URBANA — In one of Uni's most exciting contests of the year, the Illineks pulled off a comeback Thursday during the match's third game to edge visiting Atwood-Hammond in nonconference action 25-16, 10-25, 25-23.

The victory raises Uni's record to 10-9 overall, well ahead of last year's pace when the team set a school record of 15 wins. The 2006 squad didn't notch its 10th victory until Oct. 7, eventually finishing 15-14-1.

On Thursday night, after playing a solid first game in which they led by as many as 9 points, the Illineks trailed the entire way in the second game. Atwood-Hammond dominated the set, building a double-digit lead at 17-10 and winning by 15.

"I think sometimes when we do so well in the first game the girls tend to lose focus," said Uni head coach Amanda Palla. "And then once we lose focus a little bit, they get freaked out. I tell them they look like they’re running around with their heads cut off. And I really feel like that’s how we played the whole second game, and we just never got back into our groove. It’s a matter of keeping our edge even when we beat a team pretty well in the first game."

The decisive third set began with a kill by junior Rachel Skoza, one of her team-high 9 kills on the night. But Uni wouldn't lead again until late in the contest.

The Rajenes' biggest lead came when they pulled ahead 10-5. The Illineks tied it at 15, then fell behind again 15-17.

After knotting the score at 17, Uni finally regained the lead when senior setter Ruthie Welch found an open spot in the right side of Atwood-Hammond's defense and delivered a return shot for the score.

Then, with sophomore Michelle Wong doing most of the serving, Uni expanded its lead to 23-18. But the Rajenes took a timeout and regrouped, scoring 5 unanswered points to tie the game at 23.

The momentum was clearly with the visitors, but they squandered an opportunity to take the lead by giving Uni a point thanks to a serve attempt that landed out of bounds.

With her team now ahead 24-23, senior middle hitter Karen Woodley came up for a serve attempt of her own. As the ball sailed over the net, it traveled to Woodley's right. Atwood-Hammond coach Bill Lyons immediately declared it out of bounds. Everyone else in Kenney Gym waited for the official call.

When it came a moment later, Woodley had her second ace of the night and Uni had its 10th win of the year.

"At first I thought it was out, but then I kind of looked again, and it was like on the line," Woodley said. "But sometimes refs count that as out anyway, so I was really nervous. But then he said it was in, so I guess it was good."

Palla defended the ref's call.

"I saw the ball on the far corner of the court," she said. "I was on the line; he [Atwood-Hammond coach Lyons] was closer than I was, though — although we both wanted it to be in different spots. So the ref happened to agree with me, and he [Lyons] got upset."

Besides her pair of aces, Woodley recorded 8 kills during the match, just behind Skoza's 9. According to Palla, Skoza made her kills on only 13 attempts, giving her a hitting percentage of .692.

Welch assisted on 11 points. Junior setter Sheri Grill added 4 assists.

Both Welch and Woodley played tough defense at the net, leading the team with 3 blocks each. Skoza had 1.

Senior libero Jamie Weiser had 9 digs, as did Welch. Junior outside hitter Annie Machesky added 8, followed by Wong with 4. Weiser served well, scoring a team-high 3 aces.

According to their schedule, the Illineks could play as many as 11 more matches before the postseason begins. (The total depends on how many matches they play at the Crusader Invitational in Buckley on Oct. 6. Last year the team played five matches there.) This year's squad is on pace to break the school record for wins set in 2006 — maybe as early as next weekend.

"I think we’re a lot better off than we were last year," Woodley said. "We’ve been playing as a team really well. And that definitely helps because you can’t play the sport by yourself. It’s nice that we’re working as a team. I think we can go pretty far."

Said Palla of last season's 15-14-1 record: "We’re hoping for more than that this year. We’d like to have a solidly winning season, not just this one game over .500."

The Illineks will play again tonight when they host East Central Illinois Conference opponent Buckley Christ Lutheran. There will be no JV match, so varsity action will begin at 6 p.m.

The Uni JV defeated Atwood-Hammond on Thursday 25-13, 25-17, raising the squad's record to 5-3 overall.

MORE PHOTOS: UNI VS. ATWOOD-HAMMOND

Senior Ruthie Welch (1) sends a return shot Atwood-Hammond's way. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

THE SEASON SO FAR

2007 GIRLS VOLLEYBALL VARSITY RECORD: 10-9 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: 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: see above
• 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)

* East Central Illinois Conference match

Next match: Buckley Christ Lutheran, Sept. 28, Kenney Gym, 1402 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana; varsity-only match to begin at 6 p.m.