No. 16 Volleyball hits .325 in sweep of Butler

Box Score (PDF)

INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 16 Marquette University women's volleyball team hit .325 and had three players reach double-digit kills in a 25-15, 26-24, 25-21 sweep of Butler on Friday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

"I really like the way we closed out sets on this trip," MU head coach Ryan Theis said. "When we needed side-outs we strung them together and it was a total team effort this week. Our middles scored a ton of points Wednesday and pins scored a bunch tonight."

The Golden Eagles (20-2, 11-1 BIG EAST) were led by 14 kills from outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton, while middle blocker Hattie Bray continued her torrid pace of late with 10 kills on .474 hitting and a pair of blocks. Right-side hitter Ella Foti hit a match-best .588 and landed 11 kills along with a block and pair of service aces.

Marquette scored the final four points of the opening set for the 10-point victory while hitting .515 (18-1-33). It needed extra points in the second frame for a come-from-behind win after trailing 22-18. Bray sparked MU with consecutive kills and the Golden Eagles eventually knotted the set at 22. Setter Yadhira Anchante landed a kill to fight off Butler's lone set point at 24-23 and assisted outside hitters Ella Holmstrom and Jenna Reitsma to close the stanza, 26-24.

MU led Butler by as many as eight points in the third set, 25-21 win.

The Bulldogs (11-12, 5-6 BIG EAST) hit .216 and were led by 12 kills from Amina Shackelford, who also added a match-best six blocks. Mariah Grunze hit a team-high .345 with 11 kills for BU.

NOTABLE:

Eight of Marquette's 11 league victories have come via sweep.
MU middle blockers Carsen Murray (.423) and Hattie Bray (.352) entered the match as the top-two players in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage.
Marquette is 19-9 all-time against Butler and is 18-3 since BU joined the BIG EAST for the 2013 campaign.
The Golden Eagles have won nine of the last 10 contests in the series, save for a five-set loss at Butler on March 5, 2021.
Marquette defeated Butler in the previous matchup this season at the Al McGuire Center on Sept. 24 in four sets. MU setter Yadhira Anchante recorded her first triple-double in NCAA play with 46 assists, 10 kills and 13 digs.
Butler libero Jaymeson Kinley entered the match leading the BIG EAST and 11th nationally in digs per set with 5.45 (436 total in 80 sets). She had a match-high 19 on Friday night.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles return to Milwaukee to welcome Georgetown and Villanova to the Al McGuire Center on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5, respectively. MU will play four of its final six matches at home to close out the regular season.

Keep up with the Marquette University women's volleyball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteVB) and Instagram (@MarquetteVB) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball).