The Butler Grizzlies avenged an early season loss and celebrated sophomore night in style, defeating the Dodge City Conquistadors 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-17) in straight sets at the Power Plant on Saturday.
All 10 Grizzly sophomores were honored before the match as Rainey Aven, Ivy Fink, Carrie Roe, Mikayla Woodward, McKenna Rhodes, Sydney Morrow, Macey Shaver, Mahlia Glass, Kennedy Kelly, Macey Adams and sophomore manager Ellie Coleman were joined by their parents on the court before the match.
The Grizzlies made quick work of the Conquistadors once the match began. Roe led the team with 10 kills while Rhodes was close behind with eight. The Grizzlies totaled 41 kills as a team with a hitting percentage of .378. Kenedy Kelly and Rainey Aven were excellent in service. Kelly led the team with five aces, including four in the second set, while Aven put in two as the Grizzlies combined for 11 service aces as a team. Aven, who will leave the Grizzlies with the most assists in program history, was stellar again, with 33 assists.
"It means so much, especially since we lost to them at their place," said Aven. "With it being sophomore night and it's my last year here it really meant a lot."
"It always feels good to get somebody after they beat you the first time around," said Head Coach LIsa Lechtenberg. "I know it's not their last match at home but it's the day of their celebration and I think our sophomores showed up in a big way today."
When the 2022 sophomore class leaves El Dorado, they will do so as one of the most successful classes in Butler volleyball history. The Grizzlies improved their home winning streak to 22-games over the past three years at the Power Plant, and the sophomore class was also a part of the first ever Region VI and Jayhawk Conference title winning teams in program history. Their trip to Hutchinson for the national tournament last year was also a program first.
"The kids we had last year, and then the girls who were freshmen last year that are sophomores this year, they expect to win and they know they can do it," said Lecthenberg. "And that's half the battle, just knowing that you can take care of somebody."
"It's been awesome," commented Aven. "The expectations have been up especially since last year, and I think we're just starting to meet those expectations."
"There were a lot of people here supporting us so it was just nice to have all the support from the community and to get a big win," said Carrie Roe.
The Grizzlies improve to 21-11 on the year and 12-2 in conference play. They have two more matches at home this season, and they're massive contests. The Grizzlies play the league leading Seward Saints before hosting the Hutchinson Blue Dragons in the final game of the season in two games that have huge conference title implications as the Grizzlies, Hutchinson, and Seward are all battling in the three horse race at the top of the conference. The Grizzlies still have the chance to repeat as conference champions and go undefeated at home for the second consecutive year.
"We just need to do the same thing we did today, stick to the game plan, and take care of the ball," Lecthenberg said.
"There was a lot of communication and a lot of energy that we need to bring forward to the next games," said Roe.
