Lisa Lechtenberg and the Butler Grizzlies have not shied away from competition this season and won't catch any kind of break this weekend as they face four top NJCAA teams in the Blue Dragon Classic in Hutchinson.
"We went out and built a very competitive non-conference schedule this year because we want to play the best and compete against the best," said Lechtenberg in her fourth season as the head coach.
Butler will take on the back-to-back defending National Champions Iowa Western to open the tournament on Friday at 12:00pm. This will be the second matchup between the two teams as Iowa Western defeated the Grizzlies in the first game of the season in Council Bluffs. Butler will then face No. 17 Mineral Area at 4:00pm, a team they defeated a season ago in the same tournament.
Saturday will pit Butler against an extremely tough Missouri State West Plains team who finished third in the nation last season. The match is set for 1:00pm and will be the second time these teams have seen each other this season. MSU-West Plains won the first on the opening weekend 3-0 over Butler. The Grizzlies will then get a chance to test their worth as they take on No. 2-ranked Indian Hills at 5:00pm Saturday.
The Warriors, who also took the Grizzlies 3-1 on opening weekend are on a hot streak climbing their way up to No. 2 in the nation having won their last 14-games with their only loss coming to No. 4 Salt Lake.
Having dropped their first four games of the season to ranked opponents, Butler has won their last 10 matches and are 10-4 overall this season.
A strong showing this weekend could possibly elevate the Grizzlies back inside the NJCAA Top-20 as they have been receiving votes in the poll all season.
You can watch all the games online at www.butlergrizzlies.com/watchlive.