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Tiger volleyball in home opener
9/17/2009
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
Through three season-opening tournaments, the Fort Hays State University volleyball faced one ranked opponent, played six teams with a losing record and often matched up against squads that were similar to the Tigers in talent. Fort Hays, though, had multiple offensive problems, especially in a 0-4 showing at the Rockhurst tournament last weekend. First-year head coach Kurt Kohler called the non-conference showing "disappointing."
"Our conference is the toughest in the country and so now we are going to have to try to find ways to win against teams that are better than us," Kohler said after practice Tuesday morning. "That's a tough road. You like to pick up a lot of those wins in your non-conference season when you have got a young team."
The Tigers opened Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play on Wednesday night at Missouri Western State University. In the preseason coaches' poll, Missouri Western was ranked last, with Fort Hays next-to-last.
"We are so excited, just because we were picked second to last in the conference and it's like we want to show people that we are a good team," senior Lydia Karnopp, the Tigers' lone four-year player, said.
Fort Hays improved against Missouri Western with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory. The Tigers won 19-25, 21-25, 28-26, 25-19, 15-7 to end a 13-match conference losing streak that stretched back to a 3-0 home victory against Missouri Southern State University on Oct. 10, 2008. The Tigers also snapped a 13-match conference road losing streak that went back to 2007.
In addition, Fort Hays (4-9) won its first five-set match in conference play since it joined the MIAA four years ago. Senior Lilian Rezende, the team leader in kills, attacks and hitting percentage, posted a season-high 24 kills and hit .367, while freshman Makayla McPhail, one of several Tigers that struggled in non-conference play, hit .533 with nine kills. The schedule, though, will get tougher for Fort Hays this weekend in three home matches.
On Friday, Fort Hays faces Northwest Missouri State University in the 7 p.m. home opener at Gross Memorial Coliseum. On Saturday, the Tigers face No. 19 Truman State (Mo.) University at 4 p.m. at GMC and complete the weekend with a Sunday matchup at 2 p.m. at GMC versus No. 22 Pittsburg State University.
Six conference squads are ranked in the top 22 in the country. With Wednesday's win, Fort Hays improved to 6-41 in the MIAA. None of the wins are against ranked teams.
"Right now, we are going to find ways to win and keep working hard through the conference season or we are going to be in trouble by the end," Kohler said.
At Rockhurst last weekend, Kohler made several lineup adjustments. Junior middle hitter Amber Hockman, a transfer from Barton County Community College and a Phillipsburg native, will miss the rest of the season with an undisclosed medical condition. Hockman was hitting .151 and led the team with 0.92 blocks per set.
"I don't know if it will be the end of her career or if she will be able to come back next season," Kohler said.
Freshman middle hitter Adriana Luna replaced Hockman and played in the final two matches in the tournament and started Wednesday against Missouri Western, the first three matches of her collegiate career. Luna, in limited attempts, ranks second for Fort Hays in hitting percentage at .182.
"I didn't feel like she was quite ready to become our starter yet, but because of different circumstances, she is going to," start, Kohler said. "Learn on the fly. I think she will continue to improve. She has been doing a great job through the last couple weeks. We had been hoping to not force her into it in her freshman year."
Early in the tournament, Kohler said the Tiger outside hitters "were really struggling."
He inserted junior outside hitter Antonia Jones against Midwestern State. Jones, who had not played all season, has now seen time in four straight matches and averages 2.14 kills, third on the team.
"So we stuck Antonia in and she was hitting some positive numbers, which for us right now is a good thing," Kohler said. "She just kept getting better as the tournament went, and she is one that I think is going to continue to improve. She is a great athlete and I think that's what really helps us out, too. She needs to improve her work ethic a little bit more, but she continues to improve and work hard."
Overall, Fort Hays continued to struggle with hitting and service errors, a problem en route to a 9-25 finish last season. The Tigers, entering MIAA play, ranked last in the conference in hitting percentage (.140) and, by a wide margin, in errors per set (7.46).
"A lot of mental mistakes," Karnopp said. "We are still just kind of fighting that. It's just in our heads. We just need to play like winners and get over our mistakes."
One offensive issue is the predictability of the Tiger offense. Fort Hays lost to Eastern New Mexico State University 3-2, a team it had handily beaten earlier in the season. The Tigers set 138 of 188 total attacks to three players: outsides Rezende and Jones and right side Karnopp. Kohler said Fort Hays is averaging 15, 16 attacks to the middle hitters, an unusually low number.
"Until we really start forcing our middle to get a few more swings, teams are just going to gear up on us. It's hard for any outside hitter when they have two blockers and the entire defense in the back row knows where the ball is going," Kohler said.
"We just have to mix it up a little bit more and not be so simple with our offense."
Kohler considered having his team to a set count to the middles, a tactic he used in the past.
"Be a better team in the end for it," he said.
Against Missouri Western, Fort Hays set sophomore middle hitter Rebecca Mausbach and Luna 30 times. Mausbach responded with a solid .238 hitting percentage as the Tigers committed just 6.2 errors per set and ended their four-match losing streak.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 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 |
| MB | 02/21 | Mo. Southern | L 76-57 |