The Monmouth College volleyball team lost a close 4-set match against Wisconsin-Superior on Friday night at the UW LaCrosse Invitational. The Yellowjackets won the match 25- 21, 18-25, 26-24, 26-24.
Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) had Monmouth's first kill and
Zoe Nizzia (Pekin, Illinois) served an ace for a 4-3 lead. Celus added another kill as did
Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) but neither team led by more than two through the first 24 points. Celus and
Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) had kills before
Leah Allan's (Oconto, Wisconsin) ace turned a 14-11 deficit into a 16-14 Monmouth lead. Nizzia delivered three aces in a row for a 20-17 lead before UWS called timeout. They won eight of the next nine points to take the set 25-21.
Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) had the first kill of the second set for the Fighting Scots before kills from Celus and Allan tied the set.
Brynn Hogan (Galena, Missouri) and Allan put the Scots on top but UWS responded for an 11-8 lead. Strachan and Teunis combined on a block before kills from Celus and Teunis gave Monmouth a 15-12 lead. A kill by
Bailey Hill (East Alton, Illinois) put the Scots up 18-16 and Strachan added another kill. Celus, Allan and Robertson got the Scots to set point and Hogan finished off a 25-17 win with an ace.
The Scots jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the third set and appeared poised to take control of the match. Celus had a block and two kills in the opening stretch while Strachan added a block. Two more kills from Celus had Monmouth up 8-3 but the Yellowjackets won the next six points to lead 9-8. The set was tied at 9, 10, 11 and 12 before a kill from Teunis and two errors put the Scots up 17-13. However, UWS rattled off seven straight points to lead 20-17 before a Monmouth timeout. Two kills from Celus, one by Hogan and an ace from Hill tied the set at 22. Robertson gave Monmouth a 23-22 lead with a kill before UWS tied it again. Celus put the Scots up 24-23 with a kill but UWS won the next three points to win the set 26-24.
Celus had the first Monmouth kill of the fourth set and she rattled off three straight on serve for an 8-6 lead.
Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) had a kill as did Robertson for an 11-9 lead. The set was tied at 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 before kills from Celus and Hogan put Monmouth up by two. UWS responded for ties at 17, 18, 19 and 20. Teunis had a kill and a block for a 22-20 lead before UWS called timeout. They rallied to lead 24-23 before a service error tied the set. The Yellowjackets won the final two points to win the set 26-24 and take the match.
Celus led the Scots with 16 kills while Robertson had seven. Nizzia had four aces and led the Scots with 23 digs. Robertson had 19 assists while Hill added 16. Teunis led the Scots with five blocks.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Celus tied her season high with 16 kills…Hogan set a new career high with six kills…Nizzia's 23 digs are a season and career best…She also tied her career high with four aces…The match had 41 ties and 23 lead changes…Each set except the second had at least nine ties and seven lead changes…The fourth set had the most of both with 16 ties and eight lead changes…The Scots and Yellowjackets have only met one time before Friday with Monmouth winning 3-0 in 2023…The Scots have two games in the tournament on Saturday with a 9 a.m. match against Martin Luther and a 1 p.m. meeting with St. Scholastica.
