FREMONT, Neb. – Kansas Wesleyan Women's Volleyball takes on No. 15 ranked Midland (Neb.) on Saturday in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Opening Round. First serve from Midland's Wikert Event Center is set for 1 p.m.
LIVE COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
LIVE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/@midlanduathletics/streams
LIVE STATS: https://midlandathletics.com/sports/wvball/2023-24/boxscores/20231118_rhai.xml
GAME PROGRAM: https://www.midlandathletics.com/sports/wvball/2023-24/files/VB_OpeningRound2023.pdf
TICKETS: https://www.midlandathletics.com/tickets
NAIA WVB CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION: https://www.naia.org/sports/wvball/2023-24/releases/Qualifiers
The Coyotes enter the match with a 26-9 overall record coming off a runner-up finish in the KCAC tournament last week in Hutchinson. KWU shared the KCAC regular season championship with No. 25 ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan with a 12-1 record in the conference.
Wesleyan is ranked eighth in the NAIA in total kills this season with 1631, and ranks 35th in the NAIA in kills per set at 12.94. The Coyotes have exactly 2000 digs as a team so far this season, ranking No. 34 in the country. KWU also ranks nationally in assists per set (44th, 11.88) and in blocks per set (100th, 1.67).
Rylee Serpan paces the Coyote offense, averaging 4.11 kills per set, ranking ninth in the NAIA, and ranks fourth in the country in total kills with 510.
Kylee Harris ranks 27th in the country in kills with 409, and 71st in kills per set at 3.30. Setter
Josie Deckinger ranks sixth in the NAIA in total assists with 1269 and ranks 20th in the country in assists per set at 10.15. Defensively
Kelcey Hund leads the Coyotes with 696 digs ranking fourth in the NAIA, and 12th in digs per set at 5.75.
Serpan, Deckinger and Harris were named to the All-KCAC First-Team, Hund was a second-team selection and freshman
Gianna Adriaanse was named to the third-team.
KWU is led by fifth-year coach
Jessica Biegert who has amassed 110 wins at KWU over the four-plus seasons.
This is KWU's fourth appearance in the NAIA Opening Round and second straight appearance.
Midland earned an At-Large bid to the Opening Round. The Warriors finished fourth in the Great Plains Athletic Conference with a 10-6 record. Midland is 15-11 overall. The Warriors lost in the GPAC Semifinal to NAIA No. 1 ranked Northwestern. This is Midland's 10th appearance in the NAIA Opening Round and fourth-straight appearance.
The Warriors rank 27th in the NAIA in kills per set at 13.09, 17th in assists per set at 12.49, 98th in digs per set at 16.02, and third in the NAIA in blocks per set at 3.00.
The Warriors feature a balanced offensive attack with four players averaging over 2.0 kills per set led by Abbey Ringler, averaging 2.6. Lauren Williams averages 2.42, Jacki Apel averages 2.24 and Cortlyn Shaefer averages 2.15. Midland runs a 6-2 offensive set, with both setters averaging nearly identical numbers with Brena Mackling averaging 5.88 assists and Brielle Power averaging 5.66 assists per set. Lauryn Samuelson leads Midland's front row defense averaging 1.43 blocks per set and Ringler adds 1.37 blocks per set.
Paul Giesselmann is in his 14th year as Midland's head coach.
The winners of the 24 NAIA Opening Round match-ups will qualify for the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championships in Sioux City, Iowa, at the Tyson Events Center starting November 29. Final site action begins with three days of pool play, with the winner of each pool advancing to quarterfinals on December 2.
The 24-team championship final site pool play matchups will be announced on Sunday, November 19, on NAIA.org by 5 p.m.
