Creighton University
4-5
Pacific
8-1
Volleyball Delivers Strong Battle, Falls to Pacific 3-1
9/12/2015 11:49:00 PM | Volleyball
Omaha, Neb. - The Creighton Volleyball team came up just short in the championship match of the Bluejay Invitational against Pacific on Saturday night, falling 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 16-25, 24-26).
The loss dropped the Bluejays to 4-5 on the season, while Pacific moved to 8-1 overall.
Creighton closed the Bluejays Invitational 2-1, while Pacific won the tournament with a 3-0 record. CSU Bakersfield finished third with a 1-2 mark, while Lipscomb suffered an 0-3 mark to take fourth.
Junior Lauren Smith and freshman Jaali Winters were honored following the match with a spot on the all-tournament team. Pacific's Lexi Elman claimed the tournament MVP, while Tiger teammates Kimmy Whitson and Maycie Labass also collected spots. Rounding out the team were Kelsee Sawyer of CSU Bakerfield as well as Brittnay Estes of Lipscomb.
Winters led Creighton with 13 kills on the night, with Smith not far behind with 11 kills and eight blocks. Maggie Baumert had 32 assists and eight blocks for CU while Kate Elman paced the Bluejay defense with 18 digs. CU had 36 kills, five aces, 60 digs and 14 blocks while hitting .150.
Lexi Elman had 25 kills and 12 digs to go with a career-best six aces as she set a career-high with six aces and 63 swings. In addition, her 31.0 points tied at D.J. Sokol Arena record originally set by Wichita State's Emily Stockman on Nov. 29, 2009 vs. Missouri State.
Creighton took early control of the match with a 25-16 win in the opening set, keyed by an early 8-0 serving run by Baumert. CU had four blocks and three aces and also benefited from six serving miscues by the visitors to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Pacific evened the match in the second set with a 25-21 victory as Lexi Elman had seven kills and Whitson distributed 15 assists.
Creighton raced to leads of 4-0 and 7-1 to open the third set, only to see Pacific return the favor with a 7-1 run of its own to tie the score at 8-8. Pacific rode that momentum and never slowed down, pulling away for a 25-16 victory. The Tigers had six aces in the set to help offset five blocks from Creighton, most of those early in the set. Lexi Elman had seven kills and four aces in the third frame alone to lead the turnaround for Pacific.
The fourth and final set featured 14 ties and five lead changes as both teams emptied the tank. Pacific appeared in control with a 20-17 late before CU rallied on Amanda Foje's serve to knot the score at 20-all. After Pacific went back in front 22-20, the Bluejays responded as Marysa Wilkinson had a kill and a block to tie it before Maggie Baumert's ace gave CU a 23-22 lead.
A service error evened the score and a Bluejay attack error gave Pacific a match point. But the Tigers would miss the serve to tie the score at 24-all. Pacific earned its second match point on a kill by Alicja Wilk before winning the match, and Bluejay Invitational, when an attack from CU went long.
The Bluejays return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 15 as Creighton battles No. 5 Nebraska in the CenturyLink Center at 7:00 pm.
2015 Bluejay Invitational Summary
September 11-12, 2015 – Omaha, Neb.
Final Standings
1. Pacific 3-0
2. Creighton 2-1
3. CSU Bakersfield 1-2
4. Lipscomb 0-3
Match Scores
Friday, September 11, 2015
Pacific def. CSU Bakersfield, 3-0 (25-11, 29-27, 25-18)
Creighton def. Lipscomb, 3-0 (25-19, 25-8, 25-18)
Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015
Pacific def. Lipscomb, 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-13)
Creighton def. CSU Bakersfield, 3-1 (25-9, 25-18, 17-25, 25-15)
CSU Bakersfield def. Lipscomb, 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 28-26, 17-25, 16-14)
Pacific def. Creighton, 16-25, 25-21, 25-16, 26-24
All-Tournament Team
Lexi Elman, Pacific (MVP)
Kimmy Whitson, Pacific
Maycie Labass, Pacific
Lauren Smith, Creighton
Jaali Winters, Creighton
Kelsee Sawyer, CSU Bakersfield
Brittnay Estes, Lipscomb
Bluejay Invitational Records Broken or Tied
None
