Butler sweeps Missouri tourney, runs winning streak to eight

UNION, Mo. - The Butler Grizzlies swept the East Central Invitational on Friday and Saturday to run their winning streak to eight consecutive matches with victories over Mineral Area (Mo.), Indian Hills (Iowa), East Central and Lewis & Clark (Ill.).

The Grizzlies had two players honored after the tournament, as freshmen Kailee Dudley and Jessica Schwartz were named to the all-tournament team.

Butler has now improved to 19-5 overall. The Grizzlies return home for a match on Wednesday for a Jayhawk Conference match against Fort Scott.

Butler 3, Lewis & Clark 0 (25-13 25-17 25-16)

Butler opened the tournament with a sweep of Lewis & Clark. Payton White led the way with 11 kills hitting .556 and two blocks. Kailee Dudley hit .462 with seven kills. Defensively Jessie Schwartz had 16 digs. Mary Kangas had 14 assists.

Butler 3, East Central 1 (25-17 25-16 23-25 25-12)

Despite numerous errors and low hitting percentages, Butler was still able to get the win in four sets. Kailee Dudley had 11 kills hitting .304 with two blocks. Jessie Green added seven kills, 14 digs and a block. Mary Kangas had 17 assists and 10 digs. Kailan Kuzmic had 12 assists and 18 digs, five kills and a block. Jessica Schwartz had 15 digs and two aces.

Butler 3, Indian Hills 0 (25-11 25-19 25-11)

Payton White led the offense with 10 kills, two assists, three digs and a block.  Kailan Kuzmic had seven assists, six kills and a pair of aces, while Jessi Green had six kills, 13 digs and five aces. Mary Kangas had 23 assists, two service aces and 11 digs while Jessie Schwartz had 17 digs.

Butler 3, Mineral Area 0 (25-13 25-20 25-17)

Butler dominated a solid Mineral Area team in three sets to finish the tournament. Payton White and Kailan Kuzmic led the way with 12 kills each. Kailan also had 12 digs and a block. Jessica Schwartz had a great defensive day with 20 digs. Mary Kangas had 31 big assists and 16 digs with two aces. Jessie Green also added eight kills, an ace and 19 digs.