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The Butler volleyball team will travel east this weekend to play matches at Seton Hall and St. John's. The Bulldogs (10-11, 4-4 BIG EAST) will face both teams for the second time this season after they swept St. John's (12-10, 3-5) on Oct. 8 and lost in three sets to Seton Hall (10-12, 2-6) on Oct. 9 at Hinkle Fieldhouse earlier this month. Saturday night's match with the Pirates is slated for 6 p.m., while the Bulldogs and Red Storm will faceoff on Sunday at 2 p.m.

- Jaymeson Kinley earned recognition on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the fourth time this season for her strong play over the weekend (40 total digs, 5.0 digs/set and nine assists).
- Kinley leads the BIG EAST in total digs (406) and digs per set (5.34), ranking No. 7 and No. 10 nationally in those categories, respectively.
- Butler hit a season-best .392 against Georgetown, which was almost 100 points higher than its previous high of .298 vs. Eastern Kentucky.
- The attack percentage was the second-highest for any BIG EAST team in a conference match this season, behind only Xavier (.398 at Villanova).
- The Bulldogs lead the BIG EAST in total attacks (2,926) and rank second in both total digs (1,278) and digs per set (16.82).
- Melody Davidson ranks second in the BIG EAST in kills (277) and third in scoring (319.5 points). She scored her 1,000th career point during the win over Georgetown.
- Caroline Cleveland has upped her game in conference play, averaging 2.3 digs and 0.43 aces per set in BIG EAST matches compared to 1.6 digs and 0.24 aces per set in nonconference matches.
- Cleveland ranks No. 9 in the BIG EAST in aces per set in conference matches, while her 12 total aces in conference play is tied for sixth.
- Butler played its second five-set match of the season when it dropped the fifth frame to Villanova. The Bulldogs are now 1-1 in those matches after winning vs. North Dakota on Sept. 4.
- Closest to Home: Hannah Kelly's hometown of Powell, Ohio is 465 miles from South Orange, N.J., and 489 miles from Queens, N.Y. (straight-line).

SCOUTING SETON HALL: The Pirates check in with a 10-12 record (2-6 BIG EAST) following last weekend's roadtrip where they were swept by DePaul and lost in four sets to Marquette. Seton Hall swept Butler in the previous matchup between the two teams on Oct. 9. Sophomore OH Perri Lucas put down 13 kills and added three digs to lead the Pirates to victory in the first meeting. Lucas leads Seton Hall with 211 kills (2.71 per set), while freshman L Anna Holland paces the team in both digs (318) and aces (20) so far this season.

Butler leads the all-time series with the Pirates 9-6 after dropping the match earlier this month. The Bulldogs won their last match at Seton Hall in five sets in 2019.

SCOUTING ST. JOHN'S: The Red Storm check in with a 12-10 record (3-5 BIG EAST) after being swept by Marquette then losing in five sets to DePaul during last week's roadtrip. Butler swept St. John's on Oct. 8 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Senior Right Side Rachele Rastelli leads the conference in scoring (5.13 points per set) and kills (4.35 per set). The team leads the conference in total kills (1,066) and assists (1,005).

Butler leads the all-time series over St. John's 10-5 after the win earlier in the month.  The Bulldogs last won at St. John's on Nov. 18, 2017 in five sets.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES: Mariah Grunze (seven), Madison Friebel (seven) and Marissa McKelvey (four) have each recorded multiple double-doubles in the first 21 contests of the season. Grunze averages 9.7 kills and 8.0 digs, while Friebel has averaged 33.2 assists and 8.9 digs per match.

Grunze recorded three consecutive double-doubles against Creighton, Providence and Georgetown to begin the conference season.

KINLEY PLAYING WITH CONFIDENCE: Libero Jaymeson Kinley recorded 20 digs against both Villanova and Georgetown while also adding nine assists over the weekend. She has now recorded double-digits digs in every match but one so far while averaging 5.34 per set, which is on pace to break Megan Knightly's single-season program record set in 2005 of 5.29 digs/set.

Kinley has reached the 20-dig mark in 11 matches this season.

DAVIDSON DOMINATES: Melody Davidson had another efficient weekend posting a combined 25 kills on 49 attacks and only five errors for a .408 hitting percentage.

Davidson has tallied double-digit kills in 15 of 21 matches this season and double-digit points in all but three of them. She is hitting .333 on the season (seventh in the BIG EAST) and on pace to have the third-best hitting percentage in a season in Butler volleyball history.

CAN YOU DIG IT: Butler's defense features four players averaging at least two digs per set, with Kinley (5.34), Friebel (2.44), Grunze (2.23) and  McKelvey (2.14). Jillian Ziemba (1.98) and Caroline Cleveland (1.88) average just below two digs per set.

In addition to Kinley, Friebel, Grunze, McKelvey, Ziemba and Cleveland, Bulldogs with double-digit digs in a match this season include Hannah Kelly and Brittany Robinson.
STEADY SCORING: Robinson (139 kills) and Amina Shackelford (125) have been consistent contributors for the Butler offense. Robinson averages 2.62 points per set, while Shackelford has scored 2.34 per set.

Robinson has put down at least a half-dozen kills in each of the first eight BIG EAST conference matches this season while putting up double-figures in points in five of those matches.

SERVING STRONG: Butler had a season-high 12 aces against St. John's in the first match, which is tied for the third-most of any BIG EAST team in a match this season. Only UConn has had more service aces in a match so far.

The Bulldogs have increased their aces/set to 1.39 in BIG EAST play compared to 1.21 in nonconference action.

MAKING SWINGS COUNT: Butler's season-high attack percentage of .392 against Georgetown included individual season-highs from Grunze (.533), Robinson (.429), Shackelford (.600) and Destiny Cherry (.105).

The Bulldogs had single-digits in attack errors (nine) for the first time this season in the match vs. the Hoyas.

UP NEXT: Butler will have a split weekend with a match at Xavier on Friday night followed by one on Sunday afternoon at home vs. UConn.

The Bulldogs have a 16-23 record against the Musketeers after dropping both matches this spring in four sets. The match vs. UConn will be the first between the two programs.