The Monmouth College volleyball team finished their home schedule with a resounding sweep of Knox on Wednesday night. The Fighting Scots (8-12, 2-2) didn't trail over the first two sets for a 25-8, 25-11, 25-17 victory. 

"I thought we came out and played well, especially for our last home game," said head coach Hope Neargarder. "Our defense played very disciplined and our serving threw them out of system."

Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) powered home the opening kill off a long rally and with Brynn Hogan (Galena, Missouri) serving the Scots jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Celus had another kill and 
Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) served an ace. Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) had a pair of kills and Celus served an ace as the lead grew to 11-2. The run kept going with kills from Shea Scott (Keosauqua, Iowa) and Celus plus a Knox error. A second Celus ace during the 9-0 run forced Knox's second timeout. Strachan powered down another kill as the Scots pushed the lead to 18-4 before Knox won back-to-back points for the first time. Hogan added a kill for a 21-6 lead and she shared a block with Teunis before Knox won two points. Hogan and Strachan added kills and Knox hit the ball out to finish the set at 25-8. 

"It really helped us offensively with three or four players scoring," said Neargarder. "The atmosphere was great for our final home game."

With Leah Allan (Oconto, Wisconsin) serving, Celus started the second set with a kill and a kill by Teunis made it 3-1. The teams traded points with Celus and Scott keeping Monmouth on top 8-5. Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) made it 10-5 with a block and her first kill of the night put the Scots up 11-5. Teunis added a block in a 3-0 run and Knox called timeout down 15-8. Celus made it 17-8 with a kill and Strachan added consecutive kills for a 20-10 lead. Celus and Teunis added kills and Strachan made it 23-10 with her fourth kill of the set. Hogan served an ace for set point and Celus finished off the set at 25-11.

"It was about mixing up the shots tonight and going with a cross, tipping or hitting lines," said Chloe Strachan. "Trying to switch it up and keep the defense on their toes was key."

Knox took their first lead of the night at 1-0 in the third set. Celus had a kill before the Scots used a handful of subs. The Prairie Fire built a 7-3 lead and Robertson responded with a kill. The Scots regained the lead and pushed it to 10-8 with a kill by Bri Woodard (Monmouth, Illinois). Zoe Nizzia (Pekin, Illinois) kept a point alive with a diving dig and Woodard powered down another kill. Celus had a kill to reach double figures and an ace from Teunis made it 18-12. Celus had another kill and the Scots went up 20-14 on a Knox error. Woodard had two more kills for a 22-16 lead. Woodard's seventh kill of the set made it 23-17 and Celus set up match point with her 12th kill. Teunis finished off the match with a kill down the middle for a 25-17 win. 

"For the last home game of the season to have the pep band here, all these fans were just awesome and a great way to go out," said senior Alana Robertson. "The defense was super important tonight, not letting the ball drop."

Celus led the Scots with 12 kills while Strachan had nine and Woodard added seven. Robertson led the Scots with 16 assists and Bailey Hill (East Alton, Illinois) had 10. Robertson also led with 13 digs while Nizzia added 10. Celus and Teunis had two aces each and Teunis also added four blocks. 

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Celus has 15 matches this season with at least 10 kills, including four in a row…She has at least nine kills in her last 11 matches and at least 12 in four straight…Strachan hit .500, the best percentage for a Monmouth player with at least 15 attempts in a match since Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) hit .524 against Elmhurst…The Scots hit .344 as a team, the best percentage of the season…Strachan had five kills and hit .714 in the first set…Monmouth hit .438 in the first set and went 7-for-9 in sideout chances…Celus had five kills in the second set and Strachan had four as Monmouth hit .364…Woodard had seven kills in the third set on eight attempts…Robertson is fourth on the career list for solo blocks in the rally scoring era…The match had just one lead change, in the third set…The Scots have won eight in a row against Knox dating back to Oct. 27, 2017…The last six have been 3-0 sweeps…The Scots lead the all-time series 72-27…The Scots went 3-4 at home this season…Monmouth plays their final five regular season matches on the road, including four in conference play…The Scots head to Jacksonville, Ill. on Saturday for a Noon conference matchup against Illinois College and a non-conference game against Wisconsin-Platteville at 2 p.m.