By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

A talented seven-player recruiting class that includes a junior college All-American. Improved front line play. Several returning starters, including one all-conference selection.

That's only a few of the positive changes for the Fort Hays State University volleyball team.

"Team chemistry is a lot better," senior setter Whitney Hoffman said.

"Our athletic ability is just so much better than what was last year," senior middle hitter Leanna Roberts said. "Balls that were dropping in last year are not dropping in this year."

Seemingly every area has improved for the Tigers, set to start their third season in the always difficult Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

Fort Hays will open the season Friday morning at the five-team West Texas A&M Tournament at Abilene Christian University in Canyon, Texas. The Tigers finished 14-6 in non-conference play last fall. The three tournaments of the year feature regional opponents, matches that are critical for an improved season.

"We just want to do at least three wins, if not four in each tournament," Hoffman said.

Fort Hays, under fourth-year head coach Steve Smith, made a significant jump in 2007.

After the Tigers finished 3-25 with a 1-12 conference record in 2006, they went 16-17 overall and 2-10 in the MIAA last fall, the third-biggest one-year leap in the last 20 seasons.

This fall, the improvements could yield a .500-plus season and place Fort Hays in the top five of the conference, a spot that historically assures a team of an NCAA berth.

Fort Hays has not made the postseason since 2004.

"I think that we definitely want to be in the top four or five because that is definitely the biggest competition, probably in nation," Hoffman said.

The Tigers are picked ninth in the 11-team conference in the preseason conference coaches' poll.

Five MIAA teams are ranked in the top 17 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll, headlined by Washburn University at No. 2 and Truman State (Mo.) University in third.

The Tigers will try to defeat teams ranked in the middle of the pack, including Pittsburg State University, Missouri Southern State University, Northwest Missouri State University and Emporia State University.

Fort Hays has not beaten those squads in MIAA play the past two seasons, though it did play Pittsburg State to a 3-2 match and Northwest Missouri to 3-1.

"It is the premier conference in Div. II for volleyball and if you look, I think volleyball is the premier sport in the MIAA when you talk about strength nationally," Smith said.

Unlike past seasons, Fort Hays will play every conference team in a home-and-home series that will increase the conference schedule from 12 matches to 20. It's also the first year for several NCAA rule changes, including shortening games from 30 points to 25.

Hoffman and Roberts provide the backbone for the Tigers. Hoffman, a Hays High School graduate, will start at setter after she averaged 11.92 assists per game last fall, third-best in the conference and 39th nationally.

Roberts has earned back-to-back all-MIAA honorable mention honors as a middle hitter. She averaged 2.88 kills per game and led the squad with a .256 hitting percentage in 2007.

"I do feel like underclassmen definitely look up to us," Hoffman said. "We don't have strong personalities to shield them away from us. ... They can come up and talk to us whenever."

Senior middle hitter Alissa Tonniges and senior outside hitter Samantha Kern will see plenty of time on a front line that Hoffman and Roberts call the team's biggest strength. Senior outside hitter Jessica Faulkner and junior Lydia Karnopp are in the mix on the right side.

The Tigers should improve on their 2.33 blocks per game, a number that ranked seventh in the conference. Five of the six teams ahead of Fort Hays in blocks qualified for the NCAA tournament.

"I think during games it will be apparent that we have gotten a lot better at blocking," Hoffman said. "That helps out the defense. It is kind of like a domino effect. They can put up a good block, we can get in the right place for a dig and then if they get a touch on the block, it is easier to get up."

The recruiting class, called by Smith as "probably the strongest we had" in his tenure, is led by Cowley County Community College transfer Lilian Rezende, a junior from Brazil. Rezende will start at outside hitter.

The 6-foot-1 Rezende, a two-time Div. II NJCAA All-American at Cowley County, has been impressive in every facet.

At the team's Black and Gold Scrimmage last Saturday, Rezende, nicknamed "Super," tallied 21 kills in four games, 10 more than any other player.

"I would definitely rank her with (Washburn's three-time All-American and 2007 MIAA MVP) Tessa Jones," Roberts said. "She's good and she can jump."

Rezende, able to play both back row and front row, has impressed with her arm swing and ball control.

"She is a complete player. We have this 6-foot-1 athlete is this nice, long athlete who can hammer the ball. She has incredible court vision,"¬ Smith said. "She knows when to swing away and when to pick the defense apart. Probably the most surprising thing to someone that hasn't seen her play before is how good she is in the back row. Her ball control is excellent. In fact, she is probably one of our top two ball control people in the back row."

Several other recruits will fill key roles. Freshman outside hitter Tracie Hileman, an all-state player from Tonganoxie, collected 11 kills in the scrimmage, second-most behind Rezende.

Freshman outside/middle hitter Rebecca Mausbach, at 6-2, is a threat at multiple positions. Sophomore Katelyn Lapham is considered the starting libero, but several other players are contending for the position.