INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs had four players reach a double figure kill total as they took down visiting Villanova 3-1 on Saturday night (25-27, 25-17, 25-20, 25-21). With the win, Butler improves to 6-13 while moving to 3-4 in BIG EAST action.
 
Maddie Freiwald was in the box score with a double-double for BU after recording a match-high 45 assists to go with 18 digs. She added three service aces, four kills and a pair of blocks to her stat line against the Wildcats.
 
Natalie Ravenell just missed a double-double with 13 kills and nine digs in the victory. Brooke Gregory was the team leader in kills with 15 and Rachel Klitzing would come up with 12.
 
The offense hit .302 as a team thanks in part to Melody Davidson and Bri Lilly. Davidson only took nine swings and ended the game with seven kills and zero errors! (.778). Lilly hit .320 with 10 kills off 25 attempts. This duo also combined for 10 blocks.
 
Freiwald was the team leader in digs with 18 while libero Elizabeth LaBue was close behind with 17. LaBue came in as the team leader with four service aces. The 'Dawgs won that category 12-6.
 
Villanova opened up an 8-3 lead in the first set thanks to a hot serve from Regan Lough. The Bulldogs would chip away at the deficit and eventually take a one-point lead at 22-21. BU outscored Villanova 6-1 to take the lead. They were the first team to reach 24 points, but they couldn't close out the set. Nova broke a 25-25 tie with a kill from Amanda Pederseon-Henry and one final kill from Clare Delaplane would finish the action at 27-25.
 
Rachel Klitzing and Natalie Ravenell supplied the offense early with five and four kills in the opener. Setter Maddie Freiwald was also active with 11 assists, three digs, two kills and two service aces.
 
Set two was the complete opposite as Butler enjoyed an early 8-3 advantage. The Wildcats would climb back within two points at 16-14, but would never be a threat after that point. Butler rattled off the final three points of set two to claim a 25-17 win and take the two teams into the break tied at 1-1.
 
Butler hit .406 as a team in set two. Gregory led the way with five kills and Ravenell was right there with four. LaBue was all over the court defensively with a team-best eight digs.
 
Set three was a wild ride from the very start. BU scored the first three points to take control, but the Wildcats would respond with an 8-1 scoring run. Butler returned the favor by outscoring Villanova 17-5 which resulted in a 21-13 lead. The Wildcats scored five of the next six points, but it was too late. Freiwald would sneak a kill over the net for set point and Brooke Gregory would finish off the third will a kill off the Freiwald assist. Set three was another great team effort with six different players coming together for 15 kills.
 
Neither team blinked at the start of set four. Butler made some breathing room with a 3-0 run that broke an 8-8 tie. A second BU scoring run would increase their lead to 19-14. The 6-2 spree was followed by a Villanova timeout. The Wildcats scored two-straight out of the stoppage, but Ravenell would end that streak with a kill from Freiwald.
 
Villanova pushed back to get within two points at 21-19, but Lilly would put BU back in the driver's seat and an ace by Jillian Ziemba would give Butler back-to-back points. The final kill belonged to Gregory and Butler would end the evening with a 25-21 victory.
 
The 'Dawgs return to action on Wednesday with an away match at Marquette. The Golden Eagles will host Butler at 7 PM.