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INDIANAPOLIS. - The Butler volleyball team hits the road this weekend for the first time in BIG EAST Conference play. The Bulldogs will head to the nation's capital to face Georgetown on Friday at 7 PM. The weekend will wrap up with a match on Saturday at 7 PM against Villanova in Pennsylvania. 

Bulldog Bits
-Butler dropped both matches to open BIG EAST play last weekend, losing in three sets against Xavier on Wednesday and No. 11 on Friday. 
-Jaymeson Kinley collected a conference-best 39 digs (6.50 digs per set) in the two matches last week against Xavier and No. 11 Creighton. 
-Kinley is just 12 digs shy of moving up to third in Butler's all-time career digs list. 
-Destiny Cherry hit for a .435 average with 11 kills and only one error in the last two matches, which ranks sixth in the conference. 
-Elise Ward cracked 100 kills against Creighton last week for the first time in her BU career.
-As a team, Butler ranks fifth nationally with 38.10 attacks per set totaling 1867 attacks this season.
-The Bulldogs are rated second in the BIG EAST with 15.80 digs per set while also ranking third with 15.60 assists per set. 
-Butler has dominated Georgetown, holding a 16-3 all-time record. The Bulldogs enter the series on a six-game winning streak including a sweep last season winning 3-0 and 3-1. 
-BU also leads the all-time series against Villanova with an overall record of 10-8. However, the Wildcats have recently had Butler's number after they claimed six of the last seven matches. 
-Butler split the series last season against Villanova winning the set 3-1 at home before falling 3-2 in the match on the road. 
-Cora Taylor notched double-doubles in both conference road matches last season with 33 assists and 12 digs against the Hoyas followed by 41 assists and 12 digs against the Wildcats. 
-Kinley leads the BIG EAST and ranks 13th in the country with 10.22 digs per set this season with 256 total digs. 
- Taylor leads the BIG EAST with 10.33 assists per set this season, which ranks 33rd in the nation, while also totaling 506 assists on the season.

SCOUTING GEORGETOWN: The Hoyas head into their conference home opener with an impressive 10-4 overall record. Georgetown flew out the gates to begin their 2023 campaign 4-0 before falling to Iona 3-1. After a tough tournament at the DC Showdown, went on another 3-0 spurt to close out the non-conference schedule. The Hoyas would then start BIG EAST conference play with a sweep over DePaul before Marquette flipped the script sweeping Georgetown 3-0 in Milwaukee to close out the weekend with a 1-1 conference record. 

Georgetown's defense has held opposing hitters to a conference-best .150 hitting percentage in their first two conference matches. The Hoyas were expected to finish 11th in the 2023 BIG EAST preseason coaches poll. 

SCOUTING VILLANOVA: The Wildcats also hold a winning record of 9-5 overall this season, but they have faced some struggles to begin the conference slate. Villanova started the season 3-1 with their sole loss against Iona, The team then hosted Catholic Challenge, losing to Notre Dame (3-0), but then winning six of their last seven matches highlighted by a 3-1 win over Santa Clara. The Wildcats then joined Butler as one of four teams at 0-2 in the conference still searching for their first conference win after dropping both matches last weekend to Marquette (3-0) and DePaul (3-2). 

Villanova has done a solid job limiting their mistakes on offense as they hold a .234 hitting percentage, which ranks second in the conference. Madeline Barber has been the Wildcats' most efficient play on offense with a .341 hitting percentage on 92 kills to just 19 errors. 

CAN YOU DIG IT: Butler's defense has been crucial to their success so far this season. As a team, the Bulldogs currently sit in second in the conference with 774 total digs and 15.80 digs per set, which ranks 39th in the country. Six different Bulldogs have also posted match-high digs in the double figures this season, including Jaymeson Kinley (26), Cora Taylor (18), Mariah Grunze (18), Abby Maesch (18), Elise Ward (15), and Reese Bates (11).

Three Butler student-athletes have already racked up over 100 digs this season, including Kinley (234), Taylor (109) and Grunze (100). Kinley currently ranks 13th in the country with 5.22 digs per set. 

MOVING UP THE LIST: The two-time BIG EAST Libero of the Year Jaymeson Kinley moved to fourth in Butler's all-time list with 1710 career digs last weekend. After her marks of 618 digs and 5.42 digs per set became the best marks in program history last season, Kinley is now just 12 digs away from moving up to third in career digs and is currently on pace to break the record of 2009 digs this season. 

Kinley collected a conference-best 39 digs (6.50 digs per set) in the two matches last week against Xavier and No. 11 Creighton. 

WARD THE WICKED: Elise Ward has become a breakout star for the Bulldogs this season. The freshman from Orland Park, Ill. burst onto the scene racking up kills in the double figures in five of her last seven matches including a match where she posted 20 kills and 15 digs against Morehead State. Ward became the first Bulldog hitter to record 20 kills in a match as a freshman since Anna Logan had 21 kills against Southern Illinois in 2015. 

Ward cracked 100 kills on Friday for the first time in her BU career. She reached the mark after collecting a team-high 10 kills in the last match against No. 11 Creighton. 

HIGH-FLYING DAWGS: The Bulldog offense has been a well-oiled machine as they have shown no issues of getting the ball into the hands of their hitters. Butler currently ranks fifth in the nation with 38.10 attacks per set while their 1865 total attacks rank 63rd in the country. Junior Mariah Grunze was targeted for an average of 11.02 attacks per set on offense this season, which is second in the BIG EAST and ranks 27th in the nation, while the Georgia transfer Abby Maesch holds an average of 9.52 attacks per set. 

Grunze and Maesch are the only duo in the BIG EAST to each have an average of at least 9.50 attacks per set this season. The pin-hitting duo has also combined for a conference-best 967 attacks. 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Butler takes a trip to the East Coast for the first conference road matches of the season. The Bulldogs struggled on the road last year going 3-6 with their wins coming against Georgetown, Providence, and Seton Hall. 

The last time the Bulldogs won their first conference match of the season was in 2021 when they beat Georgetown 3-1. 

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will head back home to resume the BIG EAST action next week with consecutive matches against Seton Hall and St. John's. 

The Bulldogs will face Seton Hall on Oct. 6 at 6 PM followed by a match the next day against St. John's on Oct. 7 at 5 PM.