The Monmouth College volleyball team beat Grinnell College for the first time in a decade and moved into a tie for second place in the Midwest Conference. The Fighting Scots (11-13, 5-2) won 25-22, 25-22, 25-22 and will secure a return bid to the MWC Tournament with a win at Ripon next Saturday.
“It was a great weekend for us, beating Beloit and Grinnell on the road,” said head coach Hope Neargarder. “We came out and stuck to our game plan and I’m very proud of the fight and howe we played together as a team.”
The opening set had five ties and three lead changes. Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) picked up the first kill before Grinnell went on top 6-3 and 7-4. Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) had two kills but the Pioneers pushed the lead to 12-8. Leah Allan (Oconto, Wisconsin) had an ace and Celus picked up a kill before Bri Woodard (Monmouth, Illinois) added her first kill of the day. A kill by Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) tied the set at 18 and she teamed up with Brynn Hogan (Galena, Missouri) for a block and the lead. Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) had a kill, as did Woodard as Monmouth moved the lead to 23-21. Celus made it 24-22 with a kill and Robertson’s block secured the opening set.
Monmouth opened the second set with a kill from Allan and never trailed. Hogan and Teunis shared a block, Allan served an ace and the Scots ran out to a 6-3 lead. Teunis had an ace, Celus added a kill and Grinnell called timeout down 10-6. Kills by Robertson and Woodard plus blocks from Celus and Teunis kept the Scots up four. Two straight kills by Woodard made it 19-14 and a kill from Aldrich put the Scots up six. The Pioneers clawed back into the set at 22-20 before Robertson had a kill and an ace. Grinnell won the next two points before Aldrich put the Scots up 2-0 with a kill.
Celus gave the Scots a 2-0 lead in the third set with a kill and she added another one before Woodard made it 4-2. Robertson and Woodard shared a block and Celus had two aces for an 8-3 lead. Grinnell rallied to tie the set at 9-9 and Monmouth took a timeout. The Pioneers led 10-9 before Hogan had a kill and Robertson served an ace. Grinnell went on an 8-0 run to lead 20-14 and they were in position to extend the match. Celus delivered a kill and Teunis had two aces to pull the Scots back within one. Robertson’s block tied the set at 20 before Grinnell scored again. Celus tied the set at 21 and Robertson had two straight kills for a 23-21 lead. Woodard made it 24-22 with a kill and Aldrich finished off the sweep with her seventh kill of the match.
Celus led the Scots with 10 kills while Robertson had nine, Aldrich had seven and Woodard had six. Robertson led the way with 17 assists and Hill added 13. Teunis had three aces and five blocks while Nizzia led the Scots with 14 blocks.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Monmouth, Grinnell, Illinois College and Lawrence are all 5-2 and tied for second while Cornell has clinched the regular season title at 7-0 … Grinnell and Cornell play on Wednesday while IC and Lawrence meet on Saturday … Monmouth could finish anywhere from second to fifth depending on those results and tiebreakers … Monmouth last made the MWC Tournament in consecutive seasons when they went three straight from 2010-12 … Celus has 18 matches this season with at least 10 kills, including eight in a row … Teunis recorded her 100th career blockNizzia went over 700 career digs … The Scots had nine aces and just one service error … Robertson hit .750 on the day, the best hitting percentage for a Monmouth player this season … The Scots posted eight blocks … The Scots lead the all-time series against Grinnell 48-25 but the Pioneers had won nine in a row … Grinnell beat the Scots in five in the regular season and in four in the MWC Tournament last year … Monmouth’s last win in the series was in 2015, in IowaThe Scots finish the regular season at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Ripon.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
