Butler got out to a hot start Friday night before St. John's rallied for a 3-1 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The visiting Red Storm took the 16-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-20 win to improve to 19-8 on the season.

Brooke Gregory led the Bulldogs with 15 kills on 45 swings.

Gregory's six kills in the opening set propelled Butler to a 25-16 decision in the match's first stanza. Gregory hit .750, while the Bulldogs used six blocks to limit St. John's to .029 hitting. Butler's 12-2 run extended an early lead to 14-5 and the Bulldogs never looked back in taking a 1-0 advantage.

In the second game, St. John's had a consistent four-point advantage for much for the frame. The Red Storm's lead extended to 21-14 before a Butler rally trimmed it to 22-20. The Red Storm would find the final three points for the 25-20 win to square the match. St. John's hitting improved to .333 in the second set and after not recording a block in the opening set, the Red Storm had four in set number two.

A 5-0 run took a 13-11 St. John's lead and made it 18-11 in the third game. Four of those five points came on Butler miscues as St. John's went on to a 25-18 win.

In the fourth and final game, St. John's won the first four points and never looked back in taking a 21-10 lead. Butler put together a spurt to close the gap, but would ultimately fall, 25-20, after staving off four match points. St. John's hit .318 in the final frame.

St. John's was led by Efrosini Alexakou with 16 kills and 22 digs. She hit .344 in the match. Erica DI Maulo had 43 assists and 11 digs, helping the Red Storm to a .216 hitting percentage. Libero Amanda Sanabia had a match-best 21 digs.

Butler finished the match with a 15-8 advantage in blocks. Melody Davidson had eight, followed by Bri Lilly with seven and Natalie Ravenell with six. Taylor Takeda led the Bulldgos with nine digs. Maddie Freiwald had 38 assists and eight digs.

The Bulldogs (7-17 on the season) are back in action Saturday night, hosting Seton Hall at 6 p.m. at Hinkle Fieldhouse. For those not able to attend, the match will stream on the Butler Bulldogs Facebook page.