Volleyball Announces 2009 Schedule
4/29/2009 8:45:00 PM | Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton will host the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament for the first time, as well as six NCAA Tournament teams this fall, according to the school's volleyball schedule released today by head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. The Bluejays will play all their matches in the new Ryan Center and D.J. Sokol Arena, which remains on schedule for its August opening.
The Bluejays, coming off an 18-9 season, will play 14 regular-season home matches before hosting the Valley Tournament on Nov. 26-28. As tournament hosts, CU is guaranteed a spot in the six-team field.
“We've philosophically made the decision to schedule aggressively, and we've done that again this season,” said Booth. “We're really excited to open the Ryan Center and D.J. Sokol Arena by hosting an outstanding tournament with Big 10 and Big 12 teams, as well as a strong Tulane team that was in the NCAA Tournament last year.”
Fans will get their first chance to check out the 2009 Creighton team on Aug. 22 when the team holds the Blue-White Scrimmage at D.J. Sokol Arena. The match will feature an intrasquad scrimmage among the Bluejay team and will be free to the public to attend.
For the fifth straight season Creighton opens the regular-season by hosting the Bluejay Invitational. The 2009 field should once again be loaded with talented teams, as it also features Illinois (26-8 in 2008, No. 11 nationally), Texas Tech and Tulane (28-6).
Creighton's first road match of the fall will be on Sept. 1 when it plays in Lincoln, Neb., to take on Nebraska (31-3, No. 3).
CU stays on the road the following two weekends, playing in tournaments hosted by Kansas and then Dayton. The Jayhawk Invitational includes Florida International (28-7), Lipscomb (21-11) and Kansas, while the Dayton Flyer Invitational boasts Samford (28-5), Connecticut (21-11) and Dayton (21-13).
Creighton opens play in the Missouri Valley Conference on Sept. 18 when Bradley comes to town. A night later, Northern Iowa (25-9) comes to town in a rematch of last year's five-set meeting in the Valley Tournament. The Bluejays take a brief respite from league play on Sept. 22nd when South Dakota State heads south on I-29 to visit Omaha.
Creighton's first road trip in league action will see them venture to Terre Haute, Ind., to take on Indiana State on Sept. 25. CU then plays at Illinois State a night later.
As in year's past, the Valley slate features a double-round robin format, with each school playing the other nine opponents twice each (once at home, once on the road). Defending regular-season champion Wichita State (31-2) comes to Omaha on Oct. 2nd, with CU returning to Wichita on Halloween night. Defending Valley Tournament champ Missouri State (23-13) visits Omaha on Oct. 3rd and the Jays visit Springfield on Oct. 30th.
Creighton's last non-conference match of the regular-season will be Nov. 10, when Saint Louis (29-5, No. 21) comes to town. The Billikens are one of five Creighton matches against a team that was ranked in the year-end AVCA poll.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth will enter her seventh season with the program this fall. The Bluejays return eight letterwinners and four of six starters from last season's team that finished 18-9. Top returnees include first-team all-Region MB Jessica Houts, 2007 MVC Freshman of the Year Allie Oelke, and senior starters Lauren Bloemke and Sarah Schulze.
Ticket packages for Bluejay volleyball will be announced later this summer.
