Butler volleyball ended their five-game losing streak after winning two games Friday night in their home triangular, defeating McCook, Neb., in four sets (25-18. 25-20, 23-25, 25-22) and sweeping Hesston in three straight sets (26-24, 25-15, 25-13).
With the two home wins, the Grizzlies (4-5 overall, 0-3 conference) improved to 4-2 against non-conference teams and earned their first two victories at the Power Plant this season.
The Grizzlies will next host Ottawa University JV on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Power Plant, then return to Jayhawk Conference play with a 2:00 p.m. Saturday road match at Dodge City.
Butler vs. McCook (NE)
Butler never trailed in the opening two sets against McCook, as the Grizzlies took the first set 25-18, then followed up with a 25-20 set two victory.
Just as they had in the first two sets, the Grizzlies came out dominating the offensive side of the ball early in the third set. Butler led by as many as seven with a 21-14 lead before McCook rallied back with an 11-2 run - including scoring the final seven points of the set to extend the match.
With the third set win, McCook gained momentum and put Butler on the ropes for a back-and-forth fourth set, which featured 14 ties and nine lead changes before the Grizzlies gained control with a 22-19 lead. Butler would close out the match as McCook had a service error to force match point, then a Milayna Hollinger block put the finishing touches on the match.
Morgan Bryand had a huge night offensively tallying 14 kills with only two errors and added eight digs. Amalie Rupertova finished with eight kills and 15 digs followed by Jaryn Benning with seven kills and three blocks. Both Milayna Hollinger and Keera Parks racked up six kills apiece. Libero Sydney Hefty had 17 digs in the match, while setter Sydney Scanlon led Butler with 32 set assists.
Butler vs. Hesston
Butler held the advantage for most of the opening set, with its largest lead coming at 17-11 before Hesston called timeout. With the Grizzlies up 19-14, Hesston rallied back with an 8-1 run to take a 22-20 lead. With Butler trailing 24-23, Hesston failed to close out the set with an errant serve and a net error. The Grizzlies made Hesston pay as Amalie Rupertova would send a dart over the net for a set-ending ace and a 26-24 opening-set win.
Butler continued its momentum by dominating the Larks in the final two sets, winning 25-16 and 25-13 to sweep the match in straight sets.
Rupertova and Milayna Hollinger led the team in kills with nine each. Rupertova had four serving aces, 13 digs and two blocks in the match, while Hollinger finished with 10 digs, two blocks and had just one error. Sydney Scanlon had another strong performance with 29 set assists and three serving aces.
