Volleyball Splits Friday Matches at Millikin Invite

Celus Tallies 46 Kills in Two Matches, Scots Rally Past ONU

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/19/2026) — The Monmouth College volleyball team split matches at the Millikin Invite on Friday with a thrilling comeback win against Ohio Northern in the nightcap. The Fighting Scots (3-7) fell in four sets to Millikin in the opener before rallying to beat ONU 17-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-22, 15-7.

Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) got off to a hot start with four early kills as Monmouth took leads of 3-0 and 5-1. Bri Woodard (Monmouth, Illinois) and Chloe Strachan (Reynolds, Illinois) had kills as the Scots kept the lead at three. The hosts made a big run, winning 14 of the next 17 points to lead 21-13 as Melina Teunis (Grand Haven, Michigan) and Celus had kills. Woodard had two kills, Teunis had an ace and the Scots went on a run with Tyla Mattson (Morton, Illinois) serving to pull within three. A shared block by Abby Viano (Braidwood, Illinois) and Celus plus an ace from Abriana Bruns (Johnsburg, Illinois) cut the Millikin lead to 23-22. Celus tied the set with a kill and Viano added a block. Celus made it 25-24 with her seventh kill of the set but Millikin won the next three points to take the opening set 27-25.

Celus had three kills early in the third set and Strachan added one for a 4-1 lead. An ace by Isa Hughes (Chicago, Illinois).plus another kill from Celus made it 8-2. Teunis had a block and Woodard delivered a kill for an 11-4 lead. Millikin again went on a big run before Strachan and Celus shared a block for a 13-12 lead. Teunis served an ace but the Scots trailed 21-19 when Brianna Carden (Pecatonica, Illinois) picked up a kill. Strachan also got a kill and a block by Viano and Celus put the Scots back on top 22-21. Celus finished off the set with two kills for the 25-23 set win as she delivered nine kills in the set.

Zoe Nizzia (Pekin, Illinois) started the third set with two aces and Teunis had a kill for a 4-1 lead. Strachan grabbed a kill for a 6-3 lead and a pair of Millikin errors put the Scots up by four. Big Blue went on an 8-2 run to lead 13-11. The teams traded points as Celus picked up two more kills. Hughes delivered an ace but Millikin pushed the lead to 19-15. Carden had a kill as part of a 3-0 run and after the hosts responded, Monmouth called timeout down 21-18. A Woodard kill made it 22-19 but Millikin won the next three points to take the set and a 2-1 lead.

Celus had the first kill of the fourth set and her 20th kill of the match put the Scots up 4-2. Teunis had a solo block then shared one with Woodard for a 6-2 lead. Millikin tied the set with four straight points before two straight Woodard kills. She added another kill but Millikin regained the lead at 10-9. The teams kept trading points as Viano and Celus had kills before a Teunis block tied the set at 15. Millikin took the next two points before a Celus kill and a shared block from Woodard and Teunis made it 19-18. Teunis added a kill before a Millikin error tied the set at 20. A block from Viano and Woodard plus another Big Blue error put the Scots up 22-20. After a Millikin timeout the hosts went on a 4-1 run to set up match point. Monmouth called timeout but an ace ended the set and match with Millikin winning 27-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-23.

Celus led the way with a season-best 22 kills while Woodard also had a new season-high with 10. Mattson led the Scots with 20 assists and Hughes had 15. Teunis delivered five blocks and Viano had four. Hughes led the team with three aces, one more than both Teunis and Nizzia. Celus led with 15 digs while Nizzia had 12 and Mattson added 11.

Scots Storm Back Against ONU
Celus kept things rolling to start the second match as she delivered the first three Monmouth kills. The Polar Bears led 9-7 when Teunis and Carden delivered kills. A 7-1 run gave ONU a 19-10 lead as Monmouth called timeout. Celus, Woodard and Carden had kills and Teunis served an ace as the Scots closed the gap to five. Woodard added two more kills to get it to 23-17 before ONU finished off the set with two points.

The second set was nearly a carbon copy of the first. Celus had two early kills, Teunis served an ace and shared a block with Woodard. ONU led 7-4, 11-8 and 17-10 as the Scots called timeout. Celus had two kills and Nizzia served an ace for a 19-13 score. Teunis and Celus both added kills but the Polar Bears again took the set 25-17.

Celus had the first three kills of the third set and a block by Woodard and Teunis put the Scots on top early. Hughes served an ace for an 8-5 lead and two more Teunis kills made it 11-6. Woodard and Strachan had kills for a 15-11 lead and Celus made it 18-13 with another kill. The teams traded points before Celus and Mattson put down kills for a set point. Woodard finished off the set with a kill for a 25-17 Monmouth win.

Celus had the first Monmouth kill of the fourth set and Teunis added two but ONU took a 9-5 lead. Nizzia delivered an ace during a nice service run as Celus put down a kill to tie the set at 11. After a timeout by ONU, Strachan gave Monmouth the lead for good. Kills from Woodard and Teunis made it 16-12 and a block from Celus and Teunis pushed the lead to five. Celus served an ace and two kills from Woodard made it 23-18. ONU won four straight before a kill from Strachan and a Polar Bears error finished the set at 25-22.

Down 2-0 to start the fifth set, Celus slammed down four straight kills. Mattson made it 5-3 with a kill and two blocks from Woodard and Teunis made it 9-3. Kills from Teunis and Woodard put the Scots up 11-7. Mattson served an ace, Kami Barth (Washington, Illinois) delivered her first kill and a kill by Carden gave the Scots match point. Mattson served up her second ace of the set to finish off the Polar Bears in the reverse sweep.

Celus had 24 kills while Woodard and Teunis both had 10. Mattson had a season-high 24 assists while Hughes had a career-best 19. Mattson, Teunis, Celus and Nizzia all had two aces. Celus led the way with 16 digs while Barth had 11. Teunis had five blocks and Woodard had four.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Celus moved past Claire Hermie, Amy Bender, Ashley Faris, and Ashley Yeast and is now seventh on the rally-era career kills list with 851 ... She is also now 10th with 94 career aces ... Mattson three two matches with at least 20 assists this season ... Hughes has at least three aces in three of the last four matches ... Celus hit .286 against Millikin and .333 against ONU.She was four kills off her 4-set career high ... The 22 kills are tied for 7th most in a 4-set match in school history and is the second time she has delivered 22 kills in a 4-set match ... Her 24 kills against ONU is tied for the 7th-most in a 5-set match and one behind her 5-set career high ... Teunis had a career-high 10 kills in the ONU match ,,, Woodard had 10 kills in both matches ... Barth had a career-high 11 digs against ONU and also delivered her first career kill ... Mattson tied her career high with two kills against ONU ... Jordan Hines (Macomb, Illinois) made her college debut in the second match ... Against Millikin, the Scots had eight aces and eight service errors while Big Blue had 13 aces ... Monmouth had nine aces against ONU ... Millikin leads the all-time series 31-6 ... The teams met last year for the first time since 2011 and Big Blue won 3-0 in Monmouth ... Ohio Northern won the only other matchup between the teams in 2021 so the series is now tied 1-1 ... Monmouth is 2-0 in 5-set matches this seasonThe Scots face Franklin at Noon on Saturday.