Friday, August 28
Champaign, Ill.
4:00 PM
Creighton University
1-0
3
vs
2
Miami (Ohio)
0-1
1
2
3
4
5
F
Miami (Ohio)
20
27
25
13
12
2
Creighton
25
25
20
25
15
3
Volleyball Rallies To Top Miami in Season-Opening Thriller
8/28/2015 7:20:00 PM | Volleyball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Jaali Winters, Jess Bird and Kenzie Crawford each had double-doubles as Creighton Volleyball opened the 2015 season with a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Miami University Ohio at the Illini Classic on Friday, Aug. 28.
Scores in favor of the Bluejays were 25-20, 25-27, 20-25, 25-13 and 15-12.
Creighton led most of the first set, 25-20, to take a 1-0 lead in the contest. Jess Bird had three kills while Winters had two kills, seven digs and an ace in her first regular-season set as a Bluejay.
The second set featured 14 ties and eight lead changes, with Miami rallying late for a 27-25 win to even the contest. The RedHawks saved a pair of set points before getting consecutive blocks to win the set.
Miami raced to a 11-6 lead in the third frame, and extended that to 15-9. Creighton would stage a comeback and even the set at 17-all before MU answered with the next three points and surge to a 25-20 victory and lead 2-1.
"I thought we stayed composed and we continued to swing for kills to get the momentum back in the fourth game," said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "Both teams were really erratic in the third gam and that played a factor for both of us. The second game was huge for them, we needed to finish to go up 2-0 and close it out, and they took advantage."
Creighton never trailed in the final two sets, winning a 25-13 set to force a fifth frame before closing out the win with a 15-12 triumph.
Bird and Winters each had five kills in the fourth set, while Kate Elman had seven digs as CU hit .412 with 21 digs and four blocks to force the deciding set.
In the final set, Creighton hit .435 with 10 kills in 23 errorless swings. Bird had four kills, as did Lauren Smith who needed just four swings to earn her four kills. Creighton turned a 3-3 deadlock into an 8-3 lead as the teams switched benches in the fifth. The RedHawks would get as close as 13-11 in the final frame before CU got kills from Marysa Wilkinson and Smith to close out the victory.
Winters led all players with 17 kills, most in Creighton history by a player in their debut. With 14 digs, Winters also became the fifth Bluejay in program history to debut with a double-double.
Crawford, who made her first career start at setter, turned in career-highs with 48 assists and six kills while her 10 digs were one shy of her previous best. Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Jess Bird had 16 kills and a career-best 25 digs to aid the Jays in victory. In addition, Kate Elman had 22 digs for CU for her school-record 33rd career match of 20+ digs.
For the afternoon, Creighton had 62 kills, 93 digs, 10 blocks and seven aces on .256 hitting.
Booth was quick to credit the play of her newcomers in the comeback. "We had lots of new faces. We knew we'd deal with some nerves. Jaali definitley didn't play like a freshman. They all did a great job."
Miami, the runner-up in the Mid-American Conference a year ago, was paced by 16 kills and 11 digs from Annie Reiswig, while Maris Below added 15 kills and 10 digs. Maeve McDonald contributed a match-best 31 digs. The RedHawks had 54 kills, five aces, 80 digs and six blocks on the night, hitting .188 overall.
The win was Creighton's seventh straight season-opening victory, and improved the team to 3-0 all-time in five-set matches to open the year.
Creighton returns to action with a pair of matches on Saturday. Creighton meets Louisville at 12:30 pm before taking on tournament host and eighth-ranked Illinois at 7:30 pm. Both matches will have free live video via links available on GoCreighton.com.
Scores in favor of the Bluejays were 25-20, 25-27, 20-25, 25-13 and 15-12.
Creighton led most of the first set, 25-20, to take a 1-0 lead in the contest. Jess Bird had three kills while Winters had two kills, seven digs and an ace in her first regular-season set as a Bluejay.
The second set featured 14 ties and eight lead changes, with Miami rallying late for a 27-25 win to even the contest. The RedHawks saved a pair of set points before getting consecutive blocks to win the set.
Miami raced to a 11-6 lead in the third frame, and extended that to 15-9. Creighton would stage a comeback and even the set at 17-all before MU answered with the next three points and surge to a 25-20 victory and lead 2-1.
"I thought we stayed composed and we continued to swing for kills to get the momentum back in the fourth game," said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "Both teams were really erratic in the third gam and that played a factor for both of us. The second game was huge for them, we needed to finish to go up 2-0 and close it out, and they took advantage."
Creighton never trailed in the final two sets, winning a 25-13 set to force a fifth frame before closing out the win with a 15-12 triumph.
Bird and Winters each had five kills in the fourth set, while Kate Elman had seven digs as CU hit .412 with 21 digs and four blocks to force the deciding set.
In the final set, Creighton hit .435 with 10 kills in 23 errorless swings. Bird had four kills, as did Lauren Smith who needed just four swings to earn her four kills. Creighton turned a 3-3 deadlock into an 8-3 lead as the teams switched benches in the fifth. The RedHawks would get as close as 13-11 in the final frame before CU got kills from Marysa Wilkinson and Smith to close out the victory.
Winters led all players with 17 kills, most in Creighton history by a player in their debut. With 14 digs, Winters also became the fifth Bluejay in program history to debut with a double-double.
Crawford, who made her first career start at setter, turned in career-highs with 48 assists and six kills while her 10 digs were one shy of her previous best. Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Jess Bird had 16 kills and a career-best 25 digs to aid the Jays in victory. In addition, Kate Elman had 22 digs for CU for her school-record 33rd career match of 20+ digs.
For the afternoon, Creighton had 62 kills, 93 digs, 10 blocks and seven aces on .256 hitting.
Booth was quick to credit the play of her newcomers in the comeback. "We had lots of new faces. We knew we'd deal with some nerves. Jaali definitley didn't play like a freshman. They all did a great job."
Miami, the runner-up in the Mid-American Conference a year ago, was paced by 16 kills and 11 digs from Annie Reiswig, while Maris Below added 15 kills and 10 digs. Maeve McDonald contributed a match-best 31 digs. The RedHawks had 54 kills, five aces, 80 digs and six blocks on the night, hitting .188 overall.
The win was Creighton's seventh straight season-opening victory, and improved the team to 3-0 all-time in five-set matches to open the year.
Creighton returns to action with a pair of matches on Saturday. Creighton meets Louisville at 12:30 pm before taking on tournament host and eighth-ranked Illinois at 7:30 pm. Both matches will have free live video via links available on GoCreighton.com.
Team Stats
MIAMI
CU
Kills
54
62
Errors
22
16
Attempts
170
180
Hitting %
.188
.256
Points
65.0
79.0
Assists
52
59
Aces
5
7
Blocks
6.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballDS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballRS/OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballCreighton VB vs Marquette Recap video
Tuesday, October 07
Creighton VB vs DePaul Recap Video
Tuesday, October 07
Ava Martin Highlights - Oct. 6, 2025
Monday, October 06
Kiara Reinhardt Highlights - Oct. 6, 2025
Monday, October 06
