WSOU

Pirates fall in straight sets to Butler for second night in a row

Date: October 12, 2019

By: Christian Gardner

The Pirates lost to the Butler Bulldogs in straight sets, 3-0, out in Indianapolis, Indiana. Coming into the game, the Pirates looked to slow down a red-hot Butler offense who just beat St. John’s the night prior. 

Butler continued their momentum from the previous match jumping out to a quick lead in the first set. Leading by as much as 12, the Bulldogs took the first set with ease having a total of 16 kills. The Pirates could not keep up with the Bulldog firepower as they recorded no blocks and allowed two service aces in the first set.

The Pirates did well early in the second set to keep the game close. Junior Amanda Rachwal had a quick block to stop Butler from getting into a rhythm at the start of the set. Senior Haylee Gasser had three kills in that second set but it was not enough to stop the play of redshirt sophomore Melody Davidson and the Bulldogs to take over the second set. Davidson had four kills and two blocks leading the Bulldogs to take the second set, 25 - 14.

Facing the reality of dropping three straight sets in back-to-back games, the Pirates came out with great intensity. The Pirates had a five to one lead early, but the Bulldogs battled back. The Bulldogs had a four to nothing scoring run to tie everything up at five. The Pirates and the Bulldogs traded scores for a while until the Bulldogs quickly took another three nothing scoring run.

Much like the previous set, Davidson was very active finishing the match with 11 kills on the night. As things seemed dire in the third set for the Pirates, down as much as 18 - 12, a quick run began. The Pirates sparked a three to nothing scoring run themselves but were shut down swiftly by the Bulldogs closing out the game on their own five-point scoring run. This is the second game in a row for the Pirates that they have dropped in straight sets.

However, on a brighter side to the night, freshman Julia Wilkins continued to shine. Wilkins has done well throughout the season for the Pirates and led the team in kills once again. The Pirates will be back in action on Wednesday at Villanova hoping to correct some errors from this past weekend.

Christian Gardner can be reached at christian.gardner@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Volleyball

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