Beating Rantoul 2-0, seniors pace Rockets in volleyball victory


Unity's Reagan Little
Unity's Reagan Little passes the ball to the front row during her team's road game at St. Joseph-Ogden. On Monday, Little chalked up 12 kills against the Rantoul Eagles during the Rockets' Senior Night contest.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

TOLONO - Unity extended its current win streak to three matches after defeating visiting Rantoul on Tuesday in straight sets, 2-0.

Seniors Reagan Little and Ruby Tarr shined on Senior Night in the Illini Prairie Conference matchup that ended the first set 29-27 and securing the win with a 25-21 advantage.

Little blasted the Eagles with 12 kills and pounded three aces from the backline. Tarr distributed 13 assists and notched a pair of kills. The duo tallied nine digs and two more, respectively.

Hoping to post their 16th win this season and level out their season record at .500, the varsity volleyball team will play their final regular season match on the road at Olympia tonight.

Unity opens their postseason play at the Rocket Center, hosting Warrensburg-Latham, Meridian, and three IPC teams, all seeded higher than the #9 Rockets. Monticello (21-11, 5-3), St. Thomas More (21-12, 4-4), and conference champions Bloomington Central Catholic (25-7, 8-0) are all in the hunt for the Tolono regional title. The winner of the regional title advances to the St. Joseph-Ogden sectional semifinal on Monday, October 30.

The five seniors honored at Tuesday night's home match included Little, Tarr, McKayla Schendel, Jocelyn LeFaivre, and Piper Steele.


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Tigers tennis duos set to face first-round opponents today

Members of the Urbana High School tennis will be competing at the IHSA Girls Tennis State Finals today at Buffalo Grove and other surrounding high school sites. Doubles pair Lorilei Yau, Eisla Madigan, head coach Parker Sands, assistant coach Jeff Unger, and the doubles team of Luna Morales and Alisa Tangmunarunkit will represent the Tigers at the season finale event.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

BUFFALO GROVE - There's nothing like competing against the best athletes in the state. Urbana's #1 and #2 doubles pairs will put their training and mental stamina put to the test when they take the court in Day 1 competition at the Illinois High School Association's Girls Tennis State Final.

Tigers Alisa Tangmunarunkit and Luna Morales play their opening match against Sycamore's Jetta Weaver and Madyson Block at Schaumburg High School. Tangmunarunkit and Morales won the Danville championship title on Monday and later celebrated their Senior Night before spending Tuesday and Wednesday preparing for today's match.

Meanwhile, teammates Lorelie Yau and Eisla Madigan, also seniors, will begin their tournament play at Schaumburg High School, three and half miles away. Yau and Madigan, who finished fourth in the sectionals, will face Benet Academy duo Shane Delaney and Clare Lopatka.

After making her first tournament appearance last fall unseeded, University High's Kruthi Ramanath hard work and offseason work delivered dividends by way of a #3-4 seed into this year's Class 1A singles bracket. The sophomore will face Sacred Heart-Griffin senior Mary Kate Christie.

In her freshman-year foray into the IHSA tennis postseason, Ramanath won her first match over Illinois Math and Science Academy's Josie Kim, 6-0, 6-2. Advancing to the next round, she played admirably but ultimately eliminated from the bracket after a 6-3, 6-4 loss to then senior Savannah Web from Richmond-Burton.

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Due to rain on Saturday and the lack of indoor court availability, the fate of two Urbana's doubles pairs was settled at Danville High School tennis sectional on Monday. While both qualified for state after serving their way into the semifinal round, all that was left was determing the third-place winners and this year's sectional champions.

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Photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks