GALESBURG, Illinois—The Prairie Fire defeated Beloit on Saturday to move to 2-0 in conference to start the year.

Knox (7-10, 2-0 MWC) is off to their best start in conference play in nearly 20 years.

The Prairie Fire faced resistance in every set, but finished well when the game was on the line. The Buccaneers held an 11-7 advantage in the first set, but Knox battled back to a 12-12 tie. The scoring went back-and-forth until Knox reeled off 3 straight scores to break a 17-17 tie. The Prairie Fire held on for a 25-20 win in the first set. The second set saw four lead changes before Knox pulled away from another 17-17 tie.  Beloit again battled in set three, forcing 12-all, 16-all, and 19-all scores. Knox held a 23-22 advantage before scoring the final two points.

Casey Stachelski (Joliet, IL, Plainfield Central) led the Prairie Fire with 22 assists, while Rose Griffin (Maryland Heights, MO, Rosati-Kain) paced the team with nine kills. Kyleigh Guthals (Clovis, NM, Clovis) added 12 digs and six kills. Nicole Heckman (Chicago, IL, Chicago Latin) also racked up eight kills.

Knox will look to improve on their impressive start in conference as they host Illinois College on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.