Creighton University
DePaul (Pink Out)
Volleyball Rallies From 0-2 Deficit To Win Seventh Straight
10/9/2015 9:40:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton Overcomes DePaul With Late Flourish
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton Volleyball team won its seventh straight match in dramatic fashion on Friday night, rallying from an 0-2 deficit to defeat visiting DePaul in five sets before 1,471 fans at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Scores of the match in favor of the host Bluejays were 21-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-12, 15-11.
With the win, Creighton improved to 12-7 and 6-0 in BIG EAST action. DePaul fell to 12-6 and is 1-5 in league play.
DePaul came into the match tied for last place in the BIG EAST, but you wouldn't know it the way the Blue Demons fought on Friday night. DePaul broke free from an 18-all tie in the first set to win 25-21, then erased a 22-20 deficit in the second set to win 25-23 and take a 2-0 lead into the break in front of a stunned crowd.
Creighton got its momentum rolling in the third set, turning a 16-15 lead into a 20-16 margin. Two kills from Marysa Wilkinson and a putaway by Taryn Kloth got CU to set point, which it won on a DePaul attack error. Creighton hit .412 in the third set.
The Bluejays clicked on all cylinders in the fourth set, hitting a robust .469 with 19 kills in 32 swings, compared to five kills in 28 swings for DePaul. Lauren Smith had five kills in the fourth set, while Maggie Baumert distributed 13 assists. CU turned a 10-7 lead into a 19-7 runaway on an extended serving run by Amanda Foje, which included two aces by the junior.
Creighton scored the first five points of the fifth set and appeared ready to coast to the win, but DePaul had other ideas. The Blue Demons scored the next five points to even the score before CU took the lead for good on a service error. The Bluejays led 8-6 as the teams switched benches and traded sideouts on nine of the final 10 points to pick up the 15-11 win. Smith had three kills in the final set to pace a CU attack that hit .312 in the fifth frame.
Kloth authored a season-best 16 digs on .394 hitting, adding five digs and four blocks in her best match to date. Smith had 14 kills in 18 swings, and her .722 hitting percentage established a Bluejay record for a five-set match. Both Wilkinson and Winters had 13 kills to round out CU's offense, with Wilkinson hitting .667 in 18 swings and Winters recording 15 digs for her sixth double-double of the fall. Baumert came off the bench to post a match-high 40 assists as Creighton hit .322 overall with 69 kills, seven aces, 76 digs and eight blocks.
DePaul was led by 18 kills from Brittany Maxwell, but just three of those came in the final two sets. Caitlyn Coffey had 14 kills on .462 hitting, while Tyler Graham dug a match-best 20 balls. DePaul had 55 kills, six aces, 53 digs and eight blocks on .189 hitting.
Creighton hosts Marquette on Sunday at 1 pm in a match broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
NOTES: After losing its first 65 home matches in which it fell behind 0-2 at intermission, Creighton has now won its last two. The Jays overcame an 0-2 deficit to start their seven-match win streak on Sept. 20 vs. Kansas State ... Creighton improved to 3-1 this season in five-set matches, and 42-22 all-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth ... During its seven-match win streak, Creighton is 7-7 in the first two sets and 14-0 in sets three, four and five of those same matches ... Creighton's 6-0 start matches its best ever to open league play, tying the 2007 team that opened MVC play 6-0 ... Creighton's seven-match win streak is tied for the program's fourth-longest since its 1994 reinstatement ... Creighton improved to 14-0 all-time when Marysa Wilkinson hits .400 or better, and 66-0 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when the team hits .300 or better ... Creighton improved to 11-186 all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including four such wins since the start of 2014 ... Creighton improved to 8-2 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
