Dustin Sahlmann was uncertain how his Kansas Wesleyan men's volleyball team would respond after a 3-0 loss to No. 12-ranked Jamestown on Thursday night.

His angst increased as the Coyotes got off to a slow start in the opening set of their match against Dordt on Friday night.
 

"(Thursday) took a lot out of our guys because Jamestown is a top 12 team in the country," Sahlmann said. "We pushed them really hard and I hate playing back-to-back matches like that because you don't know how much letdown there's going to be."
 

Turned out there was none. Zip, zero, zilch. After Dordt won a competitive first set 25-22 the Coyotes regrouped and won the next three  33-31, 25-18, 25-22 for a 3-1 Great Plains Athletic Conference victory inside Mabee Arena.
 

"We got things cleaned up, they got their second wind and we just started going and didn't let up," Sahlmann said of his team that improved to 5-7 and 1-3 GPAC.
 

KWU did indeed give Jamestown a tussle losing 25-23, 25-20, 25-19 and had plenty left in the tank for Dordt (2-7, 0-2 GPAC).
 

The Coyotes hit .281 percent and were led by the one-two punch of Zayin Martinez and Justin Burras. Martinez had 18 kills on a .295 hitting percentage and Burras 17 kills on a sizzling .410 percentage. Viet Nguyen added eight kills on .238 percentage.
 

"The thing about it is a lot of teams only have one or two guys," Sahlmann said. "But it you look at the stat sheet and the way our guys attack we've got five. As long as our serve-receive is good – which it's been really good the last couple of days – we've got lots of options."
 

Angel Diaz had 37 assists. Jeremy Lapeze led the defense with 22 digs while Nguyen had 12 and Collin Lindo was dominant at the net with seven block assists.
 

Sahlmann said the main thing is the Coyotes are learning to play together.
 

"They're playing for each other," he said. "They're not worried about what's going on on the other side of the net, they're open to feedback from me and Jules (assistant coach Julianna Yanez). They decided they wanted to win and now we're playing better.
 

"We are a freshman and sophomore-laden team but those freshmen and sophomores are starting to grow up and that's just going to help us as we move forward."
 

Tied at 20 in the first set Dordt scored three consecutive points and held on for its lone victory.
 

The second set was epic. Dordt led 18-15 before KWU went on a 6-1 run and led 21-19. Dordt took a 22-21 lead; KWU scored three straight and led 24-22; the Coyotes led 25-24 but the Defenders tied it at 25; Wesleyan was at match point five more times before finally closing it out.
 

The Coyotes raced to a 14-4 lead in the third set and Dordt got no closer than five the rest of the way.
 

Trailing 16-14 in the fourth set KWU went on a 6-1 surge and led 20-17. Dordt got within 23-22 but an attack error and block on match point sent the Coyotes across the finish line.
 

"They see the product and result of their hard work and doing things the right way and playing the game the right way," Sahlmann said. "We've got the team that can make some noise if we maintain each other."
 

The Coyotes have four matches next weekend in the Coyote Classic, played in Mabee Arena and Muir Gymnasium. They play Central Christian at 2:30 p.m. and Saint Ambrose at 7 p.m. Friday then play Simpson at noon and Morningside at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.