Volleyball To Host South Dakota State on Tuesday
9/21/2009 1:00:00 PM | Volleyball
Next Match
Creighton (3-8, 1-1 MVC) steps out of conference to host South Dakota State (3-7, 2-2 Summit League) on Tuesday evening in Omaha.
The match will begin at 6 pm and be played on the Creighton campus at D.J. Sokol Arena inside the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center (2,950).
This Week
Sept. 22 6 pm South Dakota State at Creighton (KOIL 1180 AM) Omaha, Neb.
Sept. 25 5 pm Creighton at Indiana State Terre Haute, Ind.
Sept. 26 2 pm Creighton at Illinois State (KOIL 1180 AM) Normal, Ill.
Radio Broadcast Information
Tuesday's match will be broadcast on KOIL (1180 AM). The match will also 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.
To sign up, visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Video tab on the left sidebar. An annual subscription costs $69.95, while a monthly subscription costs $11.95 per month.
Live Stats Information
Tuesday's match will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page for links the exact link.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton brings a 3-8 record into Tuesday's match after facing one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules once again.
The Jays own wins over Texas Tech, Samford and Bradley but have lost to Illinois, Nebraska, Florida International, Lipscomb, Kansas, Connecticut, Dayton and Northern Iowa.
Senior Jessica Houts was named to the All-Tournament Team at all three events and leads Creighton with 1.59 blocks per set (fourth-most nationally) while ranking second with 2.49 kills per set. She was an honorable-mention All-American last fall and a preseason all-MVC pick this season.
Allie Oelke tops CU with 2.68 kills per set while also hitting .197. Oelke's 2.17 digs per set is second on the team to libero Nayka Benitez, who averages 4.07 dps.
The Bluejays average 11.32 kills, 1.02 aces, 12.63 digs and 3.05 blocks per set while hitting .198 as a team.
Scouting South Dakota State
South Dakota State is 3-7 on the season, including a 1-7 mark away from Frost Arena.
The Jackrabbits have beaten Rutgers, Centenary and Oral Roberts and have lost to Idaho State, Wyoming, Iowa, Green Bay, Central Michigan, Oakland and IPFW.
Kelli Fiegen averages a team-best 3.23 kills and 0.97 blocks per set while also hitting a robust .324. Not far behind is Ellyce Youngren (2.41 kps.) and Fiona Jones (2.28 kps.).
Nicole Peters (7.37 aps.) and Thyele Rechatiko (5.15 aps.) share setting duties, while Stacey Wernert (3.36 dps.) is the team's libero.
SDSU averages 10.44 kills, 1.03 aces, 13.33 digs and 1.97 blocks per set while hitting .164 as a team.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 109-80 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.
South Dakota State is coached by Nanabah Allison-Brewer, who is 13-24 in her second season. She is assisted by Cynthia Henning and Jaymie Swift.
Series History vs. South Dakota State
Creighton and South Dakota State have split two previous meetings, with both teams holding serve on their own home floor.
Creighton won the inaugural meeting in 2005 in Omaha (3-0) before SDSU evened the series with a four-set win in Brookings a year later.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-1 all-time against SDSU but has never coached against Nanabah Allison-Brewer.
Last Weekend Summary
Creighton split a pair of four-set matches to open MVC play, beating Bradley on Friday before losing to Northern Iowa 24 hours later. Allie Oelke had 26 kills and Alicia Runge added 25 more in the two matches.
Grand Fans
Creighton has attracted more than 1,000 fans for each of its past six home volleyball matches, easily the longest span in program history. Before this current stretch, the previous record was two in a row, done three times previously.
The Jays have had more than 1,000 fans in just 18 of its 175 all-time home matches, but all 18 of those have come since Sept. 30, 2005.
Going South of South Dakota
Creighton freshman Caitlin Templeton hails from Rapid City, S.D., making her Creighton's first ever volleyball student-athlete from South Dakota.
Templeton prepped at Central High School and is the same age as SDSU frosh Kelly Herrmann, who attended rival Stevens High School.
SDSU Heads To Its Recruiting Hotbed
Believe it or not, South Dakota State actually has more players from the Omaha metro area than does Creighton.
The Jackrabbits have two Omaha products (Ashley Kathol and Kaitlin Klingemann), a Bennington native (Kelsey Hansen) and a Council Bluffs resident (Rebecca Gradoville).
By comparison, Lisa Greisch is CU's only native Omahan, with Heather Thorson from about 30 miles away in Mead, Neb.
Battle for Burgers?
Creighton's latest hire in the athletic department, Mark Burgers, is currently the Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs at South Dakota State.
But next Monday he'll begin working at Creighton as the school's new Associate Athletics Director.
Burgers, who was on the golf team, while attending Creighton from 1999-2003, was previously the Director of Sales at Creighton before leaving for Brookings in April of 2008.
NET Sports To Televise Oct. 3rd Match
Nebraska Educational Television (NET) has announced that it will be televising Creighton's October 3rd match against Missouri State.
The match will air statewide on NET-1 (channel 12 for Cox Cable subscribers in Omaha) and in high definition on NET-HD (channel 812), with Larry Punteney and Erin Swanson on the call.
The contest will mark the first televised event from inside the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center.
Creighton has appeared on television five times under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, most recently last October in a match at Nebraska.
NCAA Stats Update
Creighton is ranked fourth-best nationally with 3.05 blocks per set, according to the most recent set of NCAA statistics through matches of Sept. 20th. Texas tops the nation with 3.38 blocks per set. That is the only team category that ranks Creighton in the top-150.
Individually, senior Jessica Houts is Creighton's only player to rank in the top-100 of any category. Houts is fourth in the country with 1.59 blocks per set, narrowly trailing the leader Brittany Hewitt of Hawaii's 1.63 bps.
Speaking of NCAA Leaders
Earlier this year Creighton avoided playing against Florida International standout Yarimar Rosa when the 2008 national kills leader (5.21 kps.) was sidelined with a bad leg.
On Tuesday night Creighton will face a South Dakota State team without Mackenzie Angner, who finished second nationally last year with 5.09 kps. Angner, the sister of former Creighton basketball player Brett Angner, graduated following the 2008 campaign.
Close Doesn't Count
Part of Creighton's early-season struggles can be attributed to its difficulty in winning close sets. Creighton is just 4-10 in sets decided by the minimum two points, a figure that drops to 1-10 in the team's eight match losses.
South Dakota State is 2-2 in sets decided by two points, as 28 of its 39 sets have been decided by five or more points. In fact, none of SDSU's last 18 sets (spanning five matches) have been decided by fewer than four points.
Obstacle Course
Only four individuals in the MVC own nine or more blocks in a match this season, but three of them play for Creighton.
Senior Jessica Houts leads that list with 14 blocks against Lipscomb (Sept. 4), while sophomore teammate Laurel Sanford had 10 blocks last Saturday against Connecticut. Additionally, freshman setter Megan Bober had nine blocks against Lipscomb as well.
Houts is the only player in the MVC to have more than one match of nine or more blocks, as she also had nine against UNI on Sept. 19.
MVC Opener Histories
With its win over Bradley last Friday, Creighton now owns a 9-7 record all-time in Missouri Valley Conference openers, including four straight wins and a 6-1 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. Only Wichita State (6) has a longer active streak of league-opening victories.
In the eight previous seasons that Creighton won its MVC opener, it has never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and owns a combined .631 winning percentage in MVC action.
In the seven years in which Creighton lost its MVC opener, the Jays have had a losing record five times and own a combined .315 winning percentage during league contests.
How Do You Win The MVC? Start 1-0
At the start of the conference season, all 10 Missouri Valley Conference schools will harbor dreams of a regular-season league title. If the past is any indication, only Creighton, Missouri State, Wichita State, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois still have a chance.
Since the beginning of the Gateway Conference (which later merged to form the Missouri Valley Conference in 1992) in 1983, no school has ever won the regular-season title after dropping its first league match of the season.
Taking it a step further, the 2008 Missouri State team is the only club to win the MVC Tournament after starting 0-1 in league play.
Even better for Creighton, two of the last three eventual regular-season champions opened the MVC season against Bradley.
Blocked By Bober
Freshman Megan Bober tied a Creighton record for most blocks in a match by a setter when she had nine rejections on Sept. 5 in four sets against Lipscomb. Melissa Weisensee also had nine blocks against Wichita State on Nov. 15, 1996.
Bober, who added 14 digs and 29 assists in the match, nearly recorded CU's first triple-double since 2001 and would have been the first player in school history with double-digits in assists, digs and blocks in the same match.
A Bunch of Winners
All but one team that Creighton has played this fall has been .500 or better at the time of the match vs. Creighton.
Opponent W-L heading Into CU Match
Texas Tech 0-0
Illinois 1-0
Nebraska 1-1
Florida International 2-1
Lipscomb 2-2
Kansas 3-2
Samford 3-3
Connecticut 3-6
Dayton 8-0
Bradley 8-5
Northern Iowa 10-2
Dig Leader
Junior libero Nayka Benitez has led Creighton in digs in all 11 matches to date and tops the squad with 167 digs on the season.
Benitez became the second-quickest in CU history to 100 career digs, reaching that mark in her eighth match.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 6 09/02/07 Cal Poly
Nayka Benitez 8 09/12/09 vs. Connecticut
Melissa Weisensee 10 09/30/94 Missouri State
Kailey Reyes 10 09/27/98 at Western Illinois
Brittany Coleman 10 09/19/03 Southern Illinois
Let's Start With Houts
Senior Jessica Houts has started each of her last 56 matches, a streak that began Oct. 21, 2006 at Drake. Houts has started 99 of her past 100 appearances overall.
Tuesday night figures to make Houts just the fourth player in Creighton history to make 100 career starts, joining Korie Lebeda (119), Melissa Walsh (107) and Kelly Goc (103).
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.
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 is averaging 1,400 fans per match so far, a figure that currently ranks 22nd-best nationally. Below is the nation's top-23:
Average Attendance Leaders (through 9/21)
Rank School Avg. Dates
1. Hawaii 6,304 11
2. Nebraska 6,041 5
3. Minnesota 5,371 3
4. Northern Iowa 3,576 2
5. Wisconsin 3,528 3
6. Florida 2,964 3
7. Texas 2,842 2
8. Wichita State 2,804 6
9. Penn State 2,644 5
10. Saint Louis 2,584 3
11. Purdue 2,374 5
12. Stanford 2,085 2
13. Colorado State 1,987 6
14. Illinois 1,740 2
15. Michigan State 1,627 3
16. Kansas State 1,588 5
17. South Florida 1,582 4
18. Long Beach State 1,454 2
19. Texas State 1,425 5
20. New Mexico 1,410 7
21. Iowa State 1,402 3
22. Creighton 1,400 4
23. North Dakota State 1,322 2
Back Home On Campus
The matches on Aug. 28-29 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).
A Fresh Start
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.
Crowd Control?
Creighton attracted the fourth-largest crowd in program history for the Aug. 28 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
Another Year, Another Schedule Adjustment
For the second consecutive season, Creighton's non-conference schedule was altered due to a rare occurrence out of its control.
This year, the Tulane volleyball team withdrew from the Bluejay Invitational (Aug. 28-29) after six players showed symptoms of the H1N1 virus, which prevented the squad from travelling.
Last year, Creighton's scheduled participation in the Ladyjack Invitational on the campus of Stephen F. Austin was cancelled due to the fact that the Nacogdoches, Texas school's campus was located in the path of Hurricane Ike. That cost Creighton matches against Oklahoma, Rice and host Stephen F. Austin.
Record Home Win Streak Snapped By Illini
Creighton had its school-record seven-match home win streak snapped on Aug. 29 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.
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
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 442 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 508 career blocks are many more than Williams' 447, and she became the first player in CU history to reach 500 career blocks on Sept. 19 vs. Northern Iowa.
Also listed is the MVC's all-time leaders in block assists:
Total Blocks, Creighton History
Name Sets BS BA Tot. Years
1. Jessica Houts 377 66 442 508 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 299 36 218 254 2006-Pr.
10. Lisa Meekins 292 16 208 224 1999-01
Most Block Assists, MVC History
Name, School Block Assists Years
1. Danielle Brazda, UNI 658 2004-07
2. Molly O'Brien, UNI 653 2000-03
3. Ashten Stelken, UNI 540 2005-08
4. Mindy Struckhoff, MSU 527 1985-88
5. Shari Vermeer, UNI 489 2001-04
6. Kendra Haselhorst, ILS 482 1997-00
7. Chris Less, UNI 476 1988-91
8. Holly VanHofwegen, UNI 464 1996-99
9. Elizabeth Meyers, WSU 460 2002-05
10. Staci Schmidt, DU 459 1993-96
11. Jenny Kabbes, ILS 457 1998-2002
12. Jessica Houts, CU 442 2005-Pres.
13. Emily Kabbes, ILS 437 2002-05
14. Michelle Burvee, UNI 428 2000-03
15. Linette White, MSU 421 2000-03
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.
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.
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.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 131-8 (.942) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 73-2 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 6-148 (.039) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-48 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
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.
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 109-0 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 returned 6-of-12 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%)
Set 1 Result = Match Result
In its last 93 matches in which it wins set one, Creighton is 84-9. CU is 91-13 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when they win set one.
On the other hand, Creighton is just 18-67 in matches under Booth when it drops the first set.
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 20-9 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 0-2 3-8
Total 35-37 202-232
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.
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.
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. 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.
