The Bulldogs celebrated Senior Day in grand fashion, pulling out a thrilling five-set victory over visiting UConn that included a 24-22 clincher in the decisive fifth set at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Butler will now look to carry the momentum of a three-game winning streak into next week's BIG EAST Tournament in Omaha.

Sunday's win came by a score of 22-25, 25-19, 15-25, 25-19, 24-22.

The Bulldogs conclude the regular season with a 16-14 overall record and tied UConn with 10-8 BIG EAST marks. UConn is now 16-13. Butler, UConn and St. John's all tied for fourth in the final conference standings.
 
STAT OF THE MATCH: Down 14-11 in the fifth set, the Bulldogs were able to turn away three consecutive UConn match points to knot the match at 14-14. Butler would face another four match points before turning the final 22-21 deficit into a 24-22 win.

SET 1: UConn 25-22
UConn had 21 kills among their 25 points in the opening set. Ten of those kills belonged to Caylee Parker. Butler stayed in the set with five blocks and UConn assisting with four service errors. With the match tied at 21-21, UConn took four of the final five points to take the set.

SET 2: Butler 25-19
The Bulldogs rebounded to even the match at one set apiece. A 6-1 spurt midway through the set turned a 12-10 lead into an 18-11 advantage. Marisa Guisti had four kills on six swings in the set, while Butler's defense held the Huskies to .053 hitting.

SET 3: UConn 25-15
UConn hit .424 in the third set, putting down 17 kills against only three errors. Parker once again led the Huskies with five kills.

SET 4: Butler 25-19
Butler stayed in the match with a fourth-set win. The Bulldogs hit .321 and had four blocks. Three straight points turned a 12-12 game into a 15-12 Butler lead, and the home team would lead the rest of the way.

SET 5: Butler 24-22
The Bulldogs saved the heroics for the final set, eliminating a 14-11 deficit and holding off a total of seven UConn match points. Amina Shackelford was involved in Butler blocks on all three of the points that eventually leveled the match at 14-14. Butler was able to convert their fourth match point on a kill from Mariah Grunze, who had five sets in the final set.
 
OF NOTE:

• Butler celebrated the team's four seniors in a pregame ceremony: Maddie Renn, Marisa Guisti, Megan Sheridan, and Elana Brueggemann.
• Butler libero Jaymeson Kinley had a match-high 30 digs in the five-set affair. It's her second-best output in a 2022 match and gives her 596 on the season. She has her own single-season record (610 in 2021) within her reach as the Bulldogs head to the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament.
• Grunze was the only Bulldog to hit double-figures in kills; she had 16 kills to go along with 17 digs for a double-double.
• Shackelford had eight kills and eight digs, and was part of eight blocks.
• The Bulldogs had a 15-11 advantage in blocks.
• UConn had 72 kills compared to only 50 for the Bulldogs.
• UConn had 20 service errors in the match compared to only seven for Butler.
• Butler's Cora Taylor had 33 assists; she had 10 digs.
• Renn had 14 digs and Megan Sheridan had nine kills on their respective Senior Days; Guisti had seven kills without a hitting error to go along with eight total blocks.
• Freshman Brooklyne Darby had three service aces for Butler.
• Parker led UConn with 22 kills and 23 digs.

 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs head to Omaha for the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament. Butler will open with a Wednesday quarterfinal match in the six-team event. The complete bracket will be released later Sunday.