LAKE FOREST, Illinois—The Prairie Fire volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Saturday to close out their season.
 
Knox held a 9-8 lead in the first set of the opening match, but Lake Forest took a 16-14 lead and held on for a narrow 25-20 victory. The Prairie Fire held a 7-6 lead in the second set as well, but the Foresters used a 13-3 run to take a commanding lead. Lake Forest held on for a 25-14 win and then took an early 13-4 lead in the third set. Knox worked back to a 17-11 deficit, but the Foresters won the match with a 25-16 win in set three.
 
The Prairie Fire could not get much going in the first set of the second match, falling behind 17-5. Knox did cut the gap late, but it was too late and lost the first set 25-15. An early 7-7 tie in the second set soon evaporated as the Foresters used a 5-0 run to take control. Lake Forest held on for another 25-15 win. After some back-and-forth early in the third set, Knox took a 13-11 lead. The Foresters went on a 4-0 run to take a 17-15 lead, but the Prairie Fire would not go down without a fight and soon took a 19-18 lead. Lake Forest used a late 5-0 run to earn a narrow 25-22 victory and win the second match.
 
Autumn Schneider racked up 12 kills on the day to lead the Prairie Fire. Katie Anderson did a little of everything with 23 digs, 26 assists, nine kills, and four blocks. Peyton Balfour added five blocks and Marissa Akers tallied seven kills.
 
"Lake Forest is a good team," said head coach Pat Barry. "We had our moments, but we really have to string together solid play throughout against a team like this. We were very close at times, but Lake Forest was great at stopping our rallies short."
 
Knox will return to action in the fall.