Saturday, November 28
D.J. Sokol Arena
1:00 PM
Creighton University
25-8
3
vs
0
Villanova
25-8
1
2
3
F
Villanova
18
18
17
0
Creighton
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
CHAMPS! Volleyball Claims Second Straight BIG EAST Championship Title
11/28/2015 2:14:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton defeats Villanova to lock up automatic NCAA Tourney bid
OMAHA, Neb. -- Top-seeded Creighton won its second straight BIG EAST Volleyball Championship on Saturday afternoon with a win over second-seeded Villanova.
Scores of the match were 25-18, 25-18, 25-17.
The win improves Creighton to 25-8 on the season, while Villanova drops to 25-8. The Bluejays were playing in their fourth straight conference tournament title match, while 'Nova was appearing in the final for the first time since 1997 and was denied its first championship.
Jess Bird earned Most Valuable Player honors after hitting .375 and finishing with 14 kills, eight digs and a season-best four blocks. Jaali Winters led all players with 18 kills, including nine in the second set and eight more in the clincher. Bluejay seniors Maggie Baumert (39 assists, 10 digs) and Kate Elman (12 digs, one ace) joined Bird on the All-Tournament Team.
Creighton hit .286 with 48 kills, three aces, 49 digs and 11 blocks.
Villanova finished with 32 kills, 40 digs and three blocks and were held without an ace. The Wildcats hit .147 and were topped by nine kills from Allie Loitz and 19 digs by Allison Fitzgerald.
Creighton controlled the match from the outset, surrendering the first point but not trailing again until the third set. Baumert authored a 6-0 service run to help CU race to an early 13-6 lead in the match, as Marysa Wilkinson had a blocks on four of those points. CU finished with six blocks in the first set, with Wilkinson having a hand in each of them.
Baumert dished 17 assists in the second set as Creighton took control of the match with another 25-18 win. Winters heated up and terminated nine kills, while Bird added eight more putaways.
The third set was close at 15-14 before three straight kills from Winters gave CU some breathing room. Kills by Bird sandwiched an Amanda Foje ace that brought CU to championship point at 24-16. 'Nova held off the celebration for one point, but 2014 BIG EAST Tournament MVP Lauren Smith ripped a kill through the Wildcats defense to set off a dogpile on the south side of the court at D.J. Sokol Arena. Baumert had 14 assists and Winters eight kills in the final frame, while Elman contributed four of her team-high 12 digs and stands at 1,999 in her storied Bluejay career.
The Creighton team will hold an NCAA Tournament viewing party that is open to both the public and media on Sunday night at the Old Mattress Factory, where the team will gather to watch to pairings as they're unveiled on ESPNU at 8 pm Central.
NOTES: Creighton improved to 5-1 all-time in BIG EAST Championship play, including a 2-1 mark in title matches ... The .833 win percentage in league tournament play is the best of any school ... Creighton is the fourth school to win back-to-back league tournament titles, joining Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville. The Cardinals were the last previous team to do it, winning three in a row from 2008-10 ... Creighton has won 20 of its last 21 matches, with the only setback in that span on Oct. 30 in five sets at Villanova ... Creighton is just the second team to sweep Villanova this fall, joining Penn State ... Creighton improved to 6-1 all-time against Villanova ... Jaali Winters had 18 kills to move into second place on CU's single-season kills list with 493. Winters also extended her streak of double-figure kill matches to 16 in a row ... Creighton has won 94 straight matches when leading 2-0 at intermission .. Creighton's senior class improved to 102-30 with today's win, and is 31-4 in the month of November. The senior class has now won three regular-season titles and three conference tournament titles, a stark contrast from the none won between 1994 until their arrival ... Creighton's 15 home wins extend a school record for one season, and its 25 wins overall are tied for second-most (with 2014) for one season ... Creighton improved to 20-1 when winning the first set this year and is 58-1 in its last 59 home matches when taking the opener ... Creighton will be making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, all in the last six years ... One day after having eight aces and no service errors, Villanova had no aces and five service errors on Saturday.
All-Tournament Team
Abbey Bessler, Xavier
Taylor Louis, Marquette
Amanda Pedersen-Henry, Villanova
Emma Pettit, Villanova
Kate Elman, Creighton
Maggie Baumert, Creighton
Jess Bird, Creighton
Most Outstanding Player: Jess Bird, Creighton
Scores of the match were 25-18, 25-18, 25-17.
The win improves Creighton to 25-8 on the season, while Villanova drops to 25-8. The Bluejays were playing in their fourth straight conference tournament title match, while 'Nova was appearing in the final for the first time since 1997 and was denied its first championship.
Jess Bird earned Most Valuable Player honors after hitting .375 and finishing with 14 kills, eight digs and a season-best four blocks. Jaali Winters led all players with 18 kills, including nine in the second set and eight more in the clincher. Bluejay seniors Maggie Baumert (39 assists, 10 digs) and Kate Elman (12 digs, one ace) joined Bird on the All-Tournament Team.
Creighton hit .286 with 48 kills, three aces, 49 digs and 11 blocks.
Villanova finished with 32 kills, 40 digs and three blocks and were held without an ace. The Wildcats hit .147 and were topped by nine kills from Allie Loitz and 19 digs by Allison Fitzgerald.
Creighton controlled the match from the outset, surrendering the first point but not trailing again until the third set. Baumert authored a 6-0 service run to help CU race to an early 13-6 lead in the match, as Marysa Wilkinson had a blocks on four of those points. CU finished with six blocks in the first set, with Wilkinson having a hand in each of them.
Baumert dished 17 assists in the second set as Creighton took control of the match with another 25-18 win. Winters heated up and terminated nine kills, while Bird added eight more putaways.
The third set was close at 15-14 before three straight kills from Winters gave CU some breathing room. Kills by Bird sandwiched an Amanda Foje ace that brought CU to championship point at 24-16. 'Nova held off the celebration for one point, but 2014 BIG EAST Tournament MVP Lauren Smith ripped a kill through the Wildcats defense to set off a dogpile on the south side of the court at D.J. Sokol Arena. Baumert had 14 assists and Winters eight kills in the final frame, while Elman contributed four of her team-high 12 digs and stands at 1,999 in her storied Bluejay career.
The Creighton team will hold an NCAA Tournament viewing party that is open to both the public and media on Sunday night at the Old Mattress Factory, where the team will gather to watch to pairings as they're unveiled on ESPNU at 8 pm Central.
NOTES: Creighton improved to 5-1 all-time in BIG EAST Championship play, including a 2-1 mark in title matches ... The .833 win percentage in league tournament play is the best of any school ... Creighton is the fourth school to win back-to-back league tournament titles, joining Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville. The Cardinals were the last previous team to do it, winning three in a row from 2008-10 ... Creighton has won 20 of its last 21 matches, with the only setback in that span on Oct. 30 in five sets at Villanova ... Creighton is just the second team to sweep Villanova this fall, joining Penn State ... Creighton improved to 6-1 all-time against Villanova ... Jaali Winters had 18 kills to move into second place on CU's single-season kills list with 493. Winters also extended her streak of double-figure kill matches to 16 in a row ... Creighton has won 94 straight matches when leading 2-0 at intermission .. Creighton's senior class improved to 102-30 with today's win, and is 31-4 in the month of November. The senior class has now won three regular-season titles and three conference tournament titles, a stark contrast from the none won between 1994 until their arrival ... Creighton's 15 home wins extend a school record for one season, and its 25 wins overall are tied for second-most (with 2014) for one season ... Creighton improved to 20-1 when winning the first set this year and is 58-1 in its last 59 home matches when taking the opener ... Creighton will be making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, all in the last six years ... One day after having eight aces and no service errors, Villanova had no aces and five service errors on Saturday.
All-Tournament Team
Abbey Bessler, Xavier
Taylor Louis, Marquette
Amanda Pedersen-Henry, Villanova
Emma Pettit, Villanova
Kate Elman, Creighton
Maggie Baumert, Creighton
Jess Bird, Creighton
Most Outstanding Player: Jess Bird, Creighton
Team Stats
VU
CU
Kills
32
48
Errors
17
16
Attempts
102
112
Hitting %
.147
.286
Points
35.0
62.0
Assists
28
47
Aces
0
3
Blocks
3.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
RS/OH
/ VolleyballOH
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