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Tiger volleyball fails to make tourney
11/3/2007
By NICK McQUEEN
Hays Daily News
All season, the Fort Hays State University volleyball team has been seeking consistency.
In Saturday night's Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association match with No. 18 ranked Pittsburg State University at Gross Memorial Coliseum, the rowdy crowd on hand witnessed both ends of the spectrum in the absence of said consistency.
The Tigers went from being at their worst to being at their best in trying to keep their season alive.
In the end, though, Pittsburg State proved to have the upper hand, outlasting Fort Hays in five games, 30-15, 30-17, 17-30, 31-33, 15-12.
"Those last three games are how we can play," said Tiger third-year coach Steve Smith. "Unfortunately so were the first two. What we would like is just a little more consistency."
The loss ended the 2007 season for the Tigers as they finished at 16-17 overall and 2-11 in MIAA play. A win would have earned them the eighth and final berth in this week's MIAA postseason tourney.
"The whole season has been like this. We're a growing program,"¬ Smith said. "We moved into the toughest conference in the nation and you can't argue that."
The Tigers finished last in the MIAA's West Division, tying with Missouri Southern, which qualified with the tiebreaker over the Tigers.
"This conference is just so, so tough. And .500 gets you into the regional," Smith said. "The wins and losses, though, aren't really what we're looking at. It's just the consistency of play."
In Saturday's match, the Gorillas looked to put Fort Hays away early and prepare for the tourney, but in Game 3, the Tigers got things rolling.
"Volleyball is a game of momentum, you hear that all the time," Smith said.
"The first two games were ugly on our part, just because we weren't generating an offense."
After the first two games, the Tigers were hitting .040 but after the third game was over, that percentage jumped to .070 with senior Kellyn Thaut getting five kills after having six combined in the first two. Thaut, one of four seniors that played their last matchs, ended the night with 20 kills.
"I am really proud of the growth I have seen from our upperclassmen, but I'm also happy with the two freshmen that we brought in that contributed all year,"¬ Smith said.
In Game 4 after shocking the Gorillas in Game 3, the Tigers were down 29-23 and looked to be on the verge of a 3-1 loss, but rallied back.
Led by Thaut, Fort Hays came back to force a tie at 29 and went back and forth with the conference tourney's No. 5 seed.
In Game 5, Fort Hays led 11-8, but Pittsburg State regained control at 12-11 and was able to hold on.
The Tigers said goodbye to Thaut, Neeley Remmers, Whitney Miller and Sarah Schinstock, all of whom will be tough to replace. Thaut for her athleticism and offensive capability, Remmers and Schinstock for their hitting and presence at the net, and Miller for her versatility, moving from outside hitter to libero this season. Miller finished Saturday with 34 digs and closed out the regular season atop the MIAA in that category. Thaut led the MIAA in kills this season.
"With their athleticism, that's hard to replace," Smith said. "We will continue to improve through our training and through the recruiting process."
After finishing 3-25 with just one MIAA win in 2006, the Tigers doubled their win total in conference play.
Sports reporter Nick McQueen can be reached at (785) 628-1081, Ext. 128 or by e-mail at nmcqueen@dailynews.net.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 5/11 | Central Missouri | L 4-2 |
| BB | 5/10 | Missouri Western | W 4-3 |
| BB | 5/09 | Emporia State | L 6-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | W 17-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | L 4-3 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 15-7 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 5-4 |
| SB | 5/02 | Central Missouri | L 3-1 |
| SB | 5/02 | Missouri Western | W 3-2 |
| SB | 5/01 | Pittsburg State | W 6-0 |
