By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

The Fort Hays State University volleyball team finished 7-27 this fall, 3-17 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association after a season-ending 3-0 loss to nationally ranked Emporia State University on Saturday. Under first-year coach Kurt Kohler, FHSU finished last in the conference, yet Kohler saw some positives.

"The wins and losses at this point, yeah, it's disappointing, but I really feel like our program took some huge strides in what we expected as far as work ethic goes," he said. "Working hard on the floor, getting to extra balls off the floor. Just improving fundamental skills, I think we are on the right track. Recruiting has gone real well. I think we continuing to build the program. The seven wins isn't anything what I expected, but it's what we got, so we will build from there."

FHSU slid back from a 9-25 record in 2008, but finished with its most conference victories since moving to the MIAA four seasons ago.

"It looks like he has done the right thing with this group," Washburn head coach Chris Herron said. "It looks like he has put together the best lineup with the group that he has."

The Tigers had won just five conference matches in their first three falls, never more than two victories in a single season. However, FHSU picked up three wins in the competitive MIAA, a conference that sent six teams to the NCAA tournament.

The Tigers finished second to last in the MIAA in hitting percentage (.157), a mark above the .134 average they posted in 2008. Fort Hays, though, had problems with errors. In 2008, they led the conference with 7.07 errors per set. This year, they lowered the total to 6.93, but still led the conference.

Senior Lilian Rezende, the Tigers' lone returning all-MIAA player, led Fort Hays with a .221 average, 3.67 kills per set and 452 total kills. Rezende battled through various injuries, but still finished third in the conference in kills per set and improved her numbers from last season.

Rezende ranks on the Tiger top-10 list (NCAA Division II) for total attacks, single season kills and stands third in kills per game (3.60). Freshman Makayla McPhail (.114 hitting percentage), sophomore Rebecca Mausbach (.122) and junior Brandi Bertrand (.107) were all first time starters.

"She has got a hammer," Kohler said of McPhail, a Liberal product. "... She is one from the beginning of the season, it's all about power for her. Now, she is starting to roll some shots, tip some balls."

In addition, junior Whitney Liggett, a three-year starter, was the Tigers' main setter with 6.66 sets a game. Sophomore Tracie Hileman moved from outside hitter to libero at the start of the season and finished seventh in the MIAA in digs per game (4.24).

"Makayla McPhail has played well all year and has a freshman, she is going to make those freshman mistakes, but she has come through when we needed her," Kohler said. "She competes so hard all the time and that is the mentality that we need. I thought Tracie switching early in the season to our libero position, she has played an incredible season and that position, so she has really stepped up again. Whitney is a great leader for our team and to have her back for another year is going to be a lot of fun."

Hileman started in 2008 at outside hitter before Kohler moved Hileman to libero in the season's first tournament after Katelyn Lapham left the team for personal reasons. Hileman had double-digit digs in all but four matches and picked up a season-high 26 on Nov. 6 against Missouri Southern State University.

"I think she has improved immensely from early in the season," Kohler said. "She has always been a good passer, but she wasn't reading the other teams offenses very well. That is something as the season has continued to go, she has put herself in a position to get some good digs.

"The other thing is, she continues so much better on the floor with our front row players," he added. "She is not afraid to go up into one of our blockers' faces and say, 'get your block set, so I don't have to be on the floor all the time.' Her leadership have stepped up and being able to read what is going on the other side of the court is really her biggest improvement."