Box Score

Down two sets, Fort Hays State held a 24-17 lead in the third set, but could not find a way to put away No. 3 ranked Washburn to force a fourth set. The Lady Blues rallied for seven straight points to tie the set at 24-24, then took the set from the Tigers 28-26 to remain unbeaten on the year at 14-0, 5-0 in the MIAA. The Tigers dropped to 12-6, 2-3 in the MIAA with the loss.

Fort Hays State was in the match all night, giving the Lady Blues all they could handle throughout the evening. The first set was tight with Washburn winning 25-23. After the first set was tied 11-11, neither team could build a lead of more than two points until Washburn finally broke through with three straight points to go up 24-21 to break a 21-21 tie. FHSU countered with two straight points, but an assisted block by Jessica Fey and Kelsey Lewis gave Washburn the first set.

The second set was very similar with neither team leading by more than two until Washburn broke an 18-18 tie with three straight points. The Tigers fired back with a kill and a pair of blocks to tie the set again at 21-21, but the Lady Blues reeled off four straight points to take set.

Fort Hays State came out with conviction in the third set and built a huge lead of 10 at 20-10. The set looked all but over at 24-17 with Makenzie Weinman serving to extend the match to a fourth set, but three straight points forced Kurt Kohler to call a timeout. The Tigers still could not find a way to get the final point out of the break, hitting into a block for three straight points then Jessica Kopp tied the set for Washburn with a kill. The teams traded points to a 26-26 tie, then Washburn put the match away with a kill from Fey and then an attack error by the Tigers.

Taylor Mares led Fort Hays State in kills with 14, hitting .346 for the match. Madison Schwartz also reached double figures in kills with 10. Kayla Zoglman had 39 assists and Makenzie Weinman led the Tigers in digs with 16, followed by Schwartz with 13.

Jessica Fey led Washburn with 12 kills, followed closely by Jessica Kopp with 11 kills. Abby Wittman led Washburn in assists with 32 and Kopp finished with a team-high 11 digs for a double-double in the match. Kelsey Lewis added 10 digs.

The Lady Blues outhit the Tigers .220 to .157 in the match and both teams had eight total blocks. Jenna Ulrich had two solo blocks and four assisted blocks for the Tigers. The Tigers had three more kills than the Lady Blues, leading the category 46-43, and the teams were nearly identical in digs with Washburn holding a 51-50 advantage in that category.

The Tigers return to action at Gross Memorial Coliseum on Saturday (Sept. 29) as they host Emporia State at 3 pm.