A back and forth fourth set was one of the many highlights of the night for the Kansas Wesleyan Women's Volleyball team as the Coyotes knocked off the McPherson Bulldogs 26-24, 25-17, 15-25, 25-19 in front of a loud and boisterous crowd inside Mabee Arena.
The night was wild from start to finish as the Coyotes had to rally big in the first set, and then pulled away in the second before dropping the third.
Wesleyan bounced back in the fourth, in a crazy back and forth set that saw neither team lead by more than three until the Coyotes pulled away late, breaking an 18-all tie with a match-ending 7-1 run to close things out.
The fourth was tied 5-5 when McPherson rattled off three straight points to take an 8-5 lead forcing a KWU timeout. After the break, the Coyotes regrouped scoring the next five points, including back-to-back Kylee Harris kills to take a 10-8 lead.
KWU led 12-9 in the set, but a 4-1 run by McPherson tied it back up at 13-all. The Coyotes scored two in a row on a Gianna Adriaanse kill and a block by Kyla Moore to give KWU the lead.
Back came McPherson, taking its own lead several times, the last at 18-17 when the Coyotes got things going. An error started KWU's rally, and a Harris kill made it 21-18 Coyotes.
A Kelcey Hund service ace and another hitting error on McPherson made it 23-18. The Bulldogs got a point but a Sarah Girard kill and a McPherson error ended it.
The fourth set wasn't quite the craziest moment of the night. Rewind all the way back to the first set.
It was 11-10 Coyotes in the first when McPherson rattled off five straight points to take a 15-11 lead in the set.
After a KWU timeout, the Coyotes got back into it, getting within a point at 15-14 on Girard's ace, but McPherson again built a 19-14 lead.
KWU fought back, getting within a point at 23-22 on Serpan's kill, but the Coyotes faced set point at 24-22.
Never fear, Rylee Serpan is here. Back-to-back kills from the sophomore and reigning NAIA Attacker of the Week, tied the set at 24-all. Girard served another ace to give the Coyotes a 25-24 lead, and it was a wild play to end the set.
McPherson went for a kill to try to tie things back up but Girard got to the ball in the deep corner and hit it back over and off a McPherson player for the kill to give Wesleyan a 26-24 win in the set.
The Coyotes trailed 10-7 in the second set but came back to tie it up at 13-all on a kill by Adriaanse and a McPherson error gave the Coyotes the lead.
A block by Moore and Adriaanse again gave the Coyotes the lead 15-14 and the Coyotes pushed out to an 18-14 lead on a Adriaanse kill. KWU led 20-17 before scoring the final five points of the set to take the win.
Wesleyan trailed 14-12 in the third, but five straight from McPherson gave the Bulldogs a 19-12 lead. The Coyotes dropped the third set 25-15.
Serpan again led the Coyotes with 15 kills while Harris had 13 and Adriaanse had nine. Josie Deckinger had 40 assists and 13 digs. Kelcey Hund, the reigning NAIA Defender of the Week had 28 digs. The Coyotes had eight service aces in the match, led by three from Deckinger, while Hund and Girard had two each.
Wesleyan is back in action on Saturday, hosting a triangular with Ottawa University and Hannibal-LaGrange inside Mabee Arena. KWU plays Ottawa at Noon, then Hannibal at 4 p.m.