COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The No. 17 Butler Grizzly volleyball team capped off a 2-2 weekend at the Reiver Classic on Saturday with two big back-to-back wins over host school Iowa Western and No. 4 ranked Indian Hills Community College.

Butler (2-2) was sitting with an 0-2 record on Friday evening following losses to No. 6 Western Nebraska Community College and Jefferson College, but flipped the script with two wins on Saturday, including a sweep in straight sets of the No. 4 team in the NJCAA Division 1 rankings.

Match 1: No. 6 Western Nebraska 3, No. 17 Butler 1 (21-25, 29-27, 23-25, 17-25)

Butler kicked its season off with a tough test in the No. 6 NJCAA D1 ranked Western Nebraska Cougars. Western Nebraska took set one 25-21 but Butler was unfazed as they battled in a back-and-forth second set to claim the 29-27 set win and even the match up at one apiece. Set three was another close one as the Cougars edged out the Grizzlies by a score of 25-23 before winning the decisive fourth set handily, 25-17.

Freshman outside hitter Sarah Sullivan (Henderson, NV) led Butler with 14 kills while sophomore middle blocker Sydney Lentz (Wichita) was highly efficient, landing eight attacks on 15 attempts to hit .400. Freshman middle blocker Andrea Grazia Grannavo (Sicily, Italy) landed eight kills, hitting .316.Freshman setter Anja Milosevic (Belgrade, Serbia) just missed out on a double-double with a team-high 23 assists and nine digs. Sophomore Maria Eduarda Motta (Foz do Iguaco, Brazil) led the Grizzlies with 16 digs.

Match 2: Jefferson College 3, No. 17 Butler 1 (22-25, 25-16, 10-25, 21-25)

Butler ran out of gas in the second match on Friday, falling 3-1 to Jefferson College. The Grizzlies tied the match at one with a 25-16 win in the second set, but set three proved to be the determining factor as Jefferson rolled to a 25-10 set win and seized all the momentum.

Sullivan led the way once again with 11 kills. Freshman defensive specialist Laynee Brown (Topeka) paced the Grizzlies with 22 digs.

Match 3: No. 17 Butler 3, Iowa Western 2 (24-26, 25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 15-6)

The Saturday morning match with host Iowa Western was the closest match Butler played in all weekend. They battled the Reivers to five sets, ultimately dominating the fifth set 15-6 to earn their first win of the season.

Lentz finished with a team-high 15 kills, adding five each in sets three and four. Sullivan finished with 10 kills and two service aces while freshman middle blocker Raven Boone (Gardner, KS) had 10 kills including six alone in the fourth set. Milosevic had 34 assists to lead the Grizzlies, setting up for nearly all the attacks.

Match 4: No. 17 Butler 3, No. 4 Indian Hills 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21)

The Grizzlies saved their best performance for last, putting on a clinic in a three-set sweep of No. 4 NJCAA D1 ranked Indian Hills.

Butler established the tone early, hitting a match-high .357 in the first set on their way to a 25-19 set win. Sullivan led the Grizzlies with 11 kills, the third match of the weekend where she was the kill leader for Butler. Eduarda Motta notched nine kills on 17 attacks, good for a .529 hitting percentage. Milosevic again led Butler with 34 assists. Eduarda Motta and sophomore Greta Santini (Reggio Emilia, Italy) each had three service aces.

NEXT UP

Butler will travel to Trinidad, Colorado for the Trinidad State College Tournament from Friday Aug. 25-26. They will take on No. 12 Northeastern JC and Amarillo College on Friday before facing Frank Phillips College and Clarendon on Saturday.