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Tigers win before home fans
9/5/2007
By MIKE KESSINGER
Hays Daily News
As Fort Hays State University volleyball coach Steve Smith went deeper to his the bench Tuesday night at Gross Memorial Coliseum, the smiles were all around.
In front of an estimated crowd of 250 fans, the Tigers had enough to be happy about, sweeping Newman University, 30-20, 30-20, 30-18. It was Fort Hays' first home match of the season after two tournaments.
"It was nice to be in front of a big crowd," senior Kellyn Thaut said. "We had a big crowd tonight. I haven't seen a crowd like that for a while. It was a great crowd. I loved it."
Led by Thaut, who had 18 kills, the Tigers dominated the winless Jets (0-11). On the defensive side, the Tigers finished with six blocks, as Newman was held to a .118 hitting percentage. The percentage only reached that point by the Jets hitting .211 in Game 3. In the first two games, Newman finished with dismal, .079 and .038 percentages.
The Tigers, on the other hand, powered their way through Newman's defense. Junior middle hitter Leanna Roberts had a match-high .765 hitting percentage, and 14 kills.
"That's an insane hitting percentage," Smith said of Roberts' performance. "Usually we go for something in the .300s. Sarah Schinstock finished at .417, so both of them lit them up tonight. If we can do that, if we can have a balanced offense with both our middles, and Kellyn, and Neeley (Remmers) catches fire every now and then, we're good to go."
In neither of the first two games did Newman ever have any sort of control. The Tigers grabbed early leads in both games.
The Jets did gain control in the third game, taking a 7-4 lead. But once Roberts scored a crowd-pleasing kill, tying it at 8-8, Newman couldn't bounce back.
"It's always fun to play well and win," Smith said. "Our confidence has grown since the beginning of the season. We would really like to have a little better record, but we have played awfully tough teams."
Junior setter Whitney Hoffman finished with a match-high 33 assists for the Tigers, and senior libero Whitney Miller had 18 digs.
Fort Hays (5-4) will start play in the Abilene (Texas) Christian tournament on Friday against Tarleton (Texas) State at 1 p.m.
Tiger notes
For the second straight tournament, Thaut was named to the all-tournament team at the Ramada Inn Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. Fort Hays finished 2-2 in the tournament, losing the first two, then bouncing back to beat Cameron University and Quachita Baptist.
Sports reporter Mike Kessinger can be reached at (785) 628-1081, Ext. 127, or by e-mail at mkessinger@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 |
