The Butler volleyball and football teams have experienced great success this year, thanks in part to contributions from three transfer athletes.

Volleyball players Morgan Peterson and Erica Stahl and quarterback Matt Lancaster have helped lead their teams to conference tournament berths and a share of the conference title, respectively.

MORGAN PETERSON

Peterson, a transfer from Middle Tennessee State University, is in her first season as a member of the Butler volleyball team.

Early in the year, she was named most valuable player at the DePaul Invitational and made the All-Tournament team at the Pittsburgh Invitational.

“The one intangible that Morgan brings to the team is her competitiveness,” Clark said. “It’s pro level in terms of how competitive of a player she is, and that’s been a great addition for us.”

Peterson has also made strides in her offensive play. Her hitting percentage ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

As a junior, Peterson is one of the older players on the team. Peterson said she has experienced a major role change since coming to Butler.

“Here at Butler, I’m pretty much the oldest except for Rachel (Barber) so I have more experience and I am leading the other people instead of following,” Peterson said.

ERICA STAHL

Stahl transferred from University of Cincinnati last year.

The junior was recruited by Clark out of high school but chose Cincinnati over Butler. In an earlier interview, Stahl said she chose to come to Butler because of her respect for Clark and the rest of the coaching staff.

Stahl has had a dominant seson, especially in blocking. Her strong play has led to a team-high 153 blocks. This mark puts her second in the A-10 and 13th nationally.

“I’m here mostly just to keep the ball off the floor on our side and help out our defenders as much as possible,” Stahl said.

Similar to Peterson, Clark said Stahl is a fierce competitor.

“The thing that I think Erica will continue to get better at is being more of an offensive threat,” Clark said. “She’ll be a great blocker, but she will be able to raise the level of her hitting and make her more dominant.
“I think that (Stahl and Peterson) are both top all-conference players, and they will be next year.”

Peterson and Stahl have helped lead the volleyball team to a berth in the A-10 tournament.

The tournament will take place at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where the Bulldogs will face Virginia Commonwealth Friday evening.

MATT LANCASTER

Junior Lancaster transferred from Illinois State University, where he played 16 games in two seasons of football.

He had a full ride scholarship to play at ISU but said it was not the right atmosphere and decided it was time for a change.

Butler was one of Lancaster’s options when he was in high school. Upon leaving ISU, he contacted head coach Jeff Voris, and two days later Voris said he was interested in having Lancaster on the team.

Lancaster redshirted last year when he transferred to Butler. He has one more year of eligibility remaining.

Lancaster led the team to at least a share of the Pioneer Football League title, compiling a 7-1 conference record and 8-3 overall mark. Coach Jeff Voris said Lancaster has been a big help to the program.

“He’s been a great teammate and a heck of a football player,” Voris said. “He has all the intangible qualities that you look for in a quarterback.”

Lancaster recorded several strong statistics this season. He completed over 60 percent of his passes for more than 2,700 yards. He has thrown 21 touchdowns to only three interceptions.

Voris said Lancaster’s work ethic has been a key to his success.

“What he brings to the team is a guy who loves football and (he) has a work ethic that’s unmatched,” Voris said. “He constantly works at his game and week-to-week gets better.”

Voris also lauded Lancaster’s enthusiasm and leadership.

“He’s enthusiastic about practice and games, and no question he’s been a big addition to our program,” Voris said.

Lancaster was effective running the ball, too. His 408 rushing yards is second only to starting running back Trae Heeter. Lancaster averaged over 37 yards per game and tallied eight touchdowns on the ground.

“I’ve always been kind of a dual-threat quarterback,” Lancaster said. “I think coach liked that part of me, and I like running the ball too.”

Lancaster was a part of many major plays throughout the season.

He threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to cap a dramatic comeback against Morehead State.

He also commanded a 95-yard game-winning drive against Jacksonville and scored the winning touchdown on a fourth-and-goal with two seconds left.

“It was surreal,” Lancaster said. “To go 95 yards in the hail and on fourth-and-goal, to have coach call my number, it shows a lot about him.”

With the win over Jacksonville, the Bulldogs clinched at least a share of the Pioneer Football League title.

Despite losing to Drake last weekend, Lancaster said he will always remember the successes of the team this year.

“I hated losing and everything, but when we’re out of school 20 to 25 years, what we are going to remember is that we won a championship, and no one can take that away from us,” Lancaster said.

The Butler volleyball team is making its first appearance in the Atlantic 10 conference tournament.

The Bulldogs (17-11, 7-7) defeated Saint Louis (10-19, 4-10) three sets to none Saturday night.

The Butler win, combined with a Duquesne victory over George Washington, put the team in sixth place in the A-10. It also gave the Bulldogs the last spot in the post-season tournament.

“I am super happy for my players” coach Sharon Clark said. “They have worked hard all season long, they really put it together and we are peaking at the right time, so I’m thrilled.”

Butler will play Virginia Commonwealth (24-5, 10-4) Friday in the first round of the tournament, hosted by Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh. The Rams swept the Bulldogs in their last meeting in mid-October.

The win against Saint Louis was the Bulldogs’ fifth straight overall, and Butler has won all but one set during its run. Clark said the team will be confident heading into the conference tournament.

“We’re going to get back to work and do the same things we’ve been doing,” Clark said. “Every one of those games is giving us momentum going into the conference tournament.

“We’re in it to win it, and we are going in wanting to win it all.”

The first set against the Billikens last Saturday was evenly-matched in the beginning, with the Billikens holding a small lead. Butler recorded a three-point run to take a 13-12 lead and force a SLU timeout.

Butler was up 19-15 and appeared to be in control until the Billikens came back to tie the set at 21. Down 23-22, Butler was able to win two straight points to make it set point.

Saint Louis fought off two set points, but junior Claire Randich was able to put away the first set on the Bulldog’s third set point.

Butler dominated the beginning of the second set as it jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead.

The Bulldogs continued their dominance out of a timeout, taking five of the next seven points to force another Billikens’ timeout. Following the break, Butler went on another four-point run and would dominate the rest of the set, winning 25-14 to take a 2-0 lead.

Butler led in the early stages of the third set, but Saint Louis was able to pull within one. The Bulldogs would not give up, and they took four of the five next points to take a 14-10 lead.

Butler dominated the rest of the set, taking 11 of 17 points to complete the sweep and earn themselves the conference tournament berth.

“I think that we have a confidence right now that we are rolling off of, and working in practice every single day, and those things are starting to pay off for us,” Clark said.

Leading the Bulldogs was senior Rachel Barber, who had 14 kills. Sophomore Erica Stahl had five blocks, and sophomore Brooke Ruffolo had 21 digs.

The match was the last of Barber’s college career. She is the only senior on the team.

The match Friday against VCU is set to begin at 4:30 p.m.

The Butler Volleyball team (15-11, 5-7) defeated La Salle (4-24, 0-12) in straight sets for its third straight win.

The first set was even in the beginning stages. Butler took a 11-10 lead to force a La Salle timeout, and then took four of the next five to take a 15-11 lead. The Bulldogs went on a four point run later in the set to bring the score to 20-14, and force and Explorer timeout. The Bulldogs closed out the set off a kill by Morgan Peterson.

The Bulldogs nearly held the Explorers to single digits as Butler dominated the entire second set to take a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

Butler was down 2-5 early in the second set, but the Bulldogs fought back to tie it at five. Later, Butler took seven straight capped by two aces by Stephanie Kranda, and La Salle called a timeout. Butler again went on a run, taking six of seven to force another Explorer timeout. The Bulldogs then outscored La Salle five to three to finish the set and complete the sweep.

“I think serving tonight was great for us” said Sharon Clark, head coach of the Bulldogs. “We did a terrific job of serving really aggressively and the girls did a good job and stuck to it.”

Leading the Bulldogs was Morgan Peterson, who had nine kills, Erica Stahl added six blocks, and Brooke Ruffolo tallied eight digs.

Vs. Temple

The Butler Volleyball team (16-11, 6-7) defeated Temple (17-10, 7-6) three sets to one for their fourth straight win.

Butler started off the first set hot, taking an early 10-5 lead to force a Temple timeout. The Bulldogs continued their dominance out of the timeout, taking nine of 14 to force another Temple timeout. Butler finished out the set with a three point run, capped by an ace by Brooke Ruffolo.

Butler again took an early 9-4 lead before the Owls called a timeout. Butler held a comfortable lead for the rest of the set, and took a 2-0 lead into halftime following a kill by Claire Randich.

In the third set, it was the Owls who took an early 10-5 lead, and later a 13-6 lead to force a Butler timeout. Temple extended their lead to 20-13, and the Butler then called a timeout. The Bulldogs came out of the timeout with a three-point run, and the Owls called a timeout. Butler could not continue their run, as the Owls took the third set 25-20.

Butler dominated the entire fourth set, and held Temple to only eight points. The Bulldogs took 11 of the last 15 points in the set.

Leading the Bulldogs was Maggie Harbison who had 16 kills, Brooke Ruffolo had 19 digs, and Claire Randich and Erica Stahl each added seven blocks.

Butler will have their season finale against Saint Louis on Saturday at 5:00. Butler lost a tough match in St. Louis in early October.

“Our goal is to finish on a win, to finish the conference with two,” Clark said.

vs. Fordham

The Butler Volleyball team (13-11, 3-7) defeated Fordham (13-16, 5-5) in straight sets on Friday evening in The Bronx at Rose Hill Gymnasium.

The Bulldogs were in the lead or tied for then entire first set except for one point. The Rams would threat, but Butler responded every time to hold the lead. Fordham was able to stave off one set point. But a kill by Claire Randich on the next point put the Bulldogs up 1-0.

In the second set, Fordham led for the beginning stages of the set. The Bulldogs were able to tie it at ten. Later in the set, Fordham took six of eight to force a Butler timeout with the Rams on top 20-19.

Both teams traded points and Fordham was the first to get set point in their favor. Butler won the next point to continue the set. Fordham then got three more set points, and the Bulldogs fought off all of them. Butler then had a set point of their own, but Fordham responded with a kill to extend the set.

The Rams won then next point to give themselves their fifth set point, but Butler again denied them of a victory. The Bulldogs also were unsuccessful on their next set point. But the third time was the charm for Butler. Kelly Kyle knocked in a kill to win a dramatic second set 33-31.

Sophomore Belle Obert said that the key to winning the second set was their confidence and contributions from the bench.

“There wasn’t any point in that set that we thought about losing it, we knew we were going to win it” said Obert. [The bench] really showed the depth of our team. All in all it was just a fun set to play.”

“After winning [the second set] the message was that we can control our own destiny in this match” said Sharon Clark, head coach. “We worked to keep the momentum that came with winning a very tough competitive set 2.”

The third set stared out with a three point run by Fordham. Butler then responded with a six point run to force a Fordham timeout. The score was very close for the majority of the set, no team led by more than two until Butler took two straight to make the score 22-19, and force a Fordham timeout.

Fordham took two of the next three to force a Butler timeout with the Bulldogs up 23-22. The Rams tied the set at 23 on the next point. Butler then took the next two off a kill by Kyle and an error by Fordham to complete the sweep.

Leading the Bulldogs was Randich who had nine kills. Randich, along with Morgan Peterson had five blocks and Belle Obert tallied 11 digs.

vs. Rhode Island

The Butler Volleyball team (14-11, 4-7) defeated Rhode Island (9-15, 5-6) in straight sets Saturday evening in Kingston.

The only lead Rhode Island had for the entire match was when they led 2-1 early in the first set. The Bulldogs led 22-12 late in the set, but the Rams were able to take six of the next seven to force a Butler timeout. Butler then closed out the set three points later off a kill by Claire Randich.

The Bulldogs dominated the entire second set, winning handily 25-13. The third set was won in similar fashion, as the Bulldogs won 25-15 to complete the sweep. Butler held the Rams to a .021 hitting percentage for the match, and held double digit leads in every set. Obert attested their successes this weekend to their blocking.

“Our blocking is consistently a key to our success” said Obert. “When we block a lot of balls, we win and that was the case with this weekend.”

“Our strength all year has been blocking” agreed Clark. “The difference was how well we played the serve and pass game. We were just dominant at both of those skills.”

Leading the Bulldogs was Rachel Barber who had eight kills, Erica Stahl added six blocks, and Belle Obert had eight digs.

This was the Bulldogs’ longest, and final road trip of the year. Butler will play their last three games of the season at home. This weekend, the Bulldogs will take host two teams from Philadelphia. On Friday, Butler plays La Salle and on Sunday, they will play Temple. La Salle is 0-11 in A-10 play, and 4-23 overall while Temple is 6-5 in the A-10 and 16-9 overall.

“We had 2 great wins on the road and now get to finish the rest of the regular season at home” said Clark.

The Butler volleyball team is preparing for its third Atlantic 10 Conference road trip after dropping a pair of matches over the weekend.
The Bulldogs (12-11, 2-7) won a set in their match against league-leading No. 18 Dayton (17-4, 9-0) on Sunday, but the Flyers (17-4, 9-0) captured a 3-1 victory.
The opening-set was a back-and-forth affair that saw Dayton come away with a 26-24 win.
The Bulldogs led through most of the second set and eventually put the Flyers away for their only victory of the match.
Butler kept things close in the third set, but could not down Dayton a second time. This scene repeated itself in the fourth set, which the Flyers won to end the match.
Butler coach Sharon Clark said she was still proud of the Bulldogs’ effort despite the result.
“We really kept playing and played tough, but (the Flyers) dug more balls than we did and were able to terminate when they needed to, and that was the difference” said Clark.
“We stuck to our game plan” junior middle back Maggie Harbison said. “Although we didn’t win, we found great successes and took a huge step forward.”
Leading the Bulldogs was sophomore outside hitter Belle Obert with 17 kills. Sophomore middle back Erica Stahl added eight blocks, and sophomore libero Brooke Ruffolo tallied 21 digs.
On Friday, Butler fell in straight sets to Xavier.(15-9, 7-2)
The Musketeers (15-9, 7-2) jumped out to a big lead to open the contest, grabbing a 13-3 advantage in the opening set.
The hole would prove to be too much for the Bulldogs to dig out of, as they lost the first set 25-18.
In the second set, Butler and Xavier were close in the early stages. Eventually, the Musketeers gained the upper hand and came away with a 25-20 set victory.
The Bulldogs refused to go away in what proved to be the final set, although they eventually lost 25-23 to give Xavier the match.
Junior middle back Claire Randich provided 11 kills and three blocks for Butler. Junior setter Morgan Peterson also recorded three blocks, and Ruffolo added 17 digs.
The Bulldogs will head east for their next two matches, against Fordham (13-14, 5-3) Friday and Rhode Island (7-14, 3-5) Saturday.

The Butler Volleyball team (11-8, 1-4) fell to Saint Louis (6-13, 1-4) on Saturday evening three sets to one.

The Bulldogs had to play behind during the entire set except for when they won the first point. Butler was down by as many as six when the score was14-20. The Bulldogs were able to then take five of the next six to bring the score to within two. However, the Billikens were able to close out the set, winning 25-22.

In the second set, the Bulldogs were able to get off to a fast start, and were up 8-3 to force a SLU timeout. The Billikens fought back bring the score to 9-8, but the Bulldogs would not surrender. Butler then took five of the next six to force another SLU timeout.

Butler would maintain a comfortable lead for most of the set. However, SLU had a late-set run, bringing the Bulldog lead to only two. The Bulldogs came out of their timeout on fire, and would take the next two to close out the set, 25-21.

Butler got off to another great start in the third set, up 8-3 at one point. The Billikens would rally, and tie the score up at 11. The middle stages of the set were even, as both teams exchanged leads several times. With the score all tied up at 21, SLU won the next two points to force a Butler timeout.

The Bulldogs were unable to rally, as SLU would take two out of the next three to close out the set 25-22, and lead in 2-1 in sets.

The Bulldgos got off to a slow start in the third set, and were down 1-6. Butler was not able to rally, and lost the set 22-19, and the match three sets to one.

Sharon Clark, head coach of the Bulldogs, said prior to the match that was going to be difficult to beat SLU at home.

“I think that they play very tough at home. Going five [sets] with [Duquesne and George Washington] kind of shows that they have played well at home” said Clark.

Leading the Bulldogs was Maggie Harbison, who had 14 kills. Erica Stahl added six blocks, and Brooke Ruffolo had 24 digs.

Harbison said that the team passed well, but their serving and blocking could have been better

“We missed about 5 or 6 serves in the second set, which cost us the set” said Harbison.

“We didn’t serve as aggressively as we would have probably liked and as a result, we had a lot of service errors” agreed Claire Randich.

Butler had trouble closing out sets during the match. In the first set, Butler was down by two points twice 19-21 and 21-23, but were unable to rally. In the third set, the Bulldogs had a 20-19 lead, but SLU took six of the next eight to win the set 25-22. Randich, who did not practice all week with an injury, said it was a tough match to lose.

“It’s frustrating to see us lose to St. Louis because I thought our team played well all match” said Randich. “I think the difference was that they put away some balls at crucial points, and we didn’t execute as well as we would have liked to.”

“We did struggle closing out the match” said Harbison. “I think that we need to get the ball to our strongest and most consistent hitters at that time.”

The Bulldogs will play SLU again at home in the final regular season game on November 10. “I’m thankful that we have the opportunity to see that team again on our own home court. I know that we will handle things differently next time” said Randich.

The Bulldogs will play at Charlotte on Thursday. Charlotte is coming off a 13-14 overall, 7-8 in-conference record. This year, the 49ers are 8-8 overall, and are 0-4 in-conference.

Butler athletes are already making a mark on the Atlantic 10 Conference, picking up various conference awards.

At the end of each week of athletic events, the A-10 produces a list of awards, including Athlete of the Week and Rookie of the Week.

Each of the A-10 schools sends in a nominee from each sport, for each award.

The A-10 communications staff takes a list of nominations and reviews the nominees based on a large number of factors, including stats, accomplishments, team performance and quality of opponents.

The staff then sits down and selects the winner for each award.

“Our goal is always to honor the most outstanding student-athletes from that week’s events,” said Drew Dickerson, director of media relations and communications for the A-10. “It’s often a difficult decision based on the quality of athletes and successful programs in the Atlantic 10 Conference.”

With A-10 conference play under way for many Butler sports, athletes have already started raking in conference honors.

Junior middle blocker Claire Randich was named the Defensive Player of the Week for the Butler volleyball team for the week of Sept. 4 through 9.

Randich led the Bulldogs with 1.82 blocks per set as Butler went 2-1 at the Butler Classic. She started the tournament with six blocks while also hitting .389 in a 3-0 win over Western Illinois.

After getting five blocks against Stephen F. Austin, Randich made nine stops, two of which were solo, in a 3-1 win over Indiana.

Another award winner was sophomore volleyball player Erica Stahl, earning the league’s Defensive Player of the Week award for the week of Sept. 11 through 16.

During the four matches that week, Stahl totaled 25 blocks for the Bulldogs. She had five blocks in a 3-0 blowout of Wright State. Stahl then blocked nine more balls at the net in a 3-2 win over Southeast Missouri State.

That same evening she had five blocks in a loss to California-Davis. Stahl then finished off the week with six blocks to help Butler beat Kent State 3-0.

“It makes it exciting for us to know that the bar is being raised and we’re going to step up and meet that challenge,” Butler volleyball coach Sharon Clark said. “Our goal is to go out there and compete at the highest level we can.”

Freshman forward Sophie Maccagnone was also able to pick up the Rookie of the Week award in two consecutive weeks for the Butler women’s soccer team for the weeks of Sept. 12 through 16 and Sept. 18 through 23.

Maccagnone scored five goals over the course of three games in which the Bulldogs went 3-0.

“I was able to get those chances mainly because my teammates were making them possible,” Maccagnone said. “I knew my team had confidence in me, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t disappoint my teammates.”

Freshman goalkeeper Mackenzie Hopkins has also represented the women’s soccer team as A-10 Rookie of the Week, for her play from Aug. 29 through Sept. 3

Hopkins had two shutouts against Purdue and Tennessee-Martin. Her five saves against Purdue led the Bulldogs to their first ever win against the Boilermakers and their first win over a Big Ten opponent since 2008.

Junior Katie Clark and freshman Olivia Pratt of the Butler women’s cross country team have been recognized by the A-10 for their performances this season at the Toledo Bubble Buster, helping lift Butler into the national rankings last week.

Clark was named A-10 Women’s Performer of the Week while Pratt was tabbed A-10 Women’s Rookie of the Week for the week of Sept. 17 through 23.

Clark won the individual title and led Butler to the team title at the 14-team Bubble Buster, which featured four  nationallly ranked teams.

She covered the 4-kilometer course in 13:04, finishing 15 seconds ahead of the second-place runner from nationally-ranked Syracuse.  The race was Clark’s first in more than a year after she sat out last season as a redshirt.

Pratt came in fourth for the Bulldogs and 13th overall at the Toledo meet. This Rookie of the Week award is the second for Pratt. Pratt was named Atlantic 10 Conference Cross Country Rookie of the Week for the first week of the season on Sept. 4.

Every A-10 school has received at least one weekly honor so far this fall. Duquesne has the most with 13 total awards and Dayton is second with 11.  Butler has a total of eight A-10 honors.

The Butler volleyball team is preparing to take on its next conference opponent, Saint Louis, after going 1-1 on the weekend and earning its first-ever Atlantic 10 conference win.

The Billikens (5-13, 0-4) are coming off a 15-12 record last year and a loss in the second round of the A-10 tournament to Xavier.

Saint Louis took back-to-back five-set losses against Duquesne and George Washington on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Butler (11-7, 1-3) fell to Duquesne (15-5, 4-0) three sets to one on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs won the first set by a score of 25-23, using multiple-point runs throughout the match to pull out the win.

The second set was similar to the first, except it was the Dukes who had success toward the end of the set.

With Butler leading 21-17, Duquesne would go on to take eight of the next 10 points to close out the set and send the teams into the third set tied.

In that set, the Bulldogs got into an 11-4 deficit, and were never able to recover. The Dukes won the third set 25-17 to put the Bulldogs on the brink of defeat.

With the score 15-15 in the fourth set, the Dukes rallied and went on a four point streak.

A few points later Butler senior Rachel Barber seemed to have a kill that was tipped by a Duquesne player. The officials ruled that it wasn’t tipped, to the dismay of the Bulldogs, and the Dukes then followed with an ace to force a Butler timeout.

Duquesne would eventually close out the set 25-19.

Junior Maggie Harbison led the Bulldogs with 15 kills, sophomore Brooke Ruffolo tallied 15 digs and junior Morgan Peterson and sophomore Erica Stahl each had four blocks.

The Bulldogs defeated George Washington (4-12, 1-2) three sets to none in Butler’s first home conference match of the season last Friday.

The Bulldogs came out strong and dominated the first set, winning by a score of 25-16.

Both teams traded for the lead several times in the second set. With Butler leading 21-20, Harbison served an ace to force a George Washington timeout.

The Colonials would bring the game to within one point again, but the Bulldogs took three of the next four points to close the set 25-22.

“It’s always great momentum to go in 2-0,” coach Sharon Clark said. “We worked on being aggressive throughout the match, and we had a few errors with that, but I’ll take that as long as we stay aggressive.”

In the third set, the Bulldogs started quickly. With Butler leading 21-16, George Washington would rally to cut the lead to one and force a Butler timeout.

Sophomore Belle Obert hit two kills to set up match point, and the Bulldogs got the win with a block by sophomores Stephanie Kranda and Stahl.

Clark said earning a victory in the second set was huge.

Clark also said that the crowd played a factor in the team’s victory.

“(The crowd) always helps,” Clark said. “The energy, the excitement about playing at home, that first conference match, we kind of ran with that, and that was great for us.”

Obert led the Bulldogs with 16 kills, junior Claire Randich had nine blocks, and Ruffolo had 18 digs.

The Butler volleyball team is off to a 6-3 start, and contributing to this record are two new Bulldog faces.

Junior Morgan Peterson and sophomore Erica Stahl are transfer students who have made the transition to the Butler community both on and off the court.

Volleyball coach Sharon Clark said she is very pleased with the additions of Peterson and Stahl.

“They’re phenomenal,” Clark said.  “They are both great additions to the program. They’re great with the team and fit right in.”

Both Peterson and Stahl had different ways of finding out about Butler.

Peterson discovered Butler through a friend who knew a graduate assistant. She attended Middle Tennessee State prior to coming here.

Peterson originally transferred to Butler because of the pharmacy program, not to play volleyball.

“I knew that Butler had a good pharmacy school,” Peterson said.  “I did not know much about the volleyball program.”

Peterson realized that it was a good program and decided to play after talking to Clark and meeting some of the players.

“I really like everything about Butler,” Peterson said. “I like the coaching staff, the players that I met, and I like the campus.”

Clark is also happy with Peterson’s decision to play volleyball at Butler.

“She is serving really aggressively and very physical, and we haven’t had that in a long time,” Clark said.

Peterson was named to the All-Tournament Team at both the DePaul and Pittsburgh Invitationals. Through nine matches, Peterson has tallied 36 kills, 329 assists, 11 aces, 82 digs and 38 blocks.

Stahl was at the University of Cincinnati prior to arriving at Butler.

Butler was Stahl’s second choice when she was making her college decision. Stahl said that Cincinnati and Butler both recruited her to play at their schools.

Stahl, an Indianapolis native, already knew several of her teammates who are also from Indiana.

But Stahl said the ultimate reason to change schools came from her respect for the coaching staff at Butler.

“Honestly, the reason I picked Butler was because of the coaches and because of Sharon (Clark),” Stahl said.

Stahl described her transition to Butler as being easy and smooth, despite having shoulder surgery in the offseason.

Stahl had a great outing at the DePaul Invitational, where she was named to the All-Tournament Team.

“When she gets going, that really changes the game for us,” Clark said.

The middle blocker has played in all 11 matches for the Bulldogs this season, recording over 90 points for the team.

Both Peterson and Stahl expressed their excitement for playing in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

“When I heard about it, I was pumped,” Stahl said. “I know a lot of girls that play on the Dayton team.”

The Bulldogs have finished four consecutive seasons with a winning record.

Peterson and Stahl said they want to continue this level of play, but their ultimate goal as a team is to win the conference.

“It’s going to be tough,” Peterson said. “I do think we have the potential.”

The first A-10 match will be at Dayton on Sept. 21.

In the meantime, the team will continue to mesh and get prepared for its inaugural A-10 season.

“We love having Peterson and Stahl,” Clark said. “They add so much to us. We’re thrilled that they’re here.”

The Butler volleyball team used an unconventional line-up to grind out a 3-2 win against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis last night.

The Bulldogs were without a starter and other players were playing out of position, but they used 19 team blocks to bring home the win.

Collegian file photo

Sophomore Erica Stahl led the team with nine blocks, while junior Claire Randich finished with seven blocks.

Junior Maggie Harbison finished with a match-high 21 kills. Junior Morgan Peterson led with 53 assists and sophomore Brooke Ruffolo had 17 digs for the Bulldogs.

The team finished the weekend 2-1 at the Pittsburgh Panther Invitational.

Butler (4-2) opened the tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Howard.

The Bulldogs dominated Howard University in its first match, winning 25-13, 25-22 and 25-14.

Junior Maggie Harbison led the way with seven kills, while sophomore Belle Obert and senior Rachel Barber, both had six kills.

Leading the Bulldogs in digs was Peterson with six. Sophomore Kelly Kyle and Barber also contributed with five digs apiece.

Bulter continued its dominance by defeating Coastal Carolina (0-5) 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs started the match down 16-10 in the first set. Butler tried to rally but fell short as the Chanticleers closed out the set 25-22.

However, Butler quickly recovered and controlled the second set. The score was 14-0 before Coastal Carolina scored its first point.

Butler went on to win the set 25-8.

The Bulldogs won the third set by a score of 25-17 to take a 2-1 advantage.

The Chanticleers would recover in the fourth set and win by a score of 25-23, setting up a winner-takes-all fifth set.

Butler reversed its play in the first set, dominating the beginning stages of the fifth. With the Bulldogs up 7-1, the Chanticleers would not go away.

Coastal Carolina rallied and made the score 9-7, but Butler pulled away and ended up winning the set and match 15-12 and 3-2, respectively.

Pittsburgh (4-2) swept the Bulldogs 3-0 in the last match of the weekend.

In the first set, Butler lost in a close 25-17 battle.

The second set was summarized by the Bulldogs’ inability to hold leads. Butler had leads of 11-7, 15-10 and 23-18, but Pittsburgh was able to claw its way back each time.

Butler ended up losing the set 26-24 to find itself in a 2-0 hole.

In the third set, the teams traded points throughout. In the latter part of the set, the Bulldogs were able to stave off several match points.

In the end, the Panthers were too much and won the set 28-26 to complete the sweep.

Leading the Bulldogs was Kyle with 13 digs, Barber with 12 kills and Randich with four blocks.

Peterson also added six digs and Harbison contributed 10 kills, with both being elected to the All-Tournament Team.

The Bulldogs will host Western Illinois, Stephen F. Austin and Indiana in the Butler Classic starting Friday.