MATCH NOTES I WATCH BU VS XU I WATCH BU VS CU

INDIANAPOLIS - The Butler volleyball team is set to close out the 2023 campaign at Xavier and Creighton. The Bulldogs will first head east to play on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. at the Musketeers. The team will then head back out west for their final match of the season at the Blue Jays with the first serve slated for 1 p.m. 

Bulldog Bits
-Butler jumped to eighth in the BIG EAST standings with a conference record of 6-10 and an overall record of 12-14.
-The Bulldogs finished the weekend with a 2-0 record after sweeping UConn on Friday and knocking off Providence 3-1 on Sunday. 
-This was the first time BU has won two matches in the same week during conference play this season
-The Bulldogs hit for the two highest hitting percentages as a team all season long with .344 against UConn before topping that performance with .377 against Providence
-Cora Taylor reached two major milestones including 2,000 career total assists and 1,000 total assists this season Friday afternoon. 
-Taylor earned her second BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selection of the season after earning her sixth double-double in the last eight matches
-Jaymeson Kinley also received this week's BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition after her average of 5.71 digs per set ranked second in the conference last week.
-Kinley is now just 40 digs away from becoming Butler's all-time career digs leader 
-Destiny Cherry hit for a new career-high of .714 with 10 kills and no errors against the Friars.
-Grace Boggess has hit for over .300 in her last seven matches including five straight matches with a hitting percentage over .400.
-Boggess ranks fourth in the conference with 1.05 blocks per set and fifth with a hitting percentage of .345 this season
-Elise Ward earned her sixth double-double of the season on Sunday after tallying 13 kills and 12 digs
-Xavier leads the Bulldogs with an all-time record of 7-18. The Musketeers most recently swept Butler at home during the BIG EAST weekly opener
-Creighton holds an all-time series record of 19-1 over BU. The Blue Jays have won the last 19 matches including a sweep over the Bulldogs during the last meeting this season 

SCOUTING XAVIER: The Musketeers have secured a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament as they currently sit in fourth with records of 11-5 in conference and 18-9 overall. Xavier completed the non-conference schedule with a 7-4 record highlighted by a 3-1 win over Cincinnati. The team carried that momentum into the first week of conference play where they upset No. 11 Creighton 3-2. The Musketeers then continued their success the rest of the season and now head into Wednesday night on a five-match winning streak. 

Xavier has played very well on both sides of the ball holding the second best average of 13.08 kills per set in the conference. Delaney Hogan is the Musketeers' most explosive weapon leading the team with 2.61 kills per set and 0.74 blocks per set.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON: The Blue Jays have dominated opponents all season long holding a conference-best 14-2 record and 23-4 overall record. Creighton headed into conference play on fire after securing wins over No. 16 Purdue (3-0) and No. 9 Minnesota (3-1). However, they hit a wall in Cincinnati after losing to Xavier 3-2 followed by another loss (3-0) to Marquette two weeks later. Since then, the Blue Jays won 10 straight matches by sweeping the BIG EAST opponents. They finally lost a set against St. John's on Saturday afternoon, but would ultimately escape with a 3-1 win. 

Creighton leads the conference in five different categories including kills (14.40 k/s), hitting percentage (.278) and opponent hitting percentage (.142). Kianna Schmitt holds the highest hitting percentage (.376) and the average of 1.10 blocks per set in the BIG EAST. 

XAVIER VS BUTLER (Sept. 20): The Musketeers spoiled Butler's BIG EAST opener by sweeping them at home 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-21). The Bulldogs were neck-in-neck with the Musketeers throughout all three sets, but would ultimately fall in three sets despite amassing 40 kills compared to Xavier's 36 kills.  

Jaymeson Kinley totaled a match-high of 17 digs (5.67 per set) while Cora Taylor earned a double-double with 30 assists and 12 digs. 

CREIGHTON VS BUTLER (Sept. 22): The Bulldogs were swept by the Blue Jays to drop to 0-2 in the conference. Butler put up a fight in the first set, but would soon fall in the next two sets to secure the road win for Creighton. 

While the Bulldogs were held to a hitting percentage of .070 in the match, they still topped Creighton on the defensive end. Jaymeson Kinley tallied a match-high 22 digs, which was double the amount of any player in the match. 

AWARD-WINNING DAWGS: Jaymeson Kinley and Cora Taylor both made this week's honor roll after leading the Bulldogs to a 2-0 record over UConn and Providence last weekend. Kinley contributed 40 digs (5.71 per set), including a 21 dig performance (7.00 per set) against the Huskies. Taylor paced Butler's best offensive performance of the season with 78 assists as the Bulldogs hit a combined .361 over the weekend.  

Both Bulldogs earned their second BIG EAST recognition this season as Taylor made the honor roll on Oct. 23 while Kinley was recognized for the first time on Aug. 28 for the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors.

KINLEY'S LAST DANCE: After celebrating Senior Day on Sunday, Jaymeson Kinley is set to play her final matches of her collegiate career this week. The two-time BIG EAST LIbero of the Year has become Butler's all-time leader in multiple categories including the season average of 5.42 digs per set, career average of 5.17 digs per set, and most total digs in a season at 618. She currently ranks second in the BIG EAST with an average of 4.91 digs per set.  

Kinley only needs 40 digs this week to pass Katie Deprile's record of 2009 career digs to become Butler's new all-time leader. 

TAYLOR REACHES MAJOR MILESTONES: Cora Taylor reached two major marks against UConn on Friday. The sophomore setter has now totaled 1,000 assists this season while also gaining 2,000 career assists.

Taylor leads the BIG EAST with 1,071 total assists and an average of 10.20 assists per set this season. 

GRACEFUL PRECISION: Grace Boggess has hit for over .300 in her last seven matches including five straight matches with a hitting percentage over .400.

She currently ranks fourth in the conference with 1.05 blocks per set and fifth with a hitting percentage of .345 this season

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs have been eliminated from the BIG EAST Tournament meaning their 2023 season will come to a close on Sunday. 

Despite losing Kinley this offseason, Butler welcomed six new freshmen last week as the team prepares for the 2024 campaign.