Box Score

CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Butler volleyball team had to come back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Eastern Illinois on Tuesday night 3-2 (25-13, 14-25, 24-26, 25-17, 15-9). Whitney Beck lifted the team to victory with a double-double performance that featured 18 kills and 14 digs.
 
Beck and Anna Logan paced the offensive attack at Lantz Arena while Makayla Ferguson set the tempo with a team-high 47 assists. Beck hit .359, sending 18 of her 39 attempts down for a point while Logan once again led the team with 22 total kills. Logan picked up her second double-double of the season by recording 10 digs. Beck led BU in that category with Taylor Takeda coming in second (11).
 
Jessica Klingensmith and Brooke Gregory each played well for Butler at the net. Klingensmith walked away with a team-high eight blocks while Gregory chipped in with six. That duo helped hold EIU to a .192 attack percentage while BU finished the contest at .294.
 
Butler broke an early 6-6 tie in the first set with a kill from Whitney Beck and cruised out to a comfortable 20-10 lead before finishing off EIU 25-13. The Panthers however would make some adjustments and come out of the huddle to dominate the second set 25-14. EIU went up 6-1 after consecutive BU attack errors and would eventually expand that lead to 20-8. The slow Butler start would be too much to overcome as the home team would knot the match at 1-1 with a 25-14 win.
 
The third set was polar opposite from the first two as the evenly matched teams went into the home stretch tied at 24-24. Beck came up with a timely kill to knot the score, but a costly service error would follow to give EIU the one-point cushion. Serving would decide the outcome in the third as Josie Winner followed the error with a service ace that gave the Panthers the 2-1 advantage.
 
Butler would stand up to the challenge in the fourth with their backs against the wall. The first four points of the set would go to the 'Dawgs and that lead would grow to 12-6 at the midway point. EIU climbed back within three at 15-12, but the combination of Logan and Beck would force a fifth set.
 
The Panthers got off to a good start in the fifth by recording the first three points, but the Bulldogs would tie the contest at 4-4 and take their first lead off a kill from Beck. BU would never look back as a 3-0 run would push the score to 7-4. Logan would shine at the most important time with four kills near the end of the game, but it would be Jessica Klingensmith to finish off the Panthers as her kill off the Ferguson assist clinched the victory.
 
The next challenge for the Butler volleyball team will come this weekend with the 'Dawgs competing in the 2016 Hawkeye Classic. BU, Iowa, Oakland, Arizona State and Western Illinois will all face-off in Iowa City at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.