Fort Hays State Volleyball (14-6, 3-3 MIAA)
at #7 Missouri Western (15-1, 5-0 MIAA)
Friday, October 9 • 6 p.m.
St. Joseph, Mo. • MWSU Fieldhouse at Looney Complex
 
at Northwest Missouri State (7-9, 4-2 MIAA)
Saturday, October 10 • 6 p.m.
Maryville, Mo. • Bearcat Arena
 
The Fort Hays State volleyball team opens a four-match road swing this weekend with a pair of conference contests in the northwest corner of Missouri. The road trip opens Friday (Oct. 9, 6 p.m.) in St. Joseph against seventh-ranked Missouri Western before continuing Saturday (Oct. 10, 6 p.m.) in Maryville against Northwest Missouri State.
 
The Tigers head into the weekend 14-6 overall and 3-3 in conference play, while the Griffons bring in a record of 15-1 (5-0 MIAA) and the Bearcats carry a mark of 6-9 (3-2 MIAA).
 
Match Coverage
- Live video will be available on The MIAA Network. Fans can purchase access to single matches for $15, a reoccurring monthly subscription for $35 or a season-long all-access pass for $140.
- Live stats at Missouri Western will be available here, with stats from Northwest Missouri State available here.
 
Tickets
- Tickets at Missouri Western are available for $7 and can be purchased online here.
- Tickets at Northwest Missouri State are $5 for adults and $3 for youth and seniors if purchased online in advance here, while prices go up to $8 and $5 on game day at the door.
 
MIAA Athletes of the Week
- Both Ella Goodwin and Annie Eaton were named MIAA Athletes of the Week after a trio of sweeps at home last week, giving the Tigers multiple weekly award winners for the first time in a decade (Rebekah Spainhour and Hannah Wagy, 10/3/16).
- Goodwin averaged four kills per set and posted a swing rate of .478 in nine sets, totaling just four errors on the week. She added 10 digs and three blocks defensively.
- The right-side hitter reached double figures in kills in all three contests, totaling 15 against Kansas Wesleyan and adding 10 kills without an error to post a swing rate of .625 against Northeastern State.
- Eaton averaged 11.2 assists and 4.0 digs per frame while adding seven aces, five blocks and five kills.
- The setter recorded more than 30 assists in all three sweeps, including a weekly high of 35 against Arkansas-Fort Smith.
- It was the second-straight weekly honor for Eaton, making her the first Tiger to earn multiple weekly awards from the conference office since Hannah Wagy in 2016.
 
National Leaders
- The Tiger offense ranks fourth in Division II and first in the MIAA in both kills per set (14.4) and assists per set (13.5).
 
On the Prowl
- Fort Hays State totaled 85 kills in its win over Pittsburg State, more than any other Division II team this season and tied for the most in a match at any level of NCAA volleyball in 2026 (Western Carolina, 85 kills vs. Samford, 10/2/26)
- That total is second-most at FHSU during the rally-scoring era (since 2001) and the most in a match by the Tigers since 2003.
 
Swinging for the Fences
After going 10 years without an attack percentage over .400 against a DII opponent, the Tigers reached that threshold twice in the first two weeks of this season. FHSU posted an attack percentage of .442 against Midwestern State at home and later added a swing rate of .425 against Sul Ross State in Grand Junction, Colo.
- The Tigers have hit .300 or better five times and have 13 performances of .250 or better.
 
Balanced Offensive Attack
- Four Tigers average at least 2.5 kills per set, with four more averaging more than 1.5 kill per frame.
- Goodwin is one of 11 hitters in the MIAA averaging at least three kills per frame, leading the Tigers at 3.04 per set.
- Peyton Bergschneider ranks 13th in the league with an average of 2.95 kills per set.
- Mylie Brown ranks 16th in the conference with an average of 2.90 kills per stanza.
- Ashlyn Reeves is fourth on the team with an average of 2.49 kills per set.
 
Conference Top 10
- Eaton leads the conference with 29 service aces and leads the league and ranks 18th nationally with 637 assists. Her 8.97 assists per set are third-most in the league.
- Reeves ranks third in the conference and in the top 50 in Division II with a hitting percentage of .365, while her 0.98 blocks per set are inside the top 10 in the league.
- Haylee Wolf is eighth in the conference with an average of 4.50 digs per frame.
- Carsyn Cormaney ranks second on the team and 15th in the conference with 46 blocks on the year.
 
Looking Ahead
FHSU will be back in St. Joseph, Mo. next week for an MIAA In-Season Tournament. The Tigers will take on No. 13 Washburn on Friday (Oct. 16, 6 p.m.) and No. 7 Missouri Western on Saturday (Oct. 17, 2 p.m.). Both matches will be non-conference affairs.
 
Scouting the Opposition
No. 7 Missouri Western
Record: 15-1 (5-0 MIAA)
Series History: MWSU leads, 53-14
Streak: MWSU W8, 20-1 since 2013
Key Stats: Fifth in DII with 2.61 blocks per set...16th in DII with an opposing hitting percentage of .130...Mackenzie Peters second in DII with 1.41 blocks per set...Tanith Roush seventh in MIAA with 3.11 kills per set...Anna Weberg 16th in DII with 5.21 digs per set.
 
Northwest Missouri State
Record: 7-9 (4-2 MIAA)
Series History: 9-30-1
Streak: FHSU W2
Key Stats: Third in MIAA with 1.73 aces per set...Sophia Gartner sixth in MIAA with 3.12 kills per set...Mya Karrick third in MIAA with 0.44 aces per set while ranking fourth in the league with 8.84 assists per frame.