Volleyball Sweeps LCU to Start Campaign

Five Scots Debut in Win

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill - (09/02/2021) — It had been 669 days since the Monmouth College volleyball team played at Glennie Gym. They took the court Wednesday night and stormed to a sweep of Lincoln Christian University 25-19, 25-18, 25-22 to move to 1-0 on the season.

"The energy was so high and the girls did great," said coach Emily Thebeau. "We are excited to continue to grow. We were ready to play again and get back out there and it was fun to watch."

The Scots used a nice run early to build a 7-3 lead in the opening set. From there the lead built steadily to a 25-19 win, punctuated by a kill from senior Loryn Beal (Pontiac, Illinois). Beal and Sarah LaHood (East Peoria, Illinois) both had two kills in the first set.

The Red Lions took a 6-3 lead to start the second set and pushed the advantage to 11-7. The Scots rallied off six straight points from there as Beal had three kills. After leading 16-15 the hosts ran off four in a row and eventually took the second set 25-18. Beal had four kills in the second set while Megan Kimble (Farmington, Illinois) had three to go with two solo blocks and two block assists.

The third set was close throughout as the Scots didn't lead by more than three until an error made it 11-7. The Red Lions tied the set at 14-14 and won the next point for their first lead of the set. Monmouth seized control at 17-17 with three straight points. LaHood's ace clinched the match at 25-22.

"I loved the environment tonight and I think that was the biggest crowd since I have been here," said Thebeau. "I hope that continues and it feels so good in that gym to have all those Scots in there with us."

Monmouth Moments: Amanda Dybal (Apex, North Carolina) led the Scots with eight kills while Beal and Kimble had seven eachSeven different Scots recorded at least one killKarlie Drish (Milan, Illinois) had 15 assists while Kaylee Woodard (Monmouth, Illinois) added 11Woodard led the Scots with 24 digs and Beal had 17Five Scots recorded at least one service ace, led by Beal's fourKimble finished with three solo blocks and three block assistsKenzie Russell (Morton, Illinois) also had three block assists as the Scots tallied seven team blocksFive Scots made their Monmouth debuts on WednesdayThe Scots head to the Illinois College Invitational this weekend with two games on Friday and two on SaturdayThey will be back home next Wednesday against Eureka College at 7 p.m.