MATCH NOTES
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The final weekend of the regular season is here for the Butler volleyball team. The Bulldogs will host the Friars on Friday with an early 12 PM start. Sunday's 1 PM start against UConn will be picked up by BEDN. That match is Senior Day for Megan Sheridan, Elana Brueggemann, Maddie Renn and Marisa Guisti.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Cora Taylor (33 assists and 12 digs) recorded a double-double last time out against Georgetown.
- Taylor ranks sixth in assists per set (9.64) in the BIG EAST.
- The Bulldogs had a season-high 13 service aces last time the faced Providence. They haven't reached that number since 2014 against DePaul.
- Butler is second in the BIG EAST in blocks per set (2.34) and third in opponent hitting percentage (.195).
- Butler's hitting percentage of .248 last weekend against Georgetown was the best they've hit in the past six matches and their third best during conference play.
- Jaymeson Kinley is just 60 digs away from tying her own single-season school record of 610 digs that she set last season.
- Marisa Guisti ranks second in the conference in blocks per set (1.13).
- Maddie Renn leads the Bulldogs in service aces with 22.
- Renn (4) and Taylor (6) combined for 10 service aces last week in matches vs. Nova and Georgetown.
- Mariah Grunze has had 10+ kills in her last eight games. Grunze ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in kills per set (3.35).
- Butler is still undefeated against Providence, holding a 16-0 all-time record against the Friars.
- UConn took a 2-1 lead in the all-time series against the Bulldogs with their win in the first meeting this year.
 
BIG EAST Standings
Creighton 16-0, 24-3
Marquette 15-1, 24-2
Xavier 11-5, 18-8
UConn 10-7, 16-12
St. John's 8-8, 17-12
Butler 8-8, 14-14
Seton Hall 5-11, 14-14
DePaul 5-11, 9-19
Villanova 5-11, 9-19
Providence 4-13, 12-17
Georgetown 2-14, 4-23
 
SCOUTING PROVIDENCE: The Friars remain in 10th in the conference standings after falling to UConn 3-0. Wednesday's loss to the Huskies moves their conference record to 4-13 and 12-17 overall. Two of their four conference wins came against Georgetown (3-2, 3-2) with the other two coming against DePaul (3-1) and Xavier (3-1). Three of those wins came at home. In their conference losses, the Friars have been swept seven times and have only taken one team to a fifth set (Seton Hall).
 
Providence leads all BIG EAST teams in service aces (185) and services aces per set (1.7). They are led by Mackenzie Taylor who is third in the conference in digs per set (4.55).
 
BUTLER AT PROVIDENCE (OCT. 22): Butler took home the win last time out against Providence (25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 25-20). Butler held the Friars to a .193 hitting percentage and only allowed one service ace. Megan Sheridan, Amina Shackelford and Mariah Grunze all had double-digit kills for Butler with 11, 14, and 13 respectively.
 
Butler had a season-high 13 service aces, led by Jaymeson Kinley and Cora Taylor who each had three. Shackelford's 14 kills came on just 27 swings as she finished with a .407 hitting percentage.
 
SCOUTING UCONN: After their win against Providence, the Huskies move to 10-7 in the conference and 16-12 overall. UConn sits at fourth in the BIG EAST standings. After going winless in their first five conference games, UConn has now won nine of their last 11 games. Those two losses came at the hands of the two conference leaders in Creighton and Marquette. The Huskies are just 4-8 away from home this season.
 
UConn ranks third in blocks per set (2.2) and fourth in kills per set (13.1). Madi Whitmire leads the team in assists per set (10.04) and is fourth in the conference.
 
BUTLER AT UCONN (OCT. 21):  UConn swept the Bulldogs in their last meeting (25-15, 25-23, 25-22). Caylee Parker recorded 16 kills for the Huskies while Madi Whitmire had 43 assists. The Bulldogs only managed 30 kills on a .180 hitting percentage. Grunze's 10 kills led them.
 
Mariah Grunze (10 kills, 10 digs) and Cora Taylor (26 assists, 10 digs) posted double-doubles.
 
Championship Qualifiers: The newly-expanded six-team BIG EAST Volleyball Championship field is set. From November 23-26, No. 12 Creighton, No. 17 Marquette, Xavier, UConn, St. John's and Butler will battle in Omaha for the BIG EAST volleyball crown. While seeding remains dependent on this upcoming week's results, Creighton and Marquette have secured the top two spots and, therefore, a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
 
This is Butler's first BIG EAST Tournament appearance since 2017. Butler went 23-8 overall that year with a 13-5 mark against conference foes. They lost 3-1 in the postseason to Marquette in Milwaukee.
 
REWRITE THE RECORD BOOK: Jaymeson Kinley set a school record last year with 610 digs in a single-season. She has 550 this year with at least three matches to play. In order for Kinley to reach 600 in back-to-back seasons, she will need to average 17 digs per match. To set a new school record, Kinley will need to average 20.
 
Kinley has 1,386 career digs at Butler. She ranks 10th all-time at BU and needs 21 digs to move into ninth, 41 for eighth and 51 for seventh.
 
BIG EAST LEADER: Jaymeson Kinley leads the BIG EAST Conference and ranks 11th in the NCAA in digs per set (5.39).
 
Kinley's 42 digs at Xavier were the second most in a single match by a Butler player in program history (45 by Jessica Taylor vs. UIC, Sept. 12, 1989).
 
TOURNAMENT TALK: Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013, Butler has made the conference tournament field two times. They were the No. 4 seed in 2013 and lost 3-1 vs. Marquette in Omaha. They played as the No. 3 seed in 2017 when they lost at Marquette.
 
Butler's last conference tournament win came in 2011 when they beat Green Bay 3-1 as members of the Horizon League. Their last conference tournament title came in 2010.
 
UP NEXT: Tickets for the 2022 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship Presented by Jeep are now available to purchase. Hosted by Creighton, the event will run from Nov. 23-26 at the D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha. Visit BIGEAST.com for more ticket information.
 
The No. 3 seed will take on the No. 6 seed, while the No. 4 seed will square off against the No. 5 seed; the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will earn a bye. FS2 will air the final, while the first and semifinal rounds will stream on the BIG EAST Digital Network.