The Kansas Wesleyan Volleyball team split its two matches on Sunday in the Kansas Wesleyan Volleyball Tournament held at Mabee Arena. Combined with Saturday's split, the team kept its record even at 2-2 heading into the second week of competition.
The Coyotes opened Sunday with a four-set loss to Dakota State, before closing out the tournament with a straight set win over conference opponent Southwestern.
Dakota State 3, KWU 1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-19): The Coyotes won a tight first set, but dropped the last three to fall to the Trojans.
Wesleyan raced out to a 6-2 lead in the first set, and led 12-6 on Morgan Bryand (SO/Wichita, Kan.)'s kill, before Dakota State got back within a point at 17-16. DSU tied it at 19, but three points by the Coyotes on a Elizabeth Hardacre (SO/Kensington, Kan.) kill, and two Trojan errors gave Wesleyan a 22-19 lead. DSU got within a point one more time before the Coyotes would win the set 25-22.
In the second, the Coyotes trailed by just two points at 13-11 before DSU extended its lead to 20-14. The Coyotes couldn't get closer than three the rest of the way. Things looked to be heading in favor of the Coyotes, who took a 12-5 lead in the third set on a block by Audrey Sineath (FR/Gardner, Kan.) and Chelsea James (SO/Wichita, Kan.), but DSU tied it at 14-all and would take as much as a 22-16 lead in the set. The Coyotes closed within a point on a kill by Bryand but DSU would hold for the win.
The Coyotes fell behind 6-0 to start the fourth, but were able to bounce back, tying things up at 13-all, and taking a brief 14-13 lead. DSU would take the lead back pushing out to a 19-15 advantage which proved to be too much for the Coyotes.
Maddy Beckett (SO/Halstead, Kan.) had a team-best 14 kills for the Coyotes, while Bryand had 11. Cortney Hanna (SO/Lawrence, Kan.)h had 19 assists and Josie Deckinger (FR/Wichita, Kan.) had 12. Emily Monson (SO/Cheney, Kan.) had 18 digs in the match. Bryand added three aces and Sineath had five blocks.
KWU 3, Southwestern 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-21): The Coyotes would meet conference foe Southwestern and come away with a straight set win over the Moundbuilders.
Wesleyan took a 6-3 lead early in the first on an error by Southwestern, and would hold the lead, extending it to 15-10 on a kill by Beckett. The Coyotes kept pressing, taking advantage of more Southwestern errors to take an 18-11 lead. Southwestern responded after a timeout, reeling off seven straight to tie it at 18-all. A service error gave the lead back to the Coyotes, who pushed out to a 22-19 lead on a service ace by Hanna.
Much like the first, the Coyotes fell behind early, but responded in the second, taking a 7-3 lead on Bryand's kill. Southwestern tied it up at 10-all, but another Bryand kill would start a six-point rally for the Coyotes capped by Hanna's service ace to make it 16-10. Southwestern never got closer than six the rest of the way.
The third set went back and forth with the Coyotes holding the lead, but were never able to shake the Moundbuilders. Four points was the biggest lead the Coyotes could build at 15-11 and again at the final score of 25-21 as Sineath ended it with a block.
The Coyotes had a balanced attack, hitting .203 for the match, as Beckett and Bryand had 11 kills each. Hanna had 19 assists and four service aces. Monson had 14 digs while Beckett added 13 and Hanna had 12.
The Coyotes also split the first day of the tournament.
Emily Monson (SO/Cheney, Kan.) and her Kansas Wesleyan coach, Jessica Biegert, were thrilled to be back on a volleyball court again – the results of their two matches not necessarily the most important factor in the total scheme of things.
"When you're out there it just kind of feels like everything's back to normal," said Monson, the Coyotes' sophomore libero. "You don't really think about everything that's going on (in the world), you focus on the game and your teammates and the team across the net."
Biegert, KWU's second-year coach, agreed.
"You can tell they're hungry and they're hungry to be here," she said following the Coyotes' first two matches of the season Saturday in the KWU Invitational at Mabee Arena. "Without fans it's still a good environment and there's lots of volleyball going on, so it's exciting to be in that atmosphere again."
Indeed, after six months of lockdowns, closures, masks and social distancing the matches were a happy reminder of what life was like before the relentless COVID-19 pandemic effectively brought life to a halt in March.
"I know all of us in practice have really been pushing ourselves, but it's nothing like actually being in a game," Monson said. "I know all of us are really excited to actually be out on a court and playing against a different team."
KWU opened the day with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-15) victory over fellow Kansas Conference member Bethel, then lost to College of Saint Mary 25-22, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22.
Biegert was pleased with the efforts of her young team, which returns just three starters from last season. CSM was ranked 23rd in the NAIA coaches' postseason poll last year and has another strong team in 2020.
"We didn't have a lot of mental mistakes and with such a young team I thought that would be a worry, but I don't really feel like that was the issue," she said. "We just made more errors (than CSM). They're a top 25 team, I felt like they raised up to the level of the other team, which was good to
"It's figuring out what works and what doesn't work before conference starts. We were able to mix up a lot of things and they just ran with it."
Biegert was particularly pleased with Monson, setter Cortney Hanna (SO/Lawrence, Kan.) and outside hitters Maddy Beckett (SO/Halstead, Kan.) and Morgan Bryand (SO/Wichita, Kan.), a transfer from Butler Community College.
"Emily stepped up phenomenally, she picked up right where she left off last year," Biegert said. "She really covered all of the court, kept us in some big plays. Beckett hit some superb balls and found holes, and Cortney was a leader.
"(Bryand) was an offensive weapon, for sure. She's a hammer arm, she's done a good job coming in, she's learning the process and catching on fast."
Monson was pleased with how the team played together in its first live action.
"I'm really impressed with how everyone meshed," she said. "Because of COVID we stick with pods and we don't get to practice a lot with our lineup a lot. We've had one practice with that lineup, so I'm really impressed with how we all meshed together and even being a young team everyone knew to step up into their roles."
KWU led 24-20 in the first set against Bethel, but the Threshers rallied and tied it at 24 before the Coyotes closed it out. They rolled to an early 13-1 lead in the second and never looked back, then built an insurmountable 16-6 lead in the third set.
Bryand had 16 kills and Beckett 11, but KWU hit just .044 percent. Hanna had 32 assists and Monson 44 digs.
CSM battled back from an early 7-1 deficit in the first set and got within 23-22 before the Coyotes scored the final two points for the victory. KWU led the second set 7-3, but CSM went on an 11-4 run that gave the Flames a 16-11 advantage. The Coyotes got within 24-22 late before CSM scored the final point.
KWU led the third set 9-5, but the Flames rallied again, using an 8-2 surge that them a 16-13 lead. The Coyotes got with 24-22 again before falling short. CSM raced to 12-3 lead in the third set, KWU battled back and got within 24-22 for the third consecutive time before, but the Flames closed out the set and match.
Beckett led the Wesleyan attack with 15 kills and Bryand had 13 as the Coyotes hit .191. Hanna had 21 assists and Monson led the defense with 13 digs.
The Coyotes are scheduled to play in a tournament next weekend hosted by Peru State in Peru, Neb., but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic keeps schedules fluid.
Check for the latest updates on kwucoyotes.com.