APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University volleyball team dropped a 3-0 Midwest Conference decision to Monmouth College on Friday at Alexander Gymnasium.
    The Scots defeated Lawrence 25-14, 25-16, 25-17.
    Monmouth broke a 2-2 tie in the opening set and rattled off a big scoring run to go up by double digits. The Vikings fought back to close the score to 14-8 but never got closer than six points the rest of the way. The second set felt like a repeat of the first when Monmouth reeled off 12 consecutive points to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 12-2 advantage. The Vikings battled back again and trimmed the lead to 19-15 before the Scots scored five straight points to help close out the set. 
    Lawrence kept it close early in the third set, but Monmouth put together a four-point burst to increase its lead from 12-9 to 16-9. The Vikings closed the margin to three points, the last time at 19-16, before the Scots again scored four straight to help close out the set and the match.
    Aliana Butler-Gray paced Lawrence with six kills, and rookie Gracie Pettit had a nice match with five kills on just seven attacks for a .714 hitting percentage. Marife Entenza picked up 17 assists and added six digs for the Vikings.
    Mikala Seymour led Lawrence with four blocks, including two solo. Butler-Gray was tops on the squad with 15 digs, and libero Daphne Piotrowski added 14 for the Vikings.
    Lawrence is back in action at home on Saturday when the Vikings host Illinois College.