The Monmouth College volleyball team split matches on Saturday at the Wisconsin-LaCrosse Invite. The Fighting Scots (3-6) beat Martin Luther 25-13, 25-21, 25-21 in the opening match before falling to St. Scholastica in five sets with a 15-12 decider.
The Scots jumped out to a 4-1 lead with an ace by
Leah Allan (Oconto, Wisconsin) . Two aces from
Zoe Nizzia (Pekin, Illinois) put the Scots up 7-2 and
Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) had the first kill of the match for Monmouth. Celus delivered an ace after a
Brynn Hogan (Galena, Missouri) kill for a 11-4 lead. Allan and
Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) picked up kills and
Bailey Hill (East Alton, Illinois) delivered an ace for a 21-12 lead. Celus had three straight aces to close out the set at 25-13
The Scots fell behind 4-0 in the second set before
Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) had a kill. Monmouth went from 5-1 down to 7-5 up on Nizzia's serve with two aces and a kill by Hogan. The teams traded runs and points until Strachan tied the set at 15 and Celus added an ace. Another Strachan kill made it 18-15, Celus and Allan had aces and a kill from Strachan gave the Scots set point at 24-19. After two points the other way, Hogan's kill finished off the set at 25-21.
Strachan and Teunis had kills early in the third set.
Bri Woodard (Monmouth, Illinois) and
CeCe Palladino (Volo, Illinois) combined on a block and Woodard added a kill to tie the set. With
Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) serving, the Scots pushed the lead to 11-9 and kills from Strachan and Allan extended the lead. MLC tied the set at 18 ,19 and 20 before another Celus ace put the Scots back on top. Woodard had the final three kills to win the set and match.
Strachan led the Scots with seven kills while Allan had six and Celus had five. Robertson led the team with 18 assists while Celus had seven aces. Allan led with 10 digs and Teunis had three blocks.
Vs. St. Scholastica
The Saints jumped out to an early lead before Celus had a kill. Down 9-5, Teunis delivered a kill, as did Robertson. Celus served an ace before Allan added a kill to pull Monmouth within one. Down 16-12, Monmouth won four points in a row to pull even as Celus had three kills in four points. The set was tied at 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 before the Saints won the final three points.
The Scots took control of the second set early with kills from Nizzia and Celus. An ace from Hill plus kills by Celus and Robertson gave Monmouth a 10-6 lead. Allan added a kill as did Strachan before the Saints called timeout. Another ace by Hill pushed the lead to 17-12 and Robertson made it 20-14 with a kill. Strachan and Teunis pushed the lead to 24-16 with kills but the Saints won the next seven points. Teunis finally finished off the set with a kill for a 25-23 win.
The Saints took a 6-0 lead in the third set before a Monmouth timeout. Down 8-3, Woodard, Strachan and Celus had kills.
Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) subbed in and had three straight Monmouth kills and the Scots pulled even at 16 on a block by Woodard and Robertson. The same combo picked up a block for the lead and Aldrich added another kill. Two aces by Hogan put the Scots up 20-17. Kills by Aldrich and Robertson kept Monmouth on top and Celus got a kill for the 25-22 set win.
Monmouth fell behind early in the fourth set with three kills by Teunis plus a block by Teunis and Celus the only points inn a 7-4 deficit. Woodard had a kill and HIll picked up an ace as Monmouth pulled even. Aldrich added a kill but the Scots fell behind 15-10. The Saints pushed the lead to 19-11 before Teunis and Strachan had kills. Celus added one as well but the Saints ont he set 25-16 to force a fifth set.
Allan started the fifth with an ace and Celus added a kill. The Saints took a 4-2 lead and after a kill from Aldrich they won three straight to lead 12-7. Celus had two kills and Allan added one after a timeout. Hill's ace cut the deficit to 14-10 and a block from Woodard and Robertson kept Monmouth alive. The Saints finished off the match with a kill for a 15-12 win.
Celus has 18 kills in the match while Teunis and Aldrich both had nine. Robertson and Hill had 23 assists each while Hill led the team with four aces. Nizzia had 15 digs while both Teunis and Robertson had five blocks.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Celus set a new career-high in aces against Martin Luther and her seven is tied with Karissa Murray (9/16/05) for fourth-most in a 3-set match…The Scots had 15 aces against Martin Luther, tied for 10th most in a 3-set match in school history…Strachan had a season-high seven kills against MLC…Celus had a season-high 18 kills against St. Scholastica…Teunis had a career-high nine kills against St. Scholastica…Hill posted a career-high 23 assists in the second match…The Scots are 1-2 in 5-set matches this season…The Scots had never faced Martin Luther…In their only previous matchup, Monmouth beat St. Scholastica 3-0 in 2023 …The Scots head to Jacksonville, Illinois next Saturday for matches against Kenyon and Nebraska Wesleyan
