Friday, October 6
Chicago, Ill.
6:00 PM
Creighton University
(12-5, 5-1BIG EAST)
3
at
0
DePaul
(7-11, 1-5BIG EAST)
1
2
3
F
Creighton
25
25
25
3
DePaul
10
9
13
0
Marysa Wilkinson hit .833 on Friday, with 10 kills in 12 swings.
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Volleyball Regains Winning Form In Sweep at DePaul
10/6/2017 7:15:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton posts third-best hitting percentage in school history in rout of Blue Demons
CHICAGO, Ill. -- The No. 12 Creighton Volleyball team shook off a rare league loss with a dominating 3-0 sweep at DePaul on Friday night, downing the Blue Demons 25-10, 25-9, 25-13.
Creighton hit a blistering .476 in the win, the third-best mark in program history. That included a staggering .818 in the first set (18 kills, 0 errors, 22 swings) that ranks as the best mark on record.
Creighton improves to 12-5 with the victory, including a 5-1 league mark, just 23 hours after having its 28-match BIG EAST win streak snapped at Marquette. DePaul dropped to 7-11 and is 1-5 in league action.
"It was gut-check time," said Booth, in regards to the importance of getting back on the winning track. "We told them that. And we really, for the first time in my career, I said put your scouts away. It's not about who we're playing, it's about us. We talked about who we are and what we do to be great, and I was really proud of the way that they responded because last night was really disappointing and you never know how a team's going to respond to something like that."
Creighton never trailed in the first set, responding from last night's loss with a 25-10 pounding of DePaul. CU raced to a 5-1 lead, then quickly grew that margin to 11-3. CU closed out the frame on a 7-1 run, with consecutive errors by DePaul's Myah Reed ending the set. Marysa Wilkinson and Megan Ballenger combined for 10 kills on 11 swings to help spark an offense on full-throttle.
The Bluejays did even more damage in the second set, a 25-9 thrashing. Long serving runs by Samantha Bohnet and Taryn Kloth helped CU to a 13-4 advantage, and sophomore Alexa Roumeliotis later served a 7-0 blitz to get CU to set point, which was capped by a Ballenger kill.
The third set was more of the same, as Creighton cruised to a 25-13 victory. Eight different Bluejays had at least one kill in the final set, including the second career winner from Bohnet.
Wilkinson had 10 kills in 12 swings to hit .833 and lead the Bluejay offense in both categories. Ballenger had nine kills in 12 swings to hit .750, and Naomi Hickman had six kills in 11 swings to hit .545. Brittany Witt had 17 digs and Roumeliotis two aces to lead CU in those categories. Creighton hit .476 and finished with 46 kills, three aces, 48 digs and six blocks.
DePaul hit .000 on the night, finishing with 18 kills and 18 errors in 89 swings. The Blue Demons also had one ace, 27 digs and four blocks. Brittany Maxwell paced DePaul with five kills, while Haley Bueser added seven digs.
Creighton opens a four-match homestand on Friday, Oct. 13, when it hosts Butler at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs were picked to finish second, trailing only Creighton, in the preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches.
NOTES: Creighton's middle blockers and right-side hitters (Ballenger, Hickman, O'Connell and Wilkinson) combined for 27 kills and 0 errors on 40 swings on Friday ... Creighton has never lost back-to-back BIG EAST matches, and last lost consecutive league contests in 2011 as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference ... Creighton has won nine straight meetings against DePaul ... Alexa Roumeliotis had her first career ace late in the second set, then added another late in the third set ... Creighton's only better hitting percentages in a match are .536 vs. Tulsa in 1995 and .495 vs. Liberty in 2005Â ... Creighton's previous best hitting percentage in a set was .722 (13-0-18) in the fifth set of a win at Georgetown in 2015, and the previous best in a set to 25 was .654 vs. Bradley (18-1-26) on Sept. 25, 2010.
Creighton hit a blistering .476 in the win, the third-best mark in program history. That included a staggering .818 in the first set (18 kills, 0 errors, 22 swings) that ranks as the best mark on record.
Creighton improves to 12-5 with the victory, including a 5-1 league mark, just 23 hours after having its 28-match BIG EAST win streak snapped at Marquette. DePaul dropped to 7-11 and is 1-5 in league action.
"It was gut-check time," said Booth, in regards to the importance of getting back on the winning track. "We told them that. And we really, for the first time in my career, I said put your scouts away. It's not about who we're playing, it's about us. We talked about who we are and what we do to be great, and I was really proud of the way that they responded because last night was really disappointing and you never know how a team's going to respond to something like that."
Creighton never trailed in the first set, responding from last night's loss with a 25-10 pounding of DePaul. CU raced to a 5-1 lead, then quickly grew that margin to 11-3. CU closed out the frame on a 7-1 run, with consecutive errors by DePaul's Myah Reed ending the set. Marysa Wilkinson and Megan Ballenger combined for 10 kills on 11 swings to help spark an offense on full-throttle.
The Bluejays did even more damage in the second set, a 25-9 thrashing. Long serving runs by Samantha Bohnet and Taryn Kloth helped CU to a 13-4 advantage, and sophomore Alexa Roumeliotis later served a 7-0 blitz to get CU to set point, which was capped by a Ballenger kill.
The third set was more of the same, as Creighton cruised to a 25-13 victory. Eight different Bluejays had at least one kill in the final set, including the second career winner from Bohnet.
Wilkinson had 10 kills in 12 swings to hit .833 and lead the Bluejay offense in both categories. Ballenger had nine kills in 12 swings to hit .750, and Naomi Hickman had six kills in 11 swings to hit .545. Brittany Witt had 17 digs and Roumeliotis two aces to lead CU in those categories. Creighton hit .476 and finished with 46 kills, three aces, 48 digs and six blocks.
DePaul hit .000 on the night, finishing with 18 kills and 18 errors in 89 swings. The Blue Demons also had one ace, 27 digs and four blocks. Brittany Maxwell paced DePaul with five kills, while Haley Bueser added seven digs.
Creighton opens a four-match homestand on Friday, Oct. 13, when it hosts Butler at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs were picked to finish second, trailing only Creighton, in the preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches.
NOTES: Creighton's middle blockers and right-side hitters (Ballenger, Hickman, O'Connell and Wilkinson) combined for 27 kills and 0 errors on 40 swings on Friday ... Creighton has never lost back-to-back BIG EAST matches, and last lost consecutive league contests in 2011 as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference ... Creighton has won nine straight meetings against DePaul ... Alexa Roumeliotis had her first career ace late in the second set, then added another late in the third set ... Creighton's only better hitting percentages in a match are .536 vs. Tulsa in 1995 and .495 vs. Liberty in 2005Â ... Creighton's previous best hitting percentage in a set was .722 (13-0-18) in the fifth set of a win at Georgetown in 2015, and the previous best in a set to 25 was .654 vs. Bradley (18-1-26) on Sept. 25, 2010.
Team Stats
CU
DPU
Kills
46
18
Errors
6
18
Attempts
84
89
Hitting %
.476
.000
Points
55.0
23.0
Assists
44
17
Aces
3
1
Blocks
6.0
4.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballCreighton Media Availability Volleyball Sept. 17
Wednesday, September 17
#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
