Volleyball falls to Grinnell
Izzy Gimm - Website and Social Media Manager
The Fighting Scots volleyball team saw their season come to an end last Friday evening, falling to the Grinnell Pioneers in the semifinals of the Midwest Conference Tournament. Despite a spirited effort, the Scots were outlasted in four sets, with scores of 23-25, 16-25, 27-25, and 20-25. The Fighting Scots (19-11) earned their best season record in over a decade.
Senior outside hitter Layne Wright (Davenport, IA) secured the first point of the night with a kill, and the Scots went on to trade points with the Pioneers until another kill by Wright led Monmouth to a 7-5 lead in the first set. The match continued as a tightly contested affair, and the Scots kept pace with the Pioneers through sharp serving by senior libero Savannah Robinson (Delavan, IL) and kills from stand-out freshman outside hitter Kaylee Celus (Annawan, IL). Still, Grinnell managed to edge ahead, taking the set.
The Scots began the second set trading points with Grinnell and eventually tied the score 6-6. Monmouth won the following three points through Grinnell's errors, and a Wright kill. The Scots rallied for a 10-8 lead on the Pioneers before they pulled ahead and won the next six points to extend the Grinnell lead 14-10. Celus ended the run with a kill, but Grinnell extended their lead to 12-19. Senior setter Paige Bergschneider delivered a short-served ace, but the Pioneers still won the set.
After the second set, the Scots knew it was time for a change. “Being down two sets, our team knew it was time to give it all we had for the third because our season was on the line,” said Bergschneider. “We had played Grinnell the week before, and they ran a completely different offense than the one they showed us on Friday. It threw us off a little bit because it wasn’t what we had prepared for, but after making adjustments from the first two sets based on their offense, we had a better idea of the kind of game we needed to play to take the third set and get a chance at making the season last a little longer.”
Monmouth opened the third set with a 2-0 lead and a kill from Wright, but Grinnell eventually returned to lead 10-15. Celus added a kill, as did Wright, and the Scots rallied to tie the set at 22. The teams traded aces and tying at 24. Eventually tied at 25, Celus got a kill for the set point, and freshman middle blocker Alana Robertson (Mapleton, IL) finished the set with a kill.
Monmouth started the fourth set with a 12-11 lead, but the Pioneers rallied, scoring five in a row. Grinnell eventually achieved a 13-18 lead over the Scots, but Monmouth came together to get within two points at 18-20. A kill from Wright made it a one-point set, but Grinnell won the next three, extending their lead 23-19. An error gave Grinnell a match point after a timeout. Pioneers finished off the semifinal game with a kill.
Wright led the Scots with 12 kills, while Celus added nine. Wright finishes her college career with 1012 kills and 156 aces, which ranks her seventh and fourth all-time. Bergschneider finishes her career with 1778 assists, sixth in Monmouth’s history. Robinson finishes with 1291 digs, 10th in the college’s history. These seniors leave a legacy in the record books, along with the best season the Scots volleyball team has seen since 2010.