Grizzly Volleyball drops KJCCC opener at Cloud County

CONCORDIA, Kan. – No. 17 ranked Butler volleyball fell to Cloud County 3-1 (20-25, 20-25, 25-17, 18-25) in both teams' KJCCC opener in Concordia on Wednesday evening.

Butler (5-4, 0-1 KJCCC) saw its five-match winning streak over the Thunderbirds (9-1, 1-0 KJCCC) snapped, with the streak dating back to 2018. The loss for the Grizzlies was the first this season to a team that is not ranked or receiving votes in the NJCAA Division 1 poll.

Set one was back-and-forth early, with Cloud County taking a 16-11 lead midway through. A 4-0 run by the T-Birds to take a 22-15 lead was too much for Butler to overcome. Butler hit the best it did over the course of the match in the first set, a .229 hitting percentage.

Cloud County took set two 25-20 and the 2-0 match lead in the second. Butler quickly responded in the third set with a 25-17 win, avoiding the straight sweep. The 25-17, eight-point margin was the biggest of the match.

The Thunderbirds retaliated in the fourth and final set, winning it 25-18. They scored four of the first six points in the set to set the tone. It was close throughout the remainder of the set but Cloud County scored six straight after being up 19-18 to secure the win.

Greta Santini led the Grizzlies with a .333 hitting percentage and finished with seven kills and five digs. Freshman Sarah Sullivan finished with her second career double-double, having 10 kills and 14 digs. Sullivan and Sydney Lentz led the Grizzlies with 10 kills while freshman Raven Boone was just behind with nine. Anja Milosevic led with 34 assists.

Butler will make its home debut at the Power Plant on Saturday vs. Pratt at 2 p.m. The match will have free admission for medical, emergency and law enforcement personnel with it being Labor Day weekend. Anyone that has a ticket to the volleyball match will be afforded free entry to Butler football's home opener vs. Highland later Saturday at 7 p.m.