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Tiger volleyball falls in three sets to Central Missouri
9/27/2009
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
On Friday night and Saturday afternoon, first-year Fort Hays State University head volleyball coach Kurt Kohler discussed No. 9-ranked University of Central Missouri's roster with Tiger assistant Fernanda Domingos.
Central Missouri's roster was stacked with Kansas natives, especially players within two or three hours from Hays. Kohler was upset that past regimes hadn't signed those recruits. Central Missouri's roster includes all-region senior setter Caitlin Pankratz; a Buhler native; sophomore middle hitter Paula Harris from Conway Springs, Bradye Peniston, a freshman middle/outside hitter from Valley Center and junior middle hitter Abby Gruenbacher.
The trio helped Fort Hays lose 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15) to the Jennies on Saturday afternoon at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
"There is no reason why Central Missouri has kids from our back door," Kohler said.
"...Those are kids that we can't be missing and it's going to take time. Any kid is going to want to go play in a program that is a top-10 program, but we have got to get to a point where obviously we are recruiting the same kids and we got to steal a couple of them. Right now, that is about what we would be doing is stealing some of these recruits."
Pankratz had a match-high 26 assists and collected five kills and five digs. Harris collected a match-high 13 kills, hit an astronomical .706 and had 2.5 blocks. Peniston hit .421 with 10 kills and three block assists. In addition, Gruenbacher hit .300 with five kills and four block assists. Overall, Central Missouri, who also has a verbal committment from Salina South senior Taylor Goodness, a NCAA Division I-caliber player, collected eight blocks.
"When you are 4-14, a lot of kids aren't real anxious to be here," Kohler said. "They got to understand they are going to be a part of something special because this program is going to go uphill. Recruiting is going to be a challenge. I hate seeing a team that has four starters from Kansas and there is just no excuse for it. It shouldn't have been allowed to happen in the past."
Longtime national power Central Missouri, which gave No. 3 Emporia State University and No. 6 Washburn University losses on Wednesday and Friday, respectively, improved to 15-3, 5-1 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Fort Hays fell to 4-14 overall, 1-5 in conference and dropped its fifth straight match. The Tigers lost to No. 18 University of Nebraska-Omaha 3-0 on Friday before falling Saturday.
"UNO came in (Friday) and that is probably the smartest team that I have seen play in years," Kohler said. "Any hole that we left on the left floor, they put a ball there. Our kids just need to make those quick adjustments. It's nothing huge that we needed to do."
On Saturday, Fort Hays faced Central Missouri, which has a new coach for the first time in 38 years. Peggy Martin went 1,064-281-8 at UCM and is the all-time wins leader in NCAA Division II before she retired after 2008. Her assistant for 23 years, Flip Piontek, took over this fall. He has one senior in Pankratz, a four-year starter.
"The senior setter is like another coach," Piontek said. "If you had to pick a year where you were going to become a coach -- it's not like the kids don't know me, but they do know me in a different role. Having her as the team captain, the leader and the senior, it makes it a whole lot easier."
Fort Hays kept the first set close at 9-9 before Central went on a 7-1 run. In the second set, the Tigers trailed 6-4 before a 7-2 Jennies burst.
"I talked with the kids in the locker room about it," Kohler said. "We will come out at the beginning of each set and play hard for six or eight points and then there is always a huge stretch right in the middle where we always lose the game and then we come back at the end and try and catch up. Against these types of teams, you can't play from behind."
Central, helped by its Kansas natives, used a 10-3 run to win the third set. Senior Lilian Rezende led FHSU with seven kills, while sophomore libero Tracie Hileman had 10 digs.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| MB | 03/13 | Central Oklahoma | W 80-64 |
| SB | 03/08 | Fort Lewis | W 5-4 |
| BB | 03/07 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 13-7 |
| BB | 03/06 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 16-4 |
| BB | 03/06 | No. 9 Emporia State | W 3-0 |
| MB | 03/05 | Emporia State | L 65-61 |
| BB | 03/05 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 10-3 |
| WB | 03/04 | No. 15 Emporia | L 72-66 |
| WB | 02/28 | No. 12 Emporia State | L 87-80 |
| MB | 02/28 | Emporia State | W 94-47 |
| SB | 02/28 | Quincy | L 6-0 |
| SB | 02/27 | Mo Southern | W 9-3 |
| SB | 02/27 | Missouri S&T | L 8-3 |
| SB | 02/27 | Drury | W 17-10 |
| BB | 02/27 | Mo. Western | W 17-0 |
| BB | 02/27 | Mo. Western | W 3-2 (10 inn.) |
| BB | 02/26 | Mo. Western | W 12-8 |
| BB | 02/26 | Missouri Western | W 11-10 |
| MB | 02/24 | Pittsburg State | W 69-60 |
| WB | 02/24 | Pittsburg State | L 78-74 |