Mount Vernon, IA – The Prairie Fire had the tough task of taking on Cornell College, the preseason favorite to win the Midwest Conference.

The Rams (12-10, 5-0 MWC) won their fourth straight match and remained unbeaten in the MWC with a 3-0 win on Tuesday against the Prairie Fire:  25-9, 25-17, 25-14.

Cornell has been dominant in league play.  The Rams have not lost a set against Midwest Conference opponents this season after previous 3-0 victories against Monmouth College, Grinnell College, Beloit College, and Lake Forest College. 

The MWC coaches picked the Rams to win the conference in the 2012 preseason volleyball poll. Cornell finished the 2011 season with a 28-6 record.

Knox (2-22, 0-3 MWC) had 14 kills in the match while the Rams put down 45.  Junior hitter Amber Eisha (South Wilmington, IL, Gardner-South Wilmington) led the Fire with five and tied for team-high honors with five digs.  Senior hitter Kristin McDonald (Chicago, IL, Regina Dominican) had four kills, five digs, and one ace.  First-year setter Casey Stachelski (Joliet, IL, Plainfield) contributed 13 assists and four digs.

Taylor Dicus and Mariah Brandly paced Cornell with 11 kills each.

Knox plays its next two matches, both Midwest Conference contests against Carroll University (10-11, 2-1 MWC) and Ripon College (7-15, 1-2 MWC), at home. 

The match against Carroll is October 12 at 7:00 p.m. while Ripon visits Memorial Gymnasium on October 13 at 1:00 p.m.

Both matches will be streamed live on the Web at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/knox.portal#.

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