CINCINNATI – The Butler volleyball team improved to 14-7 overall with a 3-2 win at Xavier on Saturday afternoon. Butler lost the first two sets, but came charging back to win three-straight to earn their sixth BIG EAST win of the season. (14-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-12).

"What an amazing comeback by this team," Head Coach Sharon Clark described. "We were fighting fatigue this week and didn't' have a great start, but we dug very deep and fought to pull out this win."

Winners of five of their last six matches, Butler moves up the BIG EAST standings with the 3-2 win to post a 6-3 conference mark.  Makayla Ferguson posted her 11th double-double of the season with 52 assists and 20 digs to lead the offensive charge. Ferguson and Jadyn Yarling each finished the match with 20 digs, marking two of five Bulldogs that reached a double figure dig total.

A total team effort led to the victory on Saturday as four student-athletes came up with 10+ kills. Belle Obert paced the unit with 17 kills, but head coach Sharon Clark received a lift from Mary Striedl, Stephanie Kranda, and Erica Stahl who guided the team to a five set road win. Striedl posted 12 kills, four blocks and three digs, while Kranda contributed with 11 kills, seven digs and three blocks.

Obert and Stahl tied for the team lead in blocks with each player coming up with six. Stahl was in the box score with 10 kills while Obert reached her double-double mark with 14 digs.

"Our bench made good contributions tonight," Clark added. "I thought Erica Stahl was terrific blocking and added a dimension as a smart hitter."

Team blocks were a huge factor in the outcome with Butler winning the category 16 to 10. Neither team served the ball especially well as Xavier made three service aces compared to zero from the Bulldogs.

Xavier was in charge of the opening set as they jumped out to a 12-3 lead which led to a 25-14 win. The second set also went to the Musketeers after a three-point run from the home team. A kill from Alex Blaire tied the set at 23-23, but Xavier was able to tack on two consecutive points to take a 2-0 lead into the break.

Butler never gave up as a late run gave them a 25-19 win in the third. Xavier got within two at 21-19, but Kranda was on-point with back-to-back kills that pushed the match to a fourth set. The fourth was tight throughout, but Kayla Bivins would send the action to a fifth and final set with a kill off a Ferguson assist. The Bulldogs broke a 21-21 tie to take the match to the distance.

The fifth and final set was back and forth early as the two teams played to an 11-11 tie. Attack errors would haunt the Musketeers as Butler closed the match on a 4-1 run to earn the win.

"It's always great to pull out a win when you are down and out and no one thinks you can win." Clark said postgame.

The Bulldogs will return to action with a road match against Villanova on Friday, Oct. 24. The following day they will take on Seton Hall. Each match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.