HAYS – The Kansas Wesleyan Women's Volleyball team pressed out to a 2-0 match lead on Wednesday night against the NCAA Division II Fort Hays State Tigers at Gross Memorial Coliseum, but the Tigers bounced back and took the final three sets to come away with the 3-2 win (24-26, 27-29, 25-20, 25-16, 15-11).
 
The first set was a back and forth affair with the Tigers taking a 15-12 lead. Back came the Coyotes, scoring the next five points to take a 17-15 lead. Hays regained the advantage at 18-17, but Rylee Serpan gave the lead back to the Coyotes at 20-19 with a kill. It was 23-21 FHSU when the Coyotes came back and took a 24-23 lead on a service ace by Kori Arnold. After Hays tied it, the Coyotes scored the last two points of the set on kills by Kylee Harris and Serpan to win 26-24.
 
Wesleyan pressed out to a 5-1 lead to start the second set, only to see Hays rally to take a 15-12 lead. The lead grew to 20-15 when the Coyotes came rocketing back, getting within a point at 21-20. The Tigers scored the next two to lead 23-21, but the Coyotes came back and tied it on a Megan Peeler kill and with it tied 27-all, the Coyotes got a block by Harris and Sarah Girard and a Serpan kill to close out the set.
 
The Coyotes trailed 15-14 in the third set when FHSU pushed the lead out to 21-15. The Coyotes got within two at 22-20, but no closer as Hays scored the final three points to win the set.
 
FHSU used a big mid-set run to take a 21-13 lead in the fourth set, and the Coyotes couldn't battle back.
 
KWU fell behind 4-1 in the fifth set, and trailed 7-3 before getting back within a point at 7-6. FHSU led 12-8 when the Coyotes made a run getting back to a point at 12-11 on back-to-back Serpan kills, but FHSU scored the final three points of the set to finish the comeback win.
 
Serpan led the Coyotes with 17 kills, while Kyla Moore added 11 along with Harris. Josie Deckinger had 40 assists and 10 digs. Kori Arnold had 27 digs and Hinamalailena Kua added 17 and Serpan added 13. Harris and Moore had five blocks each.
 
Up next for the Coyotes is the KWU Volleyball Classic on Friday and Saturday at Mabee Arena. KWU plays at 7 p.m. Friday against John Brown (Ark.), then faces Culver-Stockton (Mo.) on Saturday at 10 a.m., and Haskell at 2 p.m.