GALESBURG, Ill. — After a pregame Senior Night ceremony, it turned out the Knox College seniors on the volleyball team got their head coach, Maliah Blakemore, a gift as well. The Prairie Fire (1-17, 1-2 Midwest Conference) swept the visiting Beloit Buccaneers (2-16, 0-3 MWC) in straight sets to give Blakemore head first victory as the team's head coach, 25-19, 25-17, 25-13.
Senior Caroline Wolters and first-year Maria Clara Jabor Jahn each contributed eight kills to the Knox offensive effort that produced 30 kills on the night with a season-best .274 attack percentage. The defense was sharp as well with nine blocks on the night with senior Molly Biggs chipping in on seven of them as Beloit was held to an attack percentage of .033.
The first set was the tightest as the Prairie Fire held a slim 20-18 lead before taking five of the last six points as Knox hit at a .391 clip for the set. A 9-7 lead in the second set ballooned to 20-9 as the Fire cruised to an eight-point margin of victory. Knox made sure it did not give the Buccaneers any hope in the third set, jumping out to a 9-1 lead before maintaining a double digits lead once it reached 16 points.
- First-year Zoe Thunhurst led the Prairie Fire with 12 assists with classmate Justice Cardenas adding 10 helpers and three of the team's nine aces.
- Junior libero Sam Black had a team-best nine digs while sharing time with first-year Rebeca Hernandez at the position.
- This was the Prairie Fire's second straight victory against Beloit, and they have won five of the last six meetings.
The Prairie Fire continue a six-game home stand tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. as Midwest Conference leader Grinnell (16-5, 3-0) invades Memorial Gym. Live video and stats will be available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox College Athletics.
