The Bulldogs hit the road to head out east for the first time this season to take on St. John's and Villanova. Butler will play St. John's on Friday night in Queens, NY before heading to Villanova, Pa. on Saturday night to take on the Wildcats.

Bulldog Bits

• The Bulldogs finished the weekend 2-0 extending their winning streak to three matches in a row after beating Seton Hall 3-1 and Georgetown 3-0
• Butler set a new season-high 14 serving aces in the match, which is the first time they have posted 14 or more serving aces in a match since the team reached 14 at DePaul on Nov. 1, 2014.
• Cora Taylor received the BIG EAST Setter of the Week
• Taylor collected 81 assists (11.57 per set), which led the conference last week
• Alaleh Tolliver was recognized by the conference as the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
• Tolliver padded the stat sheet with 26 digs, 25 kills, and seven service aces against Seton Hall and Georgetown
• Butler leads St. John's all-time with a record of 11-9. However, the Red Storm have won the last four matches dating back to 2021.
• The Bulldogs also hold an 11-9 all-time record against Villanova. The Wildcats won the last meeting in a five-set thriller in Indy
• Abby Maesch ranks third in the BIG EAST with an average of 3.95 kills per set in conference matches this season
• Maesch is just seven kills away from 500 career kills
• Grace Boggess is just 13 kills away from 400 career kills

SCOUTING ST. JOHN'S
The Red Storm currently ranks seventh in the BIG EAST this season holding an overall record of 14-8 and the same conference record as Butler at 3-5. The team from Queens has some solid wins over Duke and San Diego as well as experience playing top teams in No. 3 Penn St. and No. 16 Arizona St. this season. In conference play, St. John's won their first two matches before then losing four straight. However, they have since bounced back.

The Johnnies have limited opponents to just a .186, which is third in the conference. The top option on offense is Erin Jones who holds an average of 3.76 kills per set this season, which also ranks third in the BIG EAST.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA
The Wildcats will be the first team with a winning conference record the Bulldogs have faced since UConn. They enter with a 5-3 record in the BIG EAST and 12-7 overall. They began the season 3-4 before then flipping a switch and winning the next nine matches. The last two weeks have been rough with the team losing 1-3 including barely escaping with the win against Providence.

BULLDOGS EARN BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS
Two different Bulldogs were recognized by the BIG EAST on Monday after their stellar performances last weekend. Cora Taylor received the BIG EAST Setter of the Week after leading the conference with 81 total assists (11.57 per set). Alaleh Tolliver also earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after having a breakout weekend with 26 digs, 25 kills, and seven service aces. Her 1.00 serving aces per set was the best in the conference last week.

This was Taylor's fourth time earning the conference honors, but the first time winning the setter of the week award. Tolliver was chosen by the BIG EAST for the first in her career.

DAWGS DON'T QUIT
Butler had thrilling comebacks this weekend on set point in consecutive matches that helped propel them to victories. In the third set against Seton Hall, the Bulldogs were down 24-17 but would come all the way back to tie the set at 24-24 and eventually win the set at 29-27. The next day Butler found themselves in a similar situation in the first set against Georgetown down 24-20, but once again battled back to tie the set and then secured the victory at 27-25.

Tolliver played a big role in the comeback collecting two crucial kills in the stretch against the Pirates before then leading the way with two serving aces during the run against the Hoyas to help the Bulldogs edge out victories.

SERVICE ACES GALORE
The Bulldogs topped their mark from last Sunday recording a new season-high 14 serving aces in the match. This is the first time they have posted 14 or more serving aces in a match since the team collected at DePaul on Nov. 1, 2014. Alaleh Tolliver set a new career-high with four serving aces while Elise Ward and Cora Taylor each added three in the match.

Butler has collected 33 service aces (3.30 per set) in the last three matches, which leads the BIG EAST over that span.

MAESCH MAESCH MAESCH
Maesch led the team with 31 kills (4.43 per set) while combining for a hitting percentage of .297 in both matches against Seton Hall and Georgetown. She would finish the match against the Pirates leading all hitters with 21 kills and three blocks.

Maesch now ranks third in the BIG EAST with an average of 3.95 kills per set in conference matches this season.

UPCOMING CAREER MILESTONES
Laiya Ebo surpassed the 200 career kill mark last week while Destiny Cherry made it to 200 career total blocks. Grace Boggess is just 13 kills away from 400 career kills while Abby Maesch is just seven kills away from 500 career kills.

Cora Taylor needs just 14 assists to move up to seventh on Butler's all-time career total assist leaders.

WATCH: Bulldog fans can or tune into the live streams on ESPN+ on Friday and FloSports on Saturday. Both links to the streams can be found on the Butler Athletics website.

UP NEXT: Butler will continue their road trip out east with upcoming matches at Providence and UConn.