URBANA — Playing less than 24 hours after dispatching Atwood-Hammond in three games, the Illineks had little trouble taking care of visiting Buckley Christ Lutheran in a conference match Friday night.

The second game was especially impressive as Uni emerged from a 7-7 deadlock to outscore the visitors 18-2 the rest of the way. With sophomore Michelle Wong serving, the Illineks scored 16 straight points to build a 23-7 lead.

The match was a turnaround from the first time the teams met this season, when the Crusaders pushed Uni to three games on Sept. 4 before losing. Friday's contest was over in barely 40 minutes.

With the win, Uni is now 11-9 overall, 5-2 in the East Central Illinois Conference. The girls are already within reach of breaking the school record for wins set last year. The 2006 team went 15-14-1 to earn Uni's first winning record in the sport.

According to their schedule, the Illineks could play as many as 10 more matches before the postseason begins. The total will depend on how many matches they play at the Crusader Invitational in Buckley on Oct. 6. Last year the team played five matches there.

Next week the girls will play conference opponents Decatur Christian at home Tuesday and Normal Calvary Baptist on the road Friday. They will then travel to Buckley Christ Lutheran on Saturday for the Crusader Invitational.

The Illineks beat Decatur Christian in two games on Sept. 7 but lost to Normal Calvary Baptist in three on Sept. 11.

MORE PHOTOS: UNI VS. BUCKLEY CHRIST LUTHERAN

Middle hitter Karen Woodley begins a kill during Uni's win Friday night at Kenney Gym. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

THE SEASON SO FAR

2007 GIRLS VOLLEYBALL VARSITY RECORD: 11-9 overall, 5-2 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: see above
• 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

* East Central Illinois Conference match

Next match: Decatur Christian, Oct. 2, Kenney Gym, 1402 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana; JV match to begin at 6 p.m.