INDIANAPOLIS – Over the past three seasons, the Butler volleyball team has ranked first or second in the BIG EAST in team blocks per set. Four middle blockers on the 2020 roster will try to extend that streak once the 'Dawgs return to action.
 
The middle blocker position is highlighted by All-BIG EAST talent Melody Davidson. Her sophomore season included action in all 115 sets and a surge in offensive production. Davidson played great at the net with 134 blocks, a total that led the conference and ranked her 46th in the NCAA. Offensively, Davidson recorded 215 kills, marking 123 more than her freshman total.
 
Davidson led the team with a .274 attack percentage. She hit .579 against DePaul in the five-set win at McGrath-Phillips Arena. Her season-best block total also came against the Blue Demons at Hinkle Fieldhouse. She led BU to victory with 11 blocks and eight kills.
 
Funmi Oladapo will also play at the net for BU after seeing action in 12 sets for the Bulldogs in 2019. She made her collegiate debut vs. Tennessee State and would post a season-high two blocks in the match vs. Providence. Oladapo will work on the court with Davidson and newcomers Autumn Flowers and Amina Shackelford in 2020.
 
Flowers was a two-year starter on a high school team that only dropped six matches over a two-year span. The All-Region selection was part of a regional championship team that reached the final four. Shackelford was also a two-year starter on her high school squad. She earned multiple team awards and would be voted team captain before arriving at Hinkle Fieldhouse.