Volleyball Visits Sycamores & Redbirds in First MVC Road Trip of 2009
9/24/2009 11:15:00 AM | Volleyball
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Creighton (4-8, 1-1 MVC) will play its first MVC road matches of the season when it hits the road this weekend for a pair of contests.
On Friday, the Bluejays visit Terre Haute, Ind., to take on Indiana State (4-9, 0-2 MVC). That match will begin at 5 pm Central (6 pm Eastern) and be played at ISU Arena (500).
On Saturday, Creighton takes on Illinois State (5-8, 0-2 MVC) in a match that starts at 2 pm. That contest will be held in Normal, Ill., at Redbird Arena (10,200).
This Week
Sept. 25 5 pm CST Creighton at Indiana State Terre Haute, Ind.
Sept. 26 2 pm Creighton at Illinois State (KOIL 1180 AM) Normal, Ill.
Radio Broadcast Information
Friday's match will not be broadcast.
Saturday'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 will call the action.
Video Webcast Information
Both matches will be video webcast by the host school.
To sign up to purchase, fans can go to the Indiana State website at www.gosycamores.com or the Illinois State website at www.goredbirds.com.
Subscribers to Creighton's 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 both schools.
Live Stats Information
Both matches this weekend 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 links.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton brings a 4-8 record into the weekend after facing one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules once again.
The Jays own wins over Texas Tech, Samford, Bradley and South Dakota State 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 three different events and leads Creighton with 1.57 blocks per set (fourth-most nationally) while ranking second with 2.50 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 2.64 kills per set while also hitting .186. Oelke's 2.30 digs per set is second on the team to libero Nayka Benitez, who averages 4.14 dps.
The Bluejays average 11.52 kills, 1.05 aces, 12.86 digs and 3.09 blocks per set while hitting .200 as a team.
Scouting Indiana State
Indiana State is 4-9 on the year and 0-2 in the MVC after losing to Wichita State and Missouri State a week ago. All four of the Sycamores' wins have come at ISU Arena, where they average 112 fans per match and have yet to crack 200 fans for any contest.
Three players average multiple kills per set, a group led by Ana Maira Charun's 2.38 kills per set. Not far behind is Jodilynne Stoker's 2.32 kills per set.
Whitney Fromm dishes 8.59 assists per set and ranks second on the team with 2.39 digs per set. The team dig leader is Kiya James (4.05 dps.).
Indiana State averages 10.50 kills, 1.05 aces, 13.02 digs and 1.41 blocks per set while hitting .172 as a squad.
Scouting Illinois State
Illinois State is 5-8 on the season and 0-2 in the MVC. Each of ISU's last seven matches have been three-set sweeps, including road losses last weekend to Missouri State and Wichita State.
ISU is currently 3-1 at home, with wins over Gardner-Webb, Texas-Arlington and SIU-Edwardsville and a loss to Oral Roberts.
Mallory Leggett tops ISU with 3.32 kills per set and 0.43 aces per set, while Tabitha Visk is second on the club with 2.67 kills per set.
Kristin Stauter averages 8.15 assists per set while Jessica Pratapas is at 6.96 assists per set in their attempt to replace all-Valley setter Erin Lindsey.
Kasey Mollerus averages 3.86 digs per set, while Katie Culbertson averages 0.67 blocks per set.
The Redbirds average 11.86 kills, 1.30 aces, 16.16 digs and 1.64 blocks per set while hitting .177 as a team.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 110-80 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.
Traci Dahl (Long Beach State, 1997) is 12-32 in her second year at Indiana State, which also doubles as her career mark. Dahl had been an assistant at Cal State Fullerton and Hofstra before coming to Terre Haute. As a player, Dahl was an All-American middle blocker and a member of Long Beach State's 1993 national championship team. She is assisted by Camille Gutierrez.
Melissa Myers (Juniata College, 1998) owns a 21-23 record in her second season at Illinois State. That moves her career record as a head coach to 182-72 when you include her six years at California (Pa.). Myers is assisted by Adriano de Souza and BJ Trame.
Series History vs. Indiana State
Creighton is 22-9 all-time against Indiana State, including a 10-5 record in Terre Haute. Creighton has swept the past eight meetings in the series.
The Jays 22 wins against the Sycamores are tied for its most against any opponent (also Southern Illinois).
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 9-3 all-time against Indiana State and 2-0 against Traci Dahl.
Series History vs. Illinois State
Though Illinois State leads the all-time series with Creighton by a 23-10 margin, it's been all Bluejays of late. The Jays have won the past seven meetings in the series since snapping an 11-match losing streak to the 'Birds in 2006.
Creighton is just 5-12 in Normal against ISU, but has won the last four road matches against the Redbirds.
Creighton has taken a 2-0 lead in four of the 33 meetings against Illinois State, but has never swept the Redbirds.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 7-7 against Illinois State and 2-0 versus Melissa Myers.
Last Match Summary
Creighton swept South Dakota State by scores of 25-21, 25-21, 25-18 on Tuesday in Omaha. Sarah Schulze had a season-high with nine kills and four blocks while hitting a career-best .400 to lead the Bluejays.
Not All Wins Created Equal
Creighton has won eight straight matches against Indiana State and seven straight matches against Illinois State, but those victories have been picked up via vastly different methods. All eight wins over the Sycamores have been sweeps, but all seven wins over the Redbirds have been either four or five sets.
TGIF
Creighton will look to continue its recent Friday success on the road in the MVC.
The Jays have won 13 of their past 14 Friday road matches in MVC play. The only setback in the last four years was the Oct. 24, 2008 loss at undefeated Wichita State.
Creighton is 18-7 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth in MVC road matches played on Friday and 16-11 in MVC road matches played on Saturday. The Jays are also 0-1 in MVC Sunday road matches and 1-0 in MVC Tuesday road matches under Booth.
Schulze Swings Away
Sarah Schulze hit a career-high .400 against South Dakota State on Tuesday, a match that saw her finish with nine kills. The nine kills were her most since the final match of 2007.
Schulze added four blocks, doubling her 2009 total and her most in any match since she had five at Evansville on Oct. 5, 2007.
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.
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.
Indiana State is 3-1 in sets decided by exactly two points, though it is worth noting that the Trees are 4-9 in sets decided by 10 or more points.
Illinois State is 1-4 in sets decided by exactly two points this fall and lost all five matches in which it has played a set decided by two 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 two teams 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
South Dakota State 3-7
Dig Leader
Junior libero Nayka Benitez has led Creighton in digs in all 12 matches to date and tops the squad with 182 digs on the season.
Benitez became the second-quickest in CU history to 100 career digs, reaching that mark in her eighth match.
Below is a list that shows Creighton's quickest players to 200 digs in a career.
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
Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 11 09/15/07 vs. Charlotte
Kailey Reyes 16 10/17/98 at Illinois State
Melissa Walsh 20 10/30/98 at Wichita State
Brittany Coleman 20 10/18/03 at Illinois State
Sarah Schulze 21 11/18/06 at Evansville
Let's Start With Houts
Senior Jessica Houts has started each of her last 57 matches, a streak that began Oct. 21, 2006 at Drake. Houts has started 100 of her past 101 appearances overall.
Houts is 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 446 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 512 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 380 66 446 512 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 446 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 132-8 (.943) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 74-2 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 110-0 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 94 matches in which it wins set one, Creighton is 85-9. CU is 92-13 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 4-8
Total 35-37 203-232
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. 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.
