SAN ANTONIO - So far to start the 2026 season in three matches, Kansas Wesleyan Women's Volleyball has played its maximum possible number of sets - 15.
The Coyotes faced John Brown (Ark.) and Paul Quinn (Texas) on Friday in the Texas Two-Step Tournament hosted by Our Lady of the Lake and dropped a pair of five-set thrillers.
John Brown 3, KWU 2 (25-22, 19-25, 20-25, 25-23, 19-21): The match against John Brown was back and forth the whole way.
The Coyotes led 14-8 in the first set before JBU came back to take a 17-16 lead. The Coyotes grabbed the lead right back at 19-17and led 23-18 and 24-19 before JBU scored three straight to get within two before the Coyotes closed out the set.
Wesleyan jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second but the Golden Eagles scored the next six to take a 6-3 lead. A 9-2 run by the Coyotes gave KWU a 12-8 lead. JBU answered back with its own 12-3 run to take a 20-16 lead and JBU would hold on to win the set.
The Coyotes led 5-3 in the third set but the Golden Eagles would push into the lead and hold on for a 25-20 win.
KWU took a 9-5 lead in the fourth set and pushed the advantage out to 14-8 and led 18-13 when JBU made a run to tie things up at 18-all. KWU led 22-18 but again John Brown came back to tie the set at 22. With things tied at 23, the Coyotes finished the set with a pair of kills to win 25-23.
The Coyotes led 14-10 in the fifth set, but JBU came back with four straight points to tie it up. Both teams had chances to close out the match, but JBU scored the final three points of the set to claim the match.
Ivi Marcolino had 17 kills for the Coyotes while Ryan Pennington had 15 and Campbell Bohling had 13. Blair Pennington had 40 assists. Tristyn Hedman had 33 digs.
Paul Quinn 3, KWU 2 (23-25, 10-25, 25-21, 25-19, 10-15): The Coyotes fell behind 2-0 in the Paul Quinn match but battled back to force a fifth set before dropping the match to the Tigers.
In the opening set, Paul Quinn jumped out to a 6-1 lead and led 10-4 when the Coyotes scored four straight points to get within two at 10-8. KWU trailed 20-14 but scored six of the next seven points to get within one at 21-20. The Coyotes pulled out to a 23-22 lead but the Tigers scored the final three points of the set to win.
Not much went well for the Coyotes in the second set as PQC led 16-5 and never looked back to a 25-10 win.
The Coyotes put the rally caps on in the third set. KWU trailed 17-15 before going on a 6-0 run to take a 21-17 lead. The Coyotes were able to hold off the Tigers and get a 25-21 win in the set.
A 7-1 run for the Coyotes in the fourth turned a 10-8 lead into a 17-9 lead as the Coyotes were able to hold off any kind of rally from the Tigers and come away with a 25-19 win to force another fifth set.
Wesleyan fell behind 11-6 in the final set and tried to rally getting within three at 13-10 but could get no closer.
Marcolino had 19 kills to lead the Coyotes, while Bohling had 18 and Ryan Pennington had 16. Blair Pennington had 26 assists and Alex Williams had 17. Hedman had 23 digs while the Pennington sisters had 13 each along with Marcolino.
The Coyotes wrap up the Texas Two-Step on Saturday taking on Our Lady of the Lake at Noon, and Science and Arts at 6 p.m.