Indianapolis, IN - The Butler Bulldogs defeated the Villanova Wildcats in straight sets Friday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse to open conference play for both teams.
Bulldog Bites
- Ava Hunter posted 17 assists and three digs
- Jersey Loyer registered 12 digs and six assists
- Chase Lemming tallied 10 kills, including five in the second set. She also recorded eight digs, two blocks, and one assist.
- Raegan Durbin totaled 10 kills, including six in the third set. She also recorded eight digs and one block.
- Carly Slusser recorded five kills and seven blocks.
On the Record with Head Coach Kyle Shonell
The common theme of this team has been resiliency, either in this match or throughout the season. We caught a tough stretch there in non-conference volleyball. We lost four matches in a row. We've got the second-best team in the BIG EAST preseason come to our house, and we played the best volleyball we've played in two years. It was just unbelievable from start to finish. The grit, the tenacity. We weren't even playing very clean for a while, but we played incredibly well. Villanova's going to win a ton of matches in the Big East, just not in Hinkle Fieldhouse this year.
Set 1 Butler (25-19)
Butler began the match trading points back and forth with the Wildcats. The Bulldogs took a narrow 15-13 edge at the midway point of set one. Butler continued to pressure the Wildcats during the late moments of the frame. The Bulldogs went on to take set one 25-19.
Set 2 Butler (25-16)
The Bulldogs carried the momentum from the first set with an 8-2 lead in the early moments of set two. Butler took a 15-7 edge at the halfway point of set two. The Wildcats continued to fight with the Bulldogs. Butler ended up taking set two 25-16.
Set 3 Butler (27-25)
Villanova opened set one trading points with the Bulldogs during the early moments of set three. Butler continued to fight; however, the Wildcats took a 15-13 edge at the midway point of set three. Villanova fought to the end; however, Butler went on to win set three and the overall match victory.
Up Next
Butler will host Georgetown tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 26, at Hinkle Fieldhouse, with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. Then the Bulldogs will travel to South Orange, N.J., to face Seton Hall Friday, Oct. 2 at 5 p.m.
