Volleyball Hosts Senior Day & Blue Out As Home BIG EAST Schedule Opens
9/24/2014 2:13:00 PM | Volleyball
This Weekend
Sept. 26 7 pm Butler at Creighton (BEDN) (1180 AM) (Senior Day) Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Sept. 28 1 pm Xavier at Creighton (1180 AM) Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
This Week
Creighton (8-6, 1-0 BIG EAST) is in Omaha for the third straight weekend as it begins the home portion of its second season in the BIG EAST Conference.
On Friday night, Creighton hosts Butler (8-4, 0-0 BIG EAST) in a 7 pm match. The match is Senior Day, and also a “Blue Out”, as fans are encouraged to wear blue apparel as Friday's contest is also “Colon Cancer Awareness Night” in honor of the late Cheryl Sicner. Creighton will honor its seniors following the match.
On Sunday, Creighton hosts Xavier (7-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) at 1 pm.
Both matches will be held at D.J. Sokol Arena inside the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center (2,500) in Omaha, Neb.
Video Webcast Information
Both matches will be available for video webcast this weekend.
Friday's match will mark Creighton's debut on the league's new BIG EAST Digital Network, with Brad Burwell and Erin (Swanson) Russell on the call. Fans can watch Friday's match by visiting http://www.foxsports.com/foxsportsgo, or by downloading the free FOX Sports GO app to begin accessing content.
There is no charge to watch content on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
Sunday's match will be part of Creighton's regular JaysVideo subscription-based webcast package. Subscription options are for 24-hour, 48-hour, one month or four months.
Visit GoCreighton.com, then click on the “Live Video” tab at the top of the page for the link to each match prior to first serve.
Radio Broadcast Information
Both matches this weekend will air on KZOT (1180 AM) in Omaha, and also be streamed through a link on the right side of the page at www.1620thezone.com.
Glen Sisk and Amanda (Cvejdlik) Adams will announce on Friday, while Brad Burwell and Erin (Swanson) Russell will announce on Sunday.
Live Stats Information
Both matches this weekend will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab at the top of the page for the exact link to the match.
Scouting Creighton
Ranked 23rd in the preseason poll, Creighton completely dropped out of this week's AVCA poll following a 8-6 start. Five of Creighton's six losses have come against top-25 teams (USC, Illinois, Nebraska, Kentucky, Kansas), but the Bluejays have already defeated preseason favorites from the Missouri Valley Conference (Wichita State) and Atlantic Sun (Lipscomb).
A pair of Preseason All-BIG EAST honorees, Kelli Browning (3.51 kps., 1.21 bps., .398%) and Leah McNary (2.94 kps.) have paced the Bluejay offense so far, while Kate Elman (4.28 dps., 0.19 saps.) leads the team in both digs and aces per set.
Maggie Baumert (9.96 aps.) has directed the CU offense the last three weeks after sharing that role with Michelle Sicner (5.33 aps.) to start the season.
Creighton returns 12 letterwinners and all six starters (plus its libero) from last year's team that finished 23-9 overall and tied for second in the BIG EAST Conference with a 12-4 league record.
Creighton averages 14.11 kills, 15.57 digs, 2.42 blocks and 0.94 aces per set while hitting .233 as a team.
Scouting Butler
Butler is 8-4 this season and has alternated wins and losses in its last five outings, including a 3-0 sweep of in-state rival Indiana last Saturday in its most recent outing.
BU owns impressive wins over Virginia Tech and Indiana, and has lost to previous Creighton opponents Kentucky, Wichita State and Colorado.
Belle Obert leads the Bulldogs with 3.91 kills per set and is second on the club with 1.11 blocks per set.
Stephanie Kranda (2.64 kps.) and Kayla Bivins (1.98 kps., 1.55 bps.) also provide some offensive firepower.
Makayla Ferguson (10.62 aps., 2.69 dps.) serves as the team's setter, while Jadyn Yarling (3.89 dps.) is the libero.
As a team, Butler averages 13.38 kills, 1.20 aces, 15.49 digs and 2.70 blocks per set while hitting .246.
Scouting Xavier
Xavier enters the weekend with a 7-5 record on the season after playing a challenging non-conference schedule.
The Musketeers have been swept just once, by Ohio, and remained competitive in losses to Missouri, Ohio Sate, Dayton and Kentucky.
All-BIG EAST honoree Abbey Bessler leads XU with 3.60 kills per set while ranking second on the team with 2.33 digs per set and 0.25 aces per set.
Joining her as offensive weapons have been Makayla Agin (2.35 kps.) and Alex Blair (2.35 kps.).
Another All-BIG EAST performer, Aubree Smith (8.52 aps.), has handled the setting role, while Jesse Earl (4.17 dps.) is the team's libero.
Xavier averages 12.71 kills, 1.46 aces, 14.62 digs and 2.01 blocks per set while hitting .234.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 218-134 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.
Sharon Clark (Sacramento State, 1989) is 242-192 in her 15th year at Butler, which moves her career mark to 344-301 in 22 seasons overall when you factor in one year at Humboldt State (1993) and six seasons at UC Davis (1994-99). The winningest volleyball coach in program history, she is assisted by Lenika Vazquez, Amy Miller and Ryan Lilley.
Mike Johnson (Washington, 2003) is in his fifth year at Xavier, where he owns a 90-48 record and won 20 or more matches each of his first four seasons. His career record stands at 112-57 in five years when you include one year as head coach at Austin Peay. He is assisted by Christy Pfeffenberger, Dave Franklin and Ilyanna Hernandez.
Series History vs. Butler
Butler ruined Creighton's BIG EAST opener on Oct. 4, 2013 in Indianapolis, handing the Bluejays a four-set loss. The Bluejays returned the favor 16 days later, winning in four sets in Omaha.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-1 vs. Butler and head coach Sharon Clark.
Series History vs. Xavier
Creighton is 3-0 all-time against Xavier, with all three matches taking place last season.
Creighton won in four sets on Oct. 5, 2013 in Cincinnati to notch the program's first BIG EAST win in history.
More recently, Creighton won a five-set thriller in Omaha against the Musketeers, then topped Xavier in the semifinals of the league tournament in four sets, also in Omaha.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 3-0 vs. Xavier and head coach Mike Johnson.
Last Match Summary
Creighton dominated Georgetown in the BIG EAST opener for both teams, topping the Hoyas on Tuesday by a 25-7, 25-15, 25-22 score before 79 fans in Washington D.C.
Kelli Browning had 11 kills on .450 hitting while Lauren Smith hit .692 with 10 kills in 13 swings to lead the Bluejays.
Senior Citizens
Creighton will host Senior Day following Friday's match, as it will honor Kelli Browning, Leah McNary, Katie Neisler and Michelle Sicner.
Since all four women arrived on campus in the fall of 2011, the Bluejays have gone 77-33, 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 .398 hititng 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 digs two weeks ago. 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 57 kills this season, including 12 last Friday at No. 16 Illinois, and once put down 13 kills in a spring win at Nebraska.
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.
League Opener Histories
Tuesday's win at Georgetown improved Creighton to 13-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 10-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 1-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters.
In the 12 seasons that Creighton won its MVC opener, it never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and owned a combined .662 (143-73) winning percentage in MVC action.
In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Jays had a losing record five times and own a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
In league road openers, Creighton is now 12-9 overall and 9-3 under Booth.
In conference home openers, Creighton is 15-5 overall and 9-2 under Booth.
Sweep City
Creighton has won six straight sets after sweeping Colorado and Georgetown in its last two outings. It's the third time this season that CU has won six straight sets, but the Jays have not won seven straight sets since a streak of eight in a row on Nov. 22-29, 2014.
Creighton last had three straight 3-0 victories early last season (Aug. 31-Sept. 7), and has not had four straight sweeps since Oct. 12-26, 2012.
Hit It!
Creighton hit .323 in Saturday night's win over Colorado before hitting .356 in Tuesday's win at Georgetown. In both matches, CU had just 12 attack errors.
It marked the first time since August 25, 2007 that Creighton hit .320 or better in consecutive matches. Creighton has not hit .320 or better in three straight contests since Sept. 2-3, 2005.
It was also the first time Creighton had 12 attack errors or fewer in consecutive contests since Oct. 20-26, 2012. CU hasn't done that in three straight contests since the same Sept. 2-3 span listed in the paragraph above.
Smith Heats Up
Lauren Smith has played a big role in Creighton's offensive proficiency in the last two matches, combining for 15 kills in 20 swings against just one error.
Smith had 10 kills on .692 hitting at Georgetown on Tuesday, a stark contrast to her 3-7-19 (-.231) line last season in Washington D.C.
Common Foes
Creighton, Butler and Xavier each shared several common opponents during the non-conference slate.
Creighton and Butler shared three common opponents, Kentucky, Wichita State and Colorado. Creighton went 2-1 against that trio (losing only to Kentucky), while Butler was 0-3 versus that group.
Creihgton and Butler shared two common opponents, Lipscomb and Kentucky. Both CU and BU beat Lipscomb in four sets and lost to Kentucky.
Let's Compare
Let's take a look at how Creighton's start in 2014 compares to the last three seasons after 14 matches.
Stat 2014 2013 2012 2011
W-L Thru 14 8-6 10-4 12-2 7-7
Final W-L ? ? ? 23-9 29-4 17-14
Postseason ? ? ? NCAA NCAA ---
Tourney Titles 1 1 2 0
Kills/Set 14.11 13.26 13.35 12.59
Hitting % .233 .226 .257 .203
Aces/Set .94 1.06 1.21 1.33
Digs/Set 15.57 14.47 16.31 16.90
Blocks/Set 2.42 2.89 3.10 2.50
Can You Dig It?
Kate Elman has 1,349 digs, and stands just 43 digs shy of breaking Janeen Piller's school record for most digs in a career.
Allie Oelke's 1,382 digs is currently second-most in Bluejay history.
Elman owns a career-high of 35 digs, and a season-best of 27 digs.
Most Career Digs, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Janeen Piller 336 1,392 2001-04
2. Allie Oelke 445 1,382 2007-10
3. Kate Elman 298 1,349 2012-Pr.
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
Ranked vs. Unranked
Five of Creighton's losses this year have come against teams 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 19 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 59-8 against unranked teams.
Each of Creighton's final 17 matches of the regular-season are against teams that are unranked, though Marquette is currently 28th.
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 last two weeks have been no exception.
In the last two-plus weeks, Browning has averaged 3.80 kills and 1.30 blocks per set while hitting .398. After entering her senior season with a career-high of 18 kills, Browning has had 18 or more kills in two of the last six matches.
In five matches against ranked teams this season, Browning is averaging 3.53 kills and 1.00 blocks per set while hitting .381.
Browning's 3.51 kills per set, 1.21 blocks per set and .398 hitting are all leading the team, and could make her the second Bluejay in Kirsten Bernthal Booth's 12-year tenure to average 3.20 kills and 1.20 blocks per set, joining Jessica Houts (3.33 kps; 1.26 bps. in 2006).
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% last weekend) and Lauren Smith (2.00 kps., 1.18 bps., .356%).
It Goes On, And On, And On, And On, And On
Creighton has played in 754 sets since the move to 25-point rally scoring sets in 2008, but none have been as high scoring as last Saturday's 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.
The highest-scoring frame previously had been a pair of 30-28 sets.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tuesday's 25-7 victory in the first set at Georgetown matched the most lopsided set victory in Creighton history in the current scoring format.
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 57 kills in 14 matches 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 last Friday's match vs. No. 16 Illinois.
Browning Up For Senior CLASS Award
Creighton Volleyball's Kelli Browning is one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. Browning is a two-time All-American middle blocker hailing from Waukesha, Wis.
Browning joins Butler's Belle Obert as one of two BIG EAST representatives on the list, and is the only student-athlete that plays in Nebraska.
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.
Browning is trying to become the third Creighton student-athlete to win a Senior CLASS Award, joining men's soccer alum Brian Holt in the fall of 2011 and men's basketball standout Doug McDermott last April.
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 quickly emerged as an offensive weapon for Creighton. Since making her debut in CU's second match of the season, she's had four or more kills in 12 of the past 13 matches.
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.
Starters Sidelined
Making Creighton's showing the past four weeks all the more impressive was the fact that the Bluejays have done it without a pair of 2013 starters Jess Bird and Michelle Sicner.
Bird had arthroscopic surgery on her knee on September 3, an injury that was expected to sideline her for several weeks.
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. Since then, Sicner has played in just five points.
To help honor the memory of Cheryl Sicner, the team is wearing uniforms with a “CS” insignia on the right sleeve, and will be hosting a Colon Cancer Awareness Night as part of Senior Night on Sept. 26 vs. Butler.
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 37-20 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 1-1 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 five straight true road matches to go five sets, including wins in 2012 over league rivals Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State, and wins last year at Denver and at Wichita State.
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 1-1 8-6
Total 52-48 311-286
McNary Surpasses 1,000 Kills
Leah McNary became the ninth player in Creighton history to reach 1,000 career kills when she did it on Sept. 12 on set point in the third frame vs. Pepperdine.
It came in her 96th career match, sixth-fastest in program history.
Prior to McNary, the last Bluejay to reach 1,000 career kills was Allie Oelke in 2010.
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
Milestone Watch
Creighton owns 99 home wins under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and could reach the 100 milestone on Friday when Butler comes to Omaha. Booth is 99-49 at home at CU, compared to a 45-53 mark by her predecessors.
Kate Elman has 1,349 career digs, rising from seventh to third place in CU history this month. Elman is now just 43 digs from Creighton's school record in digs, currently held by Janeen Piller. Allie Oelke's 1,382 digs is currently in second.
Leah McNary owns 1,074 career kills, good for seventh in Creighton history after passing Amanda Cvejdlik (2005-08) on Sept. 17 at Nebraska. Oelke (1,126) is in sixth place.
Katie Neisler owns 594 digs and is six shy of 600. She's had six or more digs in eight straight matches.
Kelli Browning ranks sixth in CU history with 44 solo blocks. She's two behind Melissa Walsh for fifth in CU history.
Browning also owns 442 career block assists, and on Sept. 6 became the second player in CU history to reach 400 in that category. Her 486 career total blocks leave her just 14 from 500.
Tuesday's match was also the 100th of Browning's career.
Michelle Sicner owns 237 career block assists, 13 shy of 10th place (Sarah Beulke). In addition, Sicner's next dig will be the 600th of her career.
Maggie Baumert owns 528 career assists at Creighton. With 35 helpers at Georgetown, she became the seventh player in CU history to reach 500.
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.
Offensive Production Up
Creighton is averaging 14.11 kills per set through 14 matches, easily the top mark in the BIG EAST. 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 12.02 kills per set. That figure would be the best mark by a CU defense since 2008.
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
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 is playing 13 matches in the month of September, all during a 24-day stretch between Sept. 5-28. CU is currently 6-5 in that stretch, with its final two matches of this busy period coming this weekend.
The 13 matches are 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 plays 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 hosts Colorado, which received enough points to finish 33rd in the voting, and has 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).
Tough With A Lead
Creighton is 59-5 since September 1, 2011 when winning set one, with three of those losses coming against top-11 teams.
Creighton has won 38 straight home matches when winning set one dating to an Aug. 28, 2010 loss to Lipscomb.
Creighton has won 66 straight matches when leading 2-0 (dating to Sept. 12, 2009) and has also won 52 consecutive matches when leading 2-1 in a match (dating to Oct. 16, 2009).
All-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Creighton is 139-2 when leading a match 2-0 and is also 93-7 when leading a match 2-1 after three sets.
Keep On Digging
Libero Kate Elman keeps on digging her way up the record books. The junior from Omaha had a streak of 30 straight matches with 10 or more digs snapped when she was held to just eight vs. Bowling Green on Sept. 13.
That streak was the third-longest in program history.
Elman also owns 29 career matches with 20 or more digs, and 72 matches with 10 or more digs to rank in the top-three in school history in both of those categories, as well.
In Elman's 79 career matches, she's never had fewer than six digs.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Digs
43 Janeen Piller, Oct. 10, 2003-Nov. 26, 2004
32 Kate Elman, Aug. 24 - Nov. 30, 2012
30 Kate Elman, Sept. 30, 2013 - Sept. 12, 2014
27 Bianca Rivera, Aug. 24-Nov. 9, 2007
Matches With 20+ Digs, Career
20+D Name Years
32 Julianne Mandolfo 2010-11
29 Kate Elman 2012-Pres.
27 Bianca Rivera 2007-08
Matches With 10+ Digs, Career
10+D Name Years
74 Janeen Piller 2001-04
72 Kate Elman 2012-Pres.
71 Allie Oelke 2007-10
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 Michelle Sicner 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 contains 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 182-22 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 36-112 under Booth when it drops the first set.
Creighton has also won 38 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 218-2 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
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 196-8 (.961) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 138-2 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own an 92-4 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 8-178 (.043) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-62 mark in those home matches. Those eight comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below:
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
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.
CU's 69 wins in the previous three seasons are the most in any three-year span in program history, two more than the 2010-12 total of 67.
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.
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.
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 returns 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%)
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 ??? ???
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.
Sept. 26 7 pm Butler at Creighton (BEDN) (1180 AM) (Senior Day) Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Sept. 28 1 pm Xavier at Creighton (1180 AM) Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
This Week
Creighton (8-6, 1-0 BIG EAST) is in Omaha for the third straight weekend as it begins the home portion of its second season in the BIG EAST Conference.
On Friday night, Creighton hosts Butler (8-4, 0-0 BIG EAST) in a 7 pm match. The match is Senior Day, and also a “Blue Out”, as fans are encouraged to wear blue apparel as Friday's contest is also “Colon Cancer Awareness Night” in honor of the late Cheryl Sicner. Creighton will honor its seniors following the match.
On Sunday, Creighton hosts Xavier (7-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) at 1 pm.
Both matches will be held at D.J. Sokol Arena inside the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center (2,500) in Omaha, Neb.
Video Webcast Information
Both matches will be available for video webcast this weekend.
Friday's match will mark Creighton's debut on the league's new BIG EAST Digital Network, with Brad Burwell and Erin (Swanson) Russell on the call. Fans can watch Friday's match by visiting http://www.foxsports.com/foxsportsgo, or by downloading the free FOX Sports GO app to begin accessing content.
There is no charge to watch content on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
Sunday's match will be part of Creighton's regular JaysVideo subscription-based webcast package. Subscription options are for 24-hour, 48-hour, one month or four months.
Visit GoCreighton.com, then click on the “Live Video” tab at the top of the page for the link to each match prior to first serve.
Radio Broadcast Information
Both matches this weekend will air on KZOT (1180 AM) in Omaha, and also be streamed through a link on the right side of the page at www.1620thezone.com.
Glen Sisk and Amanda (Cvejdlik) Adams will announce on Friday, while Brad Burwell and Erin (Swanson) Russell will announce on Sunday.
Live Stats Information
Both matches this weekend will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab at the top of the page for the exact link to the match.
Scouting Creighton
Ranked 23rd in the preseason poll, Creighton completely dropped out of this week's AVCA poll following a 8-6 start. Five of Creighton's six losses have come against top-25 teams (USC, Illinois, Nebraska, Kentucky, Kansas), but the Bluejays have already defeated preseason favorites from the Missouri Valley Conference (Wichita State) and Atlantic Sun (Lipscomb).
A pair of Preseason All-BIG EAST honorees, Kelli Browning (3.51 kps., 1.21 bps., .398%) and Leah McNary (2.94 kps.) have paced the Bluejay offense so far, while Kate Elman (4.28 dps., 0.19 saps.) leads the team in both digs and aces per set.
Maggie Baumert (9.96 aps.) has directed the CU offense the last three weeks after sharing that role with Michelle Sicner (5.33 aps.) to start the season.
Creighton returns 12 letterwinners and all six starters (plus its libero) from last year's team that finished 23-9 overall and tied for second in the BIG EAST Conference with a 12-4 league record.
Creighton averages 14.11 kills, 15.57 digs, 2.42 blocks and 0.94 aces per set while hitting .233 as a team.
Scouting Butler
Butler is 8-4 this season and has alternated wins and losses in its last five outings, including a 3-0 sweep of in-state rival Indiana last Saturday in its most recent outing.
BU owns impressive wins over Virginia Tech and Indiana, and has lost to previous Creighton opponents Kentucky, Wichita State and Colorado.
Belle Obert leads the Bulldogs with 3.91 kills per set and is second on the club with 1.11 blocks per set.
Stephanie Kranda (2.64 kps.) and Kayla Bivins (1.98 kps., 1.55 bps.) also provide some offensive firepower.
Makayla Ferguson (10.62 aps., 2.69 dps.) serves as the team's setter, while Jadyn Yarling (3.89 dps.) is the libero.
As a team, Butler averages 13.38 kills, 1.20 aces, 15.49 digs and 2.70 blocks per set while hitting .246.
Scouting Xavier
Xavier enters the weekend with a 7-5 record on the season after playing a challenging non-conference schedule.
The Musketeers have been swept just once, by Ohio, and remained competitive in losses to Missouri, Ohio Sate, Dayton and Kentucky.
All-BIG EAST honoree Abbey Bessler leads XU with 3.60 kills per set while ranking second on the team with 2.33 digs per set and 0.25 aces per set.
Joining her as offensive weapons have been Makayla Agin (2.35 kps.) and Alex Blair (2.35 kps.).
Another All-BIG EAST performer, Aubree Smith (8.52 aps.), has handled the setting role, while Jesse Earl (4.17 dps.) is the team's libero.
Xavier averages 12.71 kills, 1.46 aces, 14.62 digs and 2.01 blocks per set while hitting .234.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 218-134 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.
Sharon Clark (Sacramento State, 1989) is 242-192 in her 15th year at Butler, which moves her career mark to 344-301 in 22 seasons overall when you factor in one year at Humboldt State (1993) and six seasons at UC Davis (1994-99). The winningest volleyball coach in program history, she is assisted by Lenika Vazquez, Amy Miller and Ryan Lilley.
Mike Johnson (Washington, 2003) is in his fifth year at Xavier, where he owns a 90-48 record and won 20 or more matches each of his first four seasons. His career record stands at 112-57 in five years when you include one year as head coach at Austin Peay. He is assisted by Christy Pfeffenberger, Dave Franklin and Ilyanna Hernandez.
Series History vs. Butler
Butler ruined Creighton's BIG EAST opener on Oct. 4, 2013 in Indianapolis, handing the Bluejays a four-set loss. The Bluejays returned the favor 16 days later, winning in four sets in Omaha.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-1 vs. Butler and head coach Sharon Clark.
Series History vs. Xavier
Creighton is 3-0 all-time against Xavier, with all three matches taking place last season.
Creighton won in four sets on Oct. 5, 2013 in Cincinnati to notch the program's first BIG EAST win in history.
More recently, Creighton won a five-set thriller in Omaha against the Musketeers, then topped Xavier in the semifinals of the league tournament in four sets, also in Omaha.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 3-0 vs. Xavier and head coach Mike Johnson.
Last Match Summary
Creighton dominated Georgetown in the BIG EAST opener for both teams, topping the Hoyas on Tuesday by a 25-7, 25-15, 25-22 score before 79 fans in Washington D.C.
Kelli Browning had 11 kills on .450 hitting while Lauren Smith hit .692 with 10 kills in 13 swings to lead the Bluejays.
Senior Citizens
Creighton will host Senior Day following Friday's match, as it will honor Kelli Browning, Leah McNary, Katie Neisler and Michelle Sicner.
Since all four women arrived on campus in the fall of 2011, the Bluejays have gone 77-33, 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 .398 hititng 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 digs two weeks ago. 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 57 kills this season, including 12 last Friday at No. 16 Illinois, and once put down 13 kills in a spring win at Nebraska.
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.
League Opener Histories
Tuesday's win at Georgetown improved Creighton to 13-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 10-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 1-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters.
In the 12 seasons that Creighton won its MVC opener, it never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and owned a combined .662 (143-73) winning percentage in MVC action.
In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Jays had a losing record five times and own a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
In league road openers, Creighton is now 12-9 overall and 9-3 under Booth.
In conference home openers, Creighton is 15-5 overall and 9-2 under Booth.
Sweep City
Creighton has won six straight sets after sweeping Colorado and Georgetown in its last two outings. It's the third time this season that CU has won six straight sets, but the Jays have not won seven straight sets since a streak of eight in a row on Nov. 22-29, 2014.
Creighton last had three straight 3-0 victories early last season (Aug. 31-Sept. 7), and has not had four straight sweeps since Oct. 12-26, 2012.
Hit It!
Creighton hit .323 in Saturday night's win over Colorado before hitting .356 in Tuesday's win at Georgetown. In both matches, CU had just 12 attack errors.
It marked the first time since August 25, 2007 that Creighton hit .320 or better in consecutive matches. Creighton has not hit .320 or better in three straight contests since Sept. 2-3, 2005.
It was also the first time Creighton had 12 attack errors or fewer in consecutive contests since Oct. 20-26, 2012. CU hasn't done that in three straight contests since the same Sept. 2-3 span listed in the paragraph above.
Smith Heats Up
Lauren Smith has played a big role in Creighton's offensive proficiency in the last two matches, combining for 15 kills in 20 swings against just one error.
Smith had 10 kills on .692 hitting at Georgetown on Tuesday, a stark contrast to her 3-7-19 (-.231) line last season in Washington D.C.
Common Foes
Creighton, Butler and Xavier each shared several common opponents during the non-conference slate.
Creighton and Butler shared three common opponents, Kentucky, Wichita State and Colorado. Creighton went 2-1 against that trio (losing only to Kentucky), while Butler was 0-3 versus that group.
Creihgton and Butler shared two common opponents, Lipscomb and Kentucky. Both CU and BU beat Lipscomb in four sets and lost to Kentucky.
Let's Compare
Let's take a look at how Creighton's start in 2014 compares to the last three seasons after 14 matches.
Stat 2014 2013 2012 2011
W-L Thru 14 8-6 10-4 12-2 7-7
Final W-L ? ? ? 23-9 29-4 17-14
Postseason ? ? ? NCAA NCAA ---
Tourney Titles 1 1 2 0
Kills/Set 14.11 13.26 13.35 12.59
Hitting % .233 .226 .257 .203
Aces/Set .94 1.06 1.21 1.33
Digs/Set 15.57 14.47 16.31 16.90
Blocks/Set 2.42 2.89 3.10 2.50
Can You Dig It?
Kate Elman has 1,349 digs, and stands just 43 digs shy of breaking Janeen Piller's school record for most digs in a career.
Allie Oelke's 1,382 digs is currently second-most in Bluejay history.
Elman owns a career-high of 35 digs, and a season-best of 27 digs.
Most Career Digs, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Janeen Piller 336 1,392 2001-04
2. Allie Oelke 445 1,382 2007-10
3. Kate Elman 298 1,349 2012-Pr.
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
Ranked vs. Unranked
Five of Creighton's losses this year have come against teams 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 19 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 59-8 against unranked teams.
Each of Creighton's final 17 matches of the regular-season are against teams that are unranked, though Marquette is currently 28th.
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 last two weeks have been no exception.
In the last two-plus weeks, Browning has averaged 3.80 kills and 1.30 blocks per set while hitting .398. After entering her senior season with a career-high of 18 kills, Browning has had 18 or more kills in two of the last six matches.
In five matches against ranked teams this season, Browning is averaging 3.53 kills and 1.00 blocks per set while hitting .381.
Browning's 3.51 kills per set, 1.21 blocks per set and .398 hitting are all leading the team, and could make her the second Bluejay in Kirsten Bernthal Booth's 12-year tenure to average 3.20 kills and 1.20 blocks per set, joining Jessica Houts (3.33 kps; 1.26 bps. in 2006).
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% last weekend) and Lauren Smith (2.00 kps., 1.18 bps., .356%).
It Goes On, And On, And On, And On, And On
Creighton has played in 754 sets since the move to 25-point rally scoring sets in 2008, but none have been as high scoring as last Saturday's 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.
The highest-scoring frame previously had been a pair of 30-28 sets.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tuesday's 25-7 victory in the first set at Georgetown matched the most lopsided set victory in Creighton history in the current scoring format.
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 57 kills in 14 matches 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 last Friday's match vs. No. 16 Illinois.
Browning Up For Senior CLASS Award
Creighton Volleyball's Kelli Browning is one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. Browning is a two-time All-American middle blocker hailing from Waukesha, Wis.
Browning joins Butler's Belle Obert as one of two BIG EAST representatives on the list, and is the only student-athlete that plays in Nebraska.
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.
Browning is trying to become the third Creighton student-athlete to win a Senior CLASS Award, joining men's soccer alum Brian Holt in the fall of 2011 and men's basketball standout Doug McDermott last April.
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 quickly emerged as an offensive weapon for Creighton. Since making her debut in CU's second match of the season, she's had four or more kills in 12 of the past 13 matches.
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.
Starters Sidelined
Making Creighton's showing the past four weeks all the more impressive was the fact that the Bluejays have done it without a pair of 2013 starters Jess Bird and Michelle Sicner.
Bird had arthroscopic surgery on her knee on September 3, an injury that was expected to sideline her for several weeks.
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. Since then, Sicner has played in just five points.
To help honor the memory of Cheryl Sicner, the team is wearing uniforms with a “CS” insignia on the right sleeve, and will be hosting a Colon Cancer Awareness Night as part of Senior Night on Sept. 26 vs. Butler.
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 37-20 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 1-1 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 five straight true road matches to go five sets, including wins in 2012 over league rivals Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State, and wins last year at Denver and at Wichita State.
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 1-1 8-6
Total 52-48 311-286
McNary Surpasses 1,000 Kills
Leah McNary became the ninth player in Creighton history to reach 1,000 career kills when she did it on Sept. 12 on set point in the third frame vs. Pepperdine.
It came in her 96th career match, sixth-fastest in program history.
Prior to McNary, the last Bluejay to reach 1,000 career kills was Allie Oelke in 2010.
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
Milestone Watch
Creighton owns 99 home wins under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and could reach the 100 milestone on Friday when Butler comes to Omaha. Booth is 99-49 at home at CU, compared to a 45-53 mark by her predecessors.
Kate Elman has 1,349 career digs, rising from seventh to third place in CU history this month. Elman is now just 43 digs from Creighton's school record in digs, currently held by Janeen Piller. Allie Oelke's 1,382 digs is currently in second.
Leah McNary owns 1,074 career kills, good for seventh in Creighton history after passing Amanda Cvejdlik (2005-08) on Sept. 17 at Nebraska. Oelke (1,126) is in sixth place.
Katie Neisler owns 594 digs and is six shy of 600. She's had six or more digs in eight straight matches.
Kelli Browning ranks sixth in CU history with 44 solo blocks. She's two behind Melissa Walsh for fifth in CU history.
Browning also owns 442 career block assists, and on Sept. 6 became the second player in CU history to reach 400 in that category. Her 486 career total blocks leave her just 14 from 500.
Tuesday's match was also the 100th of Browning's career.
Michelle Sicner owns 237 career block assists, 13 shy of 10th place (Sarah Beulke). In addition, Sicner's next dig will be the 600th of her career.
Maggie Baumert owns 528 career assists at Creighton. With 35 helpers at Georgetown, she became the seventh player in CU history to reach 500.
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.
Offensive Production Up
Creighton is averaging 14.11 kills per set through 14 matches, easily the top mark in the BIG EAST. 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 12.02 kills per set. That figure would be the best mark by a CU defense since 2008.
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
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 is playing 13 matches in the month of September, all during a 24-day stretch between Sept. 5-28. CU is currently 6-5 in that stretch, with its final two matches of this busy period coming this weekend.
The 13 matches are 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 plays 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 hosts Colorado, which received enough points to finish 33rd in the voting, and has 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).
Tough With A Lead
Creighton is 59-5 since September 1, 2011 when winning set one, with three of those losses coming against top-11 teams.
Creighton has won 38 straight home matches when winning set one dating to an Aug. 28, 2010 loss to Lipscomb.
Creighton has won 66 straight matches when leading 2-0 (dating to Sept. 12, 2009) and has also won 52 consecutive matches when leading 2-1 in a match (dating to Oct. 16, 2009).
All-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Creighton is 139-2 when leading a match 2-0 and is also 93-7 when leading a match 2-1 after three sets.
Keep On Digging
Libero Kate Elman keeps on digging her way up the record books. The junior from Omaha had a streak of 30 straight matches with 10 or more digs snapped when she was held to just eight vs. Bowling Green on Sept. 13.
That streak was the third-longest in program history.
Elman also owns 29 career matches with 20 or more digs, and 72 matches with 10 or more digs to rank in the top-three in school history in both of those categories, as well.
In Elman's 79 career matches, she's never had fewer than six digs.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Digs
43 Janeen Piller, Oct. 10, 2003-Nov. 26, 2004
32 Kate Elman, Aug. 24 - Nov. 30, 2012
30 Kate Elman, Sept. 30, 2013 - Sept. 12, 2014
27 Bianca Rivera, Aug. 24-Nov. 9, 2007
Matches With 20+ Digs, Career
20+D Name Years
32 Julianne Mandolfo 2010-11
29 Kate Elman 2012-Pres.
27 Bianca Rivera 2007-08
Matches With 10+ Digs, Career
10+D Name Years
74 Janeen Piller 2001-04
72 Kate Elman 2012-Pres.
71 Allie Oelke 2007-10
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 Michelle Sicner 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 contains 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 182-22 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 36-112 under Booth when it drops the first set.
Creighton has also won 38 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 218-2 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
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 196-8 (.961) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 138-2 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own an 92-4 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 8-178 (.043) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-62 mark in those home matches. Those eight comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below:
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
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.
CU's 69 wins in the previous three seasons are the most in any three-year span in program history, two more than the 2010-12 total of 67.
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.
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.
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 returns 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%)
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 ??? ???
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.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
F
/ Men's Basketball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
RS/OH
/ VolleyballCreighton's Ava Martin Highlights - 9/22/25
Monday, September 22
Creighton Volleyball Postgame Press Conference vs. Kansas - 9/21/25
Monday, September 22
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. Kansas, 9/21/25
Monday, September 22
Creighton Volleyball vs. South Florida Press Conference - 9/20/25
Saturday, September 20
