JIMMY LAFAKIS | STAFF REPORTER

Freshman Anna Logan posted nine kills and eight digs, but Butler fell short against Xavier in three sets Saturday. With the loss, the Bulldogs moved to 7-16 (3-7 Big East), while the Musketeers improved to 11-10 (7-3 Big East.)

The final scores of the match were 25-20, 25-13, 26-24. Sophomore Makayla Ferguson and freshman Meghan Cotant split the setter role, and both student-athletes finished with eight assists. Ferguson also recorded seven digs and a service ace.

“Once again, we played well at times,” head coach Sharon Clark said. “[Ferguson] played great defense, and we made great runs on them.”

Clark also praised freshman Briana Lilly’s defense. Lilly led the defensive charge with seven blocks, and now has 106 blocks on the season. Butler won the team blocks category 8-5.

“I think that we blocked well today, and that is something we have done consistently this season,” Ferguson said. “It was nice to see us being aggressive at points and digging some balls.”

Butler will square off against the Providence Friars on Friday, Oct. 30, and will face the St. John’s Red Storm on Saturday, Oct. 31. Both matches will begin at 6 p.m.

“For next week, we must be better with ball control,” Clark said. “We struggled to stop [Xavier’s] outside hitters.”

“This [loss] is just another learning experience for us,” Ferguson said. “I think there were a lot of things we did well. It also shows us a lot of things we need to work on for the rest of the season.”