The Prairie Fire gave Iowa Wesleyan all it wanted and then some in their non-conference showdown Saturday at Memorial Gym, but the Tigers got away with a 3-0 victory.
Knox, playing its home opener after nine straight matches on the road or at neutral tournamentsites, dropped the first set 25-16. The Prairie Fire (0-10) bounced back to take early leads in the next two sets, but Iowa Wesleyan (3-8) responded and the teams went back-and-forth. The Tigers prevailed 26-24 in both to pick up the heard-earned victory.
The win was the Tigers' second this season against the Prairie Fire. Knox kicked off the season at Iowa Wesleyan on September 1, falling 3-0 (18-25, 25-27, 16-25).
The loss offset solid matches by senior hitter Kelly Ricketts (Galesburg, Illinois) and senior setter Lisa Blagg (Winthrop Harbor, Illinois).
Ricketts had a season-best and match-high 19 kills for Knox. Blagg doled out a career-high 22 assists to go along with 12 digs.
Both teams had 31 kills in the match and the Prairie Fire put down six service aces to one for the Tigers. Iowa Wesleyan committed 14 attack errors to 28 for the Fire.
Sophomore hitter Kaylie Prince (Westminster, Colorado) contributed seven kills, nine digs, and two aces. Junior libero Britt Wisniewski (Park Ridge, Illinois) matched Blagg for team-high honors with 12 digs. Ricketts and Blagg had two service aces apiece as well.
Megan McVey led Wesleyan with 14 kills and 16 digs while Alex Ramos added 21 assists.
The Prairie Fire begins Midwest Conference play Tuesday night at Memorial Gymnasium against Illinois College. The match begins at 7:00 p.m.
The Lady Blues have lost their first seven matches of the season. The latest was a very close 3-2 non-conference setback September 15 at Greenville College. I.C. took the first two sets 26-24, 25-23 before losing the next three 25-27, 24-26, 14-16.
The Lady Blues had won one set out of 19 going into the match.
Alese Speckhart and Brittney Burgess had 13 kills apiece for Illinois College and Maurissa Moulton led the way with 17 assists.
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