HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The Butler volleyball team needed a win to right the ship after having lost two consecutive matches in straight sets to KJCCC foes.
All the Grizzlies (8-6, 2-2 KJCCC) did was go on the road to first place Hutchinson (10-5, 4-1 KJCCC) and hand the Blue Dragons their first conference loss this season at the Hutchinson Sports Arena on Wednesday evening. The match was a thrilling five set affair that had a combined 22 lead changes and 37 ties and ultimately went the way of the Grizzlies, 3-2 (25-21, 32-34, 26-24, 15-25, 15-12).
The win marked Butler volleyball's seventh consecutive win over Hutchinson. The Grizzlies have won eight of the last 11 matchups with the Blue Dragons after not beating them once from 2002-18.
It was apparent that Butler brought its best to Hutchinson in the first set as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 25-21 win. While the Grizzlies hit just .083 in the set, they played stout frontline defense, holding Hutchinson to a .000 hitting percentage with nine kills and nine errors on 34 total attacks.
Set two was a wild one for both teams. It went the way of Hutchinson 34-32 with both teams making highlight worthy plays to extend the set point after point. The set was the longest set the Grizzlies have played in, dating back to at least the 2011 season (where the online database stops). Hutchinson hit a match-high .276 in the set as they evened things at 1-1.
Butler was at its best in set three, hitting a team-high .262 landing 14 kills with just three errors on 42 total attacks. They edged it out 26-24 to take a 2-1 lead.
The Blue Dragons stormed back in the fourth set to win 25-15 with the 10-point win being the widest margin for a set win in the match.
It all came down to a fifth and final set, and Butler was ready for crunch time. The Grizzlies lead early, with freshman defensive specialist Laynee Brown (Topeka) landing a service ace to make it 6-4. The set went back-and-forth with it being tied or one team taking a one-point lead through the middle portion. Sophomore middle blocker Sydney Lentz (Wichita) landed a kill that made it 13-12 in favor of Butler and forced a Hutchinson timeout. After the timeout Butler scored the next two points to win the match as sophomore outside hitter Greta Santini (Reggio Emilia, Italy) and Lentz combined for a block in the final point.
Three Grizzlies posted double-digit kills in Lentz (15), Santini (13) and freshman outside hitter Sarah Sullivan (Henderson, NV) with 11. Sullivan finished with her third career-double-double as she also had a team and career-high 23 digs. Santini also had a double-double as she had 15 digs. It was the first time she had 10 or more digs this season. Brown and freshman setter Anja Milosevic (Belgrade, Serbia) had 19 digs each with Milosevic pacing Butler with 41 assists, the third time this season she has had 40-plus assists. Freshman middle blocker Raven Boone (Gardner) led the Grizzlies with seven total blocks.
Hutchinson's Taniya Golden had a match-high 20 kills.
Butler returns to the Power Plant for its next contest on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 2 p.m. as Garden City comes to town. A live stream at ButlerGrizzlies.com/watchlive or the BCTV+ app will be available and tickets can be purchased at ButlerGrizzlies.com/tickets.
