Scots Rally Past Webster in Four Sets on Wednesday

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (10/16/2025) — After dropping the first set, the Monmouth College volleyball rallied to beat Webster in four sets at home on Wednesday. The Fighting Scots (6-11) controlled the net and won the match 18-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-21,

"Really important to get a win tonight and the girls came out and played well, playing together," said coach Hope Neargarder. "This sets the tone for us on a busy weekend in conference play."

Brynn Hogan (Galena, Missouri) had Monmouth's first kill and the teams traded points early until Webster extended to a 7-3 lead. Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) had two kills and Bailey Hill (East Alton, Illinois) served an ace as Monmouth pulled even at 8-8. Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) and Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) had kills and Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) added three as the set remained tied through 13-13. Webster won the next two and pushed the lead to 17-14 when Celus powered down another kill. Strachan and Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) shared a block but Webster maintained the lead at 17-16. They won the next six points and finished off the set at 25-18.

The Scots jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set with a kill by Teunis and a block by Teunis and Aldrich. Webster pulled within one and Celus had three straight kills before a block by Teunis and Strachan made it 9-4. Celus stayed on the attack for three more kills and the Scots ran the lead up to six points at 17-11. The Gorlocks won two points in a row before Celus got two more kills for a 20-15 lead. Robertson had two kills and a block while Celus picked up her ninth kill of the set. Robertson finished off the set with a kill right down the middle for a 25-16 set win.

"We fed Kaylee and they couldn't stop her," said Neargarder. "Alana is the glue to our team as she plays calm and has been big for us all year. Then Bri came off the bench and really played well to secure the match."

Celus stayed on a roll with a kill early in the third set before Strachan and Teunis shared a block. A block by Celus and Robertson kept Monmouth within one and Robertson added a kill. Webster pushed the lead to three as Celus had an ace before a kill by Aldrich cut the lead to 9-7. An ace from senior Leah Allan (Oconto, Wisconsin) tied the set at 10 and Bri Woodard (Monmouth, Illinois) put the Scots on top with a kill. A kill and block by Celus pushed the lead to three and a kill by Strachan kept the Scots up 14-12 .Kills by Aldrich by Woodard forced a Webster timeout at 18-15 and Woodard added another kill for a 4-point lead. Robertson and Woodard kept the run going with kills and Webster called another timeout after an ace by Robertson. Woodard powered down another kill and Robertson had two straight aces to finish the set at 25-16.

"Everyone clicked today," said Celus. "The passes were great and set up the hitters throughout the match. We really wanted this match and we knew we had to come out strong in the second set. We worked out the jitters and played our game."

Down 2-1 early in the fourth, Monmouth won eight points in a row. Strachan started the run with a kill and partnered Robertson on a block. Robertson had a solo block and Celus served three aces before Webster called timeout down 9-2. The visitors went on a run of their own, scoring six of the next seven points and forcing a Monmouth timeout. The Gorlocks kept the run going with three more points to tie the set before Robertson got a kill. Woodard picked up a kill and Monmouth pushed the lead to 15-12 on a block by Teunis and Celus. Webster won three in a row for a tie before Strachan had a kill. The teams traded points until the Scots won two in a row to lead 20-17. Woodard picked up another kill for a 21-17 lead and Webster used their final timeout. Aldrich had a kill, Robertson had a block and a Webster error set up match point. Aldrich put the match away with her seventh kill for a 25-21 set win.

Celus led the way with 15 kills while Aldrich, Woodard and Robertson all had seven. Robertson had 18 assists while Hill had 15. Robertson had a career-high eight blocks, Strachan and Teunis had six blocks each and Zoe NIzzia (Pekin, Illinois) led the team with 20 digs. Celus had four aces one more than Robertson.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Celus went over 200 kills on the season and 600 for her career ... She had nine kills in the second set ... Celus has seven matches this season with at least 15 kills and 12 with at least 10 ... Woodard had five kills in the third setLed by Robertson with three, Monmouth served up five aces in the third set ... The Scots finished with nine aces ... Monmouth had a season-best 14 blocks ... Monmouth leads the all-time series 7-4 with four straight wins ... The Scots won in St. Louis 3-1 last year ... The Scots are home at 7 p.m. Friday against Lake Forest ... Friday is Senior Night.