Volleyball hammers Friends in three games
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

KWU hitter Whitney DuBois (7) fires a shot past Friends' Amanda Shaver as the Coyotes swept the Falcons 3-0 Wednesday night at Muir Gym

Gordon Reimer was pleased with his team’s effort as they swept the Friends Falcons, 30-26, 30-17, 30-23, on Wednesday night at Muir Gym. The win moves the Coyotes to 15-9 overall and 11-4 in the KCAC. The Coyotes are also riding a three match winning streak.

“We have played three solid conference teams in McPherson, Ottawa and Friends, and have been able to come away with wins,” Reimer said. “We are really playing well right now.”

The Coyotes jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first game, but saw Friends regroup and tie the score at six, and take the lead 7-6. The Coyotes rallied and regained a 9-7 lead, which they extended to 14-11, before Friends came back to tie again at 14-all. The lead went back and forth until Friends put together a 4-0 run to take a 20-17 advantage. The Coyotes rallied and went on a 7-2 run with the score 21-19, to take a 26-23 lead, forcing a Friends timeout. Junior outside hitter Sarah Carlson put the first game away for the Coyotes, killing three of the last four points, giving the Coyotes a 30-26 win.

Game two was all Wesleyan from the start. KWU jumped out to a 7-2 lead, forcing a Friends timeout, and proceeded to go on another 7-1 after the break to take a commanding 14-3 lead. Friend outscored Wesleyan 8-5 over the next 13 points, before the Coyotes exploded on another 7-3 run to end any sort of suspense, coming away with the 30-17 win.

“We didn’t let down in game two tonight,” Reimer said. “That’s been one of our bug-a-boos all season, and it seems we have finally gotten over it.”

Game three again saw Wesleyan explode out of the blocks, taking a 20-6 lead over the Falcons. The Coyotes led 21-7, before Friends made a 10-3 run to get within seven points at 24-17. Wesleyan responded with a 5-1 run and had five match points, before senior middle hitter Tessa Showman thumped one between the Friends defense and secured the win for the Coyotes.

“We had good hitting tonight,” Reimer said. “All of our hitters had great nights. They were able to find the seams, and get the ball on the floor time after time. It’s all a result of our passing. We had excellent passing tonight, which allowed our offense to get started, and our setter to have many options to set to.”

The Coyotes were led in kills tonight by Kelli Berg who had 13 kills, while Carlson added 12 and Kristal Griffeth 11. Tessa Showman also had seven kills. Griffeth also led the Coyotes with three aces, and 3.5 total blocks. Doris Kometani had 39 assists on 77 attempts, while adding 11 digs. Kelli Berg also added 12 digs for the Coyotes.

The Coyotes have no easy task as they try to earn their fourth straight win on Saturday, as they face the Tabor Bluejays at 10:00 AM at Muir Gym.

-- KWU SI --