Saturday, August 27
Ames, Iowa
4:00 PM
Creighton University
0-1
2
vs
3
Wichita State
1-1
1
2
3
4
5
F
Creighton
25
25
23
23
7
2
Wichita State
21
21
25
25
15
3
Brittany Witt had 21 digs in her debut.
Photo by: Wesley Winterink
Volleyball Drops Season Opener in Five Sets
8/27/2016 8:19:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton can't hold a 2-0 lead in loss to Wichita State
AMES, Iowa -- Double-doubles by Lydia Dimke, Jaali Winters and Jess Bird weren't enough as the No. 18 Creighton Volleyball team fell in five sets to Wichita State at the Iowa State Challenge in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday afternoon. Scores of the match in favor of WSU were 21-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-7.
Creighton lost its season-opener for the first time since 2008 to drop to 0-1, while Wichita State improved to 1-1. The battle between the defending regular-season and tournament champs from the BIG EAST and Missouri Valley Conference was the sixth time in the last 11 meetings that the teams went five sets.
"It's the first game of the year," said 14th year head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "Obviously we're disappointed that we lost but it's a long season and we've got to get better. That's the goal...that we're better tomorrow than we were today."
Creighton won the first set, 25-21, in a battle that featured 11 ties and six lead changes. CU trailed 15-12 at the media timeout, but responded with a 6-0 run. Winters had four kills and a block assist to key that spurt, after which CU never trailed. Winters finished the first set with six kills, while Lydia Dimke had 12 assists and Brittany Witt added five digs and an ace in the opener.
CU overcame a 14-7 deficit in the second set to win by an identical 25-21 margin. Bird had seven kills in the set and helped CU get back to even at 16-all before Winters and Marysa Wilkinson took over. Winters had two kills to give CU the lead for good at 18-16, and Wilkinson added four kills and a block down the stretch as CU closed out the frame.
Creighton nearly outdid itself in the third after falling into a 15-7 hole. Witt served up seven straight points to draw CU within one at 15-14 before a Shocker sideout. The Jays would fall behind 21-17 later, only to draw within one at 21-20, 22-21 and 24-23. Each time WSU earned a sideout, including a Katy Dudzinski kill that finished off WSU's first set victory of the year in six tries.
Creighton led most of the fourth set, but could not sustain that lead down the stretch. Creighton led 23-21 late, only to see the Shockers reel off the final four points of the frame to even the match at two sets each. CU lost despite 27 digs in the set, including eight from Dimke.
"I thought the fourth game was where we had a lot of opportunities," lamented Booth. "Credit Wichita State...they made some adjustments and really started digging some balls."
A Winters kill to open the fifth frame ended up being CU's only lead of the final set. Wichita State picked up six of the next seven points to move ahead 6-2, and the Shockers led 8-3 as the teams switched benches. CU would put together consecutive points to drawn within 11-6 before WSU closed out the match with a 4-1 run.
Bird had 13 kills and 13 digs for her 30th career double-double, while Winters had 16 kills and 15 digs for her 17th career double-double. Dimke's Bluejay debut was a success, as the Purdue transfer had 41 assists, 20 digs and five kills. Witt paced the defense with a match-best 21 digs, while Wilkinson, Taryn Kloth and Lauren Smith each provided three blocks.
Wichita State was paced by 19 kills and 18 digs by Jody Larson, while Miakaela Raudsepp provided 14 kills and a pair of aces. Preseason all-MVC selection Emily Hiebert had 35 assists and 13 digs despite spending much of the match setting in a 6-2 offense.
Creighton had more kills (62-60) and digs (87-76), but Wichita State had a better hitting percentage (.225 - .222) and more aces (8-5). Both teams ended with seven blocks and 52 assists.
Creighton returns to action on Sunday at 2 pm when it takes on tournament host Iowa State (1-0). The Cyclones defeated Wichita State in straight sets to open tournament play on Friday.
NOTES: Creighton had its six-match win streak against Wichita State snapped, as the Shockers beat CU for the first time since Oct. 8, 2011 ... Twelve of the 45 meetings between the teams have gone five sets, including six of the last 11 ... Creighton dropped to 14-9 since 1994 in season-opening matches, and 10-4 under Booth ... Megan Ballenger and Brittany Witt made their collegiate debuts, while Lydia Dimke made her Creighton debut in the match ... Witt's 21 digs were second-most in school history for a debut (Kate Elman, 22 in 2012), while Dimke's 20 rank third ... Dimke is the sixth Bluejay with a double-double debut, joining JoDe Cieloha (1994), Brittany Coleman (2003), Korie Lebeda (2005), Jess Bird (2013) and Jaali Winters (2015) ... Dimke's 41 assists are second-most in CU history for a debut, trailing only the 55 by Brittany Coleman ... Creighton fell to 11-1 all-time when Taryn Kloth starts ... Creighton started a different setter on Opening Day for the fifth straight season, as Lydia Dimke (2016) joins Megan Bober (2012), Michelle Sicner (2013), Maggie Baumert (2014) and Kenzie Crawford (2015) in that group. Despite the changes, each of the first four teams went on to reach the NCAA Tournament, and three of the four teams won the regular-season and conference tournament titles ... Creighton had won 94 straight matches when leading 2-0 dating to a Sept. 12, 2009 loss at Dayton. Kirsten Bernthal Booth was 167-2 at CU when leading 2-0 before today's setback. CU is now 224-9 all-time when winning the first two sets of a match ... Jaali Winters exceeded 10 kills for the 20th straight match dating to last year, CU's second-longest streak ever.
Creighton lost its season-opener for the first time since 2008 to drop to 0-1, while Wichita State improved to 1-1. The battle between the defending regular-season and tournament champs from the BIG EAST and Missouri Valley Conference was the sixth time in the last 11 meetings that the teams went five sets.
"It's the first game of the year," said 14th year head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "Obviously we're disappointed that we lost but it's a long season and we've got to get better. That's the goal...that we're better tomorrow than we were today."
Creighton won the first set, 25-21, in a battle that featured 11 ties and six lead changes. CU trailed 15-12 at the media timeout, but responded with a 6-0 run. Winters had four kills and a block assist to key that spurt, after which CU never trailed. Winters finished the first set with six kills, while Lydia Dimke had 12 assists and Brittany Witt added five digs and an ace in the opener.
CU overcame a 14-7 deficit in the second set to win by an identical 25-21 margin. Bird had seven kills in the set and helped CU get back to even at 16-all before Winters and Marysa Wilkinson took over. Winters had two kills to give CU the lead for good at 18-16, and Wilkinson added four kills and a block down the stretch as CU closed out the frame.
Creighton nearly outdid itself in the third after falling into a 15-7 hole. Witt served up seven straight points to draw CU within one at 15-14 before a Shocker sideout. The Jays would fall behind 21-17 later, only to draw within one at 21-20, 22-21 and 24-23. Each time WSU earned a sideout, including a Katy Dudzinski kill that finished off WSU's first set victory of the year in six tries.
Creighton led most of the fourth set, but could not sustain that lead down the stretch. Creighton led 23-21 late, only to see the Shockers reel off the final four points of the frame to even the match at two sets each. CU lost despite 27 digs in the set, including eight from Dimke.
"I thought the fourth game was where we had a lot of opportunities," lamented Booth. "Credit Wichita State...they made some adjustments and really started digging some balls."
A Winters kill to open the fifth frame ended up being CU's only lead of the final set. Wichita State picked up six of the next seven points to move ahead 6-2, and the Shockers led 8-3 as the teams switched benches. CU would put together consecutive points to drawn within 11-6 before WSU closed out the match with a 4-1 run.
Bird had 13 kills and 13 digs for her 30th career double-double, while Winters had 16 kills and 15 digs for her 17th career double-double. Dimke's Bluejay debut was a success, as the Purdue transfer had 41 assists, 20 digs and five kills. Witt paced the defense with a match-best 21 digs, while Wilkinson, Taryn Kloth and Lauren Smith each provided three blocks.
Wichita State was paced by 19 kills and 18 digs by Jody Larson, while Miakaela Raudsepp provided 14 kills and a pair of aces. Preseason all-MVC selection Emily Hiebert had 35 assists and 13 digs despite spending much of the match setting in a 6-2 offense.
Creighton had more kills (62-60) and digs (87-76), but Wichita State had a better hitting percentage (.225 - .222) and more aces (8-5). Both teams ended with seven blocks and 52 assists.
Creighton returns to action on Sunday at 2 pm when it takes on tournament host Iowa State (1-0). The Cyclones defeated Wichita State in straight sets to open tournament play on Friday.
NOTES: Creighton had its six-match win streak against Wichita State snapped, as the Shockers beat CU for the first time since Oct. 8, 2011 ... Twelve of the 45 meetings between the teams have gone five sets, including six of the last 11 ... Creighton dropped to 14-9 since 1994 in season-opening matches, and 10-4 under Booth ... Megan Ballenger and Brittany Witt made their collegiate debuts, while Lydia Dimke made her Creighton debut in the match ... Witt's 21 digs were second-most in school history for a debut (Kate Elman, 22 in 2012), while Dimke's 20 rank third ... Dimke is the sixth Bluejay with a double-double debut, joining JoDe Cieloha (1994), Brittany Coleman (2003), Korie Lebeda (2005), Jess Bird (2013) and Jaali Winters (2015) ... Dimke's 41 assists are second-most in CU history for a debut, trailing only the 55 by Brittany Coleman ... Creighton fell to 11-1 all-time when Taryn Kloth starts ... Creighton started a different setter on Opening Day for the fifth straight season, as Lydia Dimke (2016) joins Megan Bober (2012), Michelle Sicner (2013), Maggie Baumert (2014) and Kenzie Crawford (2015) in that group. Despite the changes, each of the first four teams went on to reach the NCAA Tournament, and three of the four teams won the regular-season and conference tournament titles ... Creighton had won 94 straight matches when leading 2-0 dating to a Sept. 12, 2009 loss at Dayton. Kirsten Bernthal Booth was 167-2 at CU when leading 2-0 before today's setback. CU is now 224-9 all-time when winning the first two sets of a match ... Jaali Winters exceeded 10 kills for the 20th straight match dating to last year, CU's second-longest streak ever.
Team Stats
CU
WSU
Kills
62
60
Errors
23
21
Attempts
176
173
Hitting %
.222
.225
Points
74.0
75.0
Assists
52
52
Aces
5
8
Blocks
7.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/S
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball#18 Creighton Volleyball vs. #1 Nebraska Highlights - 9/16/25
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