Volleyball Drops Season Opener in Wisconsin

Celus leads team in kills and digs

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (08/29/2025) — The Monmouth College volleyball team started their season Friday afternoon at the Marian Invitational in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin with a 25-21, 25-16, 25-20 loss to UW-LaCrosse.

The Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led 5-1 when Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) picked up her first kill of the season. The Scots picked up two points on UWL errors and Celus tied the set at 6-6 with another kill. UWL went on a 10-3 run to lead 16-9 and extended the lead to 18-10 before Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) powered home a kill. Celus and Alana Robertson (Mapleton, Illinois) teamed up for a block and Leah Allan (Oconto, Wisconsin) got her first Monmouth kill. The Eagles led 21-14 when Shea Scott (Keosauqua, Iowa) got a kill and Robertson served for two more points. Celus, Allan and Scott each added kills but UWL held on to win the set 25-21.

The teams traded points early in the second set until UWL won three straight points to lead 7-4. Robertson had a kill and shared a block with Celus but the Eagles extended to a 14-8 lead. Celus and Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) shared another block and Zoe Nizzia (Pekin, Illinois) served Monmouth's first ace of the season. The Eagles led 18-13 when Allan picked up a kill but the Scots couldn't string together a run and the set ended at 25-16.

The third set got off to a great start for the Scots with a kill by Allan, a block by Robertson and a kill from Celus for a 4-2 lead. Allan served up three more points, including a kill by Robertson that led to a UWL timeout at 7-2. Celus pushed the lead to 10-4 with a kill before the Eagles went on a 6-2 run. Celus, Scott and Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) added kills but UWL pulled even at 15. Celus and Teunis both had kills but the Eagles won the race to 20 and Monmouth called timeout down 23-19.

Celus led the Scots with nine kills while Allan and Robertson both had four. Bailey Hill (East Alton, Illinois) led the team with 12 assists and Robertson contributed nine. Nizzia had Monmouth's lone ace while Celus led the team with 16 digs. Robertson and Teunis both had two blocks

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Celus surpassed 400 career kills ... Nizzia (13) and Allan (12) were both in double figures in digs ... The Scots had six team blocks ... The match featured eight ties and four lead changes, three in the final set .... Monmouth hit their best in the opening set with a .049 percent and 10 kills ... Eleven players saw action in the opening match with Allan, a Northland transfer, making her Monmouth debut ... The Scots are 0-3 all-time against UW-Lacrosse including a 3-2 loss last year ... Monmouth plays twice on Saturday with an 11 a.m. match against host Marian and a 3 p.m. game against Benedictine.