#17 Volleyball Returns Home To Host Butler and Xavier

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This Weekend
Oct. 13   7 pm   Butler at #17 Creighton (BEDN)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Oct. 15   1 pm   Xavier at #17 Creighton (1180 AM KZOT)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)

This Weekend
No. 17 Creighton (12-5, 5-1 BIG EAST) starts a four-match homestand in a 10-day span.
   The busy stretch begins on Friday at 7 p.m. when the Bluejays welcome Butler (14-5, 4-3 BIG EAST) in a battle of the two teams that finished atop the preseason BIG EAST poll.
   On Sunday, Creighton hosts Xavier (7-14, 2-5 BIG EAST) in a 1 p.m. contest that is a rematch of the 2016 BIG EAST Championship title tilt.
   Both matches will take place at D.J. Sokol Arena (2,500) in Omaha, Neb.

Radio Information
Friday's match will not be broadcast on radio.
   Sunday's match vs. Xavier will air on KZOT (1180 AM), with Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson Russell on the call.
   The contest can also be heard on-line at http://player.listenlive.co/52381.

Video Information
Both matches this weekend will be video webcast at no charge.
   Friday's match will air on BIG EAST Digital Network, which is carried on the FOX Sports Go app, or http://www.foxsportsgo.com. Brad Burwell will call the action.
   Burwell will then join Erin Swanson Russell to broadcast Sunday's contest vs. Xavier at http://www.GoCreighton.com/watch.

Live Stats Information
Both of Creighton's matches this weekend will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Creighton Volleyball schedule page for the exact links.

Scouting #17 Creighton
Creighton is off to a 12-5 start that includes three wins over ranked teams (then-No. 3 Washington, No. 7 Kansas, No. 13 Kentucky). Eight of the 11 teams on Creighton's non-conference schedule are ranked this week.
   Creighton is currently ranked 17th in the AVCA Top 25 poll, the 14th straight week it has been ranked dating back to midway through last fall.
   The Bluejays had their 28-match BIG EAST win streak snapped last Thursday at Marquette, but responded with a 3-0 victory at DePaul the following night.
   Senior MB Marysa Wilkinson (2.97 kps., 1.02 bps., .363%) was named MVP of the Husky Invitational, senior S Lydia Dimke (10.43 aps., 2.55 dps., 0.27 saps., .422%) was MVP of the Bluejay Invitational and junior OH Jaali Winters (3.17 kps., 2.36 dps.) named the MVP of the Kansas Invitational.
   The three-time defending BIG EAST regular-season and tournament champion, Creighton was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST in 2017 after returning five starters, plus sophomore libero Brittany Witt (3.84 dps., 0.29 saps.), from last season's team went 29-7 while advancing to its first Elite Eight.
   The Bluejays average 13.93 kills, 15.22 digs, 2.19 blocks and 1.24 aces per set while hitting .271.

Scouting Butler
Butler is 14-5 this season, including a 4-3 BIG EAST mark. Three of BU's five losses this fall have come in 3-0 losses.
   Juniors Whitney Beck (3.45 kps., 3.12 dps.) and Anna Logan (3.36 kps., 3.42 dps.) give Butler two of the most potent outside hitters in the league.
   Makayla Ferguson (10.32 aps.) directs the offense, while libero Taylor Takeda (4.45 dps.) is second in the BIG EAST in digs per set.
   The Bulldogs average 13.45 kills, 1.22 aces, 15.33 digs and a league-best 2.98 blocks per set while hitting .235 as a team.

Scouting Xavier
Xavier enters Friday 7-14 this season, including a 2-5 BIG EAST start. The Musketeers started the season 3-0 but have struggled since, including a 3-0 loss Tuesday to Dayton when it never led.
   Preseason All-BIG EAST honoree Kristen Massa (3.36 kps., 2.95 dps.) leads the offense with but has not played since September 23rd. With her out, Laura Grossman (2.27 kps.) and Maya Krause (2.11 kps.) have averaged multiple kills per set.
   Alexis Newsome (1.17 bps.) set a school-record with 12 blocks on Saturday vs. St. John's, and was joined with double-digit blocks by Lauren Frilling (1.00 bps.) and Moriah Hopkins (0.74 bps.). In all, XU had 23 blocks on Saturday, tied for the most in a match nationally this fall.
   Xavier averages 12.48 kills, 0.75 aces, 16.48 digs and 2.47 blocks per set while hitting .184 as a team.

The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 303-158 record in her 15th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to back-to-back-to-back BIG EAST titles, and four league crowns in the last five years. She has led the Bluejays to their first two Sweet 16's (2015, 2016) and first Elite Eight (2016) in program history. In 2016 she was recognized as VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Coach of the Year and AVCA East Region Coach of the Year.
   The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only six NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached the Jays into the top-25 each of the last six 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 Angie Oxley Behrens, Ryan Meek and Drew Davis.
   Sharon Clark (Sacramento State, 1989) is 300-237 in her 18th year at Butler, which moves her career mark to 402-345 in 25 seasons overall when you factor in one year at Humboldt State (1993) and six seasons at UC Davis (1994-99). The winningest volleyball coach in program history, she is assisted by Eddie Pennington, Sean Keeve and Sofia Sanchez.
   Christy Pfeffenberger (Dayton 2004) is in her third year as Xavier head coach and owns a 45-39 record, which doubles as her career mark. She was named head coach on January 29, 2015, replacing Mike Johnson after he took an assistant's job at Notre Dame. Pfeffenberger was previously an assistant at Xavier, Notre Dame, Dayton and Youngstown State after being an All-American player at Dayton. She is assisted by Ed Tolentino, Amber Hildebrandt and Andy Riesenberg.

Creighton vs. Butler
Creighton is 7-1 all-time against Butler, with a 4-0 record in Omaha.
   Butler ruined Creighton's BIG EAST opener on Oct. 4, 2013 in Indianapolis, handing the Bluejays a four-set loss, but Creighton has won all seven meetings since then.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 7-1 vs. Butler and head coach Sharon Clark, including three consecutive sweeps.

Series History vs. Xavier
Creighton is 11-0 all-time against Xavier, with all the matches having occurred since 2013. Each of the last four meetings have been 3-0 Bluejay sweeps.
   Thanks in part to a 3-0 record in league tourney action against the Musketeers, Creighton has more wins against Xavier than any other team since joining the BIG EAST.
   Creighton's win on Oct. 5, 2013 in Cincinnati was the program's first BIG EAST win in history.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 11-0 vs. Xavier, and she is 5-0 against Christy Pfeffenberger.

Last Weekend Recap
Creighton went 1-1 last weekend, losing at Marquette (3-0) before hitting .476 in a 3-0 win at DePaul.
   Brittany Witt led Creighton's defense with 27 digs, and Marysa Wilkinson hit .424 to lead the Bluejay offense with 15 kills.

BEDN Brings Out The Best In the Bluejays
Friday marks Creighton's second of four scheduled appearances this fall on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
   Since the network originated in 2014, Creighton is a perfect 16-0 on BEDN. Four of those victories came in five sets.

Preseason Poll Leaders Meet Up
Friday's match between Creighton and Butler will feature the two teams picked atop the preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches.
   Creighton was a unanimous pick for the third straight year, earning all 81 possible points. Butler was second with 66 points, while current league leader Marquette picked up 62 points.

BIG EAST Championship Rematch
Sunday's game vs. Xavier is a rematch of the 2016 BIG EAST Championship title match that took place in Indianapolis, Ind., a 25-19, 25-15, 27-25 Creighton triumph.
   Creighton hit .410 in that contest, finishing with 54 kills and just 11 attack errors in 105 total attacks.
   Jaali Winters had 16 kills and 11 digs en route to earning MVP honors, while Lauren Smith had 12 kills on .588 hitting.
   Abbey Bessler finished her Musketeer career with 13 kills and Xavier's lone ace.
   Since Creighton's 2014 BIG EAST Championship match victory over Seton Hall, the Bluejays are 6-0 and have just dropped one set against the Pirates.
   Since Creighton's 2015 BIG EAST Championship match victory over Villanova, the Bluejays are 3-0 against the Wildcats.

Middles Are All Right
The numbers would suggest that Creighton dominated the middle in last Friday's win at DePaul. CU's four middle blockers and right-side hitters that saw action combined for 27 kills without an attack error in 40 swings. That's good for a .675 hitting percentage.
   Marysa Wilkinson had 10 kills on 12 swings, Megan Ballenger had nine kills on 12 swings, Naomi Hickman had six kills on 11 swings and Kelsey O'Connell added two kills on five swings.

Best...Set...Ever...
Creighton responded from its first league loss since 2015 with authority, hitting a school-record .818 in the first set of last Friday's win at DePaul.
   CU had 18 kills without an attack error in 22 swings to hit that .818, which surpassed hte previous best mark of .722 in the fifth set of a win at Georgetown on Nov. 20, 2015.
   Creighton's previous best mark in a non-deciding set had been .684 (13-0-19) in the second set vs. Eastern Illinois on Oct. 15, 2000, and Creighton's previous best mark in a set to 25 had been .654 (18-1-26) in the third set vs. Bradley on Sept. 25, 2010.
Best Team Hitting Percentage in a Set
   %   K-E-TA   Opponent (Set #)   Date
   .818   18-0-22   at DePaul (1)   10/06/17
   .722   13-0-18   at Georgetown (5)   11/20/15
   .714   10-0-14   vs. Northern Iowa (5)   09/05/14
   .684   13-0-19   Eastern Illinois (2)   10/15/00
   .682   15-0-22   Tulsa (3)   10/27/95

Among The Best Matches Ever, Too
Creighton didn't let up after hitting .818 in the first set, as the team hit .476 for the entire match against DePaul on Oct. 6.
   The .476 output ranks as the third-best mark in program history for a match, and is the third occasion this fall the team has hit .440 or better. Prior to 2017, Creighton had done that just three times total from 1994-2016.
   Below is the top hitting percentages in a match in Bluejay history:
Best Attack Percentage, Match
   .536   vs. Tulsa (41-4-69)   10-27-95
   .495   vs. Liberty (57-8-99)   9-2-05
   .476   at DePaul (46-6-84)   10-6-17
   .471   vs. Providence (36-4-68)   10-19-14
   .4463   vs. Georgetown (62-8-121)   9-22-17
   .4459   vs. Belmont (38-5-74)   9-8-17
   .418   vs. Evansville (98-21-184)   11-2-96
   .415   vs. Butler (47-8-94)   11-4-16
   .4144   vs. UC-Riverside (57-11-111)   9-2-05
   .4141   vs. Drake (49-8-99)   10-3-08

Dimke Seeks To Pass 2000
Lydia Dimke owns 1,965 assists in 51 career matches played at Creighton, putting her in position to reach 2,000 helpers as a Bluejay this weekend.
   Dimke would be the seventh player to reach 2,000 assists at Creighton, and get there fourth-quickest.
   Creighton's Quickest Players To 2,000 Assists (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Korie Lebeda   43   09/22/06   Drake
Brittany Coleman   45   10/02/04   Southern Illinois
Kailey Reyes   49   09/01/00   at Iowa State
Megan Bober   55   11/05/10   at Wichita State
Melissa Weisensee   66   09/15/96   at UMKC
Michelle Sicner   109   11/23/14   Seton Hall

Dimke Hitting With Accuracy, Too
Lydia Dimke split time between outside hitter and setter while at Purdue, and since transferring to Creighton she's made an impact in both areas.
   In just 1 1/2 seasons at CU, Dimke is primed to become the seventh player in program history to reach 2,000 career assists this weekend.
   As an attacker, Dimke leads the BIG EAST in hitting percentage in all matches (.422) as well as league matches only (.480).
   Dimke is on pace to set the career hitting percentage at Creighton, which requires 250 career kills. Dimke is hitting .337 and owns 219 career kills, which puts her on pace to surpass Kelli Browning's mark of .335.
   Below is a list of the top hitting percentages in CU history among those with 250 or more career kills:
Career Attack Percentage (Min. 250 kills)
       Name   K   E   Att.   Pct.   Year
   1.   Kelli Browning   1,104   325   2,327   .335   2011-14
   2.   Lauren Smith   1,160   365   2,460   .323   2013-16
   3.   Marysa Wilkinson   1,015   272   2,417   .307   2014-Pr.
   4.   Megan Ballenger   300   98   676   .299   2015-Pr.
   5.   Kelly Goc   1,414   414   3,374   .296   2004-07
   6.   Ashley Williams   941   279   2,336   .283   2001-04
   7.   Melissa Weisensee   389   122   970   .2753   1994-97
   8.   Kailey Reyes   398   100   1,083   .2752   1998-01
   9.   Laurel Sanford   761   245   1,907   .271   2008-11
   10.   Megan Bober   833   266   2,177   .260   2009-12

First Set Is Key
The winner of each of Creighton's last 18 matches has been the team that won the first set of the match, and the Bluejays have won 31 in a row when going up 1-0 in a match.
   This fall, Creighton is 12-0 when winning the first set and 0-5 when losing the first set. Butler is 10-1 when winning the first set and 4-4 when losing the first set. Xavier is 4-4 when winning the first set and 3-10 when losing the first set.
   Creighton is 11-2 when winning the second set and 1-3 when dropping the second set. Butler is 13-1 when winning the second set and 1-4 when losing the second set. Xavier is 6-2 when winning the second set and 1-12 when losing the second set.
   Creighton is 10-1 when winning the third set and 2-4 when losing the third set. Butler is 12-0 when winning the third set and 2-5 when losing the third set. Xavier is 5-3 when winning the third set and 2-11 when losing the third set.
   Creighton is 0-1 in five-set matches. Butler is 3-1 in five-set matches. Xavier is 2-2 in five-set matches.

Blue October
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton has been a solid 47-25 in September, only to take it up a notch in October. CU is 39-5 in October in that same span, and an even better 39-4 in the month of November.
   Creighton has won 21 straight home matches in the month of October dating to a Oct. 15, 2011 loss to No. 12 Northern Iowa.
   Since the start of the 2014 season, Creighton is a combined 50-4 in the months of October and November.

Champions Clash
Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton and Marquette are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
   Marquette won the regular-season and tournament title in 2013, while Creighton swept both titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
   The 2017 season has seen more of the same, as the teams hold down the top two spots in the standings.
   Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team (through Tuesday, Oct. 10) since the league's reconfiguration in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013 (thru 10/10)
             BIG EAST only   All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)   W   L   W   L
Creighton (4)   68   8   116   39
Marquette (4)   61   16   108   40
Xavier   53   24   85   62
Butler   44   33   90   56
Seton Hall (1)   44   33   84   65
Villanova (1)   37   39   79   65
St. John's   30   47   79   72
Georgetown   16   60   44   96
DePaul   15   62   55   85
Providence*   7   53   43   76
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 and
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.

Success In The BIG EAST
Creighton is 29-1 in its last 30 and 46-2 in its last 48 matches against teams from the BIG EAST.
   The Bluejays have an active winning streak of four or longer against each school in the BIG EAST Conference except Marquette, as seen below.
   Creighton's best record against any BIG EAST team is an 11-0 mark against Sunday's foe, Xavier.
Team   Series History   Current CU Streak
Butler   CU 7-1   Won Last 7
DePaul   CU 9-1   Won Last 9
Georgetown   CU 9-0   Won Last 9
Marquette   CU 11-4   Lost 1
Providence   CU 6-0   Won Last 6
Seton Hall   CU 8-3   Won Last 7
St. John's   CU 8-1   Won Last 8
Villanova   CU 9-1   Won Last 4
Xavier   CU 11-0   Won Last 11

Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning record against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
   The Bluejays enter Wednesday with 75 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 12 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
   Seton Hall is the only league foe to top the Bluejays three times since 2013.
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   7-1   -   7-1
DePaul   9-0   -   9-0
Georgetown   9-0   -   9-0
Marquette   7-2   1-1   8-3
Providence   6-0   -   6-0
Seton Hall   6-3   2-0   8-3
St. John's   8-1   -   8-1
Villanova   8-1   1-0   9-1
Xavier   8-0   3-0   11-0
Total   68-8   7-1   75-9

Climbing The List
Kirsten Bernthal Booth became Creighton Volleyball's winningest coach in the program's modern history on August 26, 2007, and hasn't let up.
   Booth won her 300th match at CU on Sept. 24 vs. Villanova, and now owns 303 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank sixth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport   Victories
Brent Vigness, Softball   729*
Mary Higgins, Softball   564
Ed Servais, Baseball   483*
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis   402*
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball   327
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball   303*
*still active coaching at Creighton

Spike Town
Jaali Winters enters Friday with 1,178 career kills, good for seventh-most in Creighton history. Winters recently surpassed former teammate Lauren Smith (1,160) to move into seventh place.
   Here's a look at Creighton's top-14 in career kills, which includes teammate Marysa Wilkinson's 1,015 kills that rank 12th.
Most Career Kills, Creighton History
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Leah Ratzlaff   409   1,622   2002-05
   2.   Melissa Walsh   394   1,596   1998-01
   3.   Kelly Goc   394   1,414   2004-07
   4.   Jessica Houts   451   1,385   2005-09
   5.   JoDe Cieloha   398   1,375   1994-97
   6.   Leah McNary   458   1,257   2011-14
   7.   Jaali Winters   316   1,178   2015-Pr.
   8.   Lauren Smith   511   1,160   2013-16
   9.   Allie Oelke   445   1,126   2007-10
   10.   Kelli Browning   424   1,104   2011-14
   11.   Amanda Cvejdlik   343   1,029   2005-08
   12.   Marysa Wilkinson   439   1,015   2014-Pr.
   13.   Shelly Kapler   388   1,000   1996-99
   14.   Jess Bird   377   965   2013-16

Wilkinson Reaches 1,000 Kills
Marysa Wilkinson reached 1,000 career kills in her 120th career match after reaching the milestone in the third set of a 3-0 win at St. John's on Oct. 30th.
   Earlier this season teammate Jaali Winters needed just 72 career matches to reach 1,000 career kills, becoming the second-fastest player in school history to reach the 1,000 kill milestone. Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer Melissa Walsh reached 1,000 career kills in 70 matches in 2000.
   Wilkinson and Winters join Jessica Houts and Amanda Cvejdlik (in 2008) as the only Bluejay teammates to reach 1,000 career kills in the same season in history.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Melissa Walsh   70   10/15/00   Eastern Illinois
Jaali Winters   72   08/25/17   vs. Saint Mary's
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 State
Allie Oelke   107   10/09/10   Wichita State
Kelli Browning   110   10/26/14   DePaul
Lauren Smith   119   10/07/16   at Villanova
Marysa Wilkinson   120   09/30/17   at St. John's

Better And Better and Better...
Senior Marysa Wilkinson owns 172 kills this season, putting her in position to become the sixth player in CU history with 200 or more kills in each of her first four seasons on campus.
   Junior Jaali Winters is also chasing 200, as she's just 16 kills from becoming the eighth player to accomplish the feat in each of her first three seasons with the Bluejays.
200 or More Kills, First 3 Seasons
Name (Years)   Fr.   So.   Jr.   Sr.   Total
Melissa Walsh, 1998-01   341   428   435   392   1,596
Kelly Goc, 2004-07   218   345   437   414   1,414
JoDe Cieloha, 1994-97   271   303   380   421   1,375
Lauren Smith, 2013-16   271   278   331   280   1,160
Marysa Wilkinson, 2014-17   236   286   321   172   1,015
Shelly Kapler, 1996-99   237   283   265   215   1,000
Jess Bird, 2013-16   297   231   350   87       965
---
Jaali Winters, 2015-Pr.   546   448   184*   -   1,178

Streak Snapped at 28 Straight
Until an Oct. 5 loss at Marquette, Creighton had won each of its last 28 regular-season matches in BIG EAST play. That ranked as the third-longest volleyball streak in league history.
   Former league member Notre Dame owns each of the two longest marks.
Most Consecutive Regular-Season BIG EAST League Wins
   Wins   School   Dates   Snapped By
   45   Notre Dame   Oct. 1, 1999-Nov. 9, 2002   at Miami (Fla.), 3-2
   35   Notre Dame   Sept. 30, 1995-Oct. 4, 1998   at UConn, 3-2
   28   Creighton   Oct. 31, 2015-Present   at Marquette, 3-0
   24   Louisville   Oct. 1, 2006-Nov. 9, 2007   at Notre Dame, 3-1

Select Company
Creighton and Marquette are two of 21 teams nationally to have appeared in each of the previous five NCAA Tournaments. That group features BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and Washington.
   Creighton is one of 10 teams in the country that has been to the Sweet 16 each of the last two seasons, a list that consists of BYU, Creighton, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas, UCLA, Washington and Wisconsin.
   Creighton is also one of just 10 schools nationally who have won 23 matches or more in each of the previous five seasons (2012-16). That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Western Kentucky.

RPI Stands At 14th
Creighton ranks 14th in the Oct. 9 official NCAA RPI rankings. The mark is the best in the BIG EAST (Marquette is second-best at 32),
   Creighton was eighth in the inaugural NCAA rankings that came out on October 2nd, just shy of the program's best RPI ever of fifth on Oct. 21, 2013.
   Contrary to popular opinion, Creighton's RPI has typically improved in recent years during BIG EAST play.
   In 2016, Creighton was 29th during the initial RPI release on Oct. 3 and improved to 17th by Selection Sunday on Nov. 28th after an 18-0 league record.
   In 2015, Creighton was 20th during the initial RPI release on Oct. 5 and improved to 15th by Selection Sunday on Nov. 30th after a 17-1 league record.
   In 2014, Creighton was 41st during the initial RPI release on Oct. 6 and improved to 24th by Selection Sunday on Dec. 1 after a 16-2 league record.
   In 2013, Creighton was 10th during the initial RPI release on Oct. 7 and dropped to 16th by Selection Sunday on Dec. 2 after a 12-4 league finish.

Wilkinson Named Defensive Player of Week
Marysa Wilkinson was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, Oct. 3. It's her second such honor this fall, joining the recognition she received on August 29.
   In addition to 3.17 kills per set on .444 hitting, Wilkinson averaged 1.67 blocks per set as Creighton swept matches at both Seton Hall and St. John's. Wilkinson's 10 blocks were twice as many as Creighton's opponents, combined, on the weekend.
   She began her weekend with 13 kills in 20 swings, hitting .600, as Creighton swept Seton Hall. She added two blocks and a pair of digs.
   On Saturday at St. John's, Wilkinson tied her career-high with eight blocks while also providing six kills on .250 hitting. Her sixth kill gave Creighton a 23-17 lead in the third set and made her the 13th Bluejay in school history to reach 1,000 career kills.

Dimke Up For Senior CLASS Award
Lydia Dimke is among 30 student-athletes who excel both on and off the court that were selected today as candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate volleyball. Dimke was the BIG EAST's only representative to make the initial cut.
   To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
   A setter from Ham Lake, Minn., Dimke averages 10.43 assists, 2.55 digs, 1.49 kills and 0.73 blocks per set while hitting .422. She was named 2017 Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year this fall after ending last year with BIG EAST Player of the Year accolades. She was also named a Third Team All-American by the AVCA last season after helping the Bluejays to the Elite Eight.
   A two-time team captain, Dimke has performed more than 25 hours of community service since arriving at Creighton. She's been active with Welcome Week, performed a clinic for children, visits local schools to read, spoke and helped at the Mustang March at Mary Our Queen, and has helped feed the homeless. In the classroom, she earned a spot on Creighton's Dean's List in the Fall of 2016, when she was also leading Creighton to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. She also landed a spot on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team in 2016-17 and was named Academic All-Big Ten in 2015-16 as a student-athlete at Purdue. Dimke is a communication studies major.
   Dimke is the latest in a long line of Creighton Volleyball student-athletes to make the Senior CLASS cut in recent seasons, as Jess Bird and Lauren Smith were candidates in 2016, with Smith ending the fall as a Senior CLASS All-American. Other past volleyball candidates include Melanie Jereb in 2015, Kelli Browning in 2014 and Megan Bober in 2012. Former Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while ex-Creighton men's basketball standout Doug McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.

Any Venue Will Do
Since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton has a .500 record or better at every BIG EAST venue in which it has played.
Site   Creighton W-L
D.J. Sokol Arena (CU)   54-11
Carnesecca Arena (SJU)   5-0
McGrath-Phillips Arena (DPU)   5-0
Hinkle Fieldhouse (BU)   5-1
Al McGuire Center (MU)   5-2
Cintas Center (XU)   4-0
McDonough Arena (GU)   4-0
Alumni Hall (PC)   3-0
Jake Nevin Field House (VU)   3-1
Walsh Gym (SHU)   3-2

Booth Earns 300th Win at Creighton
Kirsten Bernthal Booth enters this weekend with a 303-158 record on the Creighton sideline, having reached the 300 win milestone against Villanova on Sept. 24.
   Booth has beaten 83 different schools while at Creighton.
   Here's a look at Booth's record at the time of some of her milestone victories at Creighton:
W-L   Opponent   Date   1-1   vs. Auburn (in Ames, Iowa)   08/30/03
50-43   Jacksonville State   09/01/06
100-71   at Drake   10/31/08
150-108   Illinois State   09/30/11
200-123   Xavier   10/18/13
250-144   at Xavier   10/17/15
300-157   Villanova   09/24/17

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
For the fifth straight season, Creighton was picked to win the BIG EAST Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches.
   CU was a unanimous choice for the fourth straight season, receiving 81 points after earning all nine possible first-place votes. Butler was picked second, while Marquette was third and earned the remaining first-place vote.
   Creighton also had four women named to the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as Lydia Dimke, Taryn Kloth, Jaali Winters and Brittany Witt were all honored. Dimke 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 12 of the past 14 years, including seven years where it's finished exactly where it was picked.
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   1st   - -
2017   1st   ???   ???

Home Sweet Home
Creighton went 10-0 at home last season in BIG EAST play, the third time (joining 2012 and 2015) in the previous five years it was unbeaten at home in league play.
   Creighton is 36-2 all-time (.947) in regular-season BIG EAST play at D.J. Sokol Arena, falling once each to St. John's (2013) and Seton Hall (2014).
   Since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009, Creighton is 67-7 (.905) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility, including 21 straight victories.
   Creighton has won all eight meetings with St. John's since that 2013 upset, and all seven encounters versus Seton Hall since dropping the home match in 2014.
   The Bluejays have had a winning record in conference home matches each of the previous 11 seasons. That streak that dates back to its days at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, a site that was torn down last winter and no longer exists.

Home At Home
Creighton has won 23 straight home matches against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) at D.J. Sokol Arena, and is 28-1 in its last 29 matches against all teams at home.
   Below is a look at the program's largest home win streaks in history against all opponents.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins   Dates   Snapped By
   13   Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013   California, 3-0
   13   Sept. 9, 2016 - Sept. 1, 2017   #18 USC
   12   Sept. 20 - Nov. 28, 2015   #4 Kansas, 3-2
   9   Sept. 20, 2014-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
   8   Sept. 25-Nov. 20, 2010   Northern Illinois, 3-0

League Opener Histories
A 3-1 win on Sept. 21 win over Georgetown improved Creighton to a 16-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 13-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 4-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and four straight wins.
   Each of the last four times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016), the Bluejays went on to win both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, going a combined 68-4 in regular-season league action (and 8-0 in league tournament action) during those years.
   In the 15 previous seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and it owns a combined .719 (194-76) 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, (including 2017) Creighton is 19-5 overall and 13-2 under Booth, with seven straight wins.
   In league road openers (including 2017), Creighton is now 15-9 overall and 12-3 under Booth, with four straight wins.

3 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Creighton has won each of the last three BIG EAST regular-season titles.
   St. John's had been the last BIG EAST team to win a share of three straight titles, having done so from 2006-08, while Notre Dame had been the last team to win three or more straight outright BIG EAST regular-season titles, having claimed four in a row from 1999-2002.
   No team has won four straight regular-season titles (including shares) since Notre Dame won seven in a row from 1999-2005.

Sweep City
Creighton swept 14-of-18 BIG EAST matches last fall, with three matches to end 3-1 and one contest that went 3-2. This year's team has won 15-of-20 sets played this season.
   Creighton has swept 13 of its last 17 regular-season BIG EAST home matches, and won 54 of its last 59 home sets during conference play.
   Creighton is 68-8 in 76 regular-season BIG EAST matches in its five-year history in the league, with 40 sweeps, including 27 of its last 41 matches.
   Since October 31, 2015, Creighton 99-of-114 sets against league foes (including conference tournament action).

Crowded House
Creighton's crowd of 2,578 on Sept. 1st vs. No. 13 Kentucky was the second sellout in program history. It was also largest attendance at D.J. Sokol Arena, and the fifth-largest at any home venue.
   In fact, all five home crowds this season have ranked among the top-21 in school history, as seen by the chart below.
   Creighton has averaged 1,938 fans per home match this season, which ranks 17th nationally.
Largest Home Crowds, Creighton History
   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
   8,037   #2 Nebraska   10/05/08   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   2,578   #13 Kentucky   09/01/17   W 3-0   Sokol
   2,514   #7 Nebraska   08/31/10   L 0-3   Sokol
   2,325   Northern Iowa   10/05/12   W 3-1   Sokol
   2,285   Texas Tech   08/28/09   W 3-0   Sokol
   2,135   Bradley   10/14/11   W 3-1   Sokol
   2,109   Marquette   10/13/13   W 3-0   Sokol
   2,084   #18 USC   09/02/17   L 0-3   Sokol
   2,067   Villanova   11/21/14   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,918   St. John's   10/17/14   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,913   Xavier   11/13/15   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,832   Xavier   10/18/13   W 3-2   Sokol
   1,725   Northern Iowa   09/02/17   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,671   Seton Hall   10/16/16   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,667   Marquette   09/23/16   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,667   Villanova   09/24/17   W 3-1   Sokol
   1,644   Villanova   11/20/16   W 3-2   Sokol
   1,637   Georgetown   09/22/17   W 3-1   Sokol
   1,583   Villanova   11/28/15   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,557   Northern Iowa   11/21/08   W 3-0   Civic
   1,544   Wichita State   09/15/12   W 3-1   Sokol
   1,493   Wichita State   11/04/11   W 3-2   Sokol

Challenging Schedule
The NCAA website tracks the nation's toughest schedules played.
   Entering this week, Creighton's opponents this year have gone 193-91 when not facing CU. That .680 winning percentage is the third-best mark of any school in the country, trailing only Texas A&M (.719) and Oregon (.686).
   Last year Creighton's opponents were 432-253, and that .631 winning percentage made it the 11th-toughest nationally.
   In 2015 Creighton faced the nation's eighth-toughest schedule per the NCAA, with foes going 466-260 (.642) overall.
   Just how tough was Creighton's non-conference schedule? When it concluded, eight of CU's 11 foes were nationally ranked. Two of the exceptions were Pitt (2nd round NCAA in 2016) and Belmont (OVC favorite in 2017).
   This is the fifth straight season that Creighton has played at least four non-conference matches against teams ranked in the preseason top-25 poll.
   Nine of Creighton's final 10 non-conference matches this season were against teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the Aug. 28 top-25 poll. The lone exception to that group, Belmont, is a club that was picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference.

Rank & File
Creighton owns three victories over ranked teams this fall, having already toppled No. 3 Washington, No. 13 Kentucky and No. 7 Kansas.
   It marks the first time that Creighton has beaten three ranked teams in the same season.
   Through matches of October 10, the only other teams with more wins over ranked teams are Nebraska, Minnesota, Florida, UNI and USC.
   Creighton, Michigan State, USC, Nebraska and Minnesota are the only teams with three or more top-13 wins this fall.
   Wins   Team   Top 25 Victims
   5   Nebraska   #2, 3, 7, 11, 11
   5   Minnesota   #5, 7, 11, 20, 22
   4   Florida   #1, 5, 16, 19
   4   Northern Iowa   #10, 18, 19, 19
   4   USC   #6, 7, 11, 16
   3   Creighton   #3, 7, 13
   3   BYU   #16, 17, 21
   3   Kansas   #13, 17, 18
   3   Michigan State   #1, 5, 7
   3   Notre Dame   #21, 23, 24
   3   Oregon   #5, 15, 23
   3   UCLA   #11, 20, 22

Top 25 Jays
Creighton is in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 14th straight week, a streak that started on Oct. 31, 2016.
   Nationally, that's the 16th-longest active streak, as seen below:
Consecutive Active Weeks in AVCA Top 25
   Streak   Team   Current Rank
   518   Stanford   2
   518   Nebraska   4
   435   Penn State   3
   408   Florida   1
   232   Washington   14
   212   Texas   5
   67   Wisconsin   11
   66   BYU   7
   54   UCLA   12
   38   Kansas   9
   37   Minnesota   6
   23   San Diego   18
   21   Oregon   15
   18   Kentucky   8
   17   Utah   13
   14   Creighton   17

3 Weeks, 3 Titles, 3 Different MVP's
Creighton won a tournament title in each of the first three weekends of the season, with a different MVP each time.
   Marysa Wilkinson was honored as MVP when Creighton won the Husky Invitational on Aug. 25-26.
   Lydia Dimke was honored as MVP when Creighton won the Bluejay Invitational on Sept. 1-2.
   Jaali Winters was honored as MVP when Creighton won the Kansas Invitational on Sept. 8-9.
   In addition to Wilkinson, Dimke and Winters, Taryn Kloth, Megan Ballenger and Brittany Witt have also earned All-Tournament Team honors this fall.

Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play
Creighton finished non-conference play with a 7-4 record, its most wins since 2013 when it opened 9-3.
   Creighton Volleyball went 3-3 against ranked non-conference teams this season. Before this fall, CU had been 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
Non-Conference Records, By Year, Under Booth
Year   Non-Con W-L   vs. Ranked Non-Con   Final W-L
2003   3-8   0-0   12-18
2004   8-2   0-1   18-11
2005   6-5   0-3   16-14
2006   8-3   0-1   21-10
2007   6-5   0-3   21-10
2008   3-5   0-3   18-9
2009   3-8   0-3   14-17
2010   5-5   0-1   21-12
2011   5-7   0-1   17-14
2012   9-2   0-1   29-4
2013   9-3   1-2   23-9
2014   7-6   0-5   25-9
2015   6-7   1-4   27-9
2016   6-6   0-4   29-7
2017   7-4   3-3   TBD

Wilkinson Moving Up Blocks List
Marysa Wilkinson is eighth in Creighton's record book in both total blocks and block assists. It's possible she could move up another spot or two this weekend in each category.
Career Total Blocks
       Name   Sets   BS   BA   Tot.   Years
   1.   Jessica Houts   451   73   536   609   2005-09
   2.   Kelli Browning   424   55   547   602   2011-14
   3.   Lauren Smith   511   61   499   560   2013-16
   4.   Ashley Williams   359   100   347   447   2001-04
   5.   JoDe Cieloha   398   106   331   437   1994-97
   6.   Megan Bober   480   42   380   422   2009-12
   7.   Laurel Sanford   369   43   376   419   2008-11
   8.   Marysa Wilkinson   439   39   330   369   2014-Pr.
   9.   Melissa Walsh   394   46   320   366   1998-01
   10.   Kelly Goc   394   44   310   354   2004-07

Career Block Assists
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Kelli Browning   424   547   2011-14
   2.   Jessica Houts   451   536   2005-09
   3.   Lauren Smith   511   499   2013-16
   4.   Megan Bober   480   380   2009-12
   5.   Laurel Sanford   369   376   2008-11
   6.   Ashley Williams   359   347   2001-04
   7.   JoDe Cieloha   398   331   1994-97
   8.   Marysa Wilkinson   439   330   2014-Pr.
   9.   Melissa Walsh   394   320   1998-01
   10.   Heather Thorson   402   313   2009-12

Better To Receive?
Creighton's defense has done its job in the last 12 matches, allowing just 18 aces in 821 serves received in that span.
   For the season, Creighton has faced 1,167 serves and allowed just 33 service aces in 58 sets. By comparison, Creighton owns 72 aces in 1,332 serving attempts.
   Below is a breakdown of those serve receptions in the last 12 matches:
#   Statistic
821   Opponent Serves
520   Creighton sideouts (63.3%)
283   Creighton kill on first rally (34.5%)
18   Opponent aces (2.2%)

Reception Near-Perfection
Creighton has allowed just 33 aces in 58 sets played for a scant 0.57 aces per set average by its opponents.
   The Bluejays have allowed 1.15 aces per set or less in each of the last 13 years, but this year is on pace to be the best mark by far, as seen below:
Fewest Aces Per Set Allowed
   SAPS Against   Year   Team W-L
   0.57   2017   12-5 so far
   0.65   2008   18-9
   0.88   2010   21-12
   0.91   2012   29-4
   0.92   2009   14-17
   0.94   2013   23-9
   0.95   2005   16-14
   0.98   2015   27-9
   0.99   2014   25-9
   1.01   2016   29-7

Witt Honored By BIG EAST
Sophomore libero Brittany Witt was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on September 12th after helping Creighton Volleyball to the Kansas Invitational title.
   Witt averaged 3.80 digs and 0.50 aces per set, earning All-Tournament Team honors, as Creighton went 2-1 against a field that featured two ranked opponents as well as preseason OVC favorite Belmont.
   Witt had 14 digs and tied her career high with three aces against No. 17 Purdue to open the weekend. Later that day the Omaha native added eight digs and an ace as CU made quick work of Belmont.
   Witt's best match of the weekend came in a win at #7 Kansas, where she owned 16 digs and an ace while handling the Jayhawks their first home sweep since 2011. Witt had nine scoops and served a pivotal 5-0 run that gave Creighton the lead for good in the first set. It was KU's first loss of the season in 10 contests.
   Overall, Witt led a defensive unit that was aced just once in 10 sets (178 serve receptions) over the weekend.

No Mercy On The Schedule
Nine of Creighton's 11 non-conference opponents were getting top-25 votes at the time of the match, with six of them ranked.
   In addition, all but Belmont (5-4) and Wichita State (7-2) had either 0 or 1 loss at the time of their match against Creighton, and all but an 0-1 Pitt team had a winning record.
   Here's a look at the records at the time of each non-conference match against Creighton this season.
Team   W-L
Saint Mary's   0-0
(RV) Pitt   0-1
#3 Washington   2-0
#13 Kentucky   3-0
#18 USC   3-1
(RV) Northern Iowa   4-1
#17 Purdue   6-0
Belmont   5-4
#7 Kansas   9-0
(RV) Wichita State   7-2
#19 Iowa State   7-1

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 303-2 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

Home Win Streak vs. Unranked Teams
Creighton has won 28 straight home matches against unranked teams dating to a Sept. 12, 2015 loss to Pacific.

4 x 5 For #1
Lydia Dimke did a little bit of everything in Creighton's 3-0 sweep of Northern Iowa on Sept. 2nd.
   The senior setter had 29 assists, 10 digs, four blocks, four kills and four aces against the Panthers.
   She's just the second player in CU history with four or more assists, digs, blocks, kills and aces in the same match, joining Melissa Weisensee (80 assists, 14 digs, 5 blocks, 5 kills, 4 aces) vs. Evansville on Nov. 2, 1996.

Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 102-93 in the 66 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 45-24 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 82-60 in 51 regular-season tournaments, including 12 titles.
   Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.
   This year marked the first time since 2004 that Creighton has won back-to-back regular-season tournament titles in the same season, and is also the first time Creighton has won three titles in the same regular-season.

No. 7 Ranking Was Best; Now 17th
Creighton opened the 2017 season ranked ninth in the preseason poll, then moved up to a program-best mark of seventh in the Aug. 28 poll.
   Creighton dropped back to ninth after a 2-1 finish at the Bluejay Invitational, and is currently No. 17.
   Being ranked in the preseason poll is no guarantee of future success, however. In the last nine seasons, only 161-of-225 teams (71.6 percent) would be in both the preseason and postseason AVCA Top 25 polls.
   In that same time frame, all but 22 teams named in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament (90.2 percent).

Top 25 History
Creighton is 10-70 all-time against teams in the top-25 of the AVCA poll, but 5-4 since the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
   Creighton's season-opening win at No. 3 Washington is the highest-ranked team that the Bluejays has ever beaten, surpassing a win over No. 4 Kansas last December.
   Creighton is 4-27 all-time against top-10 foes (4-20 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth).
   Creighton lost its first 31 true road matches against top-25 foes, but has 'improved' to 4-34 after wins in the last three seasons at No. 23 North Carolina (2015), No. 4 Kansas (2016), No. 3 Washington (2017) and No. 7 Kansas (2017).
   Creighton is 44-15 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 6-9 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That marks improves to 2-0 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
   Creighton's August 26th win over No. 3 Washington was the first match in program history that then-No. 9 Creighton and its opponent were both in the top-10 at the time of the match.
   Since the start of the 2012 season, 24 of Creighton's 43 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 137-19 against unranked teams. Creighton has won 28 straight home matches over unranked teams.

Wilkinson Earns MVP; Honored By BIG EAST
Marysa Wilkinson was named MVP of the Husky Invitational on the opening weekend after averaging 2.90 kills and 1.50 blocks per set while hitting .397.
   Wilkinson had 13 kills and five blocks on .571 hitting in the season-opening win vs. Saint Mary's, and closed the weekend with 11 kills, four blocks and .429 hitting in the win at No. 3 Washington.
   Wilkinson was also honored as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts.

(Now) Streakless In Seattle
Creighton's win at No. 3 Washington on August 26th was historic for a number of reasons.
   It was Washington's first regular-season loss in non-conference play since Sept. 13, 2008, snapping a streak of 81 straight victories.
   It was Washington's first regular-season loss in non-conference play at home since Sept. 1, 2001, snapping a streak of 45 straight victories.
   It was also Washington's first regular-season non-conference loss in fewer than five sets since Sept. 7, 2002, a stretch that covered 143 matches.
   Washington had never lost a home match in the month of August (going 16-0), and had not lost in the month of August since August 31, 2006.
   Creighton had been 0-8 in history against teams ranked in the top-3 nationally, meaning the third-ranked Huskies were the Bluejays highest-ranked victim in program history.

Sweep, Chalk, Jayhawk
Creighton handed Kansas a rare home loss on Sept. 9th, topping the Jayhawks 25-20, 25-16, 29-27.
   It was the first time that Kansas was swept at home since Sept. 28, 2011, a span of 89 home matches.
   Kansas had won 16 straight regular-season non-conference matches before that evening.
   Since October 10, 2014, Kansas is 0-2 at home against Creighton and 39-1 at home against everyone else as of September 26th.

All-Region Picks Return
Creighton had five All-Region picks, tied for third-most nationally, in 2016.
   Creighton's four first-team choices trailed only Nebraska (6) and Florida (5) and were equal to Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin for third-most nationally.
   Creighton is the only team with five All-Region returners for 2017.
School   2016 All-Region   2017 returners
Nebraska   6   3
Minnesota   6   3
Creighton   5   5
Florida   5   4
Kansas   5   4
UCLA   5   2
Wisconsin   5   2
Kentucky   4   4

Some Fab Freshmen
Including Naomi Hickman on August 25th, Creighton has started eight different true freshmen in a season opener in the last eight years, and 14 such players since 2000.
   Since 2000, the only true freshmen to start CU's season-opener have been Brittany Coleman (2003), Carolyn Decker (2004), Korie Lebeda (2005), Allie Oelke (2007), Brooke Boggs (2009), Heather Thorson (2009), Julianne Mandolfo (2010), Katie Neisler (2011), Michelle Sicner (2011), Melanie Jereb (2012), Ashley Jansen (2012), Jess Bird (2013), Jaali Winters (2015) and Naomi Hickman (2017). In addition, CU also started redshirt freshmen Lauren Smith (2013) and Brittany Lawrence (2015), as well as transfers Maggie Baumert (2014) and Lydia Dimke (2016) in season-openers.
   Seven of those women (Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team (the BIG EAST has no such team). Winters was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2015, while Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2016.

Coaching Them Up
Lydia Dimke became Creighton's first setter in six seasons to start the opening match of the season in consecutive seasons.
   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 versus Miami (Ohio) in 2015. Last year Dimke started against Wichita State in the opener, then repeated at that spot vs. Saint Mary's this fall.
   Bober had owned 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 those previous five seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and four of them saw Creighton win conference titles.

Statistically Speaking
Creighton finished last season ranked first in the nation with 1,868 kills, third nationally with 1,722 assists and fourth with 14.59 kills per set.
   Individually, Lydia Dimke ranked second nationally with 1,454 assists, just 11 behind the 1,465 by Minnesota's Samantha Seliger-Swenson.

2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 257-9 (.966) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 200-3 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU has won 33 straight when up 2-0, and is 127-1 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009.
   Conversely, the Jays are 12-191 (.059) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, but did have three comeback victories in 2015.
   Those 12 comebacks in program history 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 253-28 (.900) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 50-130 (.278) under Booth when it drops the first set.
   Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 74-1 in its last 75 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only on Sept. 12, 2015 to Pacific.
   Last year's team was 24-4 when winning the first set and 5-3 when losing the first set.
   This year's team is 12-0 when winning the first set and 0-5 when dropping the first set.
   Dating back to Sept. 22, 2016, Creighton has won 31 straight matches at all sites when winning the first set.

Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-15 letterwinners to the court from last season, including five starters and libero Brittany Witt.
   From last year's team, only Jess Bird, Mac Conlon, Amanda Foje and Lauren Smith are not back.
   Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Assists   1697 (98.5%)   25 (1.5%)
Digs   1943 (95.0%)   103 (5.0%)
Aces   151 (86.8%)   23 (13.2%)
Kills   1501 (80.4%)   367 (19.6%)
Matches Started   173 (80.1%)   43 (19.9%)
Points   1848.0 (79.9%)   466.0 (20.1%)
Blocks   139 (51.1%)   133 (48.9%)

More Schedule Notes
Creighton played five non-conference matches against teams that were in the top-26 of the preseason AVCA coaches poll. That's tied for the most of any team in the nation.
   The Bluejays meet up with No. 3 Washington, No. 8 Kansas, No. 14 Kentucky, No. 25 Purdue and the top receiving vote-getter, USC.
   Other teams that had five non-conference matches against the preseason top-26 are Loyola Marymount, Northern Iowa, Florida, Marquette, San Diego and Utah.

All-Around Excellence
Last winter Creighton reached the Sweet 16 not only in women's volleyball, but in men's soccer too.
   Creighton joined Stanford, Washington and North Carolina as the only four schools with a Sweet 16 in both sports in 2016.
   In 2015, Creighton and Ohio State were the only teams to reach the Sweet 16 in the same two sports.

Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 48-27 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. 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 nine of its last 12 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, a win at Georgetown in 2015, and an NCAA Tournament win at No. 4 Kansas in 2016.
   It's also worth noting that Creighton is 10-3 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   4-3   29-7
2017   0-1   12-5
Total   63-55   396-310

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Creighton's 2016 club beat 10 teams that appeared in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
   The schedule figures to be just as daunting in 2017, as CU plays 11 matches against 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. CU is 5-5 so far this season against such teams.
   After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 67-89 since.
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   10-7
2017   5-5
TOTAL   70-124
TOTAL Under Booth   67-89

Marian Pipeline
This is the 15th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as junior Kelsey O'Connell and sophomore Brittany Witt return.
   Each of the last six years, Creighton's year-end leader in digs 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.
2017: Kelsey O'Connell, Brittany Witt
2016: Kelsey O'Connell, Brittany Witt
2015: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen, Kelsey O'Connell
2014: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2013: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2012: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2011: Julianne Mandolfo
2010: Lisa Greisch, Julianne Mandolfo
2009: Lisa Greisch
2008: Emily Crowley, Korie Lebeda
2007: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2006: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2005: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2004: Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2003: Emily Greisch

Five Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons. They are the first Creighton women's team in any sport to make five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

At Home On The Road
Creighton owns five wins away from home in the last two NCAA Tournaments. Nationally, that's the most in the nation, one more than Hawai'i, Nebraska and Stanford, and two more than Florida State.
   Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Texas, Washington and Purdue are the only six schools with at least one road/neutral win in both the 2015 and 2016 NCAA Tournaments.

3 Straight BIG EAST Tourney Titles
Creighton won a third straight BIG EAST Championship title last year, becoming the first to do so since Louisville won three straight titles from 2008-10.
   It was Creighton's fifth straight league tournament title game appearance dating to the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference title.
   No team has won four straight BIG EAST Volleyball Championships since Notre Dame from 1995-98.

20 x 5
Last year's 29-7 mark was the fifth straight year the Bluejays have reached 20 wins, and eighth time overall.
   When Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton's modern day school record for wins in a season was 16.
   Creighton is one of 19 schools with five straight seasons of 20+ wins (entering 2017). That list features American, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, UTSA, Washington, Western Kentucky, Wichita State.

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Four members of the Creighton Volleyball program gained valuable experience this summer while travelling the world.
   Libero Brittany Witt went to Thailand in May, playing with USA Volleyball's top collegiate team.
   In June, Taryn Kloth was one of 36 women to train with USA Volleyball's at a premier club event in Minneapolis, Minn. Kloth was the only player in the event with 10 or more kills in each match.
   A pair of Bluejays also met up in an unlikely setting in July...Pula, Croatia. Jaali Winters represented USA Volleyball while Jaclyn Taylor played for BP Midwest at the European Global Challenge. Winters' team won the event, while the only two losses by Taylor's team both came to Winters team.
   Creighton will meet the following players in 2017 that at least one Bluejay played with this summer:
Name   Team   CU Teammate
Alyssa Schultejans   Kansas State   Kloth
Stephanie Williams   Pitt   Kloth
Kylee Levers   Pitt   Taylor
Courtney Schwan   Washington   Winters
Kaz Brown   Kentucky   Witt
Olivia Dailey   Kentucky   Kloth
Ashley Evans   Purdue   Kloth
Brooke Peters   Purdue   Kloth
Sherridan Atkinson   Purdue   Kloth
Madison Rigdon   Kansas   Witt
Kelsie Payne   Kansas   Winters
Monique Harris   Iowa State   Kloth
Jenna Rosenthal   Marquette   Winters
Brittany Maxwell   DePaul   Taylor

Bluejays On The Radio
Creighton has four upcoming broadcasts on local radio in 2017 that will air on KZOT 1180 AM. Below is a list of the upcoming broadcast schedule:
Oct. 15   1180 AM KZOT   Xavier
Oct. 22   1180 AM KZOT   Seton Hall
Nov. 4   1180 AM KZOT   Marquette
Nov. 5   1180 AM KZOT   DePaul

Automatic Bid x 3
Creighton is one of nine schools nationally to earn an automatic bid into the 2014, 2015 and 2016 NCAA Tournaments. That grouping includes New Hampshire, Dayton, Creighton, Coastal Carolina, Western Kentucky, American, Denver and BYU.
   Of those teams, the only six schools to win a conference tournament in three consecutive campaigns have been American, Coastal Carolina, Creighton, Dayton, Denver and New Hampshire.

Last Year Summary
Creighton went 29-7 last year, tying a program-record for wins, while advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time. The Bluejays started the fall 6-6 before uncorking a school-record 23-match win streak.
   CU became the first volleyball team in BIG EAST Conference history to finish 18-0, then became the first squad in NCAA Tournament history to open the postseason with three consecutive five-set victories.
   Lydia Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and Third Team All-American, while Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth were named All-BIG EAST and Honorable Mention All-Americans. Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth picked up BIG EAST Coach of the Year, AVCA East Region Coach of the Year and VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year accolades.

#17 Volleyball Returns Home To Host Butler and Xavier

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Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Jess Bird

Mac Conlon

Kenzie Crawford

Lydia Dimke

Amanda Foje

Naomi Hickman

Taryn Kloth

Brittany Lawrence

Kelsey O'Connell

Lauren Smith

Jaclyn Taylor

Marysa Wilkinson

Jaali Winters

Brittany Witt