Volleyball Prepares for No. 1 Nebraska, No. 18 Cal Poly
8/30/2007 10:30:00 AM | Volleyball
This Weekend
Creighton (3-1) takes on a pair of nationally-ranked teams while participating in the Holiday Inn Downtown Classic this weekend.
On Friday, Creighton takes on defending national champion and top-ranked Nebraska (2-0). First serve at the sold-out NU Coliseum (4,030) in Lincoln, Neb., is set for 7 pm.
On Sunday, Creighton will play 18th-ranked Cal Poly (2-1) in Omaha, Neb., at Qwest Center OMAHA? (17,272). First serve is set for 12:30 pm.
Radio Broadcast Information
Both of Creighton's matches this weekend can be heard on KVSS (88.9 FM), and will be streamed live on-line at www.kvss.com. Matt Santamaria and Erin Swanson will call Friday's action, while Swanson and Brad Burwell will announce Sunday's match.
Video Broadcast Information
Both matches this weekend will be video webcast and can be seen at www.gocreighton.com.
Fans can sign up to buy single matches for $4.95 each or a season package of all of CU's remaining home matches for $34.95 by clicking on the “Sign Up” graphic below the video box on the top right of the page.
Live Stats Information
Nebraska will be providing live stats for all matches in the Holiday Inn Downtown Classic. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the right-hand side of the page, or visit www.huskers.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton returns all six starters from last year's team that finished with a 21-10 record. The 21 wins were a school record, as was the average home attendance of 1,611 that ranked tied for 16th nationally.
Leading the returners is three players that earned all-MVC honors last year. Senior MB Kelly Goc (3.78 kpg., .508%, 0.89 bpg.) and junior S Korie Lebeda (12.85 apg., 2.62 dpg., 1.08 bpg.) were first-team all-Valley last year, while junior MB Jessica Houts (3.46 kpg., 1.69 bpg.) was a second-team choice.
Other starters who are back include junior OH Amanda Cvejdlik (3.17 kpg.), junior OH Abby Baumann (0.67 kpg.) and sophomore OH Sarah Schulze (1.38 kpg., 1.31 dpg.).
Among the newcomers making a difference are freshman OH Allie Oelke (2.46 kpg., 0.77 bpg., 0.85 sapg.) and junior libero Bianca Rivera (5.23 dpg.)
Through four matches, Creighton is averaging 16.46 kills, 2.00 aces, 15.92 digs and 3.38 blocks per game while hitting .262 as a club.
Scouting Nebraska
The defending national champion, top-ranked Nebraska is 2-0 after opening last weekend with wins over Tennessee and No. 5 UCLA. NU has played its last 75 matches at the nation's top-ranked team, which dates to the end of the 2004 season. With five former All-Americans in the line-up the Cornhuskers are prohibitive favorites to win a second consecutive national title.
The Huskers boast both the 2005 AVCA Player of the Year in Christina Houghtelling (2.57 kpg., 5.00 dpg.) and 2006 AVCA Player of the Year Sarah Pavan (5.57 kpg., .382%, 1.00 bpg.), not to mention returning All-Americans Jordan Larson (3.43 kpg., 3.43 dpg.), Tracy Stalls (2.86 kpg., .594%, 1.00 bpg.) and Rachel Holloway (13.57 apg., 3.29 bpg.).
The Huskers have won 54 straight matches at the NU Coliseum (eighth in NCAA history) and 60 consecutive matches in the state of Nebraska. Friday night will be Nebraska's regular-season home opener after opening up last weekend in Omaha with the AVCA Showcase.
Scouting Cal Poly
The nation's 18th-ranked team, Cal Poly enters this weekend with a 2-1 record, beating North Texas (3-0) and Wichita State (3-0) after losing to Kansas State (3-2) to open the season. Before meeting Creighton on Sunday, the Mustangs will first meet No. 3 Penn State on Friday at 4:30 pm in Lincoln.
Cal Poly returns five starters and its libero from last year's team that finished 23-6 overall, won its first Big West Conference title in 22 years (13-1), and reached the second round of the NCAA's.
Cal Poly returns four of its five All-Big West First Teamers from a year ago, including 2006 Big West Co-Player of the Year Kylie Atherstone. Atherstone averaged 2.91 kills and 3.45 digs per game last weekend.
Also back are Chelsea Hayes (10.20 apg., 3.40 dpg., 1.30 bpg.), Jaclyn Houston (2.27 kpg., 1.82 bpg.) and Kristin Jackson (4.91 dpg.). OH Ali Waller is also a player to keep an eye on, as the junior led Cal Poly in kills all three matches last weekend and averages 4.09 kpg. and 1.45 bpg. thus far.
Cal Poly averaged 13.55 kills, 2.00 aces, 17.55 digs and 4.32 blocks per game while hitting .211 at the Shocker Classic.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 70-54 record in her fifth season with the Bluejays. She became the program's all-time winningest coach on Aug. 25 with a 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin.
Booth came to Creighton after going 112-41 in three years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A native of Lincoln, Neb., Booth played volleyball at Truman State, where she was named conference MVP, an Academic All-American and Missouri's 1997 NCAA Woman of the Year. She ranked third in Division II history with 6,077 assists when she graduated.
Booth is helped by associate head coach Paul Giesselmann and assistant coaches Angie Oxley Behrens and Steve Bymers.
Nebraska is coached by John Cook (San Diego, 1979), who owns a 222-14 record in his eighth season at Nebraska and a 373-87 mark overall in 14 seasons. A two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year, Cook led NU to national titles in 2000 and 2006 and has six Big 12 titles over the past seven seasons. He is assisted by Lee Maes and Lizzy Stemke.
Cal Poly is coached by Jon Stevenson (UC Santa Barbara, 1980), who owns a 44-13 record in three seasons with the Mustangs. Overall, he owns a career mark of 127-80 in eight years on the sideline. Stevenson is assisted by Mike Johnson and Wes Schneider.
Series History vs. Nebraska
Creighton is 0-7 all-time against Nebraska since restarting its program in 1994. Nebraska has been ranked first nationally in four of those meetings and was fifth in the other three.
The match-up last year at Qwest Center Omaha, a 3-1 Cornhuskers win, was the first time the Jays had taken a game from NU.
NU coach John Cook is 3-0 all-time vs. Kirsten Bernthal Booth and 6-0 against Creighton.
Series History vs. Cal Poly
Cal Poly leads the series 1-0. The Mustangs beat Creighton in four games (15-12, 4-15, 15-7, 15-8) on Sept. 6, 1996, in play at the USF Invitational in San Francisco, Calif.
JoDe Cieloha led Creighton with 19 kills in that match, while Hallie Garrison led Cal Poly with 15 kills in the victory.
Last Match Summary
Creighton picked up a 3-1 road win at Iowa State on Tuesday, winning 30-24, 27-30, 30-18, 30-21. Lauren Bloemke had career-highs with 18 kills and three aces in the win, while Jessica Houts had her first career double-double with 14 kills and 10 blocks. Also playing well was freshman Allie Oelke, who had personal bests with 13 kills and nine blocks to go with three aces.
Booth Becomes Volleyball Wins Leader
Kirsten Bernthal Booth became the winningest volleyball coach in modern school history with her team's 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin on Aug. 25. The victory was Booth's 69th at Creighton, passing Howard Wallace who was 68-94 in six years from 1997-2002.
Coaching Connection To Lincoln
A pair of Creighton coaches have ties to Lincoln. Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth went to high school in Lincoln and is a member of the Lincoln East High School Hall of Fame.
Creighton assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens was a four-year starter for the Huskers from 1997-2000, including Nebraska's unbeaten NCAA champion team in 2000 that was coached by John Cook.
In-State, But Not From Lincoln
Since restarting the program in 1994, Creighton has used more players from Nebraska (25) than any other state. Only one of those Nebraskans was from Lincoln, Shelly Kapler (1996-99). Kapler, a product of Lincoln Pius X High School, ranks fifth on CU's all-time kill list with exactly 1,000 kills.
Huskers Tough At Home
Nebraska has won 54 straight matches at the NU Coliseum (eighth in NCAA history) and 60 consecutive matches in the state of Nebraska. Friday night will be Nebraska's regular-season home opener after opening up last weekend in Omaha with the AVCA Showcase.
The Cornhuskers last loss within the state of Nebraska was Sept. 10, 2004 falling in four games to unranked Florida A&M on the second weekend of that season.
Unranked Wins Against No. 1
A win by Creighton on Friday would unquestionably rank as the biggest win in program history and send shockwaves through the college volleyball community.
The last time an unranked team upset the nation's top-ranked team was Nov. 11, 2006, when Colorado won a five-game upset over No. 1 Nebraska in Boulder.
The last time a Creighton team beat the nation's top-ranked squad in any sport came on April 24, 2001. On that night, Creighton baseball beat #1 Nebraska, 11-8 in 10 innings, at Buck Beltzer Field in Lincoln.
Against Ranked Teams
This weekend's contests against #1 Nebraska and #18 Cal Poly will give Creighton a chance to snap its 0-24 record against ranked opponents. The Bluejays have never even played as much as a five-game match against a ranked opponent.
Creighton Volleyball has been swept in seven of eight matches against top-five schools and is 0-4 all-time against top-ranked foes.
Creighton vs. Ranked Teams All-Time
Date Opponent Result
09/01/98 at #5 Nebraska L 0-3
09/04/98 vs. #19 Texas A&M (@Pacific) L 0-3
09/05/98 at #11 Pacific L 0-3
09/14/99 at #24 Kansas State L 0-3
10/16/99 #16 Northern Iowa L 0-3
09/08/00 at #6 Hawai'i L 0-3
10/03/00 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
09/08/01 at #24 Santa Clara L 1-3
09/09/01 vs. #13 UC-Santa Barbara (at Santa Clara) L 0-3
09/25/01 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
10/13/01 #16 Northern Iowa L 0-3
11/09/01 at #18 Northern Iowa L 0-3
09/06/02 vs. #13 Pacific L 0-3
09/21/02 at #7 Northern Iowa L 1-3
09/29/02 at #5 Nebraska L 0-3
10/18/02 #10 Northern Iowa L 0-3
10/04/03 at #10 Northern Iowa L 1-3
11/01/03 vs. #12 Northern Iowa L 1-3
10/10/04 vs. #5 Nebraska (North Platte, Neb.) L 0-3
09/06/05 at #24 Kansas State L 0-3
09/10/05 vs. #3 Stanford (Boulder, Colo.) L 0-3
10/11/05 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
10/29/05 at #25 Wichita State L 1-3
09/24/06 #1 Nebraska L 1-3
Nebraska Natives
Creighton has seven Nebraska natives on the roster, including two likely starters for Friday. Five of CU's native Nebraskans are from the Omaha metro area, while Abby Baumann hails from North Platte and Rachel Vrbicky is from Norfolk.
Six of Nebraska's 14 players hail from Nebraska. Freshman Brooke Delano is the team's only native of the Omaha-metro area, hailing from nearby Bellevue. Delano attended Bellevue West High School and was a freshman in 2003 when she teamed with Carolyn Decker to win a state title.
Record Crowds For Sunday?
Sales for single-game tickets for Sunday's doubleheader at Qwest Center Omaha continue to be brisk.
As of last Friday (Aug. 24) morning, more than 11,000 tickets had been purchased, which will make it the nation's largest crowd so far this year.
Large crowds for Creighton-Nebraska match-ups are nothing new. This spring's May 15 baseball game at Rosenblatt Stadium had 18,316 fans, the 17th-largest turnout in regular-season college baseball history. In addition, a then-state-record crowd of 15,621 fans packed Qwest Center Omaha to see the schools square off in men's basketball the last time they met in Omaha on Dec. 11, 2005.
Even though it is part of a tournament hosted by Nebraska-Lincoln, the NCAA will count Sunday's match vs. Cal Poly as a home contest for Creighton since it is being played in Omaha.
See the charts on page seven for details on why this could rank as the largest crowd in Creighton, MVC and possibly even NCAA history.
Last Year Jays Hung Tough vs. Nebraska
When Creighton met Nebraska last season at Qwest Center Omaha, the Bluejays surprised many with its inspired play while winning game one 30-27. The Jays would also lead game two 23-22 before Nebraska used a 7-0 run to win 30-24.
Games three and four also went the way of Big Red, with NU winning 30-13 and 30-18.
In last year's match Creighton was led by 12 kills from Kelly Goc, while Korie Lebeda had 38 assists, 12 digs, six kills and four blocks. NU was paced by 18 kills each from Jordan Larson and Sarah Pavan.
On The Road Again
Creighton plays its second straight road match against an upper-division Big 12 team on Friday when it visits Nebraska. The Bluejays are riding a four-match road win streak dating to last year, which is two shy of the longest road streak in program history.
Creighton's Longest Road Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
6 Oct. 14-Nov. 17, 2000 at Missouri State, 3-0
5 Nov. 21, 2003-Sept. 14, 2004 at Wichita St., 3-1
4 Sept. 29-Oct. 19, 2001 at Illinois State, 3-1
4 Nov. 17, 2006-Present ? ? ?
Bloemke Steps It Up
Sophomore MB Lauren Bloemke had the match of her career to date on Tuesday night in a win over Iowa State. Bloemke had career-highs with 18 kills and three aces while also adding three blocks and a pair of assists. Even more impressive is that she didn't enter the match until Kelly Goc was injured with the score 15-14 in game one.
Coming into the night, her previous high had been 10 kills in one match. Her three aces, which all came during an 11-0 serving run, matched her career total to that point. Last season Bloemke did not record her 18th kill of the season until CU's 16th match, a Sept. 30 win over Indiana State.
Oelke A Rising Star
Allie Oelke has improved her numbers with every match she's played to date, increasing her kill totals from four to seven to eight to 13. The Chaska, Minn., native, leads all MVC players with 11 aces and 0.85 aces per game thus far.
Oelke is just the fourth true freshman to start Creighton's season opener since 1999. Each of the previous three players (Brittany Coleman/2003, Carolyn Decker/2004, Korie Lebeda/2005) would go on to earn MVC All-Freshman Team honors.
Oelke had 13 kills, nine digs, three aces and a block in CU's win at Iowa State on Tuesday.
Houts On The Double
Junior MB Jessica Houts had the first double-double of her career on Tuesday, finishing with 14 kills and 10 blocks at Iowa State.
It was the 37th career match that Houts has had 10 or more kills, but first with 10 or more blocks. She's also had two matches with 10 digs or more, but never in the same match as one of her top offensive or blocking performances.
Lebeda Passes 3,000 Assists
Junior setter Korie Lebeda notched her 3,000th career assist on a set to Sarah Schulze on the first point of Creighton's victory over Iowa State on Aug. 28th. The milestone came in Lebeda's 65th match played and 231st game of her career.
As a reference, it took UNI's Jill Arganbright 73 matches (247 games) to reach 3,000 career assists. Arganbright closed her career with an MVC-record 6,064 assists from 2000-03 in 138 matches.
Lebeda was already the quickest player to 1,000 career assists in Creighton history, taking 23 matches (77 games) to get there, as well as 2,000 career assists (43 matches, 152 games).
Below is Creighton's quickest players to reach 3,000 assists:
Matches to
Name 3,000 asts. Opponent
Korie Lebeda 65 8/28/07 at Iowa State
Kailey Reyes 72 11/17/00 at Wichita State
Melissa Weisensee 88 9/5/97 vs. Texas-San Antonio
Lebeda Takes A Break (Finally)
Korie Lebeda played every point of her freshman and sophomore seasons, and the first 299 points of her junior year before finally being replaced by Rachel Vrbicky with CU owning a 26-10 lead over Montana State on Aug. 25th. That brought her amazing streak to 11,849 consecutive points without a break to open her college career.
After coming out for three points, Lebeda returned for the final six points of that match.
Lebeda has now played in 12,214 of a possible 12,217 points since coming to Creighton, good for an astounding 99.975 percent.
Scheduling Up
Last year Creighton won three matches against teams that advanced to the 2006 NCAA Tournament: Jacksonville State, Saint Louis and Middle Tennessee.
This year's schedule features 11 matches against 2006 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, including defending national champion Nebraska. Creighton has already beaten Stephen F. Austin and Iowa State this year from that group.
Other NCAA qualifiers from 2006 include Middle Tennessee, Stephen F. Austin, Iowa State, Cal Poly, Tennessee, Minnesota, Northern Iowa (2) and Missouri State (2).
Creighton will play 10 matches against teams that received votes in the AVCA Preseason Top-25 poll.
All 14 of John Cook's losses at Nebraska have come against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including the eventual NCAA champion in 2001 (Stanford), 2002 (USC) and 2005 (Washington).
Beating NCAA Tourney Teams
There's an old saying that “to be the best, you've got to beat the best”. Creighton's win on Aug. 25 over Stephen F. Austin was its seventh all-time over a team that appeared in the NCAA Tournament the previous season. Others on that list were Illinois State (twice in 1999), Missouri (2004), Florida Atlantic (2006), Nevada (2006) and Jacksonville State (2006). CU followed that up with a win on Aug. 28 at Iowa State.
However, the win over Stephen F. Austin was the first win over a team that won a match in that trip to the NCAA's, a feat they duplicated on Aug. 28 at Iowa State.
Creighton will get seven more chances to beat NCAA winners from a year ago, including Nebraska, Cal Poly, Minnesota, Northern Iowa (twice) and Missouri State (twice).
Goc Had Big Weekend But Injured at ISU
Kelly Goc had a big start to her senior season, hitting .508 while averaging a team-best 4.12 kills per game at the Bluejay Invitational. Goc led CU with 12 kills on Friday while hitting .385 against Middle Tennessee, then hit 21-1-33 (.606) in two wins on Saturday.
Included in that was a 14-0-21 performance (.667) against Stephen F. Austin that is tied for the third-best hitting percentage in school history.
Goc sprained her ankle in game one of Tuesday's road win at Iowa State and did not return, leaving the arena on crutches.
Defensive Effort Supreme
Montana State's 15 kills last Saturday tied the fewest ever allowed by Creighton, matching the mark set by Drake on Sept. 22, 2006.
Additionally, Montana State's -.044 hitting percentage was the third-lowest by a Bluejay opponent ever.
Lowest Hitting Percentages vs. Creighton
Pct. Team K E TA Date
-.108 UMKC 19 27 74 9/15/96
-.086 Drake 15 23 93 9/22/06
-.044 Montana State 15 19 90 8/25/07
-.008 UMKC 29 30 125 10/24/00
-.007 Wichita State 27 28 135 10/21/95
Top 10 Crowds
According to numbers calculated by Diane Nordstrom at the University of Wisconsin, Creighton ranks ninth nationally thus far with an average home attendance of 826 fans per game. Creighton is one of four MVC schools in the top-10 on her list, joining Wichita State, Northern Iowa and Illinois State.
Creighton's total was aided by the turnout of 1,227 on Friday, which included more than 700 students.
Crowds Kept Coming
Creighton ranked 16th nationally in average attendance (1,611) in 2006, its best finish ever. That ranks as a 683% increase from the 2002 season, the final year before Kirsten Bernthal Booth arrived. Below is the 2006 attendance list:
2006 Volleyball Home Average Attendance
Rk. School Ave. Total Dates
1. Hawaii 7,186 158,093 22
2. Nebraska 4,137 78,598 19
3. Wisconsin 3,900 66,294 17
4. Minnesota 3,620 50,673 14
5. Missouri 2,565 28,216 11
6. Penn State 2,548 48,417 19
7. Washington 2,516 37,741 15
8. Florida 2,425 41,223 17
9. Texas 2,169 34,711 16
10. Wichita State 2,083 29,157 14
11. Stanford 2,061 30,918 15
12. BYU 1,882 24,464 13
13. New Mexico State 1,830 31,111 17
14. Texas A&M 1,781 21,376 12
15. Northern Iowa 1,708 23,909 14
16. Creighton 1,611 20,940 13
Cal Poly 1,611 16,114 10
18. Purdue 1,594 27,096 17
19. Michigan State 1,455 21,825 15
20. Illinois 1,366 19,127 14
Opening Weekend Records Fall
Creighton had a bunch of records fall during Bluejay Invitational play last weekend.
Freshman Allie Oelke tied a school-record with three aces in her debut, which had been done three times previously.
In Oelke's second match, she tied a Bluejay Invitational record with four aces against Montana State.
Oelke would also go on to set the tournament record with eight aces overall in three matches.
Junior Bianca Rivera set a school-record with 14 digs in her debut match, three more than the previous mark held by Mallory Lahm (2004).
Rivera set another school record when she opened her career with four straight matches of 10 or more digs. The previous record of three was held by Brittany Coleman (2003).
Fall 2006 Summary
Creighton's 2006 team finished 21-10 while wrapping up the program's best season since its 1994 reinstatement. The Bluejays opened 10-1, including tournament titles at Middle Tennessee and Montana State, and also hung tough in a four-game loss to #1 Nebraska before 12,112 fans at Qwest Center Omaha.
The team would finish an impressive 13-5 away from home, including a 4-1 neutral site record, and fell in the semifinals of the MVC Tourney to Northern Iowa.
Kelly Goc and Korie Lebeda were named first-team all-MVC while Jessica Houts was a second-team selection. Senior captain Emily Greisch was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American and joined Lebeda and Abby Baumann on the Valley's Scholar-Athlete First Team.
20-Win Season
Creighton reached the 20-win milestone for the first time in modern school history last year and finished with 21 victories. The previous school-record for wins since the program's 1994 reinstatement had been the 2004 team that finished 18-11.
Creighton also tied its school-record with 12 conference wins last season, previously accomplished in 2001.
Reshuffled Decker
One player that might have anticipated the start of the 2007 season more than any other is fourth-year junior Carolyn Decker. Decker, who earned all-MVC Freshman Team honors in 2004, has missed the majority of the past two years with injuries.
Decker missed all but six matches of the 2005 season after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in her right elbow.
Last season, Decker was hurt during the third match of the opening weekend when she tore the ACL in her left knee while landing on a jump serve.
Decker has started 35-of-40 career matches, averages 2.64 kills and 2.29 digs, and ranks second in CU history with 0.35 aces per game. Her insertion into the Bluejay line-up coincided with an 11-0 run during game three of CU's 3-1 win at Iowa State on Tuesday.
Baby Jays
Two members of the coaching staff added a child during the offseason.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and her husband, Erik, welcomed a daughter, Hayden Isabel Bernthal Booth, to the world on August 3rd. The couple also has a two-year old daughter, Reese. Booth missed the first two weeks of preseason practice and returned to her coaching duties full-time on August 20th.
Associate head coach Paul Giesselmann and his wife, Dr. Paige Groppe, welcomed a daughter, Ansley Paige Giesselmann, on April 9th. The couple also has twin 11-year old boys, Hunter and Garret.
Defensive Awards
Following last season the Collegiate Volleyball Update website (www.cvu.com) honored Creighton with a pair of defensive awards. The Jays were one of five teams in the running for “Deep Digging Team of the Year”, which was won by Murray State.
Additionally, Creighton was also one of five teams in CVU's Overall Defensive Team of the Year list, which was topped by Missouri State.
MVC Leaders
Creighton has two different returners that led the league in a statistical category for MVC-only matches. Kelly Goc led the way with 3.97 kills per game and Korie Lebeda was first with 13.25 assists per game.
In addition, Amanda Cvejdlik finished second with 0.51 aces per game, though her 34 aces topped all players.
For all matches, Lebeda was first with 12.79 assists per game, easily outdistancing Illinois State's Erin Lindsey's 11.96 apg. that ranked second.
Creighton's team also led the MVC in four different statistical categories, both for all matches and MVC matches only. The Jays led the league in assists per game, kills per game, fewest opponent kills per game and fewest opponent assists by per game.
The 400 Dig Club
Katie Mehal and Abby Baumann each surpassed the 400 dig milestone last season, becoming just the second and third players in school history to do so.
Janeen Piller had been the only previous player to do that, accomplishing the feat in both 2003 (with 448) and 2004 (with a record 593).
Mehal finished with 488 digs, while Baumann had 441 digs.
Game Five Frenzy
Creighton is 16-4 in five-game matches over the past four seasons. That's impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth games prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival.
Below is a list of Creighton's record in five-game matches on a yearly basis:
Year Game 5 W-L Total W-L
1994 0-2 5-20
1995 0-2 11-19
1996 2-6 9-19
1997 3-5 15-13
1998 2-3 7-18
1999 3-3 13-15
2000 3-3 16-12
2001 1-1 14-13
2002 1-3 3-23
2003 5-1 12-18
2004 4-0 18-11
2005 3-1 16-14
2006 4-2 21-10
2007 0-0 3-1
Total 31-32 163-206
Setting The Fab Four
One reason Korie Lebeda led the Missouri Valley Conference with 12.79 assists per game last year was that she had plenty of offensive weapons to choose from. The Bluejays boasted four players ranked in the MVC's top 18 in kills. Kelly Goc (3.94) was second, Amanda Cvejdlik (3.58) was fifth, Jessica Houts (3.33) is ninth and Abby Baumann (2.78) was 18th.
Creighton owned four players with at least 300 kills. Not only had CU never had four players at that level in any season, but they've never done that over any two-year span either. In the first 12 years of the program, only 14 players had ever had 300 or more kills.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 103-6 (.945) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 45-0 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own a 50-3 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 5-132 (.036) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-40 mark in those home matches. Those five comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below:
Date Opponent Games 3-5 scores Coach
09/19/97 at Bradley 15-11, 15-13, 15-8 Wallace
10/01/99 at Drake 15-6, 17-15, 15-11 Wallace
09/03/04 vs. Montana 30-20, 30-21, 15-11 Booth
10/15/04 at Bradley 30-22, 30-23, 15-11 Booth
10/15/05 at So. Illinois 30-25, 30-24, 15-8 Booth
Goc Moves Into Top 10 In Kills, Blocks
Junior middle blocker Kelly Goc got 36 kills at last year's MVC Tournament to become the fifth member of Creighton's 1,000-kill club. She's just the third player to reach that milestone as a junior, joining Melissa Walsh and Leah Ratzlaff.
Goc continues to crash the Creighton record books in several career categories, as seen below:
Goc on the Career Lists
Stat Rank Goc Total
Hitting Pct. 2nd .276
Points 3rd 1,229.5
Points Per Game 3rd 4.04
Kills Per Game 4th 3.40
Kills 4th 1,034
Block Assists 6th 235
Attack Attempts 6th 2,543
Blocks 7th 266
Block Solos T-7th 31
Blocks Per Game 9th 0.88
Freshman Get To Start
Creighton has started at least one freshman in 139 of its last 142 matches. The opening weekend of 2006 remains the only time since Sept. 20, 2002, that Creighton opened a match without a freshman starter.
Production Returning
Creighton returns 10-of-13 letterwinners from last season, and more than 94 percent of their statistical production in every category except digs, as seen below:
Stat Returners Departures
Kills 1903 (99.7%) 5 (0.3%)
Blocks 305.5 (99.3%) 2.0 (0.7%)
Points 2382.5 (99.3%) 17.0 (0.7%)
Assists 1715 (98.2%) 32 (1.8%)
Matches Started 175 (94.1%) 11 (5.9%)
Aces 173 (94.0%) 11 (6.0%)
Digs 1954 (86.7%) 299 (13.3%)
The Baumann Barometer
Creighton's record is 22-7 all-time when Abby Baumann reaches double-digit kills. Creighton is also 16-5 all-time when Baumann finishes with a double-double.
A more telling statistic revolves around Baumann's hitting percentage. CU is 23-0 in her career when she has 10 attacks or more and hits .208 or better, but just 35-36 in her career when she hasn't.
Baumann averaged 2.96 kills and hit .172 in CU's 21 wins last year, but just 2.44 kills and hit .000 in the Jays 10 losses.
Game 1 Result = Match Result
In its last 56 matches in which it wins game one, Creighton is 50-6.
CU is 57-10 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when they win game one. In that same time span, CU is just 13-44 under Booth it they drop the first game.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 38-44 in the 27 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including an 8-1 mark last year. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 22-13 in 12 regular-season tournaments.
After winning just one of its first 18 regular-season tournaments all-time (the 2000 Iowa State Heritage Classic), the Jays have won five of its last nine regular-season tournaments.
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton was picked third in the 2007 MVC preseason coaches poll. Northern Iowa (97 points, seven first place votes) was favored to win its second straight title, just ahead of Wichita State (85, one) and Creighton (81, two). Rounding out the rest of the league was Missouri State, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Evansville, Bradley, Drake and Indiana State.
Each of the past three years Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them in the preseason poll.
Year Preseason Pick Finish Move
1994 11th 9th #2
1995 9th 7th #2
1996 9th 6th #3
1997 8th 3rd #5
1998 6th 8th i2
1999 T-7th 5th #2
2000 4th T-4th - -
2001 2nd 4th i2
2002 7th 9th i2
2003 9th T-5th #4
2004 5th 5th - -
2005 5th 5th - -
2006 4th 4th - -
2007 3rd ???
AVCA Honors CU Volleyball For Academics
The Creighton volleyball program was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as a recipient of the 2007 AVCA Team Academic Award. Creighton previously won the award in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
The award honors teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA. Last spring the Bluejay volleyball team posted a cumulative GPA of 3.38, as six student-athletes landed on the Dean's List (3.5 or better).
Radio Broadcast Information
Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson will broadcast at least 20 regular-season matches this season on KVSS (88.9 FM), as well as any potential MVC Tournament and NCAA Tournament matches. The matches will also be streamed on-line at www.kvss.com. A complete list of remaining matches follows:
Remaining Volleyball Broadcast Schedule
Aug. 31 at Nebraska
Sept. 2 Cal Poly
Sept. 7 vs. Tennessee
Sept. 8 vs. Marquette/Illinois
Sept. 11 at Drake
Sept. 21 at Northern Iowa
Sept. 28 Illinois State
Sept. 29 Indiana State
Oct. 12 Wichita State
Oct. 13 Missouri State
Oct. 19 Bradley
Oct. 20 Northern Iowa
Nov. 2 Southern Illinois
Nov. 4 Evansville
Nov. 9 at Missouri State
Nov. 10 at Wichita State
Nov. 16 Drake
Creighton Ticket Information
Tickets to Creighton's home regular-season matches are sold at all Ticketmaster outlets. Cost is $7 for adults and $4 for youth (18 years of age or younger) with children five and under admitted free. Season ticket information is available online at www.gocreighton.com or by calling (402) 280-JAYS. Creighton has sold approximately 380 season tickets for volleyball this year after selling 286 season tickets last year.
Creighton (3-1) takes on a pair of nationally-ranked teams while participating in the Holiday Inn Downtown Classic this weekend.
On Friday, Creighton takes on defending national champion and top-ranked Nebraska (2-0). First serve at the sold-out NU Coliseum (4,030) in Lincoln, Neb., is set for 7 pm.
On Sunday, Creighton will play 18th-ranked Cal Poly (2-1) in Omaha, Neb., at Qwest Center OMAHA? (17,272). First serve is set for 12:30 pm.
Radio Broadcast Information
Both of Creighton's matches this weekend can be heard on KVSS (88.9 FM), and will be streamed live on-line at www.kvss.com. Matt Santamaria and Erin Swanson will call Friday's action, while Swanson and Brad Burwell will announce Sunday's match.
Video Broadcast Information
Both matches this weekend will be video webcast and can be seen at www.gocreighton.com.
Fans can sign up to buy single matches for $4.95 each or a season package of all of CU's remaining home matches for $34.95 by clicking on the “Sign Up” graphic below the video box on the top right of the page.
Live Stats Information
Nebraska will be providing live stats for all matches in the Holiday Inn Downtown Classic. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the right-hand side of the page, or visit www.huskers.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton returns all six starters from last year's team that finished with a 21-10 record. The 21 wins were a school record, as was the average home attendance of 1,611 that ranked tied for 16th nationally.
Leading the returners is three players that earned all-MVC honors last year. Senior MB Kelly Goc (3.78 kpg., .508%, 0.89 bpg.) and junior S Korie Lebeda (12.85 apg., 2.62 dpg., 1.08 bpg.) were first-team all-Valley last year, while junior MB Jessica Houts (3.46 kpg., 1.69 bpg.) was a second-team choice.
Other starters who are back include junior OH Amanda Cvejdlik (3.17 kpg.), junior OH Abby Baumann (0.67 kpg.) and sophomore OH Sarah Schulze (1.38 kpg., 1.31 dpg.).
Among the newcomers making a difference are freshman OH Allie Oelke (2.46 kpg., 0.77 bpg., 0.85 sapg.) and junior libero Bianca Rivera (5.23 dpg.)
Through four matches, Creighton is averaging 16.46 kills, 2.00 aces, 15.92 digs and 3.38 blocks per game while hitting .262 as a club.
Scouting Nebraska
The defending national champion, top-ranked Nebraska is 2-0 after opening last weekend with wins over Tennessee and No. 5 UCLA. NU has played its last 75 matches at the nation's top-ranked team, which dates to the end of the 2004 season. With five former All-Americans in the line-up the Cornhuskers are prohibitive favorites to win a second consecutive national title.
The Huskers boast both the 2005 AVCA Player of the Year in Christina Houghtelling (2.57 kpg., 5.00 dpg.) and 2006 AVCA Player of the Year Sarah Pavan (5.57 kpg., .382%, 1.00 bpg.), not to mention returning All-Americans Jordan Larson (3.43 kpg., 3.43 dpg.), Tracy Stalls (2.86 kpg., .594%, 1.00 bpg.) and Rachel Holloway (13.57 apg., 3.29 bpg.).
The Huskers have won 54 straight matches at the NU Coliseum (eighth in NCAA history) and 60 consecutive matches in the state of Nebraska. Friday night will be Nebraska's regular-season home opener after opening up last weekend in Omaha with the AVCA Showcase.
Scouting Cal Poly
The nation's 18th-ranked team, Cal Poly enters this weekend with a 2-1 record, beating North Texas (3-0) and Wichita State (3-0) after losing to Kansas State (3-2) to open the season. Before meeting Creighton on Sunday, the Mustangs will first meet No. 3 Penn State on Friday at 4:30 pm in Lincoln.
Cal Poly returns five starters and its libero from last year's team that finished 23-6 overall, won its first Big West Conference title in 22 years (13-1), and reached the second round of the NCAA's.
Cal Poly returns four of its five All-Big West First Teamers from a year ago, including 2006 Big West Co-Player of the Year Kylie Atherstone. Atherstone averaged 2.91 kills and 3.45 digs per game last weekend.
Also back are Chelsea Hayes (10.20 apg., 3.40 dpg., 1.30 bpg.), Jaclyn Houston (2.27 kpg., 1.82 bpg.) and Kristin Jackson (4.91 dpg.). OH Ali Waller is also a player to keep an eye on, as the junior led Cal Poly in kills all three matches last weekend and averages 4.09 kpg. and 1.45 bpg. thus far.
Cal Poly averaged 13.55 kills, 2.00 aces, 17.55 digs and 4.32 blocks per game while hitting .211 at the Shocker Classic.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 70-54 record in her fifth season with the Bluejays. She became the program's all-time winningest coach on Aug. 25 with a 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin.
Booth came to Creighton after going 112-41 in three years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A native of Lincoln, Neb., Booth played volleyball at Truman State, where she was named conference MVP, an Academic All-American and Missouri's 1997 NCAA Woman of the Year. She ranked third in Division II history with 6,077 assists when she graduated.
Booth is helped by associate head coach Paul Giesselmann and assistant coaches Angie Oxley Behrens and Steve Bymers.
Nebraska is coached by John Cook (San Diego, 1979), who owns a 222-14 record in his eighth season at Nebraska and a 373-87 mark overall in 14 seasons. A two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year, Cook led NU to national titles in 2000 and 2006 and has six Big 12 titles over the past seven seasons. He is assisted by Lee Maes and Lizzy Stemke.
Cal Poly is coached by Jon Stevenson (UC Santa Barbara, 1980), who owns a 44-13 record in three seasons with the Mustangs. Overall, he owns a career mark of 127-80 in eight years on the sideline. Stevenson is assisted by Mike Johnson and Wes Schneider.
Series History vs. Nebraska
Creighton is 0-7 all-time against Nebraska since restarting its program in 1994. Nebraska has been ranked first nationally in four of those meetings and was fifth in the other three.
The match-up last year at Qwest Center Omaha, a 3-1 Cornhuskers win, was the first time the Jays had taken a game from NU.
NU coach John Cook is 3-0 all-time vs. Kirsten Bernthal Booth and 6-0 against Creighton.
Series History vs. Cal Poly
Cal Poly leads the series 1-0. The Mustangs beat Creighton in four games (15-12, 4-15, 15-7, 15-8) on Sept. 6, 1996, in play at the USF Invitational in San Francisco, Calif.
JoDe Cieloha led Creighton with 19 kills in that match, while Hallie Garrison led Cal Poly with 15 kills in the victory.
Last Match Summary
Creighton picked up a 3-1 road win at Iowa State on Tuesday, winning 30-24, 27-30, 30-18, 30-21. Lauren Bloemke had career-highs with 18 kills and three aces in the win, while Jessica Houts had her first career double-double with 14 kills and 10 blocks. Also playing well was freshman Allie Oelke, who had personal bests with 13 kills and nine blocks to go with three aces.
Booth Becomes Volleyball Wins Leader
Kirsten Bernthal Booth became the winningest volleyball coach in modern school history with her team's 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin on Aug. 25. The victory was Booth's 69th at Creighton, passing Howard Wallace who was 68-94 in six years from 1997-2002.
Coaching Connection To Lincoln
A pair of Creighton coaches have ties to Lincoln. Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth went to high school in Lincoln and is a member of the Lincoln East High School Hall of Fame.
Creighton assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens was a four-year starter for the Huskers from 1997-2000, including Nebraska's unbeaten NCAA champion team in 2000 that was coached by John Cook.
In-State, But Not From Lincoln
Since restarting the program in 1994, Creighton has used more players from Nebraska (25) than any other state. Only one of those Nebraskans was from Lincoln, Shelly Kapler (1996-99). Kapler, a product of Lincoln Pius X High School, ranks fifth on CU's all-time kill list with exactly 1,000 kills.
Huskers Tough At Home
Nebraska has won 54 straight matches at the NU Coliseum (eighth in NCAA history) and 60 consecutive matches in the state of Nebraska. Friday night will be Nebraska's regular-season home opener after opening up last weekend in Omaha with the AVCA Showcase.
The Cornhuskers last loss within the state of Nebraska was Sept. 10, 2004 falling in four games to unranked Florida A&M on the second weekend of that season.
Unranked Wins Against No. 1
A win by Creighton on Friday would unquestionably rank as the biggest win in program history and send shockwaves through the college volleyball community.
The last time an unranked team upset the nation's top-ranked team was Nov. 11, 2006, when Colorado won a five-game upset over No. 1 Nebraska in Boulder.
The last time a Creighton team beat the nation's top-ranked squad in any sport came on April 24, 2001. On that night, Creighton baseball beat #1 Nebraska, 11-8 in 10 innings, at Buck Beltzer Field in Lincoln.
Against Ranked Teams
This weekend's contests against #1 Nebraska and #18 Cal Poly will give Creighton a chance to snap its 0-24 record against ranked opponents. The Bluejays have never even played as much as a five-game match against a ranked opponent.
Creighton Volleyball has been swept in seven of eight matches against top-five schools and is 0-4 all-time against top-ranked foes.
Creighton vs. Ranked Teams All-Time
Date Opponent Result
09/01/98 at #5 Nebraska L 0-3
09/04/98 vs. #19 Texas A&M (@Pacific) L 0-3
09/05/98 at #11 Pacific L 0-3
09/14/99 at #24 Kansas State L 0-3
10/16/99 #16 Northern Iowa L 0-3
09/08/00 at #6 Hawai'i L 0-3
10/03/00 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
09/08/01 at #24 Santa Clara L 1-3
09/09/01 vs. #13 UC-Santa Barbara (at Santa Clara) L 0-3
09/25/01 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
10/13/01 #16 Northern Iowa L 0-3
11/09/01 at #18 Northern Iowa L 0-3
09/06/02 vs. #13 Pacific L 0-3
09/21/02 at #7 Northern Iowa L 1-3
09/29/02 at #5 Nebraska L 0-3
10/18/02 #10 Northern Iowa L 0-3
10/04/03 at #10 Northern Iowa L 1-3
11/01/03 vs. #12 Northern Iowa L 1-3
10/10/04 vs. #5 Nebraska (North Platte, Neb.) L 0-3
09/06/05 at #24 Kansas State L 0-3
09/10/05 vs. #3 Stanford (Boulder, Colo.) L 0-3
10/11/05 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
10/29/05 at #25 Wichita State L 1-3
09/24/06 #1 Nebraska L 1-3
Nebraska Natives
Creighton has seven Nebraska natives on the roster, including two likely starters for Friday. Five of CU's native Nebraskans are from the Omaha metro area, while Abby Baumann hails from North Platte and Rachel Vrbicky is from Norfolk.
Six of Nebraska's 14 players hail from Nebraska. Freshman Brooke Delano is the team's only native of the Omaha-metro area, hailing from nearby Bellevue. Delano attended Bellevue West High School and was a freshman in 2003 when she teamed with Carolyn Decker to win a state title.
Record Crowds For Sunday?
Sales for single-game tickets for Sunday's doubleheader at Qwest Center Omaha continue to be brisk.
As of last Friday (Aug. 24) morning, more than 11,000 tickets had been purchased, which will make it the nation's largest crowd so far this year.
Large crowds for Creighton-Nebraska match-ups are nothing new. This spring's May 15 baseball game at Rosenblatt Stadium had 18,316 fans, the 17th-largest turnout in regular-season college baseball history. In addition, a then-state-record crowd of 15,621 fans packed Qwest Center Omaha to see the schools square off in men's basketball the last time they met in Omaha on Dec. 11, 2005.
Even though it is part of a tournament hosted by Nebraska-Lincoln, the NCAA will count Sunday's match vs. Cal Poly as a home contest for Creighton since it is being played in Omaha.
See the charts on page seven for details on why this could rank as the largest crowd in Creighton, MVC and possibly even NCAA history.
Last Year Jays Hung Tough vs. Nebraska
When Creighton met Nebraska last season at Qwest Center Omaha, the Bluejays surprised many with its inspired play while winning game one 30-27. The Jays would also lead game two 23-22 before Nebraska used a 7-0 run to win 30-24.
Games three and four also went the way of Big Red, with NU winning 30-13 and 30-18.
In last year's match Creighton was led by 12 kills from Kelly Goc, while Korie Lebeda had 38 assists, 12 digs, six kills and four blocks. NU was paced by 18 kills each from Jordan Larson and Sarah Pavan.
On The Road Again
Creighton plays its second straight road match against an upper-division Big 12 team on Friday when it visits Nebraska. The Bluejays are riding a four-match road win streak dating to last year, which is two shy of the longest road streak in program history.
Creighton's Longest Road Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
6 Oct. 14-Nov. 17, 2000 at Missouri State, 3-0
5 Nov. 21, 2003-Sept. 14, 2004 at Wichita St., 3-1
4 Sept. 29-Oct. 19, 2001 at Illinois State, 3-1
4 Nov. 17, 2006-Present ? ? ?
Bloemke Steps It Up
Sophomore MB Lauren Bloemke had the match of her career to date on Tuesday night in a win over Iowa State. Bloemke had career-highs with 18 kills and three aces while also adding three blocks and a pair of assists. Even more impressive is that she didn't enter the match until Kelly Goc was injured with the score 15-14 in game one.
Coming into the night, her previous high had been 10 kills in one match. Her three aces, which all came during an 11-0 serving run, matched her career total to that point. Last season Bloemke did not record her 18th kill of the season until CU's 16th match, a Sept. 30 win over Indiana State.
Oelke A Rising Star
Allie Oelke has improved her numbers with every match she's played to date, increasing her kill totals from four to seven to eight to 13. The Chaska, Minn., native, leads all MVC players with 11 aces and 0.85 aces per game thus far.
Oelke is just the fourth true freshman to start Creighton's season opener since 1999. Each of the previous three players (Brittany Coleman/2003, Carolyn Decker/2004, Korie Lebeda/2005) would go on to earn MVC All-Freshman Team honors.
Oelke had 13 kills, nine digs, three aces and a block in CU's win at Iowa State on Tuesday.
Houts On The Double
Junior MB Jessica Houts had the first double-double of her career on Tuesday, finishing with 14 kills and 10 blocks at Iowa State.
It was the 37th career match that Houts has had 10 or more kills, but first with 10 or more blocks. She's also had two matches with 10 digs or more, but never in the same match as one of her top offensive or blocking performances.
Lebeda Passes 3,000 Assists
Junior setter Korie Lebeda notched her 3,000th career assist on a set to Sarah Schulze on the first point of Creighton's victory over Iowa State on Aug. 28th. The milestone came in Lebeda's 65th match played and 231st game of her career.
As a reference, it took UNI's Jill Arganbright 73 matches (247 games) to reach 3,000 career assists. Arganbright closed her career with an MVC-record 6,064 assists from 2000-03 in 138 matches.
Lebeda was already the quickest player to 1,000 career assists in Creighton history, taking 23 matches (77 games) to get there, as well as 2,000 career assists (43 matches, 152 games).
Below is Creighton's quickest players to reach 3,000 assists:
Matches to
Name 3,000 asts. Opponent
Korie Lebeda 65 8/28/07 at Iowa State
Kailey Reyes 72 11/17/00 at Wichita State
Melissa Weisensee 88 9/5/97 vs. Texas-San Antonio
Lebeda Takes A Break (Finally)
Korie Lebeda played every point of her freshman and sophomore seasons, and the first 299 points of her junior year before finally being replaced by Rachel Vrbicky with CU owning a 26-10 lead over Montana State on Aug. 25th. That brought her amazing streak to 11,849 consecutive points without a break to open her college career.
After coming out for three points, Lebeda returned for the final six points of that match.
Lebeda has now played in 12,214 of a possible 12,217 points since coming to Creighton, good for an astounding 99.975 percent.
Scheduling Up
Last year Creighton won three matches against teams that advanced to the 2006 NCAA Tournament: Jacksonville State, Saint Louis and Middle Tennessee.
This year's schedule features 11 matches against 2006 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, including defending national champion Nebraska. Creighton has already beaten Stephen F. Austin and Iowa State this year from that group.
Other NCAA qualifiers from 2006 include Middle Tennessee, Stephen F. Austin, Iowa State, Cal Poly, Tennessee, Minnesota, Northern Iowa (2) and Missouri State (2).
Creighton will play 10 matches against teams that received votes in the AVCA Preseason Top-25 poll.
All 14 of John Cook's losses at Nebraska have come against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including the eventual NCAA champion in 2001 (Stanford), 2002 (USC) and 2005 (Washington).
Beating NCAA Tourney Teams
There's an old saying that “to be the best, you've got to beat the best”. Creighton's win on Aug. 25 over Stephen F. Austin was its seventh all-time over a team that appeared in the NCAA Tournament the previous season. Others on that list were Illinois State (twice in 1999), Missouri (2004), Florida Atlantic (2006), Nevada (2006) and Jacksonville State (2006). CU followed that up with a win on Aug. 28 at Iowa State.
However, the win over Stephen F. Austin was the first win over a team that won a match in that trip to the NCAA's, a feat they duplicated on Aug. 28 at Iowa State.
Creighton will get seven more chances to beat NCAA winners from a year ago, including Nebraska, Cal Poly, Minnesota, Northern Iowa (twice) and Missouri State (twice).
Goc Had Big Weekend But Injured at ISU
Kelly Goc had a big start to her senior season, hitting .508 while averaging a team-best 4.12 kills per game at the Bluejay Invitational. Goc led CU with 12 kills on Friday while hitting .385 against Middle Tennessee, then hit 21-1-33 (.606) in two wins on Saturday.
Included in that was a 14-0-21 performance (.667) against Stephen F. Austin that is tied for the third-best hitting percentage in school history.
Goc sprained her ankle in game one of Tuesday's road win at Iowa State and did not return, leaving the arena on crutches.
Defensive Effort Supreme
Montana State's 15 kills last Saturday tied the fewest ever allowed by Creighton, matching the mark set by Drake on Sept. 22, 2006.
Additionally, Montana State's -.044 hitting percentage was the third-lowest by a Bluejay opponent ever.
Lowest Hitting Percentages vs. Creighton
Pct. Team K E TA Date
-.108 UMKC 19 27 74 9/15/96
-.086 Drake 15 23 93 9/22/06
-.044 Montana State 15 19 90 8/25/07
-.008 UMKC 29 30 125 10/24/00
-.007 Wichita State 27 28 135 10/21/95
Top 10 Crowds
According to numbers calculated by Diane Nordstrom at the University of Wisconsin, Creighton ranks ninth nationally thus far with an average home attendance of 826 fans per game. Creighton is one of four MVC schools in the top-10 on her list, joining Wichita State, Northern Iowa and Illinois State.
Creighton's total was aided by the turnout of 1,227 on Friday, which included more than 700 students.
Crowds Kept Coming
Creighton ranked 16th nationally in average attendance (1,611) in 2006, its best finish ever. That ranks as a 683% increase from the 2002 season, the final year before Kirsten Bernthal Booth arrived. Below is the 2006 attendance list:
2006 Volleyball Home Average Attendance
Rk. School Ave. Total Dates
1. Hawaii 7,186 158,093 22
2. Nebraska 4,137 78,598 19
3. Wisconsin 3,900 66,294 17
4. Minnesota 3,620 50,673 14
5. Missouri 2,565 28,216 11
6. Penn State 2,548 48,417 19
7. Washington 2,516 37,741 15
8. Florida 2,425 41,223 17
9. Texas 2,169 34,711 16
10. Wichita State 2,083 29,157 14
11. Stanford 2,061 30,918 15
12. BYU 1,882 24,464 13
13. New Mexico State 1,830 31,111 17
14. Texas A&M 1,781 21,376 12
15. Northern Iowa 1,708 23,909 14
16. Creighton 1,611 20,940 13
Cal Poly 1,611 16,114 10
18. Purdue 1,594 27,096 17
19. Michigan State 1,455 21,825 15
20. Illinois 1,366 19,127 14
Opening Weekend Records Fall
Creighton had a bunch of records fall during Bluejay Invitational play last weekend.
Freshman Allie Oelke tied a school-record with three aces in her debut, which had been done three times previously.
In Oelke's second match, she tied a Bluejay Invitational record with four aces against Montana State.
Oelke would also go on to set the tournament record with eight aces overall in three matches.
Junior Bianca Rivera set a school-record with 14 digs in her debut match, three more than the previous mark held by Mallory Lahm (2004).
Rivera set another school record when she opened her career with four straight matches of 10 or more digs. The previous record of three was held by Brittany Coleman (2003).
Fall 2006 Summary
Creighton's 2006 team finished 21-10 while wrapping up the program's best season since its 1994 reinstatement. The Bluejays opened 10-1, including tournament titles at Middle Tennessee and Montana State, and also hung tough in a four-game loss to #1 Nebraska before 12,112 fans at Qwest Center Omaha.
The team would finish an impressive 13-5 away from home, including a 4-1 neutral site record, and fell in the semifinals of the MVC Tourney to Northern Iowa.
Kelly Goc and Korie Lebeda were named first-team all-MVC while Jessica Houts was a second-team selection. Senior captain Emily Greisch was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American and joined Lebeda and Abby Baumann on the Valley's Scholar-Athlete First Team.
20-Win Season
Creighton reached the 20-win milestone for the first time in modern school history last year and finished with 21 victories. The previous school-record for wins since the program's 1994 reinstatement had been the 2004 team that finished 18-11.
Creighton also tied its school-record with 12 conference wins last season, previously accomplished in 2001.
Reshuffled Decker
One player that might have anticipated the start of the 2007 season more than any other is fourth-year junior Carolyn Decker. Decker, who earned all-MVC Freshman Team honors in 2004, has missed the majority of the past two years with injuries.
Decker missed all but six matches of the 2005 season after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in her right elbow.
Last season, Decker was hurt during the third match of the opening weekend when she tore the ACL in her left knee while landing on a jump serve.
Decker has started 35-of-40 career matches, averages 2.64 kills and 2.29 digs, and ranks second in CU history with 0.35 aces per game. Her insertion into the Bluejay line-up coincided with an 11-0 run during game three of CU's 3-1 win at Iowa State on Tuesday.
Baby Jays
Two members of the coaching staff added a child during the offseason.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and her husband, Erik, welcomed a daughter, Hayden Isabel Bernthal Booth, to the world on August 3rd. The couple also has a two-year old daughter, Reese. Booth missed the first two weeks of preseason practice and returned to her coaching duties full-time on August 20th.
Associate head coach Paul Giesselmann and his wife, Dr. Paige Groppe, welcomed a daughter, Ansley Paige Giesselmann, on April 9th. The couple also has twin 11-year old boys, Hunter and Garret.
Defensive Awards
Following last season the Collegiate Volleyball Update website (www.cvu.com) honored Creighton with a pair of defensive awards. The Jays were one of five teams in the running for “Deep Digging Team of the Year”, which was won by Murray State.
Additionally, Creighton was also one of five teams in CVU's Overall Defensive Team of the Year list, which was topped by Missouri State.
MVC Leaders
Creighton has two different returners that led the league in a statistical category for MVC-only matches. Kelly Goc led the way with 3.97 kills per game and Korie Lebeda was first with 13.25 assists per game.
In addition, Amanda Cvejdlik finished second with 0.51 aces per game, though her 34 aces topped all players.
For all matches, Lebeda was first with 12.79 assists per game, easily outdistancing Illinois State's Erin Lindsey's 11.96 apg. that ranked second.
Creighton's team also led the MVC in four different statistical categories, both for all matches and MVC matches only. The Jays led the league in assists per game, kills per game, fewest opponent kills per game and fewest opponent assists by per game.
The 400 Dig Club
Katie Mehal and Abby Baumann each surpassed the 400 dig milestone last season, becoming just the second and third players in school history to do so.
Janeen Piller had been the only previous player to do that, accomplishing the feat in both 2003 (with 448) and 2004 (with a record 593).
Mehal finished with 488 digs, while Baumann had 441 digs.
Game Five Frenzy
Creighton is 16-4 in five-game matches over the past four seasons. That's impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth games prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival.
Below is a list of Creighton's record in five-game matches on a yearly basis:
Year Game 5 W-L Total W-L
1994 0-2 5-20
1995 0-2 11-19
1996 2-6 9-19
1997 3-5 15-13
1998 2-3 7-18
1999 3-3 13-15
2000 3-3 16-12
2001 1-1 14-13
2002 1-3 3-23
2003 5-1 12-18
2004 4-0 18-11
2005 3-1 16-14
2006 4-2 21-10
2007 0-0 3-1
Total 31-32 163-206
Setting The Fab Four
One reason Korie Lebeda led the Missouri Valley Conference with 12.79 assists per game last year was that she had plenty of offensive weapons to choose from. The Bluejays boasted four players ranked in the MVC's top 18 in kills. Kelly Goc (3.94) was second, Amanda Cvejdlik (3.58) was fifth, Jessica Houts (3.33) is ninth and Abby Baumann (2.78) was 18th.
Creighton owned four players with at least 300 kills. Not only had CU never had four players at that level in any season, but they've never done that over any two-year span either. In the first 12 years of the program, only 14 players had ever had 300 or more kills.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 103-6 (.945) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 45-0 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own a 50-3 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 5-132 (.036) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-40 mark in those home matches. Those five comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below:
Date Opponent Games 3-5 scores Coach
09/19/97 at Bradley 15-11, 15-13, 15-8 Wallace
10/01/99 at Drake 15-6, 17-15, 15-11 Wallace
09/03/04 vs. Montana 30-20, 30-21, 15-11 Booth
10/15/04 at Bradley 30-22, 30-23, 15-11 Booth
10/15/05 at So. Illinois 30-25, 30-24, 15-8 Booth
Goc Moves Into Top 10 In Kills, Blocks
Junior middle blocker Kelly Goc got 36 kills at last year's MVC Tournament to become the fifth member of Creighton's 1,000-kill club. She's just the third player to reach that milestone as a junior, joining Melissa Walsh and Leah Ratzlaff.
Goc continues to crash the Creighton record books in several career categories, as seen below:
Goc on the Career Lists
Stat Rank Goc Total
Hitting Pct. 2nd .276
Points 3rd 1,229.5
Points Per Game 3rd 4.04
Kills Per Game 4th 3.40
Kills 4th 1,034
Block Assists 6th 235
Attack Attempts 6th 2,543
Blocks 7th 266
Block Solos T-7th 31
Blocks Per Game 9th 0.88
Freshman Get To Start
Creighton has started at least one freshman in 139 of its last 142 matches. The opening weekend of 2006 remains the only time since Sept. 20, 2002, that Creighton opened a match without a freshman starter.
Production Returning
Creighton returns 10-of-13 letterwinners from last season, and more than 94 percent of their statistical production in every category except digs, as seen below:
Stat Returners Departures
Kills 1903 (99.7%) 5 (0.3%)
Blocks 305.5 (99.3%) 2.0 (0.7%)
Points 2382.5 (99.3%) 17.0 (0.7%)
Assists 1715 (98.2%) 32 (1.8%)
Matches Started 175 (94.1%) 11 (5.9%)
Aces 173 (94.0%) 11 (6.0%)
Digs 1954 (86.7%) 299 (13.3%)
The Baumann Barometer
Creighton's record is 22-7 all-time when Abby Baumann reaches double-digit kills. Creighton is also 16-5 all-time when Baumann finishes with a double-double.
A more telling statistic revolves around Baumann's hitting percentage. CU is 23-0 in her career when she has 10 attacks or more and hits .208 or better, but just 35-36 in her career when she hasn't.
Baumann averaged 2.96 kills and hit .172 in CU's 21 wins last year, but just 2.44 kills and hit .000 in the Jays 10 losses.
Game 1 Result = Match Result
In its last 56 matches in which it wins game one, Creighton is 50-6.
CU is 57-10 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when they win game one. In that same time span, CU is just 13-44 under Booth it they drop the first game.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 38-44 in the 27 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including an 8-1 mark last year. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 22-13 in 12 regular-season tournaments.
After winning just one of its first 18 regular-season tournaments all-time (the 2000 Iowa State Heritage Classic), the Jays have won five of its last nine regular-season tournaments.
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton was picked third in the 2007 MVC preseason coaches poll. Northern Iowa (97 points, seven first place votes) was favored to win its second straight title, just ahead of Wichita State (85, one) and Creighton (81, two). Rounding out the rest of the league was Missouri State, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Evansville, Bradley, Drake and Indiana State.
Each of the past three years Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them in the preseason poll.
Year Preseason Pick Finish Move
1994 11th 9th #2
1995 9th 7th #2
1996 9th 6th #3
1997 8th 3rd #5
1998 6th 8th i2
1999 T-7th 5th #2
2000 4th T-4th - -
2001 2nd 4th i2
2002 7th 9th i2
2003 9th T-5th #4
2004 5th 5th - -
2005 5th 5th - -
2006 4th 4th - -
2007 3rd ???
AVCA Honors CU Volleyball For Academics
The Creighton volleyball program was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as a recipient of the 2007 AVCA Team Academic Award. Creighton previously won the award in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
The award honors teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA. Last spring the Bluejay volleyball team posted a cumulative GPA of 3.38, as six student-athletes landed on the Dean's List (3.5 or better).
Radio Broadcast Information
Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson will broadcast at least 20 regular-season matches this season on KVSS (88.9 FM), as well as any potential MVC Tournament and NCAA Tournament matches. The matches will also be streamed on-line at www.kvss.com. A complete list of remaining matches follows:
Remaining Volleyball Broadcast Schedule
Aug. 31 at Nebraska
Sept. 2 Cal Poly
Sept. 7 vs. Tennessee
Sept. 8 vs. Marquette/Illinois
Sept. 11 at Drake
Sept. 21 at Northern Iowa
Sept. 28 Illinois State
Sept. 29 Indiana State
Oct. 12 Wichita State
Oct. 13 Missouri State
Oct. 19 Bradley
Oct. 20 Northern Iowa
Nov. 2 Southern Illinois
Nov. 4 Evansville
Nov. 9 at Missouri State
Nov. 10 at Wichita State
Nov. 16 Drake
Creighton Ticket Information
Tickets to Creighton's home regular-season matches are sold at all Ticketmaster outlets. Cost is $7 for adults and $4 for youth (18 years of age or younger) with children five and under admitted free. Season ticket information is available online at www.gocreighton.com or by calling (402) 280-JAYS. Creighton has sold approximately 380 season tickets for volleyball this year after selling 286 season tickets last year.
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballCreighton VB Media Availability 9/30/25
Tuesday, September 30
Creighton VB Postgame Press Conference vs Butler 9/27/25
Sunday, September 28
Butler at #16 Creighton Volleyball Highlights - 9/27/25
Sunday, September 28
Creighton VB Postgame Presser vs Xavier 9/26/25
Saturday, September 27
