Lady Coyotes take out Baker in four games
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Ashley Winters (hitting) goes for a kill during game one of the Lady Coyotes' four-game win over Baker (Kan.) on Thursday night

Kansas Wesleyan stepped out of conference play on Thursday night to host Baker (Kan.) inside Muir Gymnasium. The Lady Coyotes got past the no.3 ranked team in NAIA Region V in four games – 30-24, 31-33, 30-25, 31-29 – for the team’s seventh straight win.

The Lady Coyotes again turned to their 1-2 punch of Sarah Claborn and Kolby Rhoades, as both players finished the match with 20-plus kills.

The match was nearly a three-game sweep, but the Lady Wildcats were able to hold on in game two after leading 28-23, escaping with the 33-31 win.

All four games were close affairs until Wesleyan would use a run midway through each game to pull away, with the exception of game two, where a late rally would get the Lady Coyotes back into the game, and have a chance to win it at 29-28.

In game one, both teams would trade points back and forth until Sarah Claborn would put a kill down the line to tie things at 11-all, sparking an 11-4 run that put the Lady Coyotes ahead 21-15, forcing Baker to call its second timeout of the game.

Rhoades would have a serving error to break the run, but Claborn would use a tip kill to get Wesleyan back on the offensive and push the lead out to 26-19, before Baker would try to get back into it. Three straight blocks by Baker would get them within four at 26-22, forcing a Wesleyan timeout.

After the break, a service error would give the ball back to the Lady Coyotes and a 4-2 run would be capped by a kill by Rhoades giving Wesleyan the game one win.

Game two saw both teams answer one another’s points, literally, until Wesleyan would pull ahead midway through the game, only to be answered by a run by the Lady Wildcats. Claborn would have a kill and an ace to get Wesleyan’s run started, breaking a 9-all tie, and giving the Lady Coyotes a 14-9 lead on a block by Rhoades.

Baker would answer, as Alexis Pryor would convert a tip for a kill, sparking a 6-0 run to take a 15-14 lead. Rhoades would break the run with a kill, but Baker would pull out to a 28-23 lead when the Lady Coyotes would start their late rally. The Lady Coyotes would score six straight to regain the lead and have game point at 29-28. Whitney DuBois could not get the block down for the Lady Coyotes, and Baker tied it up at 29-all. Rhoades would again hammer one down giving the Lady Coyotes a game point opportunity, but a lift call would again tie it. A blocking error on Baker would give Wesleyan its third chance to put the game away, but a service error, an attack error and a Baker ace would give the Lady Wildcats the win 33-31.

Game three saw tensions between the two teams get heated, especially at the end of the game. Wesleyan would lead 7-5 when KWU head coach Shawn Taylor felt that a Baker back row player attacked the ball in front of the attack line, but was overruled by the official.  Two points later, an out call against Baker would be replayed and Wesleyan would make a service error on the replay.

Wesleyan would hold its composure, and pull out to a 28-23 lead forcing a Baker timeout. Out of the break, the Lady Wildcats would make things interesting scoring three of the next four points. The Lady Coyotes would get the game three win when a Baker player would attempt to play the ball over the net, but the ball was clearly outside the antenna, giving the Lady Coyotes the win.

During the break between games, Baker (23-9) head coach Kathy Allen would argue the call and would be issued a yellow and red card from the official.

Wesleyan would start the game with a 1-0 lead from the penalty, but Baker would hold strong with the Lady Coyotes throughout the game. Baker would lead 10-8, when Claborn would step up scoring the next three Wesleyan points, as the Lady Coyotes would rally and tie the game at 12-all.

Baker would pull out to a 17-13 lead thanks to a 5-1 run, but the Lady Coyotes would answer, outscoring Baker 12-5 to take a 25-22 lead. Baker would answer, scoring four straight to grab a 26-25 lead. The teams would trade points back and forth right until the end of the game. A service error by Rhoades would give Baker a chance to force a fifth game, but a net call on Baker’s Nicole Anderson, a long hit attempt by Baker would give the Lady Coyotes match point, and the Lady Coyotes would finish things off grabbing the upset win over Baker.

Claborn led the way for Wesleyan (16-7) with 23 kills, while Rhoades added 20 and DuBois and Ashley Winters each had seven. Kelli Berg would have 49 assists to go along with three aces, while Winters led the way with four aces for the Lady Coyotes. Rhoades and Claborn also led the way with 16 digs apiece while Karissa Kent added 15. Rhoades, Claborn and Berg each had two solo blocks to lead the Lady Coyotes.

The Lady Coyotes are off until next week, when they face conference rival Tabor at Muir Gym on Tuesday night. First Serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.

-- KWU SI --