MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — Facing Midwest Conference leader Cornell College in its final match of the season, the Knox College volleyball team suffered a three-set loss at the Small Athletic & Wellness Center on Saturday afternoon, 25-8, 25-10, 25-10. Carly Puffer led all players with a dozen kills for the Rams (17-11, 8-0 MWC), while first-year Maria Clara Jabor Jahn provided three of the six kills recorded by the Prairie Fire (3-22, 2-6 MWC).
Cornell embarked on a 10-point run to start the match, a harbinger of what was to come, though Knox did manage to string together four consecutive points before the Rams claimed the first set. The second stanza didn't begin much better with Cornell scoring 13 of the first 15 points on its way to opening up a 21-4 advantage. The Prairie Fire took six of the next eight points, but the hole was too big to dig out of as the Rams took a 2-0 lead.
Knox began the third set with an ace follwed by another point, but again Cornell went on an extended run, building up an 18-5 lead. There was one last gasp by the Prairie Fire, winning three straight points, but the Rams finished off Knox as the match lasted just 52 minutes.
- Seniors Caroline Wolters and Molly Biggs played their final collegiate match; Wolters finished the season with a team-high 173 kills, and Biggs was third on the squad with 30 blocks.
- Jabor Jahn completed a solid first season, ranking second on the squad in both kills (119) and blocks (36).
- At 2-6 in the league, Knox ended the season in seventh place, its best finish since claiming sixth in 2021.
