit a low cross to Davey at the top of the box, who waited until the late in double overtime to fire her first shot of the night.  After gathering herself, Davey struck a ball towards the left side of the goal and found the net, sealing the Tigers’ victory.
 
The goal was Davey’s second of the season, pushing her season points total to eight, tying with Steffens for the team lead.  Steffens had her second assist of the year on the play.

Jasmine Beaulieu and Jordan Hester had three shots for the Tigers, leading the team.
 
Between the pipes, Kristin Thompson had seven saves and posted her second shutout of the season.
 
Fort Hays State returns to FHSU Soccer Stadium on Sunday against Emporia State.  Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

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.

FHSU Athletics

No. 23 Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer fell in its MIAA opener, 2-1, to No. 15 Northeastern State in a matchup of Top 25 teams on Thursday in Tahlequah, Okla.
 
The Tigers (2-2-1) had nine shots on the night, though just three were on goal, and had to defend against a NSU (2-2-1) squad that fired 18 shots in the game. 
 
Northeastern State scored first, taking a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute on Lee Crosby’s first goal of the season.  Jordan Schmoker took a corner, crossing it into the box for Michael Greenfield, whose header found Crosby for a close shot from the left side.
 
The Tigers answered soon after, hitting the equalizer at 21:39.  Diego Cabral was tackled inside the box, and after the referees handed a yellow card to NSU’s Landon Merrill, Cabral scored on his first penalty kick attempt of the year to tie it, 1-1.
 
NSU regained the lead less than two minutes into the second half when Schmoker scored his fourth goal of the year.  Schmoker gathered the ball from Frank Garay, and though his shot was partially blocked by a Tiger defender, it deflected past a diving Kent Freund, giving the RiverHawks the lead, 2-1.
 
Soon after, at 48:35, FHSU’s Addison Pauler was issued a red card, forcing the Tigers to play the remaining minutes down one man in an 11-on-10 situation.  The Tigers matched NSU with four shots during that time frame, but couldn’t score a second game-tying goal.
 
Cabral had three shots to lead the team, ahead of Tanner Brock’s two shots. Mauricio Costa and Luan Silva each had additional shots on goal.
 
In the net, Freund played all 90 minutes and had five saves on the evening, while defensemen Eric Hymer, Carlos Linares and Drew Wilson played all 90 minutes for FHSU.
 
Fort Hays State returns to action this Saturday at Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Okla. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. 

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State tennis improved to 4-2 overall on the season by posting a 7-2 in its home opener over Kansas Wesleyan on Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 17) at the FHSU Tennis Courts in Hays. The Tigers swept doubles play to take a 3-0 lead, then took four of the six singles matches.

The Tigers breezed through doubles action. The No. 1 team of Camille Caron-Bedard and Reinette Strydom won 8-4 over Zimmerman and Cook. The No. 2 team of Brittney Ricci and Katie Hipp nearly posted a shutout, winning 8-1 over Koester and Zuaznabar. Michelle Miller and Jessica Johnson nearly matched that score at No. 3, winning 8-2 over Noel and Hasch.

In singles action, the Tigers moved players up in order to keep Caron-Bedard and Ricci rested for the ITA Fall Regional, coming this weekend in Springfield, Mo. Taylor Stout at No. 4 and Jessica Johnson at No. 5 quickly took care of business in their matches to give the Tigers the decisive five points needed for the win. Stout shutout her opponent, 6-0, 6-0, while Johnson won 6-2, 6-3.

The rest of the singles matches were competitive. At No. 6, Raven Dick pulled through in a tight first set to win 7-5, then cruised in the second 6-1. FHSU received its other point in the longest singles match of the night as Katie Hipp won 2-6, 6-2, 10-7 at No. 3.

The Coyotes picked up their two points from the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches. At No. 1, Michelle Miller had a great opening set, blanking her opponent Amber Zimmerman 6-0, but Zimmerman turned the tables in the second to win 6-2 and then took the decisive set 10-5. At No. 2, Reinette Strydom fell in straight sets by the same score twice, 6-4, 6-4 to Cassidy Cook.

As a team, the Tigers return to action on September 28 at home against Hastings College at 2 pm. Caron-Bedard and Ricci will compete individually in the ITA Fall Regional this weekend in Springfield, Mo.