HAYS, Kan. – A slow start doomed the Fort Hays State volleyball team Saturday, with the Tigers falling in straight sets against Northwest Missouri State (14-25, 18-25, 19-25). FHSU is now 9-12 on the year and 1-6 in conference play, while the Bearcats move to 10-9 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA.

The Bearcats put together one of their best offensive performances of the season, recording their second-best hitting percentage of the year to outhit the Tigers, .410-.172. It was the highest hitting percentage the Tigers have allowed since 2015 (.431, at #11 Central Oklahoma, 10/16/15) Kylie Rollman picked up one-third of FHSU’s kills on the day, totaling 12 kills and a .400 swing rate. Taylor White led the team with 14 digs, while Amirah Bentley (16 assists) and Becca Page (14 assists) split setting duties.

The Tigers never led in the first or second set, with NWMSU roaring to a 25-14 victory in the opening frame thanks to a .424 attack rate. The visitors were able to best that in the second set, swinging at a .441 clip to take the frame 25-18. FHSU kept things close early in the third set, leading by as many as two, 4-2, after a kill from Sydney Dixon. The Tigers later led 6-5 before the Bearcats took the lead for good thanks to a 9-0 run, jumping in front 14-6. Trailing 21-11, the Black and Gold put together four consecutive points to close the gap to six. Magan Alexander started things off with two-straight kills before Tatum Bartels added another to narrow the margin to 21-14. The only Tiger block of the night kept the Tigers alive after NWMSU reached set point, 24-19, but the Bearcats finished things off on the next serve.

Fort Hays State returns to the floor Thursday (Oct. 12) when they host No. 20 Central Missouri for the annual Pass, Set, Pink night. Fans that wear pink will get into the match FREE! First serve is set for 6 p.m.

VICTORIA, 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. 7). The Tigers hosted the event at Sand Plum Nature Trial on a wet and muddy fall morning. The Tigers finished tenth overall and fifth among MIAA programs, totaling 263 team points.

A total of 820 runners competed in the four races, surpassing the previous record from last season’s race of 661 participants. 167 men took to the course in the eight-kilometer Gold Race.

Layton Werth navigated the course in 26:29.7 to finish 36th individually. Reed Rome earned a 44th place finish with a time of 26:44.8. Alex Barbosa finished in 63rd place (27:06.0) while Brett Meyer posted a time of 27:06.8 to finish 65th. Robert Loeffler rounded out the scoring for FHSU in 85th crossing the finish line in 27:20.9.

Western State took the team title after upsetting the top-ranked team in the country (Adams State), finishing with 51 points. Adams State completed the race with 77 team points, enough for second place. Central Missouri was the top MIAA team as they finished with 93 points. Mason Phillips captured the individual title with a time of 24:48.0.

The Tigers return to the course in two weeks when they travel to Warrensburg, Mo., to compete in the MIAA Championships on Saturday, October 21st. The race is set to commence at 11 a.m.

VICTORIA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State women’s cross country team ended their regular season racing with a strong performance at the FHSU Tiger Open on Saturday (Oct. 7). Fort Hays State hosted the event at Sand Plum Nature Trail on a wet and muddy autumn morning. The Tigers finished fourth overall and second among MIAA teams, completing the race with 160 points.

A total of 820 runners competed in the four races, ultimately breaking the previous meet record held at last year’s race (661). 165 women traversed the course in the five-kilometer Gold Race.

Lindsay Roberts navigated the trail in 19:04.0, finishing 19th individually. Chelsea Jackson finished just a couple seconds behind Li. Roberts with a time of 19:05.9 to claim the 20th spot. Lauren Roberts completed the course in 19:31.9 to finish at 39th overall. Yessenia Gonzales reached the finish line a few seconds behind La. Roberts with an individual finish of 40th overall (19:34.1). Lisa Penner rounded out the scoring for the Tigers with a time of 20:11.7 and a 72nd place finish.

Western State upset the second ranked team in the country and won the event with 48 team points. Pittsburg State was the first MIAA program to cross the finish line with a second place finish and totaling 73 points. Adams State rounded out the top three with 142 points. Winnie Kibet of Colby CC took home the individual title concluding the race with a time of 18:00.6.

The Tigers are back on the course in two weeks as they travel to Warrensburg, Mo., to compete at the MIAA Championships (Oct. 21). The race is set to begin a 10 a.m.

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State Football, ranked No. 11 in the latest AFCA Division II Top 25 Poll, hosts Pittsburg State for Homecoming on Saturday night at Lewis Field Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 pm. It will be the 75th meeting all-time between the schools as the Tigers look to remain undefeated on the season, while the Gorillas look to snap a two-game losing streak.

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There will be plenty of entertainment surrounding the game, sponsored by Big Creek Crossing. Lane Haas, a musician from Coldwater, Kansas, will be playing an acoustic show from 5:00-6:45 pm just outside of the front entrance on the east side of Lewis Field. Following the game, there will be a FIREWORKS SHOW sponsored by Horizon Appliance & Electronics, the Hays CVB, and Jamie and Brianna Day. The show will start approximately 10 minutes after the game is over, so stick around after the game and enjoy the fireworks!

The game has big implications from a historical standpoint for both programs. The Tigers are looking for their first win over the Gorillas in Hays since 1978. Although the Tigers two of the last three meetings between the teams, both in Pittsburg, the Gorillas have a mark of 11-0-1 in Hays since 1979. The one result in that span keeping the Gorillas from owning a 12-game win streak in Hays was a 16-16 tie in 1995.

On the flip side, Pittsburg State is looking for its 700th win in program history. Lindenwood and Washburn denied the historic milestone over the past two weeks in Pittsburg. The Gorillas are on the verge of being the first program ever in NCAA Division II to reach that mark. Pittsburg State has an all-time record of 699-345-48. Pittsburg State has a 19-win lead on Tuskegee (680) for all-time wins by NCAA Division II programs. Pittsburg State is looking to become the 33rd program across all levels of college football to reach the 700-win barrier.

Fort Hays State also looks to push Pittsburg State into unfamiliar territory for the first time in 25 seasons. Entering the game at 2-3 overall, Pittsburg State has not been two games under the .500 mark overall since the 1993 season when it started that year 0-2.

Going into the 2014 season, Pittsburg State had not lost to Fort Hays State in 20 straight contests (19-0-1). The Tigers ended the futility against the Gorillas with a 7-6 win in Pittsburg in 2014 when the Gorillas ranked No. 8 in the AFCA Poll. The following year, the Tigers had a 10-point lead (24-14) at halftime in Hays, only to see the 15th-ranked Gorillas reel off 17 unanswered points in the second half and escape Hays with a win by a score of 31-24. Last year’s meeting in Pittsburg was an offensive shootout in which the Tigers prevailed 54-41, with Jacob Mezera setting a new Fort Hays State record for total offense in a game with 508 yards (446 passing, 62 rushing). The long unbeaten run by the Gorillas against the Tigers from 1979-2011 gave them plenty of separation in the all-time series, which sits in their favor at 46-19-9.

Even with the historic implications of the game, the No. 11 ranked Tigers enter Saturday looking to maintain at least a share of the MIAA lead with Northwest Missouri State. The two-time defending national champion Bearcats ran their win streak to 35 games last week pulling out a 24-20 thriller over Central Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Northwest Missouri plays host to Central Oklahoma (2-3) this week. Fort Hays State looks for its first 6-0 start since the 1983 season.

The Fort Hays State defense looks to get back on track this week after surrendering a season-high 438 yards and 35 points at Lindenwood last week. The previous highs were 369 yards and 24 points at Central Oklahoma in Week 3. At home, the Tigers are allowing an average of 244 yards per game through two contests. The Tigers held their opponent under 10 points in both of those contests (6 allowed to Central Missouri in Week 2 and 7 allowed to Northeastern State in Week 4). The Tigers have held their opponents under 10 points in three of five contests so far this year. Overall, FHSU is allowing just 15.3 points per game and 302.8 yards per game to rank second in the MIAA in both categories behind Northwest Missouri State. The Tigers are 19th in the nation in scoring defense and 26th in total defense.

Pittsburg State enters the game averaging 383.4 yards of total offense, but its allowing 424.8 yards per game. Fort Hays State is averaging 462.6 yards of total offense. Pittsburg State allowed more than 400 yards to three of its five opponents this year, with 354 as its least allowed.

Mezera looks to become the sixth quarterback in Fort Hays State to reach the 4,000-yard passing mark. He is just 68 yards shy of the mark entering Saturday. Mezera has completed 70 percent of his passes this year (112-of-160) for 1,379 yards and 12 touchdowns. His top two targets are Monterio Burchfield and Tyler Bacon, each with 24 receptions. Burchfield is averaging 20.8 yards per catch with a total of 498 receiving yards on the season. Kenneth Iheme is the top rusher for FHSU at 477 yards, coming off a career high 174-yard performance at Lindenwood. He produced 232 all-purpose yards in that game, also a career high.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jose Delgado leads the Tigers with 38 tackles (9.5 per contest). With 14 tackles and a sack last week, Delgado shared MIAA Defensive Player of the Week honors. Kolt Trachsel had a big 25-yard interception return for a touchdown that proved to be the winning score at Lindenwood last week.

After their first MIAA loss last week, the Tigers earned a come-from-behind victory over Northwest Missouri State to capture its third conference win of the season in a 2-1 win. Fort Hays State now improves to 6-3-2 and 3-1 in MIAA play with the victory.

After a scoreless first half for both teams, the Bearcats struck first, netting a goal under two minutes into the second half. Bri Wawiorka earned her second goal of the season off an assist from Madie Kreuger to start the scoring in the match for Northwest Missouri State. Just eight minutes later, the Tigers netted their own goal to tie up the match as Darby Hirsch captured her second goal of the 2017 season.

The decisive moment of the match came as the Bearcats failed to clear on a corner kick to give an own goal to the Tigers, increasing their lead to 2-1. This would be the game-winning moment for Fort Hays State as they took the victory to earn their third MIAA victory in the early conference season. The Bearcats led the offensive charge in the game as they outshot the Tigers 25-11. Eden Stoddard led the way for the Tigers with four shots.

Megan Kneefel picks up another victory in net for the Tigers as she collected 11 saves in her 90 minutes played. Kneefel now improves to 2-2-1 for the season as the anchor in net for the Tigers.
The Tigers will stay in Missouri for another MIAA match-up as they face a tough challenge in No. 20 Missouri Western State. Fort Hays State will travel to St. Joseph, Mo., for the tilt which is slated to kick at 12 p.m. Sunday.