Monmouth College sophomore Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) was named Midwest Conference Player of the Year on Thursday, the first ever Fighting Scots player to be named volleyball POY. Celus was also named to the MWC First Team while senior Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) was named Second Team. 

"I am very proud of both Kaylee and Alana." said head coach Hope Neargarder. "They have been great leaders on and off the court this year for our team."

Celus led the conference in kills, points and kills per set for MWC matches. In the eight conference games she had 124 points, 109 kills, 3.63 kills per set and hit .265. The Scots were 6-2 in those games and finished in a tie for second in the conference standings. Celus had 20 kills in 3-0 win over Beloit on Oct. 31, the most kills by a MWC player in a conference match this season. 

"Kaylee deserves these awards and I could not be more proud of her." said Neargarder. "She has shown game after game how powerful of a player she is in both front row to back row. She is one of the smartest and most determined players I have coached and I have loved watching her grow even more as a player and leader." 

Overall this year, Celus enters the MWC Tournament with 324 kills, 40 aces, 386 points and a .227 hitting percentage. She has more kills than any other player in the MWC this season and ranks in the top 50 nationally for attacks and attacks per set. 

Celus is the first Monmouth player to be named Midwest Conference Player of the Year since the award began in 1999. She was also a MWC First Team selection last year and is the 10th player in MC history to make a First Team in consecutive seasons. Four players have three career selections and M Club Hall of Famer Jamie Jones '02 was a MWC First Team selection in all four seasons. 

With 722 career kills, 85 aces, 93 blocks and a .357 hitting percentage, Celus is closing in on top 10 career milestones in multiple categories. 

Robertson ranks in the top 10 in MWC play for assists per game, hitting percentage and blocks per game. She was twice named MWC Performer of the Week this season and recorded one of only two triple-doubles by a MWC player this season. Robertson played as both a middle and a setter this season and filled the stat sheet with 119 kills, 451 assists, 23 aces, 214 digs and 57 blocks. She hit .223 and posted season career-highs in kills, assists, aces, digs and blocks. 

"Alana took a big and different role foS the team this year due to some injuries we faced early in the season," said coach Neargarder. "She took this role head on and has done a great job for us. Whether it is running the offense by feeding other hitters or being a force offensively herself she has done it all." 

Robertson had a career-high 15 kills and a career-high 14 digs on Sept. 20 when she added 23 assists for a rare triple-double against Kenyon. She had a career-best 30 assists on Oct. 18 against Lawrence and posted career highs in blocks (8) and aces (3) against Webster on Oct. 15. 

The Scots have had multiple players named to the All-Conference teams for two straight years. The Scots are the No. 3 seed in this weekend's Midwest Conference Tournament and will face No. 2 Lawrence in the first semifinal at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The winner will face either host Cornell or Illinois College at 1 p.m. on Saturday with a bid for the NCAA Tournament on the line.