INDIANAPOLIS — The Butler volleyball team upset Xavier in four sets (23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-21) to begin the final week of matches for the 2023 season. The Bulldogs won their third-straight match and boosted their conference record to 7-10 and overall record to 13-15.
Set 1: Xavier 25-23
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 3-1 highlighted by a Elise Ward serving ace. Kills from Abby Maesch and Grace Boggess helped Butler lengthen their lead to 8-4. The Bulldogs would then maintain a four point lead until the Musketeers caught fire scoring seven-straight points to flip the score from a 23-18 Butler lead to closing out the set at 25-23. Cora Taylor registered a set-high 14 assists while Rylie Tam led the set with eight digs.
Set 2: Butler 25-22
The second set was a different story as Xavier would use a 3-0 run to take an early 5-4 lead. The Musketeers then carried the momentum to extend their lead to 16-10. However, this time, the Bulldogs stormed back using a 8-0 run on the back of three kills from Ward to take a 22-20 lead. Mariah Grunze then helped put the set to bed scoring the last two points for the Bulldogs to tie the match at 1-1. Ward led all hitters with an incredible seven kills in the set.
Set 3: Butler 25-18
The third frame started out slow with no team taking a significant lead until back-to-back 3-0 spurts gave Butler a 15-11 lead. The Bulldogs added onto their lead using a kill by Grunze and three-straight Xavier attacking errors to jump to 20-13. A kill by Laiya Ebo followed by a serving ace from Ward then gave Butler a 2-1 lead in the match. Ward hit for .750 while leading the set again with six kills.
Set 4: Butler 25-21
The Musketeers took an early 4-1 lead in the fourth frame. Butler would soon cut the deficit to 10-8 after consecutive kills from Maesch and eventually tie the match at 12-12. The Bulldogs would gain their first lead of the set at 18-17 and wouldn't look back. A 3-0 run with a block from Boggess and a kill from Destiny Cherry helped secure the upset victory over Xavier.
Stat of the Match
The Bulldogs hit for over .400 in the second and third sets to combine for a hitting percentage of .316, which was the third match in a row with a hitting percentage over .300. Laiya Ebo was the most accurate on the team hitting for .400 with 11 kills while Elise Ward led the match with 19 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.
Play of the Match - Kinley's Kick Save
Jaymeson Kinley kept the play alive with a kick save, which then led to a crucial Butler block to help the Bulldogs secure the victory in Set 4.
Inside the Box Score
- Taylor tallied 51 assists and 10 digs to earn her 12th double-double of the season.
- Ward led the match with 19 kills along with nine digs and two serving aces.
- Kinley posted 15 digs and nine assists, and now remains 25 digs away from breaking the all-time career digs record.
- Rylie Tam played outstanding defense racking up 14 digs and three assists
- Maesch collected 12 kills and a pair of digs.
- Ebo contributed 11 kills while hitting for a hitting percentage of .400.
- Grunze padded the stat sheet with eight kills, nine digs and three serving aces.
- Boggess hit for .357 with eight kills and three blocks.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will have a break before heading out west for the final match of the season against Creighton on Sunday, Nov. 19 with the first serve slated for 1 p.m.
