Volleyball Falls at Wisconsin Lutheran on Friday
MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/07/2024) — The Monmouth College volleyball team lost to tournament host Wisconsin Lutheran 25-20, 25-22, 25-17 on Friday night . The match was the first of three for the Scots at the WLC Quadrangular in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Warriors jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first set. After Monmouth got a side out, the deficit grew to six before Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) got a kill. The teams traded points and Layne Wright (Davenport, Iowa) got a kill as WLC led 10-7. Neither team strung together a run until Lauren Aldrich (Wauconda, Illinois) got a kill and split a block with Paige Foltz (Vinton, Iowa) to cut the deficit to two. Foltz had an ace and Monmouth pulled even at 13 on an error by the Warriors. Celus ended a 3-0 WLC run with a kill but the hosts responded to lead 19-14. Wright delivered a kill to get within four at 21-17 but the Warriors finished off the set to win 25-20.
The teams traded points early in the second set until WLC won two in a row to lead 5-3. A kill by Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) got the Scots back on serve but the Warriors won two more to lead 7-4. Still down three, the Scots rallied to tie the set at 13 on a kill by Strachan and two from Wright. Another kill by Wright gave the Scots a lead and they built the lead to 17-15. Still up two at 20-18, the Scots lost two straight points and the set was tied at 20 and 21. The Warriors won four of the final five points to take the set 25-22.
The Warriors jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the third set and pushed the lead to 12-4. Strachan got a kill as did Wright but WLC maintained an 8-point lead at 18-10. Savannah Robinson (Delavan, Illinois) got an ace but Monmouth couldn't go on a run as the Warriors won the set 25-17.
Wright led the Scots with eight kills while Aldrich had seven. Mattson led the team with 15 assists, Robinson and Wright shared the team lead with nine digs.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Monmouth had just three aces in the match with eight service errors ... The Scots had four blocks ... Strachan and Celus both had five kills ... Wright led the Scots with 9.5 points ... The Scots play twice in Milwaukee on Saturday ... They face Dubuque at 10 a.m. and Wheaton at Noon ... The home opener is Friday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. against Westminster as part of the Monmouth College Invitational.