Creighton University
12-6, 5-0BIG EAST
Marquette
12-4, 3-1BIG EAST
Volleyball Takes Down Defending League Champ Marquette in Four Sets
10/4/2014 7:15:00 PM | Volleyball
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Creighton Volleyball won its sixth straight match, a 3-1 victory at defending league champion Marquette on Saturday night. Scores in favor of CU were 29-27, 25-17, 25-27, 25-20.
Creighton is now 12-6 on the year and 5-0 in the BIG EAST, while Marquette dropped to 12-4, 3-1 BIG EAST and had its 15-match regular-season winning streak against BIG EAST teams snapped. CU's victory sets up a showdown next Friday night in South Orange, N.J., as the Jays take on fellow BIG EAST unbeaten Seton Hall (15-3, 5-0).
Maggie Baumert had a triple-double with 42 assists, 12 digs, 10 blocks while adding a career-high nine kills for the Bluejays, while Jess Bird (12 digs, career-high 18 kills) and Kelli Browning (14 kills, 10 blocks) added double-doubles.
Victorious head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth cited the play of Baumert and Bird as key factors in CU's victory. "Maggie had the best blocking night of her career against Autumn Bailey, their stud, and her and Kelli were a lethal combo tonight. She distributed well and played really good defense tonight.
"Bird had a fantastic weekend, especially for a kid with minimal practice. I didn't know how she'd pass, but she passed well. For a kid coming off surgery she was outstanding. It was a team effort, and I'm really pleased how well everyone came together and stepped up."
Creighton won the crucial first set, saving a pair of set points when trailing 26-25 and 27-26 before emerging with a 29-27 victory. The Bluejays appeared in good shape with three set point opportunities after taking a 24-21 lead, but the Golden Eagles won the next four points to extend the set. Kate Elman had 10 digs for CU in the opening frame, while Kelli Browning and Bird each added five kills.
Creighton never trailed while taking the second set, 25-17, to carry a 2-0 lead into intermission. The Bluejays led 11-8 before a 9-2 burst with Marian High School graduates Elman and Ashley Jansen serving. Bird had a kill on set point, her fourth putaway of the frame, while Browning and Baumert each had three kills and four blocks in the set.
Marquette saved a match point at 24-23 in the third set and rallied to force a fourth set, but CU would surge to a 16-10 lead it would not surrender down the stretch.
The third set featured 12 ties and five lead changes as neither team could break free. Marquette forced CU into 10 attack errors, including one on set point to extend the match.
Creighton's only deficit of the fourth frame came at 1-0. CU regrouped to go ahead by scores of 12-6 and 17-11 before Marquette rallied. The Golden Eagles frantic rally got them within two points at 22-20 before CU reeled off the final three points of the match.
In addition to the stats accumulated by Baumert, Bird and Browning, Elman finished with 27 digs and Jansen added 10 more. Creighton had 59 kills, three aces, 84 digs and 14 blocks while hitting .208 overall.
Marquette was paced by Bailey's match-best 24 kills, though she had 14 errors and needed 70 swings. Bailey, the preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, shared team-high honors in digs with Lauren Houg's 18. Nele Barber (14 kills, 10 digs) added a double-double for the Golden Eagles, who were 26th in last week's AVCA rankings. MU had 57 kills, three aces, 65 digs and eight blocks on .162 hitting overall.
"The key to victory was that other than a 5-8 point run in the 3rd game where we made back-to-back mental errors, we played consistent and didn't give up runs," said Booth. "We couldn't let them get multiple points at a time and did a great job with that tonight."
Creighton will also play on the road next weekend with a pair of matches, beginning with a Friday night tilt at Seton Hall at 6 pm Central.
NOTES: Maggie Baumert missed Creighton's first ever quadruple-double by a single kill, though she did have a career-high nine kills. Baumert's 10 blocks were a career-best ... Marquette's only BIG EAST losses the past two seasons have both come against Creighton, as CU swept the Golden Eagles on Oct. 13, 2013 in Omaha ... The team to win the first set has won all eight meetings between Creighton and Marquette ... Creighton's six straight wins is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in program history, and longest since a program-record 17-match win streak in 2012 ... Leah McNary has played in 79 wins as a Bluejay, tied with Brooke Boggs for second-most in CU history and trailing only Megan Bober (81) ... Creighton is 19-2 in its last 21 matches in the month of October ... Creighton has won 70 straight matches when up 2-0 at intermission and 55 straight when up 2-1 after three sets ... Jess Bird's double-double was her first of 2014 after 11 as a freshman.
