Volleyball To Host Missouri State & Wichita State This Weekend
10/6/2010 11:25:00 AM | Volleyball
This Weekend
Oct. 8 7 pm Missouri State at Creighton (1290 KKAR) Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Oct. 9 7:30 pm Wichita State at Creighton (1180 KOIL) Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
This Weekend
Second-place Creighton Volleyball (10-6, 5-1 Missouri Valley Conference) hosts the third- and fourth-place teams in the MVC as part of Homecoming Weekend on the Bluejay campus.
On Friday, third-place Missouri State (13-3, 4-1 MVC) comes to town for a 7 pm match.
On Saturday, fourth-place Wichita State (10-4, 3-2 MVC) comes to Omaha for a match that will start at 7:30 pm.
Both contests will be held at D.J. Sokol Arena inside the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center (2,500) in Omaha, Neb.
Get Blue With These Ticket Specials
“Getting Blue” is a tradition of community and food in an effort to create a “Blue Out” for home games.
A “Getting Blue” event is scheduled for Saturday from 4:30–7:00 p.m., in conjunction with the Athletic Department's Homecoming festivities which includes the women's soccer match against Evansville (3:30 p.m., kick-off at Morrison Stadium), the men's soccer match against Indiana (6:00 p.m., kick-off at Morrison Stadium) and the women's volleyball match against Wichita State (7:30 p.m., first-serve at D.J. Sokol Arena inside the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center).
Persons with a women's soccer ticket can redeem those for a general admission men's soccer ticket. Persons with either a women's soccer or men's soccer ticket for Saturday can also redeem those to get into that night's volleyball match.
For more information on Saturday's Getting Blue event, click on this link: http://tinyurl.com/getblue.
Radio Broadcast Information
Both matches this weekend will be broadcast on radio. Friday's match will air on KKAR (1290 AM), while Saturday's contest can be heard on KOIL (1180 AM).
The matches will also be streamed live 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 Friday's action, while Amanda Cvejdlik will replace Swanson on Saturday's call.
Video Webcast Information
Both of this weekend's matches will be video webcast.
To sign up, visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Video tab on the left sidebar. A 4-month subscription costs $34.95, while a monthly subscription costs $10.95 per month.
Live Stats Information
Both of this weekend's matches 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.
The match can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting Creighton
Winners of seven of its last eight matches, Creighton is 10-6 overall and second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 5-1 league record. The Bluejays are a perfect 6-0 on the road, but only 2-4 against a strong home schedule that has featured a pair of ranked teams.
Creighton has been led by its three healthy seniors. OH Allie Oelke averages 2.63 kills and 4.00 digs per set, while OH Alicia Runge leads the team and is fourth in the MVC with 3.95 kills per set. Defensively, DS Nayka Benitez leads the team with 4.36 digs per set and 16 aces.
Setting the Bluejay offense is sophomore Megan Bober, who averages 10.00 assists, 2.19 digs, 1.07 blocks and 1.49 kills per set.
Freshman Julianne Mandolfo has taken over the libero role and leads the MVC with 6.14 digs per set in league play.
Creighton averages 13.19 kills, 18.58 digs, 2.51 blocks and 1.17 aces per set while hitting .206 as a team.
Scouting Missouri State
Missouri State is 13-3 on the season, including a 4-1 conference record that leaves it alone in third place of the Valley standings. MSU's only league loss was a 3-0 setback in the conference opener at then-No. 17 Northern Iowa.
Missouri State has also lost in four sets to Ohio and Oklahoma, but own impressive wins over Texas A&M, North Carolina, Saint Louis, Utah and Wichita State.
Junior MB Calli Norman hits .303 and leads the team with 172 kills, but freshman OH Christine McCartney tops the team with 3.11 kills per set. McCartney had 19 kills in Saturday's four-set win over rival Wichita State.
Two other Bears join Norman as returning first-team all-Valley selections, Kelley Michnowicz (2.33 kps, .388%) and Cara Hackmann (1.64 kps., 3.69 dps.). Hackmann was named 2009 MVC Libero of the Year, but has reverted back to outside hitter and now plays all six rotations.
Carly Thomas (7.40 aps.) and Melissa Gmur (6.02 aps.) split setting duties for MSU, while Abby Padlock (4.13 dps.) is the libero.
As a team, Missouri State averages 13.80 kills, 1.02 aces, 16.23 digs and 2.48 blocks per set while hitting .233 as a team.
Scouting Wichita State
Wichita State is 10-4 on the season and tied for fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 3-2 league record. The Shockers, picked third in the MVC preseason poll, have lost road matches at preseason No. 1 Northern Iowa and No. 2 Missouri State.
The Shockers are led by Arizona State transfer Camri Zwiesler (4.06 kps., 2.53 dps., .277%).
Also back are preseason all-Valley picks Mary Elizabeth Hooper (9.90 aps., 2.06 dps.) and Sarah McGee (2.24 kps., 1.24 bps., .285%).
Sarah Waldorf (5.20 dps.) is the team's libero.
The Shockers average 13.67 kills, 1.16 aces, 16.33 digs and 2.81 blocks per set while hitting .234 as a team.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 130-95 record in her eighth 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 assistant coaches Tom Mendoza and Angie Oxley Behrens and volunteer assistant Amanda (Gates) Sjuts.
Melissa Stokes is in her 15th season at Missouri State, where she owns a 327-148 record. She has led MSU to five NCAA Tournaments in the last seven years. Jeni Jones and Jeremiah Larsen are assistant coaches. Four-time MVC Coach of the Year Chris Lamb is in his 11th season with Wichita State. Lamb owns a 229-97 record, all with the Shockers, and led WSU to the second round of the 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009 NCAA Tournaments. He is assisted by Jeff Sanders and RJ Abella.
Series History vs. Missouri State
Missouri State leads the all-time series with Creighton by a 27-6 margin, including a 13-3 mark in Omaha. The Bears had won 19 straight over CU before the Jays started a three-match win streak in the series in 2007. Missouri State ended that spell last year, sweeping Creighton in both meetings.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 3-11 all-time vs. MSU and Melissa Stokes, while Stokes is 23-6 in her career vs. the Bluejays.
Series History vs. Wichita State
Wichita State owns a 19-15 lead in 34 all-time match-ups with Creighton. Creighton, however, is 9-7 at home against the Shockers.
Creighton beat the then-No. 25 Shockers in four games in Omaha on October 2, 2009, the Jays first-ever win against a ranked team in 36 tries.
The first set winner of the CU-WSU match has won 11 of the past 12 meetings and 15 of the past 17 match-ups. Additionally, Wichita State has won 17 straight third sets against the Bluejays.
Booth is 4-11 vs. Wichita State and Chris Lamb, while Lamb is 13-8 vs. Creighton all-time.
Bluejay Duo Earn MVC Honors
On Monday, Megan Bober and Laurel Sanford were honored by the Missouri Valley Conference as its Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively.
Bober averaged 9.43 assists, 2.00 kills, 1.71 digs, 1.71 blocks and 0.29 aces per set as Creighton won road matches at Illinois State and Indiana State. She hit .375 in the process, while also setting the Jays to .274 hitting for the weekend.
On Friday, Bober helped Creighton hand Illinois State its first home loss of the year, as she had 44 assists, nine digs, five blocks and five kills. She also had a season-best two aces, as Creighton avenged a five-set loss in Normal last season.
On Saturday, Bober had a career-high with nine kills on season-best .562 hitting in 16 errorless swings. She added 22 assists, seven blocks and three digs as Creighton held the Sycamores to .018 hitting. She also set Creighton to .402 hitting, sixth-best in school history, as the Jays tied a program-record with just four hitting errors. The win was Creighton's seventh straight on the road, tying another school-record.
This is the first time that Bober has been honored as MVC Player of the Week.
Sanford averaged 2.86 kills, 2.14 blocks and 0.71 digs while hitting .372 on the weekend.
She had 10 kills, five digs, four blocks and hit .269 in a Creighton win at Illinois State on Friday. Her five digs were a career-high.
Sanford then had her first career double-double at Indiana State on Friday, finishing with 10 kills on 17 swings, hitting .529, while recording 11 blocks. She had four kills and five blocks in the first set, four more blocks in the second set, and four kills and two blocks in the final set.
The 11 blocks for Sanford is the most in any three-set match in the MVC this season. Impressively, nine of her blocks came against Valley kill leader Morgan Dall, who had seven kills against 12 hitting errors and hit -.143 for the night in 35 swings.
Sanford leads the MVC with 1.29 blocks per set, a figure that climbs to 1.48 bps., in MVC play and 1.75 bps., in road matches.
This is the third time in Sanford's career that she's won this award, and second time in three weeks (also Sept. 24, 2010).
Attack of the Jays
Creighton hit a season-best .402 in Saturday night's win at Indiana State, finishing with 39 kills and four errors in 87 swings. Creighton's four errors tied its fewest in school history, done previously on Oct. 27, 1995, when Creighton hit a school-record .536 in a win over Tulsa.
Creighton's 25-7 win in the third set of its win at Indiana State was the fewest points allowed in any set since Bradley was held to six in the fifth set on Oct. 4, 2003, and fewest allowed ever in any set played to 25 by Creighton.
Oelke Nears 1,000/1,000 Club
Allie Oelke is also quickly moving up the list for most kills in Creighton history, currently ranking eighth with 986. Oelke has a good chance of reaching 1,000 this weekend with 14 more terminations.
Should she reach 1,000 kills, she'll become just the second player in school history with 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Currently the only player in that exclusive club is Melissa Walsh (1,596 kills and 1,240 digs), who entered the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Oelke has played in 105 career matches heading into this weekend.
Most Career Kills, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Leah Ratzlaff 409 1,622 2002-05
2. Melissa Walsh 394 1,596 1998-01
3. Kelly Goc 394 1,414 2004-07
4. Jessica Houts 451 1,385 2005-09
5. JoDe Cieloha 398 1,375 1994-97
6. Amanda Cvejdlik 343 1,029 2005-08
7. Shelly Kapler 388 1,000 1996-99
8. Allie Oelke 380 986 2007-Pr.
9. Erin Swanson 319 955 1998-01
10. Ashley Williams 359 941 2001-04
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Melissa Walsh 70 10/15/00 Eastern Illinois
Leah Ratzlaff 76 10/22/04 Missouri State
JoDe Cieloha 83 09/13/97 at Drake
Kelly Goc 87 11/24/06 vs. No. Iowa
Jessica Houts 90 11/08/08 Illinois State
Amanda Cvejdlik 99 11/15/08 at Evansville
Sanford Joins Double-Double Club
Junior MB Laurel Sanford recorded her first career double-double when she had 10 kills and 11 blocks in a three-set win at Indiana State on Saturday.
In doing so, she became Creighton's first player since 1995 (JoDe Cieloha) with a kill-block double-double in a three-set match.
It was the fourth time in Sanford's career she's had 10 or more blocks, but first time she's done it while also producing 10 or more kills on offense.
Creighton is 30-10 in the sets started by Sanford this season, but 7-12 in the sets she hasn't.
Road Perfection
Creighton shares the nation's best road record in 2010, as it is one of three teams that is 6-0. Nationally, only 12 schools total are unbeaten in true road matches.
Additionally, the only team that has lost fewer sets than Creighton (1) on the road is Hawaii, which has swept both matches off the island.
In fact, through matches of October 3, the only teams with more road wins than Creighton's six were Eastern Michigan (7) and Northeastern (7).
Below is the complete list of undefeated teams in road matches this season:
Road Sets Next Road
School W-L Lost Match
Creighton 6-0 1 10/16
Tulsa 6-0 3 10/6
Stanford 5-0 2 10/8
Nebraska 5-0 3 10/6
California 5-0 3 10/8
Miss. Valley State 5-0 6 10/8
Wisconsin 3-0 1 10/8
Cleveland State 3-0 2 10/9
Florida 3-0 2 10/8
Arizona 3-0 2 10/8
Northern Illinois 3-0 3 10/8
Hawaii 2-0 0 10/21
Redbird Arena Success = MVC Success
Creighton won at Illinois State last Friday for fourth time in the last five years, but just the fifth time in regular-season action overall in school history.
In those five seasons, Creighton owns a combined Valley record of 57-23 (.713), compared to a 90-138 (.395) league mark in years it has lost at Redbird Arena.
First Third Excellent Again
Creighton has started 5-1 or better for the fourth time in Kirsten Bernthal Booth's eight seasons at the helm. Her 2003, 2006 and 2007 squads also did so.
Over her tenure, Creighton has been a collective 32-16 in the first six games of MVC play, 25-17 in the middle six, and 28-14 in the final six.
Creighton by Thirds in MVC Play, Under Booth
Year First 6 W-L Middle 6 W-L Last 6 W-L
2010 5-1 -- --
2009 3-3 3-3 4-2
2008 4-2 5-1 6-0
2007 6-0 3-3 5-1
2006 5-1 4-2 3-3
2005 1-5 4-2 5-1
2004 3-3 4-2 3-3
2003 5-1 2-4 2-4
Total 32-16 25-17 28-14
Haunted Series
Creighton has beaten Wichita State 15 times and Missouri State six times, but only once have the Bluejays beaten the Shockers and Bears on consecutive nights. That came all the way back in 1997, when CU beat Missouri State on Halloween night, then topped Wichita State the following day.
Mandolfo Digs This
Freshman Julianne Mandolfo had 23 digs in her first appearance as Creighton's libero in a Sept. 17 sweep at Southern Illinois.
Her 23 digs were tied for fourth-most in school history for a three-set match.
Mandolfo then had 27 digs in back-to-back matches vs. UNI and Bradley last weekend, an average of 6.75 per set. For those efforts, Mandolfo was named MVC Freshman of the Week on Sept. 27th.
Mandolfo added to her numbers last Friday with a career-best 29 digs in four sets at Illinois State.
For the season, Mandolfo is third on the team with 229 digs and 3.88 digs per set. Both numbers rank second among all MVC freshmen.
Mandolfo also leads all MVC players with 6.14 digs per set in league play.
She is also the only freshman in Creighton history with three or more matches of 20 digs, having done so four times now.
Mandolfo has played in 16 matches and owns 229 digs. She became the third quickest player in CU history to 200 career digs.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 11 09/15/07 vs. Charlotte
Nayka Benitez 13 09/25/09 at Indiana State
Julianne Mandolfo 15 10/01/10 at Illinois State
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
You Dig?
Helped by three players averaging 3.8 digs per set or more, Creighton ranks fourth nationally in digs per set, averaging 18.58 digs per set.
West Virginia leads the way with 19.23 digs per set and is followed by Baylor (19.03), Southeast Missouri State (18.81), Creighton (18.58) and Yale (18.40).
Valley On The Rise
A strong non-conference season has lifted the Missouri Valley Conference into sixth place of the annual league rankings provided by RichKern.com. The league has never finished a season higher than ninth.
In the past eight years, the No. 6 ranked conference has garnered 28 NCAA Tournament bids, an average of 3.5 per season, receiving three or more in seven of those campaigns.
According to the RKPI, the top eight leagues, in order, are Big Ten, Pacific-10, Big 12, Southeastern, Atlantic Coast, Missouri Valley, Big West and Mountain West.
The MVC is 15-12 against the other top-eight leagues, going 3-4 against the Big Ten, 5-4 against the Big 12, 1-0 against the Pacific-10, 2-0 against the Southeastern, 2-3 against the Atlantic Coast and 2-1 against the Mountain West. The MVC has not met the Big West.
Creighton owns an RKPI ranking of 49th. This weekend's opponents Missouri State and Wichita State rank 27th and 34th, respectively.
Let's Hit It
Creighton hit .654 in the third set of its win over Bradley, with 18 kills and one error in 26 attempts.
The hitting percentage was the third-best mark in school history, and best by any Jays squad since hitting a school-record .684 (13-0-19) in the second set of a 15-0 win at Eastern Illinois on October 15, 2000.
Seventh Heaven
After just seven aces in Creighton's first 13 matches of the season, senior Nayka Benitez served up a career-high seven aces in a 3-1 victory over Bradley on Sept. 25.
The figure was tied for second-most in Creighton history and was also a D.J. Sokol Arena record. Four of her aces came consecutively in the fourth set.
Last year, she served five straight aces in a match against Missouri State.
As a team, Creighton served up 12 aces, doubling its previous season-high and was the program's most since Sept. 30, 2006.
Service Aces, Single-Match
Aces Name, Opponent (Sets) Date
8 Carolyn Decker at New Mexico (3s) 9-4-04
7 Molly Moran vs. Drake (3s) 9-22-00
7 Kelli Koochi at Indiana State (4s) 10-19-01
7 Nayka Benitez vs. Bradley (4s) 9-25-10
Road Success
When Creighton swept Southern Illinois and Evansville in consecutive road matches two weeks ago, it marked just the second time in program history it had swept each set of a two-match Valley trip.
Overall, Creighton is 6-0 in true road matches this year, winning all five of those matches by 3-0 scores.
A Good Barometer
Illinois State and Creighton have long been competitive in head-to-head match-ups. Since Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival in 2003, Creighton is 9-8 against Illinois State. They are the only Valley program that Booth is within seven matches of the .500 mark against.
Since her arrival Booth's Creighton teams have finished better than Illinois State in the standings four times, but behind them three times. Every other team in the MVC has beaten Creighton in the standings either 0/1 time, or 6/7 times.
Opponent Booth W-L Better-Worse-Same
Bradley 14-1 7-0-0
Drake 13-2 6-0-1
Evansville 14-1 7-0-0
Illinois State 9-8 4-3-0
Indiana State 12-3 6-0-1
Missouri State 3-11 1-5-1
Northern Iowa 3-17 1-5-1
Southern Illinois 16-0 7-0-0
Wichita State 4-11 0-7-0
MVC Honors Bluejay Duo
Two members of the Creighton Volleyball team earned recognition from the Missouri Valley Conference on Sept. 20 after helping the Bluejays to road sweeps of Southern Illinois and Evansville. Allie Oelke was named MVC Player of the Week and MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week, while Laurel Sanford was named MVC Defensive Player of the Week.
A senior outside hitter from Chanhassen, Minn., Oelke averaged 4.00 kills, 4.33 digs and 1.00 blocks per set. She hit a collective .333 for the weekend, hitting .312 on Friday and .360 on Saturday.
Oelke had 12 kills and 13 digs in both matches, giving her 35 career double-doubles. She had three aces and four blocks in the win at SIU, then added two blocks and four assists in the victory at Evansville.
She also owns a 3.794 GPA in Elementary Education.
Though this is the first time in her career that Oelke has been named MVC Player of the Week, she's no stranger to MVC recognition. Oelke was a four-time honoree as MVC Freshman of the Week and earned MVC Freshman of the Year honors in 2007. She was also named MVC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 9, 2009, and was a 2009 MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team selection.
A junior middle blocker from Eagan, Minn., Sanford averaged 2.67 kills, 1.83 blocks and 0.50 digs per set last week.
Sanford had eight kills, four blocks, three digs and an ace in the Jays sweep of Southern Illinois. She then added eight kills and seven blocks in Creighton's sweep over UE on Saturday night. Three of her blocks vs. the Purple Aces came in the final set, including one to end the contest.
For the year, Sanford leads the MVC with 1.29 blocks per set.
Putting It Down
Alicia Runge had one of the most efficient matches of her career on Sept. 25 vs. Bradley, pounding 17 kills on 26 swings. She had just one error, giving her a robust .615 hitting percentage for the evening.
Runge's .615 hitting is the second-best in Creighton history for a player with 25 or more attacks in a match, and is also a D.J. Sokol Arena record.
Runge continues to lead Creighton with 3.95 kills per set and is third with her .239 hitting.
Attack Percentage, Match (min. 12 kills)
Pct. Name (K-E-TA), Opponent (Sets) Date
.750 Katy Grady (12-0-16) vs. Auburn (3s) 8-30-03
.750 Abby Baumann (12-0-16) at San Diego St. (3s) 9-03-05
.737 Lauren Bloemke (14-0-19) vs. Evansville (3s) 11-04-07
.714 Amanda Cvejdlik (15-0-21) vs. Drake (3s) 10-03-08
.667 Katy Grady (12-0-18) at Drake (3s) 9-27-03
.667 Kelly Goc (14-0-21) vs. Stephen F. Austin (3s) 8-25-07
.632 Amanda Cvejdlik (12-2-19) vs. Indiana St. (3s) 10-22-05
.625 Kelly Goc (26-1-40) vs. Drake (4s) 11-16-07
.615 Alicia Runge (17-1-26) vs. Bradley (4s) 9-25-10
.607 Carolyn Decker (17-0-28) vs. Bradley (3s) 11-13-04
Double Trouble
Allie Oelke had exactly 12 kills and 13 digs in victories over both Southern Illinois (Sept. 17) and Evansville (Sept. 18). She owns seven double-doubles this season and 36 in her career, which is fifth-most in school history.
She has had a double-double in each of her three matches against both SIU and UE.
Oelke Joins Century Club
Allie Oelke became the 18th player in Bluejay history to play in 100 career matches when she started at Southern Illinois on Sept. 17th.
The senior, who has played in all 105 matches in her career to date, became just the fifth player in school history to reach that mark without missing a match, joining Korie Lebeda (119), Leah Ratzlaff (115), Melissa Weisensee (111) and Melissa Walsh (108).
Digging From The Outside
Senior OH Allie Oelke had 28 digs last weekend, giving her 1,153 career digs. She has moved past former teammate Sarah Schulze (1,056 digs from 2006-09) and ranks fifth-most in school history.
Oelke's dig total is also the highest in school history by a Bluejay outside hitter, a mark formerly held by Schulze.
Most Career Digs, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Janeen Piller 336 1,392 2001-04
2. Kailey Reyes 368 1,258 1998-01
3. Melissa Walsh 394 1,240 1998-01
4. Melissa Weisensee 411 1,223 1994-97
5. Allie Oelke 380 1,153 2007-Pr.
6. Korie Lebeda 428 1,130 2005-08
7. Bianca Rivera 207 1,118 2007-08
8. Sarah Schulze 398 1,056 2006-09
9. Abby Baumann 375 935 2004-07
10. Shelly Kapler 388 922 1996-99
Dos Liberos
After playing Nayka Benitez at libero for each of the program's 41 matches the past two seasons, freshman Julianne Mandolfo claimed that role on Sept. 17.
This marks just the third different season in the nine-year history of the libero that Creighton has used multiple liberos in the same season.
In 2006, Katie Mehal (113 sets) and Sarah Schulze (three sets) both wore the alternate jersey.
In 2005, five different players were libero at one point: Mallory Lahm (51 sets), Emily Greisch (12 sets), Brittany Coleman (38 sets), Molly Lahr (one set) and Mehal (three sets).
How Do You Win The MVC? Start 1-0
At the start of the conference season, all 10 Missouri Valley Conference schools harbored dreams of a regular-season league title.
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.
The only teams that remained undefeated after the first weekend of play this fall were Creighton (2-0), Northern Iowa (2-0) and Illinois State (1-0).
Home Losses Are Also Devastating
The 2006 Northern Iowa and 2007 Wichita State teams are the only programs in MVC history to lose a home conference match and still win the regular-season title outright in that same season.
It's also worth noting that 15 of the last 16 regular-season MVC champions finished the year with one regular-season league loss or fewer. The exception was that 2006 UNI team that was 16-2, with both losses coming against Wichita State.
So far this year the only three teams that are unbeaten at home in MVC play at Northern Iowa, Missouri State and Wichita State.
Runge on a Tear
Alicia Runge had 10 or more kills in her final match of 2009, and her first 15 contests of 2010. That streak came to an end on Oct. 2 when she had six kills on just 18 swings at Indiana State. The stretch was third-longest in Bluejay history.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills
58 Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005
19 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997
16 Alicia Runge, Nov. 27, 2009 - Oct. 1, 2010
14 Kelly Goc, Sept. 8-Oct. 19, 2007
13 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 7-Oct. 18, 1996
Road Sweeps To Start
Creighton has swept five of its six true road matches to date, beating Saint Louis, Marquette, Southern Illinois, Evansville and Indiana State, in addition to a 3-1 win at Illinois State. This is the first time in program history that the team has started a season 6-0 on the road.
The Jays, who swept Bradley in Peoria to end the 2009 regular-season, swept five straight true road matches for the first time in school history.
Creighton's current seven-match road win streak ties a school-record, also done in 2007.
All-Tourney Duo, Again
For the second straight weekend, Alicia Runge and Megan Bober picked up all-tournament team honors at the Marquette Invitational while leading the Jays to a second-place showing.
Bober averaged 9.58 assists, 2.25 digs, 1.76 kills and 0.83 blocks per set while hitting .319. This was her second career honor to an all-Tourney Team.
Runge averaged 4.58 kills and 0.83 digs per set while hitting .358. It was the third straight tournament that the senior has been recognized.
Booth Reaches 125 Wins
Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth became the first Bluejay volleyball coach to 125 wins with her Sept. 11 win over Central Michigan. Now in her eighth year, Booth is 130-95 with the Bluejays.
Below is a list of games/matches needed by some of Creighton's most prominent coaches to reach 125 wins.
Coach Sport Games to 125 Wins
Ed Servais Baseball 194
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 211
Jim Flanery Women's Basketball 213
Kirsten Booth Volleyball 219
Jim Hendry Baseball 222
Bruce Erickson Women's Soccer 238
Brent Vigness Softball 239
Two Points From A Title x 2
Creighton finished second in each of its final two preseason tournaments. In both events, the Jays went 2-1 and their only loss was by two points in the fifth set.
In the Marcia E. Hamilton Active Ankle Challenge, Creighton lost 20-18 in the fifth set against Iowa. Last weekend Creighton lost 15-13 in the fifth set of a match vs. Toledo.
On the season, Creighton is 10-6 in sets decided by exactly two points.
Non-Conference Report Card
Creighton started 5-5 after a non-conference schedule gauntlet full of postseason hopefuls, including three teams picked to win their conferences (Central Michigan, Nebraska, Lipscomb).
If the past is any indication, good things happen when Creighton goes .500 or better through 10 matches.
The last time Creighton was 5-5 after 10 matches in 2008, the Jays finished a best-ever 15-3 in the MVC and alone in second place.
In both 2006 and 2007, Creighton was over .500 after 10 matches and would finish 21-10 overall.
All seven previous Bluejay teams to be .500 or better after 10 matches finished fifth or higher in the league, and all would also post a winning record in Valley play to finish with a winning overall record.
Comeback For The Ages Falls Short
Creighton posted a comeback for the ages on Sept. 4, surviving seven different match point opportunities before eventually falling 20-18 in the fifth set of a match vs. Iowa.
Creighton trailed 14-9 before winning five consecutive points to tie the score. Creighton also held on when facing match point at 15-14 and 18-17.
Iowa also survived multiple match points, getting sideouts with CU serving for the match at 16-15 and 17-16.
The combined 38 points between Creighton and Iowa in the fifth set were the most in school history. Below are the most points scored in a fifth set in school history. Creighton is 11-2 all-time when scoring 16 or more points in the fifth set of a match.
CU - Most Points Scored, 5th Set, School History
Score Opponent Date
W 19-17 vs. Idaho 09/02/00
W 19-17 Evansville 09/27/02
W 18-16 Evansville 11/14/98
W 18-16 vs. McNeese State 08/30/03
L 18-20 vs. Iowa 09/04/10
W 17-15 at Wichita State 10/13/06
W 17-15 at Drake 09/11/07
L 16-18 Drake 11/15/02
W 16-14 at Drake 09/13/97
W 16-14 at Evansville 11/04/00
W 16-14 Wichita State 10/10/03
W 16-14 vs. Marquette 09/11/05
W 16-14 at Northern Iowa 11/18/05
Runge & Bober Earn All-Tourney in St. Louis
A pair of Creighton players were named to the Marcia E. Hamilton Active Ankle Challenge All-Tournament Team in St. Louis on Sept. 3-4.
Senior OH Alicia Runge earned the honor after averaging 4.91 kills and 0.55 blocks per set while hitting .254 in three matches. Runge led CU in kills all three matches, including a career-high 26 vs. Iowa.
Also recognized was sophomore setter Megan Bober. Bober averaged 10.55 assists, 2.45 digs, 1.00 blocks and 1.45 kills per set, helping Creighton to .228 hitting.
Iowa's Bethany Yeager was named MVP, and joined on the All-Tournament Team by Mallory Husz (Iowa), Alyssa Deno (Saint Louis) and Kelsey Jones (Wake Forest).
Tied For First, But Second Place
Though Creighton finished with a 2-1 mark that was identical to Iowa's final record at the Marcia E. Hamilton Active Ankle Challenge, it was the Hawkeyes who celebrated with the team title.
With two teams finished at 2-1, Iowa won the tiebreaker by virtue of its head-to-head victory over Creighton.
Had Saint Louis been able to maintain its 5-0 lead early in the fifth set to defeat Iowa in the tournament finale, Creighton would have won the event since Creighton defeated Saint Louis head-to-head.
Savannah Smith Shines; Named MVC FOW
True freshman MB Savannah Smith had a big weekend in St. Louis on Sept. 3-4, averaging 1.55 kills, 1.64 blocks and hitting .350 in three matches.
Smith had seven blocks and four kills vs. Saint Louis, five kills and seven blocks while hitting .385 vs. Iowa, and wrapped up her weekend with a career-best eight kills, four blocks and .389 hitting versus Wake Forest.
Smith followed her weekend with seven kills and .400 hitting vs. Toledo on Sept. 10th, becoming Creighton's first freshman ever to pound five or more kills while hitting .385 or better in three consecutive matches.
For her efforts, Smith was named MVC Freshman of the Week on Sept. 5th.
Sanford Shakes Off Injury
Creighton went just 1-3 as junior MB Laurel Sanford missed four matches from Aug. 28-Sept. 3 with a bad ankle, but her return to the line-up coincided with Creighton winning seven of its last nine matches.
Sanford is hitting .244 this season and averages 2.22 kills and league-best 1.29 blocks per set.
Creighton is 30-10 in sets started by Sanford this season, but 7-12 when she doesn't start a set.
Mandolfo Digs Deep
Freshman DS Julianne Mandolfo became the second player (and first non-libero) in school history to record 10 or more digs in the first six matches of her career, a streak that was snapped on Sept. 4 vs. Wake Forest.
Mandolfo's 13 digs in her debut vs. San Francisco were third-most in school history, and tops of any non-libero.
Former libero Bianca Rivera owns the school record with 10 or more digs in the first 27 matches of her career in 2007.
Runge On Bluejay Invite All-Tourney Team
Alicia Runge was Creighton's top offensive weapon all weekend at the Bluejay Invitational, and that excellence was rewarded with a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Runge led Creighton in kills during all three matches, including 18 vs. San Francisco and 19 versus Lipscomb. Both of those matches eclipsed her 2009 high of 17 kills in a contest.
Runge was joined on the All-Tournament Team by San Francisco's Joan Caloiaro, Lipscomb's Jake Pease and Alex Kelly, and the Kansas tandem of Allison Mayfield and Karina Garlington. Garlington was named tournament MVP.
Almgren All Over
Junior Karisa Almgren had a breakthrough weekend at the Bluejay Invitational, posting 25 kills and nine blocks on .250 hitting in 60 swings.
Compare that to her first two years with the Bluejays, when Almgren amassed 18 total kills and nine total blocks.
Almgren's top offensive match of the opening weekend saw her claim single-match career highs with 11 kills and five blocks vs. Lipscomb.
She eclipsed that personal best with 12 kills while hitting .400 in a three-set victory over Saint Louis on Sept. 3.
Almgren ranks third on the team with 95 kills and 275 attack attempts this fall.
Thunder Of Thorson
Karisa Almgren isn't the only Bluejay that has stepped up, as sophomore Heather Thorson also has showed off her improved skills when given the opportunity.
Thorson averages 1.06 kills per set as well as 0.77 blocks per set. That includes a career-best nine kills vs. Kansas on Aug. 28.
Thorson owns 50 kills and 36 blocks this year after posting 29 kills and 22 blocks her entire freshman campaign.
Going Streaking
Before being limited to just five digs on Aug. 31 vs. Nebraska, Allie Oelke had owned 10 or more digs in each of her previous 18 matches. That was the fourth-longest streak in school history, and is the longest mark by any Bluejay outside hitter.
Oelke owns 10 or more digs in her last 12 contests, and 30 of her last 31 matches.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Digs
43 Janeen Piller, Oct. 10, 2003-Nov. 26, 2004
27 Bianca Rivera, Aug. 24-Nov. 9, 2007
19 Bianca Rivera, Sept. 20-Nov. 28, 2008
18 Allie Oelke, Oct. 10, 2009 - Aug. 28, 2010
15 Abby Baumann, Sept. 15-Nov. 3, 2006
15 Katie Mehal, Oct. 6-Nov. 24, 2006
15 Nayka Benitez, Nov. 13, 2009-Sept. 10, 2010
Last Year Summary
Creighton went 14-17 last year but managed to finish tied for fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 10-8 league record.
Senior Jessica Houts ranked 12th nationally with 1.44 blocks per set and earned a spot on the all-Valley First Team for a second straight season. The stellar blocking of Houts as well as Laurel Sanford (1.30 bps.) and Megan Bober (0.93) helped Creighton rank third nationally in blocks per set.
The 2009 season saw Creighton move into a new on-campus home, D.J. Sokol Arena inside the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center, as the program hosted the State Farm MVC Tournament for the first time.
Bloemke Out With Injury
Fifth-year senior MB Lauren Bloemke will miss the 2010 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during the final week of July. Bloemke had surgery on the knee on August 17th.
Bloemke, who missed most of last season after tearing the ACL in her left knee in the spring of 2009, will remain involved with the program as a student assistant coach and remains on pace to graduate in the spring.
Bloemke ranks 19th in school history with 478 career kills and ninth in both career block assists (218) and career total blocks (254).
Bober's The Best At Blocking
Last season Creighton setter Megan Bober had 107 blocks, easily the most ever in one year by a Creighton setter. In doing so, she became the first player in Creighton history to have both 100 blocks and 100 assists in the same season.
In fact, Bober's 0.93 blocks per set led the country among setters, and she was the nation's only player to average at least 0.9 blocks and 7.5 assists per set.
She's off to a quick start as a sophomore, averaging 1.07 blocks per set, including a Bluejay-best 63.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 144-8 (.947) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including an 85-2 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own a 68-4 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 6-155 (.037) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-53 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 130-1 under Booth when it reaches a match point opportunity, falling only when it wasted two match points on Sept. 4, 2010 to Iowa in an eventual 20-18 loss.
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
Game 1 Result = Match Result
In its last 115 matches in which it wins set one, Creighton is 103-12. CU is 110-16 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when they win set one. In that same time span, CU is just 20-79 under Booth when it drops the first set.
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 21-13 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 1-4 14-17
2010 0-2 10-6
Total 36-41 223-247
Production Returning
Creighton returns 11-of-14 letterwinners from last season. Below is a breakdown of the production that returns:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 1256 (94.8%) 69 (5.2%)
Aces 90 (80.4%) 22 (19.6%)
Digs 1377 (75.2%) 454 (24.8%)
Matches Started 129 (69.4%) 57 (30.6%)
Blocks 242.0 (68.3%) 112.5 (31.7%)
Points 1274.0 (67.7%) 607.5 (32.3%)
Kills 942 (66.6%) 473 (33.4%)
The Votes Add Up
Creighton has eight matches scheduled against teams that received votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll. Four of those squads will visit D.J. Sokol Arena, including No. 2 Nebraska, No. 24 Northern Iowa and votegetters Wichita State and Missouri State.
Creighton also plays on the road at No. 24 Northern Iowa as well as votegetters Saint Louis, Wichita State and Missouri State.
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton has been picked fourth in a preseason poll of Missouri Valley Conference coaches. Defending regular-season champion Northern Iowa was the unanimous pick to win the league, with Missouri State and Wichita State second and third. Creighton fourth and Drake fifth. Rounding out the rest of the league was Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Evansville, Indiana State and Bradley.
Each of the past seven 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 T-4th - -
2010 4th ??? ???
AVCA Honors CU Volleyball For Academics
The Creighton volleyball program was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as a recipient of the 2010 AVCA Team Academic Award. Creighton previously won the award in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 are one of eight Division I schools nationwide to win the award in seven consecutive campaigns.
The award honors teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA. Last fall the Bluejay volleyball team posted a combined GPA of 3.50.
Huskers Returned To Campus, Finally
Aug. 31 marked Nebraska volleyball's first visit the Creighton campus since 1980, when the Huskers swept a best-of-three contest at Kiewit Center.
Since then, Creighton had twice hosted its in-state rival, but both of those matches took place at Qwest Center Omaha.
Crowd Control
The Aug. 31 crowd of 2,514 fans vs. Nebraska was the fourth-largest home crowd in program history for match, and was the first sellout at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Previously, the largest crowd at D.J. Sokol Arena had been the 2,285 that saw Creighton host Texas Tech last year on Aug. 28, 2009.
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 Site
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 Qwest
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 Qwest
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 Qwest
2,514 #7 Nebraska 08/31/10 Sokol
2,285 Texas Tech 08/28/09 Sokol
1,557 Northern Iowa 11/21/08 Civic
1,357 Northern Iowa 10/20/07 Civic
1,325 Indiana State 09/29/07 Civic
1,319 Northern Iowa 10/06/06 Civic
1,304 San Francisco 08/27/10 Sokol
1,250 #16 Northern Iowa 09/24/10 Sokol
Radio Broadcast Information
Brad Burwell and former Bluejay volleyball player Erin Swanson will broadcast at least 23 matches (12 home, 11 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:
2010 Volleyball Broadcast Schedule
Oct. 8 Missouri State (KKAR)
Oct. 9 Wichita State (KOIL)
Oct. 16 at Drake (KOIL)
Oct. 22 at Bradley (KOIL)
Oct. 23 at Northern Iowa (KOIL)
Oct. 29 Indiana State (KOIL)
Oct. 30 Illinois State (KOIL)
Nov. 5 at Wichita State (KOIL)
Nov. 6 at Missouri State (KOIL)
Nov. 13 Drake (KOIL)
Nov. 19 Evansville (KOIL)
Nov. 20 Southern Illinois (KOIL)
Nov. 25 at MVC Tournament (KOIL)
Nov. 26 at MVC Tournament (KOIL)
Nov. 27 at 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 two and under are admitted free. Cost of tickets for the Aug. 31 match vs. Nebraska was $15 (reserved) and $12 for general admission.
Season ticket information is available online at www.gocreighton.com or by calling (402) 280-JAYS. Creighton sold a school-record 890 season tickets for volleyball this year.
