By Deren Kudeki
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006, The OG, sports

URBANA — The Uni girls volleyball team beat Decatur Christian 25-5, 25-23 Friday at Kenney Gym. The victory raised the Illineks' East Central Illinois Conference record to 2-0.

Their first ECIC win came Tuesday against visiting Buckley Christ Lutheran 25-11, 25-22. Senior Mandy Grill served up six aces in that match, while junior Ruthie Welch recorded 14 assists.

In Friday's match, the first game was dominated by Welch, who served 13 times, seven of which were aces. The second game, however, was not so easy. Uni and Decatur Christian were neck and neck the entire game, with the Illineks coming out on top with a two-point win.

“Everyone contributed tonight,” said head coach Amanda Palla. She noted that sophomore Rachel Skoza finished the match with four blocks, senior Annie Liang led the team with four digs, and junior Chelsea Freeland added three aces. Sophomore Jessi Sullivan and senior Beckaa Wallig each had two kills, while Welch led the Illineks with four assists.

“This was a very balanced effort,” Palla said, “and we were happy to get our second conference win.”

The victory improved the Illineks' overall record to 3-5 going into Saturday's Westville Invitational. At the tourney, the Illineks went 1-3. They:

— lost to Westville 25-17, 10-25, 11-25
— defeated Georgetown-Ridge Farm 25-14, 25-15
— lost to Heritage 23-25, 21-25
— lost to Salt Fork 25-10, 21-25, 25-27

“The record from this weekend does not reflect how well the girls played,” Palla said. “Although we only won one match, we won four games, and the final match against Salt Fork could have gone either way. Our passing was much improved this weekend, and as a team, we had a 94 percent serving percentage and racked up 30 aces.”

For the tournament, Wallig led the team with 24 kills, followed by Sullivan with 19. Welch finished with a team-high 40 assists, Grill with 10 aces and 31 digs, and Wallig with three blocks. Close behind were Sullivan with nine aces, junior Jamie Weiser with 28 digs, and Skoza with two blocks.

The Illineks, now 4-8, will begin a busy week tonight when they host St. Thomas More. The girls will travel to Normal Calvary Baptist for a match Tuesday, host Fisher on Thursday, then travel to Deland-Weldon on Friday.

VARSITY RECORD: 4-8 overall, 2-0 ECIC
(Home matches in bold)
Aug. 31: Oakwood, L 11-25, 23-25
Sept. 2: Atwood-Hammond (at Deland-Weldon Eagle Classic), L 23-25, 25-18, 9-15
Sept. 2: LeRoy (at Deland-Weldon Eagle Classic), W 25-13, 22-25, 15-10
Sept. 2: South Fork (at Deland-Weldon Eagle Classic), L (game scores to be posted)
Sept. 2: Rockford Keith (at Deland-Weldon Eagle Classic), L 9-25, 17-25
Sept. 2: Lovington (at Deland-Weldon Eagle Classic), L 20-25, 9-25
Sept. 5: Buckley Christ Lutheran,* W 25-12, 25-22
Sept. 8: Decatur Christian,* W 25-5, 25-23
Sept. 9: Westville (at Westville invitational), L 25-17, 10-25, 11-25
Sept. 9: Georgetown-Ridge Farm (at Westville invitational), W 25-14, 25-15
Sept. 9: Heritage (at Westville invitational), L 23-25, 21-25
Sept. 9: Salt Fork (at Westville invitational), L 25-10, 21-25, 25-27

*East Central Illinois Conference opponent