CENTRALIA, Ill. _ Mater Dei girls volleyball coach Fred Rakers became the second coach in Illinois this season to record 1,000 wins in one sport when the Knights defeated Mascoutah 25-16, 25-16 in the semifinals of the Illinois Class 3A Centralia Regional Thursday night.

Rakers, who has coached at Mater Dei for 34 years, now has a career mark of 1,000-196-7. He joins Wheaton St. Francis coach Peg Kopec in the 1,000 club. She recorded her milestone on Sept. 9 and is 1,025-230-2 in 35 years at St. Francis. Rakers is the only coach in the St. Louis area to record 1,000 wins in one sport.

Rakers’ teams have won five state championshi[ps (1987, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 2001) with four third-place finishes and three fourth-place finishes in 18 trips to the state tournament. The Knights wound up third last season in Class 3A.

Kopec and Rakers are the 14th and 15th coaches nationally to hit 1,000-win mark in volleyball.