MEDIA GUIDE I WATCH BU V GCU

PHOENIX, ARIZ — The Bulldogs get set to head west for the GCU Classic. Butler will face off in three matches from Friday to Sunday against Pacific, Grand Canyon, and Portland State.
Bulldog Bits
-The Bulldogs currently hold a 2-4 record and rank 9th in the BIG EAST standings
-Butler lost 3-1 to IU Indy last Wednesday before bouncing back and beating Indiana State in both matches including a 3-0 sweep last Friday and then a 3-1 win on Saturday.
-Destiny Cherry was recognized in this week's BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
-Cherry set new career-high with 11 total blocks and four solo blocks against IU Indy
-Cora Taylor became first Bulldog since 2018 to have six serving aces in a match
-Taylor is up to three double-doubles this season after earning two last week
-Abby Maesch has yet to have less than 10 kills in a match this season
-Maesch earned her first double-double of the season with 14 kills and 11 digs
-Grace Boggess is now just seven total blocks away from 200 career blocks
-Cherry is just one kill away from reaching 300 career kills
-Maesch is just five kills away from reaching 500 career kills and two digs away from 200 career digs
-BU has only faced off against Pacific once in 2019 falling in five sets
-This will be the first meeting between the Bulldogs and both GCU and Portland State

SCOUTING PACIFIC: The Tigers head into the invitational with the best record out of any team. Pacific began the 2024 campaign in Las Vegas going 1-2 knocking off Northwestern 3-2 before then falling to Iowa State 2-3 and UNLV 0-3. The following weekend, the Tigers bounced back winning three straight matches over Yale, South Carolina Upstate and College of Charleston. The Bulldogs have only faced off against Pacific once in their history with the Tigers taking the match 3-2 in 2019.

Grad student Alexa Edwards enters as the team's top offensive weapon averaging 4.04 kills per set while also amassing the second most digs (2.56 per set).

SCOUTING GRAND CANYON: The Antelopes have started the season with a 3-3 record. GCU has wins over Oregon State and Montana, and their losses have all been close including taking both No. 12 Oregon and Fresno St. to five sets. Saturday will be the first time the Bulldogs and Antelopes have faced off.

Tatum Parrott leads the team with 105 kills (4.20 per set) while Trista Strasser holds a team-high 26 total blocks this season.

SCOUTING PORTLAND ST: The Vikings have struggled this season falling to an early 0-6 record. They have only won four sets this season, losing in five sets to San Diego St. and Nevada while they were swept in the other four matches. This will also be the first meeting between Butler and Portland St. in program history.

One of the bright spots on this roster has been Makayla Lewis who leads the team with 63 kills and is third in digs with 49.

PREVIOUS MATCHES: The Bulldogs are coming off a week filled with major improvement after earning their first wins of the season. They kicked off the week at IU Indy falling in four sets with the last three sets all having a score of 25-23. Butler turned their season around at the home opener against Indiana State sweeping them in three sets before beating them again the next day in four sets.

Abby Maesch reached double-digit kills in all three of the matches this week collecting a team-high 37 kills (3.36 per set) while Elise Ward capped off a match-high 16 kills and 16 digs in Saturday's match against the Sycamores.

DOMINANT AT THE NET: The key to Butler's last two victories has been their success at the net. Middle blockers Destiny Cherry and Grace Boggess have been a brick wall combining for 47 total blocks. Cherry leads the team with 24 blocks, including 6 solo blocks, while Boggess is just behind with 23 blocks, including 4 solo blocks. As a team, the Bulldogs currently hold the best average  in the BIG EAST with 2.73 blocks per set, which also ranks 30th in the country.

The Bulldogs collected 21 total blocks during the four set loss to IU Indy last Wednesday. This was the first time Butler had 20 or more blocks in a match since they collected 21 against Marquette on Mar. 5, 2021.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL: Destiny Cherry was selected for the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after her big performances last week. The senior middle blocker totaled 18 blocks, six solo, with 20 kills (1.82/set) to help lead Butler to a 2-1 record.

Against IU Indy, Cherry set new career-highs with 11 total blocks and four solo blocks. 

YOUNG PUP STEPPING UP: The Bulldogs have big shoes to fill at the libero position after 3x BE Libero of the Year Jameson Kinley graduated last season. However, first-year Lauren Evans has already shown flashes of success collecting a team-high 77 digs (3.50 per set).

Evans has collected double-digit digs and at least one serving ace in each of her first six matches.

TAYLOR MAKES HISTORY: Junior setter Cora Taylor had many aces up her sleeve Friday night after becoming the first Bulldog to record six serving aces in a match since Bri Lilly reached this mark in 2018 against St. John's. She had more serving aces in this match alone than the team has totaled in three of the last four matches.

Taylor also added 26 assists and 10 digs to earn her second double-double of the season.

WATCH: Bulldog fans can tune into the live streams on ESPN+ for Saturday as well as GCU Lopes Live for Friday and Sunday.

UP NEXT: Butler will head home next weekend to host the annual Butler Invitational with matches against Ball State, Bellarmine and Wright State.

The first match against Ball State will kick off on Thursday Sep. 19 at 7 PM followed by a match the next day at 7 PM against Bellarmine. They will then close out the weekend on Saturday at 3 PM against Wright State.