Creighton University
14-7, 7-1BIG EAST
St. John's
14-9, 3-5BIG EAST
Ignited by Sicner, Volleyball Sweeps St. John's
10/17/2014 7:12:00 PM | Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. - Spurred on by the play of senior Michelle Sicner, the Creighton Volleyball team blazed past St. John's in straight sets on Friday, Oct. 17. Set scores for the match were: 25-18, 25-23 and 25-20.
The win lifted Creighton to 14-7 on the season and 7-1 in BIG EAST play, while St. John's fell to 14-9 overall and 3-5 in conference action. Creighton remains one game behind Seton Hall in the league standings.
Trailing 10-3 in the opening set, head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth called upon Sicner to take over setting duties. The impact was immediate as Creighton scored 10 of the following 13 points to knot the game at 13-13. Down 15-13 moments later, the Bluejays rattled off six straight on Ashley Jansens's serve to claim the lead at 19-15 and went on to take the set 25-18.
It was the Bluejays turn to storm out to an early advantage in the second set, jetting out to an 11-6 advantage. The Red Storm almost returned the favor by rallying to take the lead at 13-11, but Creighton responded with four straight points to regain control. The two teams battled back-and-forth as St. John's claimed late leads of 22-20 and again 23-22. Creighton's experience proved to be the difference as the Bluejays scored the final three points on a Red Storm rotation error, a kill by sophomore Jess Bird and an ace from senior Katie Neisler to claim the set 25-23.
With seven ties and two lead changes in the first 24 points, the third set provided the most evenly played game of the night. Tied at 12-12 the Bluejays surged ahead behind a kill from Bird, followed by a block by senior Kelli Browning and Bird. Leading 15-14 moments later, the Bluejays took control for good with four straight points. As she had done all night, Sicner provided the spark with a kill on the second touch. After a Red Storm hitting error made it 17-14, senior Leah McNary and sophomore Lauren Smith provided a 'double stuff' block and senior Lizzy Stivers slammed the door with an ace. Creighton went on to take the match, 25-20.
Bird led the way for the Bluejays with 13 kills, while Sicner finished with 32 assists, five digs, five blocks and four kills. Creighton finished with 41 kills, eight aces, 32 digs and 9.0 blocks on .266 hitting.
St. John's got 11 kills from Aleksandra Wachowicz and 10 kills from Karin Palgutova in the loss. The Red Storm had 32 kills, five aces, 33 digs and six blocks on .186 hitting overall.
Creighton returns to the court on Sunday, Oct. 19 as the Bluejays battle Providence at 1 pm in D.J. Sokol Arena.
