Fort Hays State Volleyball (12-11, 4-10 MIAA)
at Missouri Western (21-5, 11-3 MIAA)
Friday, November 15 • 6 p.m.
St. Joseph, Mo. • MWSU Fieldhouse
 
at Northwest Missouri State (14-10, 8-6 MIAA)
Saturday, November 16 • 6 p.m.
Maryville, Mo. • Bearcat Arena
 
The Fort Hays State volleyball team wraps up the regular season this weekend (Nov. 15-16) with a pair of road conference matchups. The Tigers will open the weekend in St. Joseph, Mo. to take on Missouri Western on Friday before traveling to Maryville, Mo. to take on Northwest Missouri State on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
 
Both matches will be broadcast live via The MIAA Network on a pay-per-view basis. Fans can purchase access to a single broadcast for $15, a monthly recurring subscription for $30 and a year-long MIAA Network All-Access pass for $140.
 
Live stats will be available for Friday's match online here and for Saturday's match online here. Tickets for Friday's contest at Missouri Western are available for $5. Tickets for Saturday's matchup at Northwest Missouri State are available in advance for $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and students K-12, while game day prices will be $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and students.
 
Fort Hays State heads into the weekend with a record of 12-11 overall and 4-10 in conference play. The Tigers are 10th in the league standings, however, due to their difficult strength of schedule, FHSU is seventh in the league's KPI rankings. These computerized rankings will be used to determine the eight teams that advance to the 2024 MIAA Championship Tournament, set for November 21-23 in St. Joseph, Mo. A win would all but clinch FHSU's spot in the tournament, however it is still mathematically possible for the Tigers to advance to the postseason without a victory this weekend.
 
The Tigers are led offensively by Gracie Rains, who leads the MIAA with 3.60 kills per set. An honorable mention All-MIAA pick last year, Rains leads the team and ranks third in the league with an average of 3.81 points per set.

Claire Olson leads qualified FHSU players with an attack percentage of .257, good for 20th in the conference.
 
Fort Hays State is the only school in the league that has multiple players with at least 88 blocks, with Taytum Lovesee ranking seventh in the conference with 90 blocks and Ashlyn Reeves close behind in eighth with 88.
 
Caiya Stucky is currently averaging 9.01 assists per set, sixth-most in the MIAA. If she maintains that average this weekend, would be the first Tiger to average more than nine assists per set over a regular season since 2016.
 
Kirsten Evans leads the team in both digs and service aces, ranking 10th in the league with 379 digs (4.12 per set) and sitting in a tie for 11th in the conference with 27 aces.
 
The Griffons enter the weekend 21-5 overall and 11-3 in conference play, good for third in the league standings and second in the KPI rankings. The Griffons rank fourth in the latest NCAA DII Central Region Rankings, putting MWSU on the cusp of its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2017. The Griffons are a perfect 7-0 at home this year. MWSU leads the conference in digs per set with 19.37 per set, third-most in DII. They also lead the association with 1.85 aces per set. Lily Kurz is first in the MIAA and 11th in DII with 1.35 blocks per set.
 
The Bearcats are currently 14-10 on the year and 8-6 in league action, tied for fifth in the conference standings and good for fifth in the KPI rankings. The Bearcats are 5-2 at home this season. NWMSU leads the country with 41.8 attacks per set and they rank fifth in DII with an average of 19.27 digs per frame. Abby Brunssen is fourth in the league with 1.08 blocks per set, while Kyah Luhring also ranks fourth with 5.16 digs per stanza.