KWU Women’s Volleyball Tops Spires, Rolls Over Threshers to Reach KCAC Championship

The mantra of postseason sports is 'survive and advance'. The Kansas Wesleyan Women's Volleyball team did just that on Friday in the KCAC Championships at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
 
The Coyotes topped the Saint Mary Spires in five sets in the quarterfinal round, then rolled to a straight set victory over Bethel in the semifinal round.
 
The victories send the Coyotes to Saturday's championship match against top-seeded and Co-Champion of the KCAC with KWU, Oklahoma Wesleyan.
 
It also means that no matter what happens in Saturday's match, KWU will receive an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round next Saturday, as the KCAC sends the regular season champion and the tournament champion as automatic berths. If the regular season champion wins the tournament, then the tournament runner-up receives the berth. OKWU and KWU both fit those roles.
 
The Coyotes had to battle, and rally several times in the Saint Mary match, including trailing 12-8 in the fifth set before coming back and winning it 16-14.
 
The first set was close, until finally the Coyotes broke away late, leading 21-17, the Coyotes scored the final four points of the set to come away with the 25-21 win.
 
Saint Mary jetted out an 8-4 lead to open the second set. KWU tied it with a 4-0 run to make it 11-11, but could not get the lead. It was 16-14 in favor of Saint Mary when the Spires scored three in a row to take a 19-14 lead. The Coyotes battled to get within a point at 21-20, but got no closer the rest of the way.
 
Leading 9-7 in the third, the Coyoted scored three in a row to take a 12-7 lead. Wesleyan led 14-9 when Saint Mary scored four straight to get within a point at 14-13. The Coyotes led 18-16 when Saint Mary scored three straight to take a 19-18 lead. The Spires took a 22-21 lead, and led 24-22 with a chance to take a 2-1 match lead, but the Coyotes had different ideas. Three straight Kylee Harris kills turned the tides in favor of the Coyotes, who came away with the 26-24 win in the set.
 
The fourth set looked a lot like the second. Saint Mary jumped out to an early lead and held the Coyotes at arm's length. USM led 11-6 in the set, and pushed the lead out to 14-8. The Coyotes battled back, getting within a point several times before Saint Mary closed it out with the win to force a fifth.
 
The fifth went back and forth, but USM made just enough of a push to take a 12-8 lead in the race to 15. After a KWU timeout, the Coyotes put on the rally caps and got to work, scoring the next five points to tie it at 12-all. Saint Mary took a brief lead, before the Coyotes scored the next two to have match point. Saint Mary killed it and tied it, but Rylee Serpan said 'not today' and closed things out with back-to-back kills to win the match.
 
Harris and Serpan had 21 kills each for the Coyotes. Josie Deckinger had 59 assists and 17 digs. Libero Kelcey Hund tallied what is believed to be a school record within the rally scoring era of volleyball with 51 digs, while Serpan added 30 and Kori Arnold had 12.
 
The Coyotes rolled to a straight set win over Bethel in the semifinals 25-20, 25-23, 25-21.
 
Wesleyan took an early lead in the opening set and pushed the advantage out to 9-5. Leading 9-7, the Coyotes rolled off four straight points to take a 13-7 lead.
 
The Coyotes trailed 4-2 in the second set when a 6-0 run made it 8-4 in favor of Wesleyan. Bethel got within a point at 12-11 but the Coyotes scored the next three to take a 15-11 lead. Bethel was again within two at 19-17 when the Coyotes scored three straight to take a 22-17 lead. The Coyoted led 24-20 when Bethel scored the next three to take a 24-23 lead before Serpan's kill closed it out.
 
KWU led 11-4 in the third set and had a 13-5 lead when Bethel scored the next six points to get within two at 13-11. Back came the Coyoted with six straight to take a 19-11 lead. Wesleyan had match point at 24-15, but Bethel scored six straight to get within three at 24-21 before Gianna Adriaanse's kill closed it out.
 
Serpan added another 19 kills while Harris had 12 and Adriaanse nine. Deckinger had 42 assists and Hund had 25 digs.