The Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the young 2022 season, falling in four sets to the host Pioneers at the Denver Invitational Friday night in Colorado.

Denver won the match by a score of 25-15, 25-16, 22-25, 25-14.

With the result, Butler is now 4-1 on the season, while Denver improves to 2-3.
 
SET 1: Denver 25-15
The Pioneers jumped out to an 11-3 lead and didn't look back in the opening stanza. Memphis Glasgow and Brianna Green each had four kills for Denver in the opening set. The Pioneers hit at a .276 clip. Butler's Autumn Flowers also had four kills.

SET 2: Denver 25-16
After back-to-back kills by Butler's Mariah Grunze pulled the Bulldogs within a score of 9-8, Denver won 10 of the next 13 points to stretch their lead to 19-11 and ultimately a 25-16 decision. Grunze led Butler with five kills in the frame, but Glasgow had six for Denver. The Pioneers hit .438 in the set.

SET 3: Butler 25-22
The Bulldogs fought back in the match by taking the third set. After Denver led wire-to-wire throughout the first two games, the third set featured nine ties and two lead changes. Neither team hit better than .100 in the set as both committed eight hitting errors. Amina Shackelford had four kills on only six swings in the set.

SET 4: Butler 25-14
Six straight Denver points turned an 8-6 advantage into an insurmountable 14-6 lead midway through the set. The Pioneers hit .375, compared to .069 for the Bulldogs.
 
STAT OF THE MATCH: Denver hit .281 in the match. Only five Pioneers had kills in the contest, but four had nine or more.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Grunze led the Bulldogs with 14 kills.
• Jaymeson Kinley had a match-high 23 digs from the libero position.
• Cora Taylor orchestrated the Butler offense to the tune of 40 assists.
• Flowers (nine) and Shackelford (eight) nearly had double-figure kills for the Bulldogs.
• Denver had a 12-4 advantage in blocks.
• Butler hit .128 in the match.
• Glasgow led Denver with 17 kills.
• Butler went 1-1 on the day after sweeping Hofstra Friday morning.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs close out their weekend at the Denver Invitational with a 1 p.m. (Eastern; 11 a.m. Mountain Time) first serve against Portland.