Creighton University
7-1
Tulsa
6-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa | 19 | 25 | 27 | 21 | 1 |
| Creighton | 25 | 21 | 29 | 25 | 3 |
Volleyball Blocks Way To Win vs. Tulsa
9/8/2012 1:36:00 PM | Volleyball
GREELEY, Colo. -- In their best match of 2012 to date, the Creighton Volleyball team improved to 7-1 with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over defending Conference USA champion Tulsa on Saturday morning at the Northern Colorado Classic. Scores in CU's favor were 25-19, 21-25, 29-27, 25-21.
Tulsa, which returned five starters from a 28-7 team a year ago, fell to 6-4 on the year as it continued its grueling non-conference schedule.
Creighton had no shortage of statistical heroes on the afternoon. Megan Bober had her 10th career triple-double with 34 assists, 15 digs, a career-high 11 blocks and seven kills. Kelli Browning's 15 block assists were six more than her previous best, a school-record for blocks assists in a match, and tied an MVC record for block assists in a match. Heather Thorson hit .500 and her 18 kills were three more than her previous high. Kate Elman topped CU with 17 digs, while Ashley Jansen's 15 digs weren't far behind. Overall, Creighton had 50 kills, two aces, 76 digs and 21 blocks while hitting .193. CU's 21 blocks were tied for second-most in school history.
Tulsa was led by Tyler Henderson. The All-American had 25 kills and 10 digs in 65 swings, but also had 15 attack errors and six service errors. The Golden Hurricane served aggressively throughout the match, but committed 17 serving miscues including eight in the third set alone. Bailey Clampitt had 52 assists and 11 digs for TU, while Jessica Adams had a match-best 19 digs. Tulsa had 60 kills, three aces, 74 digs and 10 blocks and hit .162 overall.
Creighton never trailed while controlling the first set in a 25-19 win. The Bluejays scored the first three points to go up early, then used a 9-1 run to build a 14-6 advantage on the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa fought back to get within two at 19-17 before the Jays scored six of the final eight points in their win. Creighton hit .303 in the set, led by five kills in seven swings from Thorson. Henderson led TU with seven kills.
Tulsa evened the match in a second set that included nine ties. The Golden Hurricane used a 3-0 run to claim a 14-11 lead and would never look back. A later 3-0 run by TU made it 23-18, and the Golden Hurricane won on their third set point opportunity to take a 25-21 frame. Henderson had 10 kills in the second set alone.
The third set featured 16 ties and eight lead changes as both teams had multiple opportunities to win the set. The Jays fell behind early and trailed most of the way until plays by seniors Bober and Thorson made it 20-18, Jays. Tulsa and CU would exchange one-point leads. Creighton had a 24-23 set point chance but served it into the net. Tulsa had its own chance at 25-24 but had a serving error of its own. After CU squandered a 26-25 chance and TU a 27-26 edge, the Jays won the set with a 3-0 run. Browning had a kill, then followed with an ace. Thorson closed it out with a kill to win a long rally and the 29-27 victory.
The fourth set was tied at 14 before a Browning had two blocks and a kill in a 4-0 run that put the Jays up 18-14. Tulsa quickly closed within one at 19-18, but a Browning kill and Bober/Thorson tandem block forced Tulsa's final timeout with the Jays in front, 21-18. The teams then traded sideouts in six of the next seven points, with Thorson pounding home kills for CU's last four points to clinch the 25-21 win and match triumph.
Creighton closes play in the Northern Colorado Classic tonight with an 8 pm (Central) match vs. Northern Colorado. That contest will have free live video and can be heard in Omaha on 1180 AM (KZOT).
