The words are framed and hang on the wall to next to Dustin Sahlmann's desk:
"Process over product."
It's the motto for the Kansas Wesleyan men's volleyball team and enunciates what Sahlmann wants from his team.
"We have to keep the perspective," said Sahlmann who is in his third season. "If we focus on the process and keep working on getting better every day, I think we'll be able to surprise some folks."
The Coyotes certainly "surprised some folks" in 2024. They posted the first winning record (14-13) in the history of the program that began in 2022. They also qualified for the Great Plains Athletic Conference postseason tournament for the first time, played their first home tournament match and notched their first tournament victory.
Sahlmann was pleased but not satisfied.
"I felt like we left a little bit on the court last year," he said. "Yes, we finished 14-13 and that was great but I feel like we had the potential to be further ahead of .500 than just one match."
The Coyotes will need to be better in 2025 as they begin play in the rugged Heart of America Conference after three years in the GPAC. It's a big step up.
"Going into the Heart is going to be super difficult, so many ranked teams within the top scope of the NAIA men's volleyball world," Sahlmann said. "Six of the top 12 last season are in the Heart of America and William Penn finished third in the country last year. We've got nine ranked matches built into just our conference schedule.
"But if you want to be the best you've got to beat the best and we're going to get to do that on a weekly basis."
The Coyotes open the season against Rockhurst on Friday in Kansas City, Mo. then play two matches January 31 against Westcliff and Goshen and two more February 1 against Central Christian and Jamestown in the Park Invitational in Parkville, Mo.
KWU plays fellow Heart newcomer Ottawa on February 11 in the home opener.
Sahlmann's steadfast and patient approach in building the program is paying dividends in terms of team experience.
"They've got freshmen experience; they've got sophomore experience," he said. "I've got a group of guys that play tough competition that are going to be sophomores and juniors. They know what to expect, they know what's coming and I think that helps us have a better practice environment on a daily basis."
Six key contributors from last year's team return in libero Jeremy Lapeze, outside hitter Justin Burras, middle hitter Colin Lindo, opposite hitter Zayin Martinez and middle blockers Ryan Wagner and Cooper Stepp.
Sahlmann and assistant coach Julianna Yanez bolstered the roster with the addition of several newcomers.
Outside hitter Matt Lucas competed in tennis and track for four years at Bethany and will play volleyball as a graduate student. Others new arrivals are freshman setter Ethan Ricketts, freshmen defensive specialists Barry Neff and Josh Kiely, transfer outside hitter Caiden Rodriguez and transfer opposite hitter Matthew Wagner who stands 6-foot-9 as does his brother Ryan.
"We feel like we have the potential to look like some of the best (Division 1) programs in the country from a size standpoint when we need to," Sahlmann said.
The recruiting effort was aided by last year's progress.