Kansas Wesleyan Men's Volleyball dropped a pair of matches to nationally ranked opponents on Thursday and Friday, as the Coyotes fell to No. 4 ranked William Penn in four sets, and dropped a straight set match to No. 12 ranked Missouri Valley on Saturday in Marshall, Mo.
 
Thursday night the Coyotes hosted William Penn inside Muir Gymnasium as Mabee Arena was unavailable due to the NAIA Basketball National Championship First and Second Rounds happening at KWU.
 
The Coyotes gave the Statesmen all they could handle in the first two sets, dropping the first 25-23, and winning the second 25-23.
 
William Penn took a 4-0 lead in the first set, but the Coyotes came back and got within a point at 5-4 on back to back service aces by Colin Lindo. The Coyotes trailed 9-7 when KWU went on a 4-0 charge to take an 11-9 lead in the set. Penn answered, with four straight to take a 13-11 lead. Trailing by a point the Coyotes rattled off three straight to take a 17-16 lead.
 
The teams traded the lead back several times, with KWU taking a 23-21 lead on a block by Justin Burras and Colin Lindo, but William Penn would score the last four points to take the set 25-23.
 
Wesleyan trailed 6-5 in the second set, but the Coyotes scored the next five points to take a 10-6 lead on a kill by Zayin Martinez. KWU held the lead until a 5-0 run by the Statesmen made it 15-13 WPU. Penn built a 20-16 lead before the Coyotes came storming back, tying the set at 22-all. WPU got a kill to take a 23-22 lead but then the Coyotes scored the next three points to take the set 25-23.
 
The third set was close with KWU tying things up at 10-all when Lindo suffered an injury. WPU built a 15-12 lead before the Coyotes got back withing a point, but could get no closer the rest of the way as the Statesmen took the third set 25-18.
 
WPU took a 12-5 lead to open the fourth set and the difference was a little too much for the Coyotes to overcome. Trailing 16-9, KWU got back within five but Penn responded to take a 19-11 lead and would pull away for the 25-15 win.
 
Justin Burras had 12 kills to lead the Coyotes while Martinez had nine and Viet Nguyen had seven. Tyler McUne had 26 assists. Kahlib Lawrence, Nguyen and Lindo all had five blocks each for the Coyotes. Lapeze and McUne had eight digs each.
 
Against Missouri Valley on Friday, the Coyotes fell in straight sets to the Missouri Valley Vikings.
 
Valley jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening set, and pushed out to a 16-6 lead in the set before coming away with the 22-11 win.
 
KWU led 7-6 in the second set when Valley scored five straight points to take an 11-7 lead. KWU trailed 15-10, when the Coyotes rallied to get back within two at 17-15, and the Coyotes got within a point several times, the last at 23-22 on a Nguyen kill, but the Vikings scored the last two points to take the set 25-22.
 
The Coyotes had a 12-8 lead in the third, and led 16-13 when the Vikings scored the next six points to take a 19-16 lead. The Coyotes got back within a point at 20-19, but Valley scored the final five points to take the match.
 
Burras had eight kills to lead the Coyotes. McUne had 17 assists. Lapeze had 10 digs. Cooper Stepp had four blocks.
 
The Coyotes are back in action next Friday and Saturday heading north to Jamestown on Friday and Dordt on Saturday.