Butler University Athletics

Indianapolis - The Butler Bulldogs defeated UConn, 3-0, on Friday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Butler held the visiting Huskies to a .036 hitting percentage and no UConn player had more than four kills.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 10-9 overall and 4-3 in BIG EAST action. The Huskies slide to 8-12 overall and 1-6 in conference action.
 
Bulldog Bites 

• Ava Hunter tallied 15 assists and four digs. 
• Raegan Durbin posted 10 kills, including six in the third set. Durbin also registered six digs and two blocks. 
• Jersey Loyer registered eight digs and four assists.   
• Elise Ward marked seven kills and four digs. 
• Chase Lemming recorded six kills and two digs.
• The Bulldogs had 13 service aces in the three-set win. 

On the Record with Head Coach Kyle Shondell
"We didn't know what UConn team to expect tonight. I think that while we pressured them in a lot of areas, we might have gotten some points we don't always get. But we did a really good job of staying with the game plan, not allowing a flow of points to change our mindset. I was really really pleased with our defense tonight across the board, our block setup was terrific. I think we finished with maybe six or seven blocks, but holding UConn to .036 hitting and no one with more than four kills is significant. We had 13 aces in a three-set match, which is kind of out of this world in a BIG EAST Conference match. And those were kind of the two biggest things we served tough, and we kept them from scoring. They only had 21 kills in the entire match, and so I think that was kind of the name of the game. But we just found out we've got a really good team coming here tomorrow night who just swept Xavier, and so we got to get ready for Providence."
 
Set 1 Butler (25-17)
Butler opened the first set trading points back and forth with UConn in the early moments of the frame. The Bulldogs took a 15-11 edge over the Huskies at the midway point of the set behind two kills from Carly Slusser  and an ace from Ward. Butler continued to pressure UConn with an 8-4 run, driven by back-to-back kills from Lemming, blocks from Slusser and Zoe McDonald, and an ace from Aesha Vogt. The Huskies fought to crawl back into the set however, Butler claimed the set 25-17. 
 
Set 2 Butler (25-18)
UConn began the second set trading points with the Bulldogs in the opening moments of the frame. Behind a 5-2 run fueled by kills from Durbin and Ellery Reese, as well as an ace from Durbin, the Bulldogs held a narrow 15-13 advantage at the halfway mark. The Huskies continued to fight back, but kills from  Durbin and McDonald led the Bulldogs to a 25-18 set two victory. 
 
Set 3 Butler (25-16)
The Bulldogs opened the third set trading points back and forth with the Huskies. Butler went on a 6-0 run driven by kills from Durbin and Ward as well as an ace from Hunter, to give them a 15-11 edge at the midway point of the frame. Butler continued to pressure UConn in the late moments of the frame behind kills from Durbin and Slusser. The Bulldogs claimed the set, 25-16, to secure the sweep and overall victory.
 
Up Next 
Butler returns to action Saturday, hosting Providence at Hinkle Fieldhouse. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. The Bulldogs will then travel to Milwaukee, Wis., on Saturday, Oct. 24, to face off against Marquette.