Creighton University
23-7, 16-1BIG EAST
Villanova
13-19, 6-11BIG EAST
Volleyball Sweeps Villanova to Claim Outright BIG EAST Title
11/21/2014 8:31:00 PM | Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. - The Creighton women's volleyball team claimed the outright BIG EAST volleyball regular season title with a 3-0 sweep of Villanova on Friday, Nov. 21.
Game scores for the match were: 25-13, 25-9 and 25-10, which was played in front of 2,067 fans at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha.
The Bluejays moved to 23-7 on the season and 16-1 in conference play with their 11th straight victory, while Villanova dropped to 13-19 overall and 6-11 in the BIG EAST.
Four kills from freshman Marysa Wilkinson and four aces by her teammates helped Creighton make quick of the Wildcats in the opening set. Down 2-0 in the early moments, the Bluejays rattled off six straight points on kills by Wilkinson, Kelli Browning, Michelle Sicner, Jess Bird and an ace from Ashley Jansen to take a 6-2 edge. Up 11-6 a few plays later, Creighton put the first set away with four straight on two kills by Sicner and one from both Leah McNary as well as Lauren Smith.
The second set proved even more one-sided as Creighton collected three more aces and forced Villanova into nine errors (six attacking and three service) to take a 2-0 lead. Knotted 5-5 in the second set, the Bluejays used another surge to take control. Creighton scored 12 of the next 14 points, surrendering just a service miscue and blocking error to take a 17-7 lead. The Bluejays pounded out 13 kills with just one error on 33 attempts (.364), while Villanova had four kills and six errors on 38 attempts (-.053) in the set.
Trailing 4-3 in set number three, the Bluejays serve and receive advantage gave Creighton the edge once more. A Villanova service error, followed by back-to-back aces from Bird gave the Bluejays a 6-4 lead. Creighton went on to collect four aces, while Villanova committed five service errors in the set as the Bluejays coasted to a 25-10 win.
Bird led all attackers with 10 kills, while Sicner had a double-double with 22 assists and 11 digs on the evening. Villanova got five kills from Lauren Carpenter and a match-best 16 digs by Michelle Adams.
Creighton finished the match hitting .302 with 36 kills, 11 aces, 60 digs and seven blocks, while Villanova hit -.040 with 14 kills, three aces, 37 digs and four blocks.
Creighton closes out the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 23 as the Bluejays host Seton Hall at 12 p.m. The Pirates are the only team to beat Creighton since September 21st, a five-set loss in South Orange, N.J., on October 10th.
NOTES: Creighton clinched the top overall seed in next week's BIG EAST Tournament with the win and will play in the first semifinal next Friday at 3 pm Central against either Xavier or Butler. Seton Hall locked up the second seed on Friday, while tourney host Marquette will be the third seed ... The win was Creighton's ninth straight at home, second-longest in program history behind a 13-match streak snapped last year ... Creighton's 12 home wins this year tie a school record set in 2012 ... Creighton's only previous league title came in 2012, when Creighton went 17-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference ... Creighton now owns 75 wins in the past three seasons, six more than any previous three-year span ... Creighton's 23 wins are tied for second-most in any season with 2013. The 2012 team went a record 29-4 ... Creighton improved to 46-6 all-time in conference home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena ... Creighton's 11 aces were a season-high for a three-set match.
