TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. – It was a pair of sweeps for the Kansas Wesleyan Women’s Volleyball team on the first day of the Florida College Tournament inside Conn Gymnasium. The Coyotes first swept Florida National, then swept Warner to close the first day.
KWU 3, Florida National 0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-21): The Coyotes opened play in the tournament with a sweep of Florida National.
A big run for the Coyotes in the first set turned a 9-7 advantage into a 15-7 advantage for the Coyotes and it was all KWU from there.
In the second set the Coyotes led 7-4 but FNU came back to tie it at 8-all. It was 13-11 in favor of the Coyotes, when KWU went on a 3-0 charge to take a 16-11 lead, and later pushed the lead out to 21-12 on a kill by Sarah Girard.
The third set was close throughout, as neither team led by more than three points until the end when the Coyotes broke a 21-all tie with four straight points, including a block by Alexis Utz and Chelsea James to end the match.
Morgan Bryand had seven kills to lead the Coyotes, while James had six. Four players reached double figures in digs led by Maddy Beckett with 13. Melinna Schumann had 11 and Kelcey Hund and Allisan McGowan had 10 each. Elizabeth Hardacre had six blocks in the match.
KWU 3, Warner 0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-15): The Coyotes faced the same Warner team they played on Thursday night and again swept the Royals in straight sets. Warner was not originally scheduled to play in the tournament, but joined when Johnson University dropped out earlier in the week.
It was a late first set run that got the winning started for the Coyotes. It was 19-18 in favor of the Coyotes, when a kill by Beckett started a set-ending 6-0 run that gave KWU the first set win.
The second set was all Coyotes. It was 6-4 in favor of the Coyotes when KWU went on a 5-0 run to take an 11-5 lead. The Coyotes later pushed the lead out to 20-9 before cruising to the 25-12 win.
A quick 5-0 run by the Coyotes in the final set blew the set open to a 19-10 KWU advantage and Beckett’s kill wrapped things up for the Coyotes.
Bryand again led the Coyotes with nine kills, while Beckett added seven. Hund had 19 digs for the Coyotes. Hardacre added another five blocks in the match, three of them solo blocks.
Wesleyan is back in action on Saturday, with a 9 a.m., Central Time match against unbeaten William Carey. KWU then faces host Florida College at 1 p.m., Central. KWU returns to Kansas and will play its first home match of the season on Thursday, hosting the Friends Falcons in a non-conference tilt inside Mabee Arena.