NORTH NEWTON - Kansas Wesleyan Women's Volleyball dropped a four-set match with the Bethel Threshers 25-21, 16-25, 25-19, 25-17 on Wednesday night at Thresher Gymnasium in the penultimate match of the 2026 regular season.
The Coyotes will close out the regular season on Saturday at Friends in Wichita. KWU can still be the No. 8 seed in the KCAC tournament in a variety of scenarios. A victory by KWU and a loss by Bethany to Avila would send the Coyotes to the tournament, likewise would any result similar to Bethany (both win or lose).
KWU had a 10-8 lead in the first set on Wednesday but Bethel scored three straight points to take an 11-10 lead. The Coyotes came back to take a 15-13 lead but again fell behind 18-18. A kill by Ryan Pennington got the Coyotes back even at 18, but three straight by Bethel gave the Threshers a 21-18 lead. KWU got back within a point at 21-20, but Bethel scored four of the last five points to take the set.
Wesleyan raced out to a 7-3 lead in the second set, but Bethel drew within two at 12-10 before the Coyotes took control. A 6-1 run by the Coyotes capped by Campbell Bohling's kill made it 18-11. Bethel made it 19-15, but KWU finished the set on a 6-1 run to even the match.
Bethel led 12-7 in the third, but five straight KWU points got the Coyotes back even at 12. Bethel used a 5-2 run to lead 18-15 and the Coyotes couldn't get any closer than two points the rest of the way.
KWU jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth, but couldn't hold on. The Coyotes led 11-5 when Bethel scored four straight to get within a pair at 11-9. KWU got two points to lead 13-9 before Bethel scored 15 of the next 17 points to take a 24-15 lead. KWU got two points before the Threshers closed it out.
Bohling had 15 kills and 19 digs to lead the Coyotes in both categories. Giovanna Ishii had 22 assists and 12 digs, and Harley Ludacka had 17 assists. Tristyn Hedman added 17 digs.