[Note: This story was updated on Friday, Oct. 19.]

URBANA — After a week off, the Uni girls volleyball team fell to conference leader Decatur Lutheran School Association 16-25, 17-25 Tuesday at Kenney Gym.

The Lady Lions (25-2 overall) are 11-0 in the East Central Illinois Conference and had already clinched the ECIC title before Tuesday's contest. It was the Illineks' second loss to LSA this season; they dropped a road match Sept. 21 in which they failed to reach double digits in either game (7-25, 8-25).

"Basically I thought that we played really well," senior outside hitter Sarah Pfander said. "We just didn't have as much energy as we usually do. I mostly attribute that to us going into the match positive that it was going to be a repeat of the first one and feeling like we might as well not play because LSA was going to beat us so bad."

Uni is now 19-10 overall, 8-3 in the ECIC. The girls will end their regular season Friday night at Kenney Gym against conference foe Judah Christian.

If the Illineks win the senior night match, they will reach 20 victories, something no Uni volleyball team has come close to. The previous season high for wins was 15, which last year's team accomplished.

Senior night will honor Chelsea Freeland, Claire Johnson, Sarah Pfander, Jamie Weiser, Ruthie Welch (who holds the Uni career record for assists), and Karen Woodley. In each of their last three seasons, the Illineks have set a school record for wins: 14 in 2005, 15 in 2006, 19 (and counting) this year.

The Illineks will begin Class 2A postseason action on Tuesday when they visit Clinton. Uni is seeded No. 9 in subsectional B of the Tolono Unity sectional, while Clinton is No. 7. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. If the girls win that contest, they will play No. 2 Monticello on Thursday.

Against LSA, Woodley led the Illineks with three kills. Usually she and fellow middle hitter Rachel Skoza dominate that statistic, but the kills were spread out this time, with Skoza, Welch, Pfander, and Johnson each recording two.

Welch had a team-high five assists, followed by three for junior setter Sheri Grill and one for Johnson.

Woodley recorded Uni's only block of the match. Junior Annie Machesky joined Pfander and Johnson with five digs apiece. Welch contributed four. She and Macheskey scored the team's only aces — two for Welch, one for Machesky.

LSA, meanwhile, continued its impressive march through the season, led by freshman middle hitter Morganne Criswell. The Lady Lions play Class 3A Decatur MacArthur on Thursday followed by Buckley Christ Lutheran on Friday. Barring a spectacular upset, LSA will finish 12-0 in the ECIC and win its fourth straight conference title. (UPDATE: LSA beat MacArthur 23-25, 25-11, 25-11 to raise its record to 26-2. It was the first time LSA beat the Generals.)

Still, even though they lost, the Illineks could take solace from their improvement since the last time they played LSA. The girls more than doubled their point total and saw some things that should help next week in playoff action.

"I think our digging and our hitting looked really good," Pfander said, "and it puts us in a good position for the regional game against Clinton."

THE SEASON SO FAR

2007 GIRLS VOLLEYBALL VARSITY RECORD: 19-10 overall, 8-3 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: Illineks win nail-biter, defeat Normal Calvary Baptist for 13th victory
• 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)

Oct. 6: at Buckley Christ Lutheran Crusader Invitational, 5 wins, 0 losses (1st place in 4-team tournament)

• Story: Tournament champs set school record for wins, Skoza named MVP
• Match 1: vs. Buckley Christ Lutheran (8 a.m.), W 25-22, 25-24
• Match 2: vs. Cornerstone Christian (10 a.m.), W 25-17, 25-11
• Match 3: vs. Judah Christian (noon), W 25-23, 25-9
• Match 4: vs. Cornerstone Christian (2:15 p.m.), W 25-15, 25-9
• Match 5: vs. Buckley Christ Lutheran (5:15 p.m.), W 24-26, 25-21, 16-14
• Kills (totals for tournament): Rachel Skoza 33, Karen Woodley 27, Chelsea Freeland 13, Sarah Pfander 11, Claire Johnson 9, Ruthie Welch 3, Annie Machesky 2
• Assists (totals for tournament): Ruthie Welch 30, Michelle Wong 20, Sheri Grill 18, Johnson 8
• Blocks (totals for tournament): Skoza 9, Johnson 1
• Digs (totals for tournament): Jamie Weiser 34, Machesky 31, Wong 24, Welch 16, Pfander 15, Freeland 8, Grill 6, Woodley 5, Johnson 5
• Aces (totals for tournament): Wong 16, Machesky 10, Welch 9, Weiser 7, Johnson 7, Woodley 5, Pfander 4, Skoza 3

Oct. 9: at DeLand-Weldon, W 25-19, 25-15 *

• Story: Illineks add to school record with win over DeLand-Weldon
• Kills: Karen Woodley 7, Rachel Skoza 5
• Assists: Ruthie Welch 9, Sheri Grill 4, Claire Johnson 2
• Blocks: Skoza 2
• Digs: Johnson 4, Welch 4, Sarah Pfander 4, Annie Machesky 3
• Aces: Welch 7, Johnson 5
• Junior varsity match: None, but Uni will host an 8-team JV tournament on Saturday. The Uni JV is 7-3 overall, 5-1 ECIC.

Oct. 16: Decatur Lutheran, L 16-25, 17-25 *

• Story: see above
• Kills: Karen Woodley 3, Rachel Skoza 2, Ruthie Welch 2, Sarah Pfander 2, Claire Johnson 2
• Assists: Welch 5, Sheri Grill 3, Johnson 1
• Blocks: Woodley 1
• Digs: Annie Machesky 5, Johnson 5, Pfander 5, Welch 4
• Aces: Welch 2, Macheskey 1
• Junior varsity match: Uni lost to LSA 20-25, 20-25. (JV record: 7-4 overall, 5-2 ECIC, not including results from Oct. 13 JV tournament)

* East Central Illinois Conference match

Next match: Judah Christian, Oct. 19, Kenney Gym, 1402 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana; JV match to begin at 6 p.m.