Thursday, September 8
D.J. Sokol Arena
7:00 PM
Creighton University
2-4
2
vs
3
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Kansas
7-0
1
2
3
4
5
F
Kansas
25
23
21
28
15
3
Creighton
21
25
25
26
13
2
Brittany Witt had 24 digs on Thursday.
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
#4 Kansas Escapes To Snap CU Volleyball's Home Win Streak
9/8/2016 10:23:00 PM | Volleyball
Fourth-ranked Kansas wins fourth and fifth sets by two points each
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton Volleyball had fourth-ranked Kansas on the ropes in both the fourth and fifth sets, but the Jayhawks remained unbeaten in a five-set thriller to open play at the Bluejay Invitational on Thursday night before 1,289 fans at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Scores of the match in favor of KU were 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 28-26, 15-13.
Kansas improved to 7-0, while Creighton dropped to 2-4 this year and 0-3 in five-set matches in 2016.
Lydia Dimke (50 assists, 15 digs) and Jaali Winters (21 kills, 15 digs) both had double-doubles for CU in a valiant effort in what would have been the highest-ranked opponent the Bluejays have ever beaten. Freshman Brittany Witt led the Bluejay defense with a season-high 24 digs while tying a school record by needing just six matches to reach 100 career digs. Taryn Kloth added 15 kills for CU, while Lauren Smith had a season-high 10 blocks.
The Jayhawks, who own a nation-best 37-3 record over the last two seasons, were put to the test in a match that lasted 2:35. Madison Rigdon had a career-high 24 kills and added 11 digs to lead KU's offense, helping offset a strong CU defensive effort against returning First Team All-American Kelsie Payne. Payne had 11 kills and six digs on season-low .098 hitting. KU's other returning First Team All-American, Ainise Havili, dished 43 assists and had 10 digs on .455 hitting. Cassie Wait showed why she's one of the nation's best liberos, as her 33 digs were five shy of the arena record and tied for third-most in D.J. Sokol Arena history by a CU opponent.
Creighton finished the match with more kills (64-58) and assists (60-56), while both clubs had 87 digs. KU had a 14-13 edge in blocks and an 8-3 lead in service aces.
Kansas won the first set 25-21 behind five kills from Payne. The Jayhawks raced to a 5-1 lead early, only to see the Bluejays rally to take a 15-14 lead. With the score even at 16-all, the guests embarked on a 5-1 run. CU twice got within two, but an ace by Tori Miller closed out the opening set in favor of KU.
The Bluejays tied the match with a 25-23 second set, producing 15 kills and 20 digs. Winters had seven kills and Dimke added 11 assists and six digs in the frame. CU trailed 22-20 late before a 5-1 run of its own, including a KU service error on set point.
Pinpoint serving from Megan Ballenger and Amanda Foje keyed a pair of 5-0 runs as Creighton raced to a 16-8 lead in the third set. KU closed quickly, drawing within one point at both 21-20 and 22-21, before kills from Winters, Marysa Wilkinson and Kloth gave CU a 2-1 lead in the match. Witt had 11 digs in the third set alone, while Smith had a hand in five of CU's six blocks. The Jayhawks hit a scant .019 in the third set loss, as Rigdon accounted for five of KU's 11 kills.
Rigdon kept up that momentum in the fourth set, burying seven kills to help KU overcome an early 9-4 deficit. Wait had 13 of her match-best 33 digs in the fourth set to extend the match. Creighton saved five different set points before a Rigdon's seventh kill of the set and Payne and Kayla Cheadle combined for a block on set point to force a fifth set.
The fifth set featured five ties and two lead changes. Creighton was in front 8-6 when the teams alternated benches, but KU scored the next four points and did not trail again. Consecutive Rigdon kills after CU tied the set at 10-all gave KU the two-point margin it would need, as the teams traded six straight sideouts to close out the match. Each of KU's last two points came on Bluejay serving errors, as CU made 12 miscues on the night at the stripe.
Creighton returns to action on Friday at 6 pm when it hosts TCU. Kansas plays Chattanooga at 3:30 pm to start the action on a busy evening on The Hilltop that also includes a pair of soccer games at nearby Morrison Stadium as part of the school's annual Socctoberfest celebration.
NOTES: Creighton's 12-match home win streak was snapped just one win shy of tying the school record of 13 ... Fourth-ranked Kansas is the highest-ranked volleyball team to ever play a match at D.J. Sokol Arena ... Lauren Smith made her 95th consecutive start ... Brittany Witt's six straight matches of 10+ digs to start her career is tied for third-longest in program history with Julianne Mandolfo (2010) ... Witt's six matches to reach 100 career digs ties a school-mark previously done by Bianca Rivera in 2007 ...Creighton fell to 44-26 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and 9-3 at D.J. Sokol Arena in fifth sets ... Creighton is 0-3 in five-set matches this year, the first time its lost three or more such matches since going 3-3 in 2010 ... Creighton had been 113-9 under Booth when leading a match 2-1 and 251-14 when owning a better hitting percentage than its opponent before tonight's loss ... The match was the first to use the challenge review system (instant replay) at D.J. Sokol Arena. Both teams challenged a pair of plays, but no plays were overturned on the evening ... Creighton fell to 5-64 all-time against ranked teams, 1-25 against top-10 foes, and 1-22 at home in contests against the top-25... Prior to Thursday, Kansas had lost just two of 20 sets all season, and had never trailed in sets in any match this season ... Jaali Winters 66 attack attempts were one shy of the Bluejay Invitational record ... Cassie Wait's 33 digs tied a Bluejay Invitational record for one match.
Scores of the match in favor of KU were 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 28-26, 15-13.
Kansas improved to 7-0, while Creighton dropped to 2-4 this year and 0-3 in five-set matches in 2016.
Lydia Dimke (50 assists, 15 digs) and Jaali Winters (21 kills, 15 digs) both had double-doubles for CU in a valiant effort in what would have been the highest-ranked opponent the Bluejays have ever beaten. Freshman Brittany Witt led the Bluejay defense with a season-high 24 digs while tying a school record by needing just six matches to reach 100 career digs. Taryn Kloth added 15 kills for CU, while Lauren Smith had a season-high 10 blocks.
The Jayhawks, who own a nation-best 37-3 record over the last two seasons, were put to the test in a match that lasted 2:35. Madison Rigdon had a career-high 24 kills and added 11 digs to lead KU's offense, helping offset a strong CU defensive effort against returning First Team All-American Kelsie Payne. Payne had 11 kills and six digs on season-low .098 hitting. KU's other returning First Team All-American, Ainise Havili, dished 43 assists and had 10 digs on .455 hitting. Cassie Wait showed why she's one of the nation's best liberos, as her 33 digs were five shy of the arena record and tied for third-most in D.J. Sokol Arena history by a CU opponent.
Creighton finished the match with more kills (64-58) and assists (60-56), while both clubs had 87 digs. KU had a 14-13 edge in blocks and an 8-3 lead in service aces.
Kansas won the first set 25-21 behind five kills from Payne. The Jayhawks raced to a 5-1 lead early, only to see the Bluejays rally to take a 15-14 lead. With the score even at 16-all, the guests embarked on a 5-1 run. CU twice got within two, but an ace by Tori Miller closed out the opening set in favor of KU.
The Bluejays tied the match with a 25-23 second set, producing 15 kills and 20 digs. Winters had seven kills and Dimke added 11 assists and six digs in the frame. CU trailed 22-20 late before a 5-1 run of its own, including a KU service error on set point.
Pinpoint serving from Megan Ballenger and Amanda Foje keyed a pair of 5-0 runs as Creighton raced to a 16-8 lead in the third set. KU closed quickly, drawing within one point at both 21-20 and 22-21, before kills from Winters, Marysa Wilkinson and Kloth gave CU a 2-1 lead in the match. Witt had 11 digs in the third set alone, while Smith had a hand in five of CU's six blocks. The Jayhawks hit a scant .019 in the third set loss, as Rigdon accounted for five of KU's 11 kills.
Rigdon kept up that momentum in the fourth set, burying seven kills to help KU overcome an early 9-4 deficit. Wait had 13 of her match-best 33 digs in the fourth set to extend the match. Creighton saved five different set points before a Rigdon's seventh kill of the set and Payne and Kayla Cheadle combined for a block on set point to force a fifth set.
The fifth set featured five ties and two lead changes. Creighton was in front 8-6 when the teams alternated benches, but KU scored the next four points and did not trail again. Consecutive Rigdon kills after CU tied the set at 10-all gave KU the two-point margin it would need, as the teams traded six straight sideouts to close out the match. Each of KU's last two points came on Bluejay serving errors, as CU made 12 miscues on the night at the stripe.
Creighton returns to action on Friday at 6 pm when it hosts TCU. Kansas plays Chattanooga at 3:30 pm to start the action on a busy evening on The Hilltop that also includes a pair of soccer games at nearby Morrison Stadium as part of the school's annual Socctoberfest celebration.
NOTES: Creighton's 12-match home win streak was snapped just one win shy of tying the school record of 13 ... Fourth-ranked Kansas is the highest-ranked volleyball team to ever play a match at D.J. Sokol Arena ... Lauren Smith made her 95th consecutive start ... Brittany Witt's six straight matches of 10+ digs to start her career is tied for third-longest in program history with Julianne Mandolfo (2010) ... Witt's six matches to reach 100 career digs ties a school-mark previously done by Bianca Rivera in 2007 ...Creighton fell to 44-26 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and 9-3 at D.J. Sokol Arena in fifth sets ... Creighton is 0-3 in five-set matches this year, the first time its lost three or more such matches since going 3-3 in 2010 ... Creighton had been 113-9 under Booth when leading a match 2-1 and 251-14 when owning a better hitting percentage than its opponent before tonight's loss ... The match was the first to use the challenge review system (instant replay) at D.J. Sokol Arena. Both teams challenged a pair of plays, but no plays were overturned on the evening ... Creighton fell to 5-64 all-time against ranked teams, 1-25 against top-10 foes, and 1-22 at home in contests against the top-25... Prior to Thursday, Kansas had lost just two of 20 sets all season, and had never trailed in sets in any match this season ... Jaali Winters 66 attack attempts were one shy of the Bluejay Invitational record ... Cassie Wait's 33 digs tied a Bluejay Invitational record for one match.
Team Stats
KU
CU
Kills
58
64
Errors
28
33
Attempts
193
197
Hitting %
.155
.157
Points
80.0
80.0
Assists
56
60
Aces
8
3
Blocks
14.0
13.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball#18 Creighton Volleyball vs. #1 Nebraska Highlights - 9/16/25
Wednesday, September 17
Creighton Volleyball vs. Nebraska Press Conference - 9/16/25
Monday, September 15
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. UNI - 9/14/25
Sunday, September 14
Creighton Volleyball Press Conference vs. UNI - 9/14/25
Sunday, September 14
