BALDWIN CITY – The Kansas Wesleyan Women's Volleyball team opened its 2023 campaign on Saturday with a pair of wins in the Baker University Triangular at Baker's Collins Center.
 
The Coyotes opened with a sweep over Oklahoma Panhandle State and then needed five sets to get by host Baker University.
 
KWU 3, OPSU 0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-21): The Coyotes hit .243 for the first match of the season as KWU swept Oklahoma Panhandle State.
 
KWU trailed 3-2 in the first set when the Coyotes rolled off five straight points to take a 7-3 lead. A kill from Kyla Moore pushed the lead out to 10-4 and three straight kills later in the set from Kylee Harris gave the Coyotes a 16-7 lead.
 
OPSU led 11-5 in the second set when the Coyotes came back getting within two points at 11-9 on a kill by Harris. OPSU led 18-14 when the Coyotes caught fire, scoring the final 11 points of the set to win 25-18.  
 
KWU led 9-7 in the third set but the Aggies scored seven straight to take a 14-9 lead. The Coyotes drew even on a kill by Sarah Girard and took the lead for good on Harris' kill.
 
Harris had 15 kills in her Coyote debut while hitting .323 for the match. Rylee Serpan had 11 kills and Moore added eight. Josie Deckinger had 33 assists and Kelcey Hund had 16 digs. Moore had four blocks for the Coyotes.
 
KWU 3, Baker 2 (20-25, 25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 15-7): The Coyotes needed five sets to knock off Baker in the last match of the day. The Coyotes had a great fifth set hitting, hitting .571 in the set with eight kills against no errors.
 
KWU jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set but Baker came back and took the lead and extended it to 15-11 in the set. The Coyotes got within a point at 20-19 on a kill by Harris but could not get any closer as Baker took the first set.
 
The Coyotes trailed 10-5 in the second set and trailed 13-7 when the run came. Wesleyan scored nine straight to take a 16-13 lead before Baker scored again. Baker tried to rally, but got no closer than two points the rest of the set.
 
Moore's kill in the third gave the Coyotes a 7-2 lead but Baker came back and tied it up at 8-8 and took a 14-10 lead in the set. Wesleyan battled back and took an 18-16 lead and held on for a 25-19 third set win.
 
Wesleyan jumped out to another 7-2 lead in the fourth, and later led 18-12 but Baker scored eight of the next nine points to take a 20-19 lead. KWU tied it at 20 but Baker ran off four straight and held off a couple KWU challenges before taking the set to force the fifth.
 
It was 8-6 in the last set when the Coyotes took over, scoring five in a row to take a 13-6 lead. After a Baker point, the Coyotes closed out the match with two points for the win.
 
Harris and Serpan led the way with 12 kills each while Moore added 10 while hitting .450 for the match. KWU hit .240 as a team. Deckinger had 40 assists. Hund had 23 digs and Serpan had 15, Hina Kua and Ella Schmid added 10 each. Sarah Girard had six blocks.
 
The Coyotes are back in action next weekend in the Hastings College Classic in Hastings, Nebraska. The home opener is August 29 against Benedictine.