ST. CHARLES, Mo. – In their second road game of the weekend, the Fort Hays State women’s soccer team ended on a high note, collecting a 3-0 win at Lindenwood. The Tigers went 1-1 on the weekend after suffering a 1-0 loss to No. 17 Central Missouri on Friday. With the win, FHSU improves to 6-6-2 overall alongside a 4-3-0 mark in MIAA play. The Lions also now boast a 6-6-2 record and 3-3-1 conference total.

The morning matchup saw neither team able to take control in the first 45 minutes as the Tigers and Lions headed to the locker room scoreless. Both programs had their chances at getting on the board, with Fort Hays State attempting four shots while Lindenwood recorded three. However, all shots fell outside the net to keep the score evened.

The second half turned out to be the Cailey Perkins show, however, as she netted the first goal of the contest to put the Tigers up 1-0 in the 68th minute of play. Emily Naysmith was credited with the assist after she found Perkins on the right side seven yards out of the goal to give her the perfect spot for the shot. This goal would account for Perkins’ fourth of the season, a mark which puts her as the team leader.

Perkins was not done against the Lions as she earned her fifth goal of the season in the 73rd minute to give the Tigers the 2-0 advantage late in the contest. Nikita Woods was credited for the assist after she sent a pass through the left side down field for Perkins to send it past the Lions’ keeper.

The two Perkins goals would not be the only impact the freshman had on the game, as she recorded an assist on the third and final goal of the game. In the 87th minute, Perkins found Jenna Prince for a two-on-one opportunity as Perkins sent the ball back to Prince for the goal. This would be Prince’s first goal in a Tiger uniform.

The three Tiger goals would prove to be more than enough to give Fort Hays State their sixth win and boost their MIAA record back into the winning column. This shutout is the fourth on the year for Fort Hays State.

Deonna Wellbrock gets her first win of the season in goal for the Tigers to improve her record to 1-1. Wellbrock earned three saves on the day to total her season amount to 10. Megan Swanson takes the loss for the Lions alongside five saves to drop her record on the season to 3-5-2.

The Tigers out-shot the Lions by a wide margin at 13-4 with Perkins accounting for the most of all players at four. Lindenwood did hold the edge in saves during the match as they collected six compared to three from Fort Hays State.

Fort Hays State is set for another weekend of travel as they head back to Missouri next weekend. First up, they will meet Missouri Southern on Friday (Oct. 19) for a 6 p.m. kickoff. On Sunday (Oct. 21), the Tigers travel to Southwest Baptist to take on the Bearcats at 2 p.m.

HAYS, Kan. – A strong all-around effort lifted the Fort Hays State volleyball team to its second-straight victory Saturday evening (Oct. 13), knocking off Missouri Southern in four sets. The Tigers are now 8-15 on the year and 2-9 in MIAA play, while the Lions dip to 2-19 overall and 2-9 in league action.

The Tigers set the tone in the opening set, taking six of the first eight points. MSSU tied the match at six before Fort Hays State scored the next eight points, taking a commanding 14-6 lead. Kills from Azlyn Cassaday and Bre Becker opened the run before three-straight Lion errors stretched the lead to five. Abbie Groth dropped in a kill from the back line before Tatum Bartels and Cassaday added consecutive kills to put the Tigers in front by eight. Missouri Southern closed within five later in the frame, 19-14, but the Tigers countered with five-straight points to reach set point. A service error two points later gave Fort Hays State a 25-15.

Missouri Southern took an early three-point lead in the second set after a service ace put the Lions in front 8-5. The Black and Gold stormed in front thanks to a nine-point run, taking a 14-8 lead. A kill from Morgan West leveled the score at eight before Ashley Webb gave the Tigers the lead for good. West and Webb then combined for a big block, forcing a Lion timeout. FHSU later stretched the lead to nine, 21-12, after back-to-back Lion errors. A kill from Cassaday gave the Tigers a serve for the set, 24-18, before the Lions captured the next three points to close within three. The rally was short-lived, however, with a Lion service error giving FHSU a 25-21 victory.

Neither side could pull away in the third set, with the margin staying within three until the final point in the set. Trailing by three late in the set, back-to-back kills from Reynolds and a service ace from Bartels tied things up at 18. MSSU scored three points of its own before the Tigers rallied to tie things up yet again at 21. The back-and-forth set came to a close after Missouri Southern scored the final four points, sealing a 25-21 win.

The first 14 points of the fourth set were split evenly between the teams before FHSU went on an 8-1 run to jump in front, 15-8. The Tigers went on to cruise to another 25-15 win, finished off by a block from Cassaday and Christianna Herron.

Reynolds paced the Tigers with 16 kills, while Cassaday added 10 kills and 22 digs for her second consecutive double-double. West logged eight kills, two digs and one block. Becker tossed up 40 assists for the second night in a row, adding four kills and 14 digs.

Fort Hays State tallied a .221 attack percentage as a team, while holding the Lions to a .130 swing rate. The Tigers limited the visitors to a -.094 attack rate in the opening set.

The Tigers will continue their homestand Tuesday when they host No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney at 6 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.

HAYS, Kan. – In their second home meet of the season, the Fort Hays State women’s cross country team claimed a ninth place finish at the Tiger Open on Saturday (Oct. 13). The event brought nearly forty programs from four different states to take on the course at the Sand Plum Nature Trail.

The Tigers accumulated 198 points, finishing with 30 more points than the next team. Air Force captured the team win on the day, totaling 74 points.

The highest finisher for the Tigers out of the 130-runner field was senior Yessenia Gonzales who crossed the line in the 13th position with a time of 18:49.9 in the five-kilometer race. Abigail Stewart completed another top-30 finish with her place at 27th from her time of 19:23.3.

Grace Buessing ran the course in 19:55.1 for a 51st place finish, while Tessa Durnell ran a time of 20:02.2 to come in at the 57th position. Coming in 68th place was Mirena Goncalves, running a time of 20:20.4.

Rounding out the team scoring for the Tigers was Averi Wilson in at 78th place (20:35.4), Rebeca Avelar coming in 103rd with a time of 21:23.3. Carson Pierce ended with a time of 21:39.5 to earn a 110th place finish.

Fort Hays State has three weeks to recover and switch their focus to the 2018 MIAA Championships. That competition will be held Saturday (Nov. 3) in Emporia, Kan., with the race set for an 11 a.m. start.

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State men’s cross country team wrapped up its regular season with a solid performance at the FHSU Tiger Open on Saturday morning (Oct. 13). The Tigers hosted the event at Sand Plum Nature Trial on a muddy fall morning. The Tigers finished seventh overall and second among MIAA teams, totaling 203 team points.

A total of 572 runners competed in the four races. 154 men took to the course in the eight-kilometer Gold Race.

Israel Barco navigated the course in 25:52.7 to finish 36th individually. Alex Barbosa earned a 39th place finish with a time of 25:59.2. Robbie Schmidt finished in 50th place (26:08.5) while Reed Rome posted a time of 26:20.4 to finish 60th. Seppe Van ‘T Westende rounded out the scoring for FHSU in 63rd, crossing the finish line in 26:23.3.

Air Force took the team title finishing with 53 points. Missouri Southern completed the race with 76 team points, enough for second place. West Texas A&M finished third with 102 points. Gidieon Kimutai of Missouri Southern captured the individual title with a time of 24:54.8.

The Tigers return to the course in three weeks when travel to Emporia, Kan., to compete in the MIAA Championships on Saturday, November 3rd. The race is set to commence at 9 a.m.

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State men’s soccer team defeated Southwest Baptist 8-0 on Friday evening. The Tigers improved to 10-2-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play, while the Bearcats dipped to 1-11 on the season and 0-5 in MIAA play.

Santiago Agudelo led the Tiger offensive attack as he set a new program record for goals in a single match (five) and total points in a single match (ten). Agudelo got things started for FHSU in the 23rd minute when he and the Bearcat goalkeeper battled for a one-on-one ball and Agudelo won the battle and scored his 15th goal of the season.

Agudelo wasn’t done with the aggressive play, however, when in the 32nd minute he connected on a feed from fellow teammates Tobias Patino and Nathan De La Hoya for his 16th score of the year.

The Tigers would take the 2-0 lead into intermission on the cold and frigid night inside FHSU Soccer Stadium.

In the second half, Fort Hays State kicked it into another gear offensively as Agudelo knocked in his third goal of the contest. In the 48th minute, he outmaneuvered the Bearcat goalkeeper once again and placed the ball in the back of the net, increasing the Tiger lead to 3-0.

The Tigers advantage over the Bearcats grew again as Agudelo connected on his fourth and fifth goals of the match. At the 54:31 mark, he took advantage of a misplay by the Bearcats keeper and scored with an empty net. Then, at the 57:09 slot, Agudelo grabbed the rebound off a blocked shot and scored his 19th goal of the season.

At this point, Head Coach Brett Parker put in most of his bench players and senior forward Christopher Johnson netted his first goal as a Tiger in the 67th minute by powering a dribble drive past the keeper to give FHSU the strong 6-0 edge.

Another first time goal-scorer, Sami Sabrah recorded the Tigers seventh goal of the contest in the 76th minute on an assist from Christopher Johnson. Shortly after, Antonio De La Torre found the back of the net at the 78:06 mark for his second goal of the year with some help from the foot of Alonso Rodriguez.

The 8-0 score would prove to be the final as the Tigers took 35 shots in the match, while holding the Bearcats to two on the night. FHSU recorded 21 points in the match (eight goals, five assists).

Cullen Fisch earned the shutout victory in goal for the Tigers, improving his overall record to 5-2 on the season. Fisch picked up one save on two shots faced in the contest.

The Tigers are back in action on Monday (Oct. 15) as they host No. 17 ranked Northeastern State for a 3 p.m. tilt inside FHSU Soccer Stadium with a chance to seal the MIAA title with a victory.

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team secured a thrilling come-from-behind victory Friday evening (Oct. 12) against Southwest Baptist, winning in five sets. The Tigers took the early lead before dropping sets two and three, but rallied to win the final two frames for their first conference win of the season. The Tigers are now 7-15 on the year and 1-9 in the MIAA, while the Bearcats dip to 4-19 overall and 0-10 in league play.

The teams traded the lead four times early in the opening set before the Tigers took control midway through the frame. Leading by one, 14-13, Fort Hays State captured five of the next six points to stretch the lead to five. Azlyn Cassaday recorded a pair of kills before combining with Tatum Bartels for a block to stretch the lead to 18-14, prompting a Bearcat timeout. Bartels added a kill out of the huddle, putting the Tigers up by five. Isabelle Reynolds added the set-winner soon after, giving the Tigers the 25-19 win.

Fort Hays State again led by five midway through the second set, 16-11, before the Bearcats roared back to tie things up at 17. The Tigers scored the next four to regain momentum, but SBU stormed ahead with a 7-1 run, reaching set point, 24-22. Fort Hays State then scored three-straight to have a serve for the set of its own, but the Bearcats battled to ultimately tie things up as the teams left for the locker room, 29-27.

Both sides were locked in out of the break, alternating points for much of the third set. The visitors began to pull away late, leading by as many as five when an ace gave them a chance at set point, 24-19. A kill from Cassaday sparked a momentary comeback for the Tigers, who scored three straight before falling behind 2-1 in the match, 25-22.

Behind a pair of early service aces from Reynolds, the Tigers quickly took control in the fourth set, scoring seven of the first eight points. Back-to-back kills from Reynolds helped the Tigers stretch the lead to double digits, 14-4. A service ace that fell on the back line from Bre Becker gave FHSU a dominating 25-13 win, leveling the match at 2-2.

The Tigers fell behind early in the final frame before a kill from Cassaday leveled things at 3-3. A spike from Morgan West put FHSU in front for good three points later, 5-4. The Black and Gold went in front by as many as three before SBU closed within one, 10-9. A block from Reynolds and Ashley Webb sparked four-straight points for the Tigers, anchored by a service ace from Taylor White. After the bearcats managed one final point, West wrapped things up with her 12th kill of the match, handing the Tigers a 15-10 victory.

Cassaday was one of four Tigers with 10 or more kills, leading the way with 16 kills. The senior added 12 digs for her third double-double this season. Reynolds contributed 14 kills to go along with a pair of service aces. Bartels and West contributed 12 kills each. Becker tossed up 40 assists in the win, second-most in a match this season. She added 13 digs for her fourth double-double of the year. Libero Abbie Hayes led the match with a career-high 29 digs.

The Tigers posted season-highs in kills (74), assists (70), attempts (181) and digs (83) in the win. FHSU recorded a .249 attack percentage, anchored by two sets with a swing rate of .400 or better (1st .400, 4th .412) while limiting the Bearcats to a .167 hitting rate. The Bearcats hung around thanks to 14 total blocks.

Fort Hays State will look to make it two straight Saturday when Missouri Southern comes to town. The Tigers are slated to battle the Lions at 6 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. Fans can get in FREE with a ticket stub from the football game.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – After claiming three-straight MIAA wins, the Fort Hays State women’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 road loss to NCAA Division II defending national champions, Central Missouri. The Tigers dip to 5-6-2 overall while owning a 3-3 record in conference play. The No. 17 Jennies improve to 10-2-1 and 4-1-1 in MIAA contests.

The Jennies had something to prove as they were coming off a 2-0 loss to No. 16 Central Oklahoma. Central Missouri made sure they would not be shutout tonight as they were quick to get on the scoreboard against FHSU. In just the 13th minute, Maria Wilder netted her second goal of the season off an assist from Haley Freeman on the right lower side of the goal. This put the Jennies up 1-0 and would be the only goal in the match as the defending champions claimed the close victory.

Fort Hays State was able to keep Central Missouri out of the net in the second half to keep the match within reach. The Tigers also were competive in shots, with 13 compared to UCM’s 15. Two Tigers were awarded yellow cards in the contest, as Zariah Smith recorded one in the 69th minute and Emily Naysmith earned her card just as time was expiring.

Megan Kneefel suffers the loss in goal to drop her season record to 5-5-2 while increasing her saves to 57 after collecting six on the night. UCM’s Lindsey Johnson captured the goalkeeper victory alongside five saves to earn her first win of the season and improve to 1-1.

The Tigers remain on the road for their next four contests. Next up is a visit to St. Charles to take on Lindenwood on Sunday (Oct. 14) set for an 11 a.m. kick off.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team was ranked second in both the 2018-19 MIAA Coaches and Media Preseason Women’s Basketball Polls, released Tuesday (Oct. 9) by the league office in conjunction with MIAA Basketball Media Day. The Tigers are coming off a third-place finish in the regular season and a runner-up finish in the conference tournament a year ago.

The Tigers picked up one first place vote in each poll, totaling 154 points in the coaches poll and 265 in the media version. Defending national champion Central Missouri topped both polls, receiving all 13 possible first-place votes and 169 points in the coaches poll and 20 top selections while accounting for 291 points in the media poll. The media poll made its first appearance in the MIAA preseason routine since the lead up to the 2013-14 season.

This is the fourth time in the last six seasons that the Tigers have received a first-place vote in a preseason conference poll and the seventh-consecutive season they have been picked to finish in the top five.

Fort Hays State lost just one senior to graduation from last year’s team that finished the season receiving votes in the WBCA Coaches Poll after reaching the Central Region Semifinals, falling to eventual champ UCM. Among the returners are four all-conference performers in Tatyana Legette (second team), Carly Heim (honorable mention), Kacey Kennett (HM) and Lanie Page (HM). The Tigers return a total of 11 letterwinners, all of which have played in at least 15 games as a Tiger.

Head coach Tony Hobson begins his 11th year at Fort Hays State with a career record of 618-198, the second-most wins among all coaches in the MIAA. He eclipsed 200 wins as a Tiger last season, carrying a 205-92 mark at FHSU into the new season, just 12 wins shy of matching the program record for coaching victories.

Fort Hays State will open the preseason inside historic Allen Fieldhouse against Kansas on October 28 before traveling to Manhattan, Kan. to take on Kansas State on November 1. The Tigers open the regular season in Hays on November 9 against Southwest Minnesota State.

2018-19 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Missouri (13) – 169
2. Fort Hays State (1) – 154
3. Emporia State – 131
4. Washburn – 126
5. Central Oklahoma -113
t6. Missouri Western – 104
t6. Pittsburg State – 104
8. Lindenwood – 90
9. Nebraska-Kearney – 73
10. Missouri Southern – 63
11. Southwest Baptist – 61
12. Northeastern State – 42
13. Northwest Missouri – 31
14. Lincoln – 13

2018-19 MIAA Preseason Media Poll
1. Central Missouri (20) – 291
2. Fort Hays State (1) – 265
3. Washburn – 220
4. Emporia State – 216
5. Pittsburg State – 203
t6. Central Oklahoma – 177
t6. Lindenwood – 177
8. Missouri Western – 159
9. Nebraska Kearney – 146
10. Southwest Baptist – 113
11. Missouri Southern – 88
12. Northwest Missouri – 68
13. Northeastern State – 59
14. Lincoln – 23

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association released its preseason polls for men’s basketball on Tuesday (Oct. 9), part of MIAA Basketball Media Day held at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City. Fort Hays State was picked sixth in the media poll and seventh in the coaches poll among the 14-team MIAA teams.

The coaches tabbed the Tigers where they finished in the MIAA standings last year. The Tigers went 10-9 in conference regular season play in 2017-18, finishing alone in seventh. FHSU went on to win a pair of MIAA Tournament games as the No. 7 seed, knocking off No. 2 seed Missouri Southern in the quarterfinals before bowing out to No. 3 seed Washburn in the semifinals. The Tigers finished last year at 19-12 overall.

Missouri Southern edged Northwest Missouri State by two points for the top slot in the coaches poll (157-155), but NWMSU topped MSSU in the media poll by just one voting point (262-261). Northwest Missouri State received one more first-place vote than Missouri Southern in the coaches poll, despite getting picked second. However, Missouri Southern received 10 first-place votes in the media poll compared to six for Northwest Missouri, despite finishing second in the voting totals. Fort Hays State did receive one first place vote in the Media Poll.

Fort Hays State enters its 18th year under the guidance of head coach Mark Johnson, who enters with a career record of 341-161 (.679) at FHSU. The Tigers have earned seven trips to the NCAA Tournament on Johnson’s watch, while also claiming both an MIAA regular season and tournament title.

The Tigers have a very senior-heavy team this year with seven on the roster. Six of those seniors were on the floor for the Tigers last year, led by forward Brady Werth. He is the only returning Tiger to average double figures in scoring last year, pouring in 12.7 points per game. Hadley Gillum was the top scorer for the Tigers last year as a senior at 16.8 points per game. Marcus Cooper, Trey O’Neil, and Kyler Kinnamon enter their senior seasons in 2018-19. Cooper averaged 8.6 points per game, while O’Neil averaged 7.8 per game. Kinnamon added 5.6 points per game, while leading the team in assists at 4.2 per game. Cooper is the top returning rebounder, pulling down 4.9 per game last year.

The other seniors for the Tigers include Grant Holmes and Calvin Harrington, both seeing significant playing time off the bench last season. Freddy Bitondo is a senior transfer from Sam Houston State that looks to give the Tigers more inside presence, standing at 6’7″.

Juniors Aaron Nicholson and Payton Stephens also played a key role as reserves last year. Nicholson shot a team-best 40.7 percent beyond the 3-point line last year, while making nine starts. Jared Vitztum and Isaiah Nunnery, a pair of Hays products, return for their sophomore seasons. Vitztum started six games last year as a redshirt-freshman. Nyjee Wright looks to get on the floor for the first time after redshirting his first year out of high school.

Along with Bitondo, other new additions to this year’s team include junior transfer Devin Davis and true freshman Gilbert Peters. Davis comes to FHSU from Allen Hancock College in California, while Peters is a native of Montezuma, Kansas. Davis was an all-conference performer at his previous stop, while Peters was an all-state selection and helped South Gray High School to a state title in 2017-18.

The Tigers are exactly one month away from their season opener, set for Friday, November 9 in Marshall, Minnesota against the University of Sioux Falls. The following night, they will play Southwest Minnesota State. The first home game of the season for the Tigers will be on November 17 when they host Colorado School of Mines.

Below are the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media Polls for 2018-19.

MIAA Coaches Poll
1. Missouri Southern (6) – 157
2. Northwest Missouri (7) – 155
3. Washburn (1) – 132
4. Central Missouri – 128
5t. Central Oklahoma – 118
5t. Pittsburg State – 118
7. Fort Hays State – 104
8. Lindenwood – 87
9. Lincoln – 68
10. Nebraska Kearney – 66
11. Emporia State – 47
12. Northeastern State – 40
13. Southwest Baptist – 30
14. Missouri Western – 24

MIAA Media Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (6) – 262
2. Missouri Southern (10) – 261
3. Washburn (3) – 237
4. Central Missouri – 225
5. Pittsburg State (1) – 212
6. Fort Hays State (1) – 208
7. Central Oklahoma – 163
8. Lindenwood – 150
9. Nebraska Kearney – 123
10. Lincoln – 119
11. Emporia State – 79
12t. Missouri Western – 66
12t. Southwest Baptist – 66
14. Northeastern State – 35

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tuesday (Oct. 9) marks the unofficial start to basketball season as all 28 coaches descend upon Kansas City for MIAA Basketball Media Day presented by Seigfreid Bingham. The event, hosted at The College Basketball Experience, will be live streamed in its entirety for FREE on The MIAA Network.

For the first time since 2009, coaches from each MIAA program will take to the podium in the same place to kick off the basketball season. MIAA Commissioner Mike Racy will open the festivities at 9 a.m. before coaches from all 14 schools follow over the next five hours.

Head women’s basketball coach Tony Hobson and head men’s basketball coach Mark Johnson are scheduled to speak to the media at 12:15 p.m.

Fans are encouraged to tweet questions for coaches during their press conference by using #AskMIAA. Any person whose question is read during a press conference will receive two tickets to the MIAA Championship games Sunday, March 10.

Both teams start the regular season precisely one month after Media Day (Nov. 9), with the women opening at home against Southwest Minnesota State while the men take on Sioux Falls in Marshall, Minn.