Creighton University
8-6, 1-0BE
Georgetown
6-8, 0-1BE
Volleyball Sweeps Georgetown in BIG EAST Opener
9/23/2014 7:58:00 PM | Volleyball
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Creighton Volleyball team played like the preseason favorite in the BIG EAST that they are in a 3-0 road win at Georgetown on Tuesday night.
Scores of the match in favor of CU were 25-7, 25-15, 25-22.
Creighton is now 8-6 on the year, while Georgetown fell to 6-8. It was the first conference match across the BIG EAST in 2014.
Creighton never trailed in the opening set, cruising to leads of 7-1 and 17-5 before allowing its first kill to Georgetown. The Hoyas would manage just two kills in 30 swings, as CU held the hosts to -.267 hitting in a 25-7 Bluejay victory. The score ranked as the most lopsided victory in the first set since the shift to 25-point sets in 2008, and tied the program record in a 25-point set done in the third set on Oct. 2, 2010 at Indiana State.
Georgetown led 4-2 early in the second set before CU went to work, using an 8-1 run to take the lead for good. Creighton held GU to .071 hitting in the second set while hitting .321 itself in the 25-15 romp and claiming a 2-0 lead at intermission.
CU played from behind for much of the third set before rallying to take a 16-15 lead. With the score tied at 21-all, the Jays scored the next two points and didn't look back, clinching the match on a kill by Lauren Smith.
Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth was pleased with her team's effort in the victory. "I think the good thing we've talked about with this team is consistency. That's now six straight sets we've done that...three vs. Colorado and three vs. Georgetown. We didn't play perfect, but we didn't give away points either. One of the keys for us is making teams earn their own points."
Booth cited an all-around performance that carried her team to victory on Tuesday. "I thought everyone did their job. I thought it was a good team effort both offensively and defensively. We made good plays throughout the match to put pressure on them to put the ball down."
Smith had 10 kills in 13 swings and hit .692 in the contest, while fellow middle blocker Kelli Browning had 11 kills on .450 hitting and added a team-high four blocks. Marysa Wilkinson had nine kills on .471 hitting, while Katie Neisler had eight kills in 18 swings. Pacing the Bluejay defense with 11 digs each were Ashley Jansen and Melanie Jereb. CU hit .356 and finished with 44 kills, five aces, 49 digs and seven blocks.
Georgetown was paced by six kills from Dani White, while MacKenzie Simpson had 10 digs. The Hoyas had 22 kills, one ace, 31 digs and two blocks on .033 hitting.
Creighton returns home on Friday to host Butler at 7 pm at D.J. Sokol Arena. Creighton seniors Michelle Sicner, Leah McNary, Neisler and Browning will be honored after the match. The match is also a “Blue Out” and fans are encouraged to wear blue apparel as Friday's contest is also “Colon Cancer Awareness Night” in honor of the late Cheryl Sicner.
NOTES: Creighton has won six straight sets after consecutive 3-0 victories ... Creighton improved to 13-8 all-time in conference openers (1-1 in the BIG EAST), including a 10-2 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth ... Maggie Baumert became the seventh player in Bluejay history to surpass 500 career assists ... Creighton has won 66 straight matches when leading 2-0 at intermission and 63 straight contests when hitting .300 or better ... Creighton's .356 hitting was a season-high and its second-best ever in a BIG EAST Conference match ... Georgetown's .033 hitting was the lowest by a Bluejay opponent since USF (.027) on Sept. 7, 2014.
