Chargers volleyball ends with Region 4 loss
Abigail Shaffer had a team-leading 11 kills and recorded a career-high 33 digs, but the Sandburg volleyball team ended its season with a 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21 loss at Kankakee in the quarterfinals of the Region 4, Division II, District B Tournament on Nov. 6.
The Chargers, seeded sixth in the tournament, closed the year with a 15-23 record. Third-seeded Kankakee advances to face No. 2 Sauk Valley in the semifinals at Madison College on Nov. 8.
Shaffer finished with 11 kills on 50 attempts to lead Sandburg’s attack in her final match as a Charger. Her 33 digs topped her previous best of 29 against Walters State in the opening round of last year’s NJCAA Division II Championship.
Shaffer was one of five Chargers with double-digit digs as Sandburg picked up 104 in the match, its most this season. Libero Addison Gillen finished with 22, Jalie Eller picked up 15, Macy Nolan had 14 and Quinn Rexroat recorded 12.
Harlee Hainds finished with 10 kills and two blocks for Sandburg in the loss. Rexroat had 41 assists, and Nolan served both Chargers aces.
Coaches predict Knox women to finish sixth
The Knox College women’s basketball team, which finished the 2024-25 season with a 15-10 record overall and a 10-6 mark in league play, was picked to finish sixth in the nine-team Midwest Conference preseason coaches poll.
Defending champion Ripon College was picked to defend its title, receiving 62 points and seven of the nine first-place votes. Cornell College 53 points and Lawrence University 52 finished second and third, each earning one first-place vote.
Grinnell College and Illinois College tied for fourth with 39 points, while Lake Forest College 18, Monmouth College 16 and Beloit College 11 followed behind the Prairie Fire.
Last year, Knox’s season ended with a loss that left the team tied for fourth place without the tiebreaker to earn a spot in the Midwest Conference Tournament. But three of the top four scorers — all of whom averaged more than 12 points per game — return for first-year head coach Emily Carpenter to make a run at the league title.
Returning talent aims to lift Prairie Fire higher
Junior point guard Bria Medina, 5-foot-6, of Tucson, Arizona, is a two-time All-Midwest Conference First Team selection and was second in the league in scoring at 18.2 points per game and in free-throw percentage at .796. She also ranked among the top four in assists (84), steals (54) and field-goal percentage (.455).
The former MWC Newcomer of the Year is just 90 points away from 1,000 for her career and has scored in double figures in 50 of her 52 collegiate games.
Joining Medina in the backcourt is her cousin, senior guard Kylee Callahan, 5-8, of Tucson. A 2024 All-MWC First Team performer, she averaged 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds while nearly matching Medina’s assist total. She is just seven assists short of the Prairie Fire’s career record.
Knox boasts another Tucson native, sophomore forward Nayeli Nidez Acuña, 5-10, who posted 12.4 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game as a rookie and recorded the fourth-best free-throw percentage in the league at .757.
Carpenter will look for help in the post from sophomore guard Izzy Robinson, 5-9, of Wadsworth, who joined midseason last year and averaged 5.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 13 games off the bench.
Galesburg native Carly Smith, 5-11, joins the team as a senior forward to provide minutes down low, and junior Sarah Finley, 6-1, of Illiopolis, returns after a preseason injury with her strong touch around the basket.
Other returners expected to take on more responsibility include junior forward Kendall Lade, 5-8, of Kankakee, and junior guard Emma Sineath, 5-5, of North Port, Florida, who missed last season with an injury. Rookie guards Xiyah Yarbrough, 5-4, of Syracuse, Utah, and Lucy Lawrence, 5-5, of Lowell, Michigan, are also expected to make early contributions.
Knox opens the season Nov. 7 at the Wartburg Tipoff Tournament, taking on the host school, ranked 14th in the nation in the coaches’ preseason poll. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at Levick Arena.
The Knox College men’s basketball team, which finished the 2024-25 season 4-21 overall and 1-15 in league play, was picked to finish ninth in the nine-team Midwest Conference preseason coaches poll.
Defending champion Monmouth College was picked to repeat, receiving 60 points and seven first-place votes. Grinnell College 56 points and Illinois College 52 followed, each earning one first-place vote.
Lake Forest College ranked fourth with 40 points, followed by Ripon College 33, Lawrence University 27, Cornell College 24, Beloit College 22 and Knox 10.
Mix of returners and newcomers anchors Prairie Fire roster
Prairie Fire head coach Corey Harvey, in his second season, returns one player who started at least half the games last year — guard Willie Rogers III, a 6-4 sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas. As a rookie, Rogers averaged 7.2 points and 2.5 rebounds, was second on the team with 32 three-pointers and led the squad with 26 steals.
Two others — guard Josh Stewart, a 6-3 junior from Auckland, New Zealand, and forward Russell Wright, a 6-6 senior from Savannah, Georgia — played in every game and averaged more than 25 minutes.
Stewart led the Prairie Fire in rebounding and ranked sixth in the league at 6.8 per game while averaging 8.6 points on 46.4% shooting. Wright was Knox’s top post defender with 21 blocks and shot 52.9% from the floor while averaging 8.4 points and 6.1 rebounds.
Other returning contributors include forward Carl Dortch, a 6-5 senior from Galesburg, and guard B.J. Cooley, a 6-0 sophomore from Jackson, Mississippi. Both appeared in every game. Dortch shot 58.6% from the field, while Cooley started 10 games and will contend for the point-guard role.
Knox’s 20-player roster includes eight freshmen and two transfers. Returning players also include guard Vladimir Marinov, a 5-11 junior from Sofia, Bulgaria; forwards Jayden McNabb, a 6-4 junior from Sawyer, Michigan; Jakob Morgenstern, a 6-5 junior from Speyer, Germany; and Braedy Phelan, a 6-3 sophomore from Wales, Wisconsin; and center Ryan Erdos, a 6-9 sophomore from Boerne, Texas.
Fans can get an early look at the team when the Prairie Fire host Westminster College of Missouri in the season opener at 4 p.m. Nov. 8 at Memorial Gymnasium. Five of Knox’s first seven games will be at home, including two Midwest Conference contests in early December.
Friday, Nov. 7
• Carl Sandburg men’s basketball at Black Hawk Classic vs. Lake County, 5:30 p.m.
• Knox women’s basketball vs. Wartburg College at Wartburg Tipoff Classic, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 8
• NJCAA cross-country nationals at Lakeside Golf Course, Fort Dodge, Iowa
• Knox football vs. Lake Forest College, noon
• Knox women’s basketball vs. Luther College at Wartburg Classic, 1 p.m.
• Carl Sandburg men’s basketball at Black Hawk Classic vs. Oakton, 1 p.m.
• Knox men’s basketball vs. Westminster College (Missouri), 4 p.m.
• Galesburg High School girls swimming at IHSA sectional, to be determined
Tuesday, Nov. 11
• Knox men’s basketball at Blackburn College, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 12
• Carl Sandburg men’s basketball at Spoon River College, 7:30 p.m.
• Carl Sandburg women’s basketball at Spoon River College, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 15
• Knox cross country at NCAA Division III Midwest Regional, 11 a.m.
• Knox football at Monmouth College, noon
• Carl Sandburg women’s basketball vs. Madison College, 1 p.m.
• Carl Sandburg men’s basketball vs. Madison College, 3 p.m.
• Knox men’s basketball vs. Franklin College, 3 p.m.
