Senior Annie Machesky, shown in action last year, set the Uni career record for digs with her performance Thursday against Buckley Christ Lutheran. She now has 487, surpassing Mandy Grill's 471. Gargoyle photo by David Porreca (click to enlarge)

BUCKLEY — Uni beat conference opponent Buckley Christ Lutheran in a close match of three games, highlighted by senior Annie Machesky's record-setting performance as she broke the school career record for digs.

Not expecting to have much competition at the small high school in Iroquois County, Uni started out slowly and lost the first game, 16-25.

This was not a great night for the Illineks, as nearly every member of the team was struggling as an individual, and each individual was struggling to come together as a team to play and get the job done.

The Illineks prevailed in the next two games, but those were close as well: 25-20, 25-18.

With this win, Uni is now 12-7 overall, and 6-1 in the East Central Illinois Conference, one game behind leader Decatur Lutheran.

The girls will return to Buckley on Saturday for a tournament consisting of five matches, in which Uni has performed quite well in previous seasons.

Machesky broke the career digs record with a team-high 16 digs. She now surpasses Mandy Grill's (2003-07) previous career record of 471 digs. The senior went into the match tied with Grill.

Junior Michelle Wong followed in digs with 14. She also recorded a team-high 18 assists and five aces. Senior Rachel Skoza led the team with 13 kills.

UNI VS. BUCKLEY CHRIST LUTHERAN AT A GLANCE

Varsity outcome: Win (16-25, 25-20, 25-18)

Varsity record: 12-7 overall, 6-1 East Central Illinois Conference

• Kills
  — Rachel Skoza 13
  — Jessi Sullivan 6
  — Rachel Harmon 4

• Blocks
  — Rachel Harmon 2

• Assists
  — Michelle Wong 18
  — Sheri Grill 9

• Digs
  — Annie Machesky 16
  — Michelle Wong 14
  — Tuli Bera 8
  — Sheri Grill 8

• Service aces
  — Michelle Wong 5
  — Rachel Skoza 2
  — Jessi Sullivan 1

JV outcome: No JV match

JV record: 2-6 overall, 2-3 ECIC

Next match: Five-match tournament at Buckley Christ Lutheran Saturday, Oct. 4.

For complete schedule and results, visit the OG Scoreboard.