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Match Notes
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler volleyball team will try for their sixth-straight win on Friday night when they host the Xavier Musketeers at 6 PM. Opening serve will stream live on BEDN.
 
Bulldog Bits
- The Bulldogs went 7-1 during the month of October and have won five-straight
- The last time Butler won three consecutive five-set matches was in 2003
- Brooke Gregory recorded a season-high 19 kills in the win over Villanova (10/27)
- Bri Lilly also logged a season-high kill total against the Wildcats with 18
- As a team, Butler recorded a season-high 214 attempts vs. Villanova
- BU also set a new team-high total with 105 digs in the five-set win against Nova
- Lilly (.441) and Anna Logan (.417) each hit over .400 against Georgetown (10/29)
- Lilly only has 12 attack errors over her last nine games (206 attempts)
- Makayla Ferguson recorded a season-high 59 assists in the win over the Hoyas
- Taylor Takeda has notched 20 or more digs in three-straight matches
- Butler ranks 11th in the NCAA and 1st in the BIG EAST in team total blocks (259)
- BU also leads the conference in team kills (1,301); they rank 33rd nationally
 
BIG EAST Standings
1) Creighton 11-1, 18-5
2) Marquette 11-2, 17-7
3) Butler 9-4, 19-6
4) Seton Hall 8-5, 14-12
5) Villanova 7-5, 14-9
6) St. John's 5-8, 13-15
7) Xavier 5-8, 10-17
8) Providence 4-8, 15-12
9) DePaul 2-11, 8-17
10) Georgetown 1-11, 7-17
 
Scouting Xavier
The Musketeers have won three-straight conference matches to improve their BIG EAST record to 5-8. Recent victories against DePaul, Georgetown and Villanova has Xavier in a tie for sixth place in the league standings. The balanced offensive attack features six players with over 150 kills, but no players with more than 200. Kristen Massa currently leads the team with 185 kills (3.36 per set), but Massa was a non-factor in the first meeting. She was limited to just one set played and three kills. Junior outside hitter Morgan Finn posted the best numbers of any Musketeer in the first meeting against Butler. She recorded nine kills on 25 attempts while only making one error. Mackenzi Humm was also a standout performer. The team's starting setter ended the match with 23 assists and eight digs.
 
Commitment To Excellence
Freshman Natalie Ravenell and Senior Makayla Ferguson are the only two Bulldogs on the roster to play in all 95 sets this season.
 
Home Sweet Hinkle
Butler is in the middle of a five-game home stand. The 'Dawgs are currently 11-2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. That record includes a 5-1 mark against conference opponents.
 
RPI Rankings
Butler is ranked #57 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. They are the third highest ranked BIG EAST team behind both Creighton (15) and Marquette (32). BU split the regular season series against Marquette with each team winning on the road. The 'Dawgs will host Creighton next week on Nov. 12.
 
Lilly Lands On BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Bri Lilly helped Butler win two five-set matches over the weekend by averaging 4.05 points and 3.40 kills per set while hitting at a .414 clip. Butler defeated both Villanova and Georgetown at home inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. Lilly had 18 kills, five blocks, three aces and five digs against the Wildcats and 16 kills on just 34 attempts against the Hoyas.
 
Lilly Closes in On 600 Career Kills
Friday night will go down as the 300th set played in Lilly's career. She is just five kills shy of 600 during her three years on campus. For the regular season, Lilly only needs six blocks to reach 100. It will be the third-straight year for her to break 100 total blocks in a single-season.
 
Friday Night Fun
Butler is 7-3 on the year when playing on Friday. Two of the three losses came against nationally-ranked opponents (#19 Michigan / #17 Creighton). The third was a road setback at Georgetown on Sept. 29.
 
Oh My, What an October
Butler went 7-1 during the month of October to improve their overall record to 19-6. Since entering the BIG EAST Conference in 2013, Butler has only notched seven wins in the month of October one other time; 2014 when they went 7-3 and finished the year 20-10 overall. Speaking of 20 wins, if Butler prevails against Xavier they will earn their 20th win of the season. Head Coach Sharon Clark has guided the team to 20+ wins six times during her 18-year career. Three of those six 20-win teams have competed in the BIG EAST Conference.
 
Nerves of Steel
BU has played in three consecutive five-set matches and has moved forward to win all three. On the year, BU is 6-2 in 5-sets, 3-1 in 4-sets and 10-3 in 3-sets.
 
Accuracy and Precision
The Bulldogs are hitting .246 with just five games left in the regular season. The school record for highest attack percentage in a single-season belongs to the 1985 team who hit .277. Coach Clark's 2013 team hit .260 which ranks second all-time. If BU stays at .246 they will tie the 1997 team who ranks third all-time.
 
2017 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship Tournament
The semi-final matches are scheduled for November 24 on BEDN, with the championship game to follow the next day on FS2. All three games will be played at Marquette in the Al McGuire Center.
 
Up Next
The final two home matches of the regular season will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse next weekend. Butler hosts Providence on Nov. 11 and #14 Creighton the following day. Each contest features a 1 PM opening serve.