The Monmouth College volleyball team tied a program record with four Midwest Conference All-Conference selections on Thursday. Freshman Kaylee Celus (Annawan, Illinois) was named to the MWC First Team with Savannah Robinson (Delavan, Illinois), Layne Wright (Davenport, Iowa) and Paige Foltz (Vinton, Iowa) all on the MWC Second Team. In addition, head coach Derrick Broekemier and his staff were named MWC Coaching Staff of the Year, just the second time a Monmouth coach has won the award.
Celus leads the Scots in kills with 389 and in kills per set at 3.81. With three kills in Friday's MWC semifinal, Celus can move into ninth on the MC single-season kills list and her kills per set ranks third in the rally-scoring era. She tied the MC record for kills in a 4-set match with 26 against Eureka and put up the third most kills in a 3-set match with 25 against UW-LaCrosse. Celus has at least 20 kills in eight matches this season and she has at least 10 kills in 21 of her 27 matches played. A 3-time MWC Player of the Week this season, Celus has 45 kills, 22 blocks and ranks fourth on the team with 208 digs.
"Her resilience and drive have made her an unstoppable force this season and to think she has three more years of this," said Broekemier. "From match one, she's had a target on her back and each night she gave everything she had. She inspired everyone around her to raise their game."
Robinson, a senior, recently moved into the top 10 in Monmouth history in digs and she leads the Scots with 435 this season. She also leads the Scots in sets played with 109 and digs per set at 4.0. Her serve receive percentage is .931 and Robinson has added 40 aces on the season. She posted a season-high 31 digs against Rose-Hulman on Sept. 28 and has at least 20 digs in seven matches this season. Robinson has five aces in three matches this season and has at least one ace in 20 matches.
"Defensively, Savannah is a force, constantly reading plays, making incredible saves, and keeping rallies alive," said Broekemier. "Her all-conference honor reflects the hard work she has put in to elevate not only her game the last few years, but to elevate our team's defense every single game."
Wright, who repeats as a second-team selection, went over the 1000 career plateau in kills and points this season. She also moved into the top 10 in kills and aces in Monmouth career history. Wright has at least 200 kills in all four seasons and this year she is second behind Celus with 287 kills at 2.76 per set. She is also second to Robinson with 300 digs while adding 19 blocks and a team-best 61 aces. The aces tally ranks ninth in a single-season in MC history and her career total of 154 ranks fourth.
"Layne has been a cornerstone of this team over the last four years," said Broekemier. "Finishing her career as an all-conference player heading to the MWC tournament shows the hard work she's put into growing as both a player and a teammate."
Foltz, a freshman, is hitting .245 on the season with 138 kills at 1.37 per set. A middle blocker, Foltz ranks ninth on the MC single-season blocks list in the rally era with 93. Of those 93 blocks, 35 are solo and 58 are assisted as she averages 0.93 blocks per set. She posted at least two blocks in 23 matches this season and had five or more on five occasions. Foltz also has 27 digs and two aces on the season.
"Paige has come in as a freshman and made an impact in the middle, both defensively and offensively, helping this team achieve the success we've seen," said Broekemier. "She's a competitor who always wants to be on the court and works hard every day to be her best."
The Scots have never had more than four All-Conference selections. The four this season ties the record set by the 1985 squad and matched in 2002 and 2018.
Broekemier is the second Monmouth coach to win the Midwest Conference award, joining Kari Shimmin in the 2010 season. Broekemier, along with assistants Kaylee Woodard and Tim Blaser and student manager Kendall Lewis (Cambridge, Illinois) led the Scots to a big turnaround this season after an 11-13 campaign last year. The Scots have won more games than any team since 2010, posted the first winning season since 2012 and have a chance to win 20 games for the first time since 2010. This year's squad was the first MC team to win at Ripon in 13 years and the first to beat IC in 11 years.
"Derrick and his staff have done a quick turnaround on the Fighting Scots volleyball program," said Director of Athletics Roger Haynes. "Veteran leadership and an outstanding freshman class provide a very bright future for success in the program."
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