>September 22, 2012

Prairie Fire vs. MacMurray College

Knox played three close sets with MacMurray but came out on the wrong end of a 3-0 score.

The Highlanders (3-10) won the first set 25-22, then completed the sweep by holding on for 27-25 and 25-23 victories in the second and third sets, respectively.

The teams were tied eight times in the first set, the last time at 15-15.  MacMurray closed it out with a 10-7 run. 

The Prairie Fire got off to a hot start in the second set, scoring the first seven points.   However, the Highlanders outscored Knox 11-5 to trail by just a point at 12-11.  A kill by senior Kristin McDonald (Chicago, IL, Regina Dominican) gave Knox a 13-11 lead before MacMurray scored nine of the next 12 points to go up 20-16.  After four ties, the Fire led 25-24 on a kill by first-year Ellynn Rolett (Peoria Heights, IL, Peoria Heights) and was a point away from evening the match at one set apiece.  But, a service error by McDonald tied the match at 25-25, and MacMurray closed out the set with consecutive points – one on an attack error by Knox and the other via a service ace.

Knox scored two of the first three points in set three before an 11-1 flurry by the Highlanders made it a 12-3 score.  MacMurray held an eight-point advantage at 22-14 when the Prairie Fire scored seven straight -- six with junior Amber Eisha (South Wilmington, IL, Gardner-South Wilmington) serving – to close the gap to 22-21.  The Highlanders scored two straight points for a 24-21 lead before Knox came back with two of its own on a kill by sophomore Becky Duffy (Chicago, IL, Northside Prep) and a MacMurray attack error.  Trailing 24-23 with the serve, the Highlanders ended the set and the match with a kill.

Junior Kaylie Prince (Westminster, CO, Standley Lake) led the Fire with nine kills.  She also had 12 digs and three assists.  Eisha added eight kills, eight digs, two aces, and one block.  McDonald was effective with seven kills, 14 digs, and two aces.  Duffy contributed five kills, three aces, and five digs and first-year Casey Stachelski (Joliet, IL, Plainfield) had a match-high 26 assists.

Prairie Fire vs. Buena Vista University

Knox hung tight with Buena Vista for the first two sets and part of the third, but the Beavers continued their winning ways with a 3-0 triumph.

BVU, which claimed three of four matches in the tournament, took the first set against the Prairie Fire 25-19.  The Beavers won a close second set 25-21 and closed out the match with a 25-15 third set victory.

The Prairie Fire (1-14) led 10-7 in the first set when Buena Vista went on a run.  BVU scored six straight points and nine of the next 10 to take a 16-11 lead.  Knox closed the gap to four at 19-15, but could get no closer.

Knox turned a 5-2 second half deficit into a 10-5 lead with eight straight points – seven of them scored with Rollet serving.  In the set of runs, BVU (4-12) answered right back with seven consecutive points to reclaim the lead at 12-10.  The Fire led as late as 15-14 following a service error by the Beavers.  Five straight Buena Vista points to give the visitors a 19-15 lead shifted the momentum.  Knox whittled the BVU lead to two on five occasions, the last time at 23-21, but the Prairie Fire couldn’t get over the hump.

Knox trailed 5-3 in the third set when BVU took control.  The Beavers scored eight of the next 10 points for a 13-5 advantage.  The Prairie Fire couldn’t get any closer that six points the remainder of the set.

Eisha had eight kills, seven digs, and 3.5 blocks for Knox.  Stachelski contributed 15 assists and nine digs while McDonald had five kills and eight digs.

The Prairie Fire resumes play on September 26 at Eureka College.  The Red Devils (2-13) have lost four straight going into the match that begins at 7:30 p.m.

Other Prairie Fire Invitational Results from Saturday, September 22
William Penn University 3, Monmouth College 0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-18)
Monmouth College 3, MacMurray College (25-13, 25-13, 25-15)
Buena Vista University 3, Lincoln Christian University 1 (25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 25-20)
William Penn University 3, Lincoln Christian University 1 (19-25, 25-18, 37-35, 25-16)

Tournament Records
William Penn University 4-0
Buena Vista University 3-1
Lincoln Christian University 2-2
Monmouth College 2-2
MacMurray College 1-1
Iowa Wesleyan College 0-2
Knox College 0-4


>September 21, 2012

 Prairie Fire vs. William Penn University

Knox lost its first match of the tournament to William Penn 3-1.

The Lady Statesmen (14-6) won the first set 25-17 before the Prairie Fire came back to take the second set 26-24.  William Penn sealed the victory by winning the third and fourth sets 25-10 and 25-14, respectively.

The Prairie Fire showed the ability to come from behind in the match.  Trailing 20-18 in the second set, Knox outscored Penn 8-4 the rest of the way to win the stanza.

Junior Amber Eisha (South Wilmington, IL, Gardner-South Wilmington) led all players with 11 kills along with two aces, eight digs, and a pair of blocks for Knox.  Junior Kaylie Prince (Westminster, CO, Standley Lake) added seven kills, eight digs, two aces and 1.5 blocks.  First-year Casey Stachelski (Joliet, IL, Plainfield) had 23 assists and 10 digs, senior Kristin McDonald (Chicago, IL, Regina Dominican) tied for match-high honors with 16 digs and sophomore Becky Duffy (Chicago, IL, Northside Prep) contributed six kills, eight digs, and two blocks.

The victory was William Penn's third straight and fourth in the last five matches.


Prairie Fire vs. Lincoln Christian College

Knox was unable to pick up a victory on the opening day of the tournament against Lincoln Christian, a 3-0 winner.

The Red Lions (10-4) defeated the Prairie Fire 25-12, 25-14, 25-15 to improve to 2-0 in the tournament after downing Iowa Wesleyan College 3-1 earlier in the day.

Lincoln Christian scored the first four points of the first set.  Knox scoed eight of the next 14 points to close the gap to 10-8, but a 13-2 run by LCU was the difference.  The Prairie Fire scored consecutive points in the second set to tie it up at 9-9.  The Lions answered back with 16 of the next 21 points to take a 2-0 lead.

Lincoln Christian broke open the third set early after Knox scored and trailed just 3-2.  The visitors scored nine of the next 11 points for a 12-4 advantage.  The Prairie Fire scored the next point to trail by seven, but never got any closer.

Prince led Knox with seven kills.  She also had a pair of aces and six digs.  Stachelski paced the Fire with 14 assists and eight digs.

Knox meets MacMurray College (2-9) at 10:00 a.m. and Buena Vista University (2-12) at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.  Video of both matches will be streamed online at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/knox.portal#.

Other Prairie Fire Invitational Results from Friday, September 21
Monmouth College 3, Iowa Wesleyan College 0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-23)
Buena Vista University 3, Monmouth College 2 (25-22, 26-24, 19-25, 23-25, 15-12)
Lincoln Christian University 3, Iowa Wesleyan College 1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-13, 25-14)
William Penn University 3, Buena Vista University 0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-23)