Indianapolis – The Butler volleyball team took a set from No. 19 UCLA and looked primed to take the fourth set, but the Bruins rallied to win the match (25-14, 25-19, 18-25, 25-20). The Bulldogs (6-6) made a potential upset possible with an emphatic Set 3 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but Pac-12 power UCLA proved too much to stop late in the second match of the Bulldog Brawl for Butler.

Set 1: UCLA 25-14
Butler got out to a 5-3 early lead on the back of kills from Mariah Grunze and Melody Davidson. The score was tied at 7-7 before UCLA steadily started to build its lead, using a 6-0 run followed by three 3-0 runs to pull away late in the set. Grunze led the Bulldogs with four kills and three digs in the opening frame.

Set 2: UCLA 25-19
An ace by Hannah Kelly and a kill by Brittany Robinson helped the Bulldogs lead 3-1 early. UCLA responded with a 4-0 run to take the lead and held it until another ace from Kelly tied the set at 10-10. The Bruins added three 3-0 runs to build the lead later in the frame to put it away. Kelly led Butler with three aces, while Amina Shackelford and Funmi Oladapo contributed two kills each in the second set.

Set 3: Butler 25-18
Two kills each from Davidson and Grunze followed by a Robinson kill accounted for a 5-0 Butler run that put the Bulldogs up 8-3. Davidson's excellent play during the set (seven kills) assured the Bruins would not get within striking distance, as the advantage was at least two points the rest of the frame and as much as eight at 23-15. Grunze and Shackelford contributed four kills each to help Butler clinch the set.

Set 4: UCLA 25-20
A Davidson kill followed by an ace from Jillian Ziemba got the Bulldogs out in front 5-2 early. UCLA responded with a couple of mini-runs to reclaim the lead at 10-8. Davidson and Grunze then came back with back-to-back kills as part of a 3-0 run for Butler to get back to a 13-11 lead. The Bruins came alive with two 3-0 streaks followed by a 4-0 rally to reclaim control of the set and clinch the match. Davidson, Grunze and Madison Friebel had two kills each in the final frame for the Bulldogs.

Stat of the Match
The Bulldogs put down 20 kills as a part of their emphatic Set 3 win.

Inside the Box Score
-Davidson finished with 13 kills and four block assists.
-Hannah Kelly produced a season-high three aces.
-Friebel wound up with another double-double (31 assists, 14 digs) while adding two block assists and an ace.
-Jaymeson Kinley totaled 23 digs and four assists.
-Grunze just missed a double-double with 11 kills and nine digs.

Up Next
Butler concludes the Bulldog Brawl at Hinkle Fieldhouse Saturday night at 6 p.m. with a matchup against Western Michigan.