Saturday, November 24
D.J. Sokol Arena
4:00 PM
Creighton University
28-4
3
vs
1
Marquette (Final)
26-6
1
2
3
4
F
Marquette
28
22
21
21
1
Creighton
26
25
25
25
3
Senior All-Americans Taryn Kloth and Jaali Winters were both named to the BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament Team on Saturday.
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Volleyball Claims Fifth Straight BIG EAST Championship Title With Four-Set Win Over Marquette
11/24/2018 6:25:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton is the first school to win five consecutive BIG EAST Championship titles since Pittsburgh won seven straight from 1988-94
OMAHA, Neb. -- The No. 9 Creighton women's volleyball team claimed its fifth consecutive BIG EAST Championship title with a 26-28, 25-22, 25-21 and 25-21 victory against No. 16 Marquette on Saturday night at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb.
Creighton is the first school to win five straight BIG EAST Championship titles since Pittsburgh won seven straight from 1988-94. Creighton is also the nation's only team to win a conference tournament each of the last five seasons.
The Bluejays claimed their 20th consecutive victory and improved to 28-4 overall while earning the BIG EAST's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth each recorded 19 kills to pace the Bluejays. Winters claimed BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player honors after posting 32 kills and 33 digs during two matches.
Naomi Hickman joined Winters and Kloth on the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team. Hickman tallied a career-best nine blocks as the Bluejay totaled 11.5 stuffs on Saturday, and Kloth averaged 4.43 kills and 4.86 points per set on .241 hitting.
Saturday's first set featured 22 ties and 13 lead changes before Marquette outlasted Creighton, but the Bluejays did not trail during the second set on their way to a three-point victory and earned back-to-back four-point wins to end the match.
Neither team led by more than two points at any point in the first set. Marquette led 21-20 before Hickman had a hand in consecutive blocks to help Creighton retake the lead. The Jays added a kill from Winters to move ahead 23-21 before MU scored three points in a row to earn a set point opportunity at 24-23. Creighton saved another set point when trailing 25-24, then was unable to convert on a set point chance of its own with a 26-25 lead. The Golden Eagles turned the tables with two straight kills by Jenna Rosenthal and a third by Ellie Koontz to snap Creighton's 25-set win streak. Hope Werch had seven of MU's 21 kills in the first set as the Golden Eagles hit .314.
Creighton did not trail in the second set, racing to leads of 7-2 and 12-4 as Winters took over the match with seven kills and a block in that sequence. The lead grew to 20-10 before MU's Sarah Rose authored a 7-0 run that featured three service aces before she served long. MU got as close as 24-22 before Taryn Kloth's found a seam to even the match heading to intermission.
Kloth carried the heavy load in the third set with eight kills in 11 swings as Creighton won a 25-21 frame. Marquette led 9-4 early before Creighton answered with an 11-2 run to move ahead 15-11. Creighton trailed 19-18 before Madelyn Cole served up two aces as part of a five-point run that helped Creighton take a 23-19 lead. Winters closed out the set with a kill.
Marquette scored the first three points of the fourth set, only to see Creighton score the next four and not trail again. A 4-0 run at the service line by Winters padded the Bluejay lead to 14-8, and Kloth and Hickman stuffed 2017 BIG EAST Player of the Year Allie Barber as CU moved ahead 19-12. Kloth would finish the championship with a kill on match point, much to the delight of the partisan crowd of 2,242.
Winters had 19 kills and 17 digs for her 16th double-double of the fall, and seventh in as many matches against a top-25 foe this season. Cole notched a double-double with 48 assists and a season-best 18 digs. Also contributing a season-high in digs was freshman Jaela Zimmerman, who turned in a dozen scoops in her first start since late September. Creighton finished with 62 kills, six aces, 73 digs and 11.5 blocks on .275 hitting.
Barber topped MU with 20 kills, hitting .262 in 42 swings, while Werch finished with 14 kills. Rose recorded a double-double with 26 assists and 11 digs, while Martha Konovodoff collected a match-best 19 digs. The Golden Eagles hit .222 and finished with 61 kills, seven aces, 70 digs and eight blocks.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Central and will be televised on ESPNU. Creighton fans and media are invited to join the volleyball student-athletes and coaches at D.J.'s Dugout (1003 Capitol Street) to watch the show.Â
NOTES: Creighton improved to 6-2 all-time in eight conference tournament finals appearances, including a 5-1 mark in the BIG EAST ... Creighton is now 11-1 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship with 10 straight wins ... Creighton is now 16-4 al-time against Marquette, including a 3-1 mark in the BIG EAST Championship ... Creighton's seniors finished their careers a perfect 41-0 at D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams (37-0 in the regular-season, 4-0 in the BIG EAST Championship), and are also 77-3 against BIG EAST foes ... Creighton has won a school-record 14 straight home matches ... Creighton is now 12-0 all-time as a No. 1 seed in conference tournament play with six titles ... Creighton improved to 38-2 in the month of November in the last five seasons ... Creighton's 28 wins are one shy of the school-record, done by the 2012 and 2016 teams ... Creighton has won 81 straight matches when winning the third set against BIG EAST opponents ... Creighton will make its eighth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, and seventh consecutive trip. The Bluejays are 9-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament ... Creighton improved to 14-74 all-time against top-25 teams, but 9-8 since the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament ... Creighton has beaten four ranked teams this season, most in any season in program history ... Kirsten Bernthal Booth is the second coach in BIG EAST history to win five BIG EAST Championships, joining former Notre Dame coach Debbie Brown (9). Booth is now 11-1 with five titles in the BIG EAST Championship, while the other nine active league coaches are 10-24 with one title ... Madelyn Cole served three aces, giving her 28 in the last 11 matches. Her 48 aces this fall are second-most in Creighton single-season history ... Jaali Winters became the third player to be named BIG EAST Championship MVP twice (also 2016), joining Pitt's Ann Marie Lucanie (1990-93) and Notre Dame's Laime Lee (1996-97). Winters is the seventh different individual to be named BIG EAST Championship MVP and BIG EAST Player of the Year in the same season, and first since Marquette's Elizabeth Koberstein in 2013 ... Winters now owns 1,823 career kills, fifth-most in league history ... Taryn Kloth now owns 463 kills this season, tied for the most by a senior in Creighton history with Alicia Runge in 2010 ... Kloth now owns 1,400 career kills, fifth-most in program history ... Brittany Witt became the second player in Creighton history to surpass 1,500 career digs. She now has 1,511 career digs.
Creighton is the first school to win five straight BIG EAST Championship titles since Pittsburgh won seven straight from 1988-94. Creighton is also the nation's only team to win a conference tournament each of the last five seasons.
The Bluejays claimed their 20th consecutive victory and improved to 28-4 overall while earning the BIG EAST's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth each recorded 19 kills to pace the Bluejays. Winters claimed BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player honors after posting 32 kills and 33 digs during two matches.
Naomi Hickman joined Winters and Kloth on the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team. Hickman tallied a career-best nine blocks as the Bluejay totaled 11.5 stuffs on Saturday, and Kloth averaged 4.43 kills and 4.86 points per set on .241 hitting.
Saturday's first set featured 22 ties and 13 lead changes before Marquette outlasted Creighton, but the Bluejays did not trail during the second set on their way to a three-point victory and earned back-to-back four-point wins to end the match.
Neither team led by more than two points at any point in the first set. Marquette led 21-20 before Hickman had a hand in consecutive blocks to help Creighton retake the lead. The Jays added a kill from Winters to move ahead 23-21 before MU scored three points in a row to earn a set point opportunity at 24-23. Creighton saved another set point when trailing 25-24, then was unable to convert on a set point chance of its own with a 26-25 lead. The Golden Eagles turned the tables with two straight kills by Jenna Rosenthal and a third by Ellie Koontz to snap Creighton's 25-set win streak. Hope Werch had seven of MU's 21 kills in the first set as the Golden Eagles hit .314.
Creighton did not trail in the second set, racing to leads of 7-2 and 12-4 as Winters took over the match with seven kills and a block in that sequence. The lead grew to 20-10 before MU's Sarah Rose authored a 7-0 run that featured three service aces before she served long. MU got as close as 24-22 before Taryn Kloth's found a seam to even the match heading to intermission.
Kloth carried the heavy load in the third set with eight kills in 11 swings as Creighton won a 25-21 frame. Marquette led 9-4 early before Creighton answered with an 11-2 run to move ahead 15-11. Creighton trailed 19-18 before Madelyn Cole served up two aces as part of a five-point run that helped Creighton take a 23-19 lead. Winters closed out the set with a kill.
Marquette scored the first three points of the fourth set, only to see Creighton score the next four and not trail again. A 4-0 run at the service line by Winters padded the Bluejay lead to 14-8, and Kloth and Hickman stuffed 2017 BIG EAST Player of the Year Allie Barber as CU moved ahead 19-12. Kloth would finish the championship with a kill on match point, much to the delight of the partisan crowd of 2,242.
Winters had 19 kills and 17 digs for her 16th double-double of the fall, and seventh in as many matches against a top-25 foe this season. Cole notched a double-double with 48 assists and a season-best 18 digs. Also contributing a season-high in digs was freshman Jaela Zimmerman, who turned in a dozen scoops in her first start since late September. Creighton finished with 62 kills, six aces, 73 digs and 11.5 blocks on .275 hitting.
Barber topped MU with 20 kills, hitting .262 in 42 swings, while Werch finished with 14 kills. Rose recorded a double-double with 26 assists and 11 digs, while Martha Konovodoff collected a match-best 19 digs. The Golden Eagles hit .222 and finished with 61 kills, seven aces, 70 digs and eight blocks.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Central and will be televised on ESPNU. Creighton fans and media are invited to join the volleyball student-athletes and coaches at D.J.'s Dugout (1003 Capitol Street) to watch the show.Â
NOTES: Creighton improved to 6-2 all-time in eight conference tournament finals appearances, including a 5-1 mark in the BIG EAST ... Creighton is now 11-1 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship with 10 straight wins ... Creighton is now 16-4 al-time against Marquette, including a 3-1 mark in the BIG EAST Championship ... Creighton's seniors finished their careers a perfect 41-0 at D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams (37-0 in the regular-season, 4-0 in the BIG EAST Championship), and are also 77-3 against BIG EAST foes ... Creighton has won a school-record 14 straight home matches ... Creighton is now 12-0 all-time as a No. 1 seed in conference tournament play with six titles ... Creighton improved to 38-2 in the month of November in the last five seasons ... Creighton's 28 wins are one shy of the school-record, done by the 2012 and 2016 teams ... Creighton has won 81 straight matches when winning the third set against BIG EAST opponents ... Creighton will make its eighth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, and seventh consecutive trip. The Bluejays are 9-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament ... Creighton improved to 14-74 all-time against top-25 teams, but 9-8 since the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament ... Creighton has beaten four ranked teams this season, most in any season in program history ... Kirsten Bernthal Booth is the second coach in BIG EAST history to win five BIG EAST Championships, joining former Notre Dame coach Debbie Brown (9). Booth is now 11-1 with five titles in the BIG EAST Championship, while the other nine active league coaches are 10-24 with one title ... Madelyn Cole served three aces, giving her 28 in the last 11 matches. Her 48 aces this fall are second-most in Creighton single-season history ... Jaali Winters became the third player to be named BIG EAST Championship MVP twice (also 2016), joining Pitt's Ann Marie Lucanie (1990-93) and Notre Dame's Laime Lee (1996-97). Winters is the seventh different individual to be named BIG EAST Championship MVP and BIG EAST Player of the Year in the same season, and first since Marquette's Elizabeth Koberstein in 2013 ... Winters now owns 1,823 career kills, fifth-most in league history ... Taryn Kloth now owns 463 kills this season, tied for the most by a senior in Creighton history with Alicia Runge in 2010 ... Kloth now owns 1,400 career kills, fifth-most in program history ... Brittany Witt became the second player in Creighton history to surpass 1,500 career digs. She now has 1,511 career digs.
Team Stats
MU
CU
Kills
61
62
Errors
24
18
Attempts
167
160
Hitting %
.222
.275
Points
76.0
79.5
Assists
59
57
Aces
7
6
Blocks
8.0
11.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
19
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
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