Volleyball Heads East For Matches at Villanova and Georgetown

Download Notes as a PDF

This Weekend
Oct. 7   6 pm CT   Creighton at Villanova (BEDN)   Villanova, Pa. (Jake Nevin Field House)
Oct. 8   5 pm CT   Creighton at Georgetown   Washington, D.C. (McDonough Arena)

Next Match
Creighton's (10-6, 4-0 BIG EAST) looks to extend its four-match win streak this weekend on a road trip to the East Coast.
   The Bluejays meet Villanova (12-6, 3-2 BIG EAST) on Friday night at 6 pm at Jake Nevin Field House in Villanova, Pa.
   One night later, Creighton visits Georgetown (5-13, 1-4 BIG EAST) in a 5 pm match at McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C.

Radio/Video Broadcast Information
Friday's match at Villanova will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network, with DJ Sixsmith announcing. The match can be seen via a link at www.foxsportsgo.com.
   Saturday's contest at Georgetown will be video webcast on guhoyas.com/allaccess. A subscription must be purchased to watch it.
   Neither match will be available on radio in Omaha.

Live Stats Information
Both matches this week will have live stats, with links available on the volleyball schedule page at GoCreighton.com.

Scouting Creighton
Two-time defending BIG EAST Conference champion Creighton started the season ranked 18th but is currently 10-6 and among those getting votes after one of the nation's most difficult non-conference schedules. CU lost five-set matches to Wichita State, at USC and to No. 4 Kansas, but did earn victories over the likes of Iowa State, Northern Iowa, TCU and Gonzaga.
   The Bluejays are the lone remaining unbeaten team in BIG EAST action, having dropped just one set in four league matches.
   Purdue transfer Lydia Dimke (11.14 aps., 2.71 dps., 1.26 kps., .336%) was named to a pair of All-Tournament Teams, and has posted eight double-doubles in 16 starts.
   Middle blockers Marysa Wilkinson (2.50 kps., 0.98 bps., .322%) and Lauren Smith (2.03 kps., 0.83 bps., .321%) rank among the best in the BIG EAST at what they do, and have hit a combined .384 with 51 blocks in CU's last seven matches.
   Others to keep an eye are Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Jaali Winters (3.26 kps., 3.07 dps.) as well as two-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Megan Ballenger (1.85 kps., 1.91 dps., 0.37 saps., .263%), a fellow Ankeny, Iowa, native. Ballenger had six aces in a Sept. 25 win over DePaul, and ranks second in the BIG EAST in aces per set.
   Creighton was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST, the fourth straight year it's been the favorite in the league.
   Creighton averages 14.28 kills, 1.14 aces, 16.09 digs and 2.05 blocks per set while hitting .248 as a team.
   Last year Creighton went 27-9, winning BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles, before advancing to the program's first Sweet 16.

Scouting Villanova
Villanova is 12-6 this season, including a 3-2 BIG EAST mark. The Wildcats are coming off a 3-1 win at Marquette, but also own league losses to Georgetown and St. John's this fall.
   Allie Loitz leads VU with 3.86 kills per set on .259 hitting, and tops the BIG EAST with 0.44 aces per set. Claire Crutchfield (3.16 kps., .238%) and Amanda Pedersen-Henry (2.76 kps., .323%, .93 bps.) are also dynamic options.
   Two freshmen are also playing a major role for Villanova. Regan Lough (3.50 dps.) handles the libero spot, while setter Emma Decker (11.62 aps.) leads the BIG EAST in assists.
   Villanova averages 14.05 kills, 1.63 aces, 15.03 digs and 1.78 blocks per set on .252 hitting.

Scouting Georgetown
Georgetown is 5-13 on the season, and 1-4 in league play with a 3-0 victory at Villanova to its ledger.
   The Hoyas are led by a group of talented sophomores, including Alyssa Sinnette (3.52 kps.), Symone Speech (3.15 kps., 0.88 bps., .369%) and Liv King (2.67 kps.).
   Two other sophomores making an impact are setter Paige McKnight (10.05 aps., 2.64 dps.) and libero Kenzie Higareda (4.38 dps., 0.32 saps.).
   The Hoyas average 12.86 kills, 1.05 aces, 14.27 digs and 1.68 blocks per set on .186 hitting.

The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 272-152 record in her 14th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to back-to-back BIG EAST titles, and three league crowns in the last four years. Last year, she also led the Bluejays to their first Sweet 16 in program history after winning the Chapel Hill sub-Regional and was named 2015 BIG EAST Coach of the Year and 2015 AVCA East Region Coach of the Year.
   She was also 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 five NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also led the Jays into the top-25 each of the last five 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 is assisted by Ryan Meek, Angie Oxley Behrens and Micah Rhodes.
    Josh Steinbach (Penn State, 2002) is 160-132 in his 10th season at Villanova, making him the longest-tenured coach in program history. Last year he led VU to 25 wins and an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Before heading to Villanova, he had been an assistant at Wright State, Cincinnati, Penn State and San Diego Mesa CC. He is assisted by Amy Pauly and Jill Loairs.       Arlisa Williams (Wisconsin, 1993). owns a 112-177 mark in her 11 seasons at Georgetown, which also doubles as her career mark. She arrived at Georgetown after four seasons as an assistant at Florida and two seasons at American. She is assisted by Justin Wong and Louella Maxwell.

Series History vs. Villanova
Creighton is 6-1 all-time vs. Villanova, including a 2-1 mark at Jake Nevin Field House. 'Nova handed Creighton its only league loss last fall, winning 19-17 in the fifth set.
   Creighton exacted revenge four weeks later with a 3-0 sweep of the Wildcats in the title match of the 2015 BIG EAST Championship.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 6-1 all-time against Villanova and coach Josh Steinbach.

Series History vs. Georgetown
Creighton is 6-0 all-time against Georgetown, dropping just three sets in those contests.
   The teams closed the regular-season in Washington D.C. last year with a thriller. Georgetown took the first two sets (25-23, 28-26) before Creighton won the next two sets by two points each (30-28, 26-24), saving two match points in the process. CU won the match with a 15-7 victory in the fifth frame.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 6-0 against Georgetown and Arlisa Williams, while Williams is 0-6 all-time against Creighton.

Last Weekend Summary
Creighton became the first BIG EAST team to ever win back-to-back 3-0 road matches at Xavier at Butler with a pair of dominant road performances last weekend.
   Creighton hit .312 in the two wins, averaging 15.33 kills per set, and had seven aces against just four service errors on the weekend.
   Jaali Winters led CU with 4.83 kills per set on .300 hitting, Marysa Wilkinson averaged 1.67 blocks per set, and Lydia Dimke averaged 11.83 assists, 2.83 digs, 2.17 kills and 0.67 blocks per set on .579 hitting.

Fridays Are For The Jays
Creighton's been unbeatable in six Friday matches this season, winning all 18 sets it has played.
   Of those six wins, three are against 2015 NCAA Tournament teams (Northern Iowa, TCU, Marquette), with another opportunity looming on Friday at Villanova.
   In those six matches, Creighton has hit a robust .320 while holding foes to .166 hitting. Creighton averages 16.50 kills per set. On the six other days of the week this season, Creighton has hit .216 and averaged 13.27 kills per set while allowing opponents to hit .202.

Smith's Surge Towards 1,000 Kills
Lauren Smith enters this weekend with 998 career kills in 118 career matches, and has a very good chance at becoming the 11th player since the program's reinstatement to record 1,000 or more career kills.
   How likely is it? Consider that Smith has had two or more kills in each of her first 118 career matches in a Bluejay uniform.
   The last Bluejay to reach 1,000 career kills was Kelli Browning, who did so on Oct. 26, 2014 in a home match vs. DePaul.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Melissa Walsh   70   10/15/00   Eastern Illinois
Leah Ratzlaff   76   10/22/04   Missouri State
JoDe Cieloha   83   09/13/97   at Drake
Kelly Goc   87   11/24/06   vs. Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts   90   11/08/08   Illinois State
Leah McNary   96   09/12/14   Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik   99   11/15/08   at Evansville
Shelly Kapler   103   11/18/99   vs. Missouri St.
Allie Oelke   107   10/09/10   Wichita State
Kelli Browning   110   10/26/14   DePaul

Revenge Sought
Since the start of last season, Creighton is 23-1 against BIG EAST competition, with the lone loss coming last year at Villanova.
   In that contest, Creighton saved six match points before ultimately losing a 19-17 decision in the fifth set. The match featured 37 ties and 15 lead changes.
   Creighton won the rematch four weeks later with a 25-18, 25-18, 25-17 dismantling of the Wildcats in the BIG EAST Championship finals. VU never led by more than one point in the rematch.
   Creighton is one of 14 teams nationally with one or fewer losses against league teams since the start of last year, as seen below, through matches of October 2nd:
Team   League W-L
Arkansas State   23-0
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi   23-0
American   22-0
Colorado State   21-0
Hawaii   20-0
New Mexico State   20-0
Dayton   19-0
Creighton   23-1
Western Kentucky   22-1
Northern Arizona   22-1
Coastal Carolina   20-1
Texas   19-1
Howard   19-1
New Hampshire   15-1

Dangerous Trip
This weekend's trip to the East Coast will feature two teams that were the only clubs last season to host Creighton in a five-set match.
   As described above, Villanova handed Creighton its lone league loss on Oct. 30 with a five-set victory that ended with a 19-17 triumph in the fifth.
   CU's trip to Georgetown to close the regular-season on Nov. 20 was also a nail-biter. Creighton lost each of the first two sets before a 30-28 win in the third set to extend the match. CU then saved two set points in the fourth before emerging with a 26-24 triumph. CU controlled the fifth set, 15-7.

Wildcats Dangerous At Home
Villanova enters Friday's match with a 4-1 home record this season, with the lone loss coming on Sept. 24 in straight sets to DePaul.
   Last year Villanova was 12-0 at home with eight sweeps, dropping just six sets at home all season.
   The team to win the first set has won each of the last 18 matches at Jake Nevin Field House since Nov. 15, 2014.

Assists A'Plenty
Friday's Creighton/Villanova match-up features two women atop the BIG EAST statistical leaders in assists per set.
   Villanova's Emma Decker is seventh in the country with 11.62 assists per set, which also leads the BIG EAST.
   Creighton's Lydia Dimke is second in the BIG EAST and 16th nationally with 11.14 assists per set. Should she maintain that mark, it'd be the best in school history since the shift to 25-point sets prior to the 2008 season.
   Each of Creighton's last 10 matches have been won by the team with more assists, and Creighton has not lost to a BIG EAST team when owning more assists since Nov. 16, 2013 at Seton Hall. Creighton leads the BIG EAST with 13.05 assists per set this season, with Villanova just behind at 12.98 per set.

Bravo, Bohnet
Saturday's mark at Georgetown will mark the return to McDonough Arena for Creighton's Samantha Bohnet.
   Bohnet entered last year's trip to Georgetown with seven assists and zero digs while playing sparingly in five previous career matches.
   Given her first career start, Bohnet was up to the task. She had 41 assists and 13 digs while also authoring her only career ace.

Booth On The Road
Kirsten Bernthal Booth owns 98 career true road wins in her 14 seasons at Creighton, and with a pair of wins this weekend can reach the century mark on Saturday.
   Booth's teams are currently 98-70 in true road matches, including a 79-39 mark in league contests. Booth is 23-5 in BIG EAST road matches all-time.

Smith Named Player of the Week
Senior Lauren Smith was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Sept. 26. It was Smith's first BIG EAST Player of the Week honor in 2016, and second of her career (Oct. 5, 2015).
   A Lincoln, Neb., native, Smith hit .553 while averaging 3.64 points, 3.29 kills and 0.57 blocks per set in a pair of victories.
    The preseason All-BIG EAST selection started her week with 10 kills in 17 swings, hitting a season-best .588 in a sweep of a Marquette team that was just outside the top-25. She then had a season-high 13 kills on .524 hitting, adding four blocks in a 3-1 win over DePaul.

Let's Get It Started
Creighton is seeking its third straight start of 5-0 or better in league play when it heads to Villanova on Friday. Last year's team started 11-0 before a five-set loss at Villanova.
   Below is a list of Creighton's best starts in conference play all-time:
Start   League   Year   Final W-L   Final Place
11-0   BIG EAST   2015   17-1   1st
6-0   MVC   2007   14-4   T-2nd
5-0   MVC   2006   12-6   4th
5-0   MVC   2011   12-6   4th
5-0   BIG EAST   2014   16-2   1st

On A Roll
Creighton won its last six regular-season BIG EAST matches in 2015 and has extended that streak to 10 straight with four wins this fall.
   This ties for the fourth-longest league win streak of regular-season matches in program history. With two more victories this weekend, a 12-match win streak would rank tied for second-best in program history. The record is 14 set during the 2012 season that was Creighton's final season as a Missouri Valley Conference member.
   Nationally, only 13 teams have active steaks of 12 or more straight victories against conference foes (including league tournament play), a streak led by Dayton (29).

Not Middling Around
Creighton middle blockers Lauren Smith and Marysa Wilkinson have been on an absolute terror over the past seven matches, which coincides with a visit to their hometown of Lincoln, Neb., for the Ameritas Players Challenge.
   Smith owns 2.65 kills per set and a .385 hitting percentage in that time, while also adding 0.70 blocks per set.
   Wilkinson leads CU with 1.52 blocks per set in that time, while also averaging 2.57 kills per set on .382 hitting.
   Creighton is 6-1 in this stretch, with the lone loss being a four-set match at No. 1 Nebraska.

Pack Your Bags
This weekend continues a month-long stretch that will see Creighton play eight of 10 matches on the road.
   Creighton heads to the East Coast this weekend for matches against Villanova and Georgetown before hosting its lone matches of October vs. St. John's and Seton Hall. CU then returns to the road to play at DePaul, Marquette, Seton Hall and St. John's, consecutively.
   All six of Creighton's matches in league play in November will be at home.

Turning It Up
Saturday's win at Butler marked Creighton's first of nine contests this fall in the calendar's 10th month of October.
   Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton has been a solid 39-21 in September, only to take it up a notch in October. CU is 31-4 in October in that same span, and an identical 31-4 in the month of November.
   Creighton has won 19 straight home matches in the month of October dating to a Oct. 15, 2011 loss to No. 12 Northern Iowa.

Aced That Test
Megan Ballenger went back to serve 28 times on Sept. 25 vs. DePaul, with Creighton winning an astounding 21 of those points.
   Ballenger served up six aces in the match -- tied for sixth in CU history for a single match -- and did not have a service error.
   She's one of three players in CU history with six or more aces in a match, joining Kelli Koochi (7 aces at Indiana State on 10/19/01) and JoDe Cieloha (6 aces vs. Northeastern Illinois on 9/23/95).
   Ballenger's six aces were two shy of Carolyn Decker's single-match record that was set in 2004, and the most by a Bluejay since Michelle Sicner had seven aces vs. McNeese State on Sept. 17, 2011.

Ace Of Jays
Creighton has just eight service errors total in its last three matches (249 serve attempts), and no one's played a bigger role in that than Taryn Kloth.
   Kloth has served 103 times over the past eight matches. In that time, she has four aces and zero serving errors. Kloth has served 108 straight serves kept in play dating to a service error in the first set on Sept. 10 vs. Chattanooga.
   For the season, Kloth has eight service aces and just three serving errors in 193 attempts.

Service With A Smile
Creighton served up a season-high 12 aces against DePaul on Sept. 26 and countered that with a season-low four serving errors.
   The serving excellence continued last weekend when CU had seven aces and just four errors in wins at Xavier and Butler.
   All told, CU has 19 aces and just eight errors in its last three matches over the span of 249 serving attempts. Two freshmen -- Megan Ballenger and Brittany Witt -- have combined for 13 aces and two miscues in 90 serves since then.
   The +8 ace/error differential against DePaul ranks tied for fifth-greatest since the program's 1994 restart, and was the best since a +10 (12 aces, 2 errors) disparity at DePaul on Oct. 3, 2014.
Diff.   Aces   Errors   Opponent   Date
+11   15   4   vs. NE Illinois   9/23/95
+10   12   2   at DePaul   10/3/14
+9   12   3   at Evansville   10/7/94
+9   15   6   UMKC   11/12/95
+8   13   5   at New Mexico   9/4/04
+8   12   4   DePaul   9/25/16

Dueling Aces
Creighton had 12 aces on Sept. 25 vs. DePaul, while also surrendering 10 aces to the Blue Demons.
   The 22 combined aces were the most in a Creighton match since Nov. 15, 2002, when Drake had 17 and Creighton had five. That match was the second-to-last before Kirsten Bernthal Booth took over.
   The match vs. DePaul also marked the first time since Nov. 4, 2000 that both teams had 10 or more aces in the same match. Creighton and Evansville both had 10 service winners in that 2000 contest.

Let's Compare
Let's take a look at how Creighton's start in 2016 compares to how its three league champions (2012, 2014, 2015) fared after 16 matches:
Stat   2016   2015   2014   2012
W-L Thru 16   10-6   9-7   10-6   13-3
Final W-L   ? ? ?   27-9   23-9   29-4
Postseason   ? ? ?   NCAA   NCAA   NCAA
First NCAA RPI   29   20   41   26
Kills/Set   14.28   13.13   14.45   13.47
Hitting %   .248   .233   .238   .257
Aces/Set   1.14   1.23   0.93   1.27
Digs/Set   16.09   15.35   16.25   16.47
Blocks/Set   2.05   2.28   2.41   3.08

Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a .500 record or better against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
   The Bluejays enter this weekend with 54 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, nine more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   6-1   -   6-1
DePaul   7-0   -   7-0
Georgetown   6-0   -   6-0
Marquette   6-1   1-1   7-2
Providence   4-0   -   4-0
Seton Hall   3-3   1-0   4-3
St. John's   5-1   -   5-1
Villanova   5-1   1-0   6-1
Xavier   7-0   2-0   9-0
Total   49-7   5-1   54-8

League Opener Histories
Creighton's Sept. 23 win over Marquette improved the Bluejays to 15-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 12-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 3-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, with three straight wins.
   Each of the previous three times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015), the Bluejays went on to win both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, going a combined 50-4 in regular-season league action (and 6-0 in league tournament action) during those years.
   In the 14 seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and including 2016, it owns a combined .703 (180-76) winning percentage in league matches.
    In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Jays have had a losing record five times and it owns a combined .363 (53-93)winning percentage during league contests.
   In conference home openers, Creighton improved to 18-5 overall and 12-2 under Booth, with six straight wins.
   In league road openers, Creighton is 14-9 overall and 11-3 under Booth, with three straight wins, including last Friday's win at Xavier.

Wilkinson's Huge Night
Marysa Wilkinson hit .786 on Sept. 16th in Creighton's win over Montana State, finishing with 12 kills and one error in 14 swings. She added a career-high eight blocks in the sweep.
   The .786 hitting percentage is second-best in program history by a Bluejay with at least 12 kills, trailing only Lauren Smith's .857 (12-0-14) against Providence in 2014.
   Wilkinson was on pace to hit a school-record .923 before her final swing of the match landed inches wide.
Best Attack Percentage (Min. 12 kills)
   .857   Lauren Smith (12-0-14) vs. Providence   10-19-14
   .786   Marysa Wilkinson (12-1-14) vs. Montana St.   09-16-16
   .750   Katy Grady (12-0-16) vs. Auburn   8-30-03
   .750   Abby Baumann (12-0-16) at San Diego St.   9-3-05
   .737   Lauren Bloemke (14-0-19) vs. Evansville   11-4-07
   .733   Lauren Smith (12-1-15) vs. Villanova   11-24-13
   .722   Lauren Smith (14-1-18) vs. DePaul   10-9-15
   .714   Amanda Cvejdlik (15-0-21) vs. Drake   10-3-08
   .684   Kelli Browning (14-1-19) vs. So. Illinois   10-27-12

Challenging Schedules So Far
The NCAA website tracks the nation's toughest schedules played through Sunday, Oct. 2nd.
   Creighton's opponents were 154-77, and that .667 winning percentage makes it the seventh-toughest nationally.
   Last year Creighton faced the nation's eighth-toughest schedule per the NCAA, with foes going 466-260 (.642) overall.

Ballenger Repeats BIG EAST Honor
Megan Ballenger was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on both Sept. 12th & 19th. Ballenger, a redshirt freshman from Ankeny, Iowa, averaged 3.30 points, 2.50 kills, 1.30 digs, 0.80 blocks and 0.40 aces per set while helping Creighton to a 2-1 record at the Ameritas Players Challenge.
   Ballenger had kills on her first seven swings of a 3-0 sweep over once-beaten Gonzaga, finishing with 13 kills, five digs, four assists, two blocks and a career-high three aces. She also hit a dominating .579 in the match.
   Ballenger contributed six kills, four blocks and three digs on .357 hitting in CU's 3-0 blanking of Montana State in CU's second match that day.
   She closed the weekend with six kills, five digs, two blocks and an ace at No. 1 Nebraska. Ballenger served during a 3-0 run as Creighton rallied from a 21-18 deficit late in the first set of an eventual 25-23 Bluejay victory that snapped NU's 24-set win streak.

Ankeny - Home of the BIG EAST's Best Frosh
Creighton's Jaali Winters and Megan Ballenger were teammates in high school for a bit, and have reunited to win big at the college ranks.
   Combined, the duo from Ankeny, Iowa, have won eight of the last 17 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors. Winters won six times in the final 11 weeks of 2015, while Ballenger has won two of six awards this fall.

Home Sweet Home
Creighton went 9-0 at home last season in BIG EAST play, the second time (joining 2012) in the last four years it was unbeaten at home in league play.
   Creighton is 57-7 (.891) in regular-season conference home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena all-time, including a 26-2 mark against BIG EAST competition. St. John's (in 2013) and Seton Hall (in 2014) own the only victories against CU.
   The Bluejays have had a winning record in conference home matches each of the previous 10 seasons. That streak that dates back to its days at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, a site that is currently being torn down.

103, 104, 105...
Lauren Smith has made 105 straight starts, a streak that started Oct. 5, 2013 in a match at Xavier that also doubled as Creighton's first BIG EAST win in program history.
   The streak of 105 straight starts is the third-longest in program history, trailing only Megan Bober (128) and Korie Lebeda (119). Of that group, Bober and Lebeda were both setters.
   Smith ranks fifth in program history with 117 career starts overall, and would pass Bober's record for career starts (also 128) on Nov. 12 vs. Providence if she remains a starter until then.

Select Company
Creighton is one of just 11 schools nationally who have won 23 games or more in each of the previous four seasons. That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Idaho State, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Western Kentucky.
   Creighton is also one of 23 teams to have appeared in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. That group features Arizona State, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and Washington.
   Throw in four straight NCAA Tournament bids to that group of teams with four straight 23-win seasons and the group narrows to nine teams: That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas and Washington.

Milestone Watch
Several Bluejays are nearing some milestones that are within reach.
   Lauren Smith owns 998 career kills and 490 career blocks. She could become the 11th Bluejay with 1,000 career kills, and also could be the third player to reach 500 career blocks.
   Jess Bird owns 925 career kills and, like Smith, is also attempting to become CU's 11th player to reach 1,000 career kills.

Kloth With The Most
Taryn Kloth has been on a mission since seeing regular playing time on the left side in the last 12 matches.
   In that time, she's had matches of 23 (USC), 15 (No. 4 Kansas), 17 (Chattanooga) and 14 (No. 25 Kansas State) kills. The average of 11.75 kills per match is especially impressive since she entered this stretch with a career-high of 16 kills in the first 34 matches of her career.
   Creighton is 25-5 all-time when Kloth hits .182 or better, 17-2 when she starts, and 27-8 when she has five or more kills in a match.

RPI On The Move
Creighton owned an RPI of 29 when the NCAA released the first official figures on Monday.
   CU had an RPI of 20 on October 5th in the first official release a year ago before finishing the season with a school-record year-end RPI of 14.
   The Bluejay program has finished with a top-35 RPI in each of the previous four seasons.

Ballenger Wins Weekly BIG EAST Award
Megan Ballenger was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Sept. 12th after averaging 1.73 kills, 2.55 digs, 0.45 blocks and 0.27 aces as Creighton went 2-1 at the Bluejay Invitational.
   Ballenger's week opened with a career-high 16 digs in a narrow five-set loss to No. 4 Kansas. She added a team-high two aces, and also finished with eight kills in 29 swings.
   In a sweep of a TCU team that was receiving votes in the AVCA poll, Ballenger hit .333 and finished with five kills, eight digs and two blocks.
   She closed out her weekend with six kills, four digs, two blocks and an ace on .600 hitting in a 3-0 sweep of defending Southern Conference champion Chattanooga.

Career Highs Shattered
Creighton had numerous career-highs shattered by its veterans in its Sept. 3 match at USC.
   Taryn Kloth had 23 kills for CU, seven more than her previous best. Kloth's 54 attack attempts and seven digs were also career-highs.
   Lydia Dimke had 63 assists, far surpassing her previous high of 41 in the season-opener vs. Wichita State.
   Jaali Winters dug 22 balls, two more than her previous high set last Dec. 5 at No. 23 North Carolina.
   Marysa Wilkinson finished with 16 kills, two more than her high of 14, done twice previously.

Nothing But Time
Creighton has played in 123 matches to last two or more hours until Kirsten Bernthal Booth, but none have been longer than the 2:42 it took to complete its Sept. 3 match at USC. The previous longest contest under Booth was a match vs. Iowa played in St. Louis that took 2:39 to play on Sept. 4, 2010.
   That game was the longest length of a match since Nov. 4, 2000, when CU won at Evansville in a match that took 2:45. Scores of that Bluejay win, played under the old side-out scoring system, were 12-15, 15-13, 15-9, 10-15, 16-14. Creighton radio analyst Erin Swanson Russell started that match and finished with five kills and five digs.
   Booth is 67-57 in matches to crack to the two-hour mark.
   The match vs. USC was the third-longest in school history. In addition to the Nov. 4, 2000 match at Evansville, CU also played a match lasting 2:45 at Indiana State on Oct. 14, 2000.

Double-Digit Witt
Brittany Witt had 10 or more digs in each of her first six matches, including a high of 24 vs. No. 4 Kansas on Sept. 8.
   Only two players in Creighton history have had a longer streak to open their career, a chart headed by CU's previous libero, Kate Elman (32 straight). Witt's streak of six tied Julianne Mandolfo for third place. Both Elman and Mandolfo, like Witt, attended Marian High School in Omaha.
Consecutive Matches With 10+ Digs To Start Career
   Consec. Matches       Name   Year
32   Kate Elman   2012
27   Bianca Rivera   2007
6   Julianne Mandolfo   2010
6   Brittany Witt   2016
3   Brittany Coleman   2003

Witt Races To 100 Digs
Brittany Witt tied the school record for fewest matches needed to reach 100 career digs, matching Bianca Rivera's six contests during the 2007 season to reach that milestone.
   Witt now owns a team-high 241 digs through 16 matches, and passed 200 career digs in her 13th career match.
   Rivera owns the school record for fewest matches to 200 (11 matches), 300 (15), 400 (20), 500 (25), 600 (31), 700 (38), 800 (43), 900 (49), 1,000 (53) and 1,100 (58) career digs.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   6   09/02/07   Cal Poly
Brittany Witt   6   09/08/16   #4 Kansas
Nayka Benitez   8   09/12/09   Connecticut
Melissa Weisensee   10   09/30/94   Missouri State
Kailey Reyes   10   09/27/98   at Western Illinois
Brittany Coleman   10   09/19/03   Southern Illinois
Julianne Mandolfo   10   09/11/10   vs. Central Michigan

Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   11   09/15/07   vs. Charlotte
Nayka Benitez   13   09/25/09   at Indiana State
Kate Elman   13   09/22/13   Drake
Brittany Witt   13   09/23/16   Marquette
Julianne Mandolfo   15   10/01/10   at Illinois State

Coaching Them Up
Lydia Dimke is Creighton's fifth different starting setter on Opening Day in as many years.
   Megan Bober was CU's Opening Day setter in 2012 vs. UCF before Michelle Sicner took over in the 2013 lid-lifter vs. BYU. In 2014 Maggie Baumert started the opener at setter against Lipscomb, while Kenzie Crawford got the call last fall versus Miami (Ohio).
   Bober owns the distinction of being Creighton's last setter to start consecutive season-openers, having done so all four years from 2009-12.
   The revolving door at setter hasn't hurt the team in that time, as each of the previous four seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and three of them saw Creighton win conference titles. Creighton has also won all four of those season-opening matches.

Rally Time
Creighton and USC embarked on one of the longest volleyball rallies in recent memory late in the fourth set on Sept. 3rd.
   The rally, which came with CU leading 23-16 in the fourth set, lasted 68 seconds and featured 53 different contacts as the ball crossed the net 16 times in all.
   All 12 women on the court touched the ball at least once, and 11 of the 12 women had multiple touches. Creighton's Lydia Dimke touched the ball 10 different times before the rally ended with a Bluejay attack error.
   The complete rally can be viewed in its entirety at http://tinyurl.com/CU-USC-rally.

Automatic Bid x 2
Creighton is one of 11 schools nationally to earn an automatic bid into both the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Tournaments. That grouping includes New Hampshire, Dayton, Texas, Creighton, Coastal Carolina, Western Kentucky, Colorado State, American, Denver and BYU.
   Of those teams, the only six schools to win a conference tournament in consecutive campaigns have been American, Coastal Carolina, Creighton, Dayton, Denver and New Hampshire.

Back-To-Back BIG EAST Tourney Champs
Creighton won its second straight BIG EAST Championship title in 2015, becoming the league's first back-to-back tourney champ since Louisville won three straight titles from 2008-10.
   Creighton joined Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville as the only four schools to ever win back-to-back BIG EAST Championships in volleyball.

The Gauntlet
Creighton's non-conference schedule ranks among the toughest in the nation once again. CU's first seven opponents all reached the NCAA Tournament, and the slate featured a pair of Final Four teams and the reigning national champion.
   All but one (Montana State) of CU's non-conference foes owned a top-90 RPI last season, and nine of the 12 played in the NCAA's.
   Creighton has three non-conference matches against top-10 competition (preseason No. 1 Nebraska, No. 5 Kansas, No. 7 USC), tying it for second-most nationally, and also plays No. 24 Kentucky, as well as vote-getters Wichita State, Iowa State and TCU. Maryland plays four such teams, while Creighton, North Carolina and Texas A&M meet three top-10 teams each prior to league action.
   Creighton is 5-66 all-time against top-25 foes.
   Since the start of the 2012 season, 20 of Creighton's 37 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 111-17 against unranked teams.

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Creighton's 2015 club beat 11 teams that appeared in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
   The schedule figures to be just as daunting in 2016, as CU plays 13 matches against 2015 NCAA Tournament qualifiers.
   After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 56-83 since, including a 4-6 mark this fall.
Year   W-L vs. Previous Season NCAA Teams
1994   0-4
1995   0-2
1996   0-2
1997   0-3
1998   0-5
1999   2-4
2000   0-4
2001   1-6
2002   0-5
2003   0-3
2004   2-2
2005   0-6
2006   4-6
2007   4-9
2008   6-8
2009   1-11
2010   4-7
2011   2-6
2012   8-3
2013   6-6
2014   4-5
2015   11-5
2016   4-6
TOTAL   59-118
TOTAL Under Booth   56-83

Marian Pipeline
This is the 14th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as Kelsey O'Connell returns and is joined by freshman Brittany Witt.
   Each of the previous five years, Creighton's year-end leader in both digs and aces has been a player that attended Marian.
   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.
2003: Emily Greisch 2004: Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2004: Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2005: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2006: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2007: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2008: Emily Crowley, Korie Lebeda
2009: Lisa Greisch
2010: Lisa Greisch, Julianne Mandolfo
2011: Julianne Mandolfo
2012: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2013: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2014: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2015: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen, Kelsey O'Connell
2016: Kelsey O'Connell, Brittany Witt

The Reviews Are In
Creighton's Aug. 28 match vs. Iowa State was Creighton's first it has played using the Challenge Review System, NCAA Volleyball's new instant replay program.
   Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth challenged just one call, an in/out call in the second set with CU trailing 17-12.
   Though the replay review confirmed the original line judge call to put Creighton in an 18-12 deficit, CU would rally to score 13 of the next 17 points to win the second set, and eventually claim a four-set victory.
   For the season, Booth is 2-10 in challenges (0-3 in/out, 0-0 foot fault, 2-5 ball contacting a player, 0-2 net fault).
   Marquette and Creighton are the only BIG EAST schools that use the replay system in their home matches.

All-Tourney Duo in Ames
Creighton had two women named to the All-Tournament Team at the season-opening Iowa State Challenge, Jaali Winters and Lydia Dimke. Winters and Dimke had double-doubles in both matches.
   Winters averaged 3.78 kills and 2.78 digs per set in two matches, while Dimke averaged 8.11 assists, 3.78 digs and 1.11 kills per set.
   No individual tournament MVP was awarded, and with all three teams finishing 1-1 no team champion was declared either.

Dimke's Rare 40/20
Purdue transfer Lydia Dimke opened her Creighton career with 41 assists and 20 digs against Wichita State on Aug. 27th.
   Not only did that make Dimke the sixth player in program history with a double-double in her debut, but it also made her the sixth player in program history with at least 20 assists and 20 digs in the same match.
   Dimke was the first player with a 20 assist/20 dig contest since Michelle Sicner (44A, 21D) on Nov. 29, 2013.
   There have been 20 overall 20/20 performances in CU history, including seven each by Melissa Weisensee (1994-97) and Kailey Reyes (1998-2001).
   Dimke became the second player in CU's modern history (since 1994) with a double-double in each of her first two career matches, joining Brittany Coleman in 2003. Coleman had three straight double-doubles to open her career.

Season-Opening No. 18 Was A Program Best
Creighton started the season ranked No. 18 in the AVCA Coaches poll. It was the highest ranking in program history for any week, one spot better than the No. 19 spot it attained twice, including the final poll of 2015.
   Being ranked in the preseason poll is no guarantee of future success, however. In the last eight seasons, only 144-of-200 teams (72 percent) would be in both the preseason and postseason AVCA Top 25 polls.
   In that same time frame, all but 19 teams named in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament (90.5 percent).
   Creighton dropped four spots to No. 22 in the Aug. 29 AVCA poll, before falling out of the poll on Sept. 5.

Offensive Production Returns
Creighton ranked among the nation's most potent offensive teams last year. The Bluejays ranked third in the nation in kills, and return 94.7 percent of those terminations.
   Creighton also finished second nationally in assists in 2015, fifth in attack attempts and sixth in digs.
   In all, Creighton returns 11-of-16 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters. Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Kills   1779 (94.7%)   99 (5.3%)
Points   2122.0 (90.2%)   231.5 (9.8%)
Blocks   275 (85.8%)   45.5 (14.2%)
Matches Started   132 (73.3%)   48 (26.7%)
Digs   992 (44.7%)   1229 (55.3%)
Aces   68 (43.9%)   87 (56.1%)
Assists   548 (30.9%)   1226 (69.1%)

Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won eight matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point. Three of those comeback wins have come against Wichita State.
   On the other hand, Creighton is 272-2 under Booth when it reaches a match point opportunity, falling only when it wasted two match points on Sept. 4, 2010 to Iowa and two other match points on Nov. 1, 2013 in a 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
09/20/15   Kansas State   23-24 (4th set)   15-13
11/20/15   at Georgetown   23-24, 26-27 (4th set)   15-7

2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 232-9 (.963) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 175-3 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU's streak of 94 straight wins when up 2-0, dating to September of 2009, was snapped in the Aug. 27 season-opener vs. Wichita State.
   Conversely, the Jays are 12-187 (.060) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, but did have three comeback victories in 2015. CU also rallied from down 0-2 at Butler on Nov. 8, 2014.
   Those 12 comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below.
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
09/20/15   Kansas State   25-23, 26-24, 15-13   Booth
10/09/15   DePaul   25-21, 25-12, 15-11   Booth
11/20/15   at Georgetown   30-28, 26-24, 15-7   Booth

Set 1 Result = Match Result
Creighton is 226-28 (.890) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 46-124 (.271) under Booth when it drops the first set.
   Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 62-1 in its last 63 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only on Sept. 12, 2015 to Pacific.
   In 2014 Creighton was 20-2 when winning the first set and 5-7 when dropping the opener. Last year's team was 21-2 when winning the first set but 6-7 when it fell behind after the first set.
   This year's team is 9-4 when winning the first set, but 1-2 when losing the first set.

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
For the fourth straight season, Creighton was 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, Villanova and Butler rounded out the top half of the poll.
   Creighton also had three women named to the 12 member on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as Jess Bird, Lauren Smith and Jaali Winters were all honored. Winters was 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 11 of the past 13 years, including six 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   1st   - -
2016   1st   ???   ???

Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 44-26 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including an 0-3 mark this year and a 15-7 home record under Booth 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 eight of its last 11 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, wins in 2014 at Butler and at St. John's, and a win last year at Georgetown in 2015.
   It's also worth noting that Creighton is 9-3 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
   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   5-2   27-9
2016   0-3   10-6
Total   59-54   365-304

Last Year Summary
Last year's Creighton team finished 27-9 and won the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles. Creighton earned the No. 16 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, where it defeated Coastal Carolina and No. 23 North Carolina, to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time. The Bluejays ended the year with a No. 14 RPI and a No. 19 spot in the final AVCA poll.
   Maggie Baumert, Lauren Smith and Jaali Winters were named First Team All-BIG EAST, with Winters also being named a Third-Team All-American by the AVCA, AVCA East Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Jess Bird 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, and also topped the club in aces.

2015 Season Highlights
The 2015 season was one full of highlights for Creighton. Consider the following...
-Creighton won a pair of NCAA Tournament matches for the first time in any year, advancing to its first Sweet 16.
-Creighton defeated No. 23 North Carolina to win the Chapel Hill sub-Regional, its first true road victory over a ranked team in 32 tries.
-Creighton owned an NCAA RPI of 14 in the year-end official rankings.
-Creighton was voted 19th in the final AVCA coaches poll, matching the program's best weekly ranking ever (at the time). It was also the fourth straight season (at the time) CU has been ranked in the top-25 during at least one week.
-Creighton won the BIG EAST Conference, the nation's seventh-best league, by three full games in the standings.
-Creighton won the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship for the second straight year, beating a pair of eventual NCAA Tournament teams in the process.
-Creighton won 22 of its last 24 matches, and was 26-5 after starting the season 1-4.
-Creighton ranked tied for 15th nationally in victories and 20th in road victories last season.
-Creighton was the nation's only team to play five top-11 teams in pre-conference play. No one else played more than three. Creighton's non-conference schedule was ranked as the nation's third-toughest.
-Creighton swept the nation's No. 10 team, Kentucky, on Sept. 5 on a neutral floor.
-Creighton owned eight top-50 RPI wins last season, which was tied for 10th in the nation.
-Creighton owned 11 wins in 2015 against teams that made the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
-Creighton was honored with the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year, while Jaali Winters was a unanimous pick as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.
-Kirsten Bernthal Booth was named East Region Coach of the Year, while Jaali Winters was named AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year.

Volleyball Heads East For Matches at Villanova and Georgetown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Maggie Baumert

Jess Bird

Samantha Bohnet

Kenzie Crawford

Lydia Dimke

Kate Elman

Ashley Jansen

Taryn Kloth

Kelsey O'Connell

Lauren Smith

Marysa Wilkinson

Jaali Winters

Brittany Witt