Volleyball Seeks Share of BIG EAST Title in Final League Road Trip
11/12/2014 10:51:00 AM | Volleyball
This Weekend
Nov. 14 6 pm Creighton at Providence Providence, R.I. (Alumni Hall)
Nov. 15 4 pm Creighton at St. John's Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
This Weekend
Creighton (20-7, 13-1 BIG EAST) looks to clinch at least a share of its first BIG EAST title in program history when it takes its final regular-season road trip of the season.
On Friday, Creighton visits Providence (5-23, 1-13 BIG EAST) in a 6 pm Central affair that is scheduled for Alumni Hall (1,854 capacity) in Providence, R.I.
On Saturday night, Creighton meets St. John's (18-11, 7-7 BIG EAST) in Queens, N.Y., in a contest that starts at 4 pm Central. That match will take place at Carnesecca Arena (5,602).
Video Webcast Information
Both matches will be video webcast this weekend.
Friday's contest at Providence can be purchased for a fee at http://www.friars.com/collegesportslive/?media=463398.
Live streaming video of Saturday afternoon's match at St. John's will be available across the United States free of charge on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) via FOXSportsGO.com for desktop users and via the FOX Sports GO app for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones and select Window devices). BEDN has its own branded channel within FOX Sports GO and the FOX Sports GO mobile app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store or the Windows Store.
Radio Broadcast Information
Neither match this weekend will be on radio.
Live Stats Information
Both matches will have free live stats. Visit.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab at the top of the page for the exact link to the match.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton has been one of the hottest teams in the nation, winning 14 of its last 15 matches, sparked by the return of sophomore Jess Bird. The Bluejays are now 20-7 on the season and own a 1.5 game lead in the BIG EAST standings with an 13-1 conference record.
Five of Creighton's seven losses have come against top-25 teams (USC, Illinois, Nebraska, Kentucky, Kansas), and the Bluejays have already defeated preseason favorites from the Missouri Valley Conference (Wichita State) and Atlantic Sun (Lipscomb).
Kelli Browning (3.37 kps., 1.46 bps., .373%), Leah McNary (2.70 kps.) and Bird (2.79 kps., 2.31 dps.) have emerged as top offensive weapons for the Bluejays.
The program's all-time digs leader, Kate Elman (4.48 dps., 0.20 saps.) leads the team in both digs and aces per set but was expected to miss 3-6 weeks after breaking her forearm in an Oct. 24 win over Marquette. In her absence, Melanie Jereb (2.71 dps.) has stepped up as the team's libero.
Maggie Baumert (9.90 aps., 2.02 dps.) and Michelle Sicner (7.00 aps., 1.05 bps.) have handled the setting duties for the league's most prolific offense.
Creighton averages 14.26 kills, 16.35 digs, 2.69 blocks and 1.05 aces per set while hitting .237 as a team.
Scouting Providence
Providence is 5-23 this season and ninth in the BIG EAST with a 1-13 league record during its return to the league after a 12-year absence.
Kayla Fitzgerald (2.73 kps., 1.96 dps.) and Kayla Johnson (2.21 kps.) are among the team's top offensive options, with Jordan Wiesler (8.07 aps.) directing the offense.
Michelle Cruz is second in the BIG EAST with 4.98 digs per set and also tops PC with 28 aces this season, which ranks third in the league
As a club, Providence averages 11.04 kills, 1.05 aces, 15.06 digs and 1.45 blocks per set while hitting .121.
Scouting St. John's
St. John's is 18-11 on the season and still in contention for a BIG EAST Tournament bid with a 7-7 mark in league play to date.
The Red Storm are 9-3 at home this season, and are haven't been swept at home yet.
Karin Palgutova (4.32 kps., 2.82 dps., .254%) and Alexsandra Wachowicz (3.83 kps., .37 saps., .264%) are two of the top offensive players in the league and have combined for nearly 60 percent of the Red Storm's kills this season.
Deniz Mutlugil (10.77 aps.) and Shawna-Lei Santos (2.70 aps.) have handled the setting duties this season, and Santos also owns a team-high 4.47 digs per set.
As a team, St. John's averages 13.48 kills, 1.50 aces, 14.34 digs and 2.20 blocks per set while hitting .236.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 230-135 record in her 12th season with the Bluejays.
She was named the 2010 CVU.com National Coach of the Year after leading Creighton to the second round during its first NCAA Tournament appearance, and named the CaptainU College Coach of the Year, as well as the MVC Coach of the Year, in 2012 following another run to the second round of the NCAA's and a school-record 29 victories.
The winningest coach in school history, Booth has led Creighton to its only three NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also led the Jays into the top-25 each of the last three years, another program first.
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 associate head coach Tom Mendoza, assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens and volunteer assistant Kyle South.
Margot Royer-Johnson (Scranton, 1995) owns a 133-321 mark in her 15th year at Providence, which doubles as her career mark. She is assisted by Eddy DelSignore and Dominique Marshall.
The longest-tenured female coach in school history, Joanne Persico (Syracuse, 1987) owns a 405-267 record in her 21st year at St. John's. She has led the Red Storm to eight 20-win seasons, three BIG EAST regular-season titles, two NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet 16 berth in 2007. She is assisted by Mario Treibit and Maxim Auguste.
Series History vs. Providence
Creighton won the only previous meeting against Providence, a 25-10, 25-12, 25-7 victory in Omaha last month.
Creighton hit .471 in the match while holding the Friars to -.151 hitting and only allowing two points on PC's serve the entire afternoon.
Lauren Smith tied a BIG EAST record by hitting .857 in the Bluejay victory, connecting for 12 kills in 14 swings.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-0 all-time against Providence and coach Margot Royer-Johnson.
Series History vs. St. John's
Creighton leads the all-time series with St. John's by a 2-1 margin, including a 1-0 mark in Queens.
In the only previous meeting this season, Creighton swept the Red Storm in Omaha by a 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 margin behind 13 kills on .571 hitting from Jess Bird.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 2-1 vs. St. John's and coach Joanne Persico.
Last Weekend Summary
Creighton extended its win streak to eight with hard-fought road wins at Xavier (3-1) and Butler (3-2) last weekend to clinch a spot at the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament.
Jess Bird led Creighton with 31 kills, Melanie Jereb topped the team with 39 digs and Kelli Browning had a club-best 15 blocks in the victories.
Looking To Clinch The Top Spot
With two wins last weekend, Creighton locked up a top-three seed in the four-team BIG EAST Tournament to be held on Nov. 28-29 in Milwaukee.
With two wins this weekend, Creighton can clinch a top-two seed, and CU could also lock up the top seed in the tournament with two victories this weekend and a Marquette win over Seton Hall on Friday in South Orange.
Tournament host Marquette has also locked up a spot, but would lose any tiebreaker to Creighton.
Four teams remain in the running for the final remaining two spots.
Seton Hall stands in the best shape, and can qualify with wins this weekend at Marquette and DePaul.
Butler can clinch a spot with a home win over Xavier on Friday and a St. John's loss this week.
Xavier needs a win over Butler this weekend to still have a chance heading into its final week of the regular-season.
St. John's needs to win out against a challenging slate and also get help to have a chance at the fourth seed.
Hunting For A Title
Creighton owns a two-game lead in the loss column with four matches to play. The Bluejays can win an outright league title with at least three matches in the next two weeks, and can clinch at least a shared title with two wins.
Creighton's only other league title in program history came in 2012, when the Bluejays went 17-1 to win the Missouri Valley Conference title. That team went on to win the MVC Tournament title, as well.
Since joining the BIG EAST prior to last season, Creighton has won BIG EAST regular-season titles in baseball (2014) and men's soccer (2014).
20 Wins x 3
Now 20-7, Creighton has earned an unprecedented third consecutive 20-win season.
Creighton, which had never won more than 16 matches in a modern season prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival in 2003, owns seasons with 29, 23, 21 (3x), 20, 18 (2x), 17 and 16 victories during her tenure.
Matches Won
Year MP W L Pct.
1. 2012 33 29 4 .879
2. 2013 32 23 9 .719
3. 2006 31 21 10 .677
2007 31 21 10 .677
2010 33 21 12 .636
6. 2014 27 20 7 .741
This is 20/20
Jess Bird had career-highs with 22 kills and 23 digs in Creighton's 3-2 comeback victory at Butler on Nov. 8th. In the process, she became just the third player in CU history with at least 20 kills and 20 digs in the same match, and first since Leah Ratzlaff in 2004.
Bird, who also hit .405 in the contest, is the first person with a 20/20 while hitting .405 or better since Melissa Walsh did so on Oct. 10, 1998 (28 kills, 30 digs, .453).
20 Kills, 20 Digs In A Match
K D Name Opp. Date
28 30 Melissa Walsh at Drake (5g) 10/10/98
30 22 Melissa Walsh at Indiana St. (5g) 10/16/98
22 24 Melissa Walsh Wichita St. (4g) 11/5/99
20 26 Melissa Walsh at Indiana St. (5g) 10/14/00
23 22 Melissa Walsh vs. Evansville (4g) 11/24/00
23 21 Leah Ratzlaff Evansville (4g) 10/1/04
22 23 Jess Bird at Butler (5s) 11/8/14
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 205-8 (.962) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 148-2 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own an 98-4 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 9-179 (.048) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-62 mark in those home matches. Those nine comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below.
Notably, this year's team joins the 2004 club as the only one to win multiple matches in the same season when trailing 0-2 at intermission.
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
11/16/12 at Wichita St. 25-16, 25-20, 16-14 Booth
09/05/14 vs. No. Iowa 25-16, 25-22, 15-5 Booth
11/08/14 at Butler 25-16, 25-20, 15-13 Booth
Defense Rules
Creighton held Providence to -.151 hitting on Oct. 19, as the Friars had 17 kills and 31 errors in 93 swings.
The -.151 hitting percentage was the poorest performance ever by a Bluejay opponent, while the 17 kills were third-fewest.
Of the 31 times that Providence served, Creighton won the ensuing point on 29 of them.
Fewest Kills by a Creighton Opponent, Match
15 Drake 9/22/06
15 Montana State 8/25/07
17 Providence 10/19/14
18 at Jacksonville State 9/05/08
19 UMKC 9/15/96
Lowest Opponent Hitting % vs. Creighton, Match
Pct. Team K E TA Date
-.151 Providence 17 31 93 10/19/14
-.112 Jacksonville State 18 27 80 09/05/08
-.108 UMKC 19 27 74 09/15/96
-.086 Drake 15 23 93 09/22/06
-.067 Weber State 19 25 90 09/09/11
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Creighton hit a season-best .471 in its Oct. 19 win over Providence. The mark was not only a D.J. Sokol Arena record, but also the third-best mark by Creighton in any match in its history.
Attack Percentage
.536 vs. Tulsa (41-4-69) 10-27-95
.495 vs. Liberty (57-8-99) 9-2-05
.471 vs. Providence (36-4-68) 10-19-14
.418 vs. Evansville (98-21-184) 11-2-96
.414 vs. UC Riverside (57-11-111) 9-2-05
.414 vs. Drake (49-8-99) 10-3-08
A Bunch Of Winners
Creighton has experienced a great deal of success in recent seasons, and the current squad has enjoyed victories at historic levels. Consider the following numbers entering the 2014 season:
CU's 52 victories in the previous two seasons are six more than other two-year span in program history, previously done from 2011-12.
Creighton owns 72 wins in the last three seasons (2012-present), the winningest three-year span in program history and three more than the mark set from 2011-13.
CU's 90 victories in the previous four seasons are nine more than other four-year span in program history, which was done from 2009-12. The current senior class has 89 victories with four BIG EAST matches still to play.
Bunch Of Winners
Creighton's seniors have all experienced great success, both individually and as a team.
Leah McNary has appeared in 87 wins as a Bluejay, most in school history. Not far behind her are Kelli Browning (82), Michelle Sicner (79) and Katie Neisler (76).
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
87 Leah McNary 2011-Pres.
82 Kelli Browning 2011-Pres.
81 Megan Bober 2009-12
79 Brooke Boggs 2009-12
79 Michelle Sicner 2011-Pres.
76 Korie Lebeda 2005-08
76 Katie Neisler 2011-Pres.
74 Allie Oelke 2007-10
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 38-21 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 2-2 mark this year and a 12-6 home record in five-setters. That's impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth sets prior to Booth's arrival.
Creighton has won six of its last seven true road matches to go five sets, including wins in 2012 over league rivals Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State, wins last year at Denver and at Wichita State, and a win this year at Butler.
It's also worth noting that Creighton is 6-2 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
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 3-3 21-12
2011 5-2 17-14
2012 4-1 29-4
2013 3-2 23-9
2014 2-2 20-7
Total 53-49 323-287
Blocks A Key To Victory
Creighton's block has been one of the nation's best in the last five years, and this year is no different.
And it should come as no surprise, but how well Creighton blocks often correlates into CU's winning percentage.
In the 68 sets that Creighton has won, the Bluejays average 3.07 blocks per set, while in the 34 sets the Jays have lost that number plummets to 1.93 per set.
As can be seen in the chart below, Creighton has won 56-of-73 sets when owning two or more blocks in a set. Up that figure to four blocks in a set and the Jays improve to 25-6.
Blocks Set W-L Blocks Set W-L
0 3-8 No blocks 3-8
1 9-9 1 or more 65-26
2 18-5 2 or more 56-17
3 13-6 3 or more 38-12
4 10-2 4 or more 25-6
5 6-3 5 or more 15-4
5.5 1-1 5.5 or more 9-1
6 7-0 6 or more 7-0
7 1-0 7 or more 1-0
Kelli, Kelli, Kelli
Kelli Browning's outstanding season continues to see her chase a couple of school records.
Browning owns 11 straight matches with five or more blocks, the longest streak in program history.
Consecutive Matches, 5 or More Blocks
11 Kelli Browning (Oct. 4, 2014-Present)
9 Jessica Houts (Oct. 15-Nov. 19, 2005)
7 Laurel Sanford (Oct. 29-Nov. 24, 2011)
6 Melissa Walsh (Sept. 27-Oct. 16, 1998)
6 Jessica Houts (Sept. 1-10, 2006)
6 Kelli Browning (Sept. 25-Oct. 2, 2012)
Record Watch For Browning
Kelli Browning is chasing several other blocking records still held by Jessica Houts.
Browning owns 518 career block assists, 19 shy of Houts' mark of 537 set from 2005-09.
Browning also owns 571 career total blocks, trailing only the 609 career blocks by Houts.
Since the start of October, Browning has averaged 1.90 blocks per set, collecting 80 blocks in 11 matches (42 sets).
One record Browning already owns, but could break again, is CU's mark for hitting percentage in a season. After setting the record by hitting .370 in 2012, Browning is hitting an even better .373 this year.
Winning Trend
Creighton has won eight straight matches entering this weekend. The streak is tied for second-longest in program history, and and longest since a 17-match streak in 2012
Creighton's eight straight league wins is also the program's longest since joining the BIG EAST. The longest stretch of league wins in program history is 14, done by the same 2012 squad.
Consecutive Wins
Wins Dates Snapped By
17 Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012 at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
8 Oct. 25-Nov. 22, 2008 vs. Northern Iowa, 3-2
8 Oct. 11, 2014 - Present ? ? ?
7 Sept. 4-Sept. 17, 2004 Illinois State, 3-0
6 Sept. 21-Oct. 6, 2007 Wichita State, 3-0
6 Sept. 1-15, 2012 at Kansas, 3-2
6 Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 2014 at Seton Hall, 3-2
Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins
Wins Dates Snapped By League
14 Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012 Never (left MVC) MVC
9 Nov. 4, 2005-Sept. 30, 2006 Northern Iowa, 3-2 MVC
9 Nov. 17, 2006-Oct. 6, 2007 at Wichita State, 3-0 MVC
9 Oct. 25, 2008-Sept. 18, 2009 Northern Iowa, 3-1 MVC
8 Nov. 13, 2010 - Oct. 1, 2011 at Missouri State, 3-1 MVC
8 Oct. 11, 2014-Present ? ? ? BIG EAST
6 Sept. 21-Oct. 12, 2001 #16 Northern Iowa, 3-0 MVC
Piling Up The Wins
Creighton has won eight straight matches while winning 24-of-29 sets in that time.
During that stretch, Creighton has allowed more than 20 points in just 10 sets, and outscoring the opposition 682-530.
During these matches, Kelli Browning averaged 1.86 blocks per set to spearhead a team blocking average of 3.02 per set, as CU has hold foes to .118 hitting.
Lauren Smith has hit .422 while pounding 73 kills (2.52 kps.), Ashley Jansen has served 11 aces (0.38 saps.) and CU hit .258 as a team.
Smith Sets League Record
Lauren Smith set a Creighton record and tied a BIG EAST record on Oct. 19 when she hit .857 against Providence. Smith had 12 kills and no errors in 14 swings.
The mark tied the previous BIG EAST mark for a league game, first set by Marquette's Kelsey Mattai vs. Pittsburgh on Oct. 5, 2012.
Creighton's previous record for hitting percentage in a match was .750, done by Katy Grady (Aug. 30, 2003 vs. Auburn) and later matched by Abby Baumann (Sept. 3, 2005 at San Diego State).
Smith On A Tear
Sophomore Lauren Smith has played at a high clip in the last six matches. In that time, she's averaged 2.64 kills per set and 0.77 blocks per set. She's also hit .470 in the four victories, including single-match hitting percentages of .857, .500, .600, .533 and .381 in that time.
Offense Starts Clicking
Despite being blocked in six of the first 19 points in Saturday's match at Butler, that didn't slow down the Creihgton offensive juggernaut.
Creighton finished the five-set match with 79 kills, its most in any match since Nov. 23, 2007.
On the other side of things, Butler did finish with 20 blocks and forced Creighton into 41 attack errors. The 41 attack errors were the most by the Bluejays since making 43 in a four-set loss to Missouri State on Nov. 10, 2006, but the most in school history in any victory.
Sicner To The Rescue
Michelle Sicner had played sparingly since her mother, Cheryl, had passed away due to colon cancer on September 5th. But when her team needed a lift on October 17, the senior setter was ready and came through in a big way.
With Creighton trailing 10-3 to open the match against St. John's, head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth replaced starting setter Maggie Baumert with Sicner.
Creighton immediately went on a 10-3 run to tie the score, and would outscore the Red Storm 72-51 the rest of the night.
After totaling 10 assists, three blocks, three kills and one dig in the 17 matches between Sept. 5 - Oct. 10, Sicner finished the St. John's match with 32 assists, five blocks, four kills and five digs.
The strong performance helped her earn a start two days later against Providence, when she had 20 assists and helped Creighton hit an arena record .471. It was Sicner's first start since Aug. 30.
Sicner once again came off the bench in the Oct. 24 match, helping CU rally to defeat Marquette and finishing with 27 assists.
Sicner has started each of the last four matches, though the roles were reversed last Saturday night when Sicner gave way to Baumert late in the first set at Butler as Baumert orchestrated a comeback victory.
Serving Up A Winner
After big struggles during non-conference play with its serving, Creighton has made huge strides behind the service line since BIG EAST play has started.
In 50 sets during non-conference play, Creighton had 45 aces against 125 service miscues while putting just 88.9 percent of its serves in play.
By comparison, Creighton owns 62 aces against just 70 service errors in 52 sets during league action. In that time, CU has put 94.2 percent of its serves in play. Jess Bird and Ashley Jansen have combined for 27 aces and just 24 service errors in 367 serves during league play.
After going 7-6 in the non-conference, Creighton is 13-1 in BIG EAST action.
Elman Breaks Forearm, Out 3-6 Weeks
Libero Kate Elman will miss 3-6 weeks after suffering a non-displaced fracture of her radius (forearm) during its October 24 win over Marquette. The injury happened late in the second set when the Omaha native crashed into a courtside table while attempting a dig with CU leading 18-17. She did not return, and X-rays immediately following the match confirmed the injury.
Elman leads the Bluejays with 4.48 digs per set and ranks among the team leaders with 17 service aces in 2014. Prior to her injury, the junior from Omaha had played in 330 straight sets at libero since arriving to campus in the fall of 2012, becoming the program's all-time digs leader in an October 3 win at DePaul.
BIG EAST Honors Browning & Jereb
The BIG EAST Conference has honored Creighton Volleyball's Kelli Browning and Melanie Jereb for their performances on Oct. 24 & 26.
Browning was named BIG EAST Player of the Week, while Jereb was tabbed BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week after helping Creighton to a 2-0 weekend.
Browning averaged 4.43 kills and 1.86 blocks per set while hitting a red-hot .532. Browning opened her weekend by leading Creighton with 18 kills and five blocks on .593 hitting in a 3-1 victory over defending league champ Marquette, helping to push CU into sole possession of first place. Browning, who hails from the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, hit .455 or better in all four sets and had three points as CU bolted to a 4-0 lead in the decisive fourth set and never trailed. Her .593 hitting stands as the best hitting percentage in a match by any BIG EAST player this year with at least 25 swings.
In the 3-0 sweep of DePaul, the two-time All-American once again led Creighton with 13 kills, eight blocks and .450 hitting as CU held the Blue Demons to .009 hitting in 114 swings. Browning's third kill of the match made her just the 10th player in CU history to reach 1,000 career kills. She had eight kills and eight blocks by intermission, then added five kills in six swings during the 25-12 clincher.
This was the second time this season Browning has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week (also Sept. 15), and third time in her career.
Playing libero for the first time in her life, Jereb averaged 5.83 digs per set while playing in six sets (all victories). She also successfully handled all 22 serve receptions.
With Marquette leading the match 1-0 and the score tied at 18-all in the second set, Jereb came off the bench after Kate Elman broke her forearm and had to leave the match. Jereb had three digs as CU evened the match after a 7-2 run to win the set. She then had five digs in the third set and eight more to finish the match with a club-high and personal season-high 16 digs.
Jereb then played her first full match at libero in a 3-0 win over DePaul. She had six digs in the first and third sets and seven digs in the second frame to finish with a season-best and match-high 19 digs. CU held DePaul to 24 digs and .009 hitting in the contest.
Jereb had entered the week with just seven total digs in CU's first six matches of October.
Jays Turn To Jereb As Libero
Since Kate Elman broke her right forearm in the second set of the Oct. 24 win over Marquette, CU has turned to Melanie Jereb as libero.
Jereb, who told reporters later she had never played libero in her life at any level, learned quickly, averaging 5.83 digs per set to earn BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week accolades in her first weekend at the position.
Since Jereb moved to libero to start set three vs. Marquette on Oct. 24, Creighton has averaged 17.94 digs per set and been aced just 13 times in 17 sets.
Since the libero became legal in 2002, the Jays have used multiple liberos in a season just four times (2005, 2006, 2010, 2014), and only used 12 different players in that role.
Below are the stats for each woman as solely Creighton's libero.
Stats As Creighton's Libero
Name Year(s) SP DIGS DPS
Julianne Mandolfo 2010-11 173 1,020 5.90
Bianca Rivera 2007-08 207 1,118 5.40
Nayka Benitez 2009-10 183 908 4.96
Melanie Jereb 2014 17 82 4.82
Mallory Lahm 2005 51 240 4.71
Brittany Coleman 2005 38 174 4.58
Kate Elman 2012-14 330 1,503 4.55
Janeen Piller 2002-04 313 1,371 4.38
Katie Mehal 2005-06 116 503 4.34
Emily Greisch 2005 12 49 4.08
Molly Lahr 2005 1 2 2.00
Sarah Schulze 2006 3 5 1.67
Dos Liberos
Creighton used two liberos in the Oct. 24 win over Marquette, as Kate Elman played the first two sets before Melanie Jereb replaced Elman after she suffered broken forearm.
It was just the fifth time in the history of Bluejay Volleyball that the team has used two liberos in the same contest, and first such time since 2006.
Incredibly, Creighton has won all five matches.
Two Liberos, Same Match
Date W/L Opponent Liberos (Sets)
9/23/05 W 3-0 Indiana State Emily Greisch/Molly Lahr
10/4/05 W 3-0 S. Dakota St. Emily Greisch/Mallory Lahm
8/26/06 W 3-0 Florida Atlantic Katie Mehal/Sarah Schulze
9/9/06 W 3-2 Saint Louis Sarah Schulze/Katie Mehal
10/24/14 W 3-1 Marquette Kate Elman/Melanie Jereb
Home Sweet Home
Creighton has won eight straight home matches, tied for the second-longest streak in program history. Creighton has two home matches left, Nov. 21 & 23, this season.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
13 Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013 California, 3-0
8 Sept. 25-Nov. 20, 2010 Northern Illinois, 3-0
8 Sept. 20, 2014 - Present ? ? ?
7 Oct. 17, 2008-Aug. 28, 2009 #10 Illinois, 3-0
6 Oct. 22, 2005-Sept. 2, 2006 Iowa, 3-2
Even Year Streak, In League Play, At Home
Creighton is 7-0 at home in BIG EAST play this season and has now won 24 straight conference home matches in even-numbered years. CU was 9-0 in 2012 and also won its final eight home MVC contests in 2010.
Creighton is 23-5 all-time in BIG EAST play, including a 14-1 mark at home, since joining the conference prior to last season.
Since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009, Creighton is 45-6 in conference home matches.
Offensive Production Up
Creighton is averaging 14.26 kills per set through 27 matches, easily the top mark in the BIG EAST and 14th-best nationally. The figure is the best by any Bluejay team since sets have been played to 25 points beginning in 2008.
On the other side of the net, CU is allowing only 11.48 kills per set. That figure would be the best mark by any CU defense since the program's 1994 reinstatement.
Browning Earns Second Defensive Honor
Creighton senior Kelli Browning was named BIG EAST Defensive Volleyball Player of the Week, the league announced on Oct. 20.
It was the second time in three weeks that Browning has earned the award, having also won it on October 6.
A Waukesha, Wis., native, Browning averaged 2.33 blocks, 2.33 kills and 0.67 digs per set in a pair of 3-0 victories. Creighton held St. John's and Providence to a combined total of 49 kills on .011 hitting in six sets that saw the Jays outscore their league rivals 150-90.
On Friday, Browning had seven blocks, seven kills and two digs in a 3-0 win over St. John's, as CU avenged its only home loss in BIG EAST play in the past two years.
On Sunday, Browning had seven kills and seven blocks on .545 hitting in CU's 3-0 win over Providence. Browning's blocking helped hold PC to -.151 hitting, the poorest mark ever by a Bluejay opponent. In addition, Providence's 17 kills were the third-fewest in history against Creighton.
For the week, Browning outblocked Creighton's opponents, 14-7.
Even Year October Push
Creighton went 7-1 in the month of October tying a school record for wins in that month.
Creighton also won seven matches in the month of October in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
Like the first four occasions, 2014 is also an even-numbered year.
Blue October
Creighton has enjoyed tremendous success in October in recent seasons. The Jays have won 24 of the last 27 times it has taken the floor in the 10th month of the year, dating to an Oct. 15, 2011 setback at No. 12 Northern Iowa.
Creighton has also won 22 of its last 23 home matches in October since Oct. 22, 2009.
Past The Midpoint
Creighton's Oct. 19 win over Providence marked the midway point of BIG EAST Conference play, as the Jays had played all nine league opponents exactly once.
Currently 13-1, this year's team had a winning record at the midpoint of league play for the fifth straight season, and 11th time in 13 seasons under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
This year's team joins the 2012 club as the second club in program history to start 8-1 in league play. That team went on to win the program's only regular-season conference crown.
League Record by Year
Year 1st Half 2nd Half Place
1994 2-8 1-9 T-9th MVC
1995 3-7 3-7 T-7th MVC
1996 2-7 3-6 T-6th MVC
1997 6-3 4-5 T-3rd MVC
1998 2-7 3-6 8th MVC
1999 5-4 4-5 5th MVC
2000 5-4 5-4 T-4th MVC
2001 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2002 1-8 1-8 T-9th MVC
2003 5-4 4-5 T-5th MVC
2004 5-4 5-4 5th MVC
2005 4-5 6-3 5th MVC
2006 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2007 7-2 7-2 T-2nd MVC
2008 7-2 8-1 2nd MVC
2009 4-5 6-3 T-4th MVC
2010 7-2 6-3 3rd MVC
2011 6-3 6-3 4th MVC
2012 8-1 9-0 1st MVC
2013 6-2 6-2 T-2nd BIG EAST
2014 8-1 5-0 1st
Total 107-83 102-84 --
Award-Winning Performances
Kelli Browning and Marysa Wilkinson were honored by the BIG EAST Conference for their play the weekend of Oct. 3-4.
Browning was named Defensive Player of the Week, while Wilkinson was Freshman of the Week.
A senior from Waukesha, Wis., Browning averaged 3.50 kills and an impressive 2.38 blocks per set while hitting .370 as Creighton picked up a pair of four-set road wins.
Browning opened her weekend with 14 kills and a then- season-high nine blocks at DePaul. She hit .385 in the match and added two aces while becoming the second player in school history to reach 500 career blocks.
In the return to her home state of Wisconsin one night later, Browning had 14 kills, 10 blocks and six digs at Marquette for her first double-double of the season. Browning hit .357 in the victory and six of her 10 stuffs came against BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Autumn Bailey.
Wilkinson averaged 2.25 kills, .75 digs and .62 blocks per set while hitting .385 during the weekend.
The Lincoln, Neb., native started her week with eight kills and five blocks while hitting .412 in a 3-1 victory at DePaul. She then had 10 kills and a career-best six digs on .364 hitting in CU's 3-1 win at defending league champion Marquette. Her 10 kills were the most by a BIG EAST freshman in a road win at Marquette since Syracuse's Noemie Lefebvre had 15 on Oct. 18, 2008.
Can You Dig It?
Kate Elman broke a pair of 10-year-old school records held by Janeen Piller on Oct. 3 vs. DePaul.
Elman passed Piller's mark of 1,392 career digs and enters this weekend with 1,503. Elman also passed Piller's record for career matches with 10+ digs of 74, and now owns 78.
Most Career Digs, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Kate Elman 330 1,503 2012-Pr.
2. Janeen Piller 336 1,392 2001-04
3. Allie Oelke 445 1,382 2007-10
4. Kailey Reyes 368 1,258 1998-01
5. Melissa Walsh 394 1,240 1998-01
6. Julianne Mandolfo 241 1,224 2010-11
7. Melissa Weisensee 411 1,223 1994-97
8. Korie Lebeda 428 1,130 2005-08
9. Megan Bober 480 1,123 2009-12
10. Bianca Rivera 207 1,118 2007-08
Matches With 10+ Digs, Career
10+D Name Years
78 Kate Elman 2012-Pres.
74 Janeen Piller 2001-04
71 Allie Oelke 2007-10
Elman With 20/20/20 Vision
Kate Elman tied Julianne Mandolfo's school record with her 32nd career match of 20 or more digs on Oct. 11 at Villanova.
Matches With 20+ Digs, Career
20+D Name Years
32 Julianne Mandolfo 2010-11
32 Kate Elman 2012-Pres.
27 Bianca Rivera 2007-08
Baumert Records Rare Triple-Double
Maggie Baumert had the first triple-double of her career in the Oct. 4 victory at Marquette, finishing with 42 assists, 12 digs and a career-high 10 blocks. She also finished with a career-best nine kills as she finished just one kill shy of the first quadruple-double in Bluejay history.
Baumert's triple-double was the 29th in Creighton history, and she's the sixth different Bluejay ever to record one.
Matches With a Triple-Double, Career
T-D Name Years
15 Megan Bober 2009-12
5 Michelle Sicner 2011-Pres.
4 Kailey Reyes 1998-2001
2 Melissa Weisensee 1994-97
2 JoDe Cieloha 1994-97
1 Maggie Baumert 2014-Pres.
Let's Compare
Let's take a look at how Creighton's start in 2014 compares to the last three seasons.
Stat 2014 (so far) 2013 2012 2011
W-L 20-7 so far 23-9 29-4 17-14
Postseason ? ? ? NCAA NCAA ---
Tourney Titles 1 1 2 0
Kills/Set 14.26 13.47 13.39 12.75
Hitting % .237 .220 .247 .203
Aces/Set 1.05 0.99 1.24 1.13
Digs/Set 16.35 15.76 17.32 17.23
Blocks/Set 2.69 3.06 3.06 2.54
Browning Reaches 1,000 Kills
With her third kill on Oct. 26 vs. DePaul, Kelli Browning became the 10th player in CU history to reach 1,000 kills. She reached the milestone in her 110th career match.
Among those that Browning has joined in that elite group is classmate Leah McNary. McNary got to 1,000 kills on Sept. 12 vs. Pepperdine in her 96th career match.
The only previous time Creighton had two players reach 1,000 career kills in the same season was in 2008, when Jessica Houts and Amanda Cvejdlik each reached the milestone one week apart.
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. Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts 90 11/08/08 Illinois State
Leah McNary 96 09/12/14 Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik 99 11/15/08 at Evansville
Shelly Kapler 103 11/18/99 vs. Missouri State
Allie Oelke 107 10/09/10 Wichita State
Kelli Browning 110 10/26/14 DePaul
The Word on Bird
Jess Bird has produced 121 kills and 111 digs in the last 11 matches after entering the stretch with 16 kills and nine digs in four previous matches this season.
Bird has shown minimal signs of a knee ailment that forced her to miss 12 of Creighton's first 14 matches this season.
Bird owns four double-doubles since returning, including career-highs with 22 kills and 23 digs in a five-set win at Butler on Nov. 8th.
Creighton is 13-2 this year with Bird in the line-up, compared to a 7-5 mark without her.
Since returning to the starting line-up, Bird has averaged a team-best 3.22 kills per set and also owns 12 aces against just eight service errors.
Elman Earns BIG EAST Defensive Honor
Junior libero Kate Elman was named the BIG EAST Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 30. An Omaha native, Elman averaged 4.80 digs and 0.90 assists to help Creighton start BIG EAST play 3-0.
Elman is the first Bluejay to ever earn BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors. Elman's previous recognition from a league office came as a freshman, when she was a three-time MVC Freshman of the Week in 2012.
In an ironic twist, Kate Elman's sister Lexi Elman was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week on the same day after leading Pacific to a pair of victories.
Senior Citizens
Creighton hosted Senior Day after its Sept. 26 match, as it honored Kelli Browning, Leah McNary, Katie Neisler and Michelle Sicner, as well as senior manager Katie Thompson.
Since all five women arrived on campus in the fall of 2011, the Bluejays have gone 89-34, won an MVC regular-season title, an MVC Tournament title, won matches in two different NCAA Tournaments, and moved into the national rankings for the first time in program history.
Browning is a two-time All-American Honorable Mention selection from Waukesha, Wis. She ranks first in CU history in hitting percentage and second in blocks, and currently leads the BIG EAST with a .373 hitting percentage. Browning tied for the national lead as a sophomore with a school-record 204 total blocks.
McNary became the ninth player in Creighton history to surpass 1,000 career kills in September. A First Team All-BIG EAST pick last year, McNary led the team in kills as both a sophomore and junior.
After playing mostly in the back row her first three years, Neisler has moved into a starting outside hitter role as a senior. She owns 88 kills this season, including a career-high 16 vs. Butler on Sept. 26.
Sicner was an All-American Honorable Mention pick in 2013, when she started at setter in 28 matches and led the team with 17 double-doubles and four triple-doubles. Also named AVCA National Player of the Week last October 15th, Sicner ranks sixth in CU history in assists.
What Can Brown(ing) Do For You?
Kelli Browning continues to produce at the level you'd expect from a two-time All-American, and her senior season has been nothing shy of brilliant.
Browning has averaged 3.37 kills and 1.46 blocks per set while hitting .373 this season. After entering her senior season with a career-high of 18 kills, Browning has had four different matches of 18 or more kills this fall.
In five matches against ranked teams this season, Browning is averaging 3.53 kills and 1.00 blocks per set while hitting .381.
Entering the week, Browning was one of two players nationally with at least 340 kills who was hitting .370 or better. She was above both standards, hitting .373 with 344 kills.
Browning also entered this week ninth nationally among middle blockers in kills.
Below is a list of the First, Second and Third-Team All-Americans from 2013 and their stats:
Name, School (AA Team) KPS Hit % BPS
Sallie McLaurin, Oklahoma (2) 3.78 .423 1.37
Tori Dixon, Minnesota (1) 3.66 .399 1.29
Chloe Mann, Florida (1) 3.45 .506 0.85
Chloe Ferrari, San Diego (2) 3.15 .444 0.93
Caroline Jarmoc, Kansas (3) 3.06 .320 1.15
Carly Wopat, Stanford (1) 2.89 .429 1.43
Inky Ajanaku, Stanford* (1) 2.72 .438 1.38
Alexis Olgard, USC (3) 2.21 .442 1.28
Katie Slay, Penn State (3) 2.16 .414 1.63
Chiaka Ogbogu, Texas* (2) 1.74 .389 1.08
*still active in 2014
Browning Named MVP
Kelli Browning was named MVP of the Bluejay Invitational after averaging 3.64 kills and 1.36 blocks per set on .413 hitting from Sept. 12-13.
It was the sixth All-Tournament Team accolade of the senior's career, but her first MVP recognition.
Joining Browning on the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team from Creighton were Maggie Baumert (11.84 aps., 2.18 dps., 1.18 kps., .385% that weekend) and Lauren Smith (2.00 kps., 1.18 bps., .356%).
On The Upswing
Creighton's Oct. 3rd match at DePaul marked Creighton's 600th since restarting the program. In that time, Creighton is now 323-287. Here's a look at Creighton's record in 100-match intervals:
Match #'s Team W-L Coach(es)
1-100 34-66 Guiliano/Wallace
101-200 44-56 Wallace
201-300 44-56 Wallace/Booth
301-400 60-40 Booth
401-500 58-42 Booth
501-600 74-26 Booth
601-700 9-1 so far Booth
Ranked vs. Unranked
Five of Creighton's losses this year have come against teams that were ranked in the AVCA Top 25, including setbacks to USC, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas and Kentucky.
Since the start of the 2002 season, 11 of Creighton's 20 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 71-9 against unranked teams.
Each of Creighton's final four matches of the regular-season are against teams that are unranked.
It Goes On, And On, And On, And On, And On
Creighton has played in 803 sets since the move to 25-point rally scoring sets in 2008, but none have been as high scoring as its Sept. 20th fourth set marathon against South Dakota.
Creighton would save six match points before finally converting its fourth set point opportunity of the frame in a 34-32 victory. Last week Marquette lost a 34-32 first set to Seton Hall before clinching the match with a 35-33 fourth set triumph.
The highest-scoring frame previously had been a pair of 30-28 sets.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, CU's Sept. 23rd 25-7 victory in the first set at Georgetown matched the most lopsided set victory in Creighton history in the current scoring format. CU replicated that 25-7 score in the third set on Oct. 19 vs. Providence.
Top 10 Scares
Creighton won the first set from both No. 6 USC (25-22 on September 6) and No. 9 Nebraska (25-21 on September 17) this season.
Creighton has played 20 matches against top-10 teams all-time, and this was the fourth time it's taken a 1-0 lead in the match. CU also won the first set against No. 1 Nebraska on Sept. 24, 2006 and at No. 7 Northern Iowa on Sept. 21, 2002.
The closest Creighton has ever come to defeating a top-10 team came last season, when the Bluejays dropped a five-set match to No. 7 Hawai'i in Wichita, Kan.
Secret Weapon?
Katie Neisler had five kills all of last year, and entered her senior season with 19 kills in 81 career matches while being used mostly in the back row.
By by those standards she's turned into an offensive juggernaut this fall, unleashing 88 kills this year.
Neisler had (then) career-highs with seven kills and .583 hitting in a Sept. 13 sweep over Bowling Green, adding two aces. Making her achievement all the more impressive was that all seven kills came on back row attacks.
Neisler established new career-highs with 12 kills and 42 attack attempts in a Sept. 19 match vs. No. 16 Illinois.
She out-did those marks on Sept. 26 with 16 kills and 43 swings vs. Butler, adding 17 digs for her first career double-double.
Browning Considered For Senior CLASS Award
Creighton Volleyball's Kelli Browning was one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. Browning is a two-time All-American middle blocker hailing from Waukesha, Wis.
Browning joined Butler's Belle Obert as one of two BIG EAST representatives on the list, and was the only student-athlete that plays in Nebraska. Neither played advanced to the final 10.
The award, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I volleyball coaches, national volleyball media and fans, is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in Division I volleyball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, community, character and competition.
BIG EAST Honors Duo
The Creighton Volleyball team swept the weekly awards handed out by the BIG EAST Conference on Sept. 15. Kelli Browning was named Player of the Week, while Marysa Wilkinson was tabbed Freshman of the Week.
Browning was named MVP of the Bluejay Invitational after leading Creighton to a 3-0 record and its first title in the 10-year history of the event. A two-time All-America Honorable-Mention selection, Browning averaged 3.64 kills and 1.36 blocks per set while hitting .413 on the week.
Wilkinson helped Creighton to its first Bluejay Invitational title in 10 tries by averaging 2.36 kills and 0.82 blocks per set in three victories. She hit an impressive .377.
It was the first league honor of the season for both. Browning has previously been named BIG EAST Player of the Week once last year, Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week twice and MVC Freshman of the Week once.
Wilkinson Producing Early & Often
Marysa Wilkinson has emerged as an offensive weapon for Creighton.
With nine kills on September 6 vs. No. 6 USC, Wilkinson became the first true freshman in 10 years to have nine or more kills against a top-10 foe. She joined Carolyn Decker vs. No. 5 Nebraska way back on Oct. 10, 2004, who also had nine kills.
Wilkinson had a career-high 14 kills on Sept. 13 against Wichita State, including six in the fourth set clincher against the preseason favorites from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Wilkinson added 10 kills at Marquette on Oct. 4. That figure was the most by any BIG EAST freshman in a road win at Marquette since 2008.
Starters Sidelined
Making Creighton's non-conference schedule even more daunting was that much of it was done it without a pair of 2013 starters, Jess Bird and Michelle Sicner.
Bird had arthroscopic surgery on her knee on September 3 and missed CU's first 11 matches of the month (CU went 6-5) before she returned by playing a few points each on Sept. 26 and 28.
Sicner didn't make the trip to the Commonwealth Classic (Sept. 5-6) so that she could spend more time with her family, as her mother Cheryl would end up passing away on Friday morning (Sept. 5) after a lengthy battle with colon cancer. She played in just five points in the same 11 matches that Bird missed.
To help honor the memory of Cheryl Sicner, the team is wearing uniforms with a “CS” insignia on the right sleeve, and hosted a Colon Cancer Awareness Night, as well as a moment of silence, prior to its Senior Night on Sept. 26 vs. Butler.
Tough With A Lead
Creighton is 69-5 since September 1, 2011 when winning set one, with three of those losses coming against top-11 teams.
Creighton has won 44 straight home matches when winning set one dating to an Aug. 28, 2010 loss to Lipscomb.
Creighton has won 75 straight matches when leading 2-0 (dating to Sept. 12, 2009) and has also won 58 of its last 59 matches when leading 2-1 in a match dating to Oct. 16, 2009.
All-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Creighton is 148-2 when leading a match 2-0 and is also 99-8 when leading a match 2-1 after three sets.
Finally, A Title At Home
The Sept. 12-13 Bluejay Invitational was the 15th home tournament that Creighton has ever hosted, but first such title it has celebrated at home.
Before that, CU had hosted nine Bluejay Invitationals, (2005-13), two Creighton First Serve Festivals (1996-97), one Creighton Classic (2011), one MVC Tournament (2009) and one BIG EAST Tournament (2013) since the program's 1994 restart without a title.
Baumert Shows Offensive Side, Too
Junior Maggie Baumert had 13 kills in 34 attack attempts at the Commonwealth Classic while directing a 5-1 offense in college for the first time.
In the first 65 matches of her career (62 at Georgia, 3 at Creighton), spanning 241 sets, Baumert owned a total of nine kills in 25 attack attempts.
Baumert also showed herself to be a capable blocker. She had five blocks in the tournament, including her first ever solo stuff, after just three career blocks previously.
Last Year Summary
Last year's Creighton team finished 23-9 and tied for second place in the BIG EAST with a 12-4 league mark.
The Bluejays reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years with a first-round victory over Arkansas.
Kelli Browning and Leah McNary were named first team all-conference, while Browning and Michelle Sicner were tabbed as AVCA All-American Honorable Mention selections.
Second Round Regular
Creighton is one of 19 teams to win a first round match in the NCAA Tournament each of the past two years.
That list, alphabetically, includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawai'i, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and Washington.
Busy Month
Creighton played 13 matches in the month of September, all during a 24-day stretch between Sept. 5-28. CU went 8-5 in that stretch.
The 13 matches were the most in any month for Bluejay Volleyball since 13 matches in September of 2006. CU went 10-3 in that month, its most victories ever for any month.
If you're curious, the only month in history that CU played more than 13 times came in September of 1995, when it went 7-9.
The Votes Add Up
Creighton has eight matches scheduled against teams that received votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll, including five teams in the top-25.
Creighton played matches against teams that were preseason ranked No. 5 (USC), No. 7 (Nebraska), No. 11 (Illinois), No. 19 (Kentucky) and No. 22 (Kansas).
Creighton also swept Colorado, which received enough points to finish 33rd in the voting, and swept a home-and-home league series with No. 29 Marquette.
Besides Creighton, the only other school to play five different non-conference teams that are in the preseason top-25 is Stanford.
When it took on No. 6 USC and No. 16 Kentucky on Sept. 6, it marked the first time ever that Creighton faced two ranked teams on the same day. It was also just the fifth time CU played in a regular-season tournament against two ranked teams, joining the Pacific/Nike Invitational (1998), Santa Clara Invitational (2001), Holiday Inn Downtown Classic (2007) and the Bluejay Invitational (2008).
Hometown Flavor
Creighton's 2014 roster boasts 10 players from the state of Nebraska, including all four newcomers.
The 10 Nebraska natives is most since the program's 1994 restart, one more than the 2004 and 2005 clubs that had nine each.
Once In A Lifetime Trip
Creighton experienced a once-in-a-lifetime trip in mid-May when it ventured to Nicaragua. The trip included several matches against the Nicaraguan Jr. National Team (all Creighton victories), but much of the trip's purpose centered on visits to schools, delivering books and other service-oriented programs.
Team USA Trio
Three members of the Creighton Volleyball team donned Team USA jerseys this summer. Kelli Browning, Jess Bird and Leah McNary each suited up for the US Collegiate National Team in June at the 2014 USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships in Minneapolis.
Creighton and Florida State led all schools with three representatives among the 36 women selected.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 83-78 in the 54 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 23-9 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 63-45 in 38 regular-season tournaments, including nine titles.
Creighton won two regular-season tournaments in 2012, taking the season-opening USF Invitational as well as the Northern Colorado Classic, the Hampton Inn Invitational in 2013, and the Bluejay Invitational (Sept. 12-13).
Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.
Big Time Schedule
Creighton's non-conference slate contained six teams to get votes for the preseason top-25, including five ranked teams.
In addition, seven of the teams are picked either first or second place in their conference.
Name Preseason Rank Preseason Conf. Rank
Lipscomb - 1st in Atlantic Sun
Utah Valley - 3rd in Western Athletic
Kansas 22 2nd in Big 12
Northern Iowa - 2nd in Missouri Valley
USC 5 2nd in Pacific-12
Kentucky 19 2nd in Southeastern
Pepperdine - 4th in WCC
Bowling Green - 3rd in Mid-American East
Wichita State - 1st in Missouri Valley
Nebraska 7 2nd in Big 10
Illinois 11 4th in Big 10
South Dakota - 4th in Summit
Colorado RV 7th in Pacific-12
As A Ranked Team
All-time, Creighton is 19-6 when playing as a ranked team in the AVCA poll, including a 18-2 mark versus unranked teams.
The Bluejays started the year in the preseason Top 25 for the second straight fall. Last year's team was 25th to start the season, while this fall the club is ranked 23rd.
Set 1 Result = Match Result
Creighton is 192-22 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 38-113 under Booth when it drops the first set.
Creighton has also won 44 home straight contests when winning the first set.
Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won six matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point. Three of those wins have come against Wichita State.
On the other hand, Creighton is 230-2 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 fifth set loss, and two other match points on Nov. 1, 2013 in a 17-15 fifth set loss to St. John's.
Surviving Match Points, Under Booth
Date Opponent MP(s) Faced Final Set 5
08/30/03 vs. McNeese State 13-14, 15-16 18-16
10/10/03 Wichita State 13-14 16-14
10/13/06 at Wichita State 12-14, 13-14, 14-15 17-15
09/11/07 at Drake 13-14, 14-15 17-15
08/26/11 vs. UTSA 12-14, 13-14 16-14
11/16/12 at Wichita State 13-14 16-14
Blocking Specialists
Creighton has consistently proven to be an elite blocking team in recent seasons, leading their conference each of the previous three years in the category.
The Jays led the nation last year with 3.06 blocks per set, and one year prior were fourth-best nationally while also averaging 3.06 blocks per set.
Leading the blocking brigade during this time span has been Kelli Browning. Browning was fifth nationally in 2012 with 1.65 blocks per set, then finished eighth in 2013 with 1.53 stuffs per set.
This year, Browning ranks fourth in the country with 149 blocks, just 11 behind the national leader.
In the month of October, Creighton averaged 3.28 blocks per set as a team, with Browning's 1.93 average leading the way.
Marian Pipeline
This is the 12th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as juniors Kate Elman and Ashley Jansen are in the program.
Interestingly, the Jays had never had a volleyball player from Marian between 1994-2002. Here's a look at Creighton's pipeline of players from Marian.
2014: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2013: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2012: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2011: Julianne Mandolfo
2010: Lisa Greisch, Julianne Mandolfo
2009: Lisa Greisch
2008: Emily Crowley, Korie Lebeda
2007: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2006: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2005: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2004: Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2003: Emily Greisch
Production Returning
Creighton returned 12-of-13 letterwinners to the court from last season. Below is a breakdown of the production that returns:
Stat Returners Departures
Points 2100.5 (99.1%) 19.5 (0.9%)
Kills 1618 (99.3%) 12 (0.7%)
Digs 1892 (99.2%) 15 (0.8%)
Aces 120 (100.0%) 0 (0.0%)
Matches Started 157 (98.1%) 3 (1.9%)
Blocks 362.5 (98.0%) 7.5 (2.0%)
Assists 1516 (100.0%) 0 (0.0%)
Radio Broadcast Information
Brad Burwell and former Bluejay volleyball player Erin (Swanson) Russell will broadcast most home matches this season.
The matches will air on KZOT (1180 AM) or KOIL (1290 AM) and be webcast online 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.
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
For the second straight season, Creighton has been picked to win the BIG EAST Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches.
CU received 77 points in the poll and five of a possible 10 first-place votes. Defending champ Marquette was picked second with 71 points and four first-place votes, while Xavier (66 points) was third and claimed the remaining first-place tally. Rounding out the rest of the poll were Butler, St. John's, Seton Hall, Villanova, Georgetown, DePaul and Providence.
Creighton also had two women named to the 13 member on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as both Kelli Browning and Leah McNary were honored for a second straight year.
Marquette's Autumn Bailey was chosen as Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year.
Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them or better in the preseason poll in nine of the past 11 years.
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 3rd #1
2011 3rd 4th i1
2012 4th 1st #3
2013 1st T-2nd i1
2014 1st ??? ???
Nov. 14 6 pm Creighton at Providence Providence, R.I. (Alumni Hall)
Nov. 15 4 pm Creighton at St. John's Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
This Weekend
Creighton (20-7, 13-1 BIG EAST) looks to clinch at least a share of its first BIG EAST title in program history when it takes its final regular-season road trip of the season.
On Friday, Creighton visits Providence (5-23, 1-13 BIG EAST) in a 6 pm Central affair that is scheduled for Alumni Hall (1,854 capacity) in Providence, R.I.
On Saturday night, Creighton meets St. John's (18-11, 7-7 BIG EAST) in Queens, N.Y., in a contest that starts at 4 pm Central. That match will take place at Carnesecca Arena (5,602).
Video Webcast Information
Both matches will be video webcast this weekend.
Friday's contest at Providence can be purchased for a fee at http://www.friars.com/collegesportslive/?media=463398.
Live streaming video of Saturday afternoon's match at St. John's will be available across the United States free of charge on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) via FOXSportsGO.com for desktop users and via the FOX Sports GO app for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones and select Window devices). BEDN has its own branded channel within FOX Sports GO and the FOX Sports GO mobile app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store or the Windows Store.
Radio Broadcast Information
Neither match this weekend will be on radio.
Live Stats Information
Both matches will have free live stats. Visit.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab at the top of the page for the exact link to the match.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton has been one of the hottest teams in the nation, winning 14 of its last 15 matches, sparked by the return of sophomore Jess Bird. The Bluejays are now 20-7 on the season and own a 1.5 game lead in the BIG EAST standings with an 13-1 conference record.
Five of Creighton's seven losses have come against top-25 teams (USC, Illinois, Nebraska, Kentucky, Kansas), and the Bluejays have already defeated preseason favorites from the Missouri Valley Conference (Wichita State) and Atlantic Sun (Lipscomb).
Kelli Browning (3.37 kps., 1.46 bps., .373%), Leah McNary (2.70 kps.) and Bird (2.79 kps., 2.31 dps.) have emerged as top offensive weapons for the Bluejays.
The program's all-time digs leader, Kate Elman (4.48 dps., 0.20 saps.) leads the team in both digs and aces per set but was expected to miss 3-6 weeks after breaking her forearm in an Oct. 24 win over Marquette. In her absence, Melanie Jereb (2.71 dps.) has stepped up as the team's libero.
Maggie Baumert (9.90 aps., 2.02 dps.) and Michelle Sicner (7.00 aps., 1.05 bps.) have handled the setting duties for the league's most prolific offense.
Creighton averages 14.26 kills, 16.35 digs, 2.69 blocks and 1.05 aces per set while hitting .237 as a team.
Scouting Providence
Providence is 5-23 this season and ninth in the BIG EAST with a 1-13 league record during its return to the league after a 12-year absence.
Kayla Fitzgerald (2.73 kps., 1.96 dps.) and Kayla Johnson (2.21 kps.) are among the team's top offensive options, with Jordan Wiesler (8.07 aps.) directing the offense.
Michelle Cruz is second in the BIG EAST with 4.98 digs per set and also tops PC with 28 aces this season, which ranks third in the league
As a club, Providence averages 11.04 kills, 1.05 aces, 15.06 digs and 1.45 blocks per set while hitting .121.
Scouting St. John's
St. John's is 18-11 on the season and still in contention for a BIG EAST Tournament bid with a 7-7 mark in league play to date.
The Red Storm are 9-3 at home this season, and are haven't been swept at home yet.
Karin Palgutova (4.32 kps., 2.82 dps., .254%) and Alexsandra Wachowicz (3.83 kps., .37 saps., .264%) are two of the top offensive players in the league and have combined for nearly 60 percent of the Red Storm's kills this season.
Deniz Mutlugil (10.77 aps.) and Shawna-Lei Santos (2.70 aps.) have handled the setting duties this season, and Santos also owns a team-high 4.47 digs per set.
As a team, St. John's averages 13.48 kills, 1.50 aces, 14.34 digs and 2.20 blocks per set while hitting .236.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 230-135 record in her 12th season with the Bluejays.
She was named the 2010 CVU.com National Coach of the Year after leading Creighton to the second round during its first NCAA Tournament appearance, and named the CaptainU College Coach of the Year, as well as the MVC Coach of the Year, in 2012 following another run to the second round of the NCAA's and a school-record 29 victories.
The winningest coach in school history, Booth has led Creighton to its only three NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also led the Jays into the top-25 each of the last three years, another program first.
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 associate head coach Tom Mendoza, assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens and volunteer assistant Kyle South.
Margot Royer-Johnson (Scranton, 1995) owns a 133-321 mark in her 15th year at Providence, which doubles as her career mark. She is assisted by Eddy DelSignore and Dominique Marshall.
The longest-tenured female coach in school history, Joanne Persico (Syracuse, 1987) owns a 405-267 record in her 21st year at St. John's. She has led the Red Storm to eight 20-win seasons, three BIG EAST regular-season titles, two NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet 16 berth in 2007. She is assisted by Mario Treibit and Maxim Auguste.
Series History vs. Providence
Creighton won the only previous meeting against Providence, a 25-10, 25-12, 25-7 victory in Omaha last month.
Creighton hit .471 in the match while holding the Friars to -.151 hitting and only allowing two points on PC's serve the entire afternoon.
Lauren Smith tied a BIG EAST record by hitting .857 in the Bluejay victory, connecting for 12 kills in 14 swings.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-0 all-time against Providence and coach Margot Royer-Johnson.
Series History vs. St. John's
Creighton leads the all-time series with St. John's by a 2-1 margin, including a 1-0 mark in Queens.
In the only previous meeting this season, Creighton swept the Red Storm in Omaha by a 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 margin behind 13 kills on .571 hitting from Jess Bird.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 2-1 vs. St. John's and coach Joanne Persico.
Last Weekend Summary
Creighton extended its win streak to eight with hard-fought road wins at Xavier (3-1) and Butler (3-2) last weekend to clinch a spot at the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament.
Jess Bird led Creighton with 31 kills, Melanie Jereb topped the team with 39 digs and Kelli Browning had a club-best 15 blocks in the victories.
Looking To Clinch The Top Spot
With two wins last weekend, Creighton locked up a top-three seed in the four-team BIG EAST Tournament to be held on Nov. 28-29 in Milwaukee.
With two wins this weekend, Creighton can clinch a top-two seed, and CU could also lock up the top seed in the tournament with two victories this weekend and a Marquette win over Seton Hall on Friday in South Orange.
Tournament host Marquette has also locked up a spot, but would lose any tiebreaker to Creighton.
Four teams remain in the running for the final remaining two spots.
Seton Hall stands in the best shape, and can qualify with wins this weekend at Marquette and DePaul.
Butler can clinch a spot with a home win over Xavier on Friday and a St. John's loss this week.
Xavier needs a win over Butler this weekend to still have a chance heading into its final week of the regular-season.
St. John's needs to win out against a challenging slate and also get help to have a chance at the fourth seed.
Hunting For A Title
Creighton owns a two-game lead in the loss column with four matches to play. The Bluejays can win an outright league title with at least three matches in the next two weeks, and can clinch at least a shared title with two wins.
Creighton's only other league title in program history came in 2012, when the Bluejays went 17-1 to win the Missouri Valley Conference title. That team went on to win the MVC Tournament title, as well.
Since joining the BIG EAST prior to last season, Creighton has won BIG EAST regular-season titles in baseball (2014) and men's soccer (2014).
20 Wins x 3
Now 20-7, Creighton has earned an unprecedented third consecutive 20-win season.
Creighton, which had never won more than 16 matches in a modern season prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival in 2003, owns seasons with 29, 23, 21 (3x), 20, 18 (2x), 17 and 16 victories during her tenure.
Matches Won
Year MP W L Pct.
1. 2012 33 29 4 .879
2. 2013 32 23 9 .719
3. 2006 31 21 10 .677
2007 31 21 10 .677
2010 33 21 12 .636
6. 2014 27 20 7 .741
This is 20/20
Jess Bird had career-highs with 22 kills and 23 digs in Creighton's 3-2 comeback victory at Butler on Nov. 8th. In the process, she became just the third player in CU history with at least 20 kills and 20 digs in the same match, and first since Leah Ratzlaff in 2004.
Bird, who also hit .405 in the contest, is the first person with a 20/20 while hitting .405 or better since Melissa Walsh did so on Oct. 10, 1998 (28 kills, 30 digs, .453).
20 Kills, 20 Digs In A Match
K D Name Opp. Date
28 30 Melissa Walsh at Drake (5g) 10/10/98
30 22 Melissa Walsh at Indiana St. (5g) 10/16/98
22 24 Melissa Walsh Wichita St. (4g) 11/5/99
20 26 Melissa Walsh at Indiana St. (5g) 10/14/00
23 22 Melissa Walsh vs. Evansville (4g) 11/24/00
23 21 Leah Ratzlaff Evansville (4g) 10/1/04
22 23 Jess Bird at Butler (5s) 11/8/14
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 205-8 (.962) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 148-2 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own an 98-4 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 9-179 (.048) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-62 mark in those home matches. Those nine comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below.
Notably, this year's team joins the 2004 club as the only one to win multiple matches in the same season when trailing 0-2 at intermission.
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
11/16/12 at Wichita St. 25-16, 25-20, 16-14 Booth
09/05/14 vs. No. Iowa 25-16, 25-22, 15-5 Booth
11/08/14 at Butler 25-16, 25-20, 15-13 Booth
Defense Rules
Creighton held Providence to -.151 hitting on Oct. 19, as the Friars had 17 kills and 31 errors in 93 swings.
The -.151 hitting percentage was the poorest performance ever by a Bluejay opponent, while the 17 kills were third-fewest.
Of the 31 times that Providence served, Creighton won the ensuing point on 29 of them.
Fewest Kills by a Creighton Opponent, Match
15 Drake 9/22/06
15 Montana State 8/25/07
17 Providence 10/19/14
18 at Jacksonville State 9/05/08
19 UMKC 9/15/96
Lowest Opponent Hitting % vs. Creighton, Match
Pct. Team K E TA Date
-.151 Providence 17 31 93 10/19/14
-.112 Jacksonville State 18 27 80 09/05/08
-.108 UMKC 19 27 74 09/15/96
-.086 Drake 15 23 93 09/22/06
-.067 Weber State 19 25 90 09/09/11
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Creighton hit a season-best .471 in its Oct. 19 win over Providence. The mark was not only a D.J. Sokol Arena record, but also the third-best mark by Creighton in any match in its history.
Attack Percentage
.536 vs. Tulsa (41-4-69) 10-27-95
.495 vs. Liberty (57-8-99) 9-2-05
.471 vs. Providence (36-4-68) 10-19-14
.418 vs. Evansville (98-21-184) 11-2-96
.414 vs. UC Riverside (57-11-111) 9-2-05
.414 vs. Drake (49-8-99) 10-3-08
A Bunch Of Winners
Creighton has experienced a great deal of success in recent seasons, and the current squad has enjoyed victories at historic levels. Consider the following numbers entering the 2014 season:
CU's 52 victories in the previous two seasons are six more than other two-year span in program history, previously done from 2011-12.
Creighton owns 72 wins in the last three seasons (2012-present), the winningest three-year span in program history and three more than the mark set from 2011-13.
CU's 90 victories in the previous four seasons are nine more than other four-year span in program history, which was done from 2009-12. The current senior class has 89 victories with four BIG EAST matches still to play.
Bunch Of Winners
Creighton's seniors have all experienced great success, both individually and as a team.
Leah McNary has appeared in 87 wins as a Bluejay, most in school history. Not far behind her are Kelli Browning (82), Michelle Sicner (79) and Katie Neisler (76).
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
87 Leah McNary 2011-Pres.
82 Kelli Browning 2011-Pres.
81 Megan Bober 2009-12
79 Brooke Boggs 2009-12
79 Michelle Sicner 2011-Pres.
76 Korie Lebeda 2005-08
76 Katie Neisler 2011-Pres.
74 Allie Oelke 2007-10
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 38-21 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 2-2 mark this year and a 12-6 home record in five-setters. That's impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth sets prior to Booth's arrival.
Creighton has won six of its last seven true road matches to go five sets, including wins in 2012 over league rivals Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State, wins last year at Denver and at Wichita State, and a win this year at Butler.
It's also worth noting that Creighton is 6-2 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
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 3-3 21-12
2011 5-2 17-14
2012 4-1 29-4
2013 3-2 23-9
2014 2-2 20-7
Total 53-49 323-287
Blocks A Key To Victory
Creighton's block has been one of the nation's best in the last five years, and this year is no different.
And it should come as no surprise, but how well Creighton blocks often correlates into CU's winning percentage.
In the 68 sets that Creighton has won, the Bluejays average 3.07 blocks per set, while in the 34 sets the Jays have lost that number plummets to 1.93 per set.
As can be seen in the chart below, Creighton has won 56-of-73 sets when owning two or more blocks in a set. Up that figure to four blocks in a set and the Jays improve to 25-6.
Blocks Set W-L Blocks Set W-L
0 3-8 No blocks 3-8
1 9-9 1 or more 65-26
2 18-5 2 or more 56-17
3 13-6 3 or more 38-12
4 10-2 4 or more 25-6
5 6-3 5 or more 15-4
5.5 1-1 5.5 or more 9-1
6 7-0 6 or more 7-0
7 1-0 7 or more 1-0
Kelli, Kelli, Kelli
Kelli Browning's outstanding season continues to see her chase a couple of school records.
Browning owns 11 straight matches with five or more blocks, the longest streak in program history.
Consecutive Matches, 5 or More Blocks
11 Kelli Browning (Oct. 4, 2014-Present)
9 Jessica Houts (Oct. 15-Nov. 19, 2005)
7 Laurel Sanford (Oct. 29-Nov. 24, 2011)
6 Melissa Walsh (Sept. 27-Oct. 16, 1998)
6 Jessica Houts (Sept. 1-10, 2006)
6 Kelli Browning (Sept. 25-Oct. 2, 2012)
Record Watch For Browning
Kelli Browning is chasing several other blocking records still held by Jessica Houts.
Browning owns 518 career block assists, 19 shy of Houts' mark of 537 set from 2005-09.
Browning also owns 571 career total blocks, trailing only the 609 career blocks by Houts.
Since the start of October, Browning has averaged 1.90 blocks per set, collecting 80 blocks in 11 matches (42 sets).
One record Browning already owns, but could break again, is CU's mark for hitting percentage in a season. After setting the record by hitting .370 in 2012, Browning is hitting an even better .373 this year.
Winning Trend
Creighton has won eight straight matches entering this weekend. The streak is tied for second-longest in program history, and and longest since a 17-match streak in 2012
Creighton's eight straight league wins is also the program's longest since joining the BIG EAST. The longest stretch of league wins in program history is 14, done by the same 2012 squad.
Consecutive Wins
Wins Dates Snapped By
17 Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012 at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
8 Oct. 25-Nov. 22, 2008 vs. Northern Iowa, 3-2
8 Oct. 11, 2014 - Present ? ? ?
7 Sept. 4-Sept. 17, 2004 Illinois State, 3-0
6 Sept. 21-Oct. 6, 2007 Wichita State, 3-0
6 Sept. 1-15, 2012 at Kansas, 3-2
6 Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 2014 at Seton Hall, 3-2
Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins
Wins Dates Snapped By League
14 Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012 Never (left MVC) MVC
9 Nov. 4, 2005-Sept. 30, 2006 Northern Iowa, 3-2 MVC
9 Nov. 17, 2006-Oct. 6, 2007 at Wichita State, 3-0 MVC
9 Oct. 25, 2008-Sept. 18, 2009 Northern Iowa, 3-1 MVC
8 Nov. 13, 2010 - Oct. 1, 2011 at Missouri State, 3-1 MVC
8 Oct. 11, 2014-Present ? ? ? BIG EAST
6 Sept. 21-Oct. 12, 2001 #16 Northern Iowa, 3-0 MVC
Piling Up The Wins
Creighton has won eight straight matches while winning 24-of-29 sets in that time.
During that stretch, Creighton has allowed more than 20 points in just 10 sets, and outscoring the opposition 682-530.
During these matches, Kelli Browning averaged 1.86 blocks per set to spearhead a team blocking average of 3.02 per set, as CU has hold foes to .118 hitting.
Lauren Smith has hit .422 while pounding 73 kills (2.52 kps.), Ashley Jansen has served 11 aces (0.38 saps.) and CU hit .258 as a team.
Smith Sets League Record
Lauren Smith set a Creighton record and tied a BIG EAST record on Oct. 19 when she hit .857 against Providence. Smith had 12 kills and no errors in 14 swings.
The mark tied the previous BIG EAST mark for a league game, first set by Marquette's Kelsey Mattai vs. Pittsburgh on Oct. 5, 2012.
Creighton's previous record for hitting percentage in a match was .750, done by Katy Grady (Aug. 30, 2003 vs. Auburn) and later matched by Abby Baumann (Sept. 3, 2005 at San Diego State).
Smith On A Tear
Sophomore Lauren Smith has played at a high clip in the last six matches. In that time, she's averaged 2.64 kills per set and 0.77 blocks per set. She's also hit .470 in the four victories, including single-match hitting percentages of .857, .500, .600, .533 and .381 in that time.
Offense Starts Clicking
Despite being blocked in six of the first 19 points in Saturday's match at Butler, that didn't slow down the Creihgton offensive juggernaut.
Creighton finished the five-set match with 79 kills, its most in any match since Nov. 23, 2007.
On the other side of things, Butler did finish with 20 blocks and forced Creighton into 41 attack errors. The 41 attack errors were the most by the Bluejays since making 43 in a four-set loss to Missouri State on Nov. 10, 2006, but the most in school history in any victory.
Sicner To The Rescue
Michelle Sicner had played sparingly since her mother, Cheryl, had passed away due to colon cancer on September 5th. But when her team needed a lift on October 17, the senior setter was ready and came through in a big way.
With Creighton trailing 10-3 to open the match against St. John's, head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth replaced starting setter Maggie Baumert with Sicner.
Creighton immediately went on a 10-3 run to tie the score, and would outscore the Red Storm 72-51 the rest of the night.
After totaling 10 assists, three blocks, three kills and one dig in the 17 matches between Sept. 5 - Oct. 10, Sicner finished the St. John's match with 32 assists, five blocks, four kills and five digs.
The strong performance helped her earn a start two days later against Providence, when she had 20 assists and helped Creighton hit an arena record .471. It was Sicner's first start since Aug. 30.
Sicner once again came off the bench in the Oct. 24 match, helping CU rally to defeat Marquette and finishing with 27 assists.
Sicner has started each of the last four matches, though the roles were reversed last Saturday night when Sicner gave way to Baumert late in the first set at Butler as Baumert orchestrated a comeback victory.
Serving Up A Winner
After big struggles during non-conference play with its serving, Creighton has made huge strides behind the service line since BIG EAST play has started.
In 50 sets during non-conference play, Creighton had 45 aces against 125 service miscues while putting just 88.9 percent of its serves in play.
By comparison, Creighton owns 62 aces against just 70 service errors in 52 sets during league action. In that time, CU has put 94.2 percent of its serves in play. Jess Bird and Ashley Jansen have combined for 27 aces and just 24 service errors in 367 serves during league play.
After going 7-6 in the non-conference, Creighton is 13-1 in BIG EAST action.
Elman Breaks Forearm, Out 3-6 Weeks
Libero Kate Elman will miss 3-6 weeks after suffering a non-displaced fracture of her radius (forearm) during its October 24 win over Marquette. The injury happened late in the second set when the Omaha native crashed into a courtside table while attempting a dig with CU leading 18-17. She did not return, and X-rays immediately following the match confirmed the injury.
Elman leads the Bluejays with 4.48 digs per set and ranks among the team leaders with 17 service aces in 2014. Prior to her injury, the junior from Omaha had played in 330 straight sets at libero since arriving to campus in the fall of 2012, becoming the program's all-time digs leader in an October 3 win at DePaul.
BIG EAST Honors Browning & Jereb
The BIG EAST Conference has honored Creighton Volleyball's Kelli Browning and Melanie Jereb for their performances on Oct. 24 & 26.
Browning was named BIG EAST Player of the Week, while Jereb was tabbed BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week after helping Creighton to a 2-0 weekend.
Browning averaged 4.43 kills and 1.86 blocks per set while hitting a red-hot .532. Browning opened her weekend by leading Creighton with 18 kills and five blocks on .593 hitting in a 3-1 victory over defending league champ Marquette, helping to push CU into sole possession of first place. Browning, who hails from the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, hit .455 or better in all four sets and had three points as CU bolted to a 4-0 lead in the decisive fourth set and never trailed. Her .593 hitting stands as the best hitting percentage in a match by any BIG EAST player this year with at least 25 swings.
In the 3-0 sweep of DePaul, the two-time All-American once again led Creighton with 13 kills, eight blocks and .450 hitting as CU held the Blue Demons to .009 hitting in 114 swings. Browning's third kill of the match made her just the 10th player in CU history to reach 1,000 career kills. She had eight kills and eight blocks by intermission, then added five kills in six swings during the 25-12 clincher.
This was the second time this season Browning has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week (also Sept. 15), and third time in her career.
Playing libero for the first time in her life, Jereb averaged 5.83 digs per set while playing in six sets (all victories). She also successfully handled all 22 serve receptions.
With Marquette leading the match 1-0 and the score tied at 18-all in the second set, Jereb came off the bench after Kate Elman broke her forearm and had to leave the match. Jereb had three digs as CU evened the match after a 7-2 run to win the set. She then had five digs in the third set and eight more to finish the match with a club-high and personal season-high 16 digs.
Jereb then played her first full match at libero in a 3-0 win over DePaul. She had six digs in the first and third sets and seven digs in the second frame to finish with a season-best and match-high 19 digs. CU held DePaul to 24 digs and .009 hitting in the contest.
Jereb had entered the week with just seven total digs in CU's first six matches of October.
Jays Turn To Jereb As Libero
Since Kate Elman broke her right forearm in the second set of the Oct. 24 win over Marquette, CU has turned to Melanie Jereb as libero.
Jereb, who told reporters later she had never played libero in her life at any level, learned quickly, averaging 5.83 digs per set to earn BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week accolades in her first weekend at the position.
Since Jereb moved to libero to start set three vs. Marquette on Oct. 24, Creighton has averaged 17.94 digs per set and been aced just 13 times in 17 sets.
Since the libero became legal in 2002, the Jays have used multiple liberos in a season just four times (2005, 2006, 2010, 2014), and only used 12 different players in that role.
Below are the stats for each woman as solely Creighton's libero.
Stats As Creighton's Libero
Name Year(s) SP DIGS DPS
Julianne Mandolfo 2010-11 173 1,020 5.90
Bianca Rivera 2007-08 207 1,118 5.40
Nayka Benitez 2009-10 183 908 4.96
Melanie Jereb 2014 17 82 4.82
Mallory Lahm 2005 51 240 4.71
Brittany Coleman 2005 38 174 4.58
Kate Elman 2012-14 330 1,503 4.55
Janeen Piller 2002-04 313 1,371 4.38
Katie Mehal 2005-06 116 503 4.34
Emily Greisch 2005 12 49 4.08
Molly Lahr 2005 1 2 2.00
Sarah Schulze 2006 3 5 1.67
Dos Liberos
Creighton used two liberos in the Oct. 24 win over Marquette, as Kate Elman played the first two sets before Melanie Jereb replaced Elman after she suffered broken forearm.
It was just the fifth time in the history of Bluejay Volleyball that the team has used two liberos in the same contest, and first such time since 2006.
Incredibly, Creighton has won all five matches.
Two Liberos, Same Match
Date W/L Opponent Liberos (Sets)
9/23/05 W 3-0 Indiana State Emily Greisch/Molly Lahr
10/4/05 W 3-0 S. Dakota St. Emily Greisch/Mallory Lahm
8/26/06 W 3-0 Florida Atlantic Katie Mehal/Sarah Schulze
9/9/06 W 3-2 Saint Louis Sarah Schulze/Katie Mehal
10/24/14 W 3-1 Marquette Kate Elman/Melanie Jereb
Home Sweet Home
Creighton has won eight straight home matches, tied for the second-longest streak in program history. Creighton has two home matches left, Nov. 21 & 23, this season.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
13 Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013 California, 3-0
8 Sept. 25-Nov. 20, 2010 Northern Illinois, 3-0
8 Sept. 20, 2014 - Present ? ? ?
7 Oct. 17, 2008-Aug. 28, 2009 #10 Illinois, 3-0
6 Oct. 22, 2005-Sept. 2, 2006 Iowa, 3-2
Even Year Streak, In League Play, At Home
Creighton is 7-0 at home in BIG EAST play this season and has now won 24 straight conference home matches in even-numbered years. CU was 9-0 in 2012 and also won its final eight home MVC contests in 2010.
Creighton is 23-5 all-time in BIG EAST play, including a 14-1 mark at home, since joining the conference prior to last season.
Since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009, Creighton is 45-6 in conference home matches.
Offensive Production Up
Creighton is averaging 14.26 kills per set through 27 matches, easily the top mark in the BIG EAST and 14th-best nationally. The figure is the best by any Bluejay team since sets have been played to 25 points beginning in 2008.
On the other side of the net, CU is allowing only 11.48 kills per set. That figure would be the best mark by any CU defense since the program's 1994 reinstatement.
Browning Earns Second Defensive Honor
Creighton senior Kelli Browning was named BIG EAST Defensive Volleyball Player of the Week, the league announced on Oct. 20.
It was the second time in three weeks that Browning has earned the award, having also won it on October 6.
A Waukesha, Wis., native, Browning averaged 2.33 blocks, 2.33 kills and 0.67 digs per set in a pair of 3-0 victories. Creighton held St. John's and Providence to a combined total of 49 kills on .011 hitting in six sets that saw the Jays outscore their league rivals 150-90.
On Friday, Browning had seven blocks, seven kills and two digs in a 3-0 win over St. John's, as CU avenged its only home loss in BIG EAST play in the past two years.
On Sunday, Browning had seven kills and seven blocks on .545 hitting in CU's 3-0 win over Providence. Browning's blocking helped hold PC to -.151 hitting, the poorest mark ever by a Bluejay opponent. In addition, Providence's 17 kills were the third-fewest in history against Creighton.
For the week, Browning outblocked Creighton's opponents, 14-7.
Even Year October Push
Creighton went 7-1 in the month of October tying a school record for wins in that month.
Creighton also won seven matches in the month of October in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
Like the first four occasions, 2014 is also an even-numbered year.
Blue October
Creighton has enjoyed tremendous success in October in recent seasons. The Jays have won 24 of the last 27 times it has taken the floor in the 10th month of the year, dating to an Oct. 15, 2011 setback at No. 12 Northern Iowa.
Creighton has also won 22 of its last 23 home matches in October since Oct. 22, 2009.
Past The Midpoint
Creighton's Oct. 19 win over Providence marked the midway point of BIG EAST Conference play, as the Jays had played all nine league opponents exactly once.
Currently 13-1, this year's team had a winning record at the midpoint of league play for the fifth straight season, and 11th time in 13 seasons under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
This year's team joins the 2012 club as the second club in program history to start 8-1 in league play. That team went on to win the program's only regular-season conference crown.
League Record by Year
Year 1st Half 2nd Half Place
1994 2-8 1-9 T-9th MVC
1995 3-7 3-7 T-7th MVC
1996 2-7 3-6 T-6th MVC
1997 6-3 4-5 T-3rd MVC
1998 2-7 3-6 8th MVC
1999 5-4 4-5 5th MVC
2000 5-4 5-4 T-4th MVC
2001 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2002 1-8 1-8 T-9th MVC
2003 5-4 4-5 T-5th MVC
2004 5-4 5-4 5th MVC
2005 4-5 6-3 5th MVC
2006 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2007 7-2 7-2 T-2nd MVC
2008 7-2 8-1 2nd MVC
2009 4-5 6-3 T-4th MVC
2010 7-2 6-3 3rd MVC
2011 6-3 6-3 4th MVC
2012 8-1 9-0 1st MVC
2013 6-2 6-2 T-2nd BIG EAST
2014 8-1 5-0 1st
Total 107-83 102-84 --
Award-Winning Performances
Kelli Browning and Marysa Wilkinson were honored by the BIG EAST Conference for their play the weekend of Oct. 3-4.
Browning was named Defensive Player of the Week, while Wilkinson was Freshman of the Week.
A senior from Waukesha, Wis., Browning averaged 3.50 kills and an impressive 2.38 blocks per set while hitting .370 as Creighton picked up a pair of four-set road wins.
Browning opened her weekend with 14 kills and a then- season-high nine blocks at DePaul. She hit .385 in the match and added two aces while becoming the second player in school history to reach 500 career blocks.
In the return to her home state of Wisconsin one night later, Browning had 14 kills, 10 blocks and six digs at Marquette for her first double-double of the season. Browning hit .357 in the victory and six of her 10 stuffs came against BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Autumn Bailey.
Wilkinson averaged 2.25 kills, .75 digs and .62 blocks per set while hitting .385 during the weekend.
The Lincoln, Neb., native started her week with eight kills and five blocks while hitting .412 in a 3-1 victory at DePaul. She then had 10 kills and a career-best six digs on .364 hitting in CU's 3-1 win at defending league champion Marquette. Her 10 kills were the most by a BIG EAST freshman in a road win at Marquette since Syracuse's Noemie Lefebvre had 15 on Oct. 18, 2008.
Can You Dig It?
Kate Elman broke a pair of 10-year-old school records held by Janeen Piller on Oct. 3 vs. DePaul.
Elman passed Piller's mark of 1,392 career digs and enters this weekend with 1,503. Elman also passed Piller's record for career matches with 10+ digs of 74, and now owns 78.
Most Career Digs, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Kate Elman 330 1,503 2012-Pr.
2. Janeen Piller 336 1,392 2001-04
3. Allie Oelke 445 1,382 2007-10
4. Kailey Reyes 368 1,258 1998-01
5. Melissa Walsh 394 1,240 1998-01
6. Julianne Mandolfo 241 1,224 2010-11
7. Melissa Weisensee 411 1,223 1994-97
8. Korie Lebeda 428 1,130 2005-08
9. Megan Bober 480 1,123 2009-12
10. Bianca Rivera 207 1,118 2007-08
Matches With 10+ Digs, Career
10+D Name Years
78 Kate Elman 2012-Pres.
74 Janeen Piller 2001-04
71 Allie Oelke 2007-10
Elman With 20/20/20 Vision
Kate Elman tied Julianne Mandolfo's school record with her 32nd career match of 20 or more digs on Oct. 11 at Villanova.
Matches With 20+ Digs, Career
20+D Name Years
32 Julianne Mandolfo 2010-11
32 Kate Elman 2012-Pres.
27 Bianca Rivera 2007-08
Baumert Records Rare Triple-Double
Maggie Baumert had the first triple-double of her career in the Oct. 4 victory at Marquette, finishing with 42 assists, 12 digs and a career-high 10 blocks. She also finished with a career-best nine kills as she finished just one kill shy of the first quadruple-double in Bluejay history.
Baumert's triple-double was the 29th in Creighton history, and she's the sixth different Bluejay ever to record one.
Matches With a Triple-Double, Career
T-D Name Years
15 Megan Bober 2009-12
5 Michelle Sicner 2011-Pres.
4 Kailey Reyes 1998-2001
2 Melissa Weisensee 1994-97
2 JoDe Cieloha 1994-97
1 Maggie Baumert 2014-Pres.
Let's Compare
Let's take a look at how Creighton's start in 2014 compares to the last three seasons.
Stat 2014 (so far) 2013 2012 2011
W-L 20-7 so far 23-9 29-4 17-14
Postseason ? ? ? NCAA NCAA ---
Tourney Titles 1 1 2 0
Kills/Set 14.26 13.47 13.39 12.75
Hitting % .237 .220 .247 .203
Aces/Set 1.05 0.99 1.24 1.13
Digs/Set 16.35 15.76 17.32 17.23
Blocks/Set 2.69 3.06 3.06 2.54
Browning Reaches 1,000 Kills
With her third kill on Oct. 26 vs. DePaul, Kelli Browning became the 10th player in CU history to reach 1,000 kills. She reached the milestone in her 110th career match.
Among those that Browning has joined in that elite group is classmate Leah McNary. McNary got to 1,000 kills on Sept. 12 vs. Pepperdine in her 96th career match.
The only previous time Creighton had two players reach 1,000 career kills in the same season was in 2008, when Jessica Houts and Amanda Cvejdlik each reached the milestone one week apart.
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. Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts 90 11/08/08 Illinois State
Leah McNary 96 09/12/14 Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik 99 11/15/08 at Evansville
Shelly Kapler 103 11/18/99 vs. Missouri State
Allie Oelke 107 10/09/10 Wichita State
Kelli Browning 110 10/26/14 DePaul
The Word on Bird
Jess Bird has produced 121 kills and 111 digs in the last 11 matches after entering the stretch with 16 kills and nine digs in four previous matches this season.
Bird has shown minimal signs of a knee ailment that forced her to miss 12 of Creighton's first 14 matches this season.
Bird owns four double-doubles since returning, including career-highs with 22 kills and 23 digs in a five-set win at Butler on Nov. 8th.
Creighton is 13-2 this year with Bird in the line-up, compared to a 7-5 mark without her.
Since returning to the starting line-up, Bird has averaged a team-best 3.22 kills per set and also owns 12 aces against just eight service errors.
Elman Earns BIG EAST Defensive Honor
Junior libero Kate Elman was named the BIG EAST Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 30. An Omaha native, Elman averaged 4.80 digs and 0.90 assists to help Creighton start BIG EAST play 3-0.
Elman is the first Bluejay to ever earn BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors. Elman's previous recognition from a league office came as a freshman, when she was a three-time MVC Freshman of the Week in 2012.
In an ironic twist, Kate Elman's sister Lexi Elman was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week on the same day after leading Pacific to a pair of victories.
Senior Citizens
Creighton hosted Senior Day after its Sept. 26 match, as it honored Kelli Browning, Leah McNary, Katie Neisler and Michelle Sicner, as well as senior manager Katie Thompson.
Since all five women arrived on campus in the fall of 2011, the Bluejays have gone 89-34, won an MVC regular-season title, an MVC Tournament title, won matches in two different NCAA Tournaments, and moved into the national rankings for the first time in program history.
Browning is a two-time All-American Honorable Mention selection from Waukesha, Wis. She ranks first in CU history in hitting percentage and second in blocks, and currently leads the BIG EAST with a .373 hitting percentage. Browning tied for the national lead as a sophomore with a school-record 204 total blocks.
McNary became the ninth player in Creighton history to surpass 1,000 career kills in September. A First Team All-BIG EAST pick last year, McNary led the team in kills as both a sophomore and junior.
After playing mostly in the back row her first three years, Neisler has moved into a starting outside hitter role as a senior. She owns 88 kills this season, including a career-high 16 vs. Butler on Sept. 26.
Sicner was an All-American Honorable Mention pick in 2013, when she started at setter in 28 matches and led the team with 17 double-doubles and four triple-doubles. Also named AVCA National Player of the Week last October 15th, Sicner ranks sixth in CU history in assists.
What Can Brown(ing) Do For You?
Kelli Browning continues to produce at the level you'd expect from a two-time All-American, and her senior season has been nothing shy of brilliant.
Browning has averaged 3.37 kills and 1.46 blocks per set while hitting .373 this season. After entering her senior season with a career-high of 18 kills, Browning has had four different matches of 18 or more kills this fall.
In five matches against ranked teams this season, Browning is averaging 3.53 kills and 1.00 blocks per set while hitting .381.
Entering the week, Browning was one of two players nationally with at least 340 kills who was hitting .370 or better. She was above both standards, hitting .373 with 344 kills.
Browning also entered this week ninth nationally among middle blockers in kills.
Below is a list of the First, Second and Third-Team All-Americans from 2013 and their stats:
Name, School (AA Team) KPS Hit % BPS
Sallie McLaurin, Oklahoma (2) 3.78 .423 1.37
Tori Dixon, Minnesota (1) 3.66 .399 1.29
Chloe Mann, Florida (1) 3.45 .506 0.85
Chloe Ferrari, San Diego (2) 3.15 .444 0.93
Caroline Jarmoc, Kansas (3) 3.06 .320 1.15
Carly Wopat, Stanford (1) 2.89 .429 1.43
Inky Ajanaku, Stanford* (1) 2.72 .438 1.38
Alexis Olgard, USC (3) 2.21 .442 1.28
Katie Slay, Penn State (3) 2.16 .414 1.63
Chiaka Ogbogu, Texas* (2) 1.74 .389 1.08
*still active in 2014
Browning Named MVP
Kelli Browning was named MVP of the Bluejay Invitational after averaging 3.64 kills and 1.36 blocks per set on .413 hitting from Sept. 12-13.
It was the sixth All-Tournament Team accolade of the senior's career, but her first MVP recognition.
Joining Browning on the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team from Creighton were Maggie Baumert (11.84 aps., 2.18 dps., 1.18 kps., .385% that weekend) and Lauren Smith (2.00 kps., 1.18 bps., .356%).
On The Upswing
Creighton's Oct. 3rd match at DePaul marked Creighton's 600th since restarting the program. In that time, Creighton is now 323-287. Here's a look at Creighton's record in 100-match intervals:
Match #'s Team W-L Coach(es)
1-100 34-66 Guiliano/Wallace
101-200 44-56 Wallace
201-300 44-56 Wallace/Booth
301-400 60-40 Booth
401-500 58-42 Booth
501-600 74-26 Booth
601-700 9-1 so far Booth
Ranked vs. Unranked
Five of Creighton's losses this year have come against teams that were ranked in the AVCA Top 25, including setbacks to USC, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas and Kentucky.
Since the start of the 2002 season, 11 of Creighton's 20 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 71-9 against unranked teams.
Each of Creighton's final four matches of the regular-season are against teams that are unranked.
It Goes On, And On, And On, And On, And On
Creighton has played in 803 sets since the move to 25-point rally scoring sets in 2008, but none have been as high scoring as its Sept. 20th fourth set marathon against South Dakota.
Creighton would save six match points before finally converting its fourth set point opportunity of the frame in a 34-32 victory. Last week Marquette lost a 34-32 first set to Seton Hall before clinching the match with a 35-33 fourth set triumph.
The highest-scoring frame previously had been a pair of 30-28 sets.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, CU's Sept. 23rd 25-7 victory in the first set at Georgetown matched the most lopsided set victory in Creighton history in the current scoring format. CU replicated that 25-7 score in the third set on Oct. 19 vs. Providence.
Top 10 Scares
Creighton won the first set from both No. 6 USC (25-22 on September 6) and No. 9 Nebraska (25-21 on September 17) this season.
Creighton has played 20 matches against top-10 teams all-time, and this was the fourth time it's taken a 1-0 lead in the match. CU also won the first set against No. 1 Nebraska on Sept. 24, 2006 and at No. 7 Northern Iowa on Sept. 21, 2002.
The closest Creighton has ever come to defeating a top-10 team came last season, when the Bluejays dropped a five-set match to No. 7 Hawai'i in Wichita, Kan.
Secret Weapon?
Katie Neisler had five kills all of last year, and entered her senior season with 19 kills in 81 career matches while being used mostly in the back row.
By by those standards she's turned into an offensive juggernaut this fall, unleashing 88 kills this year.
Neisler had (then) career-highs with seven kills and .583 hitting in a Sept. 13 sweep over Bowling Green, adding two aces. Making her achievement all the more impressive was that all seven kills came on back row attacks.
Neisler established new career-highs with 12 kills and 42 attack attempts in a Sept. 19 match vs. No. 16 Illinois.
She out-did those marks on Sept. 26 with 16 kills and 43 swings vs. Butler, adding 17 digs for her first career double-double.
Browning Considered For Senior CLASS Award
Creighton Volleyball's Kelli Browning was one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. Browning is a two-time All-American middle blocker hailing from Waukesha, Wis.
Browning joined Butler's Belle Obert as one of two BIG EAST representatives on the list, and was the only student-athlete that plays in Nebraska. Neither played advanced to the final 10.
The award, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I volleyball coaches, national volleyball media and fans, is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in Division I volleyball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, community, character and competition.
BIG EAST Honors Duo
The Creighton Volleyball team swept the weekly awards handed out by the BIG EAST Conference on Sept. 15. Kelli Browning was named Player of the Week, while Marysa Wilkinson was tabbed Freshman of the Week.
Browning was named MVP of the Bluejay Invitational after leading Creighton to a 3-0 record and its first title in the 10-year history of the event. A two-time All-America Honorable-Mention selection, Browning averaged 3.64 kills and 1.36 blocks per set while hitting .413 on the week.
Wilkinson helped Creighton to its first Bluejay Invitational title in 10 tries by averaging 2.36 kills and 0.82 blocks per set in three victories. She hit an impressive .377.
It was the first league honor of the season for both. Browning has previously been named BIG EAST Player of the Week once last year, Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week twice and MVC Freshman of the Week once.
Wilkinson Producing Early & Often
Marysa Wilkinson has emerged as an offensive weapon for Creighton.
With nine kills on September 6 vs. No. 6 USC, Wilkinson became the first true freshman in 10 years to have nine or more kills against a top-10 foe. She joined Carolyn Decker vs. No. 5 Nebraska way back on Oct. 10, 2004, who also had nine kills.
Wilkinson had a career-high 14 kills on Sept. 13 against Wichita State, including six in the fourth set clincher against the preseason favorites from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Wilkinson added 10 kills at Marquette on Oct. 4. That figure was the most by any BIG EAST freshman in a road win at Marquette since 2008.
Starters Sidelined
Making Creighton's non-conference schedule even more daunting was that much of it was done it without a pair of 2013 starters, Jess Bird and Michelle Sicner.
Bird had arthroscopic surgery on her knee on September 3 and missed CU's first 11 matches of the month (CU went 6-5) before she returned by playing a few points each on Sept. 26 and 28.
Sicner didn't make the trip to the Commonwealth Classic (Sept. 5-6) so that she could spend more time with her family, as her mother Cheryl would end up passing away on Friday morning (Sept. 5) after a lengthy battle with colon cancer. She played in just five points in the same 11 matches that Bird missed.
To help honor the memory of Cheryl Sicner, the team is wearing uniforms with a “CS” insignia on the right sleeve, and hosted a Colon Cancer Awareness Night, as well as a moment of silence, prior to its Senior Night on Sept. 26 vs. Butler.
Tough With A Lead
Creighton is 69-5 since September 1, 2011 when winning set one, with three of those losses coming against top-11 teams.
Creighton has won 44 straight home matches when winning set one dating to an Aug. 28, 2010 loss to Lipscomb.
Creighton has won 75 straight matches when leading 2-0 (dating to Sept. 12, 2009) and has also won 58 of its last 59 matches when leading 2-1 in a match dating to Oct. 16, 2009.
All-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Creighton is 148-2 when leading a match 2-0 and is also 99-8 when leading a match 2-1 after three sets.
Finally, A Title At Home
The Sept. 12-13 Bluejay Invitational was the 15th home tournament that Creighton has ever hosted, but first such title it has celebrated at home.
Before that, CU had hosted nine Bluejay Invitationals, (2005-13), two Creighton First Serve Festivals (1996-97), one Creighton Classic (2011), one MVC Tournament (2009) and one BIG EAST Tournament (2013) since the program's 1994 restart without a title.
Baumert Shows Offensive Side, Too
Junior Maggie Baumert had 13 kills in 34 attack attempts at the Commonwealth Classic while directing a 5-1 offense in college for the first time.
In the first 65 matches of her career (62 at Georgia, 3 at Creighton), spanning 241 sets, Baumert owned a total of nine kills in 25 attack attempts.
Baumert also showed herself to be a capable blocker. She had five blocks in the tournament, including her first ever solo stuff, after just three career blocks previously.
Last Year Summary
Last year's Creighton team finished 23-9 and tied for second place in the BIG EAST with a 12-4 league mark.
The Bluejays reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years with a first-round victory over Arkansas.
Kelli Browning and Leah McNary were named first team all-conference, while Browning and Michelle Sicner were tabbed as AVCA All-American Honorable Mention selections.
Second Round Regular
Creighton is one of 19 teams to win a first round match in the NCAA Tournament each of the past two years.
That list, alphabetically, includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawai'i, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and Washington.
Busy Month
Creighton played 13 matches in the month of September, all during a 24-day stretch between Sept. 5-28. CU went 8-5 in that stretch.
The 13 matches were the most in any month for Bluejay Volleyball since 13 matches in September of 2006. CU went 10-3 in that month, its most victories ever for any month.
If you're curious, the only month in history that CU played more than 13 times came in September of 1995, when it went 7-9.
The Votes Add Up
Creighton has eight matches scheduled against teams that received votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll, including five teams in the top-25.
Creighton played matches against teams that were preseason ranked No. 5 (USC), No. 7 (Nebraska), No. 11 (Illinois), No. 19 (Kentucky) and No. 22 (Kansas).
Creighton also swept Colorado, which received enough points to finish 33rd in the voting, and swept a home-and-home league series with No. 29 Marquette.
Besides Creighton, the only other school to play five different non-conference teams that are in the preseason top-25 is Stanford.
When it took on No. 6 USC and No. 16 Kentucky on Sept. 6, it marked the first time ever that Creighton faced two ranked teams on the same day. It was also just the fifth time CU played in a regular-season tournament against two ranked teams, joining the Pacific/Nike Invitational (1998), Santa Clara Invitational (2001), Holiday Inn Downtown Classic (2007) and the Bluejay Invitational (2008).
Hometown Flavor
Creighton's 2014 roster boasts 10 players from the state of Nebraska, including all four newcomers.
The 10 Nebraska natives is most since the program's 1994 restart, one more than the 2004 and 2005 clubs that had nine each.
Once In A Lifetime Trip
Creighton experienced a once-in-a-lifetime trip in mid-May when it ventured to Nicaragua. The trip included several matches against the Nicaraguan Jr. National Team (all Creighton victories), but much of the trip's purpose centered on visits to schools, delivering books and other service-oriented programs.
Team USA Trio
Three members of the Creighton Volleyball team donned Team USA jerseys this summer. Kelli Browning, Jess Bird and Leah McNary each suited up for the US Collegiate National Team in June at the 2014 USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships in Minneapolis.
Creighton and Florida State led all schools with three representatives among the 36 women selected.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 83-78 in the 54 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 23-9 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 63-45 in 38 regular-season tournaments, including nine titles.
Creighton won two regular-season tournaments in 2012, taking the season-opening USF Invitational as well as the Northern Colorado Classic, the Hampton Inn Invitational in 2013, and the Bluejay Invitational (Sept. 12-13).
Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.
Big Time Schedule
Creighton's non-conference slate contained six teams to get votes for the preseason top-25, including five ranked teams.
In addition, seven of the teams are picked either first or second place in their conference.
Name Preseason Rank Preseason Conf. Rank
Lipscomb - 1st in Atlantic Sun
Utah Valley - 3rd in Western Athletic
Kansas 22 2nd in Big 12
Northern Iowa - 2nd in Missouri Valley
USC 5 2nd in Pacific-12
Kentucky 19 2nd in Southeastern
Pepperdine - 4th in WCC
Bowling Green - 3rd in Mid-American East
Wichita State - 1st in Missouri Valley
Nebraska 7 2nd in Big 10
Illinois 11 4th in Big 10
South Dakota - 4th in Summit
Colorado RV 7th in Pacific-12
As A Ranked Team
All-time, Creighton is 19-6 when playing as a ranked team in the AVCA poll, including a 18-2 mark versus unranked teams.
The Bluejays started the year in the preseason Top 25 for the second straight fall. Last year's team was 25th to start the season, while this fall the club is ranked 23rd.
Set 1 Result = Match Result
Creighton is 192-22 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 38-113 under Booth when it drops the first set.
Creighton has also won 44 home straight contests when winning the first set.
Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won six matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point. Three of those wins have come against Wichita State.
On the other hand, Creighton is 230-2 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 fifth set loss, and two other match points on Nov. 1, 2013 in a 17-15 fifth set loss to St. John's.
Surviving Match Points, Under Booth
Date Opponent MP(s) Faced Final Set 5
08/30/03 vs. McNeese State 13-14, 15-16 18-16
10/10/03 Wichita State 13-14 16-14
10/13/06 at Wichita State 12-14, 13-14, 14-15 17-15
09/11/07 at Drake 13-14, 14-15 17-15
08/26/11 vs. UTSA 12-14, 13-14 16-14
11/16/12 at Wichita State 13-14 16-14
Blocking Specialists
Creighton has consistently proven to be an elite blocking team in recent seasons, leading their conference each of the previous three years in the category.
The Jays led the nation last year with 3.06 blocks per set, and one year prior were fourth-best nationally while also averaging 3.06 blocks per set.
Leading the blocking brigade during this time span has been Kelli Browning. Browning was fifth nationally in 2012 with 1.65 blocks per set, then finished eighth in 2013 with 1.53 stuffs per set.
This year, Browning ranks fourth in the country with 149 blocks, just 11 behind the national leader.
In the month of October, Creighton averaged 3.28 blocks per set as a team, with Browning's 1.93 average leading the way.
Marian Pipeline
This is the 12th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as juniors Kate Elman and Ashley Jansen are in the program.
Interestingly, the Jays had never had a volleyball player from Marian between 1994-2002. Here's a look at Creighton's pipeline of players from Marian.
2014: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2013: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2012: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2011: Julianne Mandolfo
2010: Lisa Greisch, Julianne Mandolfo
2009: Lisa Greisch
2008: Emily Crowley, Korie Lebeda
2007: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2006: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2005: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2004: Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2003: Emily Greisch
Production Returning
Creighton returned 12-of-13 letterwinners to the court from last season. Below is a breakdown of the production that returns:
Stat Returners Departures
Points 2100.5 (99.1%) 19.5 (0.9%)
Kills 1618 (99.3%) 12 (0.7%)
Digs 1892 (99.2%) 15 (0.8%)
Aces 120 (100.0%) 0 (0.0%)
Matches Started 157 (98.1%) 3 (1.9%)
Blocks 362.5 (98.0%) 7.5 (2.0%)
Assists 1516 (100.0%) 0 (0.0%)
Radio Broadcast Information
Brad Burwell and former Bluejay volleyball player Erin (Swanson) Russell will broadcast most home matches this season.
The matches will air on KZOT (1180 AM) or KOIL (1290 AM) and be webcast online 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.
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
For the second straight season, Creighton has been picked to win the BIG EAST Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches.
CU received 77 points in the poll and five of a possible 10 first-place votes. Defending champ Marquette was picked second with 71 points and four first-place votes, while Xavier (66 points) was third and claimed the remaining first-place tally. Rounding out the rest of the poll were Butler, St. John's, Seton Hall, Villanova, Georgetown, DePaul and Providence.
Creighton also had two women named to the 13 member on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as both Kelli Browning and Leah McNary were honored for a second straight year.
Marquette's Autumn Bailey was chosen as Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year.
Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them or better in the preseason poll in nine of the past 11 years.
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 3rd #1
2011 3rd 4th i1
2012 4th 1st #3
2013 1st T-2nd i1
2014 1st ??? ???
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
RS/OH
/ VolleyballCreighton Volleyball vs. South Florida Press Conference - 9/20/25
Saturday, September 20
#18 Creighton Volleyball vs. South Florida Highlights - 9/20/25
Saturday, September 20
Creighton Volleyball Media Availability - 9/17/25
Wednesday, September 17
#18 Creighton Volleyball vs. #1 Nebraska Highlights - 9/16/25
Wednesday, September 17
