The Butler Volleyball team will begin their season this Friday at Hinkle Fieldhouse where they will host the Big Dawg Kickoff. The event will see Butler play three matches in two days.

This Friday August 29th Butler will open their season against Evansville at 12pm ET. This will be the first match of the Big Dawg Kickoff and admission will be free. Then, at 7pm ET on the 29th the Dawgs will be back in action and will take on Purdue Fort Wayne. The event will conclude with Butler taking on Middle Tennessee State at 5pm ET, Saturday August 30th. 

Previewing Butler 

Third-year head coach Kyle Shondell will have nine returning student-athletes from last year's team to help the Dawgs compete on the court during 2025. Rylie Tam is the only senior on this year's team and the majority of the team is underclassmen. Even with the team being on the younger side heading into 2025, coach Shondell noted "This is the closest group we have had in 3 years. The team is really enjoying each other on and off the court," Additionally, Shondell and coaching staff is "excited to see this young team mature throughout the season."  

Heading into the season, Shondell expects defense to be a strength for the 2025 Bulldogs. Lauren Evans, Jersey Loyer, and Aesha Vogt will be the Defensive Specialists for the 2025 Bulldogs. Evans and Loyer each played in over 90% of the Dawgs matches in 2024 and Evans finished the 2024 season with 270 digs and 2.81 per set, which both lead the Dawgs in 2024. Loyer was also a big contributor to the Dawgs defense in 2024, as she tallied 204 digs last season. Evans, Loyer, and Vogt are all sophomores returning to Butler for their second season. Elise Ward and Alaleh Tolliver are also back for the Dawgs. In 2024 Ward led the team in kills with 232 and Tolliver tallied 190 of her own last season. 

Scouting Evansville 

In 2024 Evansville finished with a record of 6-24 and 0-11 on the road. Over the offseason, the Purple Aces hired a new head coach, Zach Weinberg. Weinberg previously served as the associate head coach for Tennessee Tech, where in 2024 they went 24-8. As for the 2025 Purple Aces, they return 12 members of the 2024 teams. Junior Angelica Gonzalez Maltes is one of the returners for Evansville, a season ago she finished with 226 kills on the season, which was good for second for Evansville. The Purple Aces also return Ainoah Cruz who led the team in Digs last season with 343.

Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne

In 2024 the Mastodons finished with a record of 17-15 and were 4-9 away from their home arena. Head coach Steve Florio enters his 12th season in charge of the program. As for 2025, Florio has some key contributors to last year's team coming back for this season, including Beckey Barrett who tallied 230 digs a season ago. 

Scouting Middle Tennessee State

Last season the Lighting finished with a record of 13-18 and were 2-12 on the road. In the break between seasons Middle Tennessee lost two key student-athletes, one who had over 1,000 assists and another who tallied more than 450 kills. Also, Middle Tennessee State appointed Alexa Keckler as the 13th head coach in program history. Keckler and her staff enter the season with eight freshmen and three seniors on the roster. 

Below is the schedule for the Big Dawg Kickoff. 

Big Dawg Kickoff Butler Schedule 

Aug. 29th– Butler vs Evansville 12pm ET (Free Admission)
Aug 29th–  Butler vs Purdue Fort Wayne 7pm ET. 

Aug. 30th- Butler vs Middle Tennessee State 5pm ET. 

Big Dawg Kickoff Full Schedule 

Aug. 29th 
Butler vs Evansville 12pm ET (Free Admission)
Middle Tennessee State at Purdue Fort Wayne 3pm ET 
Butler vs Purdue Fort Wayne 7pm ET

Aug. 30th
Evansville at Middle Tennessee State 10am ET
Purdue Fort Wayne at Evansville 2pm ET
Butler vs Middle Tennessee State 5pm ET