CHAMPAIGN — After running into a powerhouse Decatur Lutheran team on Friday, the Uni girls came back strong Tuesday to defeat crosstown rival Judah Christian in two games.

The Illneks won the East Central Illinois Conference match 25-19, 25-9. The win evens Uni's overall record at 9-9 and boosts the team's ECIC mark to 4-2. Judah Christian is 4-8, 2-3.

The second game was especially impressive as Uni built a 6-0 lead behind the serving of senior Ruthie Welch. The Illineks continued to expand their margin steadily, leading by 16 (20-4) and 17 (24-7) before winning by 15.

The girls showed no ill effects from Friday's match, which Uni lost 7-25, 8-25 to an undefeated Lady Lions team.

"The thing about that game is that I feel like if the scoreboard hadn’t existed, we really would have felt like we were doing pretty well, because I think we were playing good volleyball against an excellent team," Welch said. "So I think it was a little bit of a reality check, but at the same time I think we felt good about it because I felt we played a good game. I really don’t think we felt too down because there’s a difference between losing and playing badly, and we didn’t play badly even though we lost."

So how would Welch rate Uni's performance against Judah?

"I’d say it was very good, especially our second game, where we came back and kept them under 10," she said. "That was a goal that we reached, which was really exciting. I think we did a great job of playing as a team and communicating with one another to achieve our common goals."

Coach Amanda Palla didn't see any fallout from the Decatur loss, either.

"Their spirits were up," Palla said of her players. "So we had a nice day of practice on Monday, worked a lot on our serving, and hoped to come in here today and play well. And I think we did that in the second game. … The girls did not let the ball drop. They were going after everything; everything was going back over the net."

Junior middle hitter Rachel Skoza led the team with 6 kills, followed by senior middle hitter Karen Woodley with 5 and senior outside hitter Sarah Pfander with 3. Skoza and Woodley each had 1 block.

Welch, Uni's record-breaking setter, had a team-high 12 assists. Junior setter Sheri Grill added 2, and senior libero Jamie Libero recorded 1.

Three Illineks had 6 digs apiece: Pfander, Welch, and sophomore defensive specialist Michelle Wong. Grill and junior outside hitter Annie Machesky each had 5.

For the night, Uni scored 8 points on aces. Welch tallied 3, Machesky and Weiser 2, and senior rightside hitter Claire Johnson 1.

In junior varsity action, Uni defeated Judah Christian in three games: 26-24, 20-25, 25-18. The JV is now 4-3 overall, 3-1 in the ECIC.

The Illineks will return to Kenney Gym for two more contests this week. They will host Atwood-Hammond in a nonconference match on Thursday, with JV action beginning at 6 p.m. The girls will host Buckley Christ Lutheran in a conference match on Friday. The varsity-only contest will begin at 6 p.m.

Uni defeated both teams earlier this season, downing Atwood-Hammond 25-21, 25-20 in the first match of the DeLand-Weldon Eagle Classic on Sept 1 and beating Buckley Christ Lutheran three days later 16-25, 25-19, 25-10.

MORE PHOTOS: UNI AT JUDAH CHRISTIAN

Senior Rachel Skoza prepares to serve against Judah Christian. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

THE SEASON SO FAR

2007 GIRLS VOLLEYBALL VARSITY RECORD: 9-9 overall, 4-2 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: see above
• 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)

* East Central Illinois Conference match

Next match: Atwood-Hammond, Sept. 27, Kenney Gym, 1402 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana; JV match to begin at 6 p.m.