Volleyball Visits #6 Nebraska on Tuesday
8/31/2009 4:30:00 PM | Volleyball
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Creighton (1-1) hits the road for the first time this season when it ventures southwest on I-80 to play intrastate rival Nebraska (1-1) on Tuesday night. The Cornhuskers were third in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll before dropping to sixth this week.
The match will be played in Lincoln, Neb., and played at NU Coliseum (4,030). The match will start at 7 pm and be the 121st consecutive sellout in the facility.
This Week
Sept. 1 7 pm Creighton at #6 Nebraska (1290 KKAR) Lincoln, Neb. (NU Coliseum)
Jayhawk Invitational (matches held at Horejsi Family Athletics Center)
Sept. 4 10 am Creighton vs. Florida International (1180 KOIL) Lawrence, Kan.
Sept. 4 5 pm Creighton vs. Lipscomb (1290 KKAR) Lawrence, Kan.
Sept. 5 1 pm Creighton at Kansas (1180 KOIL) Lawrence, Kan.
Radio Broadcast Information
Tuesday's match will be broadcast on KKAR (1290 AM). The match will be streamed live for free on-line at http://www.gocreighton.com, then clicking on the Live Audio tab on the left sidebar. Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson will call the action.
Video Webcast Information
Tuesday's match will be video webcast by Nebraska.
To sign up, visit www.huskers.com and click on the “Nside” tab on the left sidebar. Then drag down to “Live Events”. An annual subscription costs $99.95, while a monthly subscription costs $9.95 per month.
Subscribers to the annual or monthly pass on www.gocreighton.com will have this match added to their subscription and should be able to receive the video feed at no additional cost thanks to an agreement between Creighton and Nebraska.
Live Stats Information
Nebraska will be running live stats for Tuesday's match as well. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page for the exact link.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 1-1 on the young season after a 3-0 victory over Texas Tech and a 3-0 loss to No. 10 Illinois at the season-opening Bluejay Invitational.
Creighton returns six letterwinners and four starters from last year's team that finished 18-9 overall and second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 15-3 league record.
Honorable-mention All-American Jessica Houts is back for her senior season and off to a strong start. She averaged 3.00 kills and 1.50 blocks per set last weekend while earning all-Tournament Team accolades at the Bluejay Invitational.
Also earning all-Tourney honors for Creighton last weekend was libero Nayka Benitez, who averaged 5.33 digs and 0.50 aces per set in her first action at the Division I level.
Creighton graduated four seniors last season that enjoyed highly-decorated careers. Korie Lebeda (5,281 assists, 1,130 digs) was a three-time all-MVC pick and started all 119 matches of her career, while Amanda Cvejdlik (1,029 kills, 221 blocks) was also a first-team all-Valley selection as a senior. Bianca Rivera (1,118 digs) departs after two record-setting seasons at libero, while Carolyn Decker's (651 kills, 629 digs, 89 aces) five-year run also came to a close.
Creighton is picked fourth (of 10) in the MVC this fall, with Houts earning preseason all-Valley accolades.
The Bluejays average 12.33 kills, 1.50 aces, 12.67 digs and 2.67 blocks per set while hitting .267 as a team.
Scouting No. 6 Nebraska
The nation's sixth-ranked team, Nebraska enters Tuesday's match with a 1-1 record after last weekend's AVCA Showcase. The Huskers lost to No. 16 Michigan (3-0) before beating No. 11 Minnesota (3-2) a night later.
The Cornhuskers return four starters and 8-of-11 letterwinners from last year's team that finished 31-3 before losing in five sets to eventual champ Penn State in the national semifinals.
The junior tandem Sydney Anderson (8.75 aps.) and Tara Mueller (2.75 kps., 2.75 dps.) return after both earned second-team All-America honors a year ago. Also back is senior middle blocker Kori Cooper (1.80 kps., 1.00 bps.), who earned honorable-mention All-America accolades last season despite a season-ending knee injury in mid-November.
The Huskers also boast two of the nation's top prep recruits in Gina Mancuso (1.83 kps., 2.67 dps.) and Hannah Werth (1.25 kps., 2.00 dps.).
Nebraska averages 11.75 kills, 0.62 aces, 17.12 digs and 2.00 blocks per set while hitting .137 as a team.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 107-73 record in her seventh season with the Bluejays. She became the program's all-time winningest coach on Aug. 25, 2007 with a 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin and joined the 100-win club with an Oct. 31, 2008 win at Drake.
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, assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens and volunteer assistant Mike Weber.
John Cook (San Diego, 1979) owns a 282-20 record in his 10th year with Nebraska. That moves his career mark to 443-93 in 17 years overall for the former Wisconsin coach. Cook led the Huskers to national titles in 2000 and 2006 and is a two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year. Cook is assisted by Lizzy Stemke, Erik Sullivan and Dan Meske.
Series History vs. Nebraska
Creighton's records show an 0-9 mark all-time against Nebraska since restarting its program in 1994. Nebraska has been ranked first nationally in five of those meetings, was second once and was fifth in the other three. The Huskers' current No. 6 ranking will be its lowest ranking ever when playing the Bluejays.
The 2006 meeting between the schools at Qwest Center Omaha, a 3-1 Cornhuskers win, remains the only time the Jays had taken a set from NU.
NU coach John Cook is 5-0 all-time vs. Kirsten Bernthal Booth and 8-0 against Creighton.
Last Weekend Summary
Creighton went 1-1 at the Bluejay Invitational, beating Texas Tech (3-0) before falling to No. 10 Illinois (3-0). The tournament marked the first regular-season competition at the new D.J. Sokol Arena on the Creighton campus.
Creighton's Jessica Houts (3.00 kps., 1.50 bps.) and Nayka Benitez (5.33 dps.) were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
Last Year Summary
Creighton went 18-9 and narrowly missed out on an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays went 15-3 to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference and had a year-end RPI of 46.
Korie Lebeda, Amanda Cvejdlik and Jessica Houts were named first-team all-MVC, while Bianca Rivera was a second-team all-Valley selection. Houts was also named MVC Defensive Player of the Year and AVCA honorable-mention All-American.
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.
Nebraska Natives
Creighton has three Nebraska natives on the roster, including two starters (Megan Bober and Heather Thorson). Reserve OH Lisa Greisch also hails from Omaha.
Six of Nebraska's 16 players are from Nebraska. Brooke Delano (Bellevue) and Gina Mancuso (Omaha) are both from the metro-Omaha area.
Greisch's Omaha Marian High School team handed Mancuso's Papillion-LaVista High School squad its only loss last season.
In-State, But Not From Lincoln
Since restarting the program in 1994, Creighton has used more players from Nebraska (28) 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 seventh on CU's all-time kill list with exactly 1,000 kills.
Streak Busters?
Nebraska will attempt to set an NCAA record on Tuesday with its 88th straight home win. The streak dates back to Sept. 10, 2004, when unranked Florida A&M toppled the Huskers.
NU's current stretch of 87 straight home wins is tied with Penn State (1995-2000).
Seventy-eight of Nebraska's matches in the streak have been held at the NU Coliseum, with the remainder being designated home matches at the Bob Devaney Sports Center or Qwest Center Omaha.
Against Ranked Teams
Tuesday's contest against No. 6 Nebraska will give Creighton another chance to snap its 0-34 record against ranked opponents.
The Jays almost made history last season at the Bluejay Invitational, but they were unable to hold a 2-0 intermission lead against No. 21 LSU.
Creighton is 0-1 against teams ranked exactly sixth, and 0-15 against top-10 teams all-time.
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
08/31/07 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
09/02/07 #18 Cal Poly L 0-3
09/15/07 at #13 Minnesota L 1-3
11/10/07 at #24 Wichita State L 0-3
08/29/08 #16 Minnesota L 0-3
08/30/08 #21 LSU L 2-3
09/27/08 #14 Wichita State L 1-3
10/05/08 #2 Nebraska L 0-3
10/24/08 at #12 Wichita State L 0-3
08/29/09 #10 Illinois L 0-3
New Facility Dedicated
The Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center and D.J. Sokol Arena was dedicated on the morning of August 28th in a 10 am ceremony. There was also a smaller presentation made during the intermission of the Creighton/Texas Tech match later that evening.
The facility will host the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament this November.
Back Home On Campus
The matches last weekend were Creighton's first regular-season contests on campus since playing at the Kiewit Fitness Center from 1994-96.
Since leaving the Kiewit Fitness Center, Creighton had played at five other home venues: Qwest Center Omaha, the Omaha Civic Auditorium and three Omaha high schools (Skutt, Marian and South).
Full House
Creighton has finished in the top-26 of the nation's attendance leaders each of the past three seasons, and is off to another good start this fall.
Creighton averaged 1,721 fans in two home matches Aug. 28-29, a figure that currently ranks sixth-best nationally. Below is the nation's top-10:
Average Attendance Leaders (through 8/30)
Rank School Avg. Dates
1. Hawaii 6,259 3
2. Wisconsin 3,528 3
3. Saint Louis 2,584 3
4. Florida 2,564 2
5. Purdue 2,401 3
6. Creighton 1,721 2
7. Long Beach State 1,454 2
8. Notre Dame 1,374 3
9. New Mexico 1,368 3
10. Iowa State 1,318 2
Season Opening History
With its win over Texas Tech this year, Creighton improved to 8-8 in season-opening matches since restarting the program in 1994. Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 4-3 in opening matches. Booth improved to 3-4 at Creighton in home openers with the win over the Red Raiders.
A Fresh Start
After seven players made their debut last Friday against Texas Tech, Caitlin Templeton remains the only one of the 14 players on Creighton's 2009 team to have never played a point at the Division I level. Below is the current Creighton players and how they performed in their regular-season collegiate debuts.
Between 2000 and 2008, the only freshmen to start CU's season-opener had been Brittany Coleman (2003), Carolyn Decker (2004), Korie Lebeda (2005) and Allie Oelke (2007). All four of those women went on to earn a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman team.
The Jays started three freshmen in this year's season opener, as Megan Bober, Brooke Boggs and Heather Thorson all earning a starting nod.
Year Name SP K E TA Pct. A SA Dig TB
2009 Alicia Runge 3 9 4 20 .250 1 2 5 3
2009 Megan Bober• 3 7 0 11 .636 32 0 2 1
2007 Allie Oelke• 3 4 7 24 -.125 1 3 6 3
2009 Heather Thorson• 3 3 0 6 .500 0 0 0 2
2008 Laurel Sanford 2 2 0 2 1.000 0 0 0 0
2005 Jessica Houts 2 2 1 4 .250 0 0 0 2
2006 Lauren Bloemke 3 1 1 6 .000 2 0 0 4
2009 Nayka Benitez 3 0 0 0 --- 7 1 15 0
2009 Brooke Boggs• 3 0 0 0 --- 0 0 3 0
2009 Brittany Moon 1 0 0 0 --- 0 0 1 0
2008 Karisa Almgren 1 0 0 0 --- 0 1 0 0
2006 Sarah Schulze 1 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0 0
2009 Lisa Greisch 2 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0 0
Crowd Control?
Creighton attracted the fourth-largest crowd in program history for Friday's home opener against Texas Tech when 2,285 fans packed D.J. Sokol Arena.
The previous largest on-campus crowd for CU had been 476 for a match vs. Evansville on Nov. 4, 1994.
The previous largest crowd for a home opener had been the 1,227 that saw Middle Tennessee on Aug. 24, 1997.
Below are Creighton's largest home volleyball crowds all-time. The top three crowds took place at Qwest Center Omaha.
Largest Home Crowds, Creighton VB History
Att. Opponent Date CU Result
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3
2,285 Texas Tech 08/2809 W 3-0
1,557 Northern Iowa 11/21/08 W 3-0
1,357 Northern Iowa 10/20/07 L 0-3
1,325 Indiana State 09/29/07 W 3-0
1,319 Northern Iowa 10/06/06 L 2-3
1,227 Middle Tennessee 08/24/07 L 0-3
1,183 Drake 11/16/07 W 3-1
A Home Win Streak Of Their Own
Creighton had its school-record seven-match home win streak snapped last Saturday in a 3-0 loss to No. 10 Illinois. That stretch had started on Oct. 17, 2008 with a win over Evansville and also contained victories over Southern Illinois, Indiana State, Illinois State, Northern Iowa, Bradley and Texas Tech.
Longitude Aptitude
There have been 13 schools (besides Creighton) to play in the Bluejay Invitational.
After Illinois swept to the title last weekend, teams located west of Omaha are a combined 1-12 with no titles, while teams to the east are 16-6 with five titles.
Creighton is 7-6 in the event all-time and is still searching for its first event crown.
Hitting On All Cylinders
Creighton attacked at a robust .398 clip in its Aug. 28 romp over Texas Tech. That ranks as the fifth-best figure for a match in school history.
Creighton is 47-1 all-time when hitting .300 or better, including 41 straight victories.
Best Creighton Attack Percentage in a Match
Pct. Opponent (K-E-TA) (Sets) Date
.536 vs. Tulsa (41-4-69) (3s) 10-27-95
.495 vs. Liberty (57-8-99) (3s) 09-02-05
.418 vs. Evansville (98-21-184) (4s) 11-02-96
.414 vs. UC Riverside (57-11-111) (3s) 09-02-05
.398 vs. Texas Tech (47-10-93) (3s) 08-28-08
The Sport Court Report
Remember that 1991 Cheers episode where the gang is celebrating Norm's 40th birthday, and someone asks Kevin McHale about how many bolts are in the famous parquet floor at the Boston Garden?
And then McHale becomes so obsessed with counting the bolts that his game suffers?
After you read the trivial information below, there should be no such trouble or questions about the D.J. Sokol Arena Sport Court surface.
The new floor consists of 10,212 squares, not including the 416 black end pieces that surround the perimeter. Each square piece of tile is 9.8 inches, a half-inch thick and weighs .62 pounds.
I'll Take Houts For The Block
Jessica Houts broke Creighton's all-time block assist record last Nov. 7 against Indiana State and with 391 currently, she has flown past Ashley Williams' (2001-04) old mark of 347.
Houts claimed Creighton's total block record in this year's season-opening 3-0 win over Texas Tech. Her 452 career blocks are five more than Williams' 447, as seen below:
Total Blocks, Creighton History
Name Sets BS BA Tot. Years
1. Jessica Houts 342 61 391 452 2005-Pr.
2. Ashley Williams 359 100 347 447 2001-04
3. JoDe Cieloha 398 106 331 437 1994-97
4. Melissa Walsh 394 46 320 366 1998-01
5. Kelly Goc 394 44 310 354 2004-07
6. Sarah Beulke 299 57 250 307 2001-04
7. Shelly Kapler 388 40 241 281 1996-99
8. Korie Lebeda 428 42 236 278 2005-08
9. Lauren Bloemke 280 36 217 253 2006-Pr.
10. Lisa Meekins 292 16 208 224 1999-01
Freshman Setters Nothing New
For the third time in Kirsten Bernthal Booth's seven seasons at Creighton, the Bluejays began the season starting a freshman setter. Both setters on this year's roster, Brittany Moon and Megan Bober, are freshmen, with Bober earning every start so far.
In 2003 with Brittany Coleman starting as a freshman, Creighton improved from 3-23 (in 2002) to 12-18, a nine-win improvement. Coleman set a then-CU record with 1,347 assists while starting all 30 matches.
Creighton then finished 16-14 in 2005 as freshman Korie Lebeda arrived and Coleman was shifted to libero. Lebeda broke Coleman's record with 1,401 assists while averaging a league-record 13.34 assists per set.
Both Coleman and Lebeda would both go on to earn a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 47-54 in the 33 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 1-1 mark this year. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 29-21 in 18 regular-season tournaments, including five titles.
The last tournament title came Sept. 9-10, 2006, when CU won the Blue Raider Bash hosted by Middle Tennessee with wins over Saint Louis, Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee.
Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.
Dandy Debuts
Nayka Benitez had 15 digs in the season-opening victory over Texas Tech, the most in school history by a player making their debut.
With 10 or more digs against Nebraska on Tuesday, Benitez can join Bianca Rivera and Brittany Coleman as the only players in CU history to start her career with 10 or more digs in three straight contests.
Fellow newcomer Alicia Runge also approached a pair of school records for a debut. Her three blocks were one shy of the record (held by current teammate Lauren Bloemke).
Additionally, Runge's nine kills were tied for second-most in CU history for a debut and the most since Heidi Higginbotham had nine in 1995.
The Votes Add Up
Creighton has eight matches scheduled against teams that received votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll. Five of those squads will visit D.J. Sokol Arena, including No. 10 Illinois, No. 18 Wichita State, No. 20 Saint Louis and votegetters Tulane and Missouri State.
Creighton also plays on the road at No. 3 Nebraska and No. 18 Wichita State as well as votegetter Missouri State.
An Even 200 Wins
Creighton Volleyball owns exactly 200 wins since restarting its program in 1994. The win over Texas Tech marked the 200th in the modern era. Kirsten Bernthal Booth has won more than half (107) of those matches.
Win # Opponent, Date All-Time W-L
1 vs. Chattanooga, 9/2/94 1-0
25 Wichita State, 11/15/96 25-57
50 Southern Illinois, 9/10/99 50-91
75 at Evansville, 11/4/00 75-112
100 at Bradley, 10/4/03 100-160
125 vs. UC-Riverside, 9/2/05 125-182
150 Drake, 9/22/06 150-197
175 at Indiana State, 10/26/07 175-213
200 Texas Tech, 8/28/09 200-224
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 20-7 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That's impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth sets prior to Booth's arrival.
Below is a list of Creighton's record in five-set matches on a yearly basis:
Year Set 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 2-0 21-10
2008 2-3 18-9
2009 0-0 1-1
Total 35-35 200-225
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 130-7 (.949) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 72-1 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own a 62-4 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 6-145 (.040) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-47 mark in those home matches. Those six comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below:
Date Opponent Sets 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
09/21/07 at No. Iowa 31-29, 30-26, 15-12 Booth
Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won four matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point. On the other hand, Creighton is 107-0 under Booth when it reaches a match point opportunity.
Surviving Match Points, Under Booth
Date Opponent MP(s) Faced Final Set 5
09/11/07 at Drake 13-14, 14-15 17-15
10/13/06 at Wichita State 12-14, 13-14, 14-15 17-15
10/10/03 Wichita State 13-14 16-14
08/30/03 vs. McNeese State 13-14, 15-16 18-16
Production Returning
Creighton returns 6-of-14 letterwinners from last season. Below is a breakdown of the production that returns:
Stat Returners Departures
Blocks 161.5 (59.9%) 108 (40.1%)
Matches Started 97 (59.9%) 65 (40.1%)
Points 895.5 (52.5%) 809.0 (47.5%)
Kills 693 (51.8%) 646 (48.2%)
Aces 41 (42.7%) 55 (57.3%)
Digs 600 (34.9%) 1120 (65.1%)
Assists 58 (4.7%) 1189 (95.3%)
Game 1 Result = Match Result
In its last 90 matches in which it wins set one, Creighton is 82-8. CU is 89-12 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when they win set one.
On the other hand, Creighton is just 18-61 under Booth when it drops the first game.
Dig This
Creighton is one of just 11 squads to average at least 17.20 digs per set in each of the previous three seasons, a list that consists of Austin Peay, Chattanooga, Creighton, Duke, Green Bay, Illinois State, Murray State, North Carolina, Rice, Southeast Missouri State and Western Illinois.
During that same span, Creighton's 18.851 digs per set average ranks fourth-best nationally, as seen below:
Digs Per Set, Nationally, 2006-08
Rk. School SP DIGS DPS
1. Murray State 338 6918 20.467
2. Chattanooga 361 7356 20.377
3. Illinois State 348 6812 19.575
4. Creighton 323 6089 18.851
5. Wichita State 342 6399 18.711
6. Austin Peay 345 6435 18.652
7. North Dakota State 323 6015 18.622
8. High Point 364 6763 18.580
9. Western Illinois 344 6391 18.578
10. SE Missouri State 348 6398 18.385
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton has been picked fourth in a preseason poll of Missouri Valley Conference coaches. Defending regular-season champion Wichita State was picked to win the league, while defending tournament champion Missouri State was second. Northern Iowa was third, Creighton fourth and Southern Illinois fifth. Rounding out the rest of the league was Evansville, Illinois State, Drake, Bradley and Indiana State.
Eight players were also named preseason all-MVC, including Bluejay senior Jessica Houts.
Each of the past six years Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them or better 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 T-2nd #1
2008 3rd 2nd #1
2009 4th ??? ???
AVCA Honors CU Volleyball For Academics
The Creighton volleyball program was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as a recipient of the 2009 AVCA Team Academic Award. Creighton previously won the award in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and are one of nine Division I schools nationwide to win the award in six consecutive campaigns.
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 combined GPA of 3.41.
Radio Broadcast Information
Brad Burwell and former Bluejay volleyball player Erin Swanson will broadcast at least 26 matches (14 home, 12 away) this season. The matches will air on KOIL (1180 AM) and KKAR (1290 AM) and be webcast on-line at www.gocreighton.com as well.
The pre-match show starts approximately 5-15 minutes before first serve. The post-match show also lasts about 15 minutes and includes post-match interviews.
A complete list of remaining matches follows:
2009 Volleyball Remaining Broadcast Schedule
Sept. 1 at Nebraska (KKAR)
Sept. 4 vs. Florida International (KOIL)
Sept. 4 vs. Lipscomb (KKAR)
Sept. 5 at Kansas (KOIL)
Sept. 11 vs. Samford (KOIL)
Sept. 12 vs. Connecticut (KOIL)
Sept. 12 at Dayton (KOIL)
Sept. 18 Bradley (KOIL)
Sept. 19 Northern Iowa (KOIL)
Sept. 22 South Dakota State (KOIL)
Sept. 26 at Illinois State (KOIL)
Oct. 2 Wichita State (KOIL)
Oct. 3 Missouri State (KOIL)
Oct. 10 at Drake (KOIL)
Oct. 23 Illinois State (KOIL)
Oct. 24 Indiana State (KOIL)
Oct. 30 at Missouri State (KOIL)
Oct. 31 at Wichita State (KOIL)
Nov. 7 Drake (KOIL)
Nov. 10 Saint Louis (KOIL)
Nov. 13 Southern Illinois (KOIL)
Nov. 14 Evansville (KOIL)
Nov. 20 at Northern Iowa (KOIL)
Nov. 26-28 MVC Tournament (KOIL)
Creighton Ticket Information
Tickets to Creighton's home regular-season matches are sold at all Ticketmaster outlets. Cost is $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 years of age or younger) for reserved seats and $7 (adult) and $4 (youth) for general admission seating. Children three and under are admitted free.
Season ticket information is available online at www.gocreighton.com or by calling (402) 280-JAYS. Creighton has sold approximately 700 season tickets for volleyball this year.
Creighton (1-1) hits the road for the first time this season when it ventures southwest on I-80 to play intrastate rival Nebraska (1-1) on Tuesday night. The Cornhuskers were third in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll before dropping to sixth this week.
The match will be played in Lincoln, Neb., and played at NU Coliseum (4,030). The match will start at 7 pm and be the 121st consecutive sellout in the facility.
This Week
Sept. 1 7 pm Creighton at #6 Nebraska (1290 KKAR) Lincoln, Neb. (NU Coliseum)
Jayhawk Invitational (matches held at Horejsi Family Athletics Center)
Sept. 4 10 am Creighton vs. Florida International (1180 KOIL) Lawrence, Kan.
Sept. 4 5 pm Creighton vs. Lipscomb (1290 KKAR) Lawrence, Kan.
Sept. 5 1 pm Creighton at Kansas (1180 KOIL) Lawrence, Kan.
Radio Broadcast Information
Tuesday's match will be broadcast on KKAR (1290 AM). The match will be streamed live for free on-line at http://www.gocreighton.com, then clicking on the Live Audio tab on the left sidebar. Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson will call the action.
Video Webcast Information
Tuesday's match will be video webcast by Nebraska.
To sign up, visit www.huskers.com and click on the “Nside” tab on the left sidebar. Then drag down to “Live Events”. An annual subscription costs $99.95, while a monthly subscription costs $9.95 per month.
Subscribers to the annual or monthly pass on www.gocreighton.com will have this match added to their subscription and should be able to receive the video feed at no additional cost thanks to an agreement between Creighton and Nebraska.
Live Stats Information
Nebraska will be running live stats for Tuesday's match as well. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page for the exact link.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 1-1 on the young season after a 3-0 victory over Texas Tech and a 3-0 loss to No. 10 Illinois at the season-opening Bluejay Invitational.
Creighton returns six letterwinners and four starters from last year's team that finished 18-9 overall and second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 15-3 league record.
Honorable-mention All-American Jessica Houts is back for her senior season and off to a strong start. She averaged 3.00 kills and 1.50 blocks per set last weekend while earning all-Tournament Team accolades at the Bluejay Invitational.
Also earning all-Tourney honors for Creighton last weekend was libero Nayka Benitez, who averaged 5.33 digs and 0.50 aces per set in her first action at the Division I level.
Creighton graduated four seniors last season that enjoyed highly-decorated careers. Korie Lebeda (5,281 assists, 1,130 digs) was a three-time all-MVC pick and started all 119 matches of her career, while Amanda Cvejdlik (1,029 kills, 221 blocks) was also a first-team all-Valley selection as a senior. Bianca Rivera (1,118 digs) departs after two record-setting seasons at libero, while Carolyn Decker's (651 kills, 629 digs, 89 aces) five-year run also came to a close.
Creighton is picked fourth (of 10) in the MVC this fall, with Houts earning preseason all-Valley accolades.
The Bluejays average 12.33 kills, 1.50 aces, 12.67 digs and 2.67 blocks per set while hitting .267 as a team.
Scouting No. 6 Nebraska
The nation's sixth-ranked team, Nebraska enters Tuesday's match with a 1-1 record after last weekend's AVCA Showcase. The Huskers lost to No. 16 Michigan (3-0) before beating No. 11 Minnesota (3-2) a night later.
The Cornhuskers return four starters and 8-of-11 letterwinners from last year's team that finished 31-3 before losing in five sets to eventual champ Penn State in the national semifinals.
The junior tandem Sydney Anderson (8.75 aps.) and Tara Mueller (2.75 kps., 2.75 dps.) return after both earned second-team All-America honors a year ago. Also back is senior middle blocker Kori Cooper (1.80 kps., 1.00 bps.), who earned honorable-mention All-America accolades last season despite a season-ending knee injury in mid-November.
The Huskers also boast two of the nation's top prep recruits in Gina Mancuso (1.83 kps., 2.67 dps.) and Hannah Werth (1.25 kps., 2.00 dps.).
Nebraska averages 11.75 kills, 0.62 aces, 17.12 digs and 2.00 blocks per set while hitting .137 as a team.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 107-73 record in her seventh season with the Bluejays. She became the program's all-time winningest coach on Aug. 25, 2007 with a 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin and joined the 100-win club with an Oct. 31, 2008 win at Drake.
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, assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens and volunteer assistant Mike Weber.
John Cook (San Diego, 1979) owns a 282-20 record in his 10th year with Nebraska. That moves his career mark to 443-93 in 17 years overall for the former Wisconsin coach. Cook led the Huskers to national titles in 2000 and 2006 and is a two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year. Cook is assisted by Lizzy Stemke, Erik Sullivan and Dan Meske.
Series History vs. Nebraska
Creighton's records show an 0-9 mark all-time against Nebraska since restarting its program in 1994. Nebraska has been ranked first nationally in five of those meetings, was second once and was fifth in the other three. The Huskers' current No. 6 ranking will be its lowest ranking ever when playing the Bluejays.
The 2006 meeting between the schools at Qwest Center Omaha, a 3-1 Cornhuskers win, remains the only time the Jays had taken a set from NU.
NU coach John Cook is 5-0 all-time vs. Kirsten Bernthal Booth and 8-0 against Creighton.
Last Weekend Summary
Creighton went 1-1 at the Bluejay Invitational, beating Texas Tech (3-0) before falling to No. 10 Illinois (3-0). The tournament marked the first regular-season competition at the new D.J. Sokol Arena on the Creighton campus.
Creighton's Jessica Houts (3.00 kps., 1.50 bps.) and Nayka Benitez (5.33 dps.) were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
Last Year Summary
Creighton went 18-9 and narrowly missed out on an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays went 15-3 to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference and had a year-end RPI of 46.
Korie Lebeda, Amanda Cvejdlik and Jessica Houts were named first-team all-MVC, while Bianca Rivera was a second-team all-Valley selection. Houts was also named MVC Defensive Player of the Year and AVCA honorable-mention All-American.
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.
Nebraska Natives
Creighton has three Nebraska natives on the roster, including two starters (Megan Bober and Heather Thorson). Reserve OH Lisa Greisch also hails from Omaha.
Six of Nebraska's 16 players are from Nebraska. Brooke Delano (Bellevue) and Gina Mancuso (Omaha) are both from the metro-Omaha area.
Greisch's Omaha Marian High School team handed Mancuso's Papillion-LaVista High School squad its only loss last season.
In-State, But Not From Lincoln
Since restarting the program in 1994, Creighton has used more players from Nebraska (28) 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 seventh on CU's all-time kill list with exactly 1,000 kills.
Streak Busters?
Nebraska will attempt to set an NCAA record on Tuesday with its 88th straight home win. The streak dates back to Sept. 10, 2004, when unranked Florida A&M toppled the Huskers.
NU's current stretch of 87 straight home wins is tied with Penn State (1995-2000).
Seventy-eight of Nebraska's matches in the streak have been held at the NU Coliseum, with the remainder being designated home matches at the Bob Devaney Sports Center or Qwest Center Omaha.
Against Ranked Teams
Tuesday's contest against No. 6 Nebraska will give Creighton another chance to snap its 0-34 record against ranked opponents.
The Jays almost made history last season at the Bluejay Invitational, but they were unable to hold a 2-0 intermission lead against No. 21 LSU.
Creighton is 0-1 against teams ranked exactly sixth, and 0-15 against top-10 teams all-time.
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
08/31/07 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
09/02/07 #18 Cal Poly L 0-3
09/15/07 at #13 Minnesota L 1-3
11/10/07 at #24 Wichita State L 0-3
08/29/08 #16 Minnesota L 0-3
08/30/08 #21 LSU L 2-3
09/27/08 #14 Wichita State L 1-3
10/05/08 #2 Nebraska L 0-3
10/24/08 at #12 Wichita State L 0-3
08/29/09 #10 Illinois L 0-3
New Facility Dedicated
The Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center and D.J. Sokol Arena was dedicated on the morning of August 28th in a 10 am ceremony. There was also a smaller presentation made during the intermission of the Creighton/Texas Tech match later that evening.
The facility will host the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament this November.
Back Home On Campus
The matches last weekend were Creighton's first regular-season contests on campus since playing at the Kiewit Fitness Center from 1994-96.
Since leaving the Kiewit Fitness Center, Creighton had played at five other home venues: Qwest Center Omaha, the Omaha Civic Auditorium and three Omaha high schools (Skutt, Marian and South).
Full House
Creighton has finished in the top-26 of the nation's attendance leaders each of the past three seasons, and is off to another good start this fall.
Creighton averaged 1,721 fans in two home matches Aug. 28-29, a figure that currently ranks sixth-best nationally. Below is the nation's top-10:
Average Attendance Leaders (through 8/30)
Rank School Avg. Dates
1. Hawaii 6,259 3
2. Wisconsin 3,528 3
3. Saint Louis 2,584 3
4. Florida 2,564 2
5. Purdue 2,401 3
6. Creighton 1,721 2
7. Long Beach State 1,454 2
8. Notre Dame 1,374 3
9. New Mexico 1,368 3
10. Iowa State 1,318 2
Season Opening History
With its win over Texas Tech this year, Creighton improved to 8-8 in season-opening matches since restarting the program in 1994. Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 4-3 in opening matches. Booth improved to 3-4 at Creighton in home openers with the win over the Red Raiders.
A Fresh Start
After seven players made their debut last Friday against Texas Tech, Caitlin Templeton remains the only one of the 14 players on Creighton's 2009 team to have never played a point at the Division I level. Below is the current Creighton players and how they performed in their regular-season collegiate debuts.
Between 2000 and 2008, the only freshmen to start CU's season-opener had been Brittany Coleman (2003), Carolyn Decker (2004), Korie Lebeda (2005) and Allie Oelke (2007). All four of those women went on to earn a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman team.
The Jays started three freshmen in this year's season opener, as Megan Bober, Brooke Boggs and Heather Thorson all earning a starting nod.
Year Name SP K E TA Pct. A SA Dig TB
2009 Alicia Runge 3 9 4 20 .250 1 2 5 3
2009 Megan Bober• 3 7 0 11 .636 32 0 2 1
2007 Allie Oelke• 3 4 7 24 -.125 1 3 6 3
2009 Heather Thorson• 3 3 0 6 .500 0 0 0 2
2008 Laurel Sanford 2 2 0 2 1.000 0 0 0 0
2005 Jessica Houts 2 2 1 4 .250 0 0 0 2
2006 Lauren Bloemke 3 1 1 6 .000 2 0 0 4
2009 Nayka Benitez 3 0 0 0 --- 7 1 15 0
2009 Brooke Boggs• 3 0 0 0 --- 0 0 3 0
2009 Brittany Moon 1 0 0 0 --- 0 0 1 0
2008 Karisa Almgren 1 0 0 0 --- 0 1 0 0
2006 Sarah Schulze 1 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0 0
2009 Lisa Greisch 2 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0 0
Crowd Control?
Creighton attracted the fourth-largest crowd in program history for Friday's home opener against Texas Tech when 2,285 fans packed D.J. Sokol Arena.
The previous largest on-campus crowd for CU had been 476 for a match vs. Evansville on Nov. 4, 1994.
The previous largest crowd for a home opener had been the 1,227 that saw Middle Tennessee on Aug. 24, 1997.
Below are Creighton's largest home volleyball crowds all-time. The top three crowds took place at Qwest Center Omaha.
Largest Home Crowds, Creighton VB History
Att. Opponent Date CU Result
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3
2,285 Texas Tech 08/2809 W 3-0
1,557 Northern Iowa 11/21/08 W 3-0
1,357 Northern Iowa 10/20/07 L 0-3
1,325 Indiana State 09/29/07 W 3-0
1,319 Northern Iowa 10/06/06 L 2-3
1,227 Middle Tennessee 08/24/07 L 0-3
1,183 Drake 11/16/07 W 3-1
A Home Win Streak Of Their Own
Creighton had its school-record seven-match home win streak snapped last Saturday in a 3-0 loss to No. 10 Illinois. That stretch had started on Oct. 17, 2008 with a win over Evansville and also contained victories over Southern Illinois, Indiana State, Illinois State, Northern Iowa, Bradley and Texas Tech.
Longitude Aptitude
There have been 13 schools (besides Creighton) to play in the Bluejay Invitational.
After Illinois swept to the title last weekend, teams located west of Omaha are a combined 1-12 with no titles, while teams to the east are 16-6 with five titles.
Creighton is 7-6 in the event all-time and is still searching for its first event crown.
Hitting On All Cylinders
Creighton attacked at a robust .398 clip in its Aug. 28 romp over Texas Tech. That ranks as the fifth-best figure for a match in school history.
Creighton is 47-1 all-time when hitting .300 or better, including 41 straight victories.
Best Creighton Attack Percentage in a Match
Pct. Opponent (K-E-TA) (Sets) Date
.536 vs. Tulsa (41-4-69) (3s) 10-27-95
.495 vs. Liberty (57-8-99) (3s) 09-02-05
.418 vs. Evansville (98-21-184) (4s) 11-02-96
.414 vs. UC Riverside (57-11-111) (3s) 09-02-05
.398 vs. Texas Tech (47-10-93) (3s) 08-28-08
The Sport Court Report
Remember that 1991 Cheers episode where the gang is celebrating Norm's 40th birthday, and someone asks Kevin McHale about how many bolts are in the famous parquet floor at the Boston Garden?
And then McHale becomes so obsessed with counting the bolts that his game suffers?
After you read the trivial information below, there should be no such trouble or questions about the D.J. Sokol Arena Sport Court surface.
The new floor consists of 10,212 squares, not including the 416 black end pieces that surround the perimeter. Each square piece of tile is 9.8 inches, a half-inch thick and weighs .62 pounds.
I'll Take Houts For The Block
Jessica Houts broke Creighton's all-time block assist record last Nov. 7 against Indiana State and with 391 currently, she has flown past Ashley Williams' (2001-04) old mark of 347.
Houts claimed Creighton's total block record in this year's season-opening 3-0 win over Texas Tech. Her 452 career blocks are five more than Williams' 447, as seen below:
Total Blocks, Creighton History
Name Sets BS BA Tot. Years
1. Jessica Houts 342 61 391 452 2005-Pr.
2. Ashley Williams 359 100 347 447 2001-04
3. JoDe Cieloha 398 106 331 437 1994-97
4. Melissa Walsh 394 46 320 366 1998-01
5. Kelly Goc 394 44 310 354 2004-07
6. Sarah Beulke 299 57 250 307 2001-04
7. Shelly Kapler 388 40 241 281 1996-99
8. Korie Lebeda 428 42 236 278 2005-08
9. Lauren Bloemke 280 36 217 253 2006-Pr.
10. Lisa Meekins 292 16 208 224 1999-01
Freshman Setters Nothing New
For the third time in Kirsten Bernthal Booth's seven seasons at Creighton, the Bluejays began the season starting a freshman setter. Both setters on this year's roster, Brittany Moon and Megan Bober, are freshmen, with Bober earning every start so far.
In 2003 with Brittany Coleman starting as a freshman, Creighton improved from 3-23 (in 2002) to 12-18, a nine-win improvement. Coleman set a then-CU record with 1,347 assists while starting all 30 matches.
Creighton then finished 16-14 in 2005 as freshman Korie Lebeda arrived and Coleman was shifted to libero. Lebeda broke Coleman's record with 1,401 assists while averaging a league-record 13.34 assists per set.
Both Coleman and Lebeda would both go on to earn a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 47-54 in the 33 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 1-1 mark this year. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 29-21 in 18 regular-season tournaments, including five titles.
The last tournament title came Sept. 9-10, 2006, when CU won the Blue Raider Bash hosted by Middle Tennessee with wins over Saint Louis, Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee.
Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.
Dandy Debuts
Nayka Benitez had 15 digs in the season-opening victory over Texas Tech, the most in school history by a player making their debut.
With 10 or more digs against Nebraska on Tuesday, Benitez can join Bianca Rivera and Brittany Coleman as the only players in CU history to start her career with 10 or more digs in three straight contests.
Fellow newcomer Alicia Runge also approached a pair of school records for a debut. Her three blocks were one shy of the record (held by current teammate Lauren Bloemke).
Additionally, Runge's nine kills were tied for second-most in CU history for a debut and the most since Heidi Higginbotham had nine in 1995.
The Votes Add Up
Creighton has eight matches scheduled against teams that received votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll. Five of those squads will visit D.J. Sokol Arena, including No. 10 Illinois, No. 18 Wichita State, No. 20 Saint Louis and votegetters Tulane and Missouri State.
Creighton also plays on the road at No. 3 Nebraska and No. 18 Wichita State as well as votegetter Missouri State.
An Even 200 Wins
Creighton Volleyball owns exactly 200 wins since restarting its program in 1994. The win over Texas Tech marked the 200th in the modern era. Kirsten Bernthal Booth has won more than half (107) of those matches.
Win # Opponent, Date All-Time W-L
1 vs. Chattanooga, 9/2/94 1-0
25 Wichita State, 11/15/96 25-57
50 Southern Illinois, 9/10/99 50-91
75 at Evansville, 11/4/00 75-112
100 at Bradley, 10/4/03 100-160
125 vs. UC-Riverside, 9/2/05 125-182
150 Drake, 9/22/06 150-197
175 at Indiana State, 10/26/07 175-213
200 Texas Tech, 8/28/09 200-224
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 20-7 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That's impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth sets prior to Booth's arrival.
Below is a list of Creighton's record in five-set matches on a yearly basis:
Year Set 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 2-0 21-10
2008 2-3 18-9
2009 0-0 1-1
Total 35-35 200-225
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 130-7 (.949) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 72-1 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own a 62-4 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 6-145 (.040) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-47 mark in those home matches. Those six comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below:
Date Opponent Sets 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
09/21/07 at No. Iowa 31-29, 30-26, 15-12 Booth
Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won four matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point. On the other hand, Creighton is 107-0 under Booth when it reaches a match point opportunity.
Surviving Match Points, Under Booth
Date Opponent MP(s) Faced Final Set 5
09/11/07 at Drake 13-14, 14-15 17-15
10/13/06 at Wichita State 12-14, 13-14, 14-15 17-15
10/10/03 Wichita State 13-14 16-14
08/30/03 vs. McNeese State 13-14, 15-16 18-16
Production Returning
Creighton returns 6-of-14 letterwinners from last season. Below is a breakdown of the production that returns:
Stat Returners Departures
Blocks 161.5 (59.9%) 108 (40.1%)
Matches Started 97 (59.9%) 65 (40.1%)
Points 895.5 (52.5%) 809.0 (47.5%)
Kills 693 (51.8%) 646 (48.2%)
Aces 41 (42.7%) 55 (57.3%)
Digs 600 (34.9%) 1120 (65.1%)
Assists 58 (4.7%) 1189 (95.3%)
Game 1 Result = Match Result
In its last 90 matches in which it wins set one, Creighton is 82-8. CU is 89-12 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when they win set one.
On the other hand, Creighton is just 18-61 under Booth when it drops the first game.
Dig This
Creighton is one of just 11 squads to average at least 17.20 digs per set in each of the previous three seasons, a list that consists of Austin Peay, Chattanooga, Creighton, Duke, Green Bay, Illinois State, Murray State, North Carolina, Rice, Southeast Missouri State and Western Illinois.
During that same span, Creighton's 18.851 digs per set average ranks fourth-best nationally, as seen below:
Digs Per Set, Nationally, 2006-08
Rk. School SP DIGS DPS
1. Murray State 338 6918 20.467
2. Chattanooga 361 7356 20.377
3. Illinois State 348 6812 19.575
4. Creighton 323 6089 18.851
5. Wichita State 342 6399 18.711
6. Austin Peay 345 6435 18.652
7. North Dakota State 323 6015 18.622
8. High Point 364 6763 18.580
9. Western Illinois 344 6391 18.578
10. SE Missouri State 348 6398 18.385
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton has been picked fourth in a preseason poll of Missouri Valley Conference coaches. Defending regular-season champion Wichita State was picked to win the league, while defending tournament champion Missouri State was second. Northern Iowa was third, Creighton fourth and Southern Illinois fifth. Rounding out the rest of the league was Evansville, Illinois State, Drake, Bradley and Indiana State.
Eight players were also named preseason all-MVC, including Bluejay senior Jessica Houts.
Each of the past six years Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them or better 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 T-2nd #1
2008 3rd 2nd #1
2009 4th ??? ???
AVCA Honors CU Volleyball For Academics
The Creighton volleyball program was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as a recipient of the 2009 AVCA Team Academic Award. Creighton previously won the award in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and are one of nine Division I schools nationwide to win the award in six consecutive campaigns.
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 combined GPA of 3.41.
Radio Broadcast Information
Brad Burwell and former Bluejay volleyball player Erin Swanson will broadcast at least 26 matches (14 home, 12 away) this season. The matches will air on KOIL (1180 AM) and KKAR (1290 AM) and be webcast on-line at www.gocreighton.com as well.
The pre-match show starts approximately 5-15 minutes before first serve. The post-match show also lasts about 15 minutes and includes post-match interviews.
A complete list of remaining matches follows:
2009 Volleyball Remaining Broadcast Schedule
Sept. 1 at Nebraska (KKAR)
Sept. 4 vs. Florida International (KOIL)
Sept. 4 vs. Lipscomb (KKAR)
Sept. 5 at Kansas (KOIL)
Sept. 11 vs. Samford (KOIL)
Sept. 12 vs. Connecticut (KOIL)
Sept. 12 at Dayton (KOIL)
Sept. 18 Bradley (KOIL)
Sept. 19 Northern Iowa (KOIL)
Sept. 22 South Dakota State (KOIL)
Sept. 26 at Illinois State (KOIL)
Oct. 2 Wichita State (KOIL)
Oct. 3 Missouri State (KOIL)
Oct. 10 at Drake (KOIL)
Oct. 23 Illinois State (KOIL)
Oct. 24 Indiana State (KOIL)
Oct. 30 at Missouri State (KOIL)
Oct. 31 at Wichita State (KOIL)
Nov. 7 Drake (KOIL)
Nov. 10 Saint Louis (KOIL)
Nov. 13 Southern Illinois (KOIL)
Nov. 14 Evansville (KOIL)
Nov. 20 at Northern Iowa (KOIL)
Nov. 26-28 MVC Tournament (KOIL)
Creighton Ticket Information
Tickets to Creighton's home regular-season matches are sold at all Ticketmaster outlets. Cost is $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 years of age or younger) for reserved seats and $7 (adult) and $4 (youth) for general admission seating. Children three and under are admitted free.
Season ticket information is available online at www.gocreighton.com or by calling (402) 280-JAYS. Creighton has sold approximately 700 season tickets for volleyball this year.
Players Mentioned
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