FHSU Athletics

Hays, Kan. – Fort Hays State picked up their ninth win of the season against Oklahoma Baptist by a score of 4-0 on Thursday (Oct. 21). The Tigers improved their record to 9-3-1 and the Bison dropped to 4-12 on the season.

Joe Albright scored two goals in a matter of 1:20 and Addison Pauler added another for the Tigers all in the first half. MIAA leading scorer Maurico Castorino added to his total with an assist and the lone goal in the second half. He now has nine goals and five assists for the season.

Albright started the scoring when he got a deflection off a Bison defender from a shot taken by Anthony Hernandez. The ball found Albright 15 yards out and he was able to rifle it pass the keeper in the bottom left corner of the net for his second goal of the season 11:46 into the game.

Shortly after, Albright was able to spring free from the defense on a beautiful cross from defender Daniel Kelly and he found the back of the net again to push the Tiger lead to 2-0 at the 13:06 mark.

Pauler was the beneficiary of a ball that did not get cleared by an OBU defender. The ball bounced to Pauler 20 yards out where he settled it and fired a laser to the lower right corner of the net for his first goal of the season at 35:17.

In the second half, Castorino received a pass from Kyle Markovits at the top of the box and froze the keeper with a rifle shot into the net pushing the Tiger lead to 4-0 at 46:12.

Goalkeeper Michael Yantz recorded his ninth win of the season and his fourth shutout, stopping all three of the shots on goal from OBU.

The Tigers head to Canyon, Texas, next for a big matchup against 9-4 West Texas A&M on Saturday (Oct. 23) at 7:00 pm.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State Volleyball will hold its annual Pass, Set, Pink Event in support of Breast Cancer Awareness on Friday, October 23 at Gross Memorial Coliseum as the Tigers take on No. 12 ranked Central Missouri at 6 pm. A silent auction will begin at 5 pm.

The silent auction begins one hour prior to the match near Gate 3 with all proceeds going towards the PINK scholarship, which was established by the Tiger Volleyball Program to benefit an FHSU student who has been affected by cancer. The winners of the silent auction items will be announced after the match.

The team will also be selling pink volleyball t-shirts for $15, (image attached) with proceeds going towards the PINK scholarship. To order a t-shirt prior to the game, please contact Assistant Coach Lily Dillard ([email protected] or ext. 4363). Anyone wearing a pink shirt will get into the match for FREE and there will be an autograph session with the volleyball team after the match. The PINK scholarship is currently at $6,289 and will be endowed once it reaches $10,000.

Be with us at Gross Memorial Coliseum throughout the weekend for both home matches. FHSU takes on Lindenwood at 2 pm on Saturday.

FHSU Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Coming off the best season in the program’s NCAA Division II history, Fort Hays State has been picked second in the MIAA Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll, released on Thursday (Oct. 22). Fort Hays State was the MIAA Regular Season Champion last year, finishing with a record of 30-4 overall and 18-1 in the MIAA.

Fort Hays State sits only behind Emporia State in the preseason poll. The Hornets were unanimously picked No. 1 with 13 votes. Fort Hays State received the one first place vote from ESU, since coaches cannot vote for their own team. Fort Hays State and Emporia State had four epic battles last year, both ranked inside the top 10 of the WBCA Poll in each meeting. FHSU won the two regular season meetings before ESU claimed victories in the two postseason meetings, the MIAA Tournament Final and NCAA Tournament Central Regional Final. Emporia State went on to the national semifinals and finished its year at 29-5 overall.

Sitting behind the Tigers in the poll are Central Missouri and Pittsburg State. The Jennies went 21-9 last year, while the Gorillas finished 27-7 overall. Pittsburg State was also a participant in the NCAA Tournament along with FHSU and ESU last year. The Gorillas fell in the regional semifinal to the Hornets.

The Tigers three of five starters from last year’s NCAA Tournament team, which includes Beth Bohuslavsky, Chelsea Mason and Paige Lunsford. All three are seniors this year. However, the Tigers adjust to losing two of their best defensive players, first team All-American Kate Lehman and Keriann Shaw.

Bohuslavsky averaged 8.9 points and 3.8 assists per game last year and once again was one of the top ball security players in the nation, ranking sixth in assist/turnover ratio. Mason is the top returning scorer at 12.5 points per game, while Jill Faxon added 9.4 points and shot 41 percent beyond the 3-point line. Lunsford is the top returning rebounder, pulling down 4.1 per game last year. She added 4.9 points per game. Nikola Kacperska turned into a solid offensive threat for FHSU late in the year, finishing at 6.5 points per game, while Ellie Stein added 3.1 points per game in the post.

2015-16 MIAA Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Emporia State (13) 169
2. Fort Hays State (1) 147
3. Central Missouri 135
4. Pittsburg State 128
5. Missouri Western 124
6. Washburn 103
7. Central Oklahoma 102
8. Missouri Southern 99
9. Lindenwood 58
10. Northeastern State 57
11. Lincoln 53
12. Nebraska-Kearney 38
13. Northwest Missouri 35
14. Southwest Baptist 26

FHSU Athletics

GOODWELL, Okla. – Fort Hays State rolled to a three-set win at Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Wednesday night (Oct. 21). The Tigers won by scores of 25-16, 25-12, and 25-16 to move to 13-10 overall on the season. OPSU dropped to 1-22.

Sydney Dixon led the way for FHSU in kills with nine. Crystal Whitten added six, while Azlyn Cassaday and Rebekah Spainhour each had five. With four kills on five attempts, Megain Anderson hit .800 in the match, while Cassaday hit .625. Mekaleigh Yantzie hit .571 on four kills. Hannay Wagy had 29 assists and Whitten led the way in digs with 13. Kailey Klibbe had four service aces.

As a team, the Tigers hit .224 overall, while holding the Aggies to -.020. Bristen Graves led OPSU in kills with five.

Fort Hays State returns home for a pair of conference matches this weekend. FHSU faces No. 12 ranked Central Missouri on Friday night at 6 pm in the annual Pass, Set, Pink Event, then hosts Lindenwood on Saturday at 2 pm.

FHSU Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State has been selected sixth in the MIAA Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, released on Wednesday (Oct. 21). The Tigers look to make a return to the upper half of the standings after finishing ninth last year.

Fort Hays State finished at 16-13 overall and 9-10 in the MIAA last year. All-American point guard Craig Nicholson went down with a season-ending injury 16 games into the season. FHSU went 6-7 overall following the injury and fell in the first round of the MIAA Tournament to Washburn.

The Tigers are only two years removed from an appearance in the NCAA Tournament and three years removed from their last MIAA title, when they tied Central Missouri for the regular season crown in 2012-13. Fort Hays State has enjoyed eight 20-win seasons and six NCAA Tournament appearances under head coach Mark Johnson, who enters his 15th year at the helm.

Nicholson is the top returning scorer for FHSU. He was averaged 14.9 points and 6.1 assists per game. Dom Samac emerged as a solid offensive threat for the Tigers in the post, averaging 10.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The Tigers have their top rebounder back, Jake Stoppel, who averaged 5.8 per game and contributed 7.4 points per game. Drew Kite returns in the post, while Hadley Gillum and Kade Spresser also return after seeing limited action last year. Grant Holmes redshirted his first year with the program.

The Tigers have nine new faces on the roster this year, including three transfers and six true freshmen.

Northwest Missouri State has been selected as the favorite to win the conference title, earning nine first-place votes. The Bearcats were the regular season champion last year. Central Missouri, Nebraska-Kearney, Missouri Southern, and Pittsburg State all received first-place votes as well. Pittsburg State was the MIAA Tournament Champion in 2015.

2015-16 MIAA Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (9) 164
2. Central Missouri (1) 143
3. Nebraska-Kearney (1) 141
4. Missouri Southern (2) 140
5. Pittsburg State (1) 134
6. Fort Hays State 101
7. Lindenwood 91
8. Central Oklahoma 77
T9. Washburn 72
T9. Missouri Western 72
11. Emporia State 58
12. Southwest Baptist 38
13. Northeastern State 29
14. Lincoln 14

FHSU Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer remained No. 24 in the latest NSCAA Division II Poll, released on Tuesday (Oct. 20). The Tigers were idle for a week and play two non-conference games this week, one home and one away.

Fort Hays State is joined by Northeastern State as MIAA representatives in the top 25. The RiverHawks moved up to No. 15 this week from No. 17. NSU has an overall record of 9-4. The Tigers enter the week at 8-3-1 overall. Lindenwood continues to receive votes in the poll.

Fort Hays State plays a non-conference match against Oklahoma Baptist at home on Thursday night before playing at West Texas A&M on Saturday.

Below is the NSCAA Division II Poll for October 20, 2015.

Also receiving votes: Notre Dame College (18), Fresno Pacific University (17), University Of Tampa (10), Bloomsburg University (7), Lindenwood University (2), Lander University (1), California State University-Los Angeles (1), Merrimack College (1), Barry University (1)