PITTSBURG, Kan. – Fort Hays State took care of business against a struggling Pittsburg State team on Saturday evening (Oct. 17). The Tigers defeated the Gorillas in straight sets 26-24, 25-13, 25-21, moving to 12-10 overall and 4-6 in the MIAA.
 
Fort Hays State held off a late rally from Pittsburg State (1-19, 1-8 MIAA) in the first set to win by two. FHSU led by seven at 22-15, but PSU went on a 7-0 run to tie the set thanks in large part to five attacking errors by the Tigers. Crystal Whitten had the final two kills of the set against her former school and a PSU attacking error gave the Tigers the set.
 
FHSU built a big lead early in the second set and did not let go of it this time, cruising to a 12-point win to take a commanding lead in the match. FHSU led by as many as six in the third set, but held off another late charge by PSU. Up 22-21, Megan Anderson and Mallory Flagor had consecutive kills and PSU ended the match with an attacking error.
 
FHSU held PSU to a hitting percentage less than .100 in all three sets. After a sluggish first set, the Tigers hit .355 the second and .250 in the third. The Tigers finished at .212 overall in the match, while the Gorillas hit just .049.
 
Flagor led the Tigers with 11 kills, hitting .304 in the match. Rebekah Spainhour had nine kills and Whitten had eight. Hannah Wagy provided 37 assists and Whitten had a team-high 11 digs.
 
Maggie Highberger led PSU in kills with seven. Hayley Hansford had 14 assists and Ashlen Schwartz recorded 19 digs.
 
Fort Hays State heads to Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Wednesday night (Oct. 21) for a non-conference match before returning home for MIAA play on the weekend.