Volleyball Returns Home To Host Bluejay Invitational

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This Week -- Bluejay Invitational
Sept. 8   7 pm   #4 Kansas at Creighton (1180 AM KZOT)   Omaha, Neb (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Sept. 9   3:30 pm   Chattanooga vs. #4 Kansas   Omaha, Neb (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Sept. 9   6 pm   TCU at Creighton (1180 AM KZOT)   Omaha, Neb (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Sept. 10   12 pm   TCU vs. Chattanooga    Omaha, Neb (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Sept. 10   7 pm   Chattanooga at Creighton (1180 AM KZOT)   Omaha, Neb (D.J. Sokol Arena)

This Weekend
After two consecutive weekends on the road, the Creighton Volleyball team plays its first home matches of the fall this weekend when it hosts the Bluejay Invitational.
   The four-team field includes Creighton (2-3), No. 4 Kansas (6-0), TCU (4-1) and Chattanooga (5-2) and features five matches overall, as Kansas will not face TCU since the pair are already scheduled to meet twice in Big 12 play.
   The event starts on Thursday night at 7 pm when Creighton hosts Kansas.
   Friday's action will see Chattanooga meet Kansas at 3:30 pm, followed by TCU at Creighton.
   On Saturday, TCU meets Chattanooga at Noon in a match that is free to attend, followed by Chattanooga's match at Creighton at 7 pm.
   The event will take place at D.J. Sokol Arena (capacity 2,500) in Omaha, Neb.

Radio/Video Broadcast Information
All five matches of the Bluejay Invitational will be video webcast free of charge on Creighton's website at http://www.gocreighton.com/watch.
        All of Creighton's matches will be broadcast on KZOT (1180 AM). Rachel Houseman and Glen Sisk announce on Thursday, Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson Russell will announce on Friday and Burwell/Houseman on Saturday.
   The radio broadcast can also be heard online at http://v6.player.abacast.net/2760.

Live Stats Information
All matches at the Bluejay Invitational will have free live stats. Visit GoCreighton.com and click on the Volleyball schedule page for the exact links, or visit creighton.statbroadcast.com.

Scouting Creighton
Two-time defending BIG EAST Conference champion Creighton started the season ranked 18th but has dropped out of the top-25 after a 2-3 start. Creighton owns wins over Iowa State (3-1) and Northern Iowa (3-0), but has lost to Wichita State (3-2), No. 23 Kentucky (3-0) and USC (3-2).
   Spearheading the returners is Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Jaali Winters (3.15 kps., 3.15 dps.). Winters was a unanimous pick as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2015, when she also took home AVCA Third Team All-American honors, after setting a CU single-season record with 546 kills.
   In the middle, Lauren Smith (1.50 kps., 0.65 bps., .244%) was an honorable-mention All-American last year after pacing the BIG EAST in both blocks per set and hitting percentage.
   At the setter position, Purdue transfer Lydia Dimke (10.20 aps., 2.80 dps.) has made an immediate impact while replacing graduated all-BIG EAST pick Maggie Baumert.
   Two others to keep an eye on are USC Radisson Classic All-Tournament Team picks Marysa Wilkinson (2.70 kps., 0.75 bps., .323%) and Brittany Witt (4.30 dps., 0.30 saps.). Wilkinson tops the team in hitting percentage and blocks, while Witt leads CU in both digs and aces.
   Creighton was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST, the fourth straight year it's been the favorite in the league.
   Creighton averages 13.10 kills, 1.00 aces, 15.75 digs and 1.75 blocks per set while hitting .203 as a team.

Scouting #4 Kansas
Owners of the nation's best record since the start of the 2015 season, Kansas enters this week 6-0 and ranked fourth nationally. The Jayhawks opened the season with sweeps over Mississippi State, Eastern Washington, Lamar, Chicago State and Maryland before winning a five-setter vs. Arkansas last Saturday.
   AVCA First Team All-Americans Ainise Havili (11.21 aps., 2.79 dps.) and Kelsie Payne (3.83 kps., 3.21 %, 2.56 dps., 0.83 bps.) headline a talented KU line-up.
   Madison Rigdon (3.68 kps., 2.16 dps., 0.74 saps., .270%) leads the team in kills and aces, while Cassie Wait (5.32 dps.) has the KU lead in digs.
   Kansas averages 13.30 kills, 15.75 digs, 2.35 blocks and 1.85 service aces per set on .264 hitting.

Scouting TCU
On the heels of a 19-10 season that culminated in an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, TCU is 4-1 this fall. The Horned Frogs had wins over North Carolina State (3-0), Arkansas State (3-2), Boise State (3-0) and Duke (3-2) before falling in three sets at No. 12 North Carolina last Saturday.
   Six players own between 32 and 53 kills this season, a group led by Sarita Mikals (2.79 kps., 3.89 dps., 0.37 saps.). Mikals also leads TCU in aces and digs.
   Lamprini Konstantinidou (5.47 aps.) and Kaylee Smith (5.26 aps.) set the Frogs 6-2 offense, while Natalie Gower (1.21 bps.) leads the club in blocks.
   TCU averages 13.47 kills, 15.84 digs, 2.26 blocks and 0.95 aces per set while hitting .256.

Scouting Chattanooga
Defending Southern Conference champ Chattanooga is 5-2 this year. The Mocs started 4-0 and have a win over Xavier, but have also lost to Northwestern and Dayton this fall.
   Allie Davenport (3.55 kps., 2.60 dps., 0.60 saps.) leads the team in kills and aces, but four other teammates own multiple kills per set.
   Lauren Greenspoon (9.95 aps.) directs the offense, while libero Rachel Petkosh (4.74 dps.) runs the defense.
   UTC averages 12.27 kills, 14.59 digs, 1.50 blocks and 2.05 aces per set on .241 hitting.

The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 264-149 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.
   Ray Bechard owns a 331-229 record in his 19th season at Kansas. He's led Kansas to a pair of Sweet 16's, including last season's Final Four in Omaha. He owns a career mark of 1047-288 in 33 years as a coach, and is assisted by Laura Kuhn and Todd Chamberlain.
   Jill Kramer is 23-11 in her second year at TCU, which moves her career mark to 89-94 in seven seasons. She helped the Horned Frogs to the NCAA Tournament last fall, and is assisted by Sara Matthews, Brian Wright and Trent Kersten.
   Travis Filar is 67-98 in his sixth season as Chattanooga head coach, which also doubles as his career mark. Filar led the Mocs to the 2015 Southern Conference title, and is assisted by Savannah Stansell and Darin VanHorn.

Series History vs. Kansas
Kansas has won seven of eight matches against Creighton since CU reinstituted volleyball in 1994, claiming victories in 2002 (3-0 in Omaha), 2003 (3-0 in Lawrence), 2009 (3-1 in Lawrence), 2010 (3-1 in Omaha), 2012 (3-2 in Lawrence), 2013 (3-1 in Lawrence in the NCAA's), and 2014 (3-1 in Lawrence). Creighton's lone win in that stretch came in Omaha in 2013, beating the Jayhawks in four sets behind 15 kills on .400 hitting from Kelli Browning.
   Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-6 against Kansas and Ray Bechard.

Series History vs. TCU
Creighton has never faced TCU.

Series History vs. Chattanooga
Creighton is 1-0 all-time against Chattanooga, sweeping the Mocs (18-16, 15-8, 15-3) in New Orleans on Sept. 2, 1994 in a game that was the first since the program's 1994 reinstatement.
   JoDe Cieloha led Creighton with 13 kills and 10 digs in that match, and Melissa Weisensee added 30 assists.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth has never faced Chattanooga.

Last Weekend Summary
Creighton went 1-2 at the USC Radisson Classic in Los Angeles last weekend, sweeping Northern Iowa before losing to No. 23 Kentucky (3-0) and at USC (3-2). Marysa Wilkinson led the team in kills, blocks and hitting percentage, while Brittany Witt topped the club in aces and digs as both women were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Bluejay Invitational History
This will be the 12th edition of the Bluejay Invitational, where host Creighton is 18-13 all-time in the event. The Bluejays have never gone winless in the event, and its lone title came in 2014, when it topped Pepperdine, Bowling Green and Wichita State.
   Champions, by year, include Iowa State (2005), Iowa (2006), Middle Tennessee (2007), Minnesota (2008), Illinois (2009), Kansas (2010), Northern Illinois (2011), Kansas State (2012), California (2013), Creighton (2014) and Pacific (2015).
   Between 11 Bluejay Invitationals, (2005-15), two Creighton First Serve Festivals (1996-97), three Creighton Classics (2011, 2014 and 2015), one MVC Tournament (2009) and two BIG EAST Tournament (2013, 2015), Creighton has won just two of the 19 tournaments it has hosted since the program's 1994 restart. Those were the 2014 Bluejay Invitational and the 2015 BIG EAST Tournament.

More Bluejay Invitational History
There have been 29 previous schools (besides Creighton) to play in the Bluejay Invitational, including two appearances each by Northern Colorado and Lipscomb. This year will see Chattanooga and TCU make their first trip to Omaha for volleyball, while Kansas won the event in 2010 in its lone previous trip.
   Creighton's 18 wins are most in Bluejay Invitational history, while Kansas' three wins are tied for second-most.
   Should Kansas or Creighton win the Bluejay Invitational, it would become the first school to win two titles in event history.

Longitude Aptitude
Teams located west of Omaha are a combined 16-27 all-time with three Bluejay Invitational titles, while teams to the east of Omaha are 26-18 with seven titles.
   Of this year's field, Chattanooga and Kansas are east of Omaha while TCU is located west of Omaha.

Home Sweet Home Openers
Creighton enters Thursday's match vs. No. 4 Kansas with a 15-7 mark in home openers, including a 10-3 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
   Creighton has won its last four home openers and is 6-1 at D.J. Sokol Arena in season lid-lifters.

Another Loaded Field
This weekend's Bluejay Invitational field features three teams (Creighton, TCU and No. 4 Kansas) that are receiving votes in this week's AVCA poll. It's the third time since 2008 that the event, which started in 2005, can say it.
   Below is a list of each team to enter play having received votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll the week of the Bluejay Invitational. Those previous 12 teams are a collective 26-9 with seven titles.
Year   (Rank) Team   W-L at Bluejay Invite
2007   (RV) Middle Tennessee   3-0
2008   #16 Minnesota   3-0
2008   #21 LSU   2-1
2008   (RV) Texas A&M   0-3
2009   #10 Illinois   2-0
2012   #21 Kansas State   3-0
2013   #19 Creighton   2-1
2013   (RV) California   3-0
2014   (RV) Creighton   3-0
2015   (RV) Creighton   2-1
2015   (RV) Pacific   3-0
2015   (RV) Lipscomb   0-3
2016   #4 Kansas   ???
2016   (RV) Creighton   ???
2016   (RV) TCU   ???

Career Highs Shattered
Creighton had numerous career-highs shattered by its veterans in last Saturday's late night loss 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 23 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 121 matches to last two or more hours until Kirsten Bernthal Booth, but none have been longer than the 2:42 it took to complete last Saturday's 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 67-54 in matches to crack to the two-hour mark.
   Saturday's 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.

Streaking, At Home
Creighton enters Thursday's home opener vs. No. 4 Kansas with 12 straight home wins dating to last season.
   That's one shy of the school record set from Sept. 1, 2012 to Sept. 7, 2013, before it was snapped by California in the Bluejay Invitational.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins   Dates   Snapped By
   13   Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013   California, 3-0
   12   Sept. 20, 2015-Present   ? ? ?
   9   Sept. 20, 2014-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
   8   Sept. 25-Nov. 20, 2010   Northern Illinois, 3-0
   7   Oct. 17, 2008-Aug. 28, 2009   #10 Illinois, 3-0
   6   Oct. 22, 2005-Sept. 2, 2006   Iowa, 3-2
   5   Sept. 10-Oct. 20, 2013   St. John's, 3-2

Double-Digit Witt
Brittany Witt has had 10 or more digs in all five matches she's played so far, including a high of 23 at USC last Saturday.
   Only three 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 can tie Julianne Mandolfo for third place with 10+ digs vs. Kansas on Thursday. 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
5   Brittany Witt   2016
3   Brittany Coleman   2003

Witt Chases 100 Digs
Brittany Witt enters the Bluejay Invitational with a team-high 86 digs in her first five career matches.
   Should Witt collect 14 or more digs in Thursday's match vs. Kansas, she'll tie the school record for fewest matches needed to reach 100 career digs. That mark is currently owned by Bianca Rivera, who needed six matches during the 2007 season to reach that milestone.
   Rivera also 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
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 last Saturday night.
   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, Saturday's contest against defending Southern Conference champ Chattanooga is CU's first against a team that is not currently receiving votes, and also the first against a team that did not play in last year's NCAA Tournament.
   All but one 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 5-63 all-time against top-25 foes, including a 1-11 mark in home matches.
   Since the start of the 2012 season, 17 of Creighton's 34 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 103-17 against unranked teams.

Top 25 Notes
Creighton is 5-63 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 1-21 all-time in home matches against a ranked foe, with the lone win coming on Oct. 2, 2009, vs. No. 25 Wichita State.
   Kansas, ranked No. 4 nationally, will be the highest ranked volleyball team to ever play at D.J. Sokol Arena. The mark was previously held by No. 7 Nebraska, which topped CU on Aug. 31, 2010.
   A win over No. 4 Kansas would mark the highest-ranked foe Creighton has ever beaten, topping the win over No. 10 Kentucky last season in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

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 0-1 in challenges (0-1 in/out, 0-0 foot fault, 0-0 ball contacting a player, 0-0 net fault).
   Plans for this week's Bluejay Invitational call for the challenge review system to be in place on Thursday and Saturday only. It'll be the first home volleyball matches Creighton has ever played with the system in place.

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 last week's AVCA poll, and is now in the "others receiving votes" after ranking 30th this week.

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.

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.

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 91-87 in the 60 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 34-18 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 71-54 in 44 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.
   On the other hand, Creighton is 264-2 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 225-9 (.962) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 168-3 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.
   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 218-26 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 46-127 under Booth when it drops the first set.
   Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 58-1 in its last 59 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 1-2 when winning the first set, but 1-1 when losing the first set.
   Strange as it may seem, five of Creighton's last seven 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 44-25 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including an 0-2 mark this year and a 15-6 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 9-2 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   0-2   2-3
Total   59-53   357-301

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%)

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 54-80 since, including a 2-3 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   2-3
TOTAL   57-115
TOTAL Under Booth   54-80

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 Returns Home To Host Bluejay Invitational

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Players Mentioned

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