Box Score
IOWA CITY – The Butler volleyball team took a 3-2 loss to Oakland in Iowa City Friday morning in the first match of the 2016 Hawkeye Classic (21-25, 27-25, 17-25, 25-22, 15-13). The Golden Grizzlies took a commanding 14-5 lead in the fifth and final set only to see Butler get within a point at 14-13. Oakland took a timeout to momentarily halt the scoring spree and the strategy paid off with Butler committing a serving error to ice the Oakland victory.
Anna Logan once again led the Butler attack with a team-high 22 kills to go along with 15 digs, giving the sophomore her third double-double in just five games.
Makayla Ferguson was also in the box score with a double-double by posting a team-high 47 assists and 12 digs.
Jessica Klingensmith and
Taylor Takeda led the defensive unit for BU. Klingensmith recorded a team-high eight blocks at the net while supplying the offense with eight kills. Takeda matched Logan's effort with 15 digs.
The morning match got underway with a Butler win 25-21. The two teams came together at 20-20 and
Whitney Beck would get BU to the finish line with a pair of kills down the stretch. Butler didn't serve the ball extremely well against the Golden Grizzlies (15 SE), but Ferguson would come up with an ace in the opener to clinch the win.
Set two was a heartbreaking loss for the Bulldogs as the Golden Grizzlies knotted the match at 1-1 with a 27-25 win. BU came out strong to grab a 7-1 lead, but it wouldn't last as Oakland would come back to tie the game at 9-9. Neither team would budge from that point forward leading to the extra points. In the end, BU attack errors would tell the story. Oakland's final three points of the set would come off BU miscues, sending the two teams into the break tied at 1-1.
Set three was similar to set two in that Butler came out hot, but the Golden Grizzlies would adjust to keep it close. Butler led 7-3, but the game would once again be tied up at 9-9 moments later. The difference in this game would feature a 7-1 Butler scoring run that moved the scoreboard to 17-10. The gap was too much for Oakland to overcome, giving Butler the 2-1 advantage.
Butler looked to be in charge of the fourth set before a late Oakland run would halt the momentum and tie the game at 22-22. The opening points would go back and forth with the teams running even at 10-10. Butler went on a nice 7-2 run to take control, but the Golden Grizzlies never gave up, leading to the 22-22 tie. Melissa Deatsch broke the tie with back-to-back kills and a BU attack error would keep Oakland alive for the fifth set.
The highly entertaining fifth set would get off to a slow start for BU who recorded multiple attack errors which helped Oakland build their 14-5 lead. The Butler comeback would come off the serve of Ferguson who helped BU score eight-straight points. Deatsch led Oakland in the fifth with three kills while Logan stepped up for BU with four. The Oakland timeout followed by the BU service error would end action giving the Grizzlies the win.
Butler will return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena later this afternoon with a 3 PM match vs. Arizona State.
