The Bulldogs get set to host the Butler Invitational featuring Ball State, Bellarmine and Wright St. The matches will take place inside Hinkle Fieldhouse from Sep. 25-27 and will be the final matches before BIG EAST play. 

2024 Butler Invitational Schedule
Thursday, Sep. 19
Butler vs. Ball State - 7 PM ET

Friday, Sep 20
Butler vs Bellarmine - 7 PM ET

Saturday, Sep. 21
Butler vs. Wright St. - 3 PM ET

Bulldog Bits

• Butler enters the match with a 2-7 record after dropping all three matches at the GCU Classic against Pacific (3-0), GCU (3-2) and Portland St. (3-1)
• Elise Ward collected 24 kills and 20 digs in the match against Grand Canyon
• Ward was the first Bulldog to reach the 20-20 mark in a single match since 2021
• As a team, the Bulldogs have totaled 86 blocks (2.53 per set), which ranks second in the BIG EAST and 33rd in the nation.
• Grace Boggess leads the team with an average of 1.19 blocks per set, which is fourth in the conference
• Butler and Ball State are tied 2-2 all-time, but the Bulldogs have won the last two matches most recently in five sets in 2017
• BU has only faced off once against Bellarmine in 2021, winning the match 3-2
• The Bulldogs are pretty familiar with Wright State as Butler holds a 15-12 all-time record against the Raiders with and are currently 9-1 in their last 10 matchups.
• Abby Maesch leads the team with 116 kills (3.41 per set) and her average ranks ninth in the conference
• Lauren Evans ranks fourth in the conference with an average of 0.50 serving aces per set while totaling 15 this season
• Cora Taylor has totaled three double-doubles this season
• Jersey Loyer set a new career-high 28 digs in the Saturday's match against Grand Canyon
• Destiny Cherry is just nine blocks away from 200 career blocks

SCOUTING BALL STATE
The Cardinals enter the matchup with a record of 5-4, but have already faced off against some top-ranked programs. In each of their five wins, Ball State has swept their opponent in four of the matches including wins over Seton Hall and Bryant. On the other hand, their losses have come against No. 7 Penn State (3-0), No. 9 Kentucky (3-0) and Indiana (3-2).

Setter Jenna Heller has been lights out averaging 10.23 assists per set and is dishing the ball all around to four different Cardinals, who've each totaled more than 60 kills.

SCOUTING BELLARMINE
The Knights have gotten off to a slow start at 2-7 to begin the season. Their lone wins a 3-1 victory over UAB followed by a sweep over Murray State. While they have struggled this season, many of their losses haven't been by much including Illinois State (3-1), IU Indy (3-1) and Chattanooga (3-1).

Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Bland is the team's top weapon leading the team with 121 kills (3.90 per set).

SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE
The Raiders head into the Butler Invitational with the best record at 7-2. They kicked off the season with three-straight sweeps over Appalachian St., Xavier and Ohio before struggling at the Dayton Invitational losing 3-0 to the No. 21 ranked Flyers, and Bowling Green 3-1. However, Wright State found another gear last weekend at the Sports Imports Classic winning in four sets over No. 20 ranked Miami (FL), Buffalo, and Ohio State.

The dynamic duo of outside hitters, Myo Ayro and Sam Ott, have dominated the court each totaling over 100 kills with Ayro hitting for 128 kills (4.13 per set) with Ott not far behind at 110 kills (3.55 per set).

YOUNG PUPS KEEP DIGGING
The young pups have shown flashes of success especially on defense to begin the season. Lauren Evans began the season as the libero and currently leads the team with 92 total digs (3.07 per set). However, Jersey Loyer got the call last weekend collecting a team-high 59 digs (4.92 per set) including a 28 dig performance against GCU, which is tied for the most in a match by any player in the BIG EAST this season. Even outside hitter Alaleh Tolliver has been in the mix amassing 32 digs in just 13 sets. 

In the final of the GCU Classic against Portland St. three different freshman Bulldogs each tallied double-digit digs, including Loyer (18), Tolliver (11), and Evans (10).

WARD'S WONDERFUL WEEKEND
Elise Ward had a breakout weekend at the GCU Classic earning 44 kills (4.00 per set) and 30 digs. Her stellar performance came against Grand Canyon where she reached 24 kills and 20 digs while hitting for .304 with three serving aces. She became the first Bulldog to reach 20-20 since 2021 and now holds the mark for the fourth most kills in the BIG EAST during a match this season.

Ward currently ranks second on the team with 96 kills (3.20 per set) and 74 digs (2.47 per set).

BULLDOG BLOCK PARTY
The Bulldogs have continued to dominate at the net. As a team, they've totaled 86 blocks (2.53 per set), which ranks second in the BIG EAST and 48th in the nation. Middle blockers Grace Boggess and Destiny Cherry have played a major role in the success, each collecting over 30 blocks this season. 

Boggess leads the team with an average of 1.19 blocks per set, which is fourth in the BIG EAST while Cherry is just behind with an average of 1.12 per set that ranks sixth.

WATCH
Bulldog fans can purchase tickets to the matches online on the Butler Athletics website or tune into the live streams on Butler Athletics YouTube Channel from Thursday to Saturday.

UP NEXT
Butler will kick off the BIG EAST conference play by hosting DePaul before heading to Cincinnati the next day for a match against Xavier. 

The Bulldogs will host the conference opener against DePaul on Friday, Sep. 27 at 7 PM  ET followed by a match at Xavier on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 4 PM ET.