Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler opened the Butler Invitational with a decisive 3-0 sweep of Northern Kentucky (25-21, 25-18, 25-15) in front of a raucous crowd at Hinkle Fieldhouse Friday morning. The win extended the Bulldogs' match-win streak to eight games.
Anna Logan turned in another stellar performance for the 'Dawgs. The sophomore notched her sixth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 10 digs. Logan hit .406 for the match and also delivered two service aces.
Whitney Beck contributed nine kills of her own while
Makayla Ferguson accounted for 29 of the team's 36 assists.
Taylor Takeda and
Kai Jarema led the charge on defense. Takeda turned in 10 digs, tying Logan for the match-high. Jarema tallied two blocks en route to a team total of seven.
The first set featured a back-and-forth affair between the Bulldogs and the Norse. With the 'Dawgs leading 12-11, an
Anna Logan service ace gave the Bulldogs some breathing room for the next several points until Northern Kentucky knotted the score back up at 15-15. Later in the set, a kill from
Whitney Beck put the 'Dawgs up 21-19. The outside hitter racked up four of her nine kills in the set. Butler would go on to win three-straight points to give them a 1-0 lead.
After dropping the first two points of the second set, a Northern Kentucky attack error gave the 'Dawgs a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish. The Bulldogs won four consecutive points to win the set, giving them a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Brooke Gregory headlined the Butler offense in the second set. The freshman contributed three kills on four attacks.
Butler and Northern Kentucky would trade points early in the third set until
Taylor Takeda served four-straight points, putting the 'Dawgs up 12-9. A timeout by the Norse stopped the bleeding momentarily, but Butler couldn't be stopped. The Bulldogs won seven consecutive points, five of them coming off serves from
Christina Porada to complete the sweep.
With the win, Butler improves to 10-4 on the year. The Bulldogs will look to extend their match-win streak to nine when they return to the court tonight for their second game of the Butler Invitational against the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers. The match is set to start at 6 PM at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
