HAYS, Kan. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team fell in four sets against Central Oklahoma in its 2022 home opener Friday (Sept. 16), 9-25, 25-20, 16-25, 17-25. The Tigers (5-6, 0-3 MIAA) shook off a slow start to convincingly win the second set against the undefeated Bronchos (13-0, 3-0 MIAA), but UCO rallied to take the next two frames.
 
The Bronchos came sprinting out of the gates, leading wire-to-wire to take the first set 25-9, but the Tigers quickly came to life in the second set. Fort Hays State never trailed in the second set, taking an early 2-0 lead on a Jaida Felix service ace and a Morgan Christiansen kill. The visitors tied things up later on, but a kill from Claire Olson broke up the 9-9 deadlock and handed the Tigers the lead for good.
 
Fort Hays State built its lead to five at 18-13 behind kills from Caiya Stucky and Emily Ellis before a Broncho error forced a timeout from UCO. The visitors rallied within one, 21-20, before the Tigers finished things off with four-consecutive points. Olson tacked on two more kills down the stretch, giving her four kills on seven swings in the set, before Christiansen gave the Tigers the win with one more big swing.
 
The Tigers brought a little momentum into the third set, leading by as many as three early. The Bronchos recovered with a six-point run, taking the lead for good at 10-6. The teams traded points for much of the remainder of the set, but the Tigers could never overcome the Broncho lead. There were eight ties and three lead changes in the fourth set, with UCO pulling away after a 10-10 tie to win 25-17.
 
Olson added five more kills in the fourth set, giving the sophomore a team-high 12 in the match to go along with four blocks. Mykah Eshbaugh contributed eight kills, a career-high 13 digs and one block, while Christiansen had seven kills and three blocks. Ellis led the team with five blocks, including one solo swat, while chipping in four kills. Jaida Felix racked up 22 assists, nine digs and one ace, while Jaden Daffer led the way with 21 digs and one ace.
 
The Tigers wrap up the weekend Saturday (Sept. 17) with a 2 p.m. matchup against Newman inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.