The Advance

Issue date: 10/1/09 Section: Sports

Kansas Wesleyan played its second home match of the season on Tuesday night, falling in three sets to rival Bethany College-25-20, 25-18, 25-18-at Mabee Arena.
The Coyotes hadn't played at home since the KCAC opener on September 9 against McPherson College.
"It's been awhile since we played at home, and it seemed a little unfamiliar to us at first," KWU coach Fred Aubuchon said. "After we settled down and got things going, we played pretty well overall tonight."
The Coyotes kept pace with Bethany for the first part of the opening set, and took a brief 12-10 lead on a kill by sophomore Jordyn Rahlf before the visitors got began to rally. A kill by Megan Wendell sparked a 7-2 run for the Swedes that game them a 17-14 lead.
Wesleyan didn't give in, instead using a kill by senior Jennifer McConnell to spark a run of four straight, capped by a Tiffany Goetz ace to take a brief 18-17 lead.
Bethany again answered back, rattling off four of the next five points to take a 21-19 lead. Stephanie Wilken put a ball down to get Wesleyan back within a single point, but the Swedes capped the set with four straight points to take the 25-20 win.
Recharged, the Coyotes jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the second set, thanks to back-to-back-to-back kills from Sydnie Abel, Rahlf and Jenna Miller. After a Bethany timeout, the Swedes got three straight kills to get within two at 10-8. Wesleyan held a 13-10 lead before Bethany got on a roll, scoring the next eight points to take an 18-13 lead. The Coyotes could get no closer than 23-18 the rest of the way as the Swedes won set number two 25-18.
Bethany (5-14, 3-2 KCAC) scored four of the first five points in the third set, which proved to be too big of a margin for the Coyotes to overcome. Wesleyan did get within two at 10-8 after trailing 10-4 at one point. Wesleyan hung in with Bethany for a majority of the set, getting within three at one point at 19-16, but Bethany again came on at the end of the set, scoring six of the last eight points to take a 25-18 win in the set.
McConnell led Wesleyan (0-19, 0-5) with eight kills, while Rahlf added five. Abel had 12 assists and Ariana Odegard added 10. Goetz and Faith Ramsey had an ace each, while Goetz added 14 digs. McConnell had two solo blocks and Ramsey added another.
The Coyotes continue their four-match homestand on Thursday, hosting Ottawa University at 7 p.m. inside Mabee Arena. Wesleyan hosts Saint Mary at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and wraps up the homestand a week from tonight with a match against Sterling College at 7 p.m. inside Mabee Arena.

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