Nizzia, Wright Help Scots Past Ripon

Monmouth begins MWC play with a victory

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/30/2023) — The Monmouth College volleyball team began conference play with a 25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 25-15 home win over Ripon on Friday. The Scots have won six matches in a row to improve to 7-9 on the season as they prepare to host Lake Forest on Saturday.

Ripon jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Scots got a sideout on a kill by Zoe Nizzia (Pekin, Illinois). Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) had two aces to even the set and Monmouth took their first lead at 7-6. The teams traded points until Nizzia got a kill and went back to serve. Layne Wright (Davenport, Iowa) had a kill during a 5-0 run and Monmouth took a 14-10 lead. Ripon battled back to pull within one at 16-15 before a service error. Nizzia and Bailey Hill (East Alton, Illinois) had kills and Wright served up an ace for a 20-16 lead. Kenzie Russell (Morton, Illinois) had a kill for a 22-19 lead and another one after a diving save by Savannah Robinson (Delavan, Illinois). Ripon got a sideout, but Wright slammed home a kill for the 25-20 set win.

"We knew coming in we had to be prepared for a win and have good energy and a strong mindset," said head coach Derrick Broekemier. "We got focused after falling behind early and calmed down a bit to go on a run of our own."

The teams traded points early in the second set and a kill from Nizzia gave Monmouth a 5-3 lead. The Scots had early set blocks from Cece Palladino (Volo, Illinois), Amanda Dybal (Apex, North Carolina) and Russell. Robertson and Dybal added kills as Monmouth pushed the lead to 12-9. The Scots kept the pressure up and Ripon used both timeouts in a stretch where the Scots extended the lead to 21-14. Ripon cut the Monmouth lead to four and the Scots called timeout with a 23-19 lead. An error by the Red Hawks gave Monmouth a set point and the Scots finished it off with a kill from Nizzia.

"Zoe is a fighter," said coach Broekemier. "She gives it everything she's got and I'm so glad she had the type of night she had tonight."

Ripon jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third set and Monmouth called timeout down 8-3. A service error gave the Scots a sideout and a kill from Dybal cut the Ripon lead to 10-7. With Wright on the serve, Monmouth cut the lead to one but Ripon won the next two points. After a back-and-forth kept the set at a 2-point Ripon lead, Nizzia powered home another kill. Palladino got a kill to cut the Ripon lead to 17-15 and she slammed home another to tie the set at 17. The set was tied again at 18-18 before Ripon won two scramble points and Monmouth called timeout. A kill from Wright cut the Ripon lead to 22-19 but Ripon answered to go up 24-21 and they closed out the set with a kill.

The Scots got a sideout to start the fourth set and won three straight points on Wright's serve for a 4-0 lead. Ripon cut the lead to two and Palladino had a block and Wright's kill made it 8-4. Wright had another kill and Hill's ace made it 11-5. A block Robertson and Russell, a kill from Wright and another Hill ace led to a Ripon timeout at 14-5. Ri[on scored the next two but Monmouth went on a run through the serving of Wright to take a 17-8 lead. An error by the Red Hawks pushed Monmouth's lead to 20-12. Nizzia's 15th kill of the night gave Monmouth a 21-14 lead and Wright followed with a kill. Palladino's block made it 23-14 and Wright's kill gave the Scots match point. An error from the Red Hawks ended the match as Monmouth won the fourth set 25-15.

"Serve game was tough tonight and something we focused on for this weekend," said Brokemier. "Bailey, Zoe and Layne served really tough tonight to help us."

Nizzia led the Scots with a career-high 15 kills while Wright had 13 kills and Dybal had 10. Hill racked up three aces while both Nizzia and Robertson had two. Palladino led the Scots with three blocks while both Robinson and Wright had 14 digs. Robertson had 26 assists and Hill added 14.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Nizzia hit .353 and Wright hit .314 in the match. Wright had an 14-dig, 13-kill double-double and Nizzia had a 15-kill, 11-dig double-double. Robertson tied her season and career high with 26 assists. Nizzia had a career-high 15 kills. Hill has nine aces in the last three matches. Monmouth has won six matches in a row. Last year they lost at Ripon 3-2 in the MWC finale. The Scots are 3-1 against Ripon in the last four matchups. Monmouth hosts Lake Forest at 1 p.m. Saturday.