Friday, September 25
D.J. Sokol Arena
7:00 PM
Creighton University
7-7, 1-0BIG EAST
3
vs
1
Seton Hall
6-7, 0-1BIG EAST
1
2
3
4
F
Seton Hall
13
25
18
22
1
Creighton
25
14
25
25
3
Volleyball Withstands Pirate Attack in BIG EAST Opener
9/25/2015 10:40:00 PM | Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Lauren Smith had match-highs with 14 kills and eight blocks to lead the Creighton Volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Seton Hall on Friday night in a rematch of the 2014 BIG EAST Championship title game.
Scores of the match in favor of Creighton were 25-13, 14-25, 25-18, 25-22.
Creighton improves to 7-7 on the year and 1-0 in BIG EAST action, improving to 11-2 in conference openers under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. After winning 28 games last season, Seton Hall dropped to 6-7 on the year and is 0-1 in league play.
Melanie Jereb gave Creighton a huge lift in the opening set as the senior dealt three straight aces as part of an 7-0 run that moved the Bluejays in front, 21-10. Her three aces tied a career best. Creighton had 18 kills and 25 digs in the first set as Kenzie Crawford quarterbacked the Bluejay offense and added 12 assists and nine digs.
Seton Hall turned the tables on Creighton in the second set, evening the match with a 25-14 win. The Pirates had four blocks and never trailed, forcing CU into 11 attack errors in the second set. Kacey Richards and Amanda Hansen each had three kills for SHU.
Creighton took control of the match in the third set, a 25-18 triumph. Marysa Wilkinson made a rare appearance behind the service line and helped CU to an 11-5 lead. Jaali Winters would later serve up four straight points as CU took a 21-13 lead en route to victory.
Seton Hall led nearly all of the fourth set before a Bluejay rally overcame the visitors. The Pirates led 14-9 after a Sara Connell ace and CU turned to setter Maggie Baumert to lead the comeback. Connell delivered an ace on the next point to push the SHU lead to 15-9, but the rest of the match was all Creighton. Creighton would take advantage of three straight Pirate attack errors to take its first lead at 19-18. Marysa Wilkinson had her 10th kill of the evening to put CU in front 21-20 and Smith and Taryn Kloth closed on a block to give CU a two-point cushion. Smith and Kelsey O'Connell teamed on a stuff to make it 23-20 and the Jays reached match point on an ace by Amanda Foje. The Pirates withstood two match points before Smith ended the night with her 14th kill.
Smith, who was named BIG EAST Championship MVP last fall after a huge title match vs. Seton Hall, had 14 kills and eight blocks to lead CU to another four-set win over the Pirates. Winters had 13 kills and 11 digs for her third double-double, while Kloth had career-bests with 11 kills and five stuffs. Crawford had her team-high fourth double-double with 33 assists and a career-high 16 digs, while Baumert finished with seven assists in the 24 points she appeared in. Creighton had 55 kills, five aces, 54 digs and 11 blocks on .207 hitting.
Seton Hall was paced by 11 kills from Danielle Schroeder, while Tessa Fournier added a match-best 19 digs. The Pirates had 40 kills, five aces, 55 digs and eight blocks on .148 hitting.
Creighton returns to action on Sunday at 1 pm when it hosts Villanova. The Wildcats are 11-3 after opening league play with a 3-0 win over Georgetown on Friday night in Washington, D.C.
NOTES: Creighton improved to 16-2 all-time at home in BIG EAST Conference regular-season play while avenging a 3-0 Seton Hall win last November at D.J. Sokol Arena ... Jess Bird had her streak of 31 straight starts snapped when entered as a reserve in the second set ... Lauren Smith now owns 36 blocks in six career matches vs. Seton Hall, which spans 23 sets.
Scores of the match in favor of Creighton were 25-13, 14-25, 25-18, 25-22.
Creighton improves to 7-7 on the year and 1-0 in BIG EAST action, improving to 11-2 in conference openers under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. After winning 28 games last season, Seton Hall dropped to 6-7 on the year and is 0-1 in league play.
Melanie Jereb gave Creighton a huge lift in the opening set as the senior dealt three straight aces as part of an 7-0 run that moved the Bluejays in front, 21-10. Her three aces tied a career best. Creighton had 18 kills and 25 digs in the first set as Kenzie Crawford quarterbacked the Bluejay offense and added 12 assists and nine digs.
Seton Hall turned the tables on Creighton in the second set, evening the match with a 25-14 win. The Pirates had four blocks and never trailed, forcing CU into 11 attack errors in the second set. Kacey Richards and Amanda Hansen each had three kills for SHU.
Creighton took control of the match in the third set, a 25-18 triumph. Marysa Wilkinson made a rare appearance behind the service line and helped CU to an 11-5 lead. Jaali Winters would later serve up four straight points as CU took a 21-13 lead en route to victory.
Seton Hall led nearly all of the fourth set before a Bluejay rally overcame the visitors. The Pirates led 14-9 after a Sara Connell ace and CU turned to setter Maggie Baumert to lead the comeback. Connell delivered an ace on the next point to push the SHU lead to 15-9, but the rest of the match was all Creighton. Creighton would take advantage of three straight Pirate attack errors to take its first lead at 19-18. Marysa Wilkinson had her 10th kill of the evening to put CU in front 21-20 and Smith and Taryn Kloth closed on a block to give CU a two-point cushion. Smith and Kelsey O'Connell teamed on a stuff to make it 23-20 and the Jays reached match point on an ace by Amanda Foje. The Pirates withstood two match points before Smith ended the night with her 14th kill.
Smith, who was named BIG EAST Championship MVP last fall after a huge title match vs. Seton Hall, had 14 kills and eight blocks to lead CU to another four-set win over the Pirates. Winters had 13 kills and 11 digs for her third double-double, while Kloth had career-bests with 11 kills and five stuffs. Crawford had her team-high fourth double-double with 33 assists and a career-high 16 digs, while Baumert finished with seven assists in the 24 points she appeared in. Creighton had 55 kills, five aces, 54 digs and 11 blocks on .207 hitting.
Seton Hall was paced by 11 kills from Danielle Schroeder, while Tessa Fournier added a match-best 19 digs. The Pirates had 40 kills, five aces, 55 digs and eight blocks on .148 hitting.
Creighton returns to action on Sunday at 1 pm when it hosts Villanova. The Wildcats are 11-3 after opening league play with a 3-0 win over Georgetown on Friday night in Washington, D.C.
NOTES: Creighton improved to 16-2 all-time at home in BIG EAST Conference regular-season play while avenging a 3-0 Seton Hall win last November at D.J. Sokol Arena ... Jess Bird had her streak of 31 straight starts snapped when entered as a reserve in the second set ... Lauren Smith now owns 36 blocks in six career matches vs. Seton Hall, which spans 23 sets.
Team Stats
SHU
CU
Kills
40
55
Errors
21
26
Attempts
128
140
Hitting %
.148
.207
Points
53.0
71.0
Assists
38
50
Aces
5
5
Blocks
8.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballRS/OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballCreighton Volleyball Media Availability September 9
Tuesday, September 09
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. USC, 9/7/25
Sunday, September 07
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. UCSB - 9/6/25
Sunday, September 07
Creighton Volleyball Postgame Interview vs. UCSB - 9/6/25
Sunday, September 07
