Wildcats Fall at Kansas Wesleyan, 3-1 in Non-Conference Finale

SALINA, Kan. - Coming in with a 7-1 record against non-Heart teams, Baker dropped a four-set match at Kansas Wesleyan on Tuesday night in the final non-conference game for BU this year.

The Coyotes won back-to-back sets (25-12, 25-17) to start the match before the Wildcats extended things with a 25-20 win in set three. KWU secured its home victory with a 25-19 win in the fourth set.

Aby Widhalm led Baker's attack with 19 kills on a .244 hitting percentage and totaled six blocks, while Kylie Murray added seven kills and a pair of aces. Alyssa Champane recorded a season-high 14 assists and Emma Grossoehme was one of three Wildcats with double-digit digs with 17 from her, plus 16 apiece from Widhalm and Kate Reese.

The match began with both teams exchanging points in the opening set with a kill by Kaitlyn Stout keeping things tied at 5-5. After KWU started to pull ahead, an ace by Murray made it a four-point game. The Coyotes closed out the set on an 11-2 run to take a commanding set one win, 25-12.

Five of the first six points for BU in set two were scored by Widhalm, who pounded out four kills along with a solo block. With Baker leading 6-1, the Coyotes climbed back to tie the set as it stayed that way through the midway stretch of the frame. Meredith Brown's kill to bring the 'Cats within one was followed by another devastating run by KWU with the hosts going on a 9-2 spurt to take the second set, 25-17.

Set three was a back-and-forth battle with neither side leading by more than two points until BU took a 20-17 lead late into the set. Grace Wood had back-to-back aces early on, while Murray and Widhalm combined to have eight kills in the third. Baker finished off the set by winning five of the final eight points to take it by a score of 25-20.

Murray and Emma Grossoehme each fired off an ace early in the fourth set with Grossoehme's making it an 8-8 tie. KWU started to gain a three-point advantage before kills by Murray and Brie Reedy made it a one-point ballgame. An attack from Stout kept the Wildcats in it at 20-19, but the Coyotes finished off the night with five unanswered points to claim the non-conference match.

The Wildcats began the 2024 regular season by winning seven of their first eight matches with non-conference victories over a handful of other teams from the KCAC in Friends, Tabor (twice), Bethany (twice) and Southwestern. KWU joined Friends as the only squad to defeat BU in the non-conference slate this season.

Baker gets back into Heart of America action with back-to-back road matches this weekend, beginning with a showdown at Graceland on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. in Lamoni, Iowa.

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