Box Score The Fort Hays State volleyball team welcomed a strong Nebraska-Kearney team to Hays in the 2012 home opener on Tuesday (Sept. 11) and fell in straight sets, 3-0 (25-7, 25-12, 25-16), to the No. 1 team at Gross Memorial Coliseum in front of 1,011 Tiger fans.
 
The Lopers showed early why they are ranked No. 1, winning set one in impressive fashion. After being tied 1-1, UNK scored eight straight points then followed it up with a run of six straight points to go up, 15-2. From there the Lopers cruised to the first set win.
 
UNK hit a remarkable .609 in set one, totaling 14 kills on 23 attacks with zero errors. The Tigers on the other hand, hit -.037 with six kills and seven errors.
 
In set two, the Lopers continued their great hitting with a .387 hitting percentage and 15 kills with only three errors. The set was tight to start with UNK up 8-6, but the Lopers ran off eight straight points for a 16-6 advantage. At 20-12, UNK closed the set with five consecutive points.
 
The Tigers battled in the third set, leading early at 3-2 and 4-3. The Lopers tied the score at 4-4 and then led the rest of the way for the 25-16 set win.
 
Jenna Ulrich led the Tigers with six kills and three blocks. Kylee Hoagland added five kills and three blocks. Kayla Zoglman had 18 of the 22 assists and a team-high eight digs.
 
The Lopers were led by Ariel Krolikowski who totaled 15 kills and hit .433. Jenna Rouzee tallied 31 assists and Kaleigh Anderson totaled 13 digs for UNK.
 
UNK hit .375 in the match, with only seven errors on 96 attacks. FHSU totaled 22 kills with 22 errors in their 91 total attacks.
 
The Tigers drop to 6-4 on the season and 0-1 in the MIAA. This weekend FHSU travels to Central Oklahoma on Friday for a 7 pm tilt and then goes to Pittsburg State on Saturday for a 2 p.m. match.