FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State bounced back from its hard-fought loss against No. 10 ranked Central Oklahoma with a straight set win over Pittsburg State on Saturday (Oct. 15). The Tigers moved to 19-6 overall and 5-5 in the MIAA, while the Gorillas dropped to 4-17 overall and 2-7 in the MIAA.
The Tigers used three straight blocks to open the match, all with Callie Christensen involved (2 assisted, 1 solo) to jump out to a 3-0 lead. FHSU would never trail in the set, eventually running its lead to eight at 15-7. Despite Pittsburg State cutting the lead back to two, the Tigers pulled away late for a 25-19 set win. Crystal Whitten had the hot hand early, putting down five kills and hitting .500 in the set.
The second set was competitive with four lead changes and 10 ties. The Tigers built a 16-12 lead midway through the set before the Gorillas responded to tie the score at 18-18. The teams sided out six consecutive times to a 24-24 tie before kills from Azlyn Cassaday and Whitten gave the Tigers a 26-24 victory in the win-by-two situation.
Pittsburg State hung around in the third set to an 11-11 tie, but the Tigers went on a 6-1 burst to take control by five. Another 5-0 run by the Tigers left no doubt as they cruised to a 25-14 set win and 3-0 sweep of the match.
Whitten hit .357 for the Tigers with a team-high 13 kills. She added 10 digs for a double-double. Rebekah Spainhour put down 10 kills and hit an efficient .421. Megan Anderson was also big for the Tigers in the middle, hitting .412 with nine kills. Hannah Wagy produced 13 assists per set with 39 for the match and Kailey Klibbe notched a team-best 12 digs. Christensen led the Tigers in blocks with five.
Zoey Qi and Maggie Highberger each recorded a team-high seven kills for Pittsburg State. Setter Carolina VanBuskirk had 30 assists and no Gorillas reached double figures in digs.
The Tigers look for their 20th win of the season on Thursday (Oct. 20) at Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo. Match time is set for 5 pm.
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