Butler Volleyball Goes 3-1 in the McCook Invitational

McCOOK, Neb. – The Butler Grizzlies leave McCook, Nebraska going 3-1 over the weekend.

The Butler Grizzlies (5-3) played in the McCook Invitional on Friday and Saturday.

Friday

The Grizzlies defeated Lamar Community College in four sets (23-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-7), and were then swept by No. 7 ranked Indian Hills (23-25, 22-25, 20-25) on Friday. 

Butler 3 Lamar 1

The Grizzlies dropped the first set to Lamar 25-23. Butler had 12 kills on two errors with 32 attempts. The Grizzlies managed to take the next three sets from Lamar, including a dominant 25-7 fourth set victory. Freshman Harlee Randall led the way for the Grizzlies, finishing the match with 15 kills to go along with eight digs. Sophomore Ryann Hamilton added 11 kills on 24 attempts, and four block assists. 

Butler 0 No. 7 Indian Hills 3

The second match of the day for Butler did not go as planned, facing a top ten opponent for the second time during the week. The Grizzlies competed in every set with Indian Hills, but were unable to steal one from the Warriors. Indian Hills' Farah Sherif had a match-high 14 kills, also adding eight digs. Harlee Randall and Rylin Sommer each had nine kills for the Grizzlies, and true freshman Bella Holcomb led the team in assists, finish the match with 25. 

Saturday

Things started to look a little better for the Grizzlies on Saturday, finishing the day going 2-0 with wins over North Platte in a sweep (25-21, 25-15, 25-20) & North Central Texas in five sets (20-25, 27-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-4). 

Butler 3 North Platte (Neb.) 0

The Grizzlies started their Saturday morning in McCook hot, defeating North Platte in a sweep. The Grizzlies finished the match with 35 kills on 75 attempts, 28 assists, and 12 service aces. Harlee Randall again led the squad in kills, this time with 10. Ryann Hamilton added six kills, and Rylin Sommer & Kayla Hermreck each finished the match with five kills. 

Butler 3 North Central Texas 2

The final match of the weekend for the Grizzlies was a doozy, as they were able to hold off North Central Texas in five sets. The Lions took the first set from the Grizzlies 25-20, then Butler managed to win the next two sets. North Central Texas won the fourth set over the Grizzlies 25-23 to continue the match to a fifth set. Butler controlled the fifth set from start to finish, winning the set and the match 15-4 over the Lions. Five different Grizzlies finished the match double-digit kills, including Ryann Hamilton with 18 kills and nine block assists, Harlee Randall and Sophia Neihouse each finishing with 14 kills, Rylin Sommer with 13 kills and six digs, and Kayla Hermreck wrapping things up with 10 kills. Bella Holcomb finished the match with a whopping 52 kills to go along with eight digs. 

Next Up: The Grizzlies will travel to Liberal, Kan. to take on the Seward County Saints in a KJCCC matchup from the Greenhouse at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.