Fort Hays State University dropped a 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-23) contest with No. 5 BYU-Hawaii on Friday evening in Laie, Hawaii. The Tigers drop to 0-2 on the season while BYU now sits at 4-0.

Jenna Ulrich led the team with nine kills, while Taylor Mares followed up Thursday night’s strong performance with an eight kill evening.  Ulrich hit .350 while Mares’ percentage was .250.  Using a two-setter cycle, Kelsey Broadwell racked up 17 assists and Libby Ary had 14.

The Tigers’ defense was tested throughout the night from BYU’s strong attack, and Mackenzie Weinman stepped up the challenge, digging out 20 attacks to keep FHSU close.

In game one, FHSU trailed just once until the match was tied 9-9, but couldn’t pull away, eventually relinquishing the lead and needing to battle from behind.  The Tigers would hang tough throughout, pulling within one at 20-19, 21-20, 22-21 and 23-22, but couldn’t get over the hump and dropped the first set, 25-23.

BYU would hold the lead throughout game two, limiting the Tigers to a .128 hitting percentage (and five attack errors), to take the set, 25-18.

After the intermission, FHSU would answer back strongly, hitting .216 with a service ace and 12 kills as a team.  The teams would trade points until 7-7, when the Tigers rattled off a 5-1 run to lead, 12-8.  That lead, however, would shrink until BYU tied the game, 13-13.

FHSU wouldn’t falter, though, and once again attempted to pull away, but were unable to.  Down 15-17, BYU would run off four unanswered points to take the lead, 19-17.  The pesky Tigers, though, tied the match at 22 and 23, showing resilience until a two-point rally ended the match, 25-23.

FHSU travels to Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, Hawaii tomorrow to close out the Hawaii Invitational.  The Tigers will take on Lewis University at Noon HT (5 p.m. CT) and HPU at 6 p.m. HT (11 p.m. CT).

— FHSU Sports Informaton —

The Fort Hays State women’s soccer team fell 1-0 to Southwest Minnesota State on Friday evening in the season opener at FHSU Soccer Stadium in Hays. A goal in the 75th minute was the difference in a match that saw the Tigers take 11 shots to just four for the Mustangs.

Fort Hays State dominated the first half offensively with the wind at its back, taking 10 shots to just one for SMSU. The FHSU defense held SMSU to just three shots in the second half even with the reversal of wind, but a low shot to the right corner Kendahl Fisher of SMSU got past a diving Nicole Barnaba into the net.

Brienna Dehkes picked up the win for SMSU in goal, saving eight shots in the first half, two in a row on a great opportunity the Tigers had on a shot by Jordon Hester and a rebound attempt by Sabrina Van Horn in the 27th minute. Barnaba took the loss and had just one save in the match.

Fort Hays State looks to rebound from the loss on Sunday when it hosts University of Sioux Falls at 11 am at FHSU Soccer Stadium.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Emporia State racked up 591 yards of total offense as they roll past the Fort Hays State Tigers 43-13 in the season opener for both Thursday night in front of 3,695 at Lewis Field. Hornet sophomore quarterback Brent Wilson completed 20-of-28 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns, all to Austin Willis and ran for two more scores.

Chris Brown Postgame News Conference

After forcing the Tigers to a three-and-out on their first possession, the Hornets scored on a Wilson 32 yard run. Emporia State then scored 10 points in their final two possessions of the second quarter to go up 17-0 at the half.

Justin McPhail Postgame Interview

Andreas Ashwood blocked a punt on the Hornets first possession of the third quarter, setting up an eight yard touchdown pass from Treveon Albert to Keaton Callins to pull the Tigers within 17-6. Callins also caught a 27-yard strike and finished with five catches for 52 yards.

Game Highlights

Albert completed 15-of-28 passes for 163 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Tigers were held to just 44 rushing yards. Andre Smith led the way with 23 yards on 10 carries. FHSU was just 2-for-10 on third down and lost the time of possession battle 39:32 to 20:28.

In a closely-contest match to open the season, Fort Hays State battled, but came up short in a 3-1 (26-28, 25-22, 25-23, 25-14) contest at Chaminade University. The Tigers (0-1) dropped the contest after hitting just .068 as a team, compared to a .221 hitting percentage by CU (2-1).

Taylor Mares led the team with nine kills, while Madison Schwartz and Haley Corkill each had seven. Kelsey Broadwell had 17 assists to lead FHSU, closely followed by Libby Ary’s 15.

On the defensive side, Makenzie Weinman dug out 12 attacks and Jenna Ulrich assisted with five blocks. Camille Hubert was second on the squad with 9 digs.

Down 0-2 to start the game one, FHSU rallied to take a 5-2 lead, keyed during the run by Ulrich’s two kills and two aces by Sara Hewson. CU would tie the game at seven, but another offensive spark gave the Tigers an 11-7 lead.

After a timeout with score tied at 11, the Tigers took a 15-11 lead, but couldn’t pull away, relinquishing the lead at 22-21.  From there, the teams would trade points until 26-26, when Schwartz broke the stalemate with a kill, and a block by Ulrich clinched the game, 28-26.

In game two, FHSU would jump out to a 2-0 lead, but couldn’t hold the advantage for long, allowing CU to take a 5-3 lead.  The Tigers, however, used a 7-2 run to take a 10-7 lead, including a stretch of three unanswered points.

Down 18-16, a kill by Mares and block by Ulrich and Schwartz tied the match up, setting the stage for another close finish.  CU would attempt to pull away with a 21-19 lead, but FHSU would not go away, eventually tying the game at 22.  The Silver Swords, however, would take the game, 25-22.

Coming out of intermission, FHSU fell behind 5-3, but the score would be tied five more times (at 5, 7, 9, 10, 13) before FHSU took a 14-13 lead.  The back-and-forth contest saw FHSU take an 18-16 lead and hold the two-point advantage until 21-19, when CU went on a 5-1 run to take a 24-22 lead.  FHSU would pull within one, but were unable to rally further, falling 25-23.

Needing to win the final two games to clinch the match, FHSU couldn’t find a rhythm in the fourth frame, and dropped the contest, 25-14.

The Tigers will take on No. 5 BYU-Hawaii tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. HT (12:30 a.m. CT).  The game will be played in Laie, Hawaii, at the Cannon Activities Center.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Fort Hays State University’s men’s soccer team fell, 2-0, to Texas-Permian Basin to open the season in Odessa, Texas.

The No. 23 Tigers rattled off 12 shots on Thursday afternoon, including five on goal, but couldn’t push any across the goal line.

Tied 0-0 until the 78th minute, the Falcon’s rattled off two goals in the final 11 minutes to clinch the win.  Brendan Betsill scored on a free kick at 79:49, while Logan Sharp’s shot from 25 feet out in the final minute (89:15) found the left corner of the net.

FHSU’s Ricardo Yeverino took four shots in the contest, putting three on goal, to lead the team. Diego Cabral and David Lucio took the other shots on goal for the Tigers, while Tanner Brockhad two attempts.

Goalkeeper Kent Fruend had three stops in the campaign while playing the full 90 minutes.

FHSU travels to Portales, N.M., on Saturday, Sept. 7 to battle Eastern New Mexico at 1 p.m.

— FHSU Sports Information —

The season opener for the Fort Hays State football team has finally arrived. The Tigers open at home Thursday night against Emporia State. FHSU has shown steady improvement under head coach Chris Brown who is entering his third season. The Tigers won four games two years ago and five last season.

Emporia State is coming off a school-tying 10-win season which culminated with a thrilling victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville in the Kanza Bowl.

Both teams will be starting sophomore quarterbacks. The Tigers will go with Treveon Albert who saw time at wide receiver and running back. Brent Wilson played in nine games as a backup for the Hornets last season, completing 7-of-21 passes for 112 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

The Tigers have just two players back on offense who will start in the same position they did a year ago in wide receivers Keaton Callins and Tanner Hageman. Starting left guard Jarred Stindt was the Tigers starting center as a true freshman last year. Running backs Andre and Ed Smith return from early season injuries which forced both to miss most of last season. Andre Smith was an honorable mention All-MIAA pick two years ago after rushing for 963 yards and five touchdowns.

Junior safety Micheal Jordan leads the Tiger defense. He is the only returning all-conference player from last season.

The home team has won the last seven and nine of the last 11 in the series. Emporia State won last year’s meeting 41-18 in Emporia. This will mark the 19th time the Tigers and Hornets will face each other in the season opener with the Hornets enjoying a 14-4 advantage.

Thursday night’s game kicks off at 7pm at Lewis Field. You can hear it beginning at 6pm with the Auto World Pregame Tiger Radio Mix-103 and on line at https://www.hayspost.com/tiger-radio/

Click below to view FHSU’s game notes… https://www.fhsuathletics.com/documents/2013/9/3/130903fb.pdf?id=1032