Photo Gallery: Unity volleyball team survives three-setter to beat Westville

Lydia Rossi (left) and Lindy Bates leap above the net to block a kill during Unity's junior varsity game against Westville. Rockets won their match in straight sets, 2-0. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Kara Young pummels the ball during set one of Unity's home match against Westville. The Rockets dropped the first set, 27-25. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Junior Piper Steele attempts to put the ball away for a kill through Westville's Maddison Appl during set one. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Unity's McKayla Schendel puts the ball in play during set 2. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Ruby Tarr serves during second set action against the Tigers. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Junior Ruby Tarr passes the ball during second set. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Reagan Little passes the ball in the second set. Little led the Rockets' offense with 22 kills and chalked up 10 digs (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Unity libero (center) receives a Westville serve in the second half. The Rockets won the set, 26-24. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Jayci McGraw passses the ball to the front row during the third set action. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Ruby Tarr, Kara Young, Kaitlyn Schweighart, Reagan Little and members of the Unity volleyball team celebrate a point during the third set. The Rockets pulled out a 26-24 win to take the match, 2-1. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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5 Questions with Ruby Tarr

Photo:Sentinel/Clark Brooks

TOLONO - After nine games this season, Unity's Ruby Tarr has scored 11 times and batted in 13 runs to assist in leading her softball team to a 6-2-1 early-season record.

The Sentinel caught up with her after the Rockets' home game against Oakwood last month where she scored once, collected two stolen bases, and singled in her two trips to the plate.

We asked a few questions to get to know the senior infielder better.
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SENTINEL: What is your dream job?

TARR: A speech pathologist at a school.
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SENTINEL: What is your favorite pre-game meal or snack?

TARR: Goldfish (crackers).
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SENTINEL: Who is your favorite actor or actress?

TARR: Reese Witherspoon.
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SENTINEL: Which movie describes your life so far?

TARR: Oh my, a movie ... Benchwarmers.
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SENTINEL: What is your favorite Taylor Swift song?

TARR: You Belong With Me.
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Ruby Tarr hits homer, leads Rockets in 14-4 win over Prairie Central

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

FAIRBURY - Ruby Tarr swings at a Cissna Park pitch on Tuesday, April 11. The senior led the Rockets' offense in their Illini Prairie Conference road game last Friday at Prairie Central with two hits, including a home run, and four RBI in a 14-4 drubbing. The league victory extends the Unity softball team's current win streak to nine games. Tarr and Rockets (18-1 overall, 5-1 conference) are back on the home turf on Tuesday in a make-up contest against St. Anthony.

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Rockets win softball season opener in Tennesse, and then some

JACKSON, TN - Lindy Bates went 3-for-3 in the Rockets' season opener earlier this month against Millington Central at the Sarah Beth Whitehead Tournament. Unity plated three runs in the third inning to beat the Trojans after five innings 4-2 on March 16.

Starting the bottom of the third down 2-1 on the scoreboard, Unity's Jenna Adkins went down swinging to give Millington the first out. Next, Ruby Tarr stepped up to the plate to face Trojan starter Breanna Hulsey. Tarr took her third pitch smacking leather out to center field, only to be caught by MC's Rilee Ervin.

With two outs on the board, Bates wasted no time and pounded the ball to right field, rounding first and on to second for a double. She later moved to third courtesy of a line drive from senior Reese Sarver.

With Unity bats now ignited, senior Ashlyn Miller, who scored on an error in the previous inning, knocked in the tying run on a fly ball out to left field while Sarver made her way to scoring position on third.

Then, tied at two-all, the Unity line-up kept their hands on the throttle scoring two more runs on a line drive double to right from Maegan Rothe to lock in the first win of the season.

Two days later, the Unity bats were still glowing. The Rockets amassed 27 runs across four games to finish the out-of-state tournament 3-1.

Unity bombs Peabody

The Rockets scored ten runs in the first inning of their second tournament game to stun the Golden Tide of Peabody High School, 12-0.

Ashlyn Miller and Reece Sarver booked two RBIs apiece, while Jenna Adkins, Lindy Bates, and Lauren Haas delivered one each in a contest that lasted just two and a half innings.

Jenna Adkins, Chloey Duitsman, Reagan Little, and McKayla Schendel padded their baserunning stats with one stolen bag each.

Striking out a trio of Peabody batters, Bates picked up the win, throwing just 28 pitches in the first two innings.

Adamsville falls victim to Rockets' firepower

Three hours after the start of the first game on Saturday, March 18, Jenna Adkins crushed the ball over the right field fence for a solo home run to knot the score at one-all in the first inning of the Rockets' Round of 16 game against the Cardinals.

UHS retired the next three Adamsville batters in the top of 2 before piling nine runs on the scoreboard to go up 10-1.

The Rockets enjoyed a bunted single by Maegan Rothe; doubles from Chloey Duitsman, Lindy Bates, and Ashlyn Miller; and a two-out two-RBI triple from Rothe on her second appearance in batter's box in the frame.

In the bottom of the third inning, Abbie Pieczynski, batting for Bates, tapped a ground ball to the pitcher. Tossed out at first, the senior's play allowed McKayla Schendel to score from third.

Up 11-1, Unity stretched their early season win streak to three games, outscoring opponents 27-3 after Sarver flew out to center field.

Unity suffers first loss

Camden scattered five unanswered runs across four innings against the Rockets in their tournament quarterfinal game. In a hole too deep to climb, UHS was eliminated from medal contention after a 6-4 finish.

Lindy Bates, who absorbed the pitching loss, had one hit and tallied two stolen bases. Sophia Beckett, Lauren Haas, and Ruby Tarr logged one stolen base a piece.

Tarr leads Unity in acing Urbana, 2-0

TOLONO - Reagan Little and Piper Steele combined efforts to produce seven kills in Unity's home volleyball match against Urbana on Monday. The Rockets won the contest in straight sets 25-21, 25-21.

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Unity's McKayla Schendel passes the ball to the front line during the Rockets' home match against Central High School in August. UHS moved to a 15-16-1 record after their non-conference match against the Urbana Tigers.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Steele delivered three kills and three digs. Little, who led the team at the net and in the backcourt was credited with four kills and 10 digs.

Junior Lauren Shaw pounded two aces against the visiting Tigers and distributed eight passes. Meanwhile, senior Ruby Tarr slammed three aces and had six assists. Shaw chalked up six digs and Tarr added another six in the non-conference victory.

The Rockets improved to 15-16-1 and host Rantoul (13-19) tonight in their final regular season home match before facing Olympia on the road on Thursday.

The team will be back in action at the Rocket Center next Monday at 6pm in their postseason debut against #7 seed Warrensburg-Latham (22-10).

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Related Unity Athletics stories:

Schlittler leads Rockets in home win over Indians

Bouncing back from a two-match slide, the Unity volleyball team defeated Pontiac...

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Unity suffers heartbreaking loss at home to visiting Central Maroons

The Rockets won the first set 25-19 and then dropped the next two, 25-14, 25-19, to the Maroons Tuesday evening at the Rocket Center.

Read more...

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

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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

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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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Prep Sports Notebook: Unity top in XC, SJO soccer post another win

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Rockets take 4th place at Reed-Custer Lady Comets Classic

BRAIDWOOD -- Unity won one match, tied two, and lost two at the Lady Comets volleyball tournament on Saturday.

The Rockets fell 2-0 to Maroa-Forsyth and De La Salle in close contests. The Trojans prevailed 25-23, 25-14, and the Meteors from Chicago squeaked by UHS, 25-18, 25-20.

The team split sets against Putnam County, losing the first by three, 25-22, and storming back to take the second set, 25-18. Kaitlyn Schweighart, who finished the tournament with 18 kills and 58 digs, and the Rockets also split sets in their confrontation with the Momence volleyball program, 17-25, 25-16.

UHS' only victory on the five-match day was 25-23, 25-11, win over Mendota.

Junior Ruby Tarr had 33 assists and made 22 digs during the tournament. Meanwhile, Jayci McGraww booked 31 assists and five digs, and Julia Ping helped the team's defensive effort collecting 35 digs and nine assists.

The Rockets are back in action two days next week at the Rocket Center. Starting Monday, Tarr & Co. host the Bulldogs of St. Teresa and then play a conference showdown against the Monticello. The Sages are 0-2 in conference play with straight two-set loses to St. Thomas More and Paxton-Buckley-Loda this season.

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Spartans one win away from 10th

GEORGETOWN -- The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team rallied back from a one-goal first-half deficit with two goals to beat Georgetown-Ridge Farm-Westville, 2-1.

The Buffaloes produced the only score in the first half despite numerous opportunities for SJO. A pass from freshman Ryker Lockhart gave Collin Thomey the opportunity to tie the game 1-all in the second half. Later, Lockhart put the ball between the post around the GRFW keeper to give the Spartans the go-ahead goal. Spencer Wilson got credit for the assist for the 9-3-1 Spartans.

Senior Hunter Ketchum and backup keeper Jacek Slowikowski, each guarding the goal for a half, made two saves each.

Luke Barney nailed the first goal of the game for the Buffaloes.

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Unity outscored, 2-0

Tolono -- The Rockets' soccer team fell 2-0 to visiting Illinois Valley Central Saturday morning. The Grey Ghosts improved to 1-4 in conference play after scoring a goal in each half of the Illini Prairie Conference match.

Unity (2-13, 0-6) hosts Fisher on Monday at home. Opening kick is slated for 4:30p.

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SJO 4th, Unity 9th at cross-country meet

St. Joseph -- St. Joseph-Ogden's Jack Fisher turned in a team-best 16:10.32 finish to help the Spartans finish fourth out of 28 participating teams after running in the 50th installment of the Spartan Classic.

The Rockets, who finished ninth in the team standings, were paced by Brendan Graven. He completed the 3-mile course in 16 minutes and 38.58 seconds Saturday morning. Urbana University High's Pieter Duursma led the Illinek's effort to the finish line, circumventing the course for a 34th overall finish at 16:51.57.

The St. Teresa boys' team won this year's team title with 60 points. El Paso-Gridley finished in second place with 92 points, and third place went to Tuscola with 113 points.

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Unity girls when Spartan Classic title

St. Joseph -- The Rockets cross-country team finished first out of 27 teams at this year's Spartan Classic. Uni-High finished in third place with 149 points behind El Paso-Gridley's 97-point second-place effort. Unity's top-five runners finished the 3-mile course under 19 minutes or better for an impressive 38 points.

The St.Joseph-Ogden harriers finished in seventh place in the team standings.

Rockets' Erika Woodard, a junior, won the individual title crossing the finish line first for the ladies with a time of 17:12.28. Senior Kate Ahmari, who led the Illinek program around the course throughout St. Joseph, finished at 17:49.40 in 3rd place overall. The Spartans top runner, sophomore Savanna Franzen, clocked in at 18:02.08 for a 6th place finish overall.

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Attention area high school coaches

If you are a coach at Unity, Urbana Uni-High, Urbana High School or St. Joseph-Ogden, send us your box scores, statistical leaders for each game, and other info via email to sports@oursentinel.com or editor@oursentinel.com.

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Unity's fifth inning rally crushes Mahomet-Seymour in softball opener

MAHOMET - Up 7-5 on the scoreboard at the top of the fifth inning, the Unity softball team loaded their side of the scoreboard with 11 runs before host Mahomet-Seymour could finally put a stop to the carnage from last season's Class A Sweet Sixteen team. Three Bulldog fly balls later, the Rockets celebrated their first win of the season with an 18-5 victory.

Lindy Bates and Ruby Tarr tallied three hits each. Bates smacked a two-run homer to center field in the fourth inning and pounded a two-run double in the fifth inning. She finished the game with five RBIs in the road opener. Tarr did one better, collecting six RBIs on three hits and crossing the plate just once for the Rockets.

Bates pitched a complete game to earn the win. She gave up five runs on eight hits and struck out three.

Unity's bats were smoking, racking up 16 hits and 16 RBI. Jenna Adkins, Sophia Beckett, Taylor Drennan, and McKayla Schendel had two hits each, combining for three RBIs.

Ava Henderson led the Bulldogs with two hits and three RBIs. Madeleine Cortez was credited with two RBIs and scored one run for her team.

Unity plays the first home game on Thursday at 4:30 pm at the school's sports complex against Normal Community.

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Prep Sports Notebook: Rockets blank Comets in first home game of the season

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Three home runs power Unity over Oakwood

Hailey Flesch, Reece Sarver, and Ruby Tarr hit one home run apiece in the bottom of the third inning to lead Unity past Oakwood 18-0 on Monday.

With the Rockets already up 15-0, Tarr's three-run bell-ringer was the icing on the cake in the non-conference victory.

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Attention high school coaches

We need your help covering your team this spring to help keep fans, college recruiters, and area readers informed. Send us your game or meet results for our Prep Sports Notebook and weekly stats leaders for our All-Area team selection at the conclusion of the season.

If you are a coach at Unity, Urbana Uni-High, Urbana High School or St. Joseph-Ogden, the best way to send us box scores and other info is via email to sports@oursentinel.com or editor@oursentinel.com.

Do you have a player on the verge of breaking a school record, signing an LOI, or have a story idea? Don't hesitate to email us.

Season cut short

TOLONO - Ruby Tarr and teammates from the Unity volleyball team react while players from the opposing team celebrate their first-round postseason match at the Rocket Center. Tarr and the Rockets' season came to an end after facing Warrensburg-Latham on their home court on Monday. After taking the first set 25-13, Unity dropped the pair, 27-25, 25-15. UHS finished with a 16-17-1 record and closed out the regular seasono 7th in the Illini Prairie Conference. Follow this link to view more match photos ...

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Prep Sports Notebook: Schweighart 22 digs not enough, SJO soccer wins again

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Rockets dip below .500 after road loss

The Unity volleyball team fell 2-1 on the road at Central Catholic in Bloomington.

The Rockets held their ground during the first set to win, 25-23. Battling fiercely in both the second and the tie-breaking third, Reagan Little's 11 kills for the night were not enough to pull Unity through in their first conference match of the season.

Kaitlyn Schweighart led the defensive effort for UHS with 22 digs. Julia Ping had 13 digs along with Little's eight, as the Rockets drop to 6-7 on the season. Schweighart also chipped in 5 kills, and Ping three assists in the Illini Prairie Conference loss.

Ruby Tarr, who had four digs, delivered 15 assists.

The Rocket volleyball squad will have a chance to rebound next Tuesday when they host the 10-4 Spartans from St. Joseph-Ogden at the Rocket Center.

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SJO soccer sack Olympians

After 1-1 first half, the Spartans hit four unanswered goals to beat visiting Olympia High School, 5-1. The prolific scoring effort was led by Spenser Wilson, who netted the first two goals of the second half with assists from Logan Mills and then one from Collin Thomey.

Mills added another assist to his season stats on a feed to Jacik Slowikosky, who punched in the team's fourth goal of the contest. Zach Harper closed out the scoring effort with an unassisted score late in the half.

Back in the first 90 minutes, Olympia's Evan Deterding slipped the ball past SJO keeper Hunter Ketchum, who had five saves, for the first score of the contest. Ryker Lockhart fired up the host Spartans with a reply to remind his team was still in the game thanks to a pass from Jackson Greer before the midgame break.

The Spartans improve to 6-2-1 on the season, and host IVC at 10 am on Saturday.

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SJO volleyball picks up 10th win

The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team notched their first Illini Prairie Conference win after a 2-0 win over visiting St. Thomas More.

After a 1-1 start, the Spartans took the lead after junior Addie Roesch's ace and relinquished it once, falling behind briefly at 5-6 in the first set. SJO then took control of the match and thwarted four concerted STM efforts to dominate on the scoreboard. Later, tied at 21-all, St.Joseph-Ogden won for of the last five points for the 25-22 win.

With the momentum clearly on their side of the net, the Spartans jumped out to an 8-0 lead against last year's Class 1A state champions to start the second set. Their strong defensive effort that never allowed the Sabers to threaten their dominance any closer than three points as SJO prevailed 25-20 behind the combined firepower from SJO's Shayne Immke and Josey Frerichs up front.

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First inning rally pushes Unity past Oakwood

TOLONO - Good things come in threes, especially for Jenna Adkins on Monday during the Rockets' home game against Oakwood.

With a smile on her face, Jenna Adkins heads to home plate after sending a bomb out to right field in the first inning to give the Rockets a 1-0 lead against visiting Oakwood.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Leading off for Unity (3-1) in the bottom of the first inning, Atkins crushed the third pitch, sending it over the right field fence. If it wasn't for the 25 m.p.h.-plus cross wind out of the southeast, the ball could have sailed another 10 yards past the vehicles parked on the other side of the fence.

"It's always a windy day at the Unity HS Softball field! However, last night was so odd," exclaimed Unity head coach Aimee Davis. "When I was hitting ground balls to the infield, the wind even had an influence on those and the direction they went after contact."

She pointed out that "fly balls were hard to read" due to the steady, unrelenting wind. It was amazing there weren't more errors than the one recorded by the Comets in the four-inning affair that ended 14-0 in favor of the Rockets.

"I do not think I have played or coached in a windier game than last night. It was wild," Davis said.

Adkins' homer was just the start. Unity tallied six more runs, the last courtesy of Atkins, whose single put Taylor Drennan across the plate for the final run of the inning.

Gracie Enos throws a pitch during the first innning. Despite throwing 25 strikes out of her 38 pitches, the senior suffered eight runs on eight hits against the Rockets.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

"When you can start the game with a leadoff homerun, that sets the tone for the rest of the game," Davis said.

Adkins finished the non-conference game with three hits in her three at-bats and booked three RBIs.

"Jenna had another great at-bat and hit the ball square. We need that from her, and she wants to have good outcomes up to bat," Davis said. "She's followed by solid hitters that get their jobs done."

The Rockets scattered a hit from nine different batters in the lineup. Grace Bickers, Sophia Beckett, and Reese Frye had two RBIs each.

"Our offensive lineup is a good one, and we are starting to see more consistency up and down, which is positive to see as a coach," Davis added. "Defensively, we have a solid pitching staff and an infield and outfield that play great supporting roles."

The Comets (1-3) mustered just three hits courtesy of Karleigh Nelson, Gracie Hanner, and Caydence Vermillion. Oakwood's only opportunity to score came in the top of the third inning, loading the bases with Olivia Fegett on third, Nelson on second, and Gracie Hanner on first.

With two outs already on the board, Gracie Enos popped out to Rockets' Ruby Tarr at shortstop, erasing the threat.

Lindy Bates earned the pitching win. The senior struck out five batters. Meanwhile, Vermillion took the loss for the Comets.

"This team is fun to watch and hungry to see success," Davis said. "They have worked long and hard to reach this point. They are ready to see what this season has to offer."

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