Scots Fall to Coe in Straight Sets

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/30/2026) — The Monmouth College volleyball team returned home but fell to Coe College (5-10) in three sets on Tuesday. The Fighting Scots (3-10) head into Midwest Conference play this weekend in Wisconsin.

Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) tied the first set with a kill before Coe took a 4-2 lead. Monmouth won four points in a row on the serve of Isa Hughes (Chicago, Illinois) and the teams traded points with ties at 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7 and 8-8, Coe won five points in a row before Monmouth called time out and Brianna Carden (Pecatonica, Illinois) ended the run with a kill. An ace by Tayler Raska (Galesburg, Illinois) and two kills by Celus pulled the Scots within one. A kill by Bri Woodard (Monmouth, Illinois) and a Coe error tied the set at 17. Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) had a kill but Coe pushed the lead to 22-19. The visitors led 24-20 on an ace before a block by Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) and Abby Viano (Braidwood, Illinois) kept the set alive. Two kills by Celus and a block by Celus and Teunis gave the Scots a 25-24 lead and set point. Coe tied the set and took a 26-25 lead before a service error tied the set again. Monmouth served for the lead but two straight kills gave Coe the set at 28-25. Celus finished the opening set with five kills.

Strachan and Viano blocked the first two points of the second set and Raska served an ace for the 3-0 lead. Coe won the next 10 points and pushed the lead to 12-4 before Celus got a kill. Coe led 15-7 when Teunis picked up a kill. Kills by Strachan and Mattson made it 18-11 but Coe took the next two points and forced a Monmouth timeout. Celus had a kill as did Teunis to pull the Scots within eight at 22-14. Hughes served an ace for 22-17 but Coe had a block to get back on serve. A Coe ace led to set point but the Scots scrambled to win two points in a row. Kills by Teunis and Woodard made it 24-20 before Coe finished off the set.

Celus had two kills to start the third set and added another for a 3-1 lead. The teams traded points until Coe went up 8-5. Kills by Woodard and Celus and a block shared by Viano and Celus cut the Kohawks lead to 11-9. Coe pushed the lead to 17-12 before two kills by Carden,. Celus had another kill and a Coe error cut their lead to 20-18. The Kohawks rallied to win the next three points before a kill by Teunis. The teams traded points before Monmouth staved off two match points. Coe called timeout but Woodard and Teunis shared a block. Celus served an ace to make it 24-23 and Coe called their final timeout. Woodard tied the set at 24 but Coe got a side out and served for the match, winning 26-24 on a kill off an overhit service return.

Celus led the way with 16 kills while Woodard added seven and Teunis had five. Celus also led the team with 12 digs. Mattson had a team-leading 13 assists, one more than Hughes. Raska had two aces and Strachan led the team with four blocks.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Celus has at least 10 kills in eight of the last nine matches ... The 16 kills tied her season-high in a 3-set match... The Scots are 1-8 in 3-set matches ... Coe had five aces while Monmouth had four ... The Scots had nine service errors ... Monmouth out blocked Coe 6-2 ... The first set had 11 ties and four lead changes but the next two sets only had one lead change each ... The teams had not met since 2019 and hadn't faced off in Glennie Gym since 2011 ... Coe leads the all-time series 29-21 with four straight wins ... The Scots play at Ripon on Friday with a 7 p.m. start ... The next home game is Friday, October 9 against Illinois College.

Media Attachments

MC_COE_VB_92926.PDF

box score

Monmouth College

Scots Fall to Coe in Straight Sets

Media Attachments

Monmouth College

Share this Story

Recent News