Kansas Wesleyan's volleyball team did not play Midland this season, but coach Jessica Biegert at least has an idea what her team will face in their NAIA National Championship match.
"We had an opportunity to watch them play at the (Sioux City) tournament (in August)," she said. "We didn't play against them, but they were there, so we got to see a little bit of their competition."
The Coyotes (26-9) and Midland (15-11) will compete face-to-face at 1 p.m. Saturday in Fremont, Nebraska in the Opening Round. KWU landed a spot in the NAIA tournament Monday after placing second in the Kansas Conference tournament Saturday in Hutchinson.
Midland tied College of Saint Mary for fourth place in the Great Plains Athletic Conference during the regular season. The Warriors lost to Northwest (Iowa) in the semifinals of the conference tournament and were one of five GPAC teams chosen to play in the NAIA tournament.
"It was early in the year, but they looked pretty athletic and strong," Biegert said. "They were super aggressive especially with out of system balls ... and they just have that tradition of a GPAC team."
Wesleyan enters the Opening Round having won 20 of its last 22 matches - both losses to KCAC tournament champion Oklahoma Wesleyan. The Coyotes and Eagles shared the regular season conference title with 12-1 records.
KWU started the season 6-7 but gained its stride after adapting to the loss of eight key contributors from the 2022 squad that also qualified for nationals.
"We just took it one game at a time," Biegert said. "We did not have super high expectations until we started winning and then we were like 'okay, we can do this' and we just ran with it. Beating Saint Mary (in the KCAC quarterfinals) of the tournament was a big confidence booster and then we had control over Bethel the whole time (in the semifinals)."
Three starters who played in the 2022 Opening Round in Mitchell, S.D. last season are back - right side Rylee Serpan, setter Josie Deckinger and libero Kelsey Hund - and have been superb. Serpan ranks fifth in kills (510) and ninth in kills per set (4.1) in the NAIA; Hund is fifth in digs (696) and 13th in digs per set (5.75); and Deckinger 20th in assists per set (10.15).
Biegert said she's counting on the trio to provide leadership during the postseason.
"They're constant reminders of the legacy that the previous class set for this program," she said. "It's their job to continue it and set the bar at that standard. We had such a good experience at the Corn Palace last year; if we had to go out it wasn't a bad way to go."
While thrilled to be back in the national tournament Biegert wants her team to stay hungry.
"Don't be satisfied just to be there, there's another thing to fight for," she said. "We saw a little of that at the (KCAC) tournament, we knew we were going to nationals. Now we're fighting for a banner and know there's the final site (in Sioux City, Iowa) and another level that we have a chance to perform at."