Volleyball Heads To Lincoln For Ameritas Players Challenge

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This Weekend - Ameritas Players Challenge
Sept. 16   10 am   Gonzaga vs. Creighton (1180 AM)   Lincoln, Neb (Bob Devaney Sports Center)
Sept. 16   5 pm   Montana State vs. Creighton (1180 AM)   Lincoln, Neb (Bob Devaney Sports Center)
Sept. 17   8 pm   Creighton at #1 Nebraska (1180 AM/NET)   Lincoln, Neb (Bob Devaney Sports Center)

Next Match
Creighton's (4-5) finishes off non-conference play with three matches in Lincoln, Neb., at the Ameritas Players Challenge.
   The event starts on Friday at 10 am with a match against Gonzaga (6-1) before CU meets Montana State (2-4) later that evening at 5 pm.
   On Saturday, Creighton visits the defending national champion and top-ranked Nebraska (6-0) at 8 pm.
   The Bob Devaney Sports Center (7,907 capacity) will host the action.

Radio/Video Broadcast Information
All three matches will be broadcast on KZOT (1180 AM), with Brad Burwell and Rob Anderson on the call.
   The radio broadcast can also be heard online at http://v6.player.abacast.net/2760.
   Friday's Creighton matches will not be video webcast by Nebraska. Saturday's contest at Nebraska will air statewide on NET television, and streamed on BTN2GO.com, which may require a log in with your cable provider info to access. NET can be aired in Omaha on Cox Cable on channel 12, and in HD on 1012. Larry Punteney and Kathi Wieskamp will announce.

Live Stats Information
Creighton's matches will have live stats available at http://creighton.statbroadcast.com.

Scouting Creighton
Two-time defending BIG EAST Conference champion Creighton started the season ranked 18th but is currently 4-5 and unranked after one of the nation's most difficult non-conference schedules. CU has lost five-set matches to Wichita State, at USC and to No. 4 Kansas, but does own victories over Iowa State, Northern Iowa, TCU and Chattanooga.
   Purdue transfer Lydia Dimke (10.83 aps., 2.77 dps., 1.14 kps., .322%) has been named to a pair of All-Tournament Teams, posting five double-doubles in nine starts.
   Joining Dimke on the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team was Taryn Kloth (3.14 kps., .270%), who has been red-hot her last five matches since moving back into a regular role.
   Others to keep an eye are Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Jaali Winters (3.14 kps., 3.23 dps.) as well as Lincoln natives Lauren Smith (1.63 kps., 0.91 bps., .267%) and Marysa Wilkinson (2.46 kps., 0.63 bps., .286%).
   Creighton was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST, the fourth straight year it's been the favorite in the league.
   Creighton averages 13.71 kills, 0.94 aces, 16.31 digs and 1.89 blocks per set while hitting .225 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 Gonzaga
Gonzaga is 6-1 this season, including five-set wins over Butler, Utah and Southern Utah and a five-set loss at Nevada. The Bulldogs have won the first set in all seven matches thus far.
   McKayla Ferris (4.27 kps., 2.13 dps.) leads GU in kills, with Emmy Allen (3.97 kps.. .281%) not far behind.
   Faith Smith (6.67 aps.) and Jenna Kuehn (4.93 aps.) share the setting duties, while Katelyn Oppio (1.07 bps.) is the team leader in blocks.
   Gonzaga averages 14.13 kills, 1.07 aces, 14.50 digs and 2.47 blocks per set on .246 hitting. The Bulldogs went 16-15 last year and finished seventh in the West Coast Conference with a 7-11 league mark.

Scouting Montana State
Montana State is 2-4 this fall and has been idle since September 3rd. The Bobcats have victories over Grand Canyon and Jacksonville State to their ledger this season.
   Natalie Passeck (2.96 kps., 2.70 dps., .269%) is one of four MSU players to average multiple kills per set.
   Katie Rutecki (5.30 aps.) and Sydney Mathison (4.17 aps.) split time at setter, and Allyssa Rizzo digs 4.83 balls per set.
   The Bobcats average 11.70 kills, 1.26 aces, 14.17 digs and 2.00 blocks per set on .152 hitting. MSU went 3-21 last season with a 1-15 mark in the Big Sky.

Scouting No. 1 Nebraska
The nation's top-ranked team and 2015 NCAA champions, Nebraska is off to a 6-0 start in 2016 that includes wins over No. 10 Florida and No. 2 Texas this fall. After losing its first set of the year to Florida, the Cornhuskers have won 18 straight sets.
   Twins Kadie Rolfzen (3.26 kps., .302%, 0.53 saps., 2.63 dps., 0.84 bps.) and Amber Rolfzen (2.37 kps., 1.11 bps., .374%) are part of a talented front line that also includes Andie Malloy (3.06 kps., .299), Mikaela Foecke (2.79 kps, .344%) and LSU transfer Briana Holman (2.11 kps., 1.32 bps., .35%).
   Kelly Hunter (11.32 aps., 2.26 dps., 1.42 kps., 1.00 bps.) is an All-American at setter, and Justine Wong-Orantes (3.84 dps.) is an All-American libero.
   The Cornhuskers average 15.11 kills, 1.63 aces, 14.26 digs and 2.68 blocks per set on .338 hitting. NU's defense has been aced just seven times in its first six matches.

The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 266-151 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.
   Diane Nelson (Gonzaga, 1999) is 6-1 in her first season at Gonzaga. She is assisted by Ashley Allen and Drew Pascua. Nelson had 1,094 career kills and still ranks eighth in GU history with 95 career aces. Nelson joined the Gonzaga staff prior to 2011 as a volunteer assistant and has been an assistant the past four seasons before her promotion in May.
   JJ Riley (Pepperdine, 1999) is 5-25 in his second season at Montana State. He is assisted by Daniel Jones and Stephanie Grandits. Riley arrived in Bozeman after serving the previous three seasons as an assistant at Utah. As a senior at Pepperdine, he set the Waves to the 1998 NCAA title match.
   John Cook (San Diego, 1979) owns a 474-62 record in his 17th year with Nebraska. That moves his career mark to 635-135 in 24 years overall for the former Wisconsin coach. Cook led the Huskers to national titles in 2000, 2006 and 2015 and is a two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year. Cook is assisted by Dani Busboom Kelly, Chris Tamas and Jen Tamas.

Series History vs. Gonzaga
Creighton is 1-0 all-time against Gonzaga, sweeping the Bulldogs (16-14, 15-6, 15-6) on Sept. 3, 1999 at the Cougar Challenge in Pullman, Wash.
   Melissa Walsh topped CU with 17 kills, 12 digs and four blocks. Gonzaga was led by eight kills by Heather Osberg.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth has never faced Gonzaga.

Series History vs. Montana State
Creighton has swept Montana State in both previous meetings. CU won 30-25, 30-19, 30-28 on Aug. 26, 2006 in Bozeman before a 30-16, 30-18, 30-15 blanking on Aug. 25, 2007 in Omaha.
   In the most recent meeting, Amanda Cvejdlik had 12 kills and Bianca Rivera added 19 digs. MSU hit -.044 in the match, as Patti Anderson (5) was the only Bobcat with more than three kills.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 2-0 all-time against Montana State.

Series History vs. Nebraska
Since restarting its volleyball program in 1994, Creighton is 0-14 all-time against Nebraska in the fall.
   The only times CU won a set came in 2006 and 2014, when the Bluejays took the opening frame each time. The 2014 meeting was CU's last trip to Lincoln.
   Nine of the 14 matches have taken place in Lincoln, while they've also played three times at CenturyLink Center Omaha, once at D.J. Sokol Arena and once at North Platte High School on the western side of the state.
   Nebraska has been ranked in the top-11 of every meeting, and Saturday will be the sixth time the Cornhuskers was been ranked No. 1 nationally at match time.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 0-10 all-time against the Huskers, and 0-10 against John Cook. Cook is 13-0 against Creighton.
   A pair of then-freshmen starred in last year's meeting. Jaali Winters led CU with 15 kills. Eventual Final Four MOP Mikaela Foecke led NU with 13 kills on .522 hitting in her CenturyLink Center Omaha debut, pacing the Huskers 25-17, 25-19, 25-22 victory.

Last Match Summary
Creighton lost a tightly-contested four-set match at No. 25 Kansas State on Tuesday night in Manhattan, as the Wildcats won a 18-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-21 battle.
   Taryn Kloth led CU with 14 kills on .357 hitting, but it wasn't enough to offset a career-high 18 kills by K-State's Bryna Vogel.

Connections To Lincoln
Three of Creighton's coaches and two student-athletes have ties to Lincoln or the University of Nebraska.
   Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth went to high school in Lincoln and is a member of the Lincoln East High School Hall of Fame.
   Creighton assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens was a four-year starter for the Huskers from 1997-2000, including Nebraska's unbeaten NCAA champion team in 2000 that was coached by John Cook.
   Creighton volunteer assistant coach Micah Rhodes served as a student manager at Nebraska from 2008-2011 while also serving as a practice assistant, office staff member and video coordinator.
   In addition, Lauren Smith is a senior who attended Pius X while Marysa Wilkinson is a junior who matriculated through Lincoln Southwest High School.
   Smith and Nebraska's Sydney Townsend were high school teammates at Lincoln Pius X, though they are two years apart.

Experience Against Nebraska
Though Creighton has played Nebraska in the regular-season just twice in the last few years, that doesn't mean that these two teams aren't familiar foes.
   Creighton defeated Nebraska on April 12, 2013 (25-17, 22-25, 27-25, 20-25, 15-13) in a spring contest that was the final scheduled match at the NU Coliseum. Leah McNary had 15 kills to pace CU, while Katie Neisler had a 13 kills in 48 swings to lead CU. Current fifth-year senior Lauren Smith played in that match, finishing with nine kills and six blocks on .318 hitting.
   The teams also met on April 26, 2014 for the "Rumble at Rice" on the Wayne State campus, which raised more than $17,500 for tornado relief. Three of the 11 women that played in that match that spring for CU are still on the Bluejay roster.

Largest Crowds To See The Jays
A crowd of around 8,000 fans is expected for Saturday's tilt against Nebraska.
   The largest road crowd for a Creighton match ever is 8,627 in 2002. That match also took place at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, though it was prior to the venue's 2013 renovation.
   Nebraska claims 206 consecutive regular-season sellouts, though that figure would seem to omit several matches played at the Bob Devaney Sports Center that did not sell out when it was not its primary home venue.
   Below is a list of the largest crowds in Creighton Volleyball history:
Largest Crowds (All Sites)
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU Result   Facility
   13,081   #18 Cal Poly   09/02/07   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   12,112   #1 Nebraska   09/24/06   L 1-3   CenturyLink
   10,131   #4 Nebraska   09/15/15   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   8,627   at #5 Nebraska   09/29/02   L 0-3   Devaney Ctr.
   8,060   at #9 Nebraska   09/17/14   L 1-3   Devaney Ctr.
   8,037   #2 Nebraska   10/05/08   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   6,297   at #6 Hawaii   09/08/00   L 0-3   Sheriff Ctr.
   5,967   vs. Northwestern   09/07/00   W 3-1   Sheriff Ctr.

Hometown Flavor
Creighton's 2016 roster boasts seven players from the state of Nebraska, including Lincoln products Marysa Wilkinson and Lauren Smith. Bennington native Jess Bird and Omaha natives Kelsey O'Connell, Brittany Witt and Amanda Foje round out the in-state players on the CU roster.

96, 97, 98...
Lincoln native Lauren Smith has made 98 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 98 straight starts is the fourth-longest in program history, trailing only Megan Bober (128), Korie Lebeda (119), Kelli Browning (99). Of that group, Bober and Lebeda were setters while Browning was a middle blocker who started with Smith for the first 53 matches of this skein.
   Smith ranks fifth in program history with 110 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.

Busy Stretch
This weekend in Lincoln concludes a busy time of year that sees Creighton play seven matches in a span of nine days.
   CU played at home last Thursday (No. 4 Kansas), Friday (TCU) and Saturday (Chattanooga) before Tuesday's road tilt in Manhattan, Kan. On Thursday the team travels to Lincoln, Neb., for two matches on Friday (Gonzaga and Montana State) and another on Saturday (against defending national champion Nebraska).

Against The Champs
Saturday night's showdown against defending national champion Nebraska will mark the fourth time that CU has met the reigning champs in volleyball. CU has been swept in the previous three encounters against a title holder, though it's worth noting that none of those matches took place in Omaha.
   Earlier this week the Creighton men's basketball schedule was released. It features a New Year's Eve date in Omaha against reigning champion Villanova, the first defending champ to visit Creighton since Oklahoma State in 1947.
Creighton vs. Defending NCAA Volleyball Champs
Champion   Date of Meeting   Result
Nebraska   9/25/01   Nebraska, 3-0
Stanford   9/10/05   Stanford, 3-0
Nebraska   8/31/07   Nebraska, 3-0
Nebraska   9/17/16   8 pm

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 937 career kills and 474 career blocks. She could become the 11th Bluejay with 1,000 career kills (though she's in a tight race with Jess Bird), and also could be the third player to reach 500 career blocks.
   Jess Bird owns 917 career kills and is in a race with Lauren Smith to become CU's 11th player to reach 1,000 career kills.
   Lydia Dimke owns 379 assists as a Bluejay and is seeking to become the eighth player in program history with 500 or more in a career.

Biggest Wins?
Creighton is 5-65 all-time against ranked teams, including an 0-3 mark this season. That record includes a 1-32 record in true road matches, with the lone win coming last December at No. 23 North Carolina to clinch the program's first Sweet 16 berth.
   The highest-ranked team that Creighton Volleyball has ever beaten also came last year, when CU toppled No. 10 Kentucky in straight sets on Sept. 5, 2015 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
   Looking ahead to Saturday's showdown at No. 1 Nebraska, it's worth noting that Creighton is 0-5 all-time against top-ranked teams. All five previous occasions also came against Nebraska, and CU won its only set against a No. 1 on Sept. 24, 2006 at CenturyLink Center Omaha against the Huskers.
   Across the Creighton sports landscape, the last time the Bluejays beat a No. 1-ranked team in any sport was April 24, 2001. On that night, Creighton Baseball beat No. 1 Nebraska, in Lincoln, with an 11-8 win in 10 innings at Buck Beltzer Field.

Previous Tournaments in Lincoln
This weekend will not be the first tournament that Creighton has ever played in Lincoln, as the Jays visited the NU Coliseum to play in the 2007 Holiday Inn Downtown Classic and in the 2011 Ameritas Players Challenge.
   Creighton fell to No. 1 Nebraska in 2007 before concluding the tournament with a match vs. Cal Poly at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
   In 2011, Creighton was swept by No. 11 Nebraska before sweeping both Weber State and Saint Mary's (Calif.) in ensuing contests.

Kloth With The Most
Taryn Kloth has been on a mission since seeing regular playing time in the last five matches.
   In that time, she's had matches of 23 (USC), 15 (No. 4 Kansas), 11 (TCU), 17 (Chattanooga) and 14 (No. 25 Kansas State) kills. The average of 16.0 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 20-5 all-time when Kloth hits .182 or better, 13-2 when she starts, and 21-6 when she has five or more kills in a match.

On The Double
Jaali Winters and Lydia Dimke each own five double-doubles this fall.
   Not only does that tie for the club lead, but it's worth noting that both women have earned those double-doubles in the same matches.
   Both had double-doubles against Wichita State, Iowa State, USC, Kansas and Kansas State.

2015 Turning Point After A Couple Losses
Creighton owns a 4-5 record thus far, but its has attained that mark against one of the top non-conference schedules in the country.
   Creighton entered last season's match against Kansas State with a 5-7 record. CU then fell behind 0-2 at intermission, a deficit from which it had never previously rallied to win a home match in 65 chances.
   Creighton trailed 20-18 before winning the third set (25-23), trailed 23-20 before saving a match point and winning the fourth set (26-24), and earned the victory by overcoming a 9-7 hole during a 15-13 fifth set triumph.
   Creighton's victory started a stretch that saw the Bluejays win 22-of-23 matches prior to the season-ending loss to No. 2 USC in the Sweet 16.

Big 10, Big Deal
Creighton is 4-5 this year heading into its 10th match of the season vs. Gonzaga. Even with a win, Creighton will be at or below the .500 mark.
   Last year's Creighton club that reached the Sweet 16 started the season 4-6, while the 2014 team was 6-4 after 10 matches. CU's 2010 team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament started 5-5 before finishing 21-12.

RPI On The Move
Though the NCAA's official RPI won't come out until later this month, the unofficial RPI (viewable at http://ncaastats.figstats.net/volleyball-rpi.cgi) has seen some positive trends for Creighton of late. Despite a losing record overall, CU's RPI of 53 still leaves it in good shape for an at-large bid should the team perform well this weekend and then have a good run through the BIG EAST Conference.
Date   CU RPI   CU W-L   CU SOS
Aug. 29   158   1-1   30
Sept. 7   174   2-3   129
Sept. 9   150   2-4   50
Sept. 10   57   3-4   20
Sept. 11   42   4-4   12
Sept. 14   53   4-5   12

Road Warriors
Creighton is 10-3 in its last 13 true road matches dating back to last September 6th. The only road losses in that span have come to USC and Villanova and No. 25 Kansas State.
   The first two setbacks came in five sets, while Tuesday's loss at No. 25 Kansas State came in four frames but featured narrow two-point losses in the second and third sets.

Ballenger Wins Weekly BIG EAST Award
Megan Ballenger was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Monday, Sept. 12th after averaging 1.73 kills, 2.55 digs, 0.45 blocks and 0.27 aces last week 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 Friday's 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.
   An Ankeny, Iowa native, Ballenger leads Creighton with eight service aces and also ranks in the top-five on the team in kills, digs and blocks.

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 122 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 67-56 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 last Thursday.
   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 146 digs through nine matches, and can tie Rivera's race to 200 digs if she reaches that milestone on Friday night vs. Montana State.
   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

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, including a pair of Final Four teams and the reigning national champion.
   In fact, last Saturday's contest against defending Southern Conference champ Chattanooga was CU's first against a team that was not receiving votes, and also the first against a team that did not play in last year's NCAA Tournament.
   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 5-65 all-time against top-25 foes, including a 1-32 mark in true road matches.
   Since the start of the 2012 season, 19 of Creighton's 36 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 105-17 against unranked teams.

Top 25 Notes
Creighton is 5-65 all-time against ranked competition, but two of those wins came last season. The first triumphs was a victory over then-No. 10 Kentucky, the highest ranked foe CU has ever beaten, while the second was at No. 23 North Carolina to secure the program's first Sweet 16 trip.
   Creighton is 1-32 all-time in road matches against a ranked foe, with the lone win coming on Dec. 5, 2015, at. No. 23 North Carolina.

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 2-6 in challenges (0-3 in/out, 0-0 foot fault, 2-2 ball contacting a player, 0-1 net fault).

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 55-82 since, including a 3-5 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   3-5
TOTAL   58-117
TOTAL Under Booth   55-82

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

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.

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.

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.

Offensive Production
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.

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   ???   ???

Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 93-88 in the 61 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 36-19 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 73-55 in 45 regular-season tournaments, including nine titles.
   Creighton won two regular-season tournaments in 2012, taking the season-opening USF Invitational as well as the Northern Colorado Classic, the Hampton Inn Invitational in 2013, and the 2014 Bluejay Invitational.
   Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.

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, and another came last season vs. Kansas State.
   On the other hand, Creighton is 266-2 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 227-9 (.962) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 170-3 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. One of those was against Kansas State.
   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 220-27 (.891) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 46-128 (.264) under Booth when it drops the first set.
   Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 60-1 in its last 61 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 3-3 when winning the first set, but 1-2 when losing the first set.
   Strange as it may seem, six of Creighton's last 11 matches (dating to last year) have seen the team to win the first set go on to lose the match.

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   4-5
Total   59-54   359-303

Production Returning
Creighton returns 11-of-16 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters. Below is a breakdown of the production that returns:
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%)

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 To Lincoln For Ameritas Players Challenge

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Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Maggie Baumert

Jess Bird

Kenzie Crawford

Lydia Dimke

Kate Elman

Amanda Foje

Ashley Jansen

Taryn Kloth

Kelsey O'Connell

Lauren Smith

Marysa Wilkinson

Jaali Winters

Brittany Witt