WHITEWATER, Wis. — While the Knox College volleyball team suffered two losses to close out its weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Invite, the Prairie Fire showed some glimpses of what they are capable of against Lake Forest in the opening match of the day. Knox ultimately fell, 3-1 (17-25, 25-18, 9-25, 18-25), to the Foresters before the host Warhawks handed the Fire a 3-0 defeat (7-25, 11-25, 9-25).
In the first match, Knox came up short in the first set but stormed back to take the second. The Prairie Fire led for nearly the entire set, though Lake Forest closed the gap to 18-16. Several Forester mistakes sandwiched around a kill by sophomore Mayra Diaz led to a five-point run, and Knox finished off the set with rejection by junior Carly Smith and senior Molly Biggs.
That setback for Foresters seemed to light a fire under them as they quickly took the third set before fending off the Prairie Fire in the fourth and final frame. UW-Whitewater, which was 28-5 a year ago and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Regionals, then completed a four-match sweep of its competition with the three-set victory over Knox.
- Senior Caroline Wolters came up just shy of a double-double with nine kills and 20 digs for the Prairie Fire against Lake Forest.
- A pair of first-years in Justice Cardenas and Zoe Thunhurst combined to dish out 18 assists in the first match, while the latter added five kills as well.
- Knox had a stronger presence at the knock with eight blocks — four courtesy of rookie Maria Clara Jabor John — to just three for the Foresters.
- Jabor John led the Prairie Fire attack against the Warhawks with four kills.
Knox will play a pair of mid-week matches in the Loras Triangular at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, on Wednesday. First up for the Prairie Fire will be Carroll University at 3 p.m., followed by the host Duhawks at 7 p.m. Each match will be streamed live with live stats, both of which can be accessed through the official Knox College athletics website, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.
