Illinois junior setter Erin Virtue and senior middle blocker Lisa Argabright make the spike look easy.

The duo will put their one-two punch on display tonight as Illinois (7-1) hosts Loyola (4-5) at 7 p.m. at Huff Hall.

While Virtue and Argabright make the attack look elementary, things weren't always so simple.

Every season Argabright played, she had Betsy Eiserman setting her. Eiserman finished her four years of eligibility last season. Over the winter Argabright worried about adjusting to a new setter in her final season at Illinois.

The solution to Argabright's problem — spend time with Virtue.

"They have spent time since January (working together)," Illinois head coach Don Hardin said. "Lisa made it a mission because its her fifth year ... Lisa invested time in making it work. They spent time with each other, both personal and professional."

In retrospect, Argabright should not have worried. Argabright has been named the MVP of both of the weekend tournaments the Illini have competed in during the last two weekends. Virtue was named to the all-tournament team for all three tournaments Illinois has competed in.

Argabright is ninth in the Big Ten in kills with 4.22. Virtue has 13.52 assists, third in the conference. Virtue sees the similarities in their personalities driving them on.

"We worked together in the spring and I think the way we're both so competitive, we have the same attitude on the same things and that has helped a lot."

Loyola enters the match with a losing record but always poses a threat. Last year, in Chicago, Illinois lost in five games to Loyola.

The Ramblers played Northwestern earlier this year and gave the Wildcats all they could handle. Northwestern swept Loyola, but the Ramblers had the lead in both the second and third games.

Loyola is led by their outside hitters. Freshman Courtney Ashley leads the team in kills (3.22) and averages 2.00 digs. Junior Nichol Amberg is the team leader in digs (2.29).

This match will be the fourth for Illinois in five days. The team does not believe fatigue will bother them.

"We had Sunday off and Monday (was) a light practice," Virtue said. "By (tonight) we'll be ready to play again."

Hardin agrees with Virtue, saying the health of the team helps get them through these games.

While Argabright and Virtue have already had success this season, they see more they can do.

"There are some things we can work on," Argabright said. "The next step is with working on our range. We are going to work on the three (a farther set to hit). The one (a short, quick set) is working well enough."