The 19th ranked Butler Grizzlies picked up two victories at the Cowley Triangular in Arkansas City on Tuesday, sweeping Ottawa JV and winning a thriller against one of the best teams in Division II, defeating Cowley in five sets.
Match One
Butler handed the Tigers just their second loss of the season, defeating the second ranked DII juco team 3-2 (25-15, 17-25, 17-25, 25-19, 15-13.)
After a commanding first set win, the Tigers answered in the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead. Butler had to come from behind after dropping two straight sets to the Tigers, winning set four to set up what would be a thrilling pivotal set five. With things tied at 13, the Grizzlies earned the last two points of the contest to cement a hard fought win. Kennedy Kelly finished off the victory with a kill, her 10th of the match.
Three players finished in double digits in kills, led by McKenna Rhodes who had 12. Ivy Fink's 11 and Kelly's 10 also helped the Grizzlies to victory.
Rainey Aven, now ranked 13th nationally in assists, was solid in the middle again, finishing with 36.
Match Two
It was all Butler in the second match of the day, as they dominated Ottawa in the final match at Cowley, earning a sweep of the Braves (25-8, 25-22, 25-21.)
It was the Kennedy Kelly show again, as the nation's leader in hitting percentage was again dominant, with 12 kills on 22 attempts and a hitting percentage of .500. Carrie Roe was next in line offensively with 11.
The sweep improves the Grizzlies' record to 16-7 and their win streak to four. Next up for the Grizzlies is a trip to West Plains, Missouri for four games at the Grizzly Invitational this weekend. Butler will face two ranked opponents on the weekend in No. 11 West Plains (MO) and No. 8 Trinity Valley (TX). Butler will also play Jefferson (MO) and Tyler (TX), who both have at one point this season been inside the NJCAA Top-20.
