DECATUR, Illinois - The Prairie Fire volleyball team dropped a 3-0 match to Fontbonne in the first match of the Millikin Tournament on Friday night.

Knox and the Griffins played to a 12-12 tie in the first half of the first set, but Fontbonne pulled away with five straight points and won the first set 25-20.

The Prairie Fire trailed 21-17 late in the second set, but the Griffins took four of the next five points to take the set.

Fontbonne jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the third set en route to a 25-9 victory to take the match.

Allie Dockins led Knox with 12 kills for a .417 attack percentage. She added a block. Emme Patton tallied 15 assists. Peyton Balfour added three kills and three blocks.

"We played pretty well the first two sets," said head coach Lonnie Rinell. "We have been working hard in practice and you can definitely see the improvement. Now we just have to get hot at the end of a set and carry that success throughout the entire match."

The Prairie Fire return to action on September 23 as they play two more matches in the Millikin Tournament.