Butler Sweeps Kent State With Dominant Effort at the Net

• Match Info
• Butler at Kent St. at the Golden Flashes Classic
• Butler improves to 6-2; Kent State falls to 1-6
• Kent, Ohio
• Match Stats

The Butler Bulldogs used a strong presence at the net to dominate the host Golden Flashes of Kent State in straight sets. Set scores were 25-20, 25-20, 25-15. Butler outhit Kent St. .292 to .115 and out blocked their counterparts 13 to 1. Redshirt Junior outside hitter Whitney Beck led the Bulldogs with 14 kills hitting .417. Junior middle blocker Bri Lilly chipped in 12 kills and senior setter Makayla Ferguson dished out 38 assists. The Bulldogs improved to 6-2 on the season and will return to action on September 9th as they face College of Charleston to conclude their stay at the Golden Flashes Classic.

The match started with Butler’s Brooke Gregory getting a quick kill from the opposite position. Teams traded points back and forth, with neither team able to create any separation until the block of Butler rejected back to back attempts from the Golden Flashes creating a 10-6 lead. Butler continued to dominate the net, highlighted by a solo block from Beck to create an 18-14 lead. However, Kent State was far from finished as a kill from Ashley Makruski pulled them within two at 19-17. Butler was able to re-stabilize their presence at the net, finishing the set on a double block. Beck had 6 kills in the set to lead the Bulldogs. Late in the set, Kent State libero Challen Geraghty reached a milestone, collecting her 2,000th career dig. She is the active leader in digs in the NCAA.

Challen Geraghty collected her 2,000th career late in the opening set and leads all players with 14 digs.

— KentStVball (@KentStVball) September 8, 2017

Kent State started off set #2 quickly, scoring the first four points. Butler was able to rally though, scoring 10 of the next 13 points, forcing a timeout from the Golden Flashes. Beck served up two aces midway through the set to extend the lead to 13-7. The lead grew to 19-10 on a double block from Ferguson and Rachel Klitzing as Kent State called their final timeout of the set. The Golden Flashes were able to make a brief run at the end of the set, closing the lead to four points, but Butler closed out the set on yet another double block.

Set three started in a similar fashion to the previous two with points being traded back and forth. Butler was finally able to create some separation on a double block from Gregory and Klitzing. The lead swelled to 13-6 as Kent St. was forced to call their first timeout. Butler continued to control the net as the finished the match on the block yet again.

Kelsey Bittinger lead the Golden Flashes with 17 kills hitting .325 while Geraghty collected 20 digs. Kent State moves to 1-6 on the year and will return to the court on September 10th as they conclude the Golden Flashes Classic against College of Charleston.

Press Release

Courtesy of Butler Athletics

KENT, Ohio – The Butler volleyball team improved to 6-2 Friday night by defeating Kent State 3-0 in the opening match of the 2017 Golden Flashes Invite (25-20, 25-20, 25-14). Whitney Beck once again helped lead BU to victory by recording a double-double with a team-high 14 kills and 13 digs.

Beck kept her double-double streak alive against the Golden Flashes and has now posted a double-double in all eight of Butler’s matches this season. She hit .256 at Kent State, collecting 14 kills off 39 swings. The outside hitter also came up with four blocks and two service aces.

Action at the net was dominated by Butler, as they held Kent State to a .115 attack percentage. BU recorded 13.0 team blocks compared to just one from KSU.

Rachel Klitzing and Bri Lilly combined for 10 blocks with each student-athlete ending the game with five. Klitzing hit .533 against the Golden Flashes by coming up with eight kills of 15 attempts. She didn’t commit a single error. Lilly was also heavily involved in the outcome by supporting Butler with 12 kills. She hit .417 and chipped in with five digs.

The team’s dig leader was once again libero Taylor Takeda with 19. Makayla Ferguson also put together a good all-around game with 38 assists, eight digs and three blocks.

The Bulldogs will return to action tomorrow for day two of the Golden Flashes Classic. They will face the College of Charleston for the first time in program history. First serve is slated for 4 PM.