Creighton University
11-6 (4-0BIG EAST)
DePaul
3-12 (1-2BIG EAST)
Elman Sets Digs Record as Volleyball Tops DePaul
10/3/2014 9:35:00 PM | Volleyball
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Creighton Volleyball defeated DePaul in four sets in its tune-up for a Saturday night showdown with defending league champ Marquette. Scores in favor of the visiting Bluejays were 25-17, 25-9, 22-25, 25-12.
Creighton won its season-high fifth straight match and is now 11-6 (4-0 BIG EAST). DePaul dropped to 3-12 (1-2 BIG EAST).
"We played three pretty good games tonight," said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "I thought in game two we played great, but was disappointed that we got comfortable in the third set and let DePaul take advantage. After that, I liked how we came out in game 4 and took control of match again."
The match was highlighted by Bluejay junior Kate Elman, who broke a pair of school records. She broke Janeen Piller's school record of 1,392 career digs in the first set, then broke Piller's mark of 74 career matches with double-figure digs. Elman finished the night with 15 digs, giving her 75 career double-digit matches and 1,406 digs in her career.
"It's always fun to see a great kid reach that sort of milestone and she's a great young woman," said Booth of Elman. "Kate's a great libero for a lot of different reasons. Her number of digs tell you she flies around the court. She's a great serve-receiver, and also an emotional leader for our team. Janeen Piller was our libero when Angie and I got to Creighton, and she was the first in a line of good liberos we've had in my tenure here."
Creighton never trailed in the first two sets, scoring the first four points on the night and never looking back. DePaul only threatened the Jays once, closing within 15-14 in the first frame, before CU closed out the first set on a 10-3 run to win 25-17. Kelli Browning had four kills in the set for CU.
Creighton led 8-5 in the second set before a 10-1 run, with Katie Neisler serving the majority of that stretch. CU cruised to a 25-9 victory, hitting .476 in the frame while limiting the Blue Demons to .000 hitting on 24 swings.
The Bluejays jumped in front of the Blue Demons to start the third set, leading 7-2 before allowing DePaul back in the set at 12-12. Creighton led 22-21 before the Blue Demons scored the final four points of the frame to force a fourth set, taking their only lead of the night to that point.
Creighton answered with a vengeance in the fourth set to close out the match, bolting to a 13-5 lead en route to its 25-12 victory. CU hit .409 in the fourth set, including four kills and four blocks by Browning.
Creighton finished with 50 kills, 43 digs and 14 blocks on .292 hitting. CU also finished with a season-best 12 aces and a season-low two service errors.
Browning led CU with 14 kills and nine blocks, hitting .385 in 26 swings. Jess Bird made her first start in five weeks and had 10 kills, eight digs and four blocks on .625 hitting. Elman led the Bluejays with 15 digs and four service aces.
DePaul hit .174 on the night and finished with 42 kills, three aces, 40 digs and six blocks. Three players had eight kills each for the Blue Demons. Haley Bueser tied for match-high laurels with 15 digs.
Creighton returns to action tomorrow night for a 6 pm match at defending BIG EAST champion Marquette (12-3, 3-0 BIG EAST).
"Marquette has firepower all over the place. It should be a great, energized crowd," said Booth. "We're going to need to play great ball for an extended period of time, but we're all excited for the match."
NOTES: Jess Bird, who missed 11 matches in September following knee surgery, made her first start since August 29th ... Creighton was playing in its 600th match since reinstating the program in 1994, improving to 314-286 in that time ... Creighton has won three straight meetings vs. DePaul as BIG EAST rivals, all in four sets ... Creighton's two service errors were its fewest since also having two vs. Xavier on Oct. 5, 2013 ... Creighton's 12 aces were its most since 13 vs. McNeese State on Sept. 17, 2011 ... Tonight marked the second time in program history it had 10 more aces than service errors, joining the Sept. 23, 1995 match vs. Northeastern Illinois (15 aces, four errors).
