Saturday, September 20
D.J. Sokol Arena
12:00 PM
Creighton University
6-6
2
vs
3
South Dakota
6-5
1
2
3
4
5
F
South Dakota
25
25
18
32
15
3
Creighton
23
23
25
34
10
2
Coyotes Outlast CU Volleyball in Five Sets
9/20/2014 4:31:00 PM | Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. -- A career-best 21 kills from Kelli Browning wasn't enough for Creighton to overcome an 0-2 deficit in a 3-2 loss to South Dakota in volleyball action on Saturday afternoon at the Creighton Classic.
Scores of the match in favor of visiting USD were 25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 32-34, 15-10. Creighton saved six match points in a marathon fourth set, but that momentum was short-lived, as the Coyotes managed to prevail.
South Dakota improved to 6-5 on the year with its third straight win, including a 2-0 mark this weekend. Creighton is now 6-6 on the year and 0-2 in the Creighton Classic after its first loss to an unranked team all season.
In what would be a tightly-contested match, South Dakota earned a crucial 1-0 lead with a 25-23 victory in the first. The Bluejays led most of the way, including 18-13 and 22-20, before a set-ending 9-3 rally from USD stole the frame. Sydney Dimke had three kills down the stretch to key the comeback, and finished with six kills in the set overall.
The victory seemed to fuel South Dakota to open the second set, as USD scored consistently on Brittany Jessen's serve and would build a 19-12 lead. Creighton rallied with a furious comeback, drawing within one point at 24-23, but Melissa Firtko and Kendall Kritenbrink combined for a block on USD's third set point opportunity to give the Coyotes a 2-0 lead heading to the locker room. Kritenbrink had nine kills in the set as USD hit .500 in 32 swings.
Creighton would control the third set, getting multiple kills from five women for a 25-18 victory to extend the match. CU had four aces and three blocks while holding the Coyotes to .077 hitting in the win.
The fourth set was a downright donnybrook, as both teams played elite volleyball down the stretch. Creighton led 23-20 late, only to surrender four straight points and stare down match point. CU would answer, not only then, but also five more times (also 25-24, 27-26, 29-28, 31-30 and 32-31) to force a fifth set. Browning had a kill to knot the score at 32, then another one to make it 33-32, before Leah McNary's putaway gave CU the 38-minute set. McNary and Browning each had six kills in the set, while Kate Elman had 10 digs in the frame. USD's Riley Haug (12) and Kritenbrink (11) each had double-digit digs in the set as well, as the teams combined for 63 digs.
Creighton would score the first two points of the fifth set, but USD answered with the next three and would not trail again. Kritenbrink put down a kill with the score 10-9 to open a match-ending 5-1 burst. A Gretna native, Kritenbrink had five kills in the last set, matching the total of CU.
Kritenbrink would lead all players with 29 kills and added 21 digs, hitting .294 in 68 swings. Her 31.0 points tied a D.J. Sokol Arena record, while she just missed the facility records for kills (30) and attack attempts (70) in a match. Haug would finish with 23 digs, while Dimke recorded 12 kills overall.
USD finished with 66 kills, two aces, 73 digs and 11.5 blocks on .243 hitting.
Creighton hit .191 and had 72 kills, six aces, 75 digs and eight blocks. Browning had 21 kills in a career-best 45 attempts and added a CU-high four blocks. McNary had 18 kills and Lauren Smith added 13 more. Elman led the Bluejay defense with 21 digs, while Maggie Baumert distributed a career-high 61 assists.
Illinois topped Colorado in four sets during the first match of the day, setting up a title game match against South Dakota tonight at 5:30 pm. Colorado and Creighton will follow in a match scheduled for 7:30 pm first serve.
NOTES: Creighton fell to 6-2 in five-set matches at D.J. Sokol Arena, which opened in 2009 ... South Dakota improved to 1-3 all-time against Creighton ... Creighton is now 1-1 in five-set matches this season, while USD is now 2-1 ... Freshman Toni Tupper made her first career start and finished with two kills ... Creighton dropped to 0-62 all-time at home when falling behind 0-2 at home. All eight such comeback victories have been at road/neutral sites ... Kate Elman had her 72nd career match with 10 or more digs, two shy of Janeen Piller's school record.
Scores of the match in favor of visiting USD were 25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 32-34, 15-10. Creighton saved six match points in a marathon fourth set, but that momentum was short-lived, as the Coyotes managed to prevail.
South Dakota improved to 6-5 on the year with its third straight win, including a 2-0 mark this weekend. Creighton is now 6-6 on the year and 0-2 in the Creighton Classic after its first loss to an unranked team all season.
In what would be a tightly-contested match, South Dakota earned a crucial 1-0 lead with a 25-23 victory in the first. The Bluejays led most of the way, including 18-13 and 22-20, before a set-ending 9-3 rally from USD stole the frame. Sydney Dimke had three kills down the stretch to key the comeback, and finished with six kills in the set overall.
The victory seemed to fuel South Dakota to open the second set, as USD scored consistently on Brittany Jessen's serve and would build a 19-12 lead. Creighton rallied with a furious comeback, drawing within one point at 24-23, but Melissa Firtko and Kendall Kritenbrink combined for a block on USD's third set point opportunity to give the Coyotes a 2-0 lead heading to the locker room. Kritenbrink had nine kills in the set as USD hit .500 in 32 swings.
Creighton would control the third set, getting multiple kills from five women for a 25-18 victory to extend the match. CU had four aces and three blocks while holding the Coyotes to .077 hitting in the win.
The fourth set was a downright donnybrook, as both teams played elite volleyball down the stretch. Creighton led 23-20 late, only to surrender four straight points and stare down match point. CU would answer, not only then, but also five more times (also 25-24, 27-26, 29-28, 31-30 and 32-31) to force a fifth set. Browning had a kill to knot the score at 32, then another one to make it 33-32, before Leah McNary's putaway gave CU the 38-minute set. McNary and Browning each had six kills in the set, while Kate Elman had 10 digs in the frame. USD's Riley Haug (12) and Kritenbrink (11) each had double-digit digs in the set as well, as the teams combined for 63 digs.
Creighton would score the first two points of the fifth set, but USD answered with the next three and would not trail again. Kritenbrink put down a kill with the score 10-9 to open a match-ending 5-1 burst. A Gretna native, Kritenbrink had five kills in the last set, matching the total of CU.
Kritenbrink would lead all players with 29 kills and added 21 digs, hitting .294 in 68 swings. Her 31.0 points tied a D.J. Sokol Arena record, while she just missed the facility records for kills (30) and attack attempts (70) in a match. Haug would finish with 23 digs, while Dimke recorded 12 kills overall.
USD finished with 66 kills, two aces, 73 digs and 11.5 blocks on .243 hitting.
Creighton hit .191 and had 72 kills, six aces, 75 digs and eight blocks. Browning had 21 kills in a career-best 45 attempts and added a CU-high four blocks. McNary had 18 kills and Lauren Smith added 13 more. Elman led the Bluejay defense with 21 digs, while Maggie Baumert distributed a career-high 61 assists.
Illinois topped Colorado in four sets during the first match of the day, setting up a title game match against South Dakota tonight at 5:30 pm. Colorado and Creighton will follow in a match scheduled for 7:30 pm first serve.
NOTES: Creighton fell to 6-2 in five-set matches at D.J. Sokol Arena, which opened in 2009 ... South Dakota improved to 1-3 all-time against Creighton ... Creighton is now 1-1 in five-set matches this season, while USD is now 2-1 ... Freshman Toni Tupper made her first career start and finished with two kills ... Creighton dropped to 0-62 all-time at home when falling behind 0-2 at home. All eight such comeback victories have been at road/neutral sites ... Kate Elman had her 72nd career match with 10 or more digs, two shy of Janeen Piller's school record.
Team Stats
USD
CU
Kills
66
72
Errors
24
35
Attempts
173
194
Hitting %
.243
.191
Points
79.5
86.0
Assists
63
68
Aces
2
6
Blocks
11.5
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
18
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
OH
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