Milosevic breaks program record, Grizzlies defeat T-Birds in 5 sets

EL DORADO, Kan. – Butler volleyball pulled away late, defeating Cloud County 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 25-16, 21-25, 15-9) in five sets at the Power Plant on Monday evening.

Freshman setter Anja Milosevic made some history in the match as she finished with 53 assists, breaking the all-time program record. The record was previously held by Rainey Aven who had 52 assists in a five-set match vs. Tyler in 2022.

Butler (14-11, 6-5 KJCCC) stopped its two-match losing streak with the win over Cloud County (19-12, 5-8 KJCCC) who previously defeated the Grizzlies at their home gym on Aug. 30. The Grizzlies stay put at fifth place in the KJCCC standings. They trail Barton, Hutchinson, Garden City and Colby.

Butler won the second, third and fifth sets. They hit a match-high .577 in the third set, winning 25-16.

After Cloud County won the fourth set, 25-21, the teams headed to a decisive fifth set. Butler quickly fell behind 3-0 in the fifth set. The Grizzlies proceeded to rip off a 7-0 run to take the lead 7-3 that catapulted them to a 15-9 win.

Freshman Sarah Sullivan led Butler with 15 kills on a .233 hitting percentage. She had a double-double with 11 digs. Sydney Lentz made her return from injury and landed nine kills on a .444 hitting percentage. Laynee Brown had 24 digs. Greta Santini had a double-double with 11 kills and 17 digs.

The Grizzlies hit the road next for a match at Garden City on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 5:30 p.m.