MILWAUKEE – The Bulldogs won the first set on Wednesday night, but were unable to pull off the road win at Marquette as the Golden Eagles moved forward with three-straight wins (20-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-21). The loss moves Butler to 2-2 in the BIG EAST while Marquette improved to 2-1.

Butler used a 4-0 run in the opening set to grab an 8-4 lead against the Golden Eagles. Aki Aitsebaomo used her serving skills to spark the run that finally ended after a Marquette timeout. The lead remained in the four-five point range for the remainder of the set giving Butler a 1-0 lead.

Set two featured more back and forth action early on with the scoreboard tied up at 7-7. The home team went on a 6-2 run to get some breathing room and that lead would blossom to 20-12 moments later. Anna Logan recorded the final two kills of the set for Butler, but the comeback never came to form as Marquette tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-14 win.

Set three was all Marquette as the Golden Eagles opened up an 11-4 lead thanks to the serve of Lauren Houg. Butler used each of their timeouts before the midway point, but the momentum would never shift giving the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set was the most exciting of the evening as the two teams came together at 18-18. Taylor Louis would record the next point with a kill off an assist from Houg and the Golden Eagles would never let go of the advantage to take the 25-21 win.

Louis was the top offensive player in the Marquette rotation, ending the match with 20 kills and a .306 attack percentage. She was one of two Golden Eagles to reach a double figure kill total as Joy Miley added 12 up the middle with a .455 attack percentage. Sara Blasier set up the action with a team-high 38 assists and would also be a key member of the defensive effort with 17 digs.

Butler saw a balanced offensive attack from their young group that included 11 kills from Briana Lilly and nine kills from Logan, Whitney Beck and Mary Striedl. Makayla Ferguson and Meghan Cotant shared the setter role on Wednesday combining for 46 assists against the Golden Eagles.

Highlighting the defensive effort was the duo of Aitsebaomo and Logan. Aitsebaomo posted 20 while Logan chipped in with 15. Logan and Makaila Jarema each posted three blocks to the box score with Lilly leading the team with four.

Butler will return to action on Saturday with a home match vs. the Xavier Musketeers. Action will be broadcasted live on the BIG EAST Digital Network beginning at 2 p.m.