Volleyball Opens BIG EAST Play With Top-50 Foes

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This Weekend
Sept. 23   7 pm   Marquette at Creighton (BEDN)   Omaha, Neb (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Sept. 25   1 pm   DePaul at Creighton (1180 AM)   Omaha, Neb (D.J. Sokol Arena)

Next Match
Creighton's (6-6) opens BIG EAST play with a pair of matches at home this weekend.
   On Friday at 7 pm, CU welcomes Marquette (10-2) to Omaha for an early showdown of the teams that have been picked to finish 1-2 in the league's preseason poll.
   On Sunday at 1 pm, Creighton hosts DePaul (6-6) in a battle of top-50 RPI teams.
   D.J. Sokol Arena (capacity 2,500) in Omaha, Neb., will host both matches.

Radio/Video Broadcast Information
Friday's match will not be on radio, but will be video streamed at no charge on the league's BIG EAST Digital Network, which can be found at www.foxsportsgo.com. Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson Russell will announce.
   Sunday's contest can be heard on KZOT (1180 AM) in Omaha, with Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson Russell announcing. A free video feed with the radio call will be video webcast at www.gocreighton.com/watch, while a radio webcast of just the audio will be available at http://v6.player.abacast.net/2760.

Live Stats Information
Both matches this week 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 6-6 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 the likes of Iowa State, Northern Iowa, TCU and Chattanooga.
   Purdue transfer Lydia Dimke (11.11 aps., 2.67 dps., 1.07 kps., .292%) has been named to a pair of All-Tournament Teams, posting six double-doubles in 12 starts.
   Last weekend Creighton had both middle blockers named to the Ameritas Players Challenge All-Tournament Team, Marysa Wilkinson (2.49 kps., 0.78 bps., .313%) and Lauren Smith (1.89 kps., 0.93 bps., .305%).
   Others to keep an eye are Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Jaali Winters (3.05 kps., 3.11 dps.) as well as two-time reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Megan Ballenger (1.98 kps., 1.71 dps., 0.29 saps., .250%), a fellow Ankeny, Iowa, native.
   Creighton was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST, the fourth straight year it's been the favorite in the league.
   Creighton averages 13.93 kills, 1.02 aces, 16.04 digs and 1.98 blocks per set while hitting .233 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 Marquette
No team in the BIG EAST has a better record in non-conference play than Marquette and its 10-2 mark. The Golden Eagles own road wins at both No. 7 USC and Kentucky, and also have impressive victories over Cincinnati, Saint Louis, Virginia, Iowa State and Missouri State to their credit. MU's only losses have come to Santa Clara and Wichita State.
   Sophomore OH Taylor Louis (4.37 kps., .261%) has twice as many kills and attempts as any other Marquette player, and ranks as one of the elite attackers in the BIG EAST.
   Meghan Niemann (2.05 kps., 0.98 bps., .320%) joined Louis on the BIG EAST's Preseason All-Conference Team, and pairs with Jenna Rosenthal (1.93 kps., 1.09 bps., .294%) to form an outstanding middle blocker duo.
   Sara Blasier (9.52 aps.) quarterbacks the offense, while Lauren Houg (5.30 dps.) leads the BIG EAST in digs as the libero.
   Marquette averages 13.00 kills, 17.00 kills, 1.23 aces and 2.34 blocks per set on .243 hitting.

Scouting DePaul
DePaul is 6-6 this season and has yet to post more than two consecutive wins or losses. The Blue Demons are 3-9 in second sets this season, but 9-3 in the third set. DePaul's unofficial RPI of 48 on Wednesday morning ranked immediately higher than Penn State, Ohio State and Kansas.
   Brittany Maxwell (3.69 kps., .354%, 0.29 saps.) is the team leader in kills and aces, while Caitlyn Coffey (2.35 kps., .398%, 0.25 saps.) tops the club in hitting percentage and is second in both kills and aces.
   Colleen Smith averages 9.83 assists per set and Lexi Chanos (3.00 dps.) leads DePaul in digs.
   The Blue Demons average 13.56 kills, 1.35 aces, 11.44 digs and 1.90 blocks per set on .259 hitting.

The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 268-152 record in her 14th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to back-to-back BIG EAST titles, and three league crowns in the last four years. Last year, she also led the Bluejays to their first Sweet 16 in program history after winning the Chapel Hill sub-Regional and was named 2015 BIG EAST Coach of the Year and 2015 AVCA East Region Coach of the Year.
   She was also named the 2010 CVU.com National Coach of the Year after leading Creighton to the second round during its first NCAA Tournament appearance, and named the CaptainU College Coach of the Year, as well as the MVC Coach of the Year, in 2012 following another run to the second round of the NCAA's and a school-record 29 victories.
   The winningest coach in school history, Booth has led Creighton to its only five NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also led the Jays into the top-25 each of the last five years, another program first.
   Booth came to Creighton after going 112-41 in three years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A native of Lincoln, Neb., Booth played volleyball at Truman State, where she was named conference MVP, an Academic All-American and Missouri's 1997 NCAA Woman of the Year. She ranked third in Division II history with 6,077 assists when she graduated.
   Booth is assisted by Ryan Meek, Angie Oxley Behrens and Micah Rhodes.
   Ryan Theis (Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2000) is in his third season as head coach at Marquette, having been named to the position on Feb. 14, 2014. He owns an 56-23 mark with the Golden Eagles, moving his career mark to 200-77 in nine seasons when you factor in a six-year run at Ohio. He is assisted by Ryan Lengerich and Meghan Keck.
   Nadia Edwards (Penn State, 2001) owns a 62-128 record in her seventh season as head coach at DePaul, which also doubles as her career record. Before DPU, she was an assistant at both Ohio State and Virginia Tech after a three-year pro career. She is assisted by Nicasio Paquiz Jr., and Arielle Wilson.

Series History vs. Marquette
Creighton is 9-3 all-time against Marquette, including a 5-1 mark in regular-season BIG EAST play. Creighton has won the last five meetings, including three wins last year capped by a 3-2 victory in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals.
   Seven of the last 11 meetings have been sweeps, and teams to win the first set are 11-1 all-time in the history of the series.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 9-3 against Marquette and 5-0 against Ryan Theis.

Series History vs. DePaul
Creighton has won six of seven previous meetings with DePaul, and are 6-0 since the two schools became BIG EAST rivals.
   DePaul swept the first meeting in 2001 in DeKalb, Ill., before Creighton's recent run, which has included one five-set win, four different four-set wins and a sweep.
   In last year's meeting in Omaha, DePaul won the first two sets before Creighton rallied to take the match in five sets.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 6-0 against DePaul and Nadia Edwards.

Last Weekend Summary
Creighton went 2-1 last weekend at the Ameritas Players Challenge in Lincoln, Neb. The Bluejays swept both Gonzaga and Montana State before falling in four sets against No. 1 Nebraska in a battle for the event's championship.
   Lauren Smith and Marysa Wilkinson, a pair of Lincoln natives, were named to the All-Tournament Team. The duo led CU in kills, blocks and hitting percentage last weekend.

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 50 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, seven more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   5-1   -   5-1
DePaul   6-0   -   6-0
Georgetown   6-0   -   6-0
Marquette   5-1   1-1   6-2
Providence   4-0   -   4-0
Seton Hall   3-3   1-0   4-3
St. John's   5-1   -   5-1
Villanova   5-1   1-0   6-1
Xavier   6-0   2-0   8-0
Total   45-7   5-1   50-8

Gracious Hosts
Since the BIG EAST restructured in 2013, Creighton and Marquette are the only two schools to host the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship.
   Creighton hosted the event in 2013 as Marquette won the title.
   In 2014 Marquette hosted the event, but it was Creighton that hoisted the trophy.
   Last fall, the event returned to D.J. Sokol Arena, where Creighton won the crown.
   This year's BIG EAST Championship will be hosted by Butler and take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.

League Opener Histories
Last season's win over Seton Hall improved Creighton to 14-8 record all-time in conference openers, including an 11-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 2-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and two straight wins.
   Each of the last three times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015), the Bluejays went on to win both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, going a combined 50-4 in regular-season league action (and 6-0 in league tournament action) during those years.
   In the 14 seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and it owns a combined .698 (176-76) winning percentage in league matches.
    In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Jays have had a losing record five times and it owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
   In conference home openers, Creighton is 17-5 overall and 11-2 under Booth, with five straight wins.
   In league road openers, Creighton is 13-9 overall and 10-3 under Booth, with two straight wins.

Wilkinson's Huge Night
Marysa Wilkinson hit .786 last Friday night 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

Smith's Surge Towards 1,000 KIlls
Lauren Smith enters this weekend with 965 career kills in 114 career matches, and has an outside chance at becoming the 11th player since the program's reinstatement to record 1,000 or more career kills.
   Smith's personal high for kills in consecutive matches is 27, done last September, and her career-high for kills in any match is 16 last year at Georgetown.
   The last Bluejay to reach 1,000 career kills was Kelli Browning, who did so on Oct. 26, 2014 in a home match vs. DePaul.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Melissa Walsh   70   10/15/00   Eastern Illinois
Leah Ratzlaff   76   10/22/04   Missouri State
JoDe Cieloha   83   09/13/97   at Drake
Kelly Goc   87   11/24/06   vs. Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts   90   11/08/08   Illinois State
Leah McNary   96   09/12/14   Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik   99   11/15/08   at Evansville
Shelly Kapler   103   11/18/99   vs. Missouri St.
Allie Oelke   107   10/09/10   Wichita State
Kelli Browning   110   10/26/14   DePaul

Give Me Five
Creighton beat both DePaul and Marquette in five sets the last time each of those teams visited D.J. Sokol Arena.
   CU eliminated Marquette in the 2015 BIG EAST Tournament semifinals with a 15-10 victory after the Golden Eagles won sets three and four to extend the match.
   In DePaul's last visit last October, the Blue Demons led CU 2-0 at the intermission before the Bluejays rallied to win the last three sets. It remains Creighton's only conference home victory in history after falling behind 0-2.

Let's Compare
Let's take a look at how Creighton's start in 2016 compares to how its three league champions (2012, 2014, 2015) fared after 12 matches:
Stat   2016   2015   2014   2012
W-L Thru 12   6-6   5-7   6-6   10-2
Final W-L   ? ? ?   27-9   23-9   29-4
Postseason   ? ? ?   NCAA   NCAA   NCAA
Kills/Set   13.93   12.49   14.06   13.18
Hitting %   .233   .223   .222   .254
Aces/Set   1.02   1.16   0.89   1.22
Digs/Set   16.04   15.05   15.64   16.07
Blocks/Set   1.98   2.27   2.37   3.13
Sophomore Sensations
No freshmen nationally had more kills last season than Marquette's Taylor Louis and Creighton's Jaali Winters.
   Louis ranked fifth nationally with 611 kills, with Winters not far behind by ranking 10th with 546 putaways.
   A distant third among freshmen last season was Houston's Brookah Palmer, who had 506 kills to rank 22nd among all collegians.
   From last year's freshman class nationwide, a new sophomore has emerged. Butler sophomore Anna Logan leads the nation thus far with 279 kills heading into the weekend after "just" 366 total kills last fall.

Preseason Showdown
Creighton and Marquette were picked to finish first and second in the preseason BIG EAST poll, combining to earn all 10 first-place votes in the poll.
   Marquette (in 2013) and Creighton (in 2014 and 2015) have combined to win the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles each of the previous three seasons since the league's realignment.
   Rank   Team (1st Place votes)   Points
   1.   Creighton (9)   81
   2.   Marquette (1)   70
   3.   Xavier    63
   4.   Villanova   62
   5.   Butler   41
   6.   St. John's   40
   7.   Seton Hall   31
   8.   Georgetown   26
   9.   DePaul   22
   10.   Providence   14
First-place votes in parentheses (#)
Points awarded 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Coaches could not vote for their own teams

Challenging Schedules So Far
The NCAA website tracks the nation's toughest schedules played through Monday, Sept. 19th.
   Creighton's opponents were 86-36, and that .705 winning percentage makes it the fifth-toughest nationally. Only Stanford, Wisconsin, Texas and Hawaii have faced a tougher slate.
   Not far behind is DePaul, which had faced teams that have gone 94-42 for a .691 win percentage.
   Last year Creighton faced the nation's eighth-toughest schedule per the NCAA, with foes going 466-260 (.642) overall. Marquette (453-278; .620) had the second-toughest schedule in the league (22nd nationally), while DePaul (258-391; .398) had the easiest schedule in the league (313th of 334 teams nationally).

Notes From Nebraska Near-Miss
Despite last Saturday's 3-1 loss at No. 1 Nebraska, Creighton still had some notable achievements from the contest.
• Creighton won set one, snapping NU's 24-set winning streak.
• Creighton had a golden opportunity to go up 2-1 in the match, but was unable to convert any of the three set points it had late in third set.
• Creighton's 81 points were the most scored against the Cornhuskers this season, and the most allowed at home by Nebraska since Wisconsin scored 97 in a 3-1 win over NU on Oct. 24, 2015.
• Creighton Volleyball became the first team with five aces against Nebraska in Lincoln since Penn State also had five on Oct. 3, 2014. NU had allowed just 11 aces in eight matches all season prior to Creighton's five service winners.
• There were 31 ties and 11 lead changes in the Creighton/Nebraska match, far more than any other opponent against NU this year. By comparison, No. 10 Florida (the only other team to win a set vs. NU) had 21 ties and seven lead changes in its match vs. the Cornhuskers. The 31 & 11 were the most against NU since there were 31 & 12 for Texas vs. Nebraska in the 2015 NCAA title match.

Ballenger Repeats BIG EAST Honor
Megan Ballenger was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the second straight week. 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 Friday's 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 on Friday.
   She closed the weekend with six kills, five digs, two blocks and an ace at No. 1 Nebraska on Saturday. Ballenger served during a 3-0 run as Creighton rallied from a 21-18 deficit late in the first set of an eventual 25-23 Bluejay victory that snapped NU's 24-set win streak.

Ankeny - Home of the BIG EAST's Best Frosh
Creighton's Jaali Winters and Megan Ballenger were teammates in high school for a bit, and have reunited to win big at the college ranks.
   Combined, the duo from Ankeny, Iowa, have won eight of the last 15 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors. Winters won six times in the final 11 weeks of 2015, while Ballenger has won two of four 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 55-7 (.887) in regular-season conference home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena all-time, including a 24-2 mark against BIG EAST competition. St. John's (in 2013) and Seton Hall (in 2014) own the only victories against CU.
   The Bluejays have had a winning record in conference home matches each of the previous 10 seasons. That streak that dates back to its days at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, a site that is currently being torn down.

Largest Crowds To See The Jays
Creighton played before 24,248 fans in three matches in Lincoln last weekend.
   Last Friday night's crowd of 8,277 vs. Montana State was the fifth-largest crowd CU has ever seen, and the largest for a Bluejay win.
   Below is a list of the largest crowds in Creighton Volleyball history, with each of the top nine spots having taken place within the state.
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.
   8,277   vs. Montana St.   09/16/16   W 3-0   Devaney Ctr.
   8,249   at #1 Nebraska   09/17/16   L 1-3   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
   7,922   vs. Gonzaga   09/16/16   W 3-0   Devaney Ctr.
   6,297   at #6 Hawaii   09/08/00   L 0-3   Sheriff Ctr.

99, 100, 101...
Lauren Smith has made 101 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 101 straight starts is the third-longest in program history, trailing only Megan Bober (128) and Korie Lebeda (119). Of that group, Bober and Lebeda were both setters.
   Smith ranks fifth in program history with 113 career starts overall, and would pass Bober's record for career starts (also 128) on Nov. 12 vs. Providence if she remains a starter until then.

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

Milestone Watch
Several Bluejays are nearing some milestones that are within reach.
   Lauren Smith owns 965 career kills and 484 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 923 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 500 assists as a Bluejay. She is the eighth player in program history with 500 or more in a career. Kenzie Crawford can become the ninth player with 500+ assists with 49 more assists.

Kloth With The Most
Taryn Kloth has been on a mission since seeing regular playing time in the last eight matches.
   In that time, she's had matches of 23 (USC), 15 (No. 4 Kansas), 17 (Chattanooga) and 14 (No. 25 Kansas State) kills. The average of 13.13 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 22-5 all-time when Kloth hits .182 or better, 15-2 when she starts, and 23-8 when she has five or more kills in a match.

2015 Turning Point After A Couple Losses
Creighton owns a 6-6 record thus far, but its has attained that mark against one of the top non-conference schedules in the country.
   Creighton ended last season's final non-conference match with a 6-7 record before starting a stretch that saw the Bluejays win 21-of-22 matches prior to the season-ending loss to No. 2 USC in the Sweet 16.

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 .500 record overall, CU's RPI of 37 still leaves it in good shape for an at-large bid should the team 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
Sept. 21   37   6-6   8

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

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

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

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

Witt Races To 100 Digs
Brittany Witt tied the school record for fewest matches needed to reach 100 career digs, matching Bianca Rivera's six contests during the 2007 season to reach that milestone.
   Witt now owns a team-high 191 digs through 12 matches, and tie the mark to be the second-fastest to 200 career digs on Friday night.
   Rivera owns the school record for fewest matches to 200 (11 matches), 300 (15), 400 (20), 500 (25), 600 (31), 700 (38), 800 (43), 900 (49), 1,000 (53) and 1,100 (58) career digs.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   6   09/02/07   Cal Poly
Brittany Witt   6   09/08/16   #4 Kansas
Nayka Benitez   8   09/12/09   Connecticut
Melissa Weisensee   10   09/30/94   Missouri State
Kailey Reyes   10   09/27/98   at Western Illinois
Brittany Coleman   10   09/19/03   Southern Illinois
Julianne Mandolfo   10   09/11/10   vs. Central Michigan

Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   11   09/15/07   vs. Charlotte
Nayka Benitez   13   09/25/09   at Indiana State
Kate Elman   13   09/22/13   Drake
Julianne Mandolfo   15   10/01/10   at Illinois State
Kailey Reyes   16   10/17/98   at Illinois State

Smith Heats Up
Senior MB Lauren Smith has seen her productivity jump drastically in the last two weeks.
   Smith averaged 1.48 kills and 0.92 blocks per set while hitting .238 in CU's first six matches.
   In the last six matches, Smith has averaged 2.40 kills and 0.95 blocks per set while hitting .375.
   Smith had a season-high 12 kills at No. 1 Nebraska on Sept. 17, and has hit .316 or better in each of her last six 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 107-17 against unranked teams.

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Creighton's 2015 club beat 11 teams that appeared in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
   The schedule figures to be just as daunting in 2016, as CU plays 13 matches against 2015 NCAA Tournament qualifiers.
   After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 55-83 since, including a 3-6 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   3-6
TOTAL   58-118
TOTAL Under Booth   55-83

Marian Pipeline
This is the 14th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as Kelsey O'Connell returns and is joined by freshman Brittany Witt.
   Each of the previous five years, Creighton's year-end leader in both digs and aces has been a player that attended Marian.
   Interestingly, the Bluejays had never had a volleyball player from Marian between 1994-2002. Here's a look at Creighton's pipeline of players from Marian.
2003: Emily Greisch 2004: Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2004: Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2005: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2006: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2007: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2008: Emily Crowley, Korie Lebeda
2009: Lisa Greisch
2010: Lisa Greisch, Julianne Mandolfo
2011: Julianne Mandolfo
2012: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2013: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2014: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2015: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen, Kelsey O'Connell
2016: Kelsey O'Connell, Brittany Witt

The Reviews Are In
Creighton's Aug. 28 match vs. Iowa State was Creighton's first it has played using the Challenge Review System, NCAA Volleyball's new instant replay program.
   Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth challenged just one call, an in/out call in the second set with CU trailing 17-12.
   Though the replay review confirmed the original line judge call to put Creighton in an 18-12 deficit, CU would rally to score 13 of the next 17 points to win the second set, and eventually claim a four-set victory.
   For the season, Booth is 2-9 in challenges (0-3 in/out, 0-0 foot fault, 2-4 ball contacting a player, 0-2 net fault).

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 95-89 in the 62 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 38-20 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 75-56 in 46 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 268-2 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 229-9 (.962) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 172-3 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 DePaul.
   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 222-28 (.888) 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 5-4 when winning the first set, but 1-2 when losing the first set.
   Strange as it may seem, seven of Creighton's last 14 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   6-6
Total   59-54   361-304

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Maggie Baumert

Jess Bird

Kenzie Crawford

Lydia Dimke

Kate Elman

Ashley Jansen

Taryn Kloth

Kelsey O'Connell

Lauren Smith

Marysa Wilkinson

Jaali Winters

Brittany Witt