By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

In the first consistent varsity action of her three-year career, junior Lydia Karnopp delivered a terrific performance in the Fort Hays State University's volleyball team's opening tournament last weekend. She collected 35 kills, second-most on the team, and earned All-Tournament honors.

Past Karnopp, the Tigers had trouble keeping a consistent offense and had some blocking problems.

Karnopp's play and Fort Hays' weaknesses yielded a 2-2 record at the West Texas A&M Invitational last Friday and Saturday. The Tigers defeated Texas A&M International 3-0 and UT-Permian Basin 3-1 and lost to Abilene Christian (Tex.) University 3-1.

In the tournament's final match, they dropped a 3-0 decision to West Texas A&M, ranked No. 5 in the country.

Overall, the Tigers hit just .107, well below its .186 hitting percentage in 2007.

"Swing percentage, that is really where the game is decided, the amount of quality swings that you take," head coach Steve Smith said. "Our hitting percentage is not where we want it to be, just too many errors."

Senior outside hitter Samantha Kern said the team needs to take "smarter swings," a statement echoed by Smith who called the offense "a little reckless."

"I think some of our bigger hitters this weekend, they just tried to overpower the block," he added. "Especially against A&M International, it wasn't going to happen."

Smith wants Fort Hays to slow down the offensive tempo.

"The ball, in relationship to the block, is going to determine a lot of your opportunities to swing," he said. "Ball goes tight to the line, the cross court shot doesn't exist anymore. If it is inside, the line shot doesn't exist anymore. I think we just go up and take whacks without thinking about that."

Karnopp was a strength throughout the two-day tournament. A 6-foot-1 outside hitter from Oberlin, Karnopp saw little time her first two years in the program and spent more time learning and adjusting.

Smith even nicknamed Karnopp "chip" because she would often not attack the ball with full force.

She played in just 32 matches all last season and accumulated 30 kills.

"She is right where I hoped she would be," Smith said. "She came in from a small school. It has taken her two years of really, really hard work to develop into a collegiate player. We have had to change technical things with her, we have had to catch up to the speed of the game."

Karnopp bested last year's numbers in a single weekend.

"We have been aiming for this year," Smith said.

Karnopp's 35 kills were second-most to junior Lilian Rezende's 39. Her .181 hitting percentage was third-highest and well better than her .110 career mark entering the season.

She collected 11 kills against Permian Basin and International and hit a team-high .310 against International.

"(Senior setter) Whitney Hoffman was doing really well setting," Karnopp said. "She knew that the block was giving me a line to swing at and she put the set there for me."

The offense, though, struggled, especially against West Texas A&M (.000 team hitting percentage), one of the top teams in the country. At times, the offense, which has several new players, wasn't in sync.

Only freshman Rebecca Mausbach (.261) hit above .211.

"Knowing that on a broken play, we can't hit a free ball, we have to put some heat on the ball, otherwise we are just going to eat it right back," Karnopp said.

Opponents also outblocked Fort Hays 24-17.5 in the tournament, a disparity that Smith worked to correct in Monday's practice. Karnopp called blocking "for sure" a weakness, while Kern said the Tigers needed to "seal the block" with their hands.

The Tigers would read the play correctly and put up a block, but they would lead with their fingertips - and leave gaps. The opponents would often hit through the block. Karnopp and Smith said Fort Hays needs to lead with the heel of the hand to stop the opponents' attack.

"We talk a lot about pressing the heel of the hand to try and seal at the top of the net," Smith said. "We talk about bigger players, big hands with thumbs up."

New rule changes

The NAIA and NCAA have several new rule changes for the 2008 season. Instead of playing the first four sets to 30 points, sets are now played to 25 points, the same as international and high school. Instead of 15 subs per game, coaches only have 12.

In the second game against Permain Basin, Fort Hays ran out of subs and timeouts. Freshman setter Lindsey Larson, 5-foot-6, had rotated to the front row. She would normally be replaced by a taller player for blocking and hitting purposes, but the Tigers had to keep her in.

"It was nuts," Karnopp said with a smile. "Steve had a little scheme going. It was nice."

Smith pulled a blocking switch with Larson and the 6-foot-2 Mausbach.

"We sent (Larsen) one way and then at the last second, we had her and Rebecca Mausbach switch," Smith said. "They saw her initially go and then the setters sat back and Mausbach just capped the (opposing) hitter."

In the third game against West Texas, Smith sent his seventh sub in the game and the down official told Smith it was his tenth. After the game, Smith checked the scoresheet and discovered the ref was wrong.

"I was pretty upset with that and I was arguing with him the rest of the game," Smith said.

Quotable

"It's great to travel with a group of girls. It's to travel, we enjoy being around them. They are fun to travel with, they are easy to travel with. We have not had that the past couple of years and it just makes it all the more fun."

-Smith on the team chemistry. Several players, including Kern, Hoffman and senior middle hitter Leanna Roberts, have agreed the team chemistry has improved from past seasons.