Box Score Bigs kills and an ace  serve provided the late drama for the Scots who dropped a three set affair at Dubuque Friday night.

The Scots refused to surrender after  dropping the first two sets to the Spartans. Monmouth stayed within two points in the crucial third set until Dubuque began to inch away. Trailing 19-15, Lauren Sperry's kill sparked the Scots' late surge. Monmouth methodically kept the pressure on and back-to-back kills by Dakota Schmeiderer pulled the Scots within one at 23-22. Three serves later, a Brooke Decker kill knotted the score at 24-all. Bridgett Rayhill then delivered an ace serve to put Monmouth up by one - just a point away from the win, but the Spartans rebounded with three straight points to win the match with a 27-25 Set 3 victory.

Monmouth continues their road trip Tuesday with a 7 p.m. match at Eureka.