INDIANAPOLIS — The Butler volleyball team lost in a three-set battle against Xavier (25-23, 25-22, 25-21) during the BIG EAST Opener. The Bulldogs were neck-in-neck with the Musketeers throughout all three sets, but ultimately dropped to 6-6 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. 

Set 1: Xavier 25-23
The Musketeers began the first set on top gaining an early 7-4 lead. Butler responded with two 3-0 spurts to take a 12-11 lead using kills from Mariah Grunze and Destiny Cherry. Xavier then fought back with four straight points to regain the lead at 17-14. A serving ace from Jaymeson Kinley helped the Bulldogs rally back to tie the score at 18-18. A kill from Cherry helped keep Butler alive at 23-23, but the Musketeers would ultimately score on the last two points to win the set. Cora Taylor led the set with 10 assists and five digs. 

Set 2: Xavier 25-22
The momentum in the second set started in the Bulldogs' favor after they took a 5-3 lead using another kill from Cherry. A 5-0 run by Xavier helped flip the score to give them an 8-5 lead and the Musketeers would then slowly extend their lead to 17-11. Butler wasn't ready to give up that easily, using a 5-0 spurt with kills from Grunze and Cherry to crawl back to within one point at 22-21. Xavier then woke up eventually closing out the set 25-22.

Set 3: Xavier 25-21
The Bulldogs fell behind early in the third frame after Xavier took a 4-1 lead. Butler then charged back to take a 10-7 lead using kills from Sawyer Jones and Grace Boggess. The Musketeers hung around and soon took back the lead at 16-15. Consecutive kills from Abby Maesch helped Butler recapture the lead at 17-16. Xavier followed that up by taking an insurmountable lead at 18-17 eventually closing out the third set on a 3-0 run to clinch the match. 

Stat of the Match
Jaymeson Kinley jumped to fourth on the Butler all-time career digs list after her career total reached 1,688 digs. Kinley totaled a match-high 17 digs (5.67 digs per set).

Inside the Box Score

• Taylor earned her fourth double-double of the season totaling 30 assists and 12 digs.
• Kinley finished with 17 digs and a serving ace.
• Grunze led the match with 12 kills and six digs.
• Cherry hit for a match-high .667 average with six kills and no errors.
• Boggess tallied seven kills and a solo block. 

Up Next 
The Bulldogs will return to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. against nationally ranked Creighton to conclude the first week of the BIG EAST competition inside.