Coyotes sweep Eastern Wyoming at nationals

Weatherford College swept Eastern Wyoming College on the second day of the NJCAA Division I National Volleyball Tournament Thursday in Clarksville, Tennessee. 

"We came out with a lot more confidence," said Kailee May, comparing the match to the previous day's first-round loss to Utah State University Eastern. "There's a little bit less pressure on this match, and I just told them we needed to have fun. They did a good job." 

Weatherford (30-8) enjoyed a run early in the first set, building a 10-5 lead. But the Lancers (26-11) tied it up 15-15 and then again at 20-20 before the Coyotes claimed a 25-23 win. The score was tied seven times. 

The second set was a battle, with multiple marathon points and three lead changes. Eastern Wyoming took their first lead late in the set at 26-25 and was one point away from winning the set on two separate occasions. But the Coyotes pulled away late, 28-26. 

"It was a defensive battle on both sides," May said. "It was really just grinding out the ugliness of the offense and finding some very small opportunities to score until the end." 

Weatherford dominated the third set, winning 25-18. The Coyotes had a 10-point lead at one point, never trailed and had no hitting errors. 

At the end of the match, WC had no one in double-figures in the kills category, a fact that May attributed to Weatherford being more balanced on offense. Sophomores Abby Hellman (9 kills) and Presleigh Roest (8 kills, .400 hitting percentage) led the way. 

Lorena Gomez turned in 19 assists and Victoria Sanchez added 13. Kiana Souza had 16 digs; Weronika Urbanska had 11 and Abby Morris had 10. 

WC is the nine seed and Eastern Wyoming the 16.  

The Coyotes will face 12 seed Trinity Valley Community College on Friday at 1 p.m. in the Dunn Center on the campus of Austin Peay State University.