Butler volleyball had a dominating performance with a three-set home sweep over Dodge City at the Power Plant on Wednesday evening.
The Grizzlies (18-8 overall, 8-5 conference) cruised to a 25-13, 25-18, 25-15 victory over the Conquistadors, picking up their 12th sweep of the season and improving their home record to 8-1.
Butler trailed Dodge 11-10 early in the first set, but scored four straight points to move in front after a Grizzly timeout. The Conqs broke the run with two consecutive points, then Butler exploded with an 11-0 run to close the set.
Butler led by as many as eight in the second set, jumping out to a 17-9 lead and winning the frame 25-18. The Grizzlies carried the solid play into the third set and never trailed en route to the 10-point win to end the match.
Sophomore middle hitter Aliyah Bernard had a season-high 16 kills, hit .609 and added two blocks, while Nicole Klusener had nine kills and 14 digs. Freshman hitter Alli Klausmeyer added eight kills with a block. Setter Andie Nibarger led the Grizzlies with 25 aces, while sophomore libero Abby Goodrum had 24 digs. Brooke Fender finished with 10 digs and five kills. Both Fender and Nibarger had two aces each, as Butler had six for the match.
Next up for Butler will be the two-day Mineral Area Invitational beginning Friday. The Grizzlies will play Lake Land (Ill.) at 2:00 p.m. and Mineral Area (Mo.) at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, then battle Rend Lake (Ill.) at 11:00 a.m. and McKendree JV (Ill.) at 3:00 p.m. Butler returns home Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. match against Ottawa JV.
