HAYS, Kansas - The No. 14-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcat volleyball squad scored yet another five-set triumph with a 3-2 win at Fort Hays State on Saturday.
Northwest won by set scores of 25-19, 21-25, 18-25, 25-23 and 15-13. Northwest is 18-6 overall and 11-5 in MIAA play, while Fort Hays State is 6-18 overall and 3-13 in league action. The Bearcats also move to 6-2 in five-set matches this season.
The Bearcats won the opening set, 25-19. Northwest hit .206 as a team and was led by Rachel Sturdevant's four kills on seven swings. The Bearcats took advantage of four blocks and limited the Tigers to .094 hitting in the first set.
Fort Hays State flipped the script in sets two and three and took a 2-1 lead. The Tigers took the second, 25-21, and then the third, 25-18. FHSU hit .279 in the second and .429 in the third. Northwest hit .171 in the second and .250 in the third. Northwest could only side out at 51 percent in the second and third sets, while FHSU sided out at 65 percent. Morgan Lewis put down five of her team-high 15 kills in the third set.
The Bearcats mounted their comeback in the fourth. Northwest hit .310 with 18 kills and only five errors, as FHSU hit .184 with 13 kills and six errors. Northwest used a 69-percent side out effort in the fourth to even the match at 2-2. Hallie Sidney carried the Bearcat offense in the set with seven kills on 15 swings with no attack errors.
The Tigers sped out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth set. However, the Bearcats dug in and chipped away at the lead. Northwest eventually evened the decisive set at 10-10 and took a 12-10 lead at the conclusion of a 5-0 run. The last point of the run was punctuated by a solo stuff from Bethany Elkins. FHSU scored the next two points to knot the set at 12-12. Elkins pounded out a kill before Lewis and Sidney combined on a block to give Northwest two match points. FHSU held off Northwest on the first match point, but Lewis ended the match with her 15th kill to give Northwest the five-set triumph.
Northwest will be on the road this week again with matches at Newman (Friday) and Central Oklahoma (Saturday). Northwest has clinched a spot in the 2019 MIAA Tournament set for Nov. 21-23 at the Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City.