Defense won the day for the Bluejays on Sunday afternoon as Kirsten Bernthal Booth’s 14th-ranked volleyball team overcame 24 attack errors to defeat Butler in straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-17) at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Bluejays rallied from a 12-9 deficit to take the first set, 25-21, despite finishing with a .122 attack percentage on their 41 swings. Sophomore Jaela Zimmerman and redshirt freshman Keeley Davis combined for seven kills in game one, but the Bulldogs were keyed in on the duo defensively as they limited the young outside hitters to an .042 hitting clip. Junior middle blocker Naomi Hickman, however, provided some relief at the net with three kills on five swings, while sophomore Annika Welty helped out in a variety of ways with a kill, a block, a dig, and an assist on a kill by Hickman to lead the Jays to a 1-0 match lead.