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Tigers fall to Pitt State
9/21/2009
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
In Pittsburg State University head coach Ibraheem Suberu's eyes, the Fort Hays State University volleyball team is noticeably stronger than last season's product.
"Much better," Suberu said. "Same kids, but you can see the desire is there, the intensity is there, ball control is getting better. Attitude, finishing plays is there. Of course, it's hard to lose, but in terms of looking at where they were to where they are, things are far, far, much improved. More competitive and better skilled as well. Coach is doing a great job."
On Sunday, the Tiger volleyball team again showed signs of improvement against No. 22 Pittsburg State, but lack what Tiger first-year head coach Kurt Kohler calls "the killer instinct."
For the first time since Fort Hays joined the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association four years ago, they won a set against a ranked team in back-to-back matches. Fort Hays defeated PSU 25-22 in game one, but eventually fell 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-14) at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
"I felt like it was a match tonight that we could have won," Kohler said.
Fort Hays has never beaten a ranked team since they changed conferences, but have come close with Kohler. On Saturday, Fort Hays won the first set against No. 19 Truman State University, the first time that the Tigers had led against a ranked team in the MIAA. The Tigers, though, fell behind early in the second set and eventually lost the final three sets.
The same occurrence happened Sunday.
The Tigers won the first set, but fell behind 10-5 in the second set and could never retake the lead. In the third set, Fort Hays trailed 7-4 and in the fourth, PSU took an early 6-2 lead. The slow starts bumped FHSU to 4-12 overall, 1-3 in the MIAA. Pittsburg State moved to 10-4, 2-1. The Tigers, which suffered a 14-game losing streak to end last season, are 13-37 in the last two years.
"It does take us awhile," Kohler said. "I think in the first sets of each night we come out and really play hard. It's usually in the second set that we let up. When you have a team that's hasn't won a lot, it's hard to teach them how to stay on top.
"There are always used to playing from behind and so to come out in the second game when you are up 1-0 on the No. 22 team in the country, or (Friday) against the No. 19, and battle through it's something that they are just going to have to learn," he said. "It's just comes from experience. It's nothing that we can teach through practice."
In the first set Sunday, Fort Hays delivered a strong defensive effort, holding the perennially powerful Gorillas to a .057 hitting percentage. The Tigers often set a strong block with sophomore Rebecca Mausbach, junior Brandi Bertrand and freshman Adriana Luna and sophomore libero Tracie Hileman picked up 13 digs.
"Fort Hays played great," Suberu said. "Consistently executed."
Gorilla senior Pamela Cartagena, the reigning MIAA Hitter of the Week and a returning All-American, was held to a .176 hitting percentage and four kills in the opening set. The athletic Cartagena, who Kohler said had a "35-inch vertical coming out of high school," is one of two PSU players to record over 1,500 kills and 1,500 digs.
"Great job shutting her down initially," Kohler said.
In the second set, though, Cartagena collected five kills and Corrinne Stringer, a sophomore outside hitter and University of Kansas transfer, also picked up five. Cartagena had four kills early in the set and helped PSU take a 9-4 lead. Fort Hays eventually tied the set at 14 and 18, but the Gorillas closed it out. Coupled with a 3-2 loss to unranked Northwest Missouri State University on Friday, it's the third straight match Fort Hays has won the first set, yet lost the second.
"I think coming out in the second set of each of our matches, we really have to play a lot harder," Kohler said.
In the third set, the perpetually positive and calm Kohler flashed frustration for the first time "in five or six years." Fort Hays was up 16-15, but had given up three straight points.
Kohler, who labeled his team "very coachable," called a timeout, but the Gorillas went on to win the third set, 25-20.
"I let my emotions get in the way. I was upset that we were out of rotation. I was asking our players to move and the move didn't happen," he said. "We need stuff to happen immediately when I am telling them something. We can't wait four plays. A lot of times that has happened this year where we will give them some feedback and then it will take three or four plays to make the adjustment. We didn't have time to in that game to lose any point off of being out of rotation."
Pittsburg State was never threatened in the fourth set and pushed Fort Hays to 0-3 at home this year. Stringer had a match-high 16 kills, while Cartagena finished with 13.
Tiger senior outside hitter Lilian Rezende finished with 13 kills, while Hileman had a match-high 23 digs. Fort Hays will return home next Friday and Saturday against No. 20 University of Nebraska-Omaha and No. 11 University of Central Missouri -- and will look to play stronger after the first set.
"It's easy when you are at home, coming out and playing hard at the beginning, but we get to the win, we need to step into that second set and have the mentality, we are going to shut this team out and go 0-3," Kohler said.
"I think we have the mentality that we are going to go five with them. That is not the way champions play and we need to get to the point where we get a killer instinct and we are going to put it away."
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |