Coyotes unable to get by College of Saint Mary in NAIA Regional
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Kansas Wesleyan faced a tough obstacle in its NAIA Region IV Playoff match on Thursday in the no.15 ranked College of Saint Mary Flames. Despite playing well, the Coyotes were unable to knock off the Flames, and finished the season with a 20-12 record.

Saint Mary tripped up the Coyotes 30-15, 30-23, 30-28 at the Lied Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

“The first game I think we were a little rusty from not having a match in a week, and we were a little nervous too,” Head Coach Gordon Reimer said. “When we got calmed down, we played pretty well.”

Wesleyan dropped game one to the Flames 30-15, in the Coyotes’ first match since falling to Bethel in the KCAC tournament semifinals last Thursday.

Reimer said the team played well in games two and three.

“We turned things around in the second and third games. I was pleased with our effort overall tonight,” he said. “We played hard the entire match.”

Kolby Rhoades led the Coyotes with 12 kills, while Kristal Griffeth had nine and Ashley Winters had six. Caitlan Rush had 28 assists, and Naomi Hobayan had 12 digs. Griffeth also added one solo and five assisted blocks.

The Coyotes dropped game two 30-23, but rebounded in the third, tying the score at 28-all, before dropping the final game 30-28.

“The players felt as though after the second and third games that they could compete with the top caliber teams in the region,” Reimer said.

Reimer and the players also are excited about the prospects of next season, only losing two players from this season that saw significant time in Griffeth and Sarah Carlson.

“We had a great season this year. We are already excited about next season,” Reimer said. “We return almost everyone, and we look to make another run at the KCAC title next season.”

-- KWU SI --