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Tiger volleyball returns home
10/20/2009
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
On Sept. 27, the Fort Hays State University volleyball team started its longest road trip of the season, a 31รขÑ2 week trek that included six matches, five against Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association teams, two ranked opponents and a 2-4 record.
"Some ups and downs," first-year coach Kurt Kohler said after Monday's practice. "There were a couple of matches that we didn't even bother showing up for and a couple that we really, really played well in. It's hard to see right now where we are because of the competition level that we saw. We saw some pretty good teams among that road stretch."
Fort Hays started the swing with a 3-1 victory against non-conference opponent Newman University and then lost 3-0 to Missouri Southern State University. The Tigers defeated Southwest Baptist (Mo.) University 3-1 before three straight 3-0 defeats to Pittsburg State University, No. 7 Washburn University and No. 8 Emporia State University.
"Missouri Southern, I didn't think we performed very well at all," Kohler said. "Didn't do what we need to do to stop them. They are a decent team. Really came out and played pretty hard against Southwest Baptist to get that win.
"Against Pitt, I think we were ready to be back home and didn't even show up," he added.
"Washburn was another one, we just didn't put out the effort. Really played hard against Emporia, a team that is very, very solid. You can't have these constant letups and expect to pull through when we need to. We have to be performing at a high level every day."
Fort Hays stands 10th in the 11-team conference with a 6-18 record overall, 2-9 in the MIAA. It will host Missouri Western State University (8-15, 1-9 MIAA) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers defeated Missouri Western 3-2 earlier this season. Last year at home, FHSU picked up a 3-0 victory, still the lone conference sweep by the Tigers since they changed conferences four years ago. In Kohler's first season, Fort Hays is three wins off the nine they picked up in 2008.
"I think fundamentally we are getting better," Kohler said. "The big thing is, the kids need to understand, there is no crime in losing. I think the crime comes from when we are not working hard.
"It's hard when a team goes through a losing spell to keep your head straight and continue to work hard and that is where I think our letdown has been, where I haven't seen the progress," he added. "Even through losing efforts, we can continue to get better. I think we let up, we don't put out the effort that we need and it hurts us."
The Tigers have lost two key players in junior libero Katelyn Lapham (personal reasons) and junior middle hitter Amber Hockman (sickness). Recently, they saw starting freshman middle hitter Adriana Luna leave (conduct detrimental to the team). Luna, the starter after Hockman went down, averaged 0.74 kills and 0.38 blocks per game.
Sophomore Morgan Witzel, the reigning MIAA high jump champion, could step in, along with junior transfer Audra Algrim and freshman Antonia Jones. None have seen significant time, though Algrim's .182 hitting percentage ranks third on the squad. Jones has a .154 attack percentage, Witzel .114.
Because of the constant flux and inexperience at middles, Kohler has leaned heavily on his right side hitters. Freshman middle hitter Rebecca Mausbach has played well recently. She is the lone middle to start all season as the Tigers have struggled in the middle.
Fort Hays carries a .154 hitting percentage, second to last in the conference, and 1.44 blocks per match, last in the MIAA. Kohler said FHSU "really needs to develop" the middles during the next few weeks.
"This is the point where our middles have to step up and start putting some more balls away a little bit more," Kohler said.
"Our middles need to understand, too, that they need to do their job on the defensive end getting their blocks. They will get their kills if they continue to play good defense. It's hard for our team when we can't dig the balls to really be able to set our middles, too. We need the complete package to get kill after kill."
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |