Match Notes

INDIANAPOLIS – BIG EAST action gets underway this weekend for the Butler volleyball team. The Bulldogs will head East to face Seton Hall and St. John's over the weekend. Friday night's match vs. the Pirates will open with a 7 PM first serve. Saturday's tilt vs. the Red Storm will start at 4 PM.
 
Bulldog Bits                                                                                                                       
- Brooke Gregory and Elizabeth LaBue were named to the All-Tournament Team
- Gregory recorded a season-high 17 kills in the match vs. Cleveland State
- LaBue has reached a double figure dig total in six-straight matches
- Butler leads the BIG EAST in blocks per set (2.74)
- Bri Lilly and Melody Davidson rank 1-2 in the BIG EAST in blocks per set (1.37/1.15)
- Lilly has recorded six or more blocks in seven consecutive matches
- Butler's 18.5 team blocks vs. Northwestern is the highest total of any BIG EAST team
- Taylor Takeda has twice as many service aces (12) than any other Bulldog on the team
- Natalie Ravenell has reached 10+ points in all but three matches this year
- Ravenell and Lilly share the team-lead in points with 147.0 each
- Butler kicked off the 2016 conference season at Seton Hall and St. John's
 
BIG EAST Standings
1)Marquette, 9-3
2) St. John's, 11-4
3) Creighton, 8-4
4) Georgetown, 7-5
5) Villanova, 7-5
6) Providence, 6-5
7) Seton Hall, 5-8
8) Butler, 3-9
9) DePaul, 2-9
10) Xavier, 2-9
 
Scouting Seton Hall                                                                                       
The Pirates have lost five of their last six contests with the lone victory coming vs. Columbia (3-0) on Saturday afternoon. Their offense features a 1-2 punch with Abby Thelen and Caitlin Koska combining for 310 of Seton Hall's 578 kills (53%). Head Coach Allison Yaeger uses two setters in Maggie Cvelbar and Sophia Coffey. Cvelbar doubles as the team leader in digs with 124. At the net, Seton Hall has a pair of powerful middle blockers. Amanda Rachwal leads the team with 39 blocks, four more than teammate Haylee Gasser.
 
Scouting St. John's                                                                                                         
The Red Storm have won four of their last five matches to improve their overall record to 11-4. Rachele Rastelli is the driving force of the St. John's offense with a team-high 161 kills. Nia Diaz and Kayley Wood are also over 100 kills on the year to give setter Erica DiMaulo multiple options. Defensively, the Red Storm rely on Amanda Sanabia for digs and Hanna Wagner for blocks. Sanabia ranks third in the conference in digs per set (4.90) and standing at 6-3, middle blocker Hanna Wagner is by far the team leader in blocks per set (0.96).
 
Coming in Hot                                                                                                  
The 'Dawgs are on a two-match winning streak and nearly doubled up their last opponent (Kent State) in the kills category (42/22).
 
All-Time Series                                                                                               
Butler swept Seton Hall last year to even the all-time series at 5-5. The 'Dawgs won three of the first four matches, but the Pirates would fight back to win the next four meetings. Scores from last year went down at 3-0 and 3-1 in favor of BU.
 
St. John's is off to a great start to the 2018 season, but history has been kind to Butler when it comes to the all-time series against the Red Storm. BU leads STJ 8-2, but the last meeting went all five sets. St. John's won on their home court in the first meeting of 2014 and posted their first win at Hinkle in 2015.
 
Lilly Continues To Climb BU Record Book                                             
Middle blocker Bri Lilly has 424 total blocks in her outstanding Butler career. That total now places her ninth all-time in the BU record book. Her name can also be found in the block assist category. Lilly has 375 block assists in her career, the fifth-highest total ever recorded at Butler.
 
Ramseyer Settles In                                                                                       
Idaho transfer Megan Ramseyer took over the setter position for Butler last weekend and responded by averaging 10.18 assists per set. Her first game of the Bulldog Brawl was her best with the junior notching a double-double. She registered a season-high 50 assists to go along with a season-high 14 digs.
 
Dialed In                                                                                                                             
Butler hit .327 in the 3-0 sweep over Kent State during their last match to post their highest attack percentage of the season. BU recorded 42 kills in just 98 swings and limited their error total to 10.
 
Take a Look Back                                                                                                             
Butler hit .507 (40-5-69) as a team against St. John's on Oct. 5, 2013 to post the second-highest hitting percentage in school history.
 
BIG EAST Openers                                                                                                          
Butler is just 1-4 in conference openers since joining the BIG EAST back in 2013. Their lone win came in 2015 with a 3-2 victory at DePaul.
 
Takeda Approaches 1000 Digs                                                                  
Senior Taylor Takeda is just 14 digs shy of 1,000 for her BU career. She recorded 540 digs during her first season at BU (2016), a total that ranks fourth all-time at BU for digs in a single season.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                              
BIG EAST play will continue next weekend with Butler hosting #10 Creighton and Providence. Friday's match vs. the Bluejays will be Daddy and Daughter night for Bulldogs fans and Saturday is homecoming. Each match will start at 6 PM and stream on Facebook Live.