Lady Coyotes cruise past Ottawa, finish first half of KCAC play at 8-1
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Whitney DuBois (7) puts down one of her nine kills during game one of KWU's sweep of Ottawa on Thursday night

Kansas Wesleyan finished the first half of KCAC play with an 8-1 record as the Lady Coyotes easily took care of Ottawa (Kan.) – 30-18, 30-17, 30-22 – on Thursday night at Muir Gym.

“We got great play out of our middles tonight,” Wesleyan coach Shawn Taylor said. “Combine that with the continued exceptional play on the outside, we did pretty well tonight.”

Middle hitter Whitney DuBois was nearly unstoppable tonight. She had nine kills in 20 attempts against just one error. She also added four assisted blocks.

Ottawa got on top early 1-0, but the Lady Coyotes answered back with three straight, two points coming on blocks. Ottawa took back the lead with three straight points of its own, before Wesleyan opened things up. Six straight KWU points ignited a 18-5 run that put the Lady Coyotes ahead 21-9.

After a Brave timeout, Ottawa was able to break the run, but three straight by Wesleyan gave the Lady Coyotes a 24-11 lead. Ottawa would make a late run, outscoring the Lady Coyotes 7-2 would get Ottawa back within nine, but three straight by Wesleyan would give them game point.

Erin Tanking would hold off one game point with a kill down the middle, setting up Wesleyan to receive and set for game point. Kelli Berg found Sarah Claborn on the outside and she hammered it home giving Wesleyan the game one win 30-18.

Game two was a close affair, as the Lady Braves would hang with Wesleyan, being as close as 10-8 on a tip kill by Allegra Shaw. Wesleyan would answer with three straight, as part of a 7-4 run that gave Wesleyan a 17-12 lead. Ottawa would get back within two with three straight points, when the Lady Coyotes would catch fire.

DuBois got things started with a cross shot for a kill, and Claborn would hammer down an overpass by Ottawa as the Lady Coyotes closed out game two on a 13-2 run. Berg got nine serves in a row during the run, including three aces. Wesleyan got game point when Shaw would airball a hit attempt.

KWU would jump out to a 9-4 lead in game three, and never look back. After a Ottawa timeout, Ottawa would get a score, before Wesleyan would come alive offensively, going on a 10-4 run to take a 19-9 lead and force another timeout. The run featured an excellent play when Kolby Rhoades would attack a ball from well outside the court and fire a cross-court missle inside the ten-foot line.

Ottawa (3-13, 2-7) got untracked to make things interesting midway through as they went on a 9-2 run to get with three at 21-18. A service error by Ottawa would get Wesleyan back on the attack, as the Lady Coyotes would finish the match with a 9-4 run to get the 30-22 win. Berg would finish things off with a tip kill that she put behind her over her head that dropped untouched just inside the sideline.

Rhoades and Claborn shared top kill honors with 11 each, while DuBois added nine and Ashley Winters had seven. Rhoades also added four solo blocks and one assisted block, while DuBois had four assist blocks and Berg had two solo and one assisted block. Berg had 31 assists, and Rachel Ehrlich had six as the Lady Coyotes switched offensive sets several times in the match. Karissa Kent led the way with 13 digs, while Rhoades added nine.

Wesleyan is on the road for its next two matches, at Friends on Saturday and at Saint Mary on October 10, before returning home for a non-conference match against Baker on October 11.

-- KWU SI --