Aldrich, Strachan Lead Scots to Sweep of Eureka

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (10/17/2024) — The Monmouth College volleyball team improved to 5-0 at home with a 3-0 sweep of Eureka on Wednesday night. The Fighting Scots (14-8, 3-0) had career-highs in kills from two freshmen en route to a 26-24, 25-17, 25-17 win over the Red Devils.

"It was great to get the win tonight and to win it in three," said head coach Derrick Broekemier. "Different people stepped up for us tonight and carried us and that is a sign of a special team."

The first set went back-and-forth early with the Scots up 6-3 after early ills from Paige Foltz (Vinton, Iowa), Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) and an ace by Layne Wright (Davenport, Iowa). Eureka went on a run to lead 8-7 and they pushed the lead to 12-9. Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) and Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) picked up kills but the Scots called timeout down 20-18. Kills from Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois), Strachan and Aldrich evened the set at 24. Robertson gave Monmouth set point with a kill and Aldrich finished the set with her eighth kill of the night.

The second set was tied 7-7 when Celus went on a run with her serve. By time Eureka got a sideout, the Score was 13-7 as Aldrich and Robertson picked up kills and Celus added an ace. Aldrich and Strachan picked up kills for a 18-12 lead and kills from Wright, Aldrich and Foltz gave the Scots set point.Tyla Mattson (Morton, Illinois) finished off the set with an ace. Aldrich and Strachan combined for 11 kills in the 25-17 set win.

Eureka led the third set 3-2 when Savannah Robinson (Delavan, Illinois) picked up an ace, Kills from Strachan and Celus put Monmouth up 6-4 but Eureka regained the lead. Strachan had two kills in a 6-2 run while Robertson added a block and Foltz had a kill. Monmouth pushed the lead to 17-12 on a kill by Celus and Strachan added another kill. Paige Bergschneider (Alexander, Illinois) had three straight aces for a 21-13 lead. Eureka went on a 3-0 run but Aldrich gave the Scots match point with her 17th kill. The freshman finished off the Red Devils in style with her 18th kill for a 25-17 set win.

"It has been great playing at home," said Broekemier. "Campus can see this is a fun team to watch and we appreciate their support this week and can't wait to see them all here against Cornell and Beloit this weekend.

Aldrich led the Scots with 18 kills while Strachan had 14 and Celus had six. Bergschneider had 23 assists and Mattson had 21. Robinson led the Scots with 17 digs and Wright added 11. Bergschneider had three aces while both Foltz and Robertson had four blocks.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Aldrich had a season-high 18 kills, her previous best was 14 ... The 18 kills are tied for the fourth most in a 3-set match in school history during the rally-scoring era (2001-present).. ... They are the most since Ashley Faris set the school record with 21 on Oct. 17, 2017, also against Eureka ... Aldrich has 10 or more kills in six matches this season ... Strachan's 14 kills are a new season high, surpassing her best of 10 against Heidelberg ... Wright moved past Cathie Osborn for ninth on the career kills list with 928 and she Monmouth is sixth on the career list for those who played exclusively in the rally-scoring era ... The 14 wins match the 2021 team for the most in a season since the 2012 team finished 19-11 ... Monmouth went 2-0 against Eureka this season and they have won 11 in a row against the Red Devils ... Monmouth is 50-15 all-time against Eureka and 16-1 in the last 17 matchups ... The Scots are 5-0 at home this season, the best home start since the 2013 team also started 5-0 at home ... Monmouth returns to MWC action at 7 p.m. Friday at home against Cornell and Senior Day is Saturday at 1 p.m. against Beloit.