STORRS, Conn.- On Friday evening, the UConn Huskies defeated the Butler Bulldogs 3-1. With the loss, the Bulldogs fell to 12-14 on the season and 5-8 in BIG EAST play. Connecticut improved to 18-7 overall and 7-6 in conference play.

Bulldog Bites

• Elise Ward led all players with 15 kills. 

• Alaleh Tolliver led the Dawgs in digs with 17. 

• Ellery Rees had eight kills on .583 hitting. 

• Lauren Evans and Jersey Loyer each tallied double digit digs. Evans recorded 14 while Loyer tallied 10. 

• Sarah Kempf and Kaylee Finnegan continued to set everything up offensively for Butler. They combined for 37 assists.

A solo block from Sawyer Jones and a kill from Alaleh Tolliver put Butler in front early, 4-3. Connecticut found its footing and built a 15-12 lead. The Huskies held that advantage until back-to-back kills from Maria Nix and Kaylee Finnegan tied the set at 22. Tolliver followed with a kill to give the Dawgs a 23-22 lead, but UConn claimed the next three points to take the first set, 25-22.

Set 2 Butler (25-21)

Set two saw the teams trade points early before the score was tied at 10. A kill from Maria Nix, followed by an ace from Nix, gave the Dawgs a 15-13 lead. Back-to-back kills from Elise Ward and Sawyer Jones helped Butler maintain their advantage at 20-17. Three straight points from the Dawgs, including two Ward kills, extended the lead to 23-17.

UConn didn't go away quietly, cutting the deficit to 23-21, but two more kills from Ward, who finished with five in the set, sealed a 25-21 win for Butler to even the match at one set apiece.

Set 3 UConn (25-20)

Set three was controlled by Connecticut, which built a 12-9 lead early and stretched it to 17-10. Kills from Ellery Rees, Elise Ward and Carly Slusser fueled a Butler comeback, cutting the deficit to 19-17. UConn closed the set strong, however, taking a 25-20 win to move in front two sets to one.

Set 4 UConn (27-25)

The fourth set was a wild back-and-forth battle that UConn eventually won. A service ace from Rylie Tam put Butler in front 8-6. A few points later, kills from Sawyer Jones and Rees kept Butler's advantage at two, 12-10.

Butler held its two-point lead throughout the set until UConn went on a mini run to pull ahead 22-20. However, Butler did not go away quietly, another kill from Jones, along with a few Huskies errors, tied the set at 23.

With Butler facing match point for the first time, Tolliver found a kill to tie the set at 24 and keep the Dawgs alive. Connecticut was able to withstand the Butler rally and won the set 27-25, and the match, 3-1.

Up Next

The Dawgs will remain out east and face the Providence Friars tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET.