Butler goes 4-0 with win over ranked opponent at Johnson

The Butler volleyball team posted a perfect 4-0 record this weekend at a tournament in Johnson County, including a win over another nationally-ranked opponent.

On Friday, the Grizzlies, ranked sixth in the NJCAA Division II national poll, defeated Iowa Lakes in four sets (25-27, 25-23, 25-18, 25-22) to start the event. In the match, Hanna Flaming led Butler with 15 kills and a block. Haleigh Lewis had 12 kills and three blocks and Rachael West added eight kills. Hope Harsh had 28 assists and one ace, while Kailan Kuzmic had 17 assists and two aces. Aimee Wood had 21 digs.

"It was not a pretty match," Butler coach Rick Younger said. "A lot of errors kept us from getting into any kind of rhythm. The big thing is that the Grizzlies got the win."

In the second match on Friday, Younger said his team cleaned up its play on its way to a three-set sweep of Coffeyville (25-22, 25-12, 25-23). Samantha Jernigan had nine kills and two blocks, while Jessi Green and Rachael West had eight kills apiece. Aimee Wood had 19 digs while Hope Harsh had 24 assists and one ace.

On Saturday, Butler played a pair of teams from Nebraska. The Grizzlies took out North Platte in the first match of the day, winning 25-17, 26-24, 25-8. The Grizzlies hit .388 for the match and leading the way was Haleigh Lewis with 10 kills and three blocks. Shelby Zoglman had seven kills and Hanna Flaming had six kills. Hope Harsh had 19 assists and two aces, Kailan Kuzmic added 17 assists with seven digs. Aimee Wood had 18 digs.

The final match of the weekend saw Butler face No. 12 Central Nebraska. Butler dropped the second set but roared back to finish the match in the fourth set, 25-14, 23-25, 25-13, 25-15. Samantha Jernigan hit .379 with 13 kills and seven blocks, Hanna Flaming added 10 kills, an ace and three blocks, Rachael West eight kills and a block. Hope Harsh had 22 assists and 14 digs while Aimee Wood had 23 digs with three aces.

Butler is now 16-2 on the season and returns to conference play on Wednesday when the Grizzlies travel to Coffeyville.