Monmouth Volleyball Swept at Lawrence on Saturday

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (10/03/2026) — The Monmouth College volleyball team lost 3-0 at Lawrence on Saturday in Midwest Conference action. The Fighting Scots (4-11, 1-1) fell to the Vikings (10-6, 2-0) 25-14, 25-14, 26-24.

Lawrence started the match with two points before Abby Viano (Braidwood, Illinois) had a block. Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) had two kills and an ace as the Vikings lead was cut to 7-5. Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) had a kill and Monmouth pulled even at 7-7 but Lawrence won the next three points. Viano and Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) had kills as the Vikings pushed the lead to 16-10. After a kill by Celus, Lawrence extended the lead to 21-12 and finished off the set at 25-14.

Celus had an early kill and Monmouth jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second set. Kills from Strachan and Celus kept the lead at 5-3 and kills by Teunis and Bri Woodard (Monmouth, Illinois) made it 7-4. Monmouth led 8-5 before Lawrence won eight straight points to take control of the set. A service error finally ended the run but then Lawrence won the next seven points to lead 20-9 in a 15-1 extended run. Strachan and Viano combined on a block before Celus added a kill. An ace by Celus and a Woodard kill pulled the Scots within nine but the Vikings won the next two points to take the set 25-14.

Kills by Celus and Strachan plus a block from Woodard and Teunis gave Monmouth a 3-2 lead in the third set. Woodard and Viano shared a block for a 6-3 lead and Strachan joined Viano for a block and an 8-5 lead. Celus had a kill before Lawrence pulled even at 13 and then took a lead. Viano's kill tied the set at 15 and she shared a block with Celus to put the Scots back on top. Tayler Raska (Galesburg, Illinois) served an ace for a 17-15 lead but the Vikings won the next three points to go back on top. Tyla Mattson (Morton, Illinois) set up Strachan for a kill to even the set and then assisted Teunis for a 19-18 lead. Celus had a kill and Teunis added a block for a 21-19 lead. Isa Hughes (Chicago, Illinois) put the Scots up three with a kill and the Vikings called timeout down 23-20. Woodard made it 24-20 with a kill but Lawrence saved four straight set points to pull even. An ace put the Vikings on top and the finished the match with a kill, winning the final six points.

Celus led the Scots with 10 kills while Strachan was next with four. Hughes had 11 assists and Mattson added eight. Celus also led the Scots with 11 digs while Mattson and Kami Barth (Washington, Illinois) both had seven. Viano led the team with five blocks while Celus had two aces.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Celus has at least 10 kills in 10 of the last 11 matches ... Monmouth had kills from six different players ... The Scots had seven blocks to just two by the Vikings ... The match had 13 ties and seven lead changes, mostly in the third set ... Lawrence hit .305 and Monmouth hit .075 ... Monmouth leads the all-time series 23-13 but Lawrence won both matchups last season, 3-2 in Monmouth and 3-0 at the MWC Tournament ... The Scots return home for a 7 p.m. game Friday against Illinois College.