INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs played a five-set match for the second time in just three days as the St. John's Red Storm visited Hinkle Fieldhouse for the 2015 conference home opener on Friday night. BU came up short this time, with the Johnnies walking away with a 3-2 victory (25-15, 20-25, 23-25, 25-22, 7-15).

Mary Striedl led Butler in kills with 19 and Makayla Ferguson just missed out on a triple-double with 48 assists, eight digs and eight kills. The sophomore setter spread the ball out evenly on Friday by finding Anna Logan for 13 kills and freshman Briana Lilly for 10.

Lilly was a force for BU against the Red Storm in more than one way as she led the team in blocks with 10. Each side played great defense at the net with Butler ending the match with 14.5 team blocks and St. John's registering 13.

Logan was also a dual threat for BU as she also ended the game with a double-double by adding a team-high 13 digs.

The go-to player for the visitors was outside hitter Karin Palgutova who led all players with 26 kills. Palgutova was all over the court for the Johnnies as she added 13 digs and five blocks to help lead her team to victory.

Butler opened up a 1-0 lead on Friday night by winning the first set 25-15. The early stages of the game went back and forth, but a 6-2 Butler scoring run would push the scoreboard to 17-12 in favor of the home team. St. John's used each of their timeouts during the scoring spree, but it wouldn't slow down the Bulldog attack.

The Red Storm got off to a hot start in set two, but the Bulldogs would climb back into the action early to knot the score at 7-7. Neither team would be able to pull away as the score remained tied at 12-12 before a 6-3 STJ scoring run would force Butler into a timeout. The cushion would last for the remainder of the set, sending the two teams into the break tied at 1-1.

The pivotal third set featured 13 ties and three lead changes. Action came together at 14-14 and the two teams would move forward deadlocked at 19-19. St. John's was the first team to reach 20 points, but a kill from Anna Logan after a Butler timeout would even the score once again.

The Red Storm scored three of the next four points and a kill from Karin Palgutova would put STJ at set point. Mary Striedl kept BU alive with a kill, but the comeback would fall short after a kill from St. John's Pelin Aroguz.

Butler fought hard in the opening stages of set four to earn an 11-6 lead. The advantage would move to 15-8 just moments before St. John's called their second timeout of the set. The adjustments worked for the Johnnies as the Red Storm erased a 19-12 deficit to get within one point at 21-20. Butler would counter to win the set 25-22, sending the match to a fifth set.

St. John's struck first in the fifth set to open up a 6-3 lead, but the Bulldogs would come out of a timeout to score three-straight, tying the set at 6-6. The two teams would switch sides with St. John's leading 8-6 and the Red Storm lead would grow to 11-6 before Butler used their final timeout of the night.

The stoppage wouldn't slow down the Red Storm as the Johnnies scored seven-straight points in the fifth set to lift them to victory.

Butler will move forward from the setback with a match tomorrow against Providence. Action will unfold inside Hinkle Fieldhouse at 4 p.m.