Knox College battled hard but couldn't avoid a fifth straight loss Tuesday night on the road against Midwest Conference foe Monmouth College.

The Fighting Scots defeated the Prairie Fire 31-29, 25-20, 25-13 at Glennie Gymnasium.  Monmouth stayed unbeaten in league play and sits in first place with a 4-0 record.  The win against Knox (5-11, 0-3) was the second straight for the Scots (14-7), which have been especially difficult to beat at home - just one loss in nine matches.

Monmouth had the edge in both kills and assists against the Fire: 45-30 and 44-28, respectively.

Junior hitter Kelly Ricketts (Galesburg, Illinois) had a match-high 16 kills.  She also contributed two of her team's six aces and four digs.

Monmouth had three players with double-digit kills.  Chelsey Widdop and Claire Hermie had 11 apiece and Megan Creen added 10.  Widdop and Creen also combined for 18 digs (Creen 10, Widdop 8).  Setter Mollie Murdock had 37 assists followed by Creen's six.

First-year Knox College setter Nina Mack (Algonquin, Illinois) recorded 26 assists.  Another first-year player, hitter Kaylie Prince (Westminster, Colorado), had five kills.  Sophomore Natalee Young (Albuquerque, New Mexico) also contributed five kills, two digs and two assisted blocks.  Junior libero Lisa Blagg (Winthrop Harbor, Illinois) had 11 digs.

Knox tries again Friday night to earn a Midwest Conference win as Lawrence University comes to town.  The Vikings had a 9-11 overall record as of Thursday and, like the Prairie Fire, are still seeking a league victory (0-1).

Also paying a visit to Memorial Gymnasium this weekend is St. Norbert College.  The Green Knights boast a 14-4 overall record and have won their only Midwest Conference match to date.

The Prairie Fire's match against Lawrence Friday night begins at 7:00 p.m.  Knox and St. Norbert get started on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.