Fort Hays State Volleyball  picked up its second conference win of the season with a 3-1 (30-28, 19-25, 25-15, 27-25) victory over Southwest Baptist on Friday evening in Bolivar, Mo.
 
The Tigers (7-6, 2-3 MIAA) hit just .197 on the night, but outdid the Bearcats (6-7, 1-4 MIAA) in nearly every statistical category, including kills, hitting percentage, digs and blocks.
 
With the team down 19-9 in the first set, Teresa Wade picked up a kill to spark a 13-2 run for the Tigers that propelled FHSU into 22-21 lead.  During that run, the Tigers ran off a stretch of seven unanswered at the end of the burst.
 
SBU recovered to force set point, 24-23, but a bad set from the Bearcats' Kelsey Fankhauser put the set in a win-by-two situation and kept the Tigers close.
 
For the next four set point situations, the lead team could not clinch the finishing point, but down 28-27, Fort Hays State grabbed three straight points (including Wade's third kill of the set) to pull away, 30-28.
 
The second set again found FHSU trailing early (10-2), but a 7-0 run helped the Tigers cut the deficit to three, 12-9.  A side out for SBU, however, put the Bearcats' back in control as they closed out the set to tie the match, 25-19.
 
Out of intermission, Fort Hays State responded with a strong performance in the third set, winning 25-15. Up 5-4, FHSU ran off six straight points (11-4) and never looked back, leading by as many as 10 at 17-7 and set point.
 
Looking for its third set victory of the night, the Tigers found themselves trailing early (11-6) in the set.  After an FHSU timeout, a kill from Taylor Mares helped the Tigers start a 6-2 run that cut the lead to two, 13-11. 
 
FHSU eventually tied the match at 15, and back-and-forth play brought the teams to 18-all, when SBU pulled away briefly to lead by three 22-19, forcing a Tigers' timeout.  Four straight points for Fort Hays State (including two kills from Haley Corkill) gave FHSU a 23-22 lead, but SBU answered to regain an advantage, 24-23. 
 
Rebekah Spainhour's 10th kill of evening forced a win-by-two situation (24-all), and after the Tigers fell behind again, Spainhour picked up another kill to re-tie the match, 25-25.  Corkill put Fort Hays State in the driver's seat (26-25) with a service ace. 
 
After an SBU timeout, Spainhour's final kill of the evening put the match away, 27-25.  All told, Corkill and Spainhour combined for seven of the Tigers' final eight points, with Mallory Flagor adding the other kill.
 
Taylor Mares led the Tigers with 13 kills on the evening, just ahead of Spainhour's 12 kills and team-high six blocks (two solo).  Flagor pushed her double-digit kills' streak to 12 games with 10 kills on the night, adding three block assists, while Mares had two block assists.
 
Sara Hewson and Callie Christensen were near the double-digit mark with eight kills apiece, while Wade had seven kills.
 
Kristin Conor led the Tigers in assists (25) for the first time this season, while Libby Ary had 20 assists. 
 
In the back row, Keanu Bradley (26), Conor (22) and Hewson (21) had 20-plus dig performances to lead the Tigers, while Wade had 13 and Ary dug up 12 attacks.
 
The Tigers return to action tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 26) at Pittsburg State.  Game time in Pittsburg, Kan., is set for 6 p.m.