INDIANAPOLIS - The Butler Bulldogs won against the Seton Hall Pirates, 3-0 on Saturday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse. With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 11-13 overall and 5-7 in the BIG EAST. With the loss, the Pirates slide to 9-15 overall and 1-10 in conference play.
Bulldog Bites
- Jersey Loyer posted her eighth career 20-dig match and recorded back-to-back matches of 20 or more digs for only the second time in her career.
- Sarah Kempf totaled 16 assists and five digs.
- Kaylee Finnegan registered 15 assists and four digs
- Karen Dutro led the Bulldogs with a career-high 11 kills, one night after her first career 10-kill performance.
- Zoe McDonald recorded 10 kills and two blocks.
On the Record with Head Coach Kyle Shondell
"We knew Seton Hall had been playing really good volleyball. They've won at least a set off of almost everybody in the BIG EAST, except for us. And our objective was to make sure we were mature enough to not let that happen tonight. And while there were moments, they got going a little bit too much. We settled in and maintained our composure. We were very mature tonight. I was absolutely blown away by the offensive efforts of our middle blockers,
Zoe McDonald and
Karen Dutro; they led us in both kills and efficiency, which might be a first. It's very rare to have two middles lead you in kills, but they were just incredible tonight. We had to keep setting the ball.
Jersey Loyer had another unbelievable night. She had a career-high 27 digs last night. She had 20 digs in a three-set match today. She was fantastic. It's tough to be upset about a sweep, and so I'm not upset
Set 1 Butler (25-21)
Butler began the match by jumping out to an early 10-5 lead over Seton Hall behind kills from
Taylor Wathen and McDonald in the early moments of the set. The Pirates went on a 3-0 run of their own, but it was the Bulldogs who led 15-11 at the midway point of the set. Seton Hall continued to pressure the Bulldogs in the late moments of the set. However, a 4-2 run driven by kills from
Raegan Durbin and
Elise Ward closed out the set and allowed Butler to claim set one 25-21.
Set 2 Butler (25-21)
The Bulldogs opened the second set with an 8-2 lead over the Pirates behind two aces from Durbin and a kill from Dutro. Seton Hall responded with a 5-2 run, however, Butler still led 15-13 at the halfway point of the second set. The Pirates continued to pressure the Bulldogs in the late moments of the set. However, Butler went on a 5-1 run behind kills from Dutro and Durbin to close out the second set 25-21.
Set 3 Butler (25-22)
Butler began the third set by jumping out to a 7-2 lead over Seton Hall behind kills from McDonald, Ward, and
Ellery Rees in the early moments of the frame. The Bulldogs continued to pressure the Pirates as Butler took a 15-9 edge over Seton Hall at the midway point of the third set. The Pirates went on a run of their own and tied the set at 21-21. The Bulldogs responded to a 4-1 run driven behind kills from Dutro and McDonald to claim the third and final set and the overall match victory.
Up Next
Butler will travel to Cincinnati, Ohio, on Wednesday, Nov. 4 to face Xavier. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. The Bulldogs will then return to Hinkle Fieldhouse to host Creighton on Sunday, Nov. 8. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.
