NORMAL — The Uni girls defeated conference opponent Normal Calvary Baptist Academy (CBA) in three games tonight: 16-25, 26-24, 25-15.

The Illineks trailed by as many as 11 points in the first game before losing by nine. In the second game they settled down and fought the host Crusaders to a 24-24 deadlock. At that point, Normal Calvary was just two scores away from winning the match and sweeping the season series with the Illineks.

But Uni took the next two points to set up the decisive third game.

The teams then stayed close until senior Ruthie Welch took over the serving with Uni ahead 12-10. The Illineks nailed the next eight points, eventually outscoring the Crusaders 13-5 to win both the game and the match.

The outcome also avenged CBA's Sept. 11 victory at Kenney Gym, which spoiled Uni's home debut.

The Illineks are now 13-9 overall, 7-2 in the East Central Illinois Conference.

The team is just two wins away from tying the school record of 15 victories set last year. With the girls scheduled to play five matches at the Crusader Invitational Tournament Saturday at Buckley Christ Lutheran, they have an excellent chance of breaking the record by the end of the tourney.

With the loss, Normal Calvary drops to 7-6 overall, 5-5 in the ECIC.

Junior Rachel Skoza led Uni with eight kills and three blocks. Fellow middle hitter Karen Woodley, a senior, had five kills and one block. Senior Chelsea Freeland had four kills.

Welch, Uni's career leader in assists, added 10 more to her total, bringing her to 791 for her career and 191 for the season. Junior setter Sheri Grill had four assists.

Sophomore defensive specialist Michelle Wong had a team-high nine digs, followed by senior libero Jamie Weiser with eight and senior outside hitter Sarah Pfander with five.

Welch scored seven points from her serves. Woodley had five aces of her own, and Weiser added three.

Meanwhile, the Uni junior varsity continued its winning ways, defeating the CBA JV in three games: 25-27, 25-23, 15-11. The Illinek JV is now 7-3 overall, 5-1 in conference play.

In other news today, the Illineks received their sub-sectional seeding and their IHSA Class 2A playoff schedule. Uni is seeded ninth out of 11 teams in Sub-Sectional B of the 20-team Tolono Unity sectional.

The Illineks find themselves in perhaps the toughest Class 2A playoff bracket in central Illinois. The sub-sectional's No. 1 team is undefeated Maroa-Forsyth. The No. 2 seed is Monticello, whose only loss this year was to Maroa-Forsyth. Other teams in the bracket include St. Thomas More, Tolono Unity, and St. Joseph-Ogden.

Uni will begin playoff action Oct. 23 against No. 7 Clinton. The contest is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at Clinton High School. If the Illineks win, they would face Monticello two days later. That match would be played at Monticello High, beginning at 5 p.m.

MORE PHOTOS: UNI AT NORMAL CALVARY BAPTIST

Junior Rachel Skoza delivers one of her team-high eight kills against the host Crusaders. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

THE SEASON SO FAR

2007 GIRLS VOLLEYBALL VARSITY RECORD: 13-9 overall, 7-2 East Central Illinois Conference
(home matches listed in bold)

Aug. 30: at Oakwood, L 18-25, 16-25

• Story: Uni drops season opener
• Kills: Karen Woodley 2, Sarah Pfander 2
• Assists: Ruth Welch 3, Sheri Grill 2
• Blocks: Rachel Skoza 2, Chelsea Freeland 1, Woodley 1
• Digs: Jamie Weiser 2, Annie Machesky 2, Welch 2, Pfander 2
• Aces: Weiser 2, Claire Johnson 1, Freeland 1, Pfander 1
• JV match: Uni def. Oakwood in three games: 25-17, 22-25, 25-13 (JV record: 1-0)

Sept. 1: at DeLand-Weldon Eagle Classic, 2 wins, 3 losses (4th place in 8-team tournament)

• Story: Illineks take fourth place at Eagle Classic tourney
• Match 1: vs. Atwood-Hammond, W 25-21, 25-20
• Match 2: vs. Kincaid South Fork, W 25-14, 25-19
• Match 3: vs. Morrisonville, L 11-25, 17-25
• Match 4: vs. Bement, L 23-25, 16-25
• Match 5: vs. Morrisonville, L 21-25, 23-25
• Kills (Uni leaders for tournament): Rachel Skoza 23, Sarah Pfander 15, Karen Woodley 14, Ruth Welch 13
• Assists (Uni leaders for tournament): Welch 41, Sheri Grill 16, Claire Johnson 7
• Blocks (Uni leaders for tournament): Skoza 8, Woodley 5
• Digs (Uni leaders for tournament): Jamie Weiser 27, Michelle Wong 16, Annie Machesky 13, Pfander 9, Welch 7, Chelsea Freeland 5
• Aces (Uni leaders for tournament): Machesky 8, Johnson 5, Welch 3

Sept. 4: at Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 16-25, 25-19, 25-10 *

• Story: Conference play opens with Uni win
• Kills: Rachel Skoza 7, Sarah Pfander 5, Karen Woodley 4
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 11, Sheri Grill 2
• Blocks: Skoza 3, Woodley 1
• Digs: Annie Machesky 7, Welch 5, Jamie Weiser 5
• Aces: Welch 7, Claire Johnson 3, Weiser 2

Sept. 7: at Decatur Christian, W 25-21, 25-14 *

• Story: Uni wins again in conference play
• Kills: Rachel Skoza 5, Karen Woodley 5
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 7, Claire Johnson 4, Sheri Grill 1
• Blocks: Skoza 1, Woodley 1
• Digs: Jamie Weiser 6, Annie Machesky 5, Welch 5, Sarah Pfander 3
• Aces: Johnson 6, Welch 3, Weiser 1, Pfander 1
• Junior varsity match: W 25-11, 25-16 (JV record: 2-0 overall, 1-0 ECIC)

Sept. 8: at Westville Invitational, 3 wins, 1 loss (2nd place in 5-team tournament)

• Story: Uni meets challenge, places second in tournament
• Match 1: vs. Westville, W 25-22, 20-25, 25-18
• Match 2: vs. Georgetown-Ridge Farm, L 25-13, 18-25, 21-25
• Match 3: vs. Heritage, W 25-17, 23-25, 25-21
• Match 4: vs. Salt Fork, W 25-23, 25-20
• Kills (tournament): Rachel Skoza 21, Karen Woodley 14, Chelsea Freeland 10, Claire Johnson 10, Sarah Pfander 10, Ruthie Welch 10, Annie Machesky 6, Sheri Grill 2
• Assists (tournament): Welch 40, Grill 19, Freeland 1
• Blocks (tournament): Woodley 8, Skoza 4, Pfander 1
• Digs (tournament): Jamie Weiser 45, Pfander 32, Machesky 26, Welch 20, Michelle Wong 20, Freeland 9, Grill 9, Johnson 3, Woodley 2
• Aces (tournament): Welch 9, Machesky 5, Woodley 5, Freeland 2, Pfander 2, Weiser 2, Wong 2, Johnson 1, Skoza 1

Sept. 10: at St. Thomas More, L 10-25, 16-25

• Story: Uni ready for first home match after falling to strong St. Thomas More squad
• Kills: Karen Woodley 2, Rachel Skoza 2
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 4
• Blocks: Skoza 1, Woodley 1, Sarah Pfander 1
• Digs: Jamie Weiser 4, Michelle Wong 4, Annie Machesky 2
• Aces: Welch 2, Machesky 1
• Junior varsity match: L 19-25, 13-25 (JV record: 2-1 overall, 1-0 ECIC)

Sept. 11: Normal Calvary Baptist, L 18-25, 25-13, 22-25 *

• Story: Home debut ends in close loss to Normal Calvary Baptist
• Kills: Rachel Skoza 9, Karen Woodley 6, Chelsea Freeland 5
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 17, Sheri Grill 7
• Blocks: Freeland 2, Skoza 1
• Digs: Annie Machesky 13, Michelle Wong 9, Jamie Weiser 3
• Aces: Welch 3, Woodley 2
• Junior varsity match: W 25-8, 25-15 (JV record: 3-1 overall, 2-0 ECIC)

Sept. 14: DeLand-Weldon, W 25-18, 25-15 *

• Story: Uni makes quick work of DeLand-Weldon
• Kills: Rachel Skoza 7, Karen Woodley 3, Claire Johnson 2
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 8, Sheri Grill 3
• Blocks: Skoza 3, Woodley 2, Sarah Pfander 2
• Digs: Jamie Weiser 7, Michelle Wong 4, Welch 4
• Aces: Welch 3, Machesky 2, Pfander 2
• Junior varsity match: none

Sept. 17: Fisher, L 22-25, 23-25

• Story: Illineks drop match to Bunnies
• Kills: Karen Woodley 5, Rachel Skoza 5
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 9, Sheri Grill 4
• Blocks: Chelsea Freeland 3, Skoza 2
• Digs: Sarah Pfander 10, Jamie Weiser 7
• Aces: Welch 1, Weiser 1, Michelle Wong 1
• Junior varsity match: L 9-25, 13-25 (JV record: 3-2 overall, 2-0 ECIC)

Sept. 21: at Decatur Lutheran, L 7-25, 8-25 *

• Story: Decatur Lutheran stays perfect, defeats Illineks
• Kills: several players with 1
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 3
• Blocks: Karen Woodley 1
• Digs: Jamie Weiser 10, Welch 5
• Aces: Welch 1, Sarah Pfander 1
• Junior varsity match: L 3-25, 25-22, 13-15 (JV record: 3-3 overall, 2-1 ECIC)

Sept. 25: at Judah Christian, W 25-19, 25-9 *

• Story: Illineks bounce back, sweep Judah Christian
• Kills: Rachel Skoza 6, Karen Woodley 5, Sarah Pfander 3
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 12, Sheri Grill 2, Jamie Weiser 1
• Blocks: Skoza 1, Woodley 1
• Digs: Pfander 6, Welch 6, Michelle Wong 6, Grill 5, Annie Machesky 5,
• Aces: Welch 3, Machesky 2, Weiser 2, Claire Johnson 1
• Junior varsity match: W 26-24, 20-25, 25-18 (JV record: 4-3 overall, 3-1 ECIC)

Sept. 27: Atwood-Hammond, W 25-16, 10-25, 25-23

• Story: Uni defeats Atwood-Hammond, reaches 10 wins
• Kills: Rachel Skoza 9, Karen Woodley 8
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 11, Sheri Grill 4
• Blocks: Woodley 3, Welch 3, Skoza 1
• Digs: Jamie Weiser 9, Welch 9, Annie Machesky 8, Michelle Wong 4
• Aces: Weiser 3, Woodley 2
• Junior varsity match: Uni defeats Atwood-Hammond in two games: 25-13, 25-17 (JV record: 5-3 overall, 3-1 ECIC)

Sept. 28: Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 25-16, 25-9 *

• Story: Illineks make quick work of conference foe
• Kills: Rachel Skoza 4, Karen Woodley 2
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 5, Sheri Grill 4
• Blocks: Woodley 1
• Digs: Welch 6, Annie Machesky 4, Michelle Wong 4, Jamie Weiser 4
• Aces: Welch 3, Claire Johnson 2, Wong 2
• Junior varsity match: none

Oct. 2: Decatur Christian, W 25-19, 25-21 *

• Story: Uni takes care of Decatur Christian, closes in on school record for wins
• Kills: Rachel Skoza 7, Karen Woodley 3, Ruthie Welch 2, Claire Johnson 2
• Assists: Welch 10, Sheri Grill 2
• Blocks: Skoza 2
• Digs: Welch 11, Jamie Weiser 6, Sarah Pfander 5
• Aces: Weiser 2, Annie Machesky 2
• Junior varsity match: Uni defeats Decatur Christian in three games: 25-21, 20-25, 15-11 (JV record: 6-3 overall, 4-1 ECIC)

Oct. 5: at Normal Calvary Baptist, W 16-25, 26-24, 25-15 *

• Story: see above
• Kills: Rachel Skoza 8, Karen Woodley 5, Chelsea Freeland 4
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 10, Sheri Grill 4
• Blocks: Skoza 3, Woodley 1
• Digs: Michelle Wong 9, Jamie Weiser 8, Sarah Pfander 5
• Aces: Welch 7, Woodley 5, Weiser 3
• Junior varsity match: Uni defeats Normal Calvary Baptist in three games: 25-27, 25-23, 15-11 (JV record: 7-3 overall, 5-1 ECIC)

* East Central Illinois Conference match

Next match: Crusader Invitational Tournament, Oct. 6, Buckley Christ Lutheran (directions). Each school will play five matches. Uni's first match will begin at 8 a.m.