Box Score The Monmouth College volleyball team avenged a loss from last season with a 5-set win over event host Wisconsin Lutheran on Friday night. The Scots (2-2) won the match 25-19, 22-25, 25-17, 20-25, 15-4.
"I'm proud of how we came out and played our game from the beginning," said head coach
Hope Neargarder. "We had our ups and downs but we pulled it together as one and finished strong."
Leah Allan (Oconto, Wisconsin) started the match with a kill and
Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) added a kill before the Warriors won three straight points to lead 4-2. Reigning MWC Defensive Performer of the Week
Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois and
Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) teamed up for a block before Celus and
Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) added another block. Down three,
Brynn Hogan (Galena, Missouri) served up an ace and the Scots regained the lead 10-9 on a kill by Allan. Celus had a kill before the Warriors used a 3-0 run to take a 14-12 lead. Out of a timeout, Monmouth went on a 5-0 run with kills from Strachan, Celus,and Hogan. An ace by
Zoe Nizzia (Pekin, Illinois) put Monmouth up 17-14 and a block by Hogan and Teunis added another point. Allan put the Scots up 21-16 with a kill and she added another to stop a Warriors run. Strachan finished off the set at 25-19 with a kill.
The hosts grabbed an early lead in the second set before a kill by Celus and an ace from Hogan evened the set. Robertson and Allan had kills but WLC went on a 7-1 run to lead 15-9. Celsius and Allan put away kills and a block by Strachan and Robertson pulled Monmouth within three at 18-15. WLC went ahead 24-18 before Allan and Hogan got kills but the hosts won the set at 25-22.
Monmouth got off to a perfect start in the third set with a 6-0 lead.
Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) had a kill to start the set and Celus added another one. Allan served three straight aces before a WLC error made it 6-0. Up 8-4, Celus, Strachan and Teunis each delivered kills. Strachan and Teunis had kills as the Scots maintained a 6-point lead before Allan made it 17-10 with a kill. Aldrich had a kill and Celus had two straight for a 20-13 lead before Robertson added an ace. Aldrich put away set point for a 25-17 set win and a 2-1 lead.
Allan's kill started the fourth set and
Bailey Hill (East Alton, Illinois) served up an ace. The Warriors went on a 3-0 run to tie the set before Allan made it 5-4 with a kill. Celus had two straight kills for an 8-6 lead and Allan joined her in the double-digit kill club for a 10-8 lead. The Warriors won the next four points to lead 12-10 and Monmouth called timeout. The hosts pushed the lead to 14-10 and 15-11 before Robertson had a kill. The Scots took their final timeout down 18-12 and got a side out but couldn't get a run going. Celus had a kill to cut the deficit back to five but WLC got a kill for a 20-14 lead. Monmouth won the next two points as Strachan and Teunis teamed up for a block. The Warriors responded to take a 24-16 lead before the Scots went on a run with Nizzia serving. Aldrich had a kill but WLC won the set 25-20 to force a fifth.
WLC won the first point of the fifth set before Aldrich had a kill and Allan added an ace. Celus had a kill and Aldrich served up two aces for a 6-2 lead. WLC called timeout and got a point before Celus delivered another kill and Robertson served an ace. Celus had a kill, Strachan and Teunis shared a block and the Scots pushed the lead to 13-4. Allan picked up another kill for match point and Celus secured the win with an ace
Celus led the Scots with 16 kills while Allan had 12. Hill had 21 assists and Robertson had 17. Allan led the Scots with four aces while she and Nizzia both had 21 digs. Teunis led Monmouth with five blocks.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Allan posted a season-high in kills (12), digs (21) and aces (4)...She had a career-high 15 kills, 25 digs and four aces last year playing at Northland…Hill tied her season and career highs in assists…Teunis tied her career high with five blocks…Monmouth has already played two 5-set matches this season going 1-1…The Scots are 4-3 all-time against WLC, ending a three match losing streak…The Warriors won the matchup 3-0 in the same tournament last year…Monmouth will face former MWC rival St. Norbert at 10 a.m. Saturday.
