Volleyball Heads to Cedar Falls For UNI Tournament
9/2/2015 10:19:00 AM | Volleyball
This Week -- UNI Tournament
Sept. 4 4:30 pm Creighton vs. #8 USC Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
Sept. 5 12:00 pm Creighton at Northern Iowa (ESPN3) Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
Sept. 5 5:30 pm Creighton vs. #10 Kentucky Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
This Weekend
Creighton Volleyball (1-2) returns to the court with three matches against elite competition at the UNI Tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa, this weekend.
The Bluejays open play in the tournament on Friday at 4:30 pm when they play No. 8 USC (3-0).
On Saturday, Creighton takes on tournament host Northern Iowa (1-2) at Noon before closing out play with a 5:30 pm match against No. 10 Kentucky (3-1).
McLeod Center (6,650) will host all the action.
Radio/Video Broadcast Information
Only Creighton's match on Saturday afternoon vs. Northern Iowa will be broadcast. The match can be viewed free of charge on ESPN3.com.
Creighton's match vs. Northern Iowa will be broadcast in Central Iowa on the Panther Sports Network, including flagship station KXEL (1540 AM), and on-line at http://tunein.com/search/?query=northern%20iowa.
Live Stats Information
All matches at the UNI Tournament will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats icon near the top right of the page for the exact links to Creighton's matches.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is off to a 1-2 start in 2015 after beating Miami Ohio (3-2) before losing to Louisville (3-2) and No. 8 Illinois (3-0) at last weekend's Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill.
The Bluejays return 11 letterwinners and four starters (plus its libero) from last year's team that finished 25-9 overall and won the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles.
Creighton has made three consecutive NCAA Tournaments and were ranked 36th in the preseason AVCA poll.
Spearheading the returners is Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Jess Bird (3.00 kps., 3.62 dps.). Bird was a First Team All-BIG EAST choice last fall despite missing most of September following knee surgery.
In the middle, Lauren Smith (2.31 kps., 1.00 bps., .404%) was a Second Team All-BIG EAST pick and also named Most Valuable Player of the 2014 BIG EAST Championships. Smith started her junior season with All-Tournament Team plaudits at the Illini Classic.
Senior Maggie Baumert (9.85 aps. in 2014) earned the bulk of the time at setter last year, but sophomore Kenzie Crawford (10.00 aps., 2.31 dps., 1.54 kps., .545%) played setter last weekend.
In the back row, senior Kate Elman (3.08 dps.) is already Creighton's all-time career digs leader and has split time at libero the last two years with Melanie Jereb (1.67 dps.).
Creighton was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST, while Elman, Bird and Smith were named preseason all-league picks.
Creighton averages 13.23 kills, 0.92 aces, 16.08 digs and 1.69 blocks per set while hitting .241 as a team.
Scouting No. 8 USC
USC is off to a 3-0 start after defeating No. 7 North Carolina (3-1), Chicago State (3-0) and No. 11 BYU (3-0) last weekend to win the Women of Troy Baden Invitational.
The victories made USC the nation's only team to post two wins last weekend over top-25 foes, a huge step forward for a team coming off a 16-16 season and the loss of All-American Ebony Nwanebu.
Senior OH Samantha Bricio (5.80 kps., 3.20 dps., 0.50 saps., .320%) has been named a Second Team All-American each of the last two years and may boast the nation's most lethal serve.
Bricio was named Women of Troy Baden Invitational MVP and was joined on the All-Tourney Team by senior MB Alicia Ogoms (1.89 kps., 1.56 dps., .395%) and sophomore OPP Brittany Abercrombie (3.00 kps., .348%).
Freshman Baylee Johnson (6.90 aps., 2.40 dps.) and junior Alice Pizzasegola (5.80 aps.) split setting duties last week, while Taylor Whittingham (4.50 dps.) was the team's libero.
As a group, USC averages 15.10 kills, 1.70 aces, 17.40 digs and 2.40 blocks per set while hitting .261.
Scouting Northern Iowa
UNI is 1-2 on the season after the opening weekend of play at the Rams Volleyball Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. The Panthers beat UC Davis (3-1) before falling to Baylor (3-2) and No. 12 Colorado State (3-0).
Bri Weber and Kayla Haneline each averaged 2.67 kills per set to lead UNI's offense, with Haneline also averaging 1.42 blocks per set.
Heather Hook (9.83 aps., 2.67 dps.) sets the Panther offense, while Amie Held (4.67 dps.) is the team's libero and led the club with five aces last weekend. Hook was UNI's sole honoree on the All-Tournament Team last weekend.
UNI averages 12.67 kills, 1.08 aces, 19.00 digs and 2.00 blocks per set while hitting .136 as a team.
Scouting No. 10 Kentucky
Ranked 10th nationally, Kentucky is 3-1 on the young season but has played all four matches in Lexington. The Wildcats beat No. 19 Michigan State (3-2) before sweeping IUPUI (3-0) and Little Rock (3-0) en route to the Bluegrass Battle title last weekend, but were then upended on Tuesday against Ohio in four sets.
Kaz Brown (3.47 kps., 1.00 bps., .354%) and Darian Mack (3.00 kps., 2.87 dps.) led the team in kills, with All-American setter Morgan Bergren (10.60 aps.) running the offense. Ashley Dusek (5.40 dps.) serves as the team's libero.
UK averages 13.87 kills, 1.20 aces, 16.20 digs and 2.23 blocks per set while hitting .193.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 236-139 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.
UNI is coached by Bobbi Petersen (Northern Iowa, 1990), who owns a 392-109 record in her 16th year with the Panthers. Petersen was named 2002 AVCA National Coach of the Year and also earned MVC Coach of the Year honors in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013. Generally regarded as one of the best players in MVC history, Petersen ranks in the top-10 nationally among active coaches in winning percentage. Petersen is assisted by Kalani Mahi, Kim Davis and Jonny Olson.
Mick Haley (Ball State, 1965) is in his 15th year at USC, where he owns a 362-92 record and has led the Trojans to six Final Four appearances and national titles in 2002 and 2003. He owns a 1135-280 mark overall in 39 years as a college women's coach. Haley is assisted by Tim Nollan, Jason Kennedy and Kyle Weindel.
Craig Skinner owns a 232-92 record in his 11th season at Kentucky, which also doubles as his career mark. Before taking UK to 10 straight NCAA Tournaments, Skinner was an assistant for five seasons at Nebraska. He is assisted by Lindsey Gray-Walton and Anders Nelson.
Series History vs. USC
USC won the only previous meeting with Creighton in four sets (22-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-18) last season in Lexington, Ky.
Kelli Browning led CU with 13 kills, while Maggie Baumert (34 assists, 11 digs) had a double-double. USC was led by 14 kills from Ebony Nwanebu's 14 kills and .481 hitting, while Samantha Bricio had 13 kills, 15 digs and a pair of aces.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 0-1 all-time against USC and coach Mick Haley.
Series History vs. Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa owns a 40-6 record all-time against Creighton, including an 18-3 mark in Cedar Falls. However, the Bluejays have won the last three meetings.
Last season Creighton overcame an 0-2 deficit to rally and beat UNI in a five-set match that featured just three lead changes total. Leah McNary had 20 kills for CU, while Kelli Browning had 15 kills and nine blocks on .560 hitting.
Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 6-21 vs. Northern Iowa and 6-21 vs. Bobbi Petersen. Petersen is 28-6 overall against Creighton.
Four of CU's six wins against the Panthers have come in five sets, including the last two.
Series History vs. Kentucky
Creighton is 0-1 all-time against Kentucky, getting swept (25-21, 25-22, 25-21) by the Wildcats in Lexington last fall.
Kelli Browning and Lauren Smith each had 11 kills to pace CU, while Kate Elman had a match-high 17 digs. UK was paced by 11 kills and 12 digs by Anni Thomasson and 37 assists from Morgan Bergren.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 0-1 against Kentucky and also 0-1 against Craig Skinner.
Last Weekend Summary
Creighton went 1-2 last weekend at the Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill., beating Miami (3-2) before losing to Louisville (3-2) and No. 8 Illinois (3-0).
Junior MB Lauren Smith was named to the Illini Classic All-Tournament Team, while freshman Jaali Winters debuted with a team-high 41 kills on the weekend.
Winters Wows 'Em
Freshman OH Jaali Winters couldn't have done much better last weekend, opening her career with a team-best 41 kills.
Her 17 kills vs. Miami (Ohio) last Friday 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 is 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.
Familiar Foes
The field for this weekend's UNI Tournament will continue to become more familiar with each other in upcoming years, as this is the second year of a four-year tournament between the teams that will move to Los Angeles and Omaha in the coming years.
The event features a nice mix not only geographically, but also of some traditional and upcoming powers in the college game.
USC has made 24 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and been to the Regional Final (or beyond) in 10 of 14 completed seasons under Mick Haley. The Trojans claim six national titles in program history, and 20 or more wins in 11 of 14 seasons under Haley.
Northern Iowa has won 20 or more games in 14-of-15 seasons under Bobbi Petersen, during which time the Panthers have advanced to 10 NCAA Tournaments.
Kentucky has made 10 straight NCAA Tournaments, a streak that coincides with the arrival of coach Craig Skinner. The Wildcats own 20 or more wins in seven of the last eight seasons and three Sweet 16 berths in that span.
Creighton has ascended onto the national stage in recent seasons. Since inheriting a 3-23 team in 2003, Kirsten Bernthal Booth has helped the Bluejays reach the NCAA Tournament in four of the last five seasons, winning a match three of those times. All six seasons of 20-plus wins in the program's modern history have come since 2006.
Jereb Nears 1,000 Digs
Senior Melanie Jereb enters the weekend with 976 career digs, just 24 shy of becoming the 13th Bluejay to reach 1,000. 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. Jereb has played in 100 career matches entering the weekend.
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
Korie Lebeda 108 10/17/08 Evansville
Megan Bober 118 10/27/12 Southern Illinois
Crawford Goes 3D
Kenzie Crawford made a bit of history last Saturday 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 last Friday, 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 last Friday's 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.
The Dirty Dozen
Creighton has defeated just one of the current members of the Pacific-12 Conference, going 1-9.
The Bluejays are 1-1 against Colorado (sweeping the Buffaloes in 2014 in Omaha) and 0-1 against Arizona State, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington State.
Against The SEC?
Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 7-5 all-time against the current membership of the Southeastern Conference.
Booth is 1-1 vs. Arkansas, 1-0 vs. Auburn, 0-1 vs. LSU, 0-1 vs. Kentucky, 1-0 vs. Mississippi State, 1-0 vs. Missouri, 1-0 vs. Ole Miss, 1-0 vs. Tennessee, 1-2 vs. Texas A&M.
CU's last win over an SEC foe came in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, a 3-1 victory over Arkansas.
Familiar Rivals Get Reacquainted
Saturday's match-up with Northern Iowa will be Creighton's 47th against the Panthers since the program's restart in 1994, the most of any opponent.
The only other teams that Creighton has played more than 40 times are Wichita State (43) and Illinois State (43).
UNI is the only opponent to defeat Creighton more than 30 times, something the Panthers have done 40 times.
MVC Rivals Reunite
Creighton has won 19 straight matches against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference, a streak that started Sept. 29, 2012 with a win at Evansville.
Creighton won its final 14 regular-season MVC matches in 2012, then won two more contests to claim the MVC Tournament title. Since joining the BIG EAST on July 1, 2013, Creighton has beaten Wichita State twice and UNI once to extend the streak.
During the streak, CU is 4-0 against Wichita State, 3-0 vs. Northern Iowa and 1-0 against Missouri State, three teams that have dominated the league this decade.
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.
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 40-22 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 1-1 mark this year and a 12-6 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 eight 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 6-2 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton's three all-time road wins at Northern Iowa have all come in five-set matches, as the Jays are 3-0 all-time in Cedar Falls against the Panthers in five-set matches (0-18 in 3 or 4 set contests).
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 1-1 1-2
Total 55-50 329-291
Season Opening History
With its 3-2 win over Miami (Ohio) last Friday, Creighton improved its record to 14-8 in season-opening matches since restarting the program in 1994. Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 10-3 in opening matches and on a seven-year winning streak. The seven straight wins in season-openers is the best mark in program history.
Booth is 11-2 in Creighton's first match away from home, helping Creighton improve to 14-8 in such contests all-time.
Creighton's seven straight wins in season-openers is the longest active streak in the BIG EAST, one more than St. John's.
Hello World!
Taryn Kloth, Samantha Bohnet and Megan Ballenger all could make their Division I debut this weekend.
Below is the current Creighton players and how they performed in their regular-season collegiate debuts (and at Creighton in Baumert's case).
Records for a Bluejay debut can be found at the bottom of page three.
Year Name SP K E TA Pct. A SA DIG TB
2015 Jaali Winters• 5 17 6 49 .224 0 1 14 4
2013 Jess Bird• 4 14 5 29 .310 3 2 12 0
2013 Lauren Smith• 4 9 0 14 .643 0 0 0 4
2012 Melanie Jereb• 4 5 2 28 .107 0 0 14 0
2014 Marysa Wilkinson 2 5 0 7 .714 0 0 1 2
2015 B. Lawrence• 3 3 2 10 .100 0 0 2 1
2012 Kate Elman 4 1 0 2 .500 4 1 22 0
2012 Ashley Jansen• 4 1 0 3 .333 1 1 10 0
2015 K. O'Connell 3 1 0 4 .250 0 0 0 4
2012 Maggie Baumert# 4 1 0 3 .333 24 0 8 0
2014 Maggie Baumert• 4 0 0 1 .000 28 0 9 0
2014 Kenzie Crawford 2 0 0 0 --- 1 0 7 0
2012 Lizzy Stivers 4 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0 0
2013 Amanda Foje 1 0 0 0 --- 0 0 1 0
#Baumert's stats from her debut at Georgia
•Baumert's stats from her debut at Creighton
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.
Put It In Neutral
Creighton has won 20 of its last 26 matches against teams on neutral floors in the last five years, including wins vs. No. 13 BYU in the 2013 season-opener, a win over Marquette in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, and a victory over Seton Hall in the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament final.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 84-80 in the 55 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 24-11 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 64-47 in 39 regular-season tournaments, including nine titles.
Creighton won two regular-season tournaments in 2012, taking the season-opening USF Invitational as well as the Northern Colorado Classic, the Hampton Inn Invitational in 2013, and last year's Bluejay Invitational.
Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
For the third straight season, Creighton has been 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 ??? ???
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.
The Votes Add Up
Creighton has five non-conference matches scheduled against teams that are in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll, tied for the most in the nation.
Creighton plays 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 3-58 all-time against top-25 foes, including an 0-31 mark in true road matches.
A win against No. 8 USC on Friday or No. 10 Kentucky on Saturday would be the highest-ranked team that Creighton has ever beaten.
Since the start of the 2012 season, 12 of Creighton's 24 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 77-12 against unranked teams.
Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won six matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point. Three of those wins have come against Wichita State.
On the other hand, Creighton is 236-2 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
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 208-8 (.963) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 151-2 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own an 99-4 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 9-182 (.047) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-63 mark in those home matches. Those nine comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below.
Notably, last year's team joined the 2004 club 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
A Bunch Of Winners
Creighton has experienced a great deal of success in recent seasons, and last year's squad enjoyed victories at historic levels. Consider the following numbers:
Creighton owns 77 wins in the previous three seasons (2012-14), the winningest three-year span in program history and eight more than the mark set from 2011-13.
CU's 94 victories in the previous four seasons (2011-14) were four more than any other four-year span in program history, which was done from 2009-12. This year's senior class entered 2015 with 77 wins, and can break the record with 18 victories.
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%)
Set 1 Result = Match Result
Creighton is 197-22 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 39-117 under Booth when it drops the first set.
Creighton has also won 45 home straight contests when winning the first set.
Last year Creighton was 20-2 when winning the first set and 5-7 when dropping the opener.
USC was 13-5 when winning the first set and 3-11 when it didn't last season.
Northern Iowa was 16-2 (including a loss to Creighton) when winning the first set and 5-9 last season when it fell behind 0-1.
Kentucky was 23-3 last season when winning the first set, compared to a 4-4 mark when dropping the first frame.
Can You Dig It?
Kate Elman already owns a school-record 1,556 career digs. Elman also owns Creighton career marks for matches with 10+ digs and matches with 20+ digs.
Most Career Digs, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Kate Elman 348 1,556 2012-Pr.
2. Janeen Piller 336 1,392 2001-04
Matches With 10+ Digs, Career
10+D Name Years
81 Kate Elman 2012-Pres.
74 Janeen Piller 2001-04
Matches With 20+ Digs, Career
20+D Name Years
33 Kate Elman 2012-Pres.
32 Julianne Mandolfo 2010-11
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
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 13 home matches this season.
The matches will air on KZOT (1180 AM) and KOIL (1290 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.
9/11 Lipscomb (KZOT)
9/12 CSU Bakersfield (KZOT)
9/12 Pacific (KZOT)
9/15 Nebraska (KZOT)
9/18 Arkansas (KZOT)
9/19 Wisconsin (KZOT)
9/20 Kansas State (KOIL)
9/27 Villanova (KOIL)
10/6 Georgetown (KZOT)
10/9 DePaul (KZOT)
10/23 Providence (KZOT)
10/25 St. John's (KZOT)
11/15 Butler (KZOT)
11/28 BIG EAST Tourney (TBD)
11/29 BIG EAST Tourney (TBD)
