At first glance Kansas Wesleyan's volleyball match against Kansas Conference foe Friends didn't appear to be a must-win matter for the Coyotes.
It was every bit of that in coach Jessica Biegert's mind, though.
KWU had its 11-game winning streak end in a 3-2 loss to Tabor on Saturday in Hillsboro, dropping the Coyotes into fifth place in the conference standings. With a pivotal homecourt match looming this Saturday against Saint Mary, which is tied for third with Tabor, KWU could ill afford a loss to the Falcons.
Their play from start to finish reflected the urgency as the Coyotes unleashed a complete effort en route to a 3-0 sweep (25-14, 25-22, 25-17) Wednesday night inside Mabee Arena.
Wesleyan improved to 7-3 in the KCAC, half a game behind Saint Mary and Tabor with two matches remaining. The Coyotes are 19-8 overall.
"It's crucial to come back and re-find our flow and our rhythm and get that confidence and trust back," Biegert said. "We were able to do that today.
"Hopefully we can continue to rise up against Saint Mary on Saturday. They're a good team. They're balanced just like we are so it will be a battle."
The Coyotes built a 14-9 lead in the opening set Wednesday on the strength of a 7-1 run and pulled away with another 7-1 spurt that made it 22-13.
Things got interesting in the second set, though. The Falcons (12-15 overall, 4-5 KCAC) appeared headed for the equalizer leading 19-13 but the Coyotes had another idea.
A 9-1 surge led by Elizabeth Hardacre (JR/Kensington, Kan.) and Malia Mack (JR/Joplin, Mo.) gave them a 22-20 lead. Friends tied at 22 but KWU scored the next three – set point coming on a Morgan Bryand (JR/Wichita, Kan.) kill. Hardacre and Mack had three kills apiece during the rally.
"Honestly our bench gave us so much energy," Biegert said of the comeback. "Our energy wasn't normal on the court so the bench just helped feed into that. They talked each other up and it inspired each person."
"The bench with their cheering and their energy always gets us going," libero Emily Monson (SR/Cheney, Kan.) said. "The people on the court get down and their energy brings us back up."
Monson, the KCAC's Defender of the Week for the fifth time this season, also attributed the success to staying even keeled.
"We've been working on staying level headed and not like riding a rollercoaster of emotions," she said. "We do a lot of scenarios in practice just like that so we're used to being behind and having to come back."
Leading 13-11 in the third set the Coyotes took control with a 7-0 burst and cruised to the victory and sweep.
"It was really good to get back to our game, doing the things we're used to," said Monson, who had a team-best 23 digs. "(Against Tabor) we were just kind of all over the place but this one our team felt pretty consistent and everyone just fell back into a groove."
Hardacre was unstoppable in the middle once again, knocking down 14 kills on a staggering .524 hitting percentage. Bryand had 10 kills on a .364 percentage, Mack nine kills on a .375 percentage to go along with three block assists and Maddy Beckett (JR/Halstead, Kan.) seven kills and five service aces. Josie Deckinger (SO/Wichita, Kan.) added 22 assists and Cortney Hanna (JR/Lawrence, Kan.) 17.
Friends hit just .084 percent for the match.
"In this rotation everyone trusts each other where we're at," Monson said of the defensive effort. "We have a lot of faith in our back row and the back row has a lot of faith in the front row, we know they're going to be in the right spot."
"Emily was all over the place as always," Biegert said. "Her stats are insane. People aren't figuring out our defense and it's fun to just run offense."
After Saint Mary the Coyotes close the regular season against rival Bethany next Wednesday in Lindsborg.
The KCAC tournament starts with first round games for seeds 5 through 12 at home sites on Nov. 9, then the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship are Nov. 12-13 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.