Volleyball Visits Marquette & DePaul This Weekend

Download Game Notes as a PDF

This Week's Creighton Volleyball Schedule
Nov. 6   7 pm   Creighton at Marquette (BEDN)   Milwaukee, Wis. (Al McGuire Center)
Nov. 7   8 pm   Creighton at DePaul   Chicago, Ill. (McGrath-Phillips Arena)

This Weekend
Creighton Volleyball (18-8, 12-1 BIG EAST) closes a four-match road swing with a pair of tests this weekend.
   On Friday, Creighton travels to Milwaukee, Wis., to take on third-place Marquette (18-7, 9-3 BIG EAST) in a match that will start at 7 pm.
   On Saturday, Creighton heads down I-94 for a stop in Chicago, Ill., to meet up with DePaul (14-11, 2-10 BIG EAST). That contest will start at 8 pm.

Radio/Video Broadcast Information
Both matches this weekend will be video webcast.
   Friday's contest is part of the BIG EAST Digital Network and can be viewed by going to FOXSportsGo.com.
   Saturday's contest can be viewed on depaulbluedemons.com, and requires a subscription.

Live Stats Information
Both matches this weekend will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and navigate to the volleyball schedule page for the exact links to each match.

Scouting Creighton
Creighton has won 13 of its last 14 matches and owns an 18-8 record on the fall, which includes an 12-1 BIG EAST mark after a rigorous non-conference schedule that featured a nation-leading five top-11 foes. Despite the challenging slate, the Bluejays finished the fall placing second in three straight tournaments, and the Bluejays own a league-leading RPI of 23.
   The Bluejays own wins over seven NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, including a sweep of then-No. 10 Kentucky and a five-set comeback win over Kansas State. Among CU's losses are setbacks against No. 8 Illinois, No. 8 USC, No. 4 Nebraska and No. 11 Wisconsin.
   Jaali Winters (3.91 kps.) and Jess Bird (2.60 kps., 2.82 dps.) lead the Creighton offense on the outside, while middle blocker Lauren Smith (2.56 kps., 1.21 bps., .373%) continues to excel in the middle and earned All-Tournament Team honors during all four non-conference weekend tournaments.
   Maggie Baumert (10.64 aps.), Kenzie Crawford (8.91 aps.) and Ashley Jansen (1.24 aps.) have each seen time at setter this fall, while libero Kate Elman (3.97 dps.) continues to add to her Creighton-record dig total.
   Creighton was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST, while Elman, Bird and Smith were named preseason all-league picks.
   Creighton averages 13.83 kills, 1.24 aces, 15.74 digs and 2.34 blocks per set while hitting .257 as a team.

Scouting Marquette
Marquette is 18-7 this fall, including a 9-3 record in BIG EAST play. The Golden Eagles have faced the nation's 25th-toughest schedule and had an RPI of 24 in Monday's rankings.
   Marquette enters the weekend riding a six-match win streak since a 3-0 loss at Creighton on Oct. 11th, dropping just two sets in that span.
   Redshirt freshman Taylor Louis ranks fourth nationally with 5.08 kills per set and had at least 20 kills in 11-of-25 contests.
   Complementing her are Joy Miley (2.17 kps), Meghan Niemann (1.96 kps., 1.15 bps., .322%) and Jenna Rosenthal (1.96 kps., 1.13 bps., .328%).
   Sara Blasier (10.58 aps.) handles the setting duties, while Lauren Houg (5.08 dps.) leads the BIG EAST in digs per set.
   Marquette averages 13.79 kills, 1.07 aces, 17.06 digs and 2.32 blocks per set while hitting .251 as a team.

Scouting DePaul
DePaul is 14-11 this season and 2-10 in BIG EAST play, with league wins over Xavier and Providence. The Blue Demons lost their season-opener to Drake, then have won their other 12 non-conference matches.
   Despite its record, DePaul has proven to be dangerous, having taken 2-0 leads over first-place Creighton, second-place Villanova and fifth-place Butler this fall.
   Brittany Maxwell (2.69 kps., .260%) tops the team in kills, just ahead Caitlyn Coffey (2.56 kps., .346%) and Saige Gallop (2.46 kps.).
   Colleen Smith (9.80 aps.) has handled the role of setter for the most part, with Tyler Graham (3.40 dps.) serving as libero.
   DePaul averages 12.62 kills, 1.68 aces, 12.77 digs and 1.88 blocks per set while hitting .240.

The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 253-145 record in her 13th 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 four NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also led the Jays into the top-25 each of the previous 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 was helped by associate head coach Tom Mendoza, assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens and volunteer assistant Kyle South.
   Nadia Edwards (Penn State, 2001) owns a 54-118 record in her sixth season as head coach at DePaul, which also doubles as her career record. Before DPU, she was an assistant at both Ohio State and Virginia Tech after a three year pro career. She is assisted by Craig Boller and Nicasio Paquiz Jr.
   Ryan Theis (Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2000) is in his second season as head coach at Marquette, having been named to the position on Feb. 14, 2014. He owns an 42-16 mark with the Golden Eagles, moving his career mark to 186-70 in eight seasons when you factor in a six-year run at Ohio. He is assisted by Erich Hinterstocker, and Meghan Keck.

Series History vs. Marquette
Creighton is 7-3 all-time against Marquette, including a 4-1 mark in regular-season BIG EAST play. Creighton has won the last three meetings, including a 3-0 sweep in Omaha last month.
   Six of the last nine meetings have been sweeps, and teams to win the first set are 9-1 all-time in the history of the series.
   Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 7-3 against Marquette and 3-0 against Ryan Theis.

Series History vs. DePaul
Creighton has won five of six previous meetings with DePaul, and are 5-0 since the two schools became BIG EAST rivals.
   DePaul swept the first meeting in 2001 in DeKalb, Ill., before Creighton's recent run, which has included three four-set wins and a sweep.
   In the first meeting this fall, DePaul won the first two sets in Omaha before Creighton rallied to take the match in five sets.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 5-0 against DePaul and Nadia Edwards.

Last Weekend Summary
Creighton went 1-1 on the Villanova/Seton Hall road trip for the third straight season.
   On Friday, CU's 12-match win streak was snapped with a 3-2 loss at Villanova. Creighton would save six match points before finally succumbing in the fifth set, 19-17.
   On Saturday the Bluejays righted the ship with a 3-0 sweep at Seton Hall, as Marysa Wilkinson and Jaali Winters each had 11 kills.

Win, Win Scenario
With 95 wins to date, Creighton's senior class has surpassed last year's senior class (94) for the most wins in any four-year span in program history.
   Individually, Melanie Jereb (93) and Ashley Jansen (92) have played in the most wins of any current seniors. Jereb broken Leah McNary's school record of 92 wins played in, while Jansen just tied McNary's former mark.
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
   Wins   Player   Years
   93   Melanie Jereb   2012-Pres.
   92   Leah McNary   2011-14
   92   Ashley Jansen   2012-Pres.
   87   Kelli Browning   2011-14
   87   Kate Elman   2012-Pres.
   82   Michelle Sicner   2011-14
   82   Lizzy Stivers   2012-Pres.
   81   Megan Bober   2009-12
   81   Katie Neisler   2011-14

Freshman Sensation
Jaali Winters continues to lead Creighton on offense, and with 30 kills last weekend broke Alie Oelke's school record for kills in a season by a freshman.
   Oelke would go on to be named 2007 MVC Freshman of the Year in her debut campaign.
   Winters is also on pace to break Melissa Walsh's school record for kills per set by a freshman.
Most Kills, Creighton Freshmen
   Kills   Name   Year
   375   Jaali Winters   2015
   352   Allie Oelke   2007
   341   Melissa Walsh   1998
   306   Melanie Jereb   2012
   297   Jess Bird   2013

Most Kills Per Set, Creighton Freshman
(min. 100 kills)
   KPS   Name   Year
   3.91   Jaali Winters   2015
   3.75   Melissa Walsh   1998
   3.39   JoDe Cieloha   1994
   3.29   Allie Oelke   2007
   2.85   Amanda Cvejdlik   2005

Gracious Hosts
Since the BIG EAST restructured in 2013, Creighton and Marquette are the only two schools to host the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship.
   Creighton hosted the event in 2013 as Marquette won the title.
   Last fall Marquette hosted the event, but it was Creighton that hoisted the trophy.
   This fall, the event returns to D.J. Sokol Arena on Nov. 27-28. Only the top four teams will play in the championship.
   Creighton became the first team to clinch a spot last weekend when it defeated Seton Hall.

Getting Better & Better
Saturday will be Creighton's 400th match with Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and it continues to thrive under her direction.
    Below is a look at Creighton's record under Booth in 50-match segments.
Match #   W-L   Opponent   Date   Result
50   25-25   Missouri State   10/22/04   L 0-3
100   56-44   So. Illinois   09/16/06   W 3-1
150   88-62   vs. So. Illinois   11/23/07   W 3-1
200   115-85   at Missouri St.   10/30/09   L 0-3
250   143-107   at #11 Nebraska   09/08/11   L 0-3
300   182-118   Illinois State   11/10/12   W 3-1
350   215-135   South Dakota   09/20/14   L 2-3
400   253-145 entering this weekend

Freshman Showdown?
Creighton's Jaali Winters and Marquette's Taylor Louis have combined to win nine of the first 10 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors, so it's no stretch to say that they're among the best of a very talented freshman class league-wide.
   Louis leads the BIG EAST and ranks fourth nationally with 5.08 kills per set. She's had 20 or more kills 11 times this fall, with a high of 30 at Missouri State. In BIG EAST play, Louis is first with 4.74 kills per set and also hits .241 against conference competition.
   Winters ranks second in the BIG EAST and is 64th nationally with 3.91 kills per set. She's had 20 or more kills five times this fall, with a high of 28 at St. John's. In BIG EAST play, Winters is third with 4.40 kills per set while also hitting .263.
   On a national level, Louis and Winters rank first and fifth, respectively, among kills per set among freshmen. A third BIG EAST freshman, Georgetown's Alyssa Sinnette, ranks ninth nationally among freshmen at 3.51 kills per set.
Statistic   Winters (CU)   Louis (MU)
Kills   375   457
Kills Per Set   3.91   5.08
Hitting Pct.   .240   .241
Attack Errors   147   172
Digs   212   209
Digs Per Set   2.21   2.32
Aces   15   9
Blocks   45   51
Double-Doubles   9   7
BIG EAST Kills   211   185
BIG EAST Kills Per Set   4.40   4.74
BIG EAST Hitting Pct.   .263   .241
BIG EAST Digs   120   93
BIG EAST Digs Per Set   2.50   2.38
BIG EAST Blocks   27   28
BIG EAST Blocks Per Set   0.56   0.72
BIG EAST Double-Doubles   7   3
BIG EAST Frosh of Week   4   4

Game Four Is Ours
Creighton is an impressive 11-2 in game four this season, and has won each of its last eight fourth sets.
   Due in large part to that fourth-set success, Creighton is 7-1 in its last eight matches to go four or more sets.

Responding After A Loss
After its 12-match win streak was snapped on Friday at Villanova, Creighton answered with a 3-0 sweep at Seton Hall just 24 hours later.
   Creighton has lost just nine times against conference competition in the last four years, and responded with a victory each time.
Date   Loss   Next League Foe/Score
9/28/12   @SIU, L 3-1   @Evansville, W 3-1
10/4/13   @Butler, L 3-1   @Xavier, W 3-1
10/25/13   @Marquette, L 3-0   @DePaul, W 3-1
11/1/13   St. John's, L 3-2   Seton Hall, W 3-0
11/16/13   @Seton Hall, L 3-1   Georgetown, W 3-0
11/30/13   Marquette, L 3-1   @Georgetown, W 3-0
10/10/14   @Seton Hall, 3-2   @Villanova, W 3-1
11/23/14   Seton Hall, L 3-0   vs. Xavier, W 3-1
10/30/15   @Villanova, L 3-2   @Seton Hall, W 3-0

Best Month Ever?
Creighton won 10 matches in October, tied for the most successful month in program history. It's also the best winning percentage for any month in program history with at least 10 matches.
Most Wins, Month
   W-L   Month, Year
   10-1   October, 2015
   10-3   September 2006
   9-0   November, 2012
   9-3   September, 2012
   9-4   September, 2004
   8-1   November, 2014
   8-3   September, 2007
   8-4   September, 2011
   8-5   September, 2014

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Creighton has already beaten seven teams that appeared in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, with a chance on Friday to run that mark to eight when it takes on Marquette.
   After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 48-76 since, including a 7-4 mark this fall.
Year   W-L vs. Previous Season NCAA Teams
1994   0-4
1995   0-2
1996   0-2
1997   0-3
1998   0-5
1999   2-4
2000   0-4
2001   1-6
2002   0-5
2003   0-3
2004   2-2
2005   0-6
2006   4-6
2007   4-9
2008   6-8
2009   1-11
2010   4-7
2011   2-6
2012   8-3
2013   6-6
2014   4-5
2015   7-4
TOTAL   51-111
TOTAL Under Booth   48-76

The Search For 20 Wins (Again)
Creighton owns 18 wins this fall, a total that ranks seventh-most in program history for one season. Only six previous clubs have won 20 or more matches in one year.
   In fact, after no seasons with more than 16 wins from 1994-2002 before her arrival, Kirsten Bernthal Booth has led Creighton to 10 different seasons of 16 or more victories.
Matches Won
       Year   MP   W   L   Pct.
   1.   2012   33   29   4   .879
   2.   2014   34   25   9   .735
   3.   2013   32   23   9   .719
   4.   2006   31   21   10   .677
       2007   31   21   10   .677
       2010   33   21   12   .636
   7.   2008   27   18   9   .667
       2004   29   18   11   .621
       2015   26   18   8   .692
   10.   2011   31   17   14   .548

Winters' Double-Digit Streak
Jaali Winters has 10 or more kills in 13 of her last 14 matches, including the last nine. Only five freshmen in program history have ever had a longer streak, and with 10+ kills vs. both Marquette and DePaul this weekend she can move into a tie for first place.
   Amanda Cvejdlik currently owns the freshman mark with 11 such consecutive matches in 2005.
Consec. Matches, 10 or More Kills, CU Freshmen
   11   Amanda Cvejdlik, Oct. 14-Nov. 19, 2005
   9   Allie Oelke, Sept. 8-29, 2007
   9   Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015-Present
   8   Melissa Walsh, Oct. 3-30, 1998
   8   JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 2-23, 1994
   8   Melanie Jereb, Nov. 2-24, 2012

Booth Reaches 250 Wins At Creighton
Creighton's Oct. 17th win at Xavier was the 250th at Creighton for head volleyball coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
   Booth is one of nine coaches in school history to reach the milestone, and needed fewer games to attain the 250th win than all but Mary Higgins (Softball) and Dana Altman (Men's Basketball).
Record at Creighton When Reaching 250 Wins
W-L-T   Coach   Sport
250-109   Mary Higgins   Softball
250-136   Dana Altman   Men's Basketball
250-144   Kirsten Bernthal Booth*   Volleyball
250-145   Ed Servais*   Baseball
250-161   Jim Flanery*   Women's Basketball
250-162-2   Jim Hendry   Baseball
250-217   Brent Vigness*   Softball
250-227-2   Jack Dahm   Baseball
250-331   Tom Lilly*   Men's & Women's Tennis
*still active head coach at Creighton

Charting Booth's Wins
Kirsten Bernthal Booth's 250th win came in her 384th match on the Creighton sideline, coming on Oct. 17 at Xavier. Below is a look at her record per each 50 wins she's earned:
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, By 50 Win Milestones
W-L   Date   Opponent
50-43   9/1/06   Jacksonville State
100-71   10/31/08   at Drake
150-108   9/30/11   Illinois State
200-123   10/18/13   Xavier
250-144   10/17/15   at Xavier

The Nifty .250
Creighton is hitting a lofty .257 this season, a number that jumps to .287 against BIG EAST competition.
   Creighton is 142-5 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when hitting .250 or better, and 68-0 under Booth when hitting .300 or better.

Marysa In The Middle
After a 1-4 start to the season, Creighton moved sophomore Marysa Wilkinson to the middle blocker position, and it paid immediate dividends in a 3-0 win over No. 10 Kentucky.
   Wilkinson finished with six kills and tied her career-high with seven blocks in the win while hitting .214. Creighton's 11.5 blocks as a team were a season-high, and UK's .117 hitting percentage was the lowest by a Bluejay opponent all fall.
   Since moving Wilkinson to the middle Creighton has gone 17-4 and averaged 2.56 blocks per set while holding teams to .185 hitting. Prior to that CU had been 1-4 with 1.50 blocks per set while teams hit .253 against it.
   Wilkinson has also excelled since the move, averaging 2.18 kills per set and 1.09 blocks per set while hitting .341, compared to her 2.45 kills per set and 0.35 blocks and .219 hitting on the right side.

Eight In A Row At Home
Creighton has won eight straight home matches. While modest, the figure ranks tied for third-longest since the program's 1994 reinstatement.
   Creighton has two regular-season home matches left, but will also host the BIG EAST Championship at the end of the month.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins   Dates   Snapped By
   13   Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013   California, 3-0
   9   Sept. 20, 2014-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
   8   Sept. 25-Nov. 20, 2010   Northern Illinois, 3-0
   8   Sept. 20, 2015-Present   ???
   7   Oct. 17, 2008-Aug. 28, 2009   #10 Illinois, 3-0

Super Sunday
Creighton has played four matches on Sunday's this season, with three of them against top-60 RPI opponents (Kansas State, Villanova, Marquette).
   In those three matches, Creighton is 4-0.
   Jaali Winters has hit a robust .346 in those contests while averaging 5.67 kills and 2.53 digs per set. Winters had 25 kills and nine digs vs. Kansas State, 23 kills and 11 digs vs. Villanova, and 23 kills and nine digs vs. Marquette.
   Additionally, Maggie Baumert has averaged 12.46 assists and 2.15 digs per set on Sunday's.

Winters Makes It Four
Creighton Volleyball's Jaali Winters has been named BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week four times this season (Sept. 14, Sept. 28, Oct. 5, Oct. 12).
   Winters is the third player in program history to earn four Freshman of the Week honors, joining Allie Oelke (2007) and Megan Bober (2009).
   Oelke would go on to be named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2007, while Bober would become a three-time First Team All-MVC selection and a two-time AVCA Honorable-Mention All-American.

Can You Dig It?
Kate Elman already owns a school-record 1,897 career digs. Elman also owns Creighton career marks for matches with 10+ digs and matches with 20+ digs.
   Elman had her 100th career match of 10 or more digs last Friday at Villanova, when she posted a season-high 29 digs.
Most Career Digs, Creighton History
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Kate Elman   431   1,897   2012-Pr.
   2.   Janeen Piller   336   1,392   2001-04

Matches With 10+ Digs, Career
   10+D   Name   Years
   101   Kate Elman   2012-Pres.
   74   Janeen Piller   2001-04

Matches With 20+ Digs, Career
   20+D   Name   Years
   37   Kate Elman   2012-Pres.
   32   Julianne Mandolfo      2010-11

Going For The Kill
Jaali Winters had 23 kills in a Oct. 11 victory over Marquette, with 20 of those coming during sets two (9) and three (11).
   The 23 kills are the most in the BIG EAST this season for a three-set match, well ahead of the 20 that now stands in second place.
   The 23 kills by Winters ranks as tied for second-most in Creighton history for a three-set match, two behind the mark set by Leah Ratzlaff on Oct. 30, 2004.
Most Kills, Three Set Matches
   25   Leah Ratzlaff at Evansville   10-30-04
   23   Melissa Walsh vs. Southern Illinois   11-2-01
   23   Leah Ratzlaff vs. UC-Riverside   9-2-05
   23   Allie Oelke at Bradley   9-22-07
   23   Jaali Winters vs. Marquette   10-11-15
   21   JoDe Cieloha vs. Indiana State   11-20-97
   21   Melissa Walsh at Indiana State   10-22-99
   21   Melissa Walsh vs. Drake   9-22-00
   21   Leah Ratzlaff vs. Liberty   9-2-05

Among The Best
In Creighton's Oct. 9 win over DePaul, Lauren Smith hit .722 in 18 swings and Marysa Wilkinson hit .667 in 18 swings.
   Those two hitting percentages rank as the top two marks for a five-set match in Creighton history, topping the old mark of .560 by Kelli Browning set on Sept. 5, 2014 vs. Northern Iowa.
   Smith's performance ranks sixth-best in Creighton history, while Wilkinson's is tied for ninth-best all-time.
Best Attack Percentage (Min. 12 kills), All Matches
   .857   Lauren Smith (12-0-14) vs. Providence   10-19-14
   .750   Katy Grady (12-0-16) vs. Auburn   8-30-03
   .750   Abby Baumann (12-0-16) at San Diego St.   9-3-05
   .737   Lauren Bloemke (14-0-19) vs. Evansville   11-4-07
   .733   Lauren Smith (12-1-15) vs. Villanova   11-24-13
   .722   Lauren Smith (14-1-18) vs. DePaul   10-9-15
   .714   Amanda Cvejdlik (15-0-21) vs. Drake   10-3-08
   .684   Kelli Browning (14-1-19) vs. So. Illinois   10-27-12
   .667   Katy Grady (12-0-18) at Drake   9-27-03
   .667   Kelly Goc (14-0-21) vs. Stephen F. Austin   8-25-07
   .667   Marysa Wilkinson (13-1-18) vs. DePaul   10-9-15
   .650   Marysa Wilkinson (14-1-20) at Providence   10-3-15
   .636   Heather Thorson (14-0-22) vs. Evansville   10-22-11

Best Attack Percentage (Min. 12 kills), Five Set Matches
   .722   Lauren Smith (14-1-18) vs. DePaul   10-9-15
   .667   Marysa Wilkinson (13-1-18) vs. DePaul   10-9-15
   .560   Kelli Browning (15-1-25) vs. Northern Iowa   9-5-14
   .550   Melissa Weisensee (12-1-20) at Evansville   11-9-97
   .545   Shelly Roder (12-0-22) at Evansville   10-4-96

Winters Is Heating Up
Jaali Winters averaged 3.42 kills per set during Creighton's non-conference schedule, but has taken her game to another level in league action while averaging 4.40 kills per set.
   Winters has averaged at least 3.75 kills per set every weekend of league play while hitting .237 or better all but two weekends. Her dig numbers are also on the rise, as seen below:
WEEK (Opponents)   KPS   PCT.   DPS
1 (Miami/Louisville/Illinois)   3.15   .193   2.46
2 (USC/UNI/Kentucky)   2.80   .094   1.60
3 (Lipscomb/CSUB/Pacific)   3.73   .297   1.36
4 (Nebraska/Ark/Wis/K-State)   3.86   .274   2.07
5 (Seton Hall/Villanova)   4.50   .321   2.75
6 (St. John's/Providence)   5.00   .237   1.00
7 (G'town/DePaul/Marquette)   4.27   .347   3.09
8 (Butler/Xavier)   4.75   .267   2.75
9 (Providence/St. John's)   4.17   .190   2.83
10 (Villanova/Seton Hall)   3.75   .194   2.25
Bold indicates BIG EAST Freshman of the Week

Baumert To The Rescue
Senior setter Maggie Baumert has played in 16 of Creighton's 26 matches this season, including 11 starts.
   While the Bluejays are 8-3 in those starts, it's what she's done as a reserve that has our attention.
   Each of the last three times that Baumert has come off the bench, she's helped turn around a match that led to a Creighton victory.
   She helped engineer comebacks from 0-2 deficits against both Kansas State (Sept. 20) and DePaul (Oct. 9), and also played the final two sets in CU's 3-1 win over Seton Hall (Sept. 25).
   In league play this season, Baumert averages a BIG EAST-best 11.53 assists per set, well ahead of second-place Emma Pettit (11.12) from Villanova.
   Baumert's 48 assists in the Oct. 11 3-0 win over Marquette were the most by a Bluejay in a three-set match since Korie Lebeda had 52 helpers on Nov. 4, 2007 vs. Evansville

Chasing .400
Lauren Smith enters this weekend hitting .373, good enough to lead the BIG EAST and rank 50th-best nationally.
   Creighton's single-season record for hitting percentage in a season is .370 by Kelli Browning in 2012. Last year Smith hit .327, which ranked fourth in program history.

Elman Aces This Test
Kate Elman leads Creighton with 20 aces this season, which gives her 93 career aces.
   Elman's 93 aces rank fifth in Creighton history, but are well shy of Creighton's all-time record of 145 that set by Molly Moran from 1998-2001.
   Elman's high school and college teammate, Ashley Jansen, enters this weekend with 77 aces, tied for 10th-most all-time.
Service Aces, Career
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Molly Moran   341   145   1998-01
   2.   Melissa Weisensee   411   125   1994-97
   3.   JoDe Cieloha   398   113   1994-97
   4.   Shelly Kapler   388   104   1996-99
   5.   Kate Elman   431   93   2012-Pr.
   6.   Carolyn Decker   300   89   2004-08
   7.   Allie Oelke   445   86   2007-10
       Megan Bober   480   86   2009-12
   9.   Nayka Benitez   233   82   2009-10
   10.   Leah Ratzlaff   409   77   2002-05
       Ashley Jansen   397   77   2012-Pr.

Winters Having A Great Fall
Freshman Jaali Winters continues to lead Creighton in kills, and heads into Friday with 375.
   Winters was the second-fastest player in program history (by matches played) to 100 career kills, and the fastest ever to 200 and 300 kills.
   Winters has played 26 matches and is 25 kills shy of reaching 400. The fastest player in CU history to reach 400 career kills is Melissa Walsh, who needed 30 matches to do so.
   Should she sustain her team lead, Winters would join JoDe Cieloha (1994) and Walsh (1998) as the only players to lead Creighton in kills during their first campaign with the Bluejays.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
JoDe Cieloha   8   09/23/94   at Drake
Jaali Winters   9   09/12/15   Pacific
Melissa Walsh   10   09/26/98   at Bradley
Carolyn Decker   10   09/18/04   Illinois State

Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Jaali Winters   15   09/27/15   Villanova
Melissa Walsh   16   10/16/98   at Indiana State
JoDe Cieloha   18   10/30/94   at UMKC
Allie Oelke   18   10/06/07   at So. Illinois

Creighton's Quickest Players To 300 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Jaali Winters   21   10/16/15   at Butler
Melissa Walsh   23   11/08/98   at UMKC
JoDe Cieloha   26   09/02/95   vs. Green Bay

Creighton's Quickest Players To 400 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Melissa Walsh   30   09/10/99   Southern Illinois
JoDe Cieloha   34   09/22/95   vs. Rice
Amanda Cvejdlik   37   09/19/06   at So. Dakota St.
Alicia Runge   39   09/10/10   vs. Toledo
Shelly Kapler   40   10/10/97   Evansville
Leah Ratzlaff   40   10/03/03   at #10 Northern Iowa

Blue October
Creighton played 11 matches in the month of October, more than any other October in program history.
   The Bluejays went 10-1 in the month, which improves their record to 30-4 in October since the start of the 2012 season.

Let's Get It Started
Creighton started 11-0 in league play for the first time ever. The program's best previous start had come in 2007 as members of the Missouri Valley Conference, when the Bluejays opened 7-0.
   Below is a list of Creighton's best starts in conference play all-time:
Start   League   Year   Final W-L   Final Place
11-0   BIG EAST   2015   ?   ?
7-0   MVC   2007   14-4   T-2nd
5-0   MVC   2006   12-6   4th
5-0   MVC   2011   12-6   4th
5-0   BIG EAST   2014   16-2   1st

12 Straight Sounds Good, "Dozen" It?
Creighton had its 12-match win streak snapped at Villanova on Oct. 30th.
   In those 12 wins, the Bluejays were 'just' 16-8 in the first two sets of matches, but 20-1 in sets three, four and five. In the setback against Villanova, the Wildcats won sets three and five.
   It was the program's second win streak of 10 or longer since the program's 1994 reinstatement, as seen below. Last year's team had a 11-match win streak snapped by Seton Hall.
   Consecutive Wins
       Wins   Dates   Snapped By
       17   Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012   at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
       12   Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015   at Villanova, 3-2
       11   Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
       8   Oct. 25-Nov. 22, 2008   vs. Northern Iowa, 3-2
       7   Sept. 4-Sept. 17, 2004   Illinois State, 3-0

Home Sweet Home
Creighton is 22-2 all-time (.917) in regular-season BIG EAST play at D.J. Sokol Arena, falling once each to St. John's (2013) and Seton Hall (2014).
   Since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009, Creighton is 53-7 (.883) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility.

Jaali Carries The Jays Against Johnnies
Jaali Winters had a career-high 28 kills on Oct. 2 in a four-set win at St. John's. The 28 kills were tied for the third-most in Creighton history for a single-match, and the most by any Bluejay since Leah Ratzlaff had 28 in a 2003 contest at Southern Illinois.
   Winters is one of eight freshmen in Creighton history with 20 or more kills in a match, and the only one with five or more such contests:
Most Kills, Match
   Kills   Name, Opponent   Date
   32   Michelle Prorock vs. Evansville (4s)   11-2-96
   30   Melissa Walsh at Indiana State (5s)   10-16-98
   28   Melissa Walsh vs. Drake (5s)   10-10-98
   28   Melissa Walsh at Drake (5s)   10-1-99
   28   Melissa Walsh vs. Northern Iowa (4s)   10-27-00
   28   Leah Ratzlaff at Southern Illinois (4s)   11-22-03
   28   Jaali Winters at St. John's (4s)   10-2-15

Creighton Freshmen With 20+ Kills in a Match
   Times   Name (High)   Year
   5   Jaali Winters (28)   2015
   4   Melissa Walsh (30)   1998
   3   JoDe Cieloha (23)   1994
   1   Michelle Prorock (23)   1994
   1   Shelly Kapler (22)   1996
   1   Jodi Bjoin (21)   1999
   1   Kelly Goc (20)   2004
   1   Carolyn Decker (22)   2004
   1   Allie Oelke (23)   2007

First Set Is Key
Creighton is 14-1 when it wins the first set this fall, compared to a 4-7 mark when it drops the opener. Creighton is 54-1 in its last 55 home matches when winning the first set, losing only to Pacific (on Sept. 12) in that span.
   Friday's foe, Marquette, is 14-0 when it wins the first set and 4-7 when it falls behind 0-1.
   Saturday's opponent, DePaul, is 14-3 when it wins the first set and 0-8 when it loses the first frame. The Blue Demons have lost 29 straight when losing the first set dating to Nov. 8, 2013 vs. St. John's.

Marysa's Monster Night
Marysa Wilkinson had the best offensive night of her young college career at Providence on Oct. 3rd, finishing with 14 kills on .650 hitting.
   Her 14 kills tied her career-high, while her .650 hitting percentage was her best mark ever. Wilkinson exceeded that mark on Oct. 9 when she hit .667 vs. DePaul.
   Wilkinson's .650 hitting percentage ranked as the 10th-best single-match performance (at the time) in Creighton history, and fifth among those players with 14 or more kills in a contest.
   Creighton is 11-2 all-time when Wilkinson has 10 or more kills, and 17-0 all-time when she hits .400 or better.
   In her career against the Friars, Wilkinson owns 31 kills and two attack errors in 44 swings for a healthy .659 hitting percentage.

AVCA Poll Update
Creighton earned four points in this week's AVCA poll, good enough to move to 33rd place in the poll.
   Creighton has been ranked inside the top-25 of the poll 11 times, all in the last four years. CU's highest rank ever was No. 19 on Sept. 7, 2013 and it last was in the top-25 in the AVCA's 2014 Preseason Poll that was announced on Aug. 11, 2014.

Schedule Paying Pay Off
Creighton's non-conference schedule is always tough, but this year's slate may have taken that to another level.
   Unofficial RPI sites currently rank Creighton's schedule as the nation's 17th-toughest, and are a big reason that despite CU's 18-8 mark, the Bluejays own an official NCAA RPI of 23.

Against The BIG EAST
Creighton owns a .500 record or better against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
   The Bluejays enter this weekend with 43 wins against BIG EAST competition (including the BIG EAST Championship) since the start of 2013, two more than Marquette for most in the league.
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   4-1   -   4-1
DePaul   5-0   -   5-0
Georgetown   5-0   -   5-0
Marquette   4-1   0-1   4-2
Providence   4-0   -   4-0
Seton Hall   3-3   1-0   4-3
St. John's   5-1   -   5-1
Villanova   5-1   -   5-1
Xavier   5-0   2-0   7-0
Total   40-7   3-1   43-8

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
For the third straight season, Creighton was picked to win the BIG EAST Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches.
   CU was a unanimous choice and received 81 points in the poll and all nine possible first-place votes. Marquette was picked second while Xavier, St. John's and Butler rounded out the top half of the poll.
   Creighton also had three women named to the 13 member on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as Jess Bird, Lauren Smith and Kate Elman were all honored, with Bird selected as Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year.
   Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them or better in the preseason poll in 10 of the past 12 years, including five years where it's finished exactly where it was predicted.
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   1st   - -
2015   1st   ???   ???

Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won seven matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point, including a Sept. 20 win over Kansas State that saw the Wildcats squander a 24-23 lead in the fourth set. Three of those comeback wins have come against Wichita State.
   On the other hand, Creighton is 253-2 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
09/20/15   Kansas State   23-24 (4th set)   15-13

2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 219-8 (.965) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 162-2 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own an 106-4 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
   Conversely, the Jays are 11-186 (.056) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including a 2-65 mark in those home matches. The only such home comebacks came on Sept. 20 vs. Kansas State and again on Oct. 9 vs. DePaul. Those 10 comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below.
   Notably, this year's team has joined the 2004 and 2014 clubs as the only one to win multiple matches in the same season when trailing 0-2 at intermission.
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
11/08/14   at Butler   25-16, 25-20, 15-13   Booth
09/20/15   Kansas State   25-23, 26-24, 15-13   Booth
10/09/15   DePaul   25-21, 25-12, 15-11   Booth

Winters Arrives At End Of Summer
Jaali Winters came through in a big way on Sept. 20 in CU's comeback win over Kansas State.
   Winters had seven kills in both the fourth set and the fifth set, including CU's final five terminations of the 15-13 win. As if that weren't enough, Winters added three digs and two blocks in the fifth set.
   Winters 25 kills were the most by any Creighton player since Alicia Runge had 26 vs. Iowa on Sept. 4, 2010, and second-most in the rally scoring era to 25 points that started in 2008.
   Winters 25 kills and 59 attacks were the most by any Creighton player at D.J. Sokol Arena, which opened in 2009. The previous high for kills was 21 (by Leah McNary and Kelli Browning), while the previous high for attack attempts was 53 (by Allie Oelke).
   Winters 25 kills were third-most by a Creighton freshman in history, and the most since Melissa Walsh in 1998. Walsh had matches of 30 (at Indiana State on Oct. 16, 1998) and 28 (on Oct. 10, 1998) during her standout freshman campaign.

Creighton's Gauntlet
Creighton faced five different top-11 teams (at time of the match) during its 13-match non-conference schedule.
   Creighton faced then-No. 8 Illinois, No. 8 USC and No. 10 Kentucky in the first three weeks of the 2015 season, then added No. 4 Nebraska and No. 11 Wisconsin in mid-September.
   Creighton, with five, was the nation's only team that played four or more top-11 teams through the first four weeks of the season, as seen below:
Most Matches vs. Top 11 Teams (Thru 9/20)
#   Team   Opponents
5   Creighton   Illinois, USC, Kentucky, Nebraska, Wisconsin
3   USC   BYU, North Carolina, Kentucky
3   Oklahoma   Florida State, USC, Washington
3   Colorado   Illinois, Penn State, Florida State

Nation's Largest Crowd on Sept. 15th
Creighton's crowd of 10,131 on September 15th vs. No. 4 Nebraska was the nation's largest crowd this season, 26th-largest in NCAA regular-season history and 57th-largest all-time.
   Creighton is one of four schools to have hosted more than 7,000 for any match this season along with Hawaii, Nebraska and Boise State.
   Below is a list of the nation's crowds over 8,500 this fall:
   Rk.   Crowd   Match   Date
   1.   10,131   Nebraska at Creighton   9/15
   2.   8,667   UCLA at Hawaii   9/6
   3.   8,515   Minnesota at Nebraska   10/23

One More On Winters
Jaali Winters had 15 kills and hit .414 in the Sept. 15 match vs. Nebraska.
   Per White and Blue Review writer Matt DeMarinis, Winters is just the second freshman since 2000 to have 15 or more kills and hit .400 or better against Nebraska.
   The only other player to do so was Penn State's Ali Frantti, who did it twice last season en route to being named National Freshman of the Year and a Second Team All-American.

Largest Crowds To See The Jays
A crowd of 10,131 fans was on hand for the Sept. 15th tilt at CenturyLink Center Omaha. It marked the fourth time in Creighton's history that more than 5,000 fans attended a home volleyball match.
   In four volleyball matches at CenturyLink Center Omaha, Creighton has now played before an average of 10,840 fans.
   Below is a list of the largest crowds (and home crowds) in Creighton Volleyball history:
Largest Home Crowds
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU Result   Facility
   13,081   #18 Cal Poly   09/02/07   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   12,112   #1 Nebraska   09/24/06   L 1-3   CenturyLink
   10,131   #4 Nebraska   09/15/15   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   8,037   #2 Nebraska   10/05/08   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   2,514   #7 Nebraska   08/31/10   L 0-3   Sokol

Largest Crowds (All Sites)
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU Result   Facility
   13,081   #18 Cal Poly   09/02/07   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   12,112   #1 Nebraska   09/24/06   L 1-3   CenturyLink
   10,131   #4 Nebraska   09/15/15   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   8,627   at #5 Nebraska   09/29/02   L 0-3   Devaney Ctr.
   8,060   at #9 Nebraska   09/17/14   L 1-3   Devaney Ctr.
   8,037   #2 Nebraska   10/05/08   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   6,297   at #6 Hawaii   09/08/00   L 0-3   Sheriff Ctr.
   5,967   vs. Northwestern   09/07/00   W 3-1   Sheriff Ctr.

Jereb Up For Senior CLASS Award
Creighton Volleyball's Melanie Jereb was one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, though she did not survive the cut down to the 10 finalists.
   Jereb hails from Cary, Ill., and is the program's active leader in starts (91) and second in digs (1,102).
   Jereb is the only student-athlete that plays in Nebraska on the list, and also the only BIG EAST representative.
   Jereb owns a 3.98 GPA while majoring in Environmental Science and Biology. She's been on the Dean's List every semester, including a 4.00 GPA last spring, and has twice been named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team.
   Jereb has also served more than 175 hours of community service during her first three years as a Bluejay, most on the team in that span.
   On the floor, Jereb remains the only player in program history to be named first-team all-conference as a freshman, has been named to a pair of all-tournament teams, was a three-time MVC Freshman of the Week in 2012, and has twice been named to an all-tournament team in her career.
   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.
   Jereb was 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 in 2014.

Hometown Flavor
Creighton's 2015 roster boasts nine players from the state of Nebraska, the second-most in program history.
   CU's 2014 team had 10 Nebraskans on the roster, while the 2004, 2005 and now 2015 teams have each had nine homestate natives.

Kentucky Win Ranks As Program's Best
Creighton's 3-0 sweep over No. 10 Kentucky on September 5 was notable for multiple reasons.
   The 10th-ranked Wildcats were the highest-ranked foe that CU has ever beaten. The previous high had been No. 13 BYU on Aug. 30, 2013. The match was the 23rd in program history against a top-10 team.
   The sweep over Kentucky also marked Creighton's first sweep ever over a top-25 foe in 63 all-time meetings vs. ranked teams.
   Creighton improved to 4-59 all-time against top-25 opposition with the win over Kentucky. All four victories have come under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.

Jereb Reaches 1,000 Digs
Senior Melanie Jereb enters Friday's match with 1,102 career digs after she became the 13th Bluejay to reach 1,000 digs on September 12 vs. CSU Bakersfield. Her classmate Kate Elman reached the mark late in the 2013 season.
   Below is a list of how long it has taken each Bluejay to reach that milestone.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   53   11/08/08   Illinois State
Julianne Mandolfo   56   10/22/11   Evansville
Kate Elman   59   11/16/13   at Seton Hall
Nayka Benitez   60   11/27/10   at Northern Iowa
Kailey Reyes   77   09/01/01   vs. UTSA
Janeen Piller   80   09/25/04   at Missouri State
Melissa Walsh   85   09/08/01   at #24 Santa Clara
Allie Oelke   95   09/04/10   vs. Iowa
Melissa Weisensee   97   10/04/97   at Missouri State
Sarah Schulze   101   11/13/09   Southern Illinois
Melanie Jereb   105   09/12/15   CSU Bakersfield
Korie Lebeda   108   10/17/08   Evansville
Megan Bober   118   10/27/12   Southern Illinois

Winters Wows 'Em
Freshman OH Jaali Winters couldn't have done much better at the Illini Classic, opening her career with a team-best 41 kills.
   Her 17 kills vs. Miami (Ohio) were the most in Bluejay history for a debut, three more than the previous mark set by Jess Bird in 2013.
   In addition, Winters' four blocks were tied for second-most in a debut (something Kelsey O'Connell also did) and her 14 digs were tied for fourth-most in a debut (Kate Elman set that record with 22 in 2012).
   Winters also became the fifth player to debut with a double-double, and joined Bird as just the second outside hitter to accomplish the feat.
   Last but not least, Winters became just CU's second player with 10 or more kills in each of the team's first three matches of a season, joining JoDe Cieloha (1994) who did it in the first eight contests of CU's first year back.

Select Company
Creighton is one of just 15 schools nationally who have won 23 games or more in each of the previous three seasons. That group consists of BYU, College of Charleston, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Idaho State, LIU Brooklyn, Marquette, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Western Kentucky.
   Creighton is also one of 26 teams to have appeared in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments. That group features Arizona State, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, LIU Brooklyn, Marquette, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Washington and Yale.
   Throw in three straight NCAA Tournament bids to that group of teams with three straight 23-win seasons and the group narrows to 12 teams: That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, LIU Brooklyn, Marquette, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Stanford, Texas and Washington.

Crawford Goes 3D
Kenzie Crawford made a bit of history on Aug. Aug. 29 when she turned in a triple-double (51 assists, 11 digs, 10 kills) against Louisville.
   Crawford is the seventh player in Creighton history to record a triple-double, and her performance was the 30th overall in Bluejay annals.
   Some more notes about Crawford's special night...
   - Crawford was making just her third career start. She's the first Bluejay to ever record a triple-double within her first three career starts.
   - Crawford earned her triple-double while also hitting .600. The .600 hitting was the best in Creighton history for any five-set match.
   - Crawford's .600 was the second-best mark by a Bluejay in a match with a triple-double, trailing only Megan Bober's .636 hitting vs. Bradley on Oct. 6, 2012.
   - Crawford had just the fifth performance in CU history of a "50-10-10" match. Kailey Reyes did it twice, while Bober and Melissa Weisensee had each done it once.

Coaching Them Up
When Kenzie Crawford earned the starting nod on Aug. 28, she became Creighton's fourth different starting setter on Opening Day in as many years.
   The revolving door at setter hasn't hurt the team in that time, as each of the previous three seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and two of them saw Creighton win conference titles.
   Megan Bober was CU's Opening Day setter in 2012 vs. UCF before Michelle Sicner took over in the 2013 lid-lifter vs. BYU. Last season, Maggie Baumert started the opener at setter against Lipscomb.

High Five
Creighton rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Miami (Ohio) in the Aug. 28 season-opener.
   The victory improved the Bluejays to 3-0 all-time in five-set matches to open the season, joining victories in 2011 (UTSA) and 2004 (New Mexico). CU trailed 2-1 after three sets in all three victories.
   Creighton then made history when it also played a five-set match in the second match of the season, the first time it had ever played two straight five-setters to open a season.

Magnificent Marysa
Marysa Wilkinson had four matches during her entire freshman season with 10 or more kills, and never had two in a row.
   Now a sophomore, Wilkinson opened her second season with three straight matches of double-figure putaways as she had 11 vs. Miami (Ohio), 13 vs. Louisville and 10 kills on .391 hitting in three sets at No. 8 Illinois.
   Wilkinson has nine matches this fall with 10 or more kills, including 14 at Providence on Oct. 3.

Set 1 Result = Match Result
Creighton is 210-23 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 43-122 under Booth when it drops the first set.
   Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 54-1 in its last 55 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only on Sept. 12 to Pacific.
   Last year Creighton was 20-2 when winning the first set and 5-7 when dropping the opener. This year's team is 14-1 when winning the first set but 4-7 when it falls behind after the first set.

Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 42-23 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 3-2 mark this year and a 14-6 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 seven of its last nine true road matches to go five sets, including wins in 2012 over league rivals Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State, wins in 2013 at Denver and at Wichita State, and wins last year at Butler and at St. John's.
   It's also worth noting that Creighton is 8-2 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   3-2   25-9
2015   3-2   18-8
Total   57-51   346-297

Some Fab Freshmen
Creighton has started seven different true freshmen in a season opener in the previous six years, and 13 such players since 2000.
   Since 2000, the only true freshmen to start CU's season-opener have been Brittany Coleman (2003), Carolyn Decker (2004), Korie Lebeda (2005), Allie Oelke (2007), Brooke Boggs (2009), Heather Thorson (2009), Julianne Mandolfo (2010), Katie Neisler (2011), Michelle Sicner (2011), Melanie Jereb (2012), Ashley Jansen (2012), Jess Bird (2013) and Jaali Winters (2015). In addition, CU also started redshirt freshmen Lauren Smith (2013) and Brittany Lawrence (2015), as well as and transfer Maggie Baumert (2014) in season-openers.
   Seven of those women (Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team, an award that Bird likely would've received strong consideration for if the BIG EAST had such a team.

Highly-Touted Recruiting Class
Creighton Volleyball's recruiting class was named the nation's 11th-best by PrepVolleyball.com in May.
   The website annually ranks the nation's top recruiting classes, and this is the first time in the 13-year history of the rankings that Creighton has cracked the top-30. The site had previously named Taryn Kloth the nation's 18th-best prospect on its Senior Aces list, while Jaali Winters was tabbed the 41st-best.
   Creighton previously had earned "highest honorable-mention" four times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2014), "high honorable-mention" twice (2010, 2012), "honorable-mention" once (2005) and "best of the rest" once (2004) in the PrepVolleyball.com recruiting rankings.

The Votes Add Up
Creighton had five non-conference matches scheduled against teams that are in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll, tied for the most in the nation.
   Creighton played matches against teams that were preseason ranked No. 5 (Wisconsin), No. 5 (Nebraska), No. 8 (Illinois), No. 15 (Kentucky) and No. 22 (USC).
   Besides Creighton, the only other school to play five different non-conference teams that are in the preseason top-25 is North Carolina. Of the nine teams that play four non-conference matches against preseason top-25 teams, Creighton will meet three of them (Illinois, UNI, Louisville).
   Creighton is 4-61 all-time against top-25 foes, including an 0-31 mark in true road matches.
   CU's Sept. 12 win over No. 10 Kentucky was the highest-ranked team that Creighton has ever beaten.
   Since the start of the 2012 season, 15 of Creighton's 30 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 93-15 against unranked teams.

Marian Pipeline
This is the 13th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as seniors Kate Elman and Ashley Jansen remain in the program and joined by freshman Kelsey O'Connell.
   Interestingly, the Bluejays had never had a volleyball player from Marian between 1994-2002. Here's a look at Creighton's pipeline of players from Marian.
2015: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen, Kelsey O'Connell
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 11-of-16 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters. Below is a breakdown of the production that returns:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Digs   1625 (76.4%)   502 (23.6%)
Assists   1682 (74.7%)   426 (25.3%)
Aces   105 (71.9%)   41 (28.1%)
Matches Started   105 (61.8%)   65 (38.2%)
Blocks   175.5 (51.5%)   165.0 (48.5%)
Points   1192.5 (51.9%)   1105.0 (48.1%)
Kills   911 (50.3%)   900 (49.7%)

Last Year Summary
Last year's Creighton team finished 25-9 and won the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles.
   Jess Bird and Kelli Browning were named First Team All-BIG EAST, with Browning also being named a Third-Team All-American by the AVCA. Lauren Smith was a second-team all-league choice and was named MVP of the BIG EAST Championship.
   Defensively, Kate Elman led Creighton in digs and became the school's all-time leader in the category.

Radio Broadcast Information
Brad Burwell and former Bluejay volleyball player Erin (Swanson) Russell will broadcast at least 12 home matches this season.
   The matches will air on KZOT (1180 AM), KOIL (1290 AM) and KOZN (1620 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.
Remaining Creighton Volleyball Radio Schedule
11/15   Butler (KZOT)
11/28   BIG EAST Championship (TBD)
11/29   BIG EAST Championship (TBD)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maggie Baumert

Jess Bird

Kelli Browning

Kenzie Crawford

Kate Elman

Ashley Jansen

Melanie Jereb

Taryn Kloth

Brittany Lawrence

Leah McNary

Katie Neisler

Kelsey O'Connell

Michelle Sicner

Lauren Smith

Lizzy Stivers

Marysa Wilkinson

Jaali Winters