McPHERSON – Kate Madsen's first thought after Colton Sessions (FR/West Palm Beach, Fla.)' serve ricocheted off the fingers of a Central Christian player was a moment of reflection.
Then it was jubilation.
Madsen and her Kansas Wesleyan Men's Volleyball team picked up the program's first-ever match win on Tuesday night in a sweep of Central Christian – 25-18, 25-17, 25-22 – at Jerry Alexander Arena.
"Honestly I was just thinking about all the progress we've made in the last couple of weeks," Madsen said about her first thought after the match ended. "How we're a totally different team now than we were in the first game of the season."
Meanwhile the team celebrated the win on the court.
"The team was so excited to win our first game, and they were chasing down Colton to celebrate with him after that ace," she said. "Pure joy."
The win boosted Wesleyan's record to 1-9 overall, 1-3 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Central Christian remains winless at 0-10 overall, 0-3 in the GPAC.
After winning the first two sets, the Coyotes had the opportunity to get the sweep, but saw themselves down 17-10 at one point. KWU scored three in a row to get back within four at 17-13 before Central scored two to make it 19-13, prompting a KWU timeout.
Madsen needed her team to find that energy that send them to wins in the first two sets.
"I told them we had to find our energy. (Central) had it because they were in their home gym with their own crowd," she said. "Teams don't just let you walk into their house and let you sweep them, you have to fight every point no matter what."
And fight the Coyotes did.
A hitting error by Central started the Wesleyan comeback, followed by a kill by Viet Nguyen (FR/Wichita, Kan.), as the Coyotes scored the next 10 points to take a 23-20 lead on a block by Victor Loya (SO/El Paso, Texas).
Central scored the next two to get within a point at 23-22, but a CCC hitting error and then the service ace by Sessions capped the huge comeback, and the match, in the Coyotes' favor.
The Coyotes raced out to an 8-3 lead in the opening set and never let Central closer than two points the rest of the set at 17-15. A decisive 5-0 run by the Coyotes to make it 22-15 set the tone in the first set.
Central jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second, but the Coyotes scored the next six capped by Loya's service ace. The Tigers were back within a point at 15-14 when the Coyotes scored four in a row to put the second set out of reach of a Central comeback, and finished it scoring six of the last seven.
Wesleyan tied the third set 5-5 before Central score four in a row before extending its lead out to 17-10 in the final set, setting up the wild finish.
Wesleyan's offense had it's second highest kills total of the season with 33, only trailing the 39 in the four-set match with Culver-Stockton on Saturday. The 3-set total of 33 was 10 higher in a 3-set match than any other match. Nguyen led the way with 12 kills, while hitting an impressive .409 for the match.
The Coyote back row defense was also much improved setting a new program match record with 47 total digs led by 15 from Jerry Chablay (FR/South Hackensack, N.J.) and 14 from Christopher Perez (FR/Denver, Colo.). Angel Diaz (FR/Waukegan, Ill.) and Sessions each had 15 assists, while Sessions added three aces.
"They were fantastic," Madsen said of the efforts from the back-row players, but said that everyone has made positive strides in the last couple weeks.
"I've seen so much improvement from everyone all around but defense and passing has been such a major difference the last 5 games or so," she said. "Viet continues to be a key player for us."
The Coyotes have a nine-day break before heading to Morningside on Feb. 17 in Sioux City.
"It's Incredible, this feeling," Madsen said. "This team has so much potential and I'm so proud to have finally get that first win under our belts."