SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Kansas Wesleyan Men's Volleyball fell in its Great Plains Athletic Conference opener on Friday evening in four sets to the Morningside University Mustangs inside Allee Gym.
 
Morningside won the first two sets 25-21 and 25-18 before the Coyotes captured the third 25-20, but Morningside came back and got the fourth set 25-18 to take the match.
 
In the opening set, Morningside jumped out to a 13-7 lead but the Coyotes got back within two at 20-18 but three straight Morningside points was the big difference as the Coyotes fell 25-21 in the set.
 
Wesleyan led 6-5 in the second set but an 8-1 Morningside run made it 13-7 in favor of the Mustangs on the way to the 25-18 win.
 
The Coyotes turned the tides in the third, jumping out to a 7-3 lead on a Cooper Stepp service ace and after the teams traded points, the Coyotes pushed the lead back out to at 13-6 lead on an error by Morningside.
 
The Mustangs scored four straight to make it 13-10, but the Coyotes used a 5-1 run capped by a kill by Viet Nguyen to take an 18-11 lead in the set. The Coyotes led 21-13 after a kill by Zayin Martinez, before Morningside scored four straight to make it 21-17. The Coyotes cloeed out the set with a kill by Kahlib Lawrence.
 
Morningside had a 9-5 lead in the fourth set but pushed the lead out to 18-11 before the Coyotes got it back within an 18-14 score. It was 20-16 Mustangs when Morningside scored three straight, but the Coyotes got two back before the Mustangs closed it out.
 
Nguyen had 14 kills to lead the Coyotes while Martinez added seven. The Coyotes hit .135 for the match. Tyler McUne had 31 assists. Jeremy Lapeze had 14 digs and McUne had 12.
 
Wesleyan is back in action on Saturday at Ottawa. KWU returns home next week hosting Jamestown at 3 p.m. on Thursday and Dordt at 6 p.m. on Friday.