#21 Creighton Volleyball Heads to BIG EAST Championship Seeking Third Straight Title

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This Week - 2016 BIG EAST Championship
Nov. 25   11:30 am CST    Seton Hall vs. #21 Creighton (BEDN)   Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse)
Nov. 25   2:00 pm CST    Xavier vs. Marquette (BEDN)   Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse)
Nov. 26   1:30 pm CST     Semifinal Winners (FS2)   Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse)

Up Next
Top-seeded and 21st-ranked Creighton Volleyball (24-6, 18-0 BIG EAST) enters the postseason with a trip to Indianapolis, Ind., for the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship, presented by Jeep.
   Creighton opens play on Friday at 11:30 a.m. when it takes on fourth-seeded Seton Hall (16-15, 10-8 BIG EAST)
   With a win, the Bluejays would meet either second-seeded Marquette (23-7, 13-5 BIG EAST) or third-seeded Xavier (19-12, 13-5 BIG EAST) in Saturday's 1:30 pm Central final.
   Hinkle Fieldhouse will host the action.

Radio/Video Broadcast Information
Creighton's match(es) will not be on radio, but will still be available.
   Friday's semifinal airs on the BIG EAST Digital Network, which can be accessed at FOXSportsGo.com or on the FOX Sports Go app. Will Haskett and Sara Marshall will announce, with Matt Schumacker and Megan O'Brien serving as sideline reporters.
   Saturday's final will be televised by FS2, and streamed on FOXSportsGo.com and the FOX Sports Go app. Bob Brainerd and Michelle-Griffin-Wenzel will announce.

Live Stats Information
Both matches this week will have live stats, with links at http://creighton.statbroadcast.com.

Scouting Creighton
Creighton is currently 24-6 overall, dropping just five sets while finishing off the only 18-0 mark in league history.
   Creighton's 18-match win streak is a school-record and has helped the Bluejays move up in the national rankings to No. 21 this week.
   Junior setter and BIG EAST Player of the Year Lydia Dimke (11.38 aps., 2.76 dps., 1.25 kps., .331%) has posted 15 double-doubles in 30 starts.
   Middle blockers Marysa Wilkinson (2.45 kps., 0.95 bps., .337%) and Lauren Smith (2.17 kps., 0.93 bps., .334%) rank among the best in the BIG EAST at what they do, and have hit a combined .365 with 142 blocks in CU's last 21 matches. Both women were named second-team all-conference.
   Others to keep an eye are First Team All-BIG EAST outside hitters Jaali Winters (3.41 kps., 2.83 dps.) and Taryn Kloth (3.33 kps., .307%). Megan Ballenger (1.75 kps., .280%, 0.42 saps.) is a three-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and leads the league in aces and aces per set.
   Creighton averages 14.75 kills, 1.40 aces, 16.07 digs and 2.22 blocks per set while hitting .279 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 Seton Hall
Seton Hall won five of its last six matches to earn a spot in the BIG EAST Championship, finishing league play 10-8. The Pirates are 16-15 on the season, including a 2-3 neutral site mark.
   Three-time BIG EAST Libero of the Year Tessa Fournier averages 5.03 digs per set and is seocnd on the club with 25 service aces.
   Sophia Coffey (7.47 aps.) and Maggie Cvelbar (4.25 aps.) handle setting chores, with attackers Abby Thelen (3.03 kps.), Danielle Schroeder (2.92 kps., .273%, 0.31 saps.) and Cherise Hennigan (2.62 kps.) being the main beneficiaries. Dominique Mason (2.88 kps., .273%) has also played well down the stretch.
   Seton Hall hits .227 and averages 13.22 kills, 1.07 aces, 14.47 digs and 1.85 blocks per set.

The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 286-152 record in her 14th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to back-to-back-to-back BIG EAST titles, and four league crowns in the last five 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.
   Allison Yaeger (Wright State, 2003) owns an 92-64 mark in her fifth year at Seton Hall. In 2014 she led the Pirates to their best season since 1994 as SHU went 28-8 and reached the NCAA's, earning her BIG EAST Coach of the Year laurels in the process. She is assisted by Allie Matters.

Series History vs. Seton Hall
Creighton is 6-3 all-time against Seton Hall, including a pair of decisive sweeps this season. The only previous BIG EAST Championship meeting came in Milwaukee in 2014, when Creighton won the title in four sets.
   The Pirates are the only BIG EAST team to beat Creighton multiple times since the start of the 2014 season, with CU going 5-2 against the Pirates and 50-1 against everyone else.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 6-3 all-time against Seton Hall and coach Allison Yaeger. Booth is 5-1 all-time in BIG EAST Championship action.

Last Weekend Summary
Creighton completed the first 18-0 season in BIG EAST history with home wins over Georgetown (3-0) and Villanova (3-2). Jaali Winters (34) and Taryn Kloth (32) combined for 66 kills in the wins, with both women hitting over .300.

BIG EAST Tourney History
Creighton is 5-1 all-time in the BIG EAST Volleyball championship, including two titles (2014, 2015). The .833 winning percentage is easily the best in league history, far above the .604 mark by Georgetown that stands second.
   The Bluejays are 3-0 in the semifinal round -- beating Xavier twice and Marquette once -- and are 2-1 in the finals.
   Creighton lost to Marquette in Omaha in 2013 before topping Seton Hall in Milwaukee in 2014 in the final. Last year Creighton swept Villanova.

As The Top Seed
Creighton will be the No. 1 seed at a conference tournament for the fourth time in program history. Each of the previous three times it has been the No. 1 seed, the Bluejays went on to win the title with two straight wins.
   In 2012, Creighton was the top seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Springfield, Mo., and beat Illinois State and Wichita State.
   In 2014, Creighton was the top seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and beat Xavier and Seton Hall in Milwaukee, Wis.
   Last season Creighton hosted the tournament and defeated Marquette and Villanova en route to hoisting the trophy.

Filling The Trophy Case
Creighton has played in 10 BIG EAST Tournament championship games, but only the volleyball program has won a title.
   The baseball team is 0-3, the men's soccer team is 0-2, the men's basketball team 0-1, the women's basketball team is 0-1, while the volleyball team is 2-1 to date.
   Creighton joined the BIG EAST Conference on July 1, 2013.

Back-To-Back-To-Back?
Creighton is seeking a third straight BIG EAST Championship title. If they can accomplish that feat, it'll be the first to do so since Louisville won three straight titles from 2008-10.
   Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville are the only three schools to ever win back-to-back-to-back BIG EAST Championships in volleyball.

Returning All-Tourney Picks
The Creighton duo of Marysa Wilkinson and Lauren Smith (MVP) are the only All-Tournament Team picks from the 2014 BIG EAST Championship that will be in action this weekend in Indianapolis.
   Smith also represented CU on the All-Tournament Team at the 2013 BIG EAST Championship
   From last year's event, Creighton's Jess Bird (MVP) returns, as does Marquette's Taylor Louis and Xavier's Abbey Bessler.
   No player has been named MVP of consecutive BIG EAST Championships since Notre Dame's Jaimie Lee (1996 & 1997). The only other player to do it was Pittsburgh's Ann Marie Lucanie (1990-93).

Bluejays Collect The Hardware
Creighton had quite a haul of honors as the BIG EAST named its All-Conference Team on Wednesday.
   Lydia Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, while Kirsten Bernthal Booth leads a staff named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year for the second straight season.
   Booth is the first person to earn consecutive BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors since Notre Dame's Debbie Brown in 2000 and 20001.
   Dimke is Creighton's first BIG EAST Player of the Year in program history, and joins Megan Bober as the only Bluejay volleyball player ever named league Player of the Year. Bober was honored in 2012 by the Missouri Valley Conference.
   In addition to Dimke, Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth were named First Team All-BIG EAST, while Lauren Smith and Marysa Wilkinson wea Second Team All-BIG EAST honorees.
   This is the second First Team All-Conference award for Winters, and first for both Dimke and Kloth.
   It's the first time Wilkinson has been named to an All-BIG EAST team, while Smith sandwiched a First Team pick in 2015 with second-team honors in both 2014 and 2016.

NCAA's Looming?
With an RPI of 18 heading into the week, there stands a good chance that Creighton will earn a fifth straight NCAA Tournament bid.
   If it happens, not only would it be an unprecedented fifth straight NCAA trip for the volleyball team, but they'd be the first Creighton women's team in any sport to make five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
   The 64-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Sunday at 8 pm Central on ESPNU. Creighton will host a viewing party at Old Mattress Grill & Bar and Grill in downtown Omaha that is open to both fans and media.

The Case For An At-Large Bid
Should Creighton not win the BIG EAST Championship this weekend, its case is still very strong for an at-large bid. Consider the following ...
-Creighton owns an NCAA RPI of 18 in this week's official rankings.
-The winning percentage of Creighton's opponents is 12th-best nationally.
-Creighton won the BIG EAST Conference, the nation's ninth-best league, by five full games in the standings.
-Creighton has won 20 of its last 21 matches, with the lone loss being a 3-1 setback at Nebraska in which CU squandered three set points that could have given the Jays a 2-1 lead.
-Creighton ranks nationally tied for 18th in victories and tied for 16th in road victories this season.

Title History
Creighton won its fourth regular-season title in program history in 2016.
   Creighton's first league title in program history came in 2012, when the Bluejays went 17-1 to win the Missouri Valley Conference title. That team went on to win the MVC Tournament title, as well.
   In 2014, Creighton went 16-2 in league play and swept the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament crowns.
   Last year Creighton went 17-1 to win the BIG EAST, then won a pair of BIG EAST Championship contests to take home a second straight title.
   Since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 school year, Creighton has won BIG EAST regular-season titles in baseball (2014), men's soccer (2014) and volleyball (2014, 2015 and 2016), and BIG EAST Championship titles in volleyball (2014 and 2015).

Senior Weekend A Success
Creighton honored Jess Bird, Amanda Foje and Lauren Smith following last Sunday's match vs. Villanova as part of the program's annual Senior Day festivities.
   Bird and Foje have been at Creighton for four years while Smith is in her fifth year after redshirting the 2012 campaign. In that time, these women have combined to win 10 regular-season conference titles and seven conference tournament rings.
   The Bluejays are 128-37 in the past five seasons, including an 80-8 mark in conference play. All five teams have been nationally ranked at some point, and next week this group will become part of the first women's program in Creighton history to appear in five straight NCAA Tournaments.
   Smith and Bird were named BIG EAST Tournament MVP in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and both women have been named First Team All-Conference in past seasons as well as nominees for the Senior CLASS Award. After one ace in 22 matches during her first two seasons, Foje has emerged as a valuable serving weapon for the Bluejays, dealing 27 aces in her last 65 contests.
   All told, the trio has combined for 2,067 kills, 92 aces, 1,189 digs and 689 blocks.

18 Straight Wins
Creighton enters this weekend with 18 straight victories, a streak that's the longest stretch in program history.
   That's one more than the previous program record of 17 straight, set in 2012.
   Each of the 10 longest win streaks in program history have come under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Most Consecutive Wins, Creighton History
       Wins   Dates   Snapped By
       18   Sept. 23, 2016 - Present   ? ? ?
       17   Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012   at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
       12   Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015   at Villanova, 3-2
       11   Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
       10   Oct. 31-Dec. 5, 2015   vs. #2 USC, 3-1

Jays Run The Table
One year after setting a BIG EAST record with 17 conference victories, Creighton broke its own BIG EAST record for league wins in a season with 18.
   It's the first team in BIG EAST history to finish 18-0.
   Here's a look at the most consecutive wins to start league play in BIG EAST history:
Consecutive Wins To Start BIG EAST Play
   Wins   School   Year   Final W-L
   18   Creighton   2016   18-0
   14   St. John's   2006   14-0
   14   Notre Dame   2009   14-0
   13   Louisville   2007   13-1

Longest Win Streaks, Nationally
Creighton is one of four schools with an active win streak of 18 or longer, through matches of November 22nd. Here's that list:
   Wins   Team   Next Match
   22   Fairfield   TBD
   21   Western Kentucky   TBD
   19   Dayton   11/25
   18   Creighton   11/25
   17   Coastal Carolina   TBD
   16   Missouri State   11/25
   16   Howard   TBD

Back-to-Back-To-Back BIG EAST Champs
Creighton locked up a third straight BIG EAST regular-season title with two wins over Providence on Nov. 11-12.
   St. John's had been the last BIG EAST team to win a share of three straight titles, having done so from 2006-08, while Notre Dame had been the last team to win three or more straight outright BIG EAST regular-season titles, having claimed four in a row from 1999-2002.
   The Irish were also the last team to go unbeaten in league play, having done so in 2009 (14-0).
   Looking to the postseason, Creighton won its second straight BIG EAST Championship title in 2015 to become 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 Tournament Championships in volleyball.

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.
   Each of the five teams listed above besides Creighton won a third straight tournament title this fall.

Magic Number Three
Creighton won its third straight BIG EAST regular-season title, and is seeking its third straight BIG EAST Championship title this weekend in Indianapolis.
   One key reason for the success is the team's performance in the third set. Creighton went 18-0 against league foes in the third set this year. In those 18 matches, the opponent scored 20+ points on just four occasions.
   Dating back to last season Creighton has won 24 straight third sets in regular-season BIG EAST contests, and the team to win the third set has won each of Creighton's last 28 regular-season BIG EAST matches.

BEDN Brings Out The Best In the Bluejays
Creighton has appeared on the BIG EAST Digital Network four times this season, going a perfect 4-0.
   In fact, since the network originated in 2014, Creighton is a perfect 14-0. Four of those victories came in five sets.

Hall Pass
Creighton has won all six sets played against Seton Hall this season, outscoring The Hall 150-89. The Pirates have not scored more than 18 points in any of those six sets.
   Creighton has trailed in just two of those six sets. In Omaha on Oct. 16th, CU fell behind 1-0 in the second set, only to score the next two points. In South Orange on Oct. 28th, Creighton fell behind 2-0 to start the match, then scored the next six points and did not trail again.
   Creighton has hit a collective .384 in those matches, with four different women (Taryn Kloth, Marysa Wilkinson, Jaali Winters, Jess Bird) averaging at least three kills per set, while The Hall hits .084.
   Creighton has outblocked SHU 24-5 in those six sets, and out-aced the Pirates 8-2.

When Pushed, Jays Push Back
Creighton was pushed to five sets last Sunday in a home win over Villanova. Each of the last three times that Creighton has been pushed to five sets, the Bluejays have responded with a 3-0 victory in its next match.
   Dating to early last season, Creighton is 7-1 in the match following a five-set contest.

117, 118, 119...
Lauren Smith has made 119 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 119 straight starts is the second-longest in program history, trailing only Megan Bober (128) and tied with Korie Lebeda (119). Of that group, Bober and Lebeda were both setters.
   Smith pased Bober's record for career starts on Nov. 12 vs. Providence when she made her 129th career start.
   Smith is also Creighton's all-time recordholder with 487 sets played.
   Smith can tie the school record with her 133rd career match played on Friday.
   Smith continues to rise up the charts in sets played, matches played, matches started and wins appeared in.
Matches Started
       Name   MS   Year
   1.   Lauren Smith   131   2013-Pr.
   2.   Megan Bober   128   2009-12
   3.   Allie Oelke   120   2007-10

Sets Played
       Name   SP   Year
   1.   Lauren Smith   487   2013-Pr.
   2.   Megan Bober   480   2009-12
   3.   Melanie Jereb   471   2012-15

Matches Played
       Name   MP   Year
   1.   Melanie Jereb   133   2012-15
   2.   Ashley Jansen   132   2012-15
       Lauren Smith   132   2013-Pr.
   4.   Megan Bober   128   2009-12
   5.   Jessica Houts   126   2005-09

Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
   Wins   Name   Year
   102   Melanie Jereb   2012-15
   101   Ashley Jansen   2012-15
   99   Lauren Smith   2013-Pres.
   95   Kate Elman   2012-15
   92   Leah McNary   2011-14

Assists A'Plenty
Creighton's Lydia Dimke leads the BIG EAST and is 11th nationally with 11.38 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 24 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 13.57 assists per set this season.

Dimke Named BIG EAST Player of the Week
Lydia Dimke was named the BIG EAST Conference Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 7.
   Dimke had a pair of double-doubles to pace Creighton on both ends of the floor as the Bluejays swept Butler and Xavier to tie a BIG EAST record for best league start in history at 14-0. The junior setter averaged 12.00 assists, 3.67 digs and 1.17 kills per set while hitting .400 and setting her offense to .379 efficiency.
   Dimke had match-highs with both 36 assists and 12 digs while adding four kills in seven swings during a 3-0 sweep of Butler on Friday. She set the Bluejay offense to .415 hitting, the fifth-best mark in program history, and her defensive prowess helped hold a Butler team that led the nation in kills to just 25.
   In Sunday's 3-0 sweep of third-place Xavier, Dimke finished with a near-identical line. She had team-highs with 36 assists and 10 digs, and added four kills and an ace. Dimke set her offense to a .347 hitting percentage, but her best moments came in the second set. With Creighton trailing 17-11, Dimke served up five straight points to get CU within one. Later with CU up 23-22, Dimke provided a setter dump from the 10-foot line to key a 25-22 victory that help secure CU's school-record 16th sweep of 2016.
   Dimke's performance over the weekend helped the Ham Lake, Minn., native move into the league lead in assists per set, as she also moved over the 1,000 assist milestone on Nov. 6th.

Creighton In Top 25
The Creighton Volleyball team remains No. 21 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association top-25 poll, and down a spot to 18th in Monday's release of the NCAA Volleyball RPI.
   The No. 21 ranking in the AVCA poll is the highest for the program since the program's preseason ranking of No. 18 that remains the best mark in program history.
   The Bluejays are 27-9 all-time when ranked, including a 26-4 mark against unranked competition, with this being the 18th different time it has been in the top-25. The 2016 season is the fifth straight season that Creighton has been ranked, after never earning a top-25 nod between 1994-2011.
   The volleyball team is one of three Creighton teams that are currently in the top-25 in the national polls, joining men's basketball (No. 12) men's soccer (No. 23). On a national basis, only Creighton, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Kentucky and Michigan State are ranked in those three sports.
   Creighton's No. 18 RPI remains among the best in the nation. The team was No. 21 in the Nov. 23, 2015 RPI and would move up to No. 15 by Selection Sunday last season.

Ballenger Is Ballin'
Redshirt freshman Megan Ballenger has 25 aces and just 15 service errors in her last 15 matches.
   Her 37 aces lead the BIG EAST Conference, as does her 0.42 aces per set.
   In league play, Ballenger averaged an even better 0.52 aces per set, and her 25 aces were four more than any other woman in the BIG EAST.
   Ballenger's 37 aces are tied for ninth-most in Creighton history for one season, and her 0.415 aces per set would place her fourth in school history.
Service Aces
       Name   Sets   No.   Year
   1.   Molly Moran   105   59   2000
   2.   Molly Moran   94   47   2001
   3.   Melissa Weisensee   107   45   1995
       Amanda Cvejdlik   116   45   2006
   5.   Nayka Benitez   115   43   2009
   6.   Allie Oelke   107   39   2007
       Nayka Benitez   118   39   2010
   8.   Mallory Lahm   105   38   2004
   9.   JoDe Cieloha   99   37   1995
       Megan Ballenger   89   37   2016

Service Aces Per Set (Min. 20 SA)
       Name   Sets   No.   Avg.   Year
   1.   Molly Moran   105   59   0.562   2000
   2.   Molly Moran   94   47   0.500   2001
   3.   Melissa Weisensee   107   45   0.421   1995
   4.   Megan Ballenger   89   37   0.416   2016
   5.   Melissa Weisensee   86   35   0.407   1994
   6.   Amanda Cvejdlik   116   45   0.388   2006
   7.   Nayka Benitez   115   43   0.3739   2009
   8.   JoDe Cieloha   99   37   0.3737   1995
   9.   Allie Oelke   107   39   0.365   2007
   10.   Mallory Lahm   105   38   0.362   2004

Ballenger Earns Third Weekly Frosh Award
Megan Ballenger was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the third time this season on October 31st.
   The Ankeny, Iowa, product previously earned the award on September 12th and September 19th. She is one of five players in the BIG EAST to win multiple Freshman of the Week honors this fall, but the only player with three such honors.
   Ballenger powered Creighton to an undefeated weekend by averaging 3.33 points, 2.17 kills, 1.67 blocks and 1.17 digs per set while hitting .500.
   Ballenger's week started with four kills, three blocks, two digs and an ace in a 3-0 win at Seton Hall. She then hit .727 with nine kills in 11 swings, five digs and a career-high seven blocks in a 3-0 win over St. John's.
   The redshirt freshman led BIG EAST play with 0.52 service aces per set and was 11th with a .318 hitting percentage.

The Champs Are Here
The Bluejays are back-to-back BIG EAST Tournament champions, the first repeat champs since Louisville won three straight from 2008-2010.
   Creighton is 5-1 all-time in three previous appearances at the BIG EAST Championships, reaching the final all three times.
   Dating back to its Missouri Valley Conference days, this will be Creighton's 14th straight appearance in a league tournament after appearing in just 4-of-9 tournaments prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival.

Offensive Juggernaut
Creighton is third in the nation in kills per set (14.75), eighth nationally in assists per set (13.57) and 11th in hitting percentage (.279).
   Last year Creighton finished the year ranked second in the nation in assists (1,774) and was third in kills (1,878) while hitting .248 to rank 47th nationally.

Sweep City
Creighton swept 14-of-18 BIG EAST matches, and has broken out the brooms in 19 contests overall this fall. In fact, in the month of November, Creighton swept five-of-six matches it has played, while the other 22 league matches have seen just six end in three sets.
   The 19 sweeps are the most in one season in Creighton history, eclipsing the 13 sweeps a year ago.
   Even with last Sunday's five-set win, Creighton has swept 13 of its last 15 regular-season BIG EAST home matches, and won 48 of its last 51 home sets during conference play.
   Creighton has played 70 regular-season BIG EAST matches in its four-year history in the league, and swept 37 of them, including 24 of its last 36.

Control In Conference
Creighton went 18-0 in BIG EAST play this season, winning 54-of-59 sets played. Creighton is one of eight teams in the country that went unbeaten in league play.
   On a national basis, Creighton's winning percentage in sets played during league action ranks tied for fifth-best among the unbeaten teams through games of November 22nd.
Team   League   Sets W-L   Next
Alabama State   SWAC   54-3   Done
Florida A&M   MEAC   30-2   Done
Howard   MEAC   39-3   Done
Western Kentucky   C-USA   42-4   Done
Creighton   BIG EAST   54-5   Done
TAMU-CC   Southland   48-6   Done
Fairfield   MAAC   54-7   Done
Dayton   A-10   42-7   Done

Blue October (And November)
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 39-4 in October in that same span, and a nearly-identical 37-4 in the month of November.
   Creighton has won 21 straight home matches in the month of October dating to a Oct. 15, 2011 loss to No. 12 Northern Iowa.
   Creighton has won 15 straight November matches, with seven of those wins coming in 2015.
   Creighton finished 9-0 in October this year, its second unbeaten October in history (7-0 in 2012). The only other time that Creighton had played nine or more matches and gone unbeaten in any month came in November of 2012, when CU went 9-0.
   The only other October in which CU had won nine or more matches came in 2015, when CU went 10-1.

Home At Home
Creighton is 12-1 at D.J. Sokol Arena this fall, with 12 straight wins, and has won 21 straight matches against BIG EAST competition there.
   Below is a look at the program's largest home win streaks in history.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins   Dates   Snapped By
   13   Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013   California, 3-0
   12   Sept. 20 - Nov. 28, 2015   #4 Kansas, 3-2
   12   Sept. 9, 2016 - Present   ? ? ?
   9   Sept. 20, 2014-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
   8   Sept. 25-Nov. 20, 2010   Northern Illinois, 3-0

Smith Adds A Weapon
Long known as one of the best middle hitters in the BIG EAST, fifth-year senior Lauren Smith is now showing off a new weapon behind the service line.
   Smith entered Creighton's Marquette match on October 22 with one ace in 123 career matches.
   Since then, Smith has seven aces in her last nine matches played.

Another 20 Win Season
Creighton is 24-6 this year, securing 20 victories for the eighth time in the program's modern history. This is the fifth straight year the Bluejays have reached 20 wins.
   When Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton's modern day school record for wins in a season was 16.
   The following 25 schools entered this year with four straight seasons of 20+ wins, and are listed with their 2016 record through Nov. 22nd:
Team   2016 W-L   Next Match
Western Kentucky   30-2   TBD
BYU   27-3   TBD
American   27-7   TBD
Nebraska   26-1   11/23
Kansas   25-2   11/26
North Carolina   25-3   11/23
Florida   24-3   11/24
Washington   24-4   11/23
Creighton   24-6   11/25
Marquette   23-7   11/25
Hawaii   22-5   TBD
Florida State   22-5   11/23
Kentucky   22-6   11/23
Wichita State   22-7   11/25
Colorado State   22-8   TBD
Texas   21-4   11/26
UTSA   20-8   TBD
Penn State   20-9   11/25
Stanford   19-7   11/23
Wyoming   18-13   TBD
College of Charleston   17-12   TBD
Purdue   17-12   11/23
Idaho State   16-15   Done
Ohio   15-13   11/25
Valparaiso   15-19   Done

Dimke Surpasses 1,000 Assists
Lydia Dimke reached 1,000 assists at Creighton in the Nov. 6 match vs. Xavier. It took her 26 matches and 88 sets played, third-fastest in team history behind a pair of setters who played in the era when sets were played to 30 points.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Assists (Career)
Name   SP   MP   Date   Opponent
Korie Lebeda   77   23   10/29/05   Missouri St.
Brittany Coleman   86   23   11/01/03   Northern Iowa
Lydia Dimke   88   26   11/06/16   Xavier
Kailey Reyes   97   27   09/04/99   Boise State
Maggie Baumert   103   32   11/29/14   vs. Seton Hall
Megan Bober   106   28   11/20/09   at #21 UNI
Melissa Weisensee   119   35   09/20/95   Wichita State
Michelle Sicner   267   72   10/04/13   at Butler

Any Venue Will Do
Since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton has a .500 record or better at every BIG EAST venue in which it has played. CU is 3-1 at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but has won its last three trips to the historic facility.
Site   Creighton W-L
D.J. Sokol Arena (CU)   50-10
Al McGuire Center (MU)   5-1
Cintas Center (XU)   4-0
McGrath-Phillips Arena (DPU)   4-0
McDonough Arena (GU)   4-0
Carnesecca Arena (SJU)   4-0
Alumni Hall (PC)   3-0
Jake Nevin Field House (VU)   3-1
Hinkle Fieldhouse (BU)   3-1
Walsh Gym (SHU)   2-2

Keeping It 100
Creighton had a perfect 100 percent sideout percentage in the third set of its October 16 sweep over Seton Hall. The Pirates served 18 times in that set, and CU won the point each time.
   For the match, Creighton won the point on 38 of Seton Hall's 46 serves, a tremendous 86.4 percent.
   The match vs. Seton Hall is one of just six times in the last five years (611 sets played) that Creighton has had a 100 percent sideout percentage in a set, and first time since the second set of a 25-8 win over Lipscomb on Sept. 11, 2015. Creighton also did it in the fifth set vs. Villanova on Nov. 20th.

Witt Wins BIG EAST Award, Twice
Brittany Witt was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Oct. 10 after helping the Bluejays to road wins at Villanova and at Georgetown. Witt had 33 digs in seven sets and added three aces and a kill in the victories.
   Witt then made it back-to-back weeks with the honor after picking up the award again on Oct. 17th. She averaged 4.33 digs and 1.83 assists per set in sweeps over St. John's and Seton Hall.

Senior CLASS Award Duo
Creighton's Jess Bird and Lauren Smith are among 30 women's volleyball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court that were selected as candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate volleyball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
   An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
   The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
   Creighton is one of three schools with multiple candidates, joining Minnesota and New Hampshire. The BIG EAST has five candidates (Bird, Smith, Seton Hall's Tessa Fournier, Xavier's Abbey Bessler and Marquette's Meghan Niemann), tying the Big Ten for most of any league.
   Smith and Bird are not the first Creighton Volleyball student-athletes to make the Senior CLASS cut in recent seasons, as Melanie Jereb was a candidate last year, Kelli Browning in 2014 and Megan Bober in 2012. Former Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while ex-Creighton men's basketball standout Doug McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.
   Smith recently made the cut to be among the 10 finalists for the award. You can support her cause by voting once daily for her at http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/volleyball_2016/.

Sweep City
Creighton owns 14 3-0 sweeps in 18 BIG EAST matches this season. Creighton's four straight sweeps from Oct. 8-21 (Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall, DePaul) were its first time with four straight sweeps since Oct. 12-26, 2012.
   Creighton had a school-record stretch of seven straight sweeps snapped on Nov. 20 by Villanova in a 3-2 Bluejay win.
   Creighton's 19 sweeps on the season are a program record, six more than the 13 achieved last year.

A "Pablo" Picasso
One of the more popular volleyball ranking systems on RichKern.com is the Pablo ranking system, which is best described at http://www.richkern.com/vb/rankings/PabloFAQ.asp.
   In this week's Pablo rankings, Creighton is 15th, down four spots from its season-high mark.
   By comparison, Creighton was 37th in last year's Pablo rankings at this time and got as high as 27th after its Sweet 16 run in the NCAA's.
   The previous high-water mark since 2011 had been 14th on Sept. 10 & 17, 2012, when CU finished 20th at year's end.

Friday's Are For The Jays
Creighton's been unbeatable in 13 Friday matches this season, winning 39-of-40 sets it has played.
   Of those 13 wins, four are against 2015 NCAA Tournament teams (Northern Iowa, TCU, Marquette and Villanova).
   In those 13 matches, Creighton has hit a robust .338 while holding foes to .141 hitting. Creighton averages 15.95 kills per set, compared to 10.23 per set against the Jays. On the other six days of the week this season, Creighton has hit .244 and averaged 14.00 kills per set while allowing opponents to hit .186.
   Creighton has hit .299 or better in 11 of its last 12 matches played on a Friday, and owns 91 straight wins (on all days of the week) when hitting .300 or better.

Home Sweet Home
Creighton is 34-2 all-time (.944) in regular-season BIG EAST play at D.J. Sokol Arena, falling once each to St. John's (2013) and Seton Hall (2014).
   Since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009, Creighton is 65-7 (.903) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility, including 19 straight victories.
   Creighton has won all seven meetings with St. John's since that 2013 upset, and all five encounters versus Seton Hall since dropping the home match in 2014.

Smith Surges Past 1,000 Kills
Lauren Smith registered the 1,000th kill of her career late in the first set of an Oct. 7 at Villanova. She became the 11th player in CU history to reach the milestone, and it came in her 119th career contest.
   Smith enters this weekend with 1,106 career kills, eighth-most in Bluejay history.
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
Lauren Smith   119   10/07/16   at Villanova

Smith Seeks Passes Blocks, Too
Lauren Smith enters Friday's match with 539 career blocks, third-most in Creighton history behind Jessica Houts and Kelli Browning.
   Among active players nationally, Smith's 539 career total blocks rank eighth.
Total Blocks
       Name   Sets   BS   BA   Tot.   Years
   1.   Jessica Houts   451   73   536   609   2005-09
   2.   Kelli Browning   424   55   547   602   2011-14
   3.   Lauren Smith   487   58   481   539   2013-Pr.
   4.   Ashley Williams   359   100   347   447   2001-04

Revenge Acquired
Since the start of last season, Creighton is 37-1 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 nine teams nationally with one or fewer losses against league teams since the start of last year, as seen below, through matches of November 24th:
Team   League W-L   Next
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi   38-0   Done
Dayton   32-0   Done
Creighton   37-1   11/25
Arkansas State   36-1   Done
Western Kentucky   36-1   Done
American   35-1   Done
Hawaii   31-1   Done
Coastal Carolina   31-1   Done
Howard   28-1   Done

Dimke Dominating
Creighton's Lydia Dimke leads the BIG EAST and is 11th nationally with 11.38 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.
   Dimke's season has also attracted the attention of the experts nationally. She was recently named one of college volleyball's five best transfers by PrepVolleyball.com, and also one of the nation's 10 best setters by FloVolleyball.tv.
   Each of Creighton's last 24 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 and ranks eighth nationally with 13.57 assists per set this season.

Booth On The Road
Kirsten Bernthal Booth owns 104 career true road wins in her 14 seasons at Creighton, reaching the century mark with a 3-0 win at Georgetown on Oct. 8th.
   Booth's teams are currently 104-70 in true road matches, including an 85-39 mark in league contests. Booth is 29-5 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 off to its third straight start of 5-0 or better in league play after this fall's 18-0 league mark. It's the first time in program history that Creighton has won its first 12 (or more) league matches in a season.
   Below is a list of Creighton's best starts in conference play all-time:
Start   League   Year   Final W-L   Final Place
16-8   BIG EAST   2016   18-0   1st
11-0   BIG EAST   2015   17-1   1st
7-0   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

Let's Compare
Let's take a look at how Creighton's start in 2016 compares to how its first three league champions (2012, 2014, 2015) fared after 30 matches:
Stat   2016   2015   2014   2012
W-L Thru 30   24-6   22-8   23-7   27-3
Final W-L   ? ? ?   27-9   23-9   29-4
Postseason   ? ? ?   NCAA   NCAA   NCAA
8th NCAA RPI   18   21   34   26
Kills/Set   14.75   13.99   14.11   13.38
Hitting %   .279   .253   .239   .248
Aces/Set   1.40   1.28   1.16   1.25
Digs/Set   16.07   16.17   16.42   17.58
Blocks/Set   2.22   2.32   2.68   2.99

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 68 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 12 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
   Creighton is 6-3 against Seton Hall since joining the BIG EAST, and 60-5 against everyone else, including unbeaten records against Xavier (10-0), DePaul (8-0), Georgetown (8-0) and Providence (6-0).
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   7-1   -   7-1
DePaul   8-0   -   8-0
Georgetown   8-0   -   8-0
Marquette   7-1   1-1   8-2
Providence   6-0   -   6-0
Seton Hall   5-3   1-0   6-3
St. John's   7-1   -   7-1
Villanova   7-1   1-0   8-1
Xavier   8-0   2-0   11-0
Total   61-7   5-1   66-8

On A Roll
Creighton won its last six regular-season BIG EAST matches in 2015 and has extended that streak to 24 straight with 18 consecutive BIG EAST wins this fall.
   That is the longest league win streak of regular-season matches in program history.
   Nationally, only four teams have active steaks of 26 or more straight victories against conference foes (including league tournament play), a streak led by Dayton (42).
Creighton - Most Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins
   Wins   Dates   Snapped By   League
   24   Oct. 31, 2015-Present   (not yet)   BIG EAST
   14   Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012   Never (left MVC)   MVC
   12   Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015   at Villanova, 3-2   BIG EAST
   11   Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0   BIG EAST
   9   Nov. 4, 2005-Sept. 30, 2006   Northern Iowa, 3-2   MVC
   9   Nov. 17, 2006-Oct. 6, 2007   at Wichita State, 3-0   MVC
   9   Oct. 25, 2008-Sept. 18, 2009   Northern Iowa, 3-1   MVC

Service Winners
One reason for Creighton's recent success has been its efficiency at the service line. The Bluejays have 99 aces and just 108 errors in its last 17 matches over the span of 1,353 serving attempts, putting 92.0 percent of its serves in play.
   By comparison, Creighton had 47 aces and 120 service errors in 1099 service attempts in the first 13 matches, keeping just 89.1 percent of its serves in play.
   Three newcomers -- Megan Ballenger, Lydia Dimke and Brittany Witt -- have combined for 51 aces and 59 miscues in 622 serves (90.5 percent in play) in the last 17 matches after combining for had 26 aces and 76 errors in 508 serves (85.0 percent in play) during those first 13 contests.

Ace Of Jays
Taryn Kloth has served 259 times over the past 22 matches. In that time, she has 11 aces and just 10 serving errors. Kloth had a streak of 140 straight serves kept in play between Sept. 10 vs. Chattanooga and October 14 vs. St. John's
   For the season, Kloth has 15 service aces and just 13 serving errors in 349 attempts.

Service With A Smile
Creighton served up a season-high 12 aces against DePaul on Sept. 26 and countered that with a then-season-low four serving errors.
   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

Not Middling Around
Creighton middle blockers Lauren Smith and Marysa Wilkinson have been on an absolute terror over the past 21 matches, which coincides with a visit to their hometown of Lincoln, Neb., for the Ameritas Players Challenge.
   Smith owns 2.45 kills per set and a .362 hitting percentage in that time, while also adding 0.94 blocks per set.
   Wilkinson leads CU with 1.12 blocks per set in that time, while also averaging 2.45 kills per set on .368 hitting.
   Creighton is 20-1 in this stretch, with the lone loss being a four-set match at No. 1 Nebraska, while hitting .308 as a team in that span.

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.

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.

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, Nov. 20th.
   Creighton's opponents were 364-224, and that .619 winning percentage makes it the 12th-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 nine of the last 24 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors. Winters won six times in the final 11 weeks of 2015, while Ballenger has won three of 13 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 65-7 (.903) in regular-season conference home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena all-time, including a 34-2 mark (.944) 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 last 12 seasons. That streak that dates back to its days at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, a site that is currently being torn down.

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.

Kloth With The Most
Taryn Kloth has been on a mission since seeing regular playing time on the left side in the last 26 matches.
   In that time, she's had matches of 23 (USC), 15 (No. 4 Kansas), 17 (Chattanooga) and 20 (Villanova) kills. The average of 12.12 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 38-5 all-time when Kloth hits .182 or better, 23-2 when she starts, and 41-8 when she has five or more kills in a match.

RPI On The Move
Creighton dropped one spot into an RPI of 18 when the NCAA released the eighth official figures on Monday.
   CU had an RPI of 21 on November 23rd in the eighth official release a year ago and were 15th on Selection Sunday 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.

Nothing But Time
Creighton has played in 126 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 69-57 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.

Coaching Them Up
Lydia Dimke became 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 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.

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 125-17 against unranked teams. Creighton has won 24 straight home matches over 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 59-83 since, including a 7-6 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   7-6
TOTAL   62-118
TOTAL Under Booth   59-83

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 5-13 in challenges (0-3 in/out, 0-0 foot fault, 5-6 ball contacting a player, 0-4 net fault).
   Marquette and Creighton are the only BIG EAST schools that use the replay system in their home matches, though it will be use this weekend in Indianapolis.

Set 1 Result = Match Result
Creighton is 238-28 (.895) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 48-124 (.279) under Booth when it drops the first set.
   Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 70-1 in its last 71 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 21-4 when winning the first set, but 3-2 when losing the first set.

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 286-2 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 243-9 (.964) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 186-3 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

Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 45-26 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 1-3 mark this year and a 16-7 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 10-3 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   1-3   24-6
Total   60-54   379-304

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 12 of the past 14 years (including 2016), including seven years (including 2016) 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   1st   - -

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.

#21 Creighton Volleyball Heads to BIG EAST Championship Seeking Third Straight Title

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Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Maggie Baumert

Jess Bird

Kenzie Crawford

Lydia Dimke

Kate Elman

Amanda Foje

Ashley Jansen

Melanie Jereb

Taryn Kloth

Kelsey O'Connell

Lauren Smith

Marysa Wilkinson

Jaali Winters

Brittany Witt