Grizzlies Region VI Tournament Run Ends in Championship Match

GREAT BEND, Kan. – Fourth seed Butler volleyball started off strong in the Region VI championship match at the Barton Gym on Sunday afternoon, but three seed Colby came away with the win and the region crown as the Grizzlies fell 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 16-25, 25-27).

Butler (20-13) hopes for an at-large bid to the NJCAA National Tournament, held in Hutchinson from Nov. 15-18. The selection show is held on Thursday, Nov. 9 on the NJCAA Network at 12 p.m. CT.

Butler fell to 0-3 on the season vs. the Trojans (22-9), who received an automatic bid to the national tournament with the win. The Trojans were 9-1 in sets won vs. the Grizzlies in 2023.

Butler's start to the match was promising as they took a 1-0 lead with a 25-22 set one win. They jumped out to a 7-3 lead as Maria Eduarda Motta dropped in a kill. The Grizzlies then went ahead 13-8 before Colby made things interesting, cutting the Butler lead to one at 16-15 and later 23-22 but Butler pulled away to win it.

It was all Colby following the first set. Colby won 25-17 and 25-16 in sets two and three. Set four was close all the way through as the Grizzlies were fighting for their season and the match to continue.

Butler went out to a 14-10 lead as Sarah Sullivan landed a kill. Colby quickly went on a run to tie the set at 15-15. It climbed to a 20-20 tie before Butler took a 22-21 lead, forcing a Colby timeout. Butler then went up 24-21 but Colby kept coming back and ties the match at 25-25. They scored the next two points to take the match.

Lentz led Butler with 13 kills while Eduarda Motta and Sullivan had nine kills each. Motta also added 14 digs. Laynee Brown led with 29 digs and Anja Milosevic had 38 assists and 15 digs.