COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Butler volleyball kicked off its 2024 season at the Reiver Classic hosted by Iowa Western on Friday and Saturday.
The Grizzlies (2-2) split matches on both days. The highlight of the weekend was the season opener as Butler downed preseason NJCAA No. 3 ranked Northeastern JC in four sets.
Friday: Butler 3, #3 Northeastern 1 (25-22, 27-25, 20-25, 25-23) & Western Nebraska CC 3, Butler 2 (18-25, 26-24, 25-19, 17-25, 5-15)
The Grizzlies started the season with a bang, moving to 1-0 with a 3-1 win over No. 3 Northeastern on Friday.
Butler outhit NJC .239 to .170, hitting a match-high .385 in the fourth set to seal the win. The Grizzlies did commit 14 service errors but did not allow the mistakes to catch up to them.
Sarah Sullivan led the Grizzlies with an impressive 17 kill, 14 dig double-double. Raven Boone added 10 kills and four blocks while Anja Milosevic had a team-high 36 assists to go with nine digs.
The second match on Friday saw Butler battle Western Nebraska to five sets but ultimately suffer their first loss of the season.
The Grizzlies won set two and three to take a 2-1 match lead but WNCC took the final two sets.
WNCC's Lilly Zwart totaled a match-high 25 kills on .476 hitting to lead the Cougars.
Sullivan again led Butler in kills with 14, hitting .154. Avery DeLong had 13 kills and five digs while Milosevic had a double-double of 31 assists, 12 digs.
Saturday: Iowa Western 3, Butler 0 (22-25, 21-25, 23-25) & Butler 3, Jefferson 2 (17-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 15-4)
Butler flipped the script on Saturday, losing the first match to host school Iowa Western and then winning the final match of the tournament over Jefferson College.
Despite hitting at the best clip (.264) of the tournament vs. the Reivers, Butler suffered its first sweep of the young season. All three sets were close throughout with Iowa Western only winning the total point margin by nine. No Grizzly finished with 10 or more kills, Ryann Hamilton and DeLong each led with eight kills.
The last match of the tournament came down to the wire with the Grizzlies outlasting Jefferson with a strong fifth set to take the match.
DeLong had an impressive match with a team-high 12 kills on .314 hitting to go with three digs and two blocks. Karly Girty did a little of everything, finishing with six kills, two aces, five digs and six blocks. Butler hit an astounding .750 in the fifth set, winning it 15-4. Both sets that the Grizzlies lost (first and thrd) were by a score of 25-17.
Next Up
Butler hosts Hutchinson on Wednesday, Aug. 28th at 6 p.m. in their home opener as well as conference opener. The first 100 fans in to the Power Plant will receive a purple rally towel.
