Creighton University
7-6
Colorado
8-4
Volleyball Sweeps Colorado To Wrap Play at Creighton Classic
9/20/2014 10:22:00 PM | Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton Volleyball team swept Colorado on Saturday night to wrap up play at the Creighton Classic and finish non-conference action with a 7-6 record.
Scores of the match were 25-19, 25-20, 25-19. Colorado dropped to 8-4 with its third straight loss. No. 16 Illinois won the event with a 3-0 sweep of second-place South Dakota earlier Saturday evening.
Creighton was represented by Kelli Browning on the All-Tournament Team after the senior midle blocker averaged 3.83 kills and 1.08 blocks per set on .375 hitting. The All-Tournament Team also included Colorado's Taylor Simpson, South Dakota's Kendall Kritenbrink and Riley Haug, as well as the Illinois trio of Liz McMahon, Katie Stadick and MVP Brandi Donnelly.
Creighton dominated the statistics while posting its first win ever over a Pacific-12 Conference team in eight tries. CU had more kills (43-34), digs (41-36), blocks (10-7.5) and assists (42-32), in addition to a better hitting percentage (.323-.096). The only category that Colorado won was in aces, where the Buffaloes edged the Bluejays 4-3.
Browning and Katie Neisler each had nine kills to lead a balanced Bluejay effort on the offensive end, with Maggie Baumert dishing 32 assists. Ashley Jansen had a team-best 11 digs, while Browning and Lauren Smith each owned five blocks.
Colorado had 18 of its 34 kills off the potent right arm of Taylor Simpson, who began her career at Nebraska. Simpson also had a match-high 13 digs.
Creighton used a 5-0 serving run by Katie Neisler early in the match to lead 6-3 and never looked back. Colorado played almost exclusively out-of-system, resulting in 13 attack errors and three service miscues in a 25-19 Bluejay win.
The second set proved to be the closest of the night, a 25-20 Creighton triumph. A stout defensive effort led by Jansen had 16 digs and the Jays dug nearly everything not hit by Simpson, who had 10 of the Buffs' 13 kills in the frame. Browning served a 6-0 run to give CU a 9-4 lead and later added a five-point run at the service line to put CU ahead for good at 20-16.
Browning put her entire repertoire on display in the third frame, finishing with six kills and three blocks as CU never trailed. A kill by Browning closed out the night on CU's third match point opportunity.
Creighton opens BIG EAST play on Tuesday with a 6 pm Central road match at Georgetown before returning home next weekend to host Butler and Xavier.
NOTES: Creighton snapped a three-match losing streak with the win ... Creighton has won 38 straight home matches when winning the first set, and 65 straight matches (at all sites) when leading 2-0 at intermission ... More than 20 Creighton Volleyball alumni were honored during intermission ... The win was Creighton's 99th at home under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, improving to 99-49.
2014 Creighton Classic Summary
September 19-20, 2014 – Omaha, Neb.
Final Standings
1. Illinois 3-0
2. South Dakota 2-1
3. Creighton 1-2
4. Colorado 0-3
Match Scores
Friday, September 19, 2014
South Dakota def. Colorado, 3-1 (25-18, 26-24, 22-25, 25-22)
#16 Illinois def. Creighton, 3-1 (25-15, 25-20, 24-26, 25-22)
Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014
#16 Illinois def. Colorado, 3-1 (25-23, 25-12, 18-25, 25-21)
South Dakota def. Creighton, 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 32-34, 15-10)
#16 Illinois def. South Dakota, 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-22)
Creighton def. Colorado, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-19).
All-Tournament Team
Brandi Donnelly, Illinois (MVP)
Katie Stadick, Illinois
Liz McMahon, Illinois
Riley Haug, South Dakota
Kendall Kritenbrink, South Dakota
Kelli Browning, Creighton
Taylor Simpson, Colorado
