Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler volleyball team took a tough 3-2 loss to Xavier on Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse (20-25, 25-22, 25-13, 24-26, 15-12). Two Bulldogs posted a double-double in a losing effort as the team moves to 13-9 overall with a 2-4 mark against conference opponents.
Anna Logan was driving force for the BU offensive attack. The standout sophomore led the team with 21 kills and 13 digs. She hit at a .340 clip, by committing just five errors on 47 swings.
Whitney Beck was also heavily involved in the offense against Xavier. The outside hitter collected 18 kills while adding 18 digs. The team leader in digs was once again
Taylor Takeda who finished the contest with 23.
Butler used two setters against the Musketeers with
Makayla Ferguson earning the start. Ferguson filled up the box score with 39 assists, nine digs, five kills and a block.
Maddie Freiwald also saw some action as the BU setter. Freiwald came up with 19 assists.
The Musketeers were led by Abbey Bessler and Sofia Peterson. Bessler led all players with 22 kills. Peterson was second on the team with 17.
The first set went to Butler 25-20. The turning point came near the halfway point as Butler went on a 6-0 scoring run to grab an 18-11 edge. Beck got BU off on the right foot with five kills in the opener.
Set two came down to the wire as the two evenly matched teams came together at 21-21. Two-straight BU attack errors put Xavier in the driver's seat and a kill from Peterson would put the Musketeers at set point. The match would be tied 1-1 after yet another BU attack error.
After the intermission, Xavier came out strong to collect a 25-13 victory. The Bulldogs didn't lay down however as they regrouped to win set four 26-24. Logan got it going in set four with seven kills and a .500 attack percentage. Butler tied the contest late at 24-24 after a kill from Beck. The game would move to a fifth set after two-straight Xavier attack errors.
Beck continued to make plays for BU in the fifth set, but the match would go to Xavier 15-12. Butler jumped out in front 3-0, but a surge from the visitors tied the score at 4-4. Xavier would gain momentum with two-straight points to lead 9-7 near the midway point. That cushion stuck around to give the Musketeers a 12-10 lead in crunch time.
Beck cut the deficit to one at 13-12 with a kill off a Ferguson assist, but Brooke Betts answered for Xavier with a kill out of a timeout. The match would come to an end on the very next serve as an BU attack would fly long to signal the end of the match.
Butler will return to action on Wednesday, Oct. 12 with a road match at Marquette. First serve is set for 8 PM.
