Celus Ties Record as Scots Beat Eureka For 10th Straight Time

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill (09/27/2024) — The Monmouth College volleyball team showed resilience to thump Eureka 25-9 in the fourth set and beat the Red Devils 25-22, 25-23, 18-25, 25-9,. With an astonishing 26 kills, freshman Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) tied a 23-year old Monmouth record for kills in a four-set match as the Fighting Scots improved to 9-6 on the season.

"It was a slow start but we continued to fight through it all," said head coach Derrick Broekemier. "We came in with the goal of getting a win and we did that. We were able to get some confidence and momentum heading into Saturday.

Celus slammed home nine kills in the first set as Monmouth rallied to win the set after letting Eureka hang around early. She tied the set 3-3 and kept adding to her totals as the Scots pulled even again at 15. Paige Bergschneider (Alexander, Illinois) served up seven straight points as the Fighting Scots took control at 19-15. Bergschneider had three aces in that run and Celus added another kill. Celus took the serve and Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) had two straight kills for a 23-19 lead. Celus put the set away with her ninth kill for the 25-22 win.

Monmouth rallied again in the second set, trailing by as many as seven at 17-10. Celus started the rally with a kill and the Scots closed the gap with Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) serving. Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) had two kills and Celus added two more before Aldrich gave the Scots a 19-18 lead. Aldrich slammed down another kill and Savannah Robinson (Delavan, Illinois) had an ace for a 22-20 lead. Celus picked up another kill and Monmouth won the set 25-23 on a Red Devils error. Tyla Mattson (Morton, Illinois) had 13 assists in the second set after picking up 16 in the opening set.

Leading two sets to one, Monmouth got Eureka's attention early in the fourth set and never looked back. Layne Wright (Davenport, Iowa) and Celus had kills on the first two points and Celus added three more. Celus had an ace before Wright and Bergschneider had kills for a 9-3 lead.Monmouth took the next four points with two Celus aces and a kill by Wright. Mattson served five straight points after Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) had an ace. Wright, Celus and Strachan had kills for a commanding 19-6 lead. Celus and Teunis had kills for a 24-9 lead and Celus tied the Monmouth kills record in a four-set match with a kill to finish off the Red Devils.

Celus led the way with 26 kills while hitting .500 and picking up three aces. Aldrich had 11 kills while both Wright and Strachan added six. Mattson had a career-high 46 assists and Robinson led Monmouth with 16 digs. Robertson had five blocks, one more than both Paige Foltz (Vinton, Iowa) and Mattson. Bergschneider had four aces to go with four assists.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Celus tied the four-set record for kills set by Jaime Jones on Nov. 3, 2001 against Cornell ... That tally is tied for second in any match during the rally-scoring era, two behind Jones' record of 28 in a five-set match against Millikin in 2001 ... She has at least 21 kills in five straight matches and at leasts 10 kills in 12 of her 13 matches on the season ... Mattson had a career and season-high 46 assists which ranks 12th all-time in four-set matches ... She has at least 23 assists in five straight matches ... Broekemier picked up his 20th career win, matching Judi Ferrier (1974-75) for eighth most in school history ... The 9-6 start for Monmouth matches the best start through 15 matches since the 2010 team was 10-5 ... The 2018 and 2012 teams were also 9-6 after 15 matches ... Only three teams (2002, 2007 and 2010) have had better starts this century ... Monmouth has won 10 straight against Eureka and they are 15-1 in the last 16 played ... The Scots are 49-15 all-time against the Red Devils ... The teams will play again in Monmouth on October 16 ... The Scots travel to Terre Haute, Indiana on Saturday for matches against host Rose-Hulman and Anderson University ... The next home match is against Illinois College on Oct. 11.