FHSU Athletics

HAYS, Kan. - The Fort Hays State volleyball team returned to its winning ways with a four-set victory over Central Missouri Friday evening (Nov. 6), winning 21-25, 25-15, 25-19 and 25-18. FHSU (17-12, 4-7 MIAA) hit .209 with 53 kills and nine service aces, while the Jennies (15-13, 5-6 MIAA) hit .123 with 46 kills and three aces. After dropping the opening set, the Tigers used key scoring runs to win the final three, including a six-point surge in the third set that turned a 13-12 deficit into an 18-13 lead.
 
FHSU built an 11-9 first-set lead behind Hope Duncan's ace and a block by Ashlyn Reeves and Annie Eaton, but Central Missouri came back and took the set 25-21. Peyton Bergschneider had four kills and Ella Goodwin added three as the Tigers kept answering late, including Bergschneider's kill that made it 23-21 before the Jennies closed the set.
 
The Tigers answered an early 6-2 hole in the second set by winning five straight points on Carsyn Cormaney's serve, taking a 7-6 lead on a block by Goodwin and Reeves. After Central Missouri tied it at seven, FHSU pushed back ahead and later ran five straight points from 10-8 to 15-8, with Bergschneider recording three kills in that stretch. The Tigers closed out the set 25-15.
 
FHSU answered a 13-12 deficit in the third set by scoring six straight points, including five on Kaitlyn Cure's serve, to move in front 18-13. Mylie Brown put down three kills during that stretch, and Cure added a kill from Goodwin. The Tigers finished the set at 25-19, closing it on a Goodwin kill and a block by Reeves and Goodwin.
 
The Tigers created the key cushion in the fourth set, moving from a 9-6 edge to 16-7 behind consecutive Reeves-Goodwin blocks and back-to-back Bergschneider service aces. Central Missouri later scored three straight points to make it 22-18, but FHSU closed the set with a service error and two Reeves kills to take the set 25-18.
 
Bergschneider led FHSU with 16 kills, four service aces and added 11 digs for a double-double. Eaton finished with 43 assists, 14 digs, two aces and three blocks. Reeves recorded seven total blocks and nine kills, finishing with 13.0 points. Haylee Wolf collected 18 digs and added three assists, while Brown racked up 11 kills and posted an attack percentage of .333.
 
With the win, Fort Hays State moves within a game of UCM in the MIAA standings with one day remaining in the regular season. A Tiger victory combined with a Jennie loss at No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney would give FHSU its third-straight trip to the MIAA Championship Tournament.
 
The Tigers will wrap up the regular season Saturday (Nov. 7) when they host Missouri Southern beginning at 3 p.m. FHSU will recognize a pair of seniors in Bergschneider and Reeves after the match.