No. 9 Seed Volleyball Opens NCAA Tournament Friday vs. Coastal Carolina

Download Notes as a PDF

NCAA Tournament
Dec. 1   4:05 p.m.   #25 Missouri State vs. #12 Michigan State (FOX Sports Go)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Dec. 1   7:05 p.m.   Coastal Carolina at #15 Creighton (FOX Sports Go)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
Dec. 2   6:05 p.m.   First Round Winners (FOX Sports Go)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)

Up Next
No. 9 national seed and 15th-ranked Creighton Volleyball hosts the NCAA Tournament for the first time this weekend when the Bluejays make their sixth straight trip, and seventh overall, to the Big Dance.
   The Bluejays (25-6, 16-2 BIG EAST) will meet Coastal Carolina (20-7, 15-1 Sun Belt) on Friday at 7:05 p.m. in a battle of league champions.
   Friday's Coastal Carolina/Creighton winner advances to play the victor of Friday's 4:05 p.m. match between No. 25 Missouri State (28-5, 18-0 Missouri Valley) and No. 12 Michigan State (21-8, 14-6 Big Ten), the NCAA Tournament's only First Round match-up of top-25 teams.
   Saturday's match-up of First Round winners will begin at 6:05 p.m., with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.
   D.J. Sokol Arena (2,500 capacity) in Omaha, Neb., will host the action.

Radio/Video Broadcast Information
All matches this weekend in Omaha will be broadcast on FOX Sports Go, which is also available at FoxSportsGo.com or the FOX Sports Go app. Brad Burwell and Jon Schriner will announce.
   Creighton's match vs. Coastal Carolina will not be on radio.

Live Stats Information
Creighton's match vs. Coastal Carolina will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Creighton Volleyball schedule page for the exact links.

Scouting #15 Creighton
Creighton is 25-6 this fall and won its fourth straight BIG EAST regular-season title with a 16-2 league mark.
   The No. 15 Bluejays showed their mettle last Saturday, overcoming a 2-1 deficit at Marquette to win 3-2 in Milwaukee and clinch a fourth straight BIG EAST Championship title.
   Creighton reached as high as seventh in the AVCA Top 25 poll during a strong non-conference season that featured three wins over ranked teams (then-No. 3 Washington, No. 7 Kansas, No. 13 Kentucky). Nine of the 11 teams on Creighton's non-conference schedule are in the NCAA Tournament, and seven of them are ranked in this week's Top 25.
   The Bluejays had four women named First Team All-BIG EAST when the awards were handed out last week, Lydia Dimke (10.78 aps., 2.58 dps., .372%), Jaali Winters (3.41 kps., 2.82 dps.), Marysa Wilkinson (2.85 kps., 0.93 bps., .370%) and BIG EAST Libero of the Year Brittany Witt (4.30 dps.).
   Taryn Kloth (3.05 kps.) was named Second Team All-BIG EAST and MVP of last week's BIG EAST Championships.
   The Bluejays average 14.37 kills, 16.32 digs, 2.09 blocks and 1.31 aces per set while hitting .281.

Scouting Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina went 20-7 on the season and won the Sun Belt Conference with a 15-1 record. The Chanticleers clinched their fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 19 with a 3-1 win over Texas State to win the Sun Belt Tournament.
   Leah Hardeman (4.62 kps., 3.01 dps., .301%) leads Coastal in kills and is a four-time Conference Player of the Year.
   Sydney Alvis was named Second Team All-Conference after averaging 4.16 digs per set.
   Another player to keep an eye on is Lincoln native Sara Boothe. Boothe averages 7.24 assists and 2.19 digs per set while splitting time in CCU's 6-2 offense.
   Coastal averages 13.33 kills, 15.11 digs, 2.32 blocks and 1.22 aces per set while hitting .247 as a team.

The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 316-159 record in her 15th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to back-to-back-to-back-to-back BIG EAST titles, and five league crowns in the last six 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 seven 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.
   Jozsef Forman (Hungarian University of Physical Education, 1989) owns a 189-89 career record in nine seasons as a head coach, and a 131-50 mark in six seasons at Coastal Carolina. He's led the Chanticleers to the NCAA Tournament each of the last four years, and was previously a head coach at New Orleans (2007-09). Forman was named 2017 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year in late November. He is assisted by Simone Asque, CJ Allard and Anthony Crawley.

Series History vs. Coastal Carolina
Creighton is 1-0 all-time against Coastal Carolina, defeating the Chanticleers in four sets (29-27, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22) on Dec. 4, 2015 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C.
   Creighton's Jaali Winters made her NCAA Tournament debut with 20 kills and 10 digs, while Maggie Baumert (55 assists, 16 digs) and Jess Bird (16 kills, 14 digs) also provided double-doubles.
   Leah Hardeman had 27 kills and 22 digs for Coastal Carolina, with Natasa Savovic (12 kills, 15 digs) also adding a double-double.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-0 in her career against Coastal Carolina.

Last Weekend Recap
Creighton won its fourth straight BIG EAST Championship with wins over Villanova (3-0) and Marquette (3-2) to avenge its lone regular-season conference losses. Taryn Kloth had 14 kills in both matches and was named MVP of the event, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Marysa Wilkinson and Brittany Witt.

Creighton's NCAA Tournament History
Creighton is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the past eighth years after earning a sixth straight bid to the Big Dance.
   The Bluejays are 8-6 in six previous appearances, and have knocked off the likes of Iowa State (2010), Marquette (2012), Arkansas (2013), Coastal Carolina (2015) No. 23 North Carolina (2015), Northern Iowa (2016), No. 4 Kansas (2016) and No. 17 Michigan (2016).
   Creighton is 5-1 in first round play, 2-3 in the second round, 1-1 in the Regional semifinal round and 0-1 in the Regional final round. The Bluejays are also 6-2 at neutral-site matches and 2-4 in true road games.
   Creighton is 1-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament play against Coastal Carolina, but has never faced Michigan State or Missouri State in the postseason.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 8-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

How Sweet It Is
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 did not own a Sweet 16 appearance before 2015, a year it opened with a First Round victory over Coastal Carolina in Chaptel Hill, N.C.

Lucky Number Seven
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her troops to a seventh NCAA Tournament. That puts her in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history.
   Booth is one of four head coaches in Creighton history to lead seven different NCAA Tournament teams, and tops among all females.
Name   Sport   NCAA's @CU
Bob Warming   Men's Soccer   11
Kirsten Bernthal Booth   Volleyball   7
Dana Altman   Men's Basketball   7
Brent Vigness   Softball   7
Elmar Bolowich   Men's Soccer   6

History of No. 9 Seeds
The 2017 NCAA Tournament marks the 17th year of the NCAA Tournament in the rally scoring era.
   In that time, the No. 9 national seed (such as Creighton this fall) are 16-0 in the opening round with 15 sweeps, with only the 2005 Louisville team not winning in straight sets (UofL won 3-1 vs. Western Kentucky).
   Since 2001, the No. 9 seed has advanced to the Sweet 16 (or further) 13-of-16 times, including 2011 national champion UCLA and one other team (2010 Texas) that reached the Final Four. All three No. 9 seeds that did not advance to the Sweet 16 lost a five-set match in the Second Round.
   No fewer than 10-of-16 seeds have reached the Sweet 16 in each of the last 16 seasons.
   Last year Creighton became the first team to go on the road on the opening weekend in consecutive seasons and reach the Sweet 16 both times since BYU in 2013 and 2014.
Year   No. 9 Seed   W-L   Seeds to Sweet 16?
2016   Michigan State   1-1   12/16
2015   Kansas   3-1   13/16
2014   Illinois   2-1   13/16
2013   San Diego   2-0   11/16
2012   Florida State   1-1   12/16
2011   UCLA   6-0   11/16
2010   Texas   4-1   11/16
2009   California   3-1   12/16
2008   Illinois   2-1   13/16
2007   Kansas State   1-1   10/16
2006   Florida   2-1   15/16
2005   Louisville   2-1   13/16
2004   San Diego   2-1   14/16
2003   Nebraska   2-1   16/16
2002   Pepperdine   3-1   13/16
2001   Hawai'i   2-1   16/16

Common Opponents
Creighton and Coastal Carolina share no common opponents this season.

Against NCAA Tournament Teams
Creighton went 7-5 against teams in the field of 64, while Coastal Carolina went 1-0 against NCAA-bound squads.
   In those matches, Jaali Winters led Creighton with 3.12 kills per set and was second with 2.77 digs per set. Megan Ballenger hit a team-best .302, while Lydia Dimke and Brittany Witt each had 14 service aces. Witt also led CU with 4.26 digs per set. Both Winters and Dimke had four double-doubles in those matches against the best of the best.
Opponent   CU Score   CCU Score
American   -   W 3-0
Pitt   W 3-0   -
Washington   W 3-1   -
Kentucky   W 3-0   -
USC   L 0-3   -
Northern Iowa   W 3-0   -
Purdue   L 1-3   -
Kansas   W 3-0   -
Wichita State   L 1-3   -
Iowa State   L 2-3   -
Marquette   L 0-3   -
Marquette   W 3-0   -
Marquette   W 3-2   -

Fifth Set Heroes
Creighton made history last season when it opened the NCAA Tournament with five-set wins over Northern Iowa, No. 4 Kansas and No. 17 Michigan.
   The hot streak made the Bluejays the first club in NCAA Tournament history to open the postseason with three consecutive five-set wins.
   Creighton is 4-0 all-time in five-set matches in the NCAA Tournament, which also includes a 2010 First Round victory over Iowa State.

Winters Is Coming
Jaali Winters has historically played some of her best volleyball against the best teams on Creighton's schedule.
   Winters has played in seven career NCAA Tournament matches, and has 20 or more kills in five of those, which account for the top five single-match totals in CU's NCAA Tournament history.
   No other player in program history has ever had more than 18 kills in an NCAA Tourney match.
Most Kills, NCAA Tournament Match
   Kills   Player, Opponent   Date
   24   Jaali Winters vs. UNI   12-01-16
   23   Jaali Winters at Kansas   12-02-16
   21   Jaali Winters vs. Michigan   12-09-16
   21   Jaali Winters at North Carolina   12-05-15
   20   Jaali Winters vs. Coastal Carolina   12-04-15
   18   Marysa Wilkinson vs. UNI   12-01-16
   17   Leah McNary vs. Oregon State   12-05-14
   17   Alicia Runge vs. Iowa State   12-03-10

Double-Double? Dilly, Dilly
Jaali Winters enters the NCAA Tournament with a double-double in each of her last five matches this fall, a streak that started Nov. 12 in a win at Butler. The only outside hitter in program history with a longer streak was Abby Baumann, who did it in six matches in a row in 2006.
   Winters has played in seven career NCAA Tournament matches, and delivered a double-double in five of them.
Consecutive Matches, Double-Double
   8   Melissa Walsh, Oct. 24-Nov. 17, 2000
   8   Michelle Sicner, Sept. 21-Oct. 20, 2013
   7   Korie Lebeda, Nov. 4-24, 2006
   7   Kailey Reyes, Oct. 23-Nov. 18, 1999
   7   Megan Bober, Oct. 26-Nov. 16, 2012
   6   Abby Baumann, Oct. 13-Nov. 4, 2006
   6   Korie Lebeda, Sept. 6-Oct. 3, 2008
   6   Megan Bober, Sept. 17-Oct. 7, 2011
   5 (11x)   last Jaali Winters, Nov. 12, 2017 - Present

Group Of Death?
Only one NCAA Volleyball Tournament first weekend site has three ranked teams...the one in Omaha that Creighton is hosting (#12 Michigan State, #15 Creighton, #25 Missouri State).
   The Omaha site is the nation's only oney with three conference tournament champions (Coastal Carolina, Creighton, Missouri State), and one of just three sites (Stanford, UCLA) with three teams to earn an automatic bid.
   In addition, Michigan State vs. Missouri State is the only First Round match-up of two ranked foes.

On The Double (and Triple)
Creighton had three players with a double-double in the BIG EAST Championship final, as Lydia Dimke (10 kills, 53 assists, 14 digs), Taryn Kloth (14 kills, 10 digs) and Jaali Winters (12 kills, 19 digs) all posted double-dips.
   Last Saturday marked the first time Creighton had three players with a double-double in the same contest since the first match of the 2016 season, when Dimke, Winters and Jess Bird did so against Wichita Stte.
   Dimke is the first Bluejay with a triple-double since current CU senior Kenzie Crawford had one in the second match of the 2015 season against Louisville (51 assists, 11 digs, 10 kills). Dimke's triple-double was just the second in the BIG EAST this fall, as Butler's Makayla Ferguson also had one.
   Dimke's triple-double was the 31st in program history, and she's just the eighth player to attain one. Megan Bober (2009-12) accounted for 15 of those triple-doubles, with nine coming in 2011 and her final six as a senior in 2012.

Dig This!
Creighton owned 107 digs in last Saturday's win over Marquette. That ranked as the program's most in a five-set match since 120 digs at Evansville on Nov. 18, 2006, and the most in a match of any length since 114 digs in a four-set win vs. Illinois State on Sept. 28, 2007.
   Brittany Witt's 34 digs against the Golden Eagles were also a career-best for the sophomore libero, and the most by a Bluejay since fellow Omaha Marian High School alum Kate Elman scooped 35 attacks at Wichita State on Nov. 16, 2012.

Four Titles; Four Different MVP's
Creighton won a tournament title in each of the first three weekends of the season, with a different MVP each time. The Jays won a fourth tournament in November when it claimed the BIG EAST Championship, this time with Taryn Kloth taking home MVP accolades.
   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.
   Taryn Kloth was honored as MVP when Creighton won the BIG EAST Championships on Nov. 24-25.
   In addition to Wilkinson, Dimke, Winters and Kloth, Megan Ballenger and Brittany Witt have also earned All-Tournament Team honors this fall.

NCAA Tourney Streak
The inclusion of Creighton Volleyball into the 2017 NCAA Tournament extended an impressive streak for Bluejay athletics.
   This year marks the 31st straight academic calendar year that Creighton has had at least one NCAA Tournament team.

Select Company
The BIG EAST's Creighton and Marquette are two of 19 teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last six NCAA Tournaments (including 2017). That group features BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, USC and Washington.
   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.
23 Wins, Each Season From 2012-16
Team   2017 W-L   Next Match
Western Kentucky   30-3   12/1
Penn State   29-1   12/1
BYU   28-2   12/1
Stanford   26-3   12/1
Nebraska   26-4   12/1
Florida   25-1   11/30
Creighton   25-6   12/1
Texas   24-2   12/1
Washington   24-7   12/1
Florida State   18-10   12/1

Six Straight 20 Win Seasons
Creighton is 25-6 this year, picking up 20 victories for the ninth time in the program's modern history, and sixth straight season.
   It's especially impressive when you consider that 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 and Wichita State.
   The following schools are still trying to extend their streak of 20-win seasons in 2017, through matches of November 27th.
Team   2017 W-L   Next Match
Florida State   18-10   12/1
North Carolina   14-14   Season Over
UTSA   12-16   Season Over

All They Do Is Win
Creighton owns a 106-31 record in the last four seasons, and is 158-44 in the past six years.
   On a national basis through November 29th, those 106 wins are 11th-most, while the 158 victories are 11th-most.
Most Wins, Since 2014
   Rank   School   Wins   Next Match
   1.   Western Kentucky   122   12/1
   2.   Penn State   117   12/1
   3.   BYU   115   12/1
       Washington   115   12/1
   5.   Nebraska   112   12/1
   6.   Dayton   110   12/1
   7.   Stanford   109   12/1
   8.   Texas   108   12/1
   9.   American   107   12/1
   10.   Creighton   106   12/1
       Colorado State   106   12/1
   12.   Wisconsin   105   12/1
       Florida   105   11/30
   14.   Minnesota   104   12/1
   15.   Towson   102   11/30

Most Wins, Since 2012
   Rank   School   Wins   Next Match
   1.   Penn State   184   12/1
   2.   Western Kentucky   182   12/1
   3.   Washington   170   12/1
   4.   BYU   167   12/1
   5.   Stanford   166   12/1
   6.   Texas   164   12/1
       Nebraska   164   12/1
   8.   American   162   12/1
   9.   Minnesota   160   12/1
       Florida   160   11/30
   11.   Creighton   158   12/1
   12.   Colorado State   155   12/1
   13.   Dayton   153   Done
   14.   Kansas   152   12/1

Up To Speed on Seeds
Creighton is one of 13 schools to be a national seed in two of the last three NCAA Tournaments.
   BYU, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, UCLA and Washington have all hosted three times.
   Creighton, Kansas, USC and Wisconsin have each hosted twice.

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, nine home crowds this season have ranked among the top-25 in school history, as seen by the chart below.
   Creighton has averaged 1,765 fans per home match this season, which ranks 22nd nationally. No one else in the BIG EAST averages more than 1,000 fans per home match.
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
   2,222   Marquette   11/04/17   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
   1,695   Xavier   10/15/17   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
   1,647   DePaul   11/05/17   W 3-0   Sokol

With a Win...
With a win on Friday, Creighton would...
- Improve to 26-6, its fourth-most wins in a season in program history, with its 15th win in the last 16 matches.
- Improve to 9-6 all-time in seven NCAA Tournament appearances.
- Improve to 2-0 all-time against Coastal Carolina, with both wins coming in the NCAA Tournament.
- Improve to 6-1 all-time in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
- Improve to 11-1 at home this season with its 10th straight home win.
- Win its 35th straight home match over an unranked team.
- Give Creighton 107 wins in the last four seasons, extending the program record for most by a senior class in history.
- Advance to Saturday's 6 p.m. Second Round match-up against the winner of Friday's 4 p.m. Michigan State vs. Missouri State tussle.

Get Your Tickets Now
Creighton has attracted 19,414 fans in 11 home matches this season, an average of 1,765 per contest.
   That average ranks 22nd-best nationally, and is second-best in CU history behind a 2007 season that featured a contest at CenturyLink Center Omaha that attracted a crowd of 13,081 that significantly upped the average.
   This year's 19,414 total home fans ranks fifth-most in CU single-season history, but it wouldn't be shocking to see that total vault a couple spots higher this weekend and trail only a few seasons that included a match at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
   Most Fans Per Home Match, CU History
Year   Fans   Dates   Average
2007   24,183   13   1,860
2017   19,414   11   1,765
2015   29,905   18   1,661
2006   20,940   13   1,611
2008   19,645   14   1,403

Most Home Fans In A Season, CU History
Year   Fans   Dates   Average
2015   29,905   18   1,661
2007   24,183   13   1,860
2006   20,940   13   1,611
2008   19,645   14   1,403
2017   19,414   11   1,765
2014   19,239   15   1,283

Booth Wins Fourth League Tournament
Last Saturday's win at Marquette improved Kirsten Bernthal Booth to 316-159 in 15 seasons as Creighton head coach, including a 9-1 mark in BIG EAST Championship play and four titles.
   By comparison, the rest of the league's active coaches are a combined 9-21 with one title at the BIG EAST Championship.
   Booth is one of five coaches in league history to win four or more BIG EAST Championships, joining Notre Dame's Debbie Brown (9), Pittsburgh's Shelton Collier (4), Pittsburgh's Sue Woodstra (4) and Louisville's Leonid Yelin (4).

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

As The Top Seed
Last weekend Creighton was the No. 1 seed at a conference tournament for the fifth time in program history. And just like the previous four times as the No. 1 seed, the Bluejays went on to win the title with two straight wins.
   In 2012, Creighton was the top seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Springfield, Mo., and beat Illinois State and Wichita State.
   In 2014, Creighton was the top seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and beat Xavier and Seton Hall in Milwaukee, Wis.
   In 2015 Creighton hosted the tournament and defeated Marquette and Villanova en route to hoisting the trophy.
   Last season, Creighton went to Indianapolis, Ind., and swept both Seton Hall and Xavier to win the crown.
   Last weekend, Creighton went to Milwaukee and topped both Villanova and Marquette to win the league tournament title.

Filling The Trophy Case
Creighton has played in 13 BIG EAST Tournament championship games across all sports, but only the volleyball program has won a title.
   The baseball team is 0-3, the men's soccer team is 0-2, the men's basketball team 0-2, the women's basketball team is 0-1, while the volleyball team is 4-1.
   Creighton joined the BIG EAST Conference on July 1, 2013.

Back-To-Back-To-Back-To-Back
Creighton won its fourth straight BIG EAST Championship title last weekend, becoming the first team to do so since Notre Dame won four in a row from 1995-98.
   Creighton, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville are the only four schools to ever win back-to-back-to-back BIG EAST Championships in volleyball.
   The only five schools to win a league tournament each of the last four seasons are American, Coastal Carolina, Creighton, Denver and Western Kentucky.
   Creighton is 9-1 all-time in five appearances at the BIG EAST Championships, reaching the final each time.
   Dating back to its Missouri Valley Conference days, Creighton has made 15 straight appearances in a league tournament after appearing in just 4-of-9 tournaments prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival.

Bluejays Collect The Hardware
Creighton had quite a haul of honors as the BIG EAST named its All-Conference Team last week.
   Lydia Dimke, Jaali Winters, Marysa Wilkinson and Brittany Witt were named First Team All-BIG EAST, while Taryn Kloth was named Second Team All-BIG EAST.
   This is the third First Team All-Conference award for Winters, the second for Dimke and the first for both Witt and Wilkinson.
   Kloth, a First Team All-BIG EAST pick last fall, is a Second Team selection for the initial time.
   Witt was also honored as BIG EAST Libero of the Year, joining Julianne Mandolfo (2011, MVC) as the program's second player ever to be named league Libero of the Year.

The Avengers
Since 2014, Creighton Volleyball is 67-5 in BIG EAST play during the regular-season.
   All five losses were later avenged during the conference tournament that fall.
2014: 16-2, lost twice to Seton Hall, beat Seton Hall in league tourney
2015: 17-1, lost to Villanova, beat Nova in league tourney
2016: 18-0
2017: 16-2, lost to Marquette & Villanova, beat Marquette & Villanova in tourney

Title History
Creighton won its fifth regular-season conference title in program history in 2017.
   Creighton's first league title in program history came in 2012, when the Bluejays went 17-1 to win the Missouri Valley Conference title. That team went on to win the MVC Tournament title, as well.
   In 2014, Creighton went 16-2 in league play and swept the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament crowns.
   In 2015, Creighton went 17-1 to win the BIG EAST, then won a pair of BIG EAST Championship contests to take home a second straight title.
   Last year, Creighton became the first BIG EAST team to ever go 18-0, then swept a pair of BIG EAST Championship contests to win a third straight title.
   This year's team won a fourth straight outright regular-season title, and also won the tournament title.
   Since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 school year, Creighton has won BIG EAST regular-season titles in baseball (2014, 2017), men's soccer (2014) and volleyball (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017), and BIG EAST Championship titles in volleyball (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017).

4 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Creighton has won each of the last four BIG EAST regular-season titles, including 2017.
   No team had won four straight regular-season titles (including shares) since Notre Dame won seven in a row from 1999-2005.
   Notre Dame is the last team to win four or more straight outright BIG EAST regular-season titles, having claimed four in a row from 1999-2002.
   The only other team in Creighton history to win four (or more) straight regular-season titles was the men's soccer program, which claimed five straight MVC crowns from 1992-96. All five of those soccer titles were also outright titles.

Late Season Drama
Creighton closed the regular-season with a win at Georgetown, but it wasn't easy. The Bluejays trailed 2-1 in the match before winning the fourth set, and fell behind 7-2 and 13-12 in the fifth set before reeling off the final three points.
   Strangely, it's the fourth time in Creighton's five seasons with a conference title that the Jays played a five-set match to win the regular-season. All four times Creighton won that match, then went on to win the league tournament a week later.
   Creighton ended the regular-season in 2016 with a five-set win over Villanova, just as it did in 2015 in five sets over Georgetown (saving two match points).
   In 2012, Creighton finished the year with consecutive five-set victories over Wichita State and Missouri State.
   Creighton's 2011 team (that didn't win a title) also ended the regular-season with a five-set win at Drake.

Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 52-27 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 12 of its last 15 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, an NCAA Tournament win at No. 4 Kansas in 2016 and 2017 victories at Butler, Georgetown and Marquette.
   It's also worth noting that Creighton is 11-3 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   4-1   25-6
Total   67-55   409-311

Fifth Set Force
Creighton closed the regular-season with a 3-2 win on Nov. 18 at Georgetown, overcoming deficits of 7-2 and 13-12 before earning the 15-13 victory.
   Coming up clutch in the fifth set is nothing new for the Bluejay program. In fact, starting with its first NCAA Tournament match in program history (Dec. 3, 2010), Creighton is 17-2 in the months of November and December in five-set matches.
   Of those 17 five-set wins, 11 have been on the road (with three others at a neutral site) while five have been in NCAA or BIG EAST Tournament action.
5-Set Matches Since 12/1/10 in Nov. or Dec.
Year   Opponent   Site   Result
2010   vs. Iowa State#   Neutral   W
2011   at Wichita State   Home   W
2011   at Bradley   Road   L
2011   at Drake   Road   W
2012   at Northern Iowa   Road   W
2012   at Wichita State   Road   W
2012   at Missouri State   Road   W
2013   St. John's   Home   L
2014   at Butler   Road   W
2014   at St. John's   Road   W
2015   at Georgetown   Road   W
2015   Marquette$   Home   W
2016   Villanova   Home   W
2016   vs. Northern Iowa#   Neutral   W
2016   at #4 Kansas#   Road   W
2016   vs. 17 Michigan#   Neutral   W
2017   at Butler   Road   W
2017   at Georgetown   Road   W
2017   at Marquette$   Road   W
# NCAA Tournament
$ BIG EAST Tournament

Dig This!
Jaali Winters and Brittany Witt have combined for exactly 2,000 career digs entering this weekend.
   Junior Jaali Winters reached the milestone last Saturday at Marquette and owns 1,003 career digs in 103 career matches, and sophomore Brittany Witt owns 997 career digs after 67 career contests..
   Should Witt get there, she'd join Julianne Mandolfo and Kate Elman as the only Bluejays to reach the milestone as a sophomore. Like Mandolfo and Elman, Witt attended Omaha Marian High School.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   53   11/08/08   Illinois State
Julianne Mandolfo   56   10/22/11   Evansville
Kate Elman   59   11/16/13   at Seton Hall
Nayka Benitez   60   11/27/10   at Northern Iowa
Kailey Reyes   77   09/01/01   vs. UTSA
Janeen Piller   80   09/25/04   at Missouri State
Melissa Walsh   85   09/08/01   at #24 Santa Clara
Allie Oelke   95   09/04/10   vs. Iowa
Melissa Weisensee   97   10/04/97   at Missouri State
Sarah Schulze   101   11/13/09   Southern Illinois
Jaali Winters   103   11/25/17   at Marquette
Melanie Jereb   105   09/12/15   CSU Bakersfield
Korie Lebeda   108   10/17/08   Evansville
Megan Bober   118   10/27/12   Southern Illinois

Winters Join 1,000 & 1,000 Club
Jaali Winters enters this weekend with 1,369 career kills and 1,003 career digs. She's the third player in CU history with 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, and first to get there as a junior.
   Melissa Walsh (1,596 kills; 1,240 digs) and Allie Oelke (1,126 kills; 1,382 digs) previously accomplished the feat.

23, 24, 25,
Creighton owns 25 wins this season, tied for fourth-most in program history for one season.
   It's the sixth straight season of 23+ wins after never having done it from 1994-2012.
   The school-record for victories in a season is 29, done in both 2012 and 2016.
Matches Won, Season
       Year   MP   W   L   Pct.
   1.   2012   33   29   4   .879
       2016   36   29   7   .806
   3.   2015   36   27   9   .750
   4.   2017   31   25   6   .806
       2014   34   25   9   .735
   6.   2013   32   23   9   .719

BEDN Brings Out The Best In the Bluejays
Creighton made five appearances this fall on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
   Since the network originated in 2014, Creighton is 19-1 on BEDN, with the lone loss coming at Villanova on Nov. 17, 2017.

Witt Won Fourth Weekly Defensive Honor
Sophomore libero Brittany Witt was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, Nov. 7th, her fourth honor this fall.
   Witt averaged 5.17 digs, 2.50 assists and 0.83 aces per set as Creighton swept home matches over Marquette and DePaul. Both Marquette (.099) and DePaul (.093) hit under .100.
   Witt had 14 digs, five assists, one kill and one ace in a 3-0 win over second place Marquette. Witt spearheaded a Bluejay defense that contained BIG EAST kills leader Allie Barber to just 10 kills. Witt then procured her second career double-double with 17 digs and 10 assists, while also adding three consecutive aces in the first set as CU rolled to a 15-3 lead.
   Witt (5x), along with teammates Marysa Wilkinson (3x) and Jaali Winters (once) have combined to win 9-of-14 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors this fall.

All She Does Is Win
Since her arrival on campus in 2014, Creighton is 105-31 in matches that Marysa Wilkinson has appeared in.
   The 105 victories are the most in program history for one player, and passing Lauren Smith's previous school-record of 104 victories.
   Creighton owns 106 wins since 2013, also a program record for any four year span.
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
   105   Marysa Wilkinson   2014-Pr.
   104   Lauren Smith   2013-16
   102   Melanie Jereb   2012-15
   101   Ashley Jansen   2012-15
   95   Kate Elman   2012-15

Matches Played
       Name   MP   Year
   1.   Lauren Smith   138   2013-16
   2.   Marysa Wilkinson   136   2014-Pr.
   3.   Melanie Jereb   133   2012-15
   4.   Ashley Jansen   132   2012-15

Matches Started
       Name   MS   Year
   1.   Lauren Smith   137   2013-16
   2.   Megan Bober   128   2009-12
   3.   Marysa Wilkinson   125   2014-Pr.
   4.   Allie Oelke   120   2007-10

Sets Played
       Name   SP   Year
   1.   Lauren Smith   511   2013-16
   2.   Marysa Wilkinson   491   2014-Pr.
   3.   Megan Bober   480   2009-12
   4.   Melanie Jereb   471   2012-15

It Went Up To Eleven
Creighton had won 11 straight matches until it was snapped on Nov. 17 at Villanova.
   Keying the win streak had been tremendous defense, something that often gets overlooked thanks to the multitude of offensive weapons.
   Creighton averaged 17.54 digs per set and allowed just 10.28 kills per set in those 11 matches, as opponents hit just .128 in that time.
   By comparison, Creighton averaged 15.18 digs and allowed 12.85 kills per set as opponents hit .206 in CU's 11-5 start to the season.
   Brittany Witt averaged 4.97 digs per set during the win streak, compared to 3.75 digs per set in the first 16 matches this fall.
   Most Consecutive Wins, Creighton History
   Wins   Dates   Snapped By
   23   Sept. 23-Dec. 9, 2016   at #5 Texas, 3-0
   17   Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012   at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
   12   Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015   at Villanova, 3-2
   11   Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
   11   Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017   at Villanova, 3-0
   10   Oct. 31-Dec. 5, 2015   vs. #2 USC, 3-1
   8   Oct. 25-Nov. 22, 2008   vs. Northern Iowa, 3-2

2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 264-9 (.967) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 207-3 mark (.986) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU has won 40 straight when up 2-0, and is 134-1 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009.
   Conversely, the Jays are 13-192 (.063) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including a pair of victories over Butler in the last four seasons.
   Those 13 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
10/13/17   Butler   25-21, 25-23, 15-9   Booth

Speaking of Sweeps
Marquette's 3-0 win over Creighton on Oct. 5th was the first time the Bluejays had been swept by a BIG EAST foe since Seton Hall blanked the Bluejays on Nov. 23, 2014.
   CU returned the favor six days later in a rematch against the Pirates, topping SHU 3-1 in the 2014 BIG EAST Championship final.
   In similar fashion, after MU swept Creighton on Oct. 5th this year, the Bluejays answered with a sweep of the Golden Eagles on Nov. 4th.
   Also, Creighton was swept at Villanova on Nov. 17 this year, then swept the Wildcats a week later in the conference tournament.
   No team has swept Creighton twice in the same season since Missouri State in 2009.
   No team has beaten Creighton twice in the same season (sweeps or otherwise) since Seton Hall in 2014.

BIG EAST RPI Ranks Seventh
The BIG EAST ranks seventh as a league according to rankings at RealTimeRPI.com as it searches for multiple NCAA Tournament teams for the 16th straight season.
   Below is that top-10, through matches of November 19th.
   Rank   Conference   Average RPI
   1.   Pacific 12   .6043
   2.   Big Ten   .6023
   3.   Big 12   .5872
   4.   Southeastern   .5819
   5.   Atlantic Coast   .5443
   6.   West Coast   .5391
   7.   BIG EAST   .5377
   8.   Colonial Athletic   .5163
   9.   Big West   .5156
   10.   Mountain West   .5103

Seniors Lead The Way
Creighton honored manager Annie Cieslicki, as well as Brittany Lawrence (a junior who will graduate), Lydia Dimke, Kenzie Crawford and Marysa Wilkinson following its Nov. 5 match vs. DePaul as part of the program's annual Senior Day festivities.
   The Bluejays are 106-31 in the past four seasons, including a 67-5 mark in conference play. All four teams have been nationally ranked at some point, and the group will become part of the first women's program in Creighton history to appear in six straight NCAA Tournaments.
   The 2015 team was the program's first to reach the Sweet 16, while the 2016 club went a round further to reach the Elite Eight.
   CU has also won the regular-season and BIG EAST Tournament title in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, and also won the BIG EAST Tournament in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
   Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and an All-American in 2016. Wilkinson ranks in the top-10 in CU history in kills, blocks and hitting percentage. Lawrence has played in 64 sets and started in last year's Elite Eight. Crawford has split time between defensive specialist and setter in her career and is one of eight players in CU history to record a triple-double.
   All told, the quartet has combined for 1,534 kills, 55 aces, 1,306 digs, 3,038 assists and 581 blocks in a CU uniform.

Learning From Losses
Creighton rallied to beat Georgetown on Nov. 18th, avoiding a second straight league loss in the process.
   Including BIG EAST Championship play, Creighton is 88-10 against league foes since joining the conference in 2013. After all 10 losses, Creighton responded with a win in its next match.
Date   Loss   Next Match   Result
10/04/13   at Butler   at Xaiver   W 3-1
10/25/13   at Marquette   at DePaul   W 3-1
11/01/13   St. John's   Seton Hall   W 3-0
11/16/13   at Seton Hall   Georgetown   W 3-0
11/30/13   #24 Marquette   vs. Arkansas   W 3-1
10/10/14   at Seton Hall   at Villanova   W 3-1
11/23/14   Seton Hall   vs. Xavier   W 3-1
10/30/15   at Villanova   at Seton Hall   W 3-0
10/05/17   at Marquette   DePaul   W 3-0
11/17/17   at Villanova   at Georgetown   W 3-2

CU's League Leaders
In league matches only, Creighton led the BIG EAST in assists per set (13.83), kills per set (14.81), digs per set (16.62), hitting percentage (.302), opponent hitting percentage (.164), opponent kills per set (11.16) and opponent assists per set (10.38).
   Individually in league play only, Brittany Witt (4.53) was tops in digs per set,

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, 2016 and 2017.
   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 Nov. 27) since the league's reconfiguration in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013 (thru 11/27)
             BIG EAST only   All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)   W   L   W   L
Creighton (5)   79   9   129   40
Marquette (5)   69   19   117   44
Xavier   59   29   91   67
Butler   53   35   99   59
Seton Hall (1)   50   38   90   70
Villanova (1)   44   44   86   71
St. John's   35   53   84   78
Georgetown   17   71   45   107
DePaul   16   72   56   95
Providence*   10   62   46   85
*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 46-2 in its last 48 matches and 59-3 in its last 62 matches against teams from the BIG EAST, including league championship play.
   The Bluejays have an active winning streak of four or longer against each school in the BIG EAST Conference except Marquette and Villanova, as seen below.
Team   Series History   Current CU Streak
Butler   CU 9-1   Won Last 9
DePaul   CU 10-1   Won Last 10
Georgetown   CU 10-0   Won Last 10
Marquette   CU 12-4   Won Last 2
Providence   CU 8-0   Won Last 8
Seton Hall   CU 9-3   Won Last 8
St. John's   CU 9-1   Won Last 9
Villanova   CU 9-2   Won Last 1
Xavier   CU 13-0   Won Last 13

Higher And Higher
Creighton set five D.J. Sokol Arena records in its Oct. 13th 3-2 comeback win over Butler.
   Creighton's 84 kills were a facility record, the third-most of any team in the nation this fall, and the most by any BIG EAST team in a league match since Seton Hall had 84 kills at Marquette on Nov. 9, 2007 when sets were played to 30 points. The 84 kills were the most by a CU team since the Bluejays posted 86 at Evansville on Nov. 4, 2000.
   Creighton's 79 assists were a facility record, the third-most of any team in the nation this fall, and the most by any BIG EAST team in a league match since Seton Hall had 79 assists at Marquette on Nov. 9, 2007 when sets were played to 30 points. It was also the most by a CU team since the Jays had 79 assists at Wichita State on Oct. 13, 2006.
   Creighton also established facility records for attack attempts (216), digs (106) and points (96.0).
   Jaali Winters' 28 kills were tied for third-most in Creighton history for one match, equalled her previous high, and were also the most ever by a Bluejay inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
   Lydia Dimke's 65 assists were a career-high, the most by any BIG EAST player in a match this season, and the most by a Bluejay since Korie Lebeda had 71 on Nov. 18, 2006 at Evansville.

Winters' Weekly BIG EAST Defensive Honor
Creighton Volleyball junior Jaali Winters was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on October 31st.
   It's the eighth career weekly honor from the BIG EAST for Winters, but the first time she's been honored solely for her defensive work. Winters is also the first player leaguewide to be honored as both the Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 17) and the Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 31) this season.
   Winters averaged 4.57 digs per set to pace the Creighton defense in a pair of wins.
   The Ankeny, Iowa native opened her week with team-highs of 19 digs and 12 kills in a 3-1 win at Providence. It was her team-high sixth double-double of the fall. She then had a team-best 13 digs to go with seven kills in a sweep of the Friars one night later.
   In the two wins over Providence, Creighton limited the Friars to .049 hitting in 245 swings as PC averaged just 8.57 kills per set.

Middles Are All Right
The numbers would suggest that Creighton dominated the middle in its Oct. 6 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 an Oct. 6 win at DePaul.
   CU had 18 kills without an attack error in 22 swings to hit that .818, which surpassed the 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. Of note, Creighton has hit.413 or better five times in 2017 after doing it a total of seven times from 1994-2016.
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
   .419   vs. Seton Hall (51-7-105)   10-22-17
   .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
   .4138   vs. DePaul (43-7-87)   11-5-17

100 Wins At Sokol
Creighton owns a 100-25 all-time record at D.J. Sokol Arena, which opened in 2009, reaching the century mark on Nov. 5 with a sweep of DePaul.
   Creighton's first win at D.J. Sokol Arena came on Aug. 28, 2009 when the Bluejays swept Texas Tech.
   Only five visiting schools have beaten Creighton more than once at D.J. Sokol Arena, a list that includes Northern Iowa (4x), Illinois (2), Kansas (2), Marquette (2) and Missouri State (2).

Sweep You Very Much
Creighton owns 203 sweeps in program history since its 1994 reinstatement, nearly half of its 409 all-time wins.
   Creighton is 164-65 all-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth in three-set matches, compared to a 39-83 mark before her arrival.

Winters Makes Arena History
Jaali Winters owns 547 career kills inside the friendly confines of D.J. Sokol Arena, and on Nov. 5th vs. DePaul she broke Leah McNary's facility record of 537.
   Winters owns 10 or more kills in each of her last nine home matches.
Most Career Kills, D.J. Sokol Arena History
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Jaali Winters   141   547   2015-Pr.
   2.   Leah McNary   191   537   2011-14
   3.   Lauren Smith   208   490   2013-16
   4.   Kelli Browning   168   480   2011-14
   5.   Marysa Wilkinson   191   427   2014-Pr.

Passing The Halfway Point
Creighton went 16-2 in BIG EAST play and reached the midpoint of the league slate with an 8-1 mark.
   Creighton has now started 8-1 or better in league play for the fourth straight season, and fifth time in six seasons.
   Each of the five times CU has been 8-1 or better halfway through the league schedule, the Bluejays have won both the regular-season and league tournament titles.
League Record by Year
Year   1st Half   2nd Half   Place
1994   2-8   1-9   T-9th MVC
1995   3-7   3-7   T-7th MVC
1996   2-7   3-6   T-6th MVC
1997   6-3   4-5   T-3rd MVC
1998   2-7   3-6   8th MVC
1999   5-4   4-5   5th MVC
2000   5-4   5-4   T-4th MVC
2001   7-2   5-4   4th MVC
2002   1-8   1-8   T-9th MVC
2003   5-4   4-5   T-5th MVC
2004   5-4   5-4   5th MVC
2005   4-5   6-3   5th MVC
2006   7-2   5-4   4th MVC
2007   7-2   7-2   T-2nd MVC
2008   7-2   8-1   2nd MVC
2009   4-5   6-3   T-4th MVC
2010   7-2   6-3   3rd MVC
2011   6-3   6-3   4th MVC
2012   8-1   9-0   1st MVC
2013   6-2   6-2   T-2nd BIG EAST
2014   8-1   8-1   1st BIG EAST
2015   9-0   8-1   1st BIG EAST
2016   9-0   9-0   1st BIG EAST
2017   8-1   8-1   1st BIG EAST
Total   133-84   130-87   --

Wilkinson Wins Third Defensive Honor
Marysa Wilkinson was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 24th. It was the senior's third Defensive Player of the Week honor this fall, joining the recognition she received on Aug. 29 and Oct. 3.
   A middle blocker from Lincoln, Neb., Wilkinson helped Creighton to a 2-0 week by averaging 1.57 blocks per set, in addition to 2.43 kills per set on .341 hitting.
    She started the week with six blocks, including three solo stuffs, in a 3-1 win over St. John's. Wilkinson also contributed 12 kills and two digs on .357 hitting.
    The senior then added five kills and five blocks on .308 hitting in a sweep of third-place Seton Hall two days later.

100, 200, 300, 400
Creighton owns a 409-311 record since its 1994 reinstatement, earning its 400th win on Oct. 22 vs. Seton Hall.
   Here's a look at Creighton's record at the time of some of its milestone victories:
W-L   Opponent   Date   1-0   vs. Chattanooga   09/02/94
25-57   Wichita State   11/15/96
50-91   Southern Illinois   09/10/99
75-112   at Evansville   11/04/00
100-160   at Bradley   10/04/03
125-182   vs. UC Riverside   09/02/05
150-197   Drake   09/22/06
175-213   at Indiana State   10/26/07
200-224   Texas Tech   08/28/09
225-239   Bradley   09/25/10
250-263   Wichita State   11/04/11
275-270   Illinois State   11/10/12
300-278   Georgetown   11/22/13
325-287   at St. John's   11/15/14
350-297   Butler   11/15/15
375-304   Xavier   11/06/16
400-310   Seton Hall   10/22/17

Home Sweet Home
Creighton went 8-0 at home this season in BIG EAST play, the fourth time (joining 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017) in the previous six years it has been unbeaten at home in league play.
   Creighton is 42-2 all-time (.955) 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 73-7 (.913) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility, including 27 straight victories.
   Creighton has won all nine meetings with St. John's since that 2013 upset, and all eight 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 last 12 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.

First Set Is Key
The winner in all but four of Creighton's 31 matches has been the team that won the first set of the match. The only exceptions? Two wins over Butler and one each over Georgetown and Marquette, all in five sets.
   Creighton has won 40 in a row when going up 1-0 in a match.
   This fall, Creighton is 21-0 when winning the first set and 4-6 when losing the first set. Coastal Carolina is 16-1 when winning the first set and 4-6 when dropping the opener.
   Creighton is 21-2 when winning the second set and 4-4 when dropping the second set. Coastal Carolina is 12-2 when winning the second set and 8-5 when losing the second set.
   Creighton is 21-1 when winning the third set and 4-5 when losing the third set. Coastal Carolina is 19-0 when winning the third set and 1-7 when dropping the third set.
   Creighton is 8-2 when winning the fourth set and 0-2 when losing the fourth set. Coastal Carolina is 8-1 when winning the fourth set and 4-1 when losing the fourth set.
   Creighton is 4-1 in five-set matches. Coastal Carolina is 5-2 in five-set matches.

Dimke Passes 2,000
Lydia Dimke owns 2,543 assists in 65 career matches played at Creighton, after passing 2,000 assists in her 52nd career match on Oct. 13 vs. Butler.
   Dimke is the seventh player to reach 2,000 assists at Creighton, and fourth-quickest to get there.
   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
Lydia Dimke   52   10/13/17   Butler
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.
   Dimke is one of seven players in program history to reach 2,000 career assists at CU.
   As an attacker, Dimke is hitting .372 in all matches and .362 in league play.
   Dimke has become the career hitting percentage at Creighton, which requires 250 career kills. Dimke is hitting .334, which puts her just behind 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.   Lydia Dimke   288   74   641   .334   2015-Pr.
   3.   Lauren Smith   1,160   365   2,460   .323   2013-16
   4.   Marysa Wilkinson   1,157   300   2,718   .315   2014-Pr.
   5.   Megan Ballenger   427   144   954   .297   2015-Pr.
   4.   Kelly Goc   1,414   414   3,374   .296   2004-07
   7.   Ashley Williams   941   279   2,336   .283   2001-04
   8.   Melissa Weisensee   389   122   970   .2753   1994-97
   9.   Kailey Reyes   398   100   1,083   .2752   1998-01
   10.   Laurel Sanford   761   245   1,907   .271   2008-11

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 46-5 in October in that same span, and an even better 46-5 in the month of November.
   Creighton has won 25 straight home matches in the month of October dating to a Oct. 15, 2011 loss to No. 12 Northern Iowa, and 23 of its last 24 November matches at all sites dating to a Nov. 23, 2014 loss.
   Since the start of the 2014 season, Creighton is a combined 63-5 in the months of October and November.

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 this weekend with 88 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 16 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   9-1   -   9-1
DePaul   10-0   -   10-0
Georgetown   10-0   -   10-0
Marquette   8-2   2-1   10-3
Providence   8-0   -   8-0
Seton Hall   7-3   2-0   9-3
St. John's   9-1   -   9-1
Villanova   8-2   2-0   10-2
Xavier   10-0   3-0   13-0
Total   79-9   9-1   88-10

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 316 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   316*
*still active coaching at Creighton

Better And Better and Better...
Senior Marysa Wilkinson owns 314 kills this season, becoming the sixth player in CU history with 200 or more kills in each of her first four seasons on campus.
   Junior Jaali Winters is one of eight players to accomplish the feat in each of her first three seasons with the Bluejays, and joins Melissa Walsh as one of two women with 300 or more kills in each of her first three years.
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-Pr.   236   286   321   314   1,157
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   375   -   1,369

Spike Town
Jaali Winters enters this weekend with 1,369 kills as she closes in on fifth place on Creighton's all-time career kills list.
   Here's a look at Creighton's top-nine in career kills, which includes teammate Marysa Wilkinson's 1,157 kills that rank ninth. Wilkinson is three away from former teammate Lauren Smith for eighth place.
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.   Jaali Winters   368   1,369   2015-Pr.
   7.   Leah McNary   458   1,257   2011-14
   8.   Lauren Smith   511   1,160   2013-16
   9.   Marysa Wilkinson   491   1,157   2014-Pr.

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

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

RPI Stands At 10th
Creighton ranked 10th in the Nov. 27 official NCAA RPI rankings. The mark is the best in the BIG EAST (Marquette is second-best at 30th).
   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.

Dimke Was Up For Senior CLASS Award
Lydia Dimke was 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, though she did not make the cut to the final 10. 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 10.78 assists, 2.58 digs, 1.41 kills and 0.70 blocks per set while hitting .372. 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.

Home At Home
Creighton has won 29 straight home matches against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) at D.J. Sokol Arena, and is 34-2 in its last 36 matches against all teams at home.
   CU's overall home win streak stands at nine, tied for fourth-longest in program history. 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, 3-0
   12   Sept. 20 - Nov. 28, 2015   #4 Kansas, 3-2
   9   Sept. 20, 2014-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
   9   Sept. 2, 2017 - Present   ? ? ?
   8   Sept. 25-Nov. 20, 2010   Northern Illinois, 3-0

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)   60-11
Al McGuire Center (MU)   7-2
Hinkle Fieldhouse (BU)   6-1
Carnesecca Arena (SJU)   5-0
McGrath-Phillips Arena (DPU)   5-0
Cintas Center (XU)   5-0
McDonough Arena (GU)   5-0
Alumni Hall (PC)   4-0
Jake Nevin Field House (VU)   3-2
Walsh Gym (SHU)   3-2

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.
   Including this year, Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them or better in the preseason poll in 13 of the past 15 years, including eight 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   1st   - -

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 won 48-of-64 league sets played this season.
   Creighton has swept 17 of its last 23 regular-season BIG EAST home matches, and won 72 of its last 80 home sets during conference play.
   Creighton is 79-9 in 88 regular-season BIG EAST matches in its five-year history in the league, with 46 sweeps, including 33 of its last 52 matches.
   Since October 31, 2015, Creighton has won 138-of-166 sets against league foes (including conference tournament action).

Rank & File
Creighton owns three victories over ranked teams this fall, having 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 November 27th, the only other teams with more wins over ranked teams are Baylor, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Oregon, Penn State, Florida, Stanford, Texas, Utah, UNI, USC and Washington.
   Creighton, Florida, Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue, USC, Nebraska and Minnesota are the only teams with three or more top-13 wins this fall.
   Wins   Team   Top 25 Victims
   9   Nebraska   #2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 11, 14, 16, 22
   9   Stanford   #12, 14, 14, 15, 16, 16, 18, 19, 25
   8   Penn State   #1, 4, 8, 9, 9, 10, 11, 17
   8   USC   #6, 7, 11, 12, 15, 16, 24, 25
   8   Washington   #13, 13, 15, 15, 19, 20, 25
   7   Minnesota   #5, 7, 9, 11, 16, 20, 22
   7   Texas   #9, 16, 17, 18, 18, 23, 24
   5   Florida   #1, 5, 6, 16, 19
   5   UCLA   #11, 13, 20, 22, 25
   5   Utah   #9, 13, 15, 15, 25
   4   Baylor   #10, 11, 20, 24
   4   Colorado   #11, 12, 15, 22
   4   Kansas   #13, 17, 18, 24
   4   Northern Iowa   #10, 18, 19, 19
   4   Oregon   #5, 12, 15, 23
   3   Creighton   #3, 7, 13
   3   BYU   #16, 17, 21
   3   Kentucky   #1, 18, 23
   3   Michigan   #8, 15, 16
   3   Michigan State   #1, 5, 7
   3   Notre Dame   #21, 23, 24
   3   Oregon State   #10, 12, 14
   4   Purdue   #5, 9, 10, 10
   3   Washington St.   #13, 20, 25
   3   Wisconsin   #4, 11, 20

Top 25 Jays
Creighton is in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 21st 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
   525   Stanford   4
   525   Nebraska   5
   442   Penn State   1
   415   Florida   3
   239   Washington   10
   219   Texas   2
   74   Wisconsin   11
   73   BYU   7
   61   UCLA   17
   45   Kansas   19
   44   Minnesota   8
   30   San Diego   9
   28   Oregon   24
   25   Kentucky   6
   24   Utah   13
   21   Creighton   15

Challenging Schedule
The NCAA website tracks the nation's toughest schedules played.
   Entering this week, Creighton's opponents this year have gone 373-208 when not facing CU. That .642 winning percentage is the fourth-toughest schedule of any school in the country.
   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.

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

Reception Near-Perfection
Creighton has allowed just 77 aces in 110 sets played for a scant 0.70 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 second-best mark, as seen below:
Fewest Aces Per Set Allowed
   SAPS Against   Year   Team W-L
   0.65   2008   18-9
   0.70   2017   25-6 so far
   0.88   2010   21-12
   0.91   2012   29-4
   0.92   2009   14-17

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 five times (including 2017) that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), the Bluejays went on to win both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, going a combined 84-6 in regular-season league action and 10-0 in league tournament action during those years.
   In the 16 seasons (including 2017) that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and it owns a combined .729 (210-78) 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.

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

No. 7 Ranking Was Best; Now 15th
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. 15.
   Being ranked in the preseason poll is no guarantee of future success, however. In the previous nine seasons, only 161-of-225 teams (71.6 percent) would be in both the preseason and postseason AVCA Top 25 polls.
   Since 2008, all but 25 teams (of 250) named in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament (90.0 percent).

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 316-2 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 34 straight home matches against unranked teams dating to a Sept. 12, 2015 loss to Pacific.

Booth Earns 300th Win at Creighton
Kirsten Bernthal Booth enters this weekend with a 316-159 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

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.

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 57-16 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 44 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 150-20 against unranked teams. Creighton has won 34 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 42-4 at home against everyone else as of Nov. 27, 2017.

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 six seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and five of them saw Creighton win conference titles.

Set 1 Result = Match Result
Creighton is 262-28 (.903) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 54-131 (.292) under Booth when it drops the first set.
   Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 79-1 in its last 80 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 21-0 when winning the first set and 4-6 when dropping the first set.
   Dating back to Sept. 22, 2016, Creighton has won 40 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.

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 has played 12 matches against 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. CU is 7-5 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 69-89 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   7-5
TOTAL   72-124
TOTAL Under Booth   69-89

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

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
Leah Hardeman   Coastal Carolina   Kloth

Automatic Bid x 4
Creighton is one of five schools nationally to earn an automatic bid into the 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 NCAA Tournaments. That grouping includes American, Creighton, Coastal Carolina, Denver and Western Kentucky.
   Of those teams, all five schools won a conference tournament in four consecutive campaigns have been American, Coastal Carolina, Creighton, Denver and Western Kentucky.

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.

No. 9 Seed Volleyball Opens NCAA Tournament Friday vs. Coastal Carolina

Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Kenzie Crawford

Lydia Dimke

Naomi Hickman

Taryn Kloth

Brittany Lawrence

Kelsey O'Connell

Jaclyn Taylor

Marysa Wilkinson

Jaali Winters

Brittany Witt

Related Videos