Volleyball: Bulldogs win twice in home Classic

Butler swept its old conference foe, Wright State 3-0 last night.
The Bulldogs (8-3) controlled the match from the first serve.
Junior Belle Obert led the team with 10 kills, while junior Claire Randich, the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week, finished with eight kills.
Over the weekend, the Bulldogs hosted the Butler Classic and won two matches.
Butler defeated Western Illinois three sets to one in the opening match of the Classic.
The Bulldogs won the first and second sets in close fashion, winning 25-22 and 25-23, respectively.
However, the Leathernecks  (3-4) would not go away and went on to win the third set 25-21 to cut the set lead in half.
In the fourth set, the Bulldogs dominated early on, gaining an 8-1 lead. They would not look back and disposed of Western Illinois by a score of 25-19.
The story of the match was junior Maggie Harbison’s dominant play. Harbison racked up 18 kills and 19 digs, both team highs.
Juniors Morgan Peterson and Claire Randich also contributed with six blocks apiece. As a team, the Bulldogs compiled eight aces.
Butler fell to Stephen F. Austin by a score of three sets to none in its second match of the tournament.
The first set was competitive, with the Bulldogs holding the lead for the majority of the set.
However, late in the set, the Ladyjacks took over. The Bulldogs couldn’t rally, and Stephen F. Austin won the next two points to take the first set.
In the second set, the Bulldogs started off slow, falling behind 8-16. Butler was able to fight back to get the score to 19-21.
With the score 22-24, the Bulldogs were able to stave off two set points. Butler would then win the next point to go up 25-24.
The Bulldogs twice had set point in their favor but were unable to close out the set. The Ladyjacks were able to fight back, and with the score 27-26, Stephen F. Austin was able to put it away to take a 2-0 set lead.
Stephen F. Austin took the third set 25-20 to complete the match sweep.
Butler defeated Indiana (6-3) three sets to one in the final game of the Classic.
Butler dominated the first set and saw success as a result of its defense. The Bulldogs were never losing at any point during the set and won 25-18.
In the second set, the Bulldogs got off to a slow start and were down 3-0 before scoring eight out of the next nine points to force a Hoosiers’ timeout. Butler would continue to dominate through the middle part of the set, leading 17-10. But Indiana would not go away.
The Hoosiers rallied to eventually take a 19-18 lead. Butler then took seven of the next eight points to close out the set 25-20 and take a 2-0 match lead going into halftime.
Indiana dominated the entire third set and won 25-15. The opposite occured during the fourth set.
With the Hoosiers up 7-4, Butler went on a five-point streak to force an Indiana timeout. The Bulldogs would not look back, going on a 6-1 run following the timeout. The Hoosiers would not get within four points of the Bulldogs for the rest of the match. Butler finished with six straight points, capped by back-to-back aces by sophomore Belle Obert.
Leading the Bulldogs was Harbison with 16 kills, Randich with nine blocks and sophomore Brooke Ruffolo with 23 digs.
Butler next faces Southeast Missouri State in the first match of the Butler Invitational on Friday, Sept. 14 at 11 a.m.


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