Match Notes
 
Live Stats vs. Marquette   |   Live Stats at Xavier 
 
Facebook Live vs. Marquette  |  Watch Live at Xavier
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler volleyball team will open BIG EAST competition by hosting the Marquette Golden Eagles on Wednesday night at 7 PM. The match will feature free admission courtesy of ButlerBulldogsGear.com! The weekend will come to a close with Butler traveling to Xavier for a 2 PM contest in Cincinnati.
 
BIG EAST Standings
1) Butler 10-2
2 ) Providence 11-3
3 ) Creighton 7-4
4 ) Villanova 7-4
5) St. John's 8-6
6) Marquette 6-5
7) Georgetown 6-6
8) Seton Hall 6-7
9) DePaul 5-6
10) Xavier 5-8
 
Bulldog Bits
- Butler went undefeated last weekend (3-0) to win the BU-BSU Tournament
- Beck, Ravenell, and Logan made the All-Tournament Team... Logan was MVP
- Ravenell was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (9/19)
- Logan was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week (9/19)
- Logan returned from injury last week to average 4.27 digs and 2.82 kills per set
- Butler has 137.5 total blocks this season, their opponents have been limited to 60
- BU leads the BIG EAST in opponent hitting percentage (.143)
- Bri Lilly leads the BIG EAST in blocks per set 1.57, Rachel Klitzing ranks 3rd (1.50)
- BU leads the BIG EAST in blocks per set (3.12) and ranks 2nd in digs per set (15.89)
- Marquette leads the all-time series against Butler 9-7
- Xavier leads the all-time series against Butler 19-12
 
Scouting Marquette
The Golden Eagles enter BIG EAST action with a 6-5 record, however five of the 11 teams they faced early in the year were nationally ranked. Marquette spent opening weekend in Hawaii taking on the #20 Rainbow Warriors, #13 UCLA Bruins and #22 San Diego Toreros. They won their opener 3-2 against Hawaii, but left the island 1-2 overall. Other top tier opponents on the Marquette schedule included #13 Kentucky and #5 Wisconsin. The Wildcats won at Marquette 3-1 and the Badgers posted a 3-1 win on their home court. Allie Barber highlights the Golden Eagle attack. The 6-5 sophomore is currently leading the conference in kills per set (4.66) and total points per set (5.09). Lauren Speckman heads into the weekend as the BIG EAST leader in assists per set (11.85). She has the Eagles hitting .252 as a team, the highest attack percentage in the BIG EAST.
 
About Xavier
Xavier opened the 2017 season with three-straight victories, but the Musketeers would drop eight of their next nine matches leading to a 5-8 overall record. They recently snapped their losing streak with a 3-1 win vs. Albany. Xavier uses two setters in Mackenize Humm and freshman Nadia Dieudonne. Each student-athlete averages five assists and two digs per set. The top option for the Xavier attack is outside hitter Kristen Massa. The 6-1 senior is a double-double threat with 170 kills and 145 digs on the season. Meredith Klare leads the team in digs (209) while Alexis Newsome serves as the team leader in blocks (55). Newsome ranks fifth in the conference in blocks per set (1.12) and Klare is second in the BIG EAST by averaging 4.35 digs per set.
 
Hot Start
The Bulldogs reached 10 non-conference wins for the sixth time under the guidance of head coach Sharon Clark. The last two times BU was able to notch 10 wins before the start of the conference season they ended the year with 20-plus wins (2016, 2013).
 
BIG EAST Openers
The Bulldogs are 1-3 in BIG EAST openers with three of those four matches coming on the road. BU lost 3-1 to Xavier in 2013 and wore another 3-1 loss at Creighton the following year. The Bulldogs defeated DePaul in Chicago (3-2) in 2015, but lost 3-2 at Seton Hall a year ago in the conference opener.
 
Recent History
Facing Marquette and Xavier during the opening week of conference play will be a stiff test for Butler. Marquette has won eight of nine meetings vs. Butler since the Bulldogs joined the BIG EAST Conference in 2013. The lone BU victory was a tight 3-2 outcome at home during the 2014 season. Xavier also holds the upper hand against Butler since 2013. The Musketeers have won seven of eight against BU with the Bulldogs lone win coming in five sets during the 2014 campaign.
 
Logan Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
Butler junior outside hitter Anna Logan was awarded MVP honors for her performance against Evansville, Duquesne and Ball State in Butler and Ball State's shared tournament. Logan helped the Bulldogs go undefeated proving 4.27 digs per set in addition to 2.82 kills per set and 3.55 points per set. She provided 16 digs against the Purple Aces for a Butler sweep. She followed her efforts with a double-double against Duquesne with 14 digs, 17 kills. In the five-set finale win over co-host Ball State, Logan posted 17 digs with 14 kills and five blocks. Logan had seven blocks for the week and helped Butler lead the league in the following defensive stats: Kills allowed (10.00), hitting percentage allowed (.082), blocks allowed (1.09) and assists allowed (8.82).
 
Ravenell Named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Natalie Ravenell earned Butler-Ball State All-Tournament honors for Butler with three impressive performances to average 2.86 points, 2.27 kills, 1.0 blocks and 2.27 digs per set. In the sweep of Evansville, the freshman posted eight kills, 11 digs and two blocks. In Butler's straight-set win over Duquesne, Ravenell had seven kills and seven digs. She hit .375 in the five-set win over Ball State, claiming 10 kills and seven digs while providing Butler with six block. Ravenell had 11 total blocks for the week.
 
Up Next
Butler will host DePaul next week on Wednesday night. Action inside Hinkle Fieldhouse will feature a 7 PM first serve. The weekend series will send Butler to Georgetown on Friday and to Villanova on Saturday, Sept. 30.