Volleyball Hosts Final Home Match of the Season on Friday

Volleyball Hosts Final Home Match of the Season on Friday

11.21.19 | Volleyball

Xavier to play home-and-away match against Butler to close Regular Season

By: By Mark Leopold, Xavier Athletics Communications

CINCINNATI, OH – Xavier will host Butler on Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET in the final 2019 regular season match at Cintas Center. Following the match, the travel partners will play again in Indianapolis on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. ET to close out their respective campaigns.

THE MATCHUP VS BUTLER

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (11-15) vs BUTLER BULLDOGS (12-16)
Home Match Info - Friday, Nov. 22 - 7:00 p.m. ET - Cintas Center
Watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKWIncwXd2k
Stats - https://www.bit.ly/XUHomeStats

Away Match Info - Saturday, Nov. 23 - 6:00 p.m. ET - Hinkle Fieldhouse
Watch - https://www.youtube.com/butlerathletics
Stats - http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=274540

ABOUT BUTLER

2019 Record: 12-16 (7-5 BIG EAST)
2018 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads 19-14
Last Meeting : XU 3, BU 0 - 11/2/2018

BUTLER AT A GLANCE
• After a tough 3-9 start to the season, Butler found their rhythm in the BIG EAST. With the only losses coming to conference giants Marquette and Creighton, and a sweep from Villanova, Butler is in position to sneak into the conference tournament with some help from St. Johns. If the Red Storm falls to both Georgetown and Villanova while and the Bulldogs pull off a sweep of Xavier, a tiebreaker will go into effect for the 4th and final seed.
• Butler plays a similar style to Xavier, as they have totaled only one less block than the Musketeers in conference play. Leading the way for the Bulldogs is Melody Davidson, who is second behind Xavier's Jayda Carlton in BIG EAST block leaders.
• Creighton was picked to finish fifth (out of 10) in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Butler is coached by Sharon Clark. In her 20th season, Clark is Butler's all-time wins leader, boasts seven 20-win seasons, and has made one NCAA Tournament appearcne (2010).

FIRST SERVE

• Xavier enters this weekend with a 10-14 record after picking up two four-set victories at the Utah State Tournament, beating the host and Eastern Michigan after falling to Southern Utah in their regular-season opener. At home, they knocked off William & Mary in between losses to Akron and eventual tournament champions Wright State. They started BIG EAST play with a five-set victory at DePaul and a five-set victory at Georgetown. At home, Xavier beat Seton Hall in three sets for their first sweep of 2019, and they beat Providence on the road to continue their road dominance. Last month, Xavier took down Georgetown in an epic reverse sweep to stay at .500 in conference play, and proceeded to knock off DePaul in four sets. Earlier in November, they completed yet another reverse sweep, this time of Seton Hall in New Jersey. Most recently, Xavier knocked off Providence on Senior Day to claim a four-set victory and stay in sixth place in the BIG EAST.

• Two Musketeers won awards on the first weekend of action, as Lauren Hanlon and Ellie Chaffee were name to the All-Tournament team. Additionally, Hanlon was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. In Week two, Moriah Hopkins was named to the All-Tournament team and Jayda Carlton was listed on the BIG EAST Honor Roll. The following week, Lauren Hanlon was named to the All-Tournament Team following her 24-kill performances in two matches at the LUV Invitational. Ellie Chaffee earned a spot on the BIG EAST Honor Roll in part due to her 10-kill, 9-block performance against Georgetown. Jayda Carlton earned two more BIG EAST Honor Roll mentions for her blocking against Seton Hall and Marquette, and the following week after her blocking against Providence and Creighton. Two weeks ago, Carlton picked up her third-straight BIG EAST Honor Roll award, while Lauren Hanlon was named to her second BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honor. Moriah Hopkins kept Xavier's streak going with a BIG EAST Honor Roll mention two weeks ago, and Carrigan O'Reilly earned her first honor last week.

2019 OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

• Xavier plays two teams that finished the year ranked in the AVCA Coaches' Poll: No. 13 Creighton and No. 15 Marquette.

• The Musketeers take on five teams that participated in the 2018 NCAA Tournament (Eastern Michigan, Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and Creighton). Twelve of the Musketeers 20 opponents posted a winning record last year.

• The Musketeers' 20 opponents combined to post a 311-294 last season with a .514 winning percentage.

• Xavier will face teams from nine different conferences this year, including a team from the ACC.

• The Musketeers faced three teams for the first time in program history this fall: Utah State, Southern Utah and William & Mary.

2019 TEAM LEADERS

• Senior Madi Kutruff is the team leader in digs this season with 385, while freshmen MaryAnn O'Toole (325) and Alyssa Overbeck (296) help to combine for 1006 of Xavier's 1486 digs.

• Sophomore Jayda Carlton is the BIG EAST block leader, as she's tallied 118 blocks (1.22 block per set).

• While kills are evenly dispersed throughout Xavier's balanced attack, Redshirt Freshman Lauren Hanlon leads the way with 243 put-aways (2.56 kills per set). Behind her, Moriah Hopkins chips in 198 kills for second-best on the team.

BIG EAST NOTES

• Xavier opened BIG EAST play on Sept. 25 at DePaul and won a tight five-set match. The Musketeers close conference action at Butler on Nov. 23.

• Xavier has posted a 73-46 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in three of their five seasons in the BIG EAST.

• Marquette will host the 2019 BIG EAST Tournament after it was held at Creighton a year ago.

ABOUT THE TEAM

• Xavier graduated five seniors in Morgan Finn, Meredith Klare, Laura Grossman, Olivia Hart and McKena Estes.

• The Musketeers return eight letterwinners from last year, including two upperclassmen. Xavier will have one senior on the team this fall.

• Xavier added five newcomers to the 2019 roster in MaryAnn O'Toole, Carrigan O'Reilly, Alyssa Overbeck, Ailsa Watson and Hayley Heitmeyer.

• Xavier returns freshman outside hitter Norah Painter who ranked fourth on the team in total kills (178) last season. The Musketeers also return its leader in total blocks (107) in Jayda Carlton.