Butler's win streak snapped in semifinal loss to New Mexico Military Friday night
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
21 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
|
25 | 20 | 15 | 19 | 1 |
Team Stats
New Mexico Military Institute
| Game Statistics | New Mexico Military Institute | Butler |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .185 | .095 |
| Blocks | 5.0 | 15.5 |
| Digs | 83 | 62 |
| Aces | 7 | 4 |
Butler's historic season and hopes at a national championship came to an end in the semifinal of the NJCAA tournament, losing to the sixth seeded New Mexico Military Institute Broncos in four sets (25-21, 20-25, 15-25, 19-25) at Hutchinson Sports Arena on Friday night.
The loss drops Butler's record to 37-3, and snaps a program high 33-match winning streak. Butler tied the program record for wins in a season with the win against Snow on Thursday.
The Grizzlies won a close first set that saw three ties and one lead change. The Grizzlies used a 5-1 run to take a two point lead and would ride that momentum all the way to win the first set. Ivy Fink led the Grizzlies in the opening set with four kills.
The Broncos came back to win the second set, despite a strong Butler push at the end. It would be the first time the Grizzlies dropped a set since an October 18th match at Colby, as the Grizzlies had previously gone 30 straight sets without a loss.
Butler just never found momentum after that. The Grizzlies could not go on any of the long rallies that have defined their season, as every time they scored the Broncos were able to steal the momentum right back. They held the Grizzlies to just four kills in the third set, and led the entire way, cruising to a ten point victory.
They would do enough to win the third set despite a mighty Grizzlies push, and took the match to advance to the final.
Jaryn Benning led the Grizzlies on the night, coming up with 10 kills and four blocks. Kayli Duncan and Ivy Fink would have similar good nights, with eight kills and seven kills respectively.
The Grizzlies will have to settle for the consolation match in their first ever national tournament, as they will play Missouri State University-West Plains in the third place game in Hutchinson on Saturday at 4:30pm.
