Saturday, November 26
Indianapolis, Ind.
1:30 PM
Creighton University
26-6
3
vs
0
Xavier (Final)
20-13
1
2
3
F
Xavier
19
15
25
0
Creighton
25
25
27
3
Creighton won a third straight BIG EAST Championship title on Saturday vs. Xavier.
Photo by: Justin Casterline
#21 Volleyball Sweeps Way To Third Straight BIG EAST Title
11/26/2016 3:03:00 PM | Volleyball
Volleyball completes first perfect BIG EAST season since 2001
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Creighton Volleyball team completed an unbeaten run through the BIG EAST Conference with a 3-0 win over third-seeded Xavier in the title match of the 2016 BIG EAST Championship, presented by Jeep.
Scores of Creighton's win were 25-19, 25-15, 27-25.
Creighton has now won 20 straight matches and will enter its fifth straight NCAA Tournament with a 26-6 overall record. It'll be the program's sixth postseason appearance in the last seven seasons.
The first set featured 10 ties and four lead changes. With the score knotted at 17, Megan Ballenger put down a kill and fellow Ankeny native Jaali Winters followed with one of her own. The Jays led 21-19 before a Musketeer attack error, and Ballenger followed with three straight serves, closing out the set with an ace. The Bluejays hit .452 in the set, with Winters accounting for seven kills and four digs while Lauren Smith had four kills in as many swings.
Creighton trailed 4-1 early in the second stanza before an 8-1 run keyed by Lydia Dimke's serve gave the Bluejays the lead for good. The Jays went on to score 12 of the final 16 points in the set, hitting .483 with 16 kills in 29 swings, to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
It looked like Creighton would cruise to three-set after taking a 7-1 lead in the third set, but Xavier had other ideas. The Musketeers used a seven-point run to move ahead 13-10. The Muskies continued to play with the lead and had advantages of 20-18, 22-19, 23-21 and 24-22, but could not close out the set. CU staved off set points with a kill by Winters and a solo block from Dimke to tie it at 24-all. CU squandered a match point opportunity before ending the match on a kill by Smith and an attack from Xavier's Lauren Frilling that went wide.
The victory made Creighton the first team since Notre Dame in 2001 to go unbeaten in both the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament, and CU is the first club to win 20 matches against league foes in a year. The title was Creighton's third in a row, something last done by Louisville from 2008-10, and the program's fourth in five years when you include the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title.
Winters was named Tournament MVP, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Smith and Dimke. Winters had a double-double in the championship match, finishing with 16 kills and 11 digs on .353 hitting. Smith had 12 kills on .588 in the final, while Dimke added 43 assists and nine digs while setting CU to .410 hitting in the final. CU finished with 54 kills, six aces, 49 digs and four blocks in the victory.
Xavier was paced by 13 kills by Abbey Bessler, while Kristen Massa had 10 kills. The Musketeers had 39 kills, one ace, 37 digs and three blocks on .220 hitting.
The NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced on Sunday night at 8 pm Central on ESPNU. Creighton will host a viewing party open to the media and public at the Old Mattress Factory Grill & Bar.
BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
Danielle Schroeder, Seton Hall
Meghan Niemann, Marquette
Abbey Bessler, Xavier
Sofia Peterson, Xavier
Lydia Dimke, Creighton
Lauren Smith, Creighton
Jaali Winters, Creighton
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Most Outstanding Player: Jaali Winters, Creighton
NOTES: Creighton improved to 11-0 all-time against Xavier, including a 3-0 mark in BIG EAST Championship action ... The victory was the 400th of Kirsten Bernthal Booth's coaching career, and 288th at Creighton ... Creighton's 20 straight wins extend its school record, and is tied for the nation's third-longest active streak ... Creighton improved to 7-1 all-time in the BIG EAST Championships ... Creighton improved to 21-0 this year when hitting .250 or better and when outblocking the opposition ... Creighton has won the third set in 20 straight matches ... Creighton has won 17 straight matches played in November.
Scores of Creighton's win were 25-19, 25-15, 27-25.
Creighton has now won 20 straight matches and will enter its fifth straight NCAA Tournament with a 26-6 overall record. It'll be the program's sixth postseason appearance in the last seven seasons.
The first set featured 10 ties and four lead changes. With the score knotted at 17, Megan Ballenger put down a kill and fellow Ankeny native Jaali Winters followed with one of her own. The Jays led 21-19 before a Musketeer attack error, and Ballenger followed with three straight serves, closing out the set with an ace. The Bluejays hit .452 in the set, with Winters accounting for seven kills and four digs while Lauren Smith had four kills in as many swings.
Creighton trailed 4-1 early in the second stanza before an 8-1 run keyed by Lydia Dimke's serve gave the Bluejays the lead for good. The Jays went on to score 12 of the final 16 points in the set, hitting .483 with 16 kills in 29 swings, to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
It looked like Creighton would cruise to three-set after taking a 7-1 lead in the third set, but Xavier had other ideas. The Musketeers used a seven-point run to move ahead 13-10. The Muskies continued to play with the lead and had advantages of 20-18, 22-19, 23-21 and 24-22, but could not close out the set. CU staved off set points with a kill by Winters and a solo block from Dimke to tie it at 24-all. CU squandered a match point opportunity before ending the match on a kill by Smith and an attack from Xavier's Lauren Frilling that went wide.
The victory made Creighton the first team since Notre Dame in 2001 to go unbeaten in both the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament, and CU is the first club to win 20 matches against league foes in a year. The title was Creighton's third in a row, something last done by Louisville from 2008-10, and the program's fourth in five years when you include the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title.
Winters was named Tournament MVP, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Smith and Dimke. Winters had a double-double in the championship match, finishing with 16 kills and 11 digs on .353 hitting. Smith had 12 kills on .588 in the final, while Dimke added 43 assists and nine digs while setting CU to .410 hitting in the final. CU finished with 54 kills, six aces, 49 digs and four blocks in the victory.
Xavier was paced by 13 kills by Abbey Bessler, while Kristen Massa had 10 kills. The Musketeers had 39 kills, one ace, 37 digs and three blocks on .220 hitting.
The NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced on Sunday night at 8 pm Central on ESPNU. Creighton will host a viewing party open to the media and public at the Old Mattress Factory Grill & Bar.
BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
Danielle Schroeder, Seton Hall
Meghan Niemann, Marquette
Abbey Bessler, Xavier
Sofia Peterson, Xavier
Lydia Dimke, Creighton
Lauren Smith, Creighton
Jaali Winters, Creighton
Â
Most Outstanding Player: Jaali Winters, Creighton
NOTES: Creighton improved to 11-0 all-time against Xavier, including a 3-0 mark in BIG EAST Championship action ... The victory was the 400th of Kirsten Bernthal Booth's coaching career, and 288th at Creighton ... Creighton's 20 straight wins extend its school record, and is tied for the nation's third-longest active streak ... Creighton improved to 7-1 all-time in the BIG EAST Championships ... Creighton improved to 21-0 this year when hitting .250 or better and when outblocking the opposition ... Creighton has won the third set in 20 straight matches ... Creighton has won 17 straight matches played in November.
Team Stats
XU
CU
Kills
39
54
Errors
15
11
Attempts
109
105
Hitting %
.220
.410
Points
43.0
64.0
Assists
37
52
Aces
1
6
Blocks
3.0
4.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ VolleyballCreighton Media Availability Volleyball Sept. 17
Wednesday, September 17
#18 Creighton Volleyball vs. #1 Nebraska Highlights - 9/16/25
Wednesday, September 17
Creighton Volleyball vs. Nebraska Press Conference - 9/16/25
Monday, September 15
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. UNI - 9/14/25
Sunday, September 14
