Volleyball Falls to Franklin on Saturday

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/19/2026) — The Monmouth College volleyball team were swept by Franklin (IN) College in the final march of the Millikin Invite on Saturday. The Fighting Scots (3-8) fell 25-17, 25-23, 25-18.

The first set didn't feature any ties or lead changes as the Grizzlies jumped out to a 4-0 lead. After leading 7-4, the Grizzlies never let the Scots get closer than three the rest of the set.
Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) had five kills in the first set while Bri Woodard (Monmouth, Illinois) and Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) each had one. Teunis and Celus also both served an ace in the opening set.

Monmouth led 5-4 in the second set before the Grizzlies went on a 6-2 run. They pushed the lead to five at 17-12 and then six before the Sciots won three points in a row. Zoe Nizzia (Pekin, Illinois) had an ace and Celus delivered two kills and an ace for a 23-22 set score. An error tied the set but Franklin called timeout, regrouped and won the next two points to finish off the set. Celus had six kills in the second set while Woodard had four and Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) had two. Nizzia served two aces and Tyla Mattson (Morton, Illinois) had seven assists.

The third set had just one lead change. A kill by Celus put the Scots up 1-0 and they pushed the lead to 5-1. Franklin won the next five points to lead for good. The Scots tied the set at 6-6 and 7-7 but the Grizzlies used a 10-4 run to take control. They extended the lead to 22-14 and held on to win 25-17.

For the match, Celus had 16 kills and Woodard had five. Mattson led the way with 15 assists while Nizzia had 10 digs and two aces. Celus also had two aces and Teunis led the team with five blocks.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Celus has 96 career aces ... She has at least 10 kills in six of the last seven matches and totaled 62 kills in three matches this weekend ... Franklin leads the all-time series 2-1. ... The teams had not met since 2022, a 3-1 Monmouth win in the Illinois College Tournament ... The Scots play at Central on Wednesday night ... The next home game is Tuesday, September 29 against Coe.