The Monmouth College volleyball team returned home after eight straight matches on the road but fell 3-1 in a non-conference tilt against Central on Thursday night. The Fighting Scots (5-10) start conference play on Friday against Cornell.
Brynn Hogan (Galena, Missouri) had a kill on the first point of the night but Central took control of the set with seven straight points. The led 15-5 and went on to win the set 25-10 with
Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) picking up two kills for Monmouth.
The Scots got off to a great start in the second set as Celus powered home a kill for the lead. Kills by
Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) and
Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) gave the Scots a 5-4 lead, With
Zoe Nizzia (Pekin, Illinois) serving, Monmouth ran off eight straight points.
Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) had a kill, Nizzia had an ace and Robertson accounted for three points with two kills and a block. Central went on a run of their own before Hogan and Teunis had kills. Celus had two straight kills for a 19-14 lead and
Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) added a kill. Aldrich powered home a kill and then put the set away at 25-19 with her third kill of the set.
Teunis and Celus had kills early in the third set and
Bailey Hill (East Alton, Illinois) served an ace as the teams traded points. Neither team led by more than two in the set until Central went up 9-6 After they scored again, Robertson had a kill and the Scots closed the gap to 10-8. Central won four straight before an Aldrich kill and Celus made it 14-10 with a kill. Central pushed the lead to 17-10, then 20-12. Strachan had a kill before the Dutch won three straight points to take the set 25-16.
Celus started the fourth set with a kill but the Dutch jumped out to a 10-4 lead. Aldrich had a kill before the visitors pushed the lead to 13-6 and forced a Monmouth timeout. Aldrich had another kill, Robertson served two aces and Hogan had a block in a 4-0 Monmouth run. The teams traded points as Celus picked up her 10th kill of the night to pull the Scots within two. Strachan had two kills and a Celus ace tied the set at 17. Central scored four in a row, two on aces before Robertson had a block. The Scots pulled within two on kills by Robertson and Teunis and a block by Teunis and Robertson but Central closed out the match at 25-22.
Celus led the Scots with 10 kills while Aldrich had six. Robertson led Monmouth with three blocks, 15 assists and two aces while Nizzia led the team with 17 digs.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Monmouth last played at home on Sept. 10…This is the first match in a 6-game home stretch in a 13-day span with the next road game coming on Oct. 25…The Scots hit .310 in the second set…The match had 13 ties and six lead changes…Five Monmouth players had at least four kills…With three solo blocks, Robertson moved into sixth on the MC career list in the rally-scoring era with 49…The Scots are 2-15 all-time against Central and the teams last met in 2023, a 3-0 Dutch wint…Monmouth starts conference play on Friday with a 7 p.m. home match against Cornell.
