The Monmouth College volleyball team had their best season in more than a decade come to a close on Friday night with a 3-1 loss against Grinnell in the Midwest Conference Tournament semifinals. The Fighting Scots (19-11) fell just short of the 20-win plateau but turned in the best season for a Monmouth volleyball team since 2010.
The Scots won the first point of the night through Layne Wright’s (Davenport, Iowa) kill and the teams traded points until Grinnell led 7-5. They pushed the lead to four before Wright had another kill and a block by Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) and Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) closed the gap. Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) picked up a kill and an ace from Savannah Robinson (Delavan, Illinois) cut the Pioneers lead to 14-13. Monmouth tied the set and took the lead on an error before the Pioneers went back on top. Celus and Wright both tied the set again with kills but Grinnell went up 21-19 and traded points to win the set 25-23.
Tyla Mattson (Morton, Illinois) served first in the second set and Monmouth scored the first point. Tied 6-6, Monmouth won three points in a row with two Grinnell errors and a Wright kill. The Scots pushed the lead to 10-8 through Wright’s kill before the Pioneers won the next six points to lead 14-10. Celus ended the run with a kill but Grinnell extended the lead to 19-12. Paige Bergschneider (Alexander, Illinois) delivered an ace but the Pioneers won the set 25-16.
Monmouth opened the third set with a 2-0 lead on a kill and ace by Wright. Grinnell led 6-3 and 9-4 before Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) got a kill. Teunis added a kill as did Wright but the Pioneers led 15-10. Wright served an ace before another kill from Teunis. Celus had a kill as did Wright and Aldrich as Monmouth pulled within two at 22-20. Mattson tied the set at 22 with an ace and the teams traded two points each to tie at 24. Tied at 25, Celus got a kill for set point and Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) finished off the set with a kill.
Mattson started the fourth set with an ace and the teams traded points with multiple early ties. Monmouth led 12-11 off a kill by Celus before the Pioneers won five points in a row. After a timeout, Strachan got a kill but Grinnell won the next two to lead 18-13. Monmouth pulled within two at 20-18 on two Grinnell errors and a block by Teunis and Wright. A kill by Wright made it a one-point set but Grinnell won the next three to lead 23-19. An error gave Grinnell match point and after a Monmouth timeout, the Pioneers won the match with a kill.
Wright led the Scots with 12 kills while Celus had nine and Teunis had six. Mattson had 20 assists with Bergschneider adding 15. Mattson, Robinson and Wright all had two aces. Robinson led with 30 digs while Teunis had six blocks.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Wright finishes with 1012 career kills and 156 aces which rank seventh and fourth all-time respectively…She is also eighth on the single-season list with 63 aces…Bergschneider finished with 1778 assists, sixth in Monmouth history…Robinson finished with 1291 digs, 10th in MC history…With 398 kills, Celus is ninth on the single-season list…Mattson posted 630 assists, 17th on the single-season list…Robinson surpassed her career high in digs (459) with 465 which ranks 17th in the rally era for a single season…Grinnell has won nine straight in the series including a 5-setter last Saturday…The 19-11 record matches the 2012 team for the best record since the 2010 regular season champion team won 20 games…Robinson, Wright, Celus and the injured Paige Foltz (Vinton, Iowa) were honored as All-Conference selections along with the coaching staff of Derrick Broekemier, Kaylee Woodard, Tim Blaser and Kendall Lewis.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
