HAYS, Kan. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team went 1-1 to finish off its 2017 home schedule Saturday (Nov. 4), falling to Pittsburg State in four sets before sweeping Johnson & Wales in the nightcap. The Tigers are now 11-21 overall and 2-14 in MIAA play, while the Gorillas improved to 7-22 on the year and 3-13 in the conference and the Wildcats dipped to 2-25 this season.
 
The Tigers honored this year's three seniors, Callie Christensen, Kylie Rollman and Sabrina Rodgers, with a Senior Day ceremony before the first match.
 
Pittsburg State 3, Fort Hays State 1 (25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 23-25)
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead against Pittsburg State, taking the first set 25-23, but came up short in the next three frames. The Gorillas got revenge of an earlier 3-1 Tiger victory over PSU in Pittsburg, Kan. (9/30).
 
Fort Hays State was held to a .045 hitting percentage, while the Gorillas countered with a .101 swing rate. Pittsburg State picked up a season-high 18 blocks in the win.
 
Seniors Kylie Rollman and Callie Christensen led the way for the Tigers on offense, picking up 12 kills and 10 kills, respectively. Christensen added seven blocks, with Logan Wallick adding a season-high five blocks. Amirah Bentley recorded her eighth double-double of the year, tossing up 38 assists while adding 17 digs. Taylor White led the team with 23 digs, her ninth contest with 20 or more digs this season. Azlyn Cassaday had a strong afternoon, chipping in 19 digs, six kills and one service ace.
 
The Tigers never trailed in the opening set, scoring the first four points of the match to take the early lead. The Gorillas picked up the next two points, but that is when the block party began. FHSU picked up blocks on three of the next five points, going on a 5-0 run to build a commanding 9-2 lead. The Tigers later led by as many as nine, 22-13, before Pittsburg State went on a 10-1 run, including seven consecutive points, to tie things up at 23. FHSU rallied out of a timeout, capturing a 25-23 win after a Gorilla error and a kill from Rollman.
 
Pittsburg State led wire-to-wire in the second set to tie the match, 25-22, before FHSU bounced back to take an early lead in the third set. The Tigers were in front by as many as four, 10-6, before the visitors fought back to retake the lead. PSU held on late to jump in front 2-1 in the match, 25-21.
 
Fort Hays State led for the majority of the fourth set, trailing only once early in the frame before the Gorillas scored the final four points to steal the set, 25-23. The Tigers built their lead as high as three, 18-15, after a kill from Cassaday. PSU rallied to tie things up at 21 before back-to-back kills from Morgan West put the Tigers in control, 23-21. However, the Gorillas called a timeout to stop the momentum before going on a 4-0 run to seal the match.
 
Fort Hays State 3, Johnson & Wales 0 (25-10, 25-10, 25-16)
The Tigers rounded out the season with a strong performance in their second match of the day, sweeping aside Johnson & Wales. FHSU posted a season-high attack percentage of .405, their best performance since early in the 2015 season (.523, vs York, 9/19/15) while holding the Wildcats to a -.012 swing rate, the lowest for a Tiger opponent this season.
 
Morgan West took advantage of her first career start, leading the team with a season-high 12 kills while adding two blocks and one dig. Callie Christensen posted a .538 swing rate, dropping in nine kills while contributing five blocks and two service aces. Kylie Rollman reached double figures in kills for the second time of the day, chipping in 10 kills, one block and three digs. Amirah Bentley tossed up 37 assists in the victory, the most in a three-set match for a Tiger this season.
 
The Tigers never trailed in the match, scoring as many as nine in a row midway through the first set. Fort Hays State found its stride in the second set, posting a .550 attack percentage after throwing down 12 kills to just one error.
 
Fort Hays State will wrap up the regular season next week when they hit the road to play Missouri Western on Friday (Nov. 10) at 7 p.m. and Northwest Missouri State on Saturday (Nov. 11) at 3 p.m.