KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas Wesleyan Men's Volleyball opened its 2025 season on Friday night taking on NCAA Division II Rockhurst, falling in four sets to the Hawks - 25-6, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20 - inside Mason-Halpin Field House.
It was a bit of a rough start in the first set for the Coyotes facing a Rockhurst team who had already played five matches and were playing in their first-ever home match.
Rockhurst scored the first six points of the set and after Colin Lindo got a kill for the Coyotes, the Hawks were back in control taking a 15-1 lead as Rockhurst cruised in the first set.
Getting first match jitters out of the way, the Coyotes settled into things in the second set. The Coyotes led 4-2 to start but fell behind 6-4. The Coyotes were right there getting within a point at 11-10 on a Rockhurst error. An 8-2 run by the Hawks gave them a 20-13 lead which was enough for the 25-17 win.
KWU fell behind 6-1 to start the third set, but battled back, tying things up at 9 in the set. Rockhurst would keep the lead despite the Coyotes tying it up several times, and regaining an 18-17 lead in the set. The teams went back and forth sharing the lead. Rockhurst had match point at 24-23, but a kill by Justin Burras tied it and the Coyotes got kills by Caiden Rodriguez and Lindo to finish the set with a 26-24 win.
The Coyotes fell behind 7-2 to start the fourth set, but again battled back, getting within a point at 7-6, but another quick push by Rockhurst gave the Hawks a 10-6 lead. Rockhurst pushed its lead out to 18-11 which proved to be too much of a hill for the Coyotes to climb for a comeback.
Ryan Wagner had seven kills for the Coyotes to lead the way while hitting .462 for the match. The Coyotes hit .156 as a team in the game. Ethan Ricketts had 23 assists and seven digs for the Coyotes.