
Volleyball Falls in Five Sets To Louisville
8/29/2015 1:57:00 PM | Volleyball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Sophomore Kenzie Crawford had her first career triple-double, but it wasn't enough as the Creighton Volleyball team lost in five sets to Louisville on Saturday afternoon at the Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill.
Scores of the match in favor of Louisville were 25-18, 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11.
Both teams are now 1-1 on the young season.
Erin Fairs led a late rally as Louisville won the first set, 25-18. The Cardinals owned a narrow 18-17 lead before reeling off six straight points in a set-ending 7-1 surge. Fairs had five kills during the burst, and finished the first set with eight kills in 11 swings as part of a UofL offense that hit .565 in 23 swings. Jaali Winters led CU with five kills in the first set.
Creighton trailed the first half of the second set before turning things around to even the match heading to intermission. Trailing 14-10, CU used five kills during a 5-1 run to even the score at 15. The rally continued and turned into a 15-4 set-ending flourish. Jess Bird and Lauren Smith both had six kills in the second set, while Crawford dished 15 assists to lead a CU offense that hit .438 in the frame.
Louisville took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-21 third set triumph. The teams were tied at 12 before a CU had a service error and three straight attack errors to hand the Cardinals a 16-12 lead it never relinquished. Creighton hit .206 in the set thanks in part to six attack errors. Janelle Jenkins paced UofL with six kills and three digs in the set.
Creighton took control of the fourth set from the outset, but had to withstand a tough Louisville team. With the score tied at 21-all, Smith put down a kill and then teamed on a block to give CU a two-point cushion. The Jays won the set on an attack error by the Cardinals.
After falling behind 2-0 to start the fifth set, Creighton used a 5-1 run to take a brief lead and prompt a UofL timeout. The Jays later led 7-5 before the Cards ripped off three straight points to take an 8-7 lead into the changeover. CU produced the 39th and final tie of the match at 10-all, only to see UofL run off the next four points to get to match point. CU saved one match point before the Cards took the match on a setter Katie George's second kill of the match.
Creighton was paced by 18 kills and 15 digs from Bird, the second double-double in as many matches this fall for the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year. Bird was one of five Bluejays with double-figure kills, as Crawford (51 assists, 11 digs, 10 kills) had multiple weapons to choose from. Smith finished with 14 kills and seven blocks on .542 hitting, while Marysa Wilkinson (13) and Winters (11) also had at least 10 kills. Creighton finished the day with 67 kills, three aces, 68 digs and eight blocks while hitting .259.
Fairs led all players with 21 kills, while Jenkins had 16 kills and 10 digs on .429 hitting. George, the reigning Miss Kentucky, also turned in double-double with 54 assists and 13 digs. The Cardinals hit .286 and finished with 65 kills, six aces, 66 digs and 11 blocks.
Creighton returns to action tonight when it takes on tournament host and eighth-ranked Illinois in a match at 7:30 pm.
NOTES: This is the first time that Creighton has played back-to-back five-set matches to open a season ... Kelsey O'Connell made her first career start and finished with one kill, one dig and one block ... Kenzie Crawford is the seventh player in Creighton history to post a triple-double, and it was the 30th triple-double in program history overall. She's also the first Bluejay to earn a triple-double in one of her first three career starts ... Creighton had won 26 straight matches when hitting .250 or better, and dropped to 128-5 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when reaching that figure ... Jaali Winters joined Jess Bird and JoDe Cieloha as the only players in program history to start her career with 10 kills or more in consecutive contests.
Scores of the match in favor of Louisville were 25-18, 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11.
Both teams are now 1-1 on the young season.
Erin Fairs led a late rally as Louisville won the first set, 25-18. The Cardinals owned a narrow 18-17 lead before reeling off six straight points in a set-ending 7-1 surge. Fairs had five kills during the burst, and finished the first set with eight kills in 11 swings as part of a UofL offense that hit .565 in 23 swings. Jaali Winters led CU with five kills in the first set.
Creighton trailed the first half of the second set before turning things around to even the match heading to intermission. Trailing 14-10, CU used five kills during a 5-1 run to even the score at 15. The rally continued and turned into a 15-4 set-ending flourish. Jess Bird and Lauren Smith both had six kills in the second set, while Crawford dished 15 assists to lead a CU offense that hit .438 in the frame.
Louisville took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-21 third set triumph. The teams were tied at 12 before a CU had a service error and three straight attack errors to hand the Cardinals a 16-12 lead it never relinquished. Creighton hit .206 in the set thanks in part to six attack errors. Janelle Jenkins paced UofL with six kills and three digs in the set.
Creighton took control of the fourth set from the outset, but had to withstand a tough Louisville team. With the score tied at 21-all, Smith put down a kill and then teamed on a block to give CU a two-point cushion. The Jays won the set on an attack error by the Cardinals.
After falling behind 2-0 to start the fifth set, Creighton used a 5-1 run to take a brief lead and prompt a UofL timeout. The Jays later led 7-5 before the Cards ripped off three straight points to take an 8-7 lead into the changeover. CU produced the 39th and final tie of the match at 10-all, only to see UofL run off the next four points to get to match point. CU saved one match point before the Cards took the match on a setter Katie George's second kill of the match.
Creighton was paced by 18 kills and 15 digs from Bird, the second double-double in as many matches this fall for the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year. Bird was one of five Bluejays with double-figure kills, as Crawford (51 assists, 11 digs, 10 kills) had multiple weapons to choose from. Smith finished with 14 kills and seven blocks on .542 hitting, while Marysa Wilkinson (13) and Winters (11) also had at least 10 kills. Creighton finished the day with 67 kills, three aces, 68 digs and eight blocks while hitting .259.
Fairs led all players with 21 kills, while Jenkins had 16 kills and 10 digs on .429 hitting. George, the reigning Miss Kentucky, also turned in double-double with 54 assists and 13 digs. The Cardinals hit .286 and finished with 65 kills, six aces, 66 digs and 11 blocks.
Creighton returns to action tonight when it takes on tournament host and eighth-ranked Illinois in a match at 7:30 pm.
NOTES: This is the first time that Creighton has played back-to-back five-set matches to open a season ... Kelsey O'Connell made her first career start and finished with one kill, one dig and one block ... Kenzie Crawford is the seventh player in Creighton history to post a triple-double, and it was the 30th triple-double in program history overall. She's also the first Bluejay to earn a triple-double in one of her first three career starts ... Creighton had won 26 straight matches when hitting .250 or better, and dropped to 128-5 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when reaching that figure ... Jaali Winters joined Jess Bird and JoDe Cieloha as the only players in program history to start her career with 10 kills or more in consecutive contests.
Team Stats
CU
LOU
Kills
67
65
Errors
23
19
Attempts
170
161
Hitting %
.259
.286
Points
78.0
82.0
Assists
64
60
Aces
3
6
Blocks
8.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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