#9 Volleyball Opens Homestand With Georgetown & Villanova This Weekend

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This Week's Creighton Volleyball Schedule
Nov. 9   7:00 p.m.    Georgetown at #9 Creighton (FoxSportsGo)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena) | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | TICKETS
Nov. 11   2:30 p.m.   Villanova at #9 Creighton (BEDN)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena) | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | TICKETS

This Week
No. 9 Creighton (22-4, 14-0 BIG EAST) takes its 14-match win streak into a home weekend with major BIG EAST Championship implications.
   On Friday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m., the Bluejays will host Georgetown (14-12, 7-7 BIG EAST).
   On Sunday, Nov. 11 in a match moved to 2:30 p.m., Creighton will host Villanova (14-12, 7-7 BIG EAST).
   Both matches will be contested at D.J. Sokol Arena inside the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center in Omaha, Neb.

Broadcast Information
Live streaming video of Friday's match will be available via FOXSportsGO.com for desktop users, and via the FOX Sports GO app for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones and select Window devices). Jon Schriner and Josh Peterson will announce.
   Sunday's match will air on BIG EAST Digital Network, and can be found via the same links as above listed for FOX Sports GO. Jon Schriner, Rob Simms and sideline reporter Emma Braasch will announce.
   The FOX Sports GO mobile app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store or the Windows Store, and the games are now available internationally.
   Exact links to both broadcasts can be found on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.

Live Stats Information
Both matches this weekend will have free live stats. Exact links can also be found on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.

Scouting #9 Creighton
Creighton is 22-4 this season despite facing a grueling schedule that includes five national seeds from a year ago, and 13 contests against teams that played in the postseason a year ago.
   Creighton's best wins have come over No. 5 Kentucky, No. 18 and No. 21 Marquette, Northern Iowa, NC State, Iowa State and Wichita State, while the losses have come against Northern Iowa, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 8 Illinois and No. 10 USC. CU has won 14 straight matches, all in league play, while dropping just six sets in that stretch.
   Three returning All-Americans pace the Bluejays. Senior outside hitters Taryn Kloth (4.04 kps., .269%) and Jaali Winters (3.82 kps., 3.10 dps.), as well as 2017 BIG EAST Libero of the Year Brittany Witt (4.40 dps.) were named Preseason All-BIG EAST this season.
   Creighton boasts seven newcomers, including four freshmen who were ranked as the No. 10 recruiting class in the nation, in addition to three transfers. One of those is junior Madelyn Cole, a Marshall transfer who leads the BIG EAST with 10.81 assists per set.
   Creighton was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference, but has already swept preseason league favorite Marquette twice.
   CU averages 14.23 kills, 1.56 aces, 16.38 digs and 2.32 blocks per set on .260 hitting overall.

Scouting Georgetown
Picked eighth in the preseason BIG EAST poll, new head coach Toby Rens has turned around a Georgetown program that is currently 14-12 overall and 7-7 in BIG EAST action, already its most overall wins and league wins since 2011.
   The Hoyas have lost four of their last five matches, but remain tied for the fourth and final spot for the BIG EAST Championship.
   Maryland Eastern Shore transfer Iva Vujosevic averages 3.25 kills per set and is second in the BIG EAST with 0.42 aces per set.
   Preseason All-BIG EAST choice Symone Speech averages 2.98 kills per set on .331 hitting and also owns a team-leading 1.08 blocks per set. Alyssa Sinnette averages 3.22 kills per set, as well.
   Margo Pivonka (9.01 aps.) tops the team in assists, and Kenzie Higareda (4.64 dps.) leads the way in digs.
   As a team, Georgetown averages 12.91 kills, 1.76 aces, 14.57 digs and 1.61 blocks per set on .202 hitting.

Scouting Villanova
Villanova is 14-12 this season, including a win over No. 21 Utah on Sept. 7. The Wildcats are in a three-way tie for fourth place in the BIG EAST standings with a 7-7 league mark.
   Five women average multiple kills per set, a group led by freshman Clare Delaplane (2.84 kps.).
   Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Amanda Pedersen-Henry returns and is averaging 2.37 kills and 0.76 blocks per set.
   Emma Decker averages 9.74 assists per set while quarterbacking the Nova offense, and Regan Lough tops VU with 5.40 digs per set.
   Villanova hits .219 and averages 12.90 kills, 1.45 aces, 17.34 digs and 1.91 blocks per set.

Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booh (Truman State, 1997), who is in her 16th season with a 339-164 record. She's led Creighton to four straight BIG EAST titles, and five league crowns in the last six years. Booth 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 CU into the top-25 each of the last seven 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, Craig Dyer and Noel Carpio.

Series History vs. Georgetown
Creighton is 11-0 all-time against Georgetown, dropping just six sets in those contests. In five meetings in Omaha, the Bluejays have won 15-of-16 sets.
   In 2015, Creighton lost the first two sets before ultimatiely saving two match points in a 3-2 road victory. Last year Creighton trailed 2-1 in the match before pulling out a 15-13 win in the fifth set after it trailed by scores of 5-0 and 13-12.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 11-0 against Georgetown, and 1-0 against Toby Rens.

Series History vs. Villanova
Creighton is 11-2 all-time vs. Villanova, including a 6-0 mark in Omaha. The Wildcats are the last BIG EAST team to defeat the Bluejays, having done so on Nov. 17, 2017 in Pennsylvania.
   Villanova is one of two BIG EAST teams to beat the Bluejays in the last four years (2015-18).
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 11-2 all-time against Villanova and coach Josh Steinbach.

Committee Likes The Jays
Creighton was listed 10th when the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee released a top 10 listing on Sunday, Nov. 4.
   The reveal is based on the criteria used to select and seed the 64 teams for the Division I Women's Volleyball Championship and includes strength of schedule, Rating Percentage Index, head-to-head competition, results versus common opponents, and significant wins and losses.   It included matches through October 31.
   The announcement is part of the continued team evaluations that will culminate with the final bracket, revealed during the selection show on Sunday, November 25, at 7:30 p.m. Central on ESPNU.
   In 2016, the first year of the early preview, nine of the 10 teams in the Nov. 1 rank remained a national seed, with No. 10 Washington moving up to No. 8. Last year's early committee ranking saw 8-of-10 teams hold onto a top-10 ranking, but No. 10 Wisconsin did not end up as a top-16 national seed.
   Here's the top 10 that was announced on Nov. 4 this season:
1.   BYU   22-0
2.   Stanford   20-1
3.   Minnesota   19-2
4.   Illinois   20-3
5.   Wisconsin   16-5
6.   Texas   15-4
7.   Southern California   16-7
8.   Penn State   18-4
9.   Nebraska   16-6
10.   Creighton   20-4

New Time For November 11th
The Creighton University Athletics Department has moved the start time for its Nov. 11 volleyball home match against Villanova from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
   The start time was moved to avoid a conflict with a nationally-televised Creighton men's basketball home game vs. East Tennessee State that same day that begins at 12:30 p.m. Contact was made with the Villanova Athletic Department, who agreed to accommodate the request.
   The men's basketball game will still take place at CHI Health Center Omaha, while the volleyball match remains at D.J. Sokol Arena.

Zumach Coming On Strong
The last time Creighton faced Georgetown and Villanova, Kari Zumach played in just three (of seven) sets and had one kill, two digs and two blocks on .000 hitting in eight swings.
   Times have changed.
   Since that weekend, Zumach has played in all 21 sets, averaging 2.14 kills, 0.62 digs and 0.86 blocks per set while hitting .371 in 89 attacks.
   Zumach helped Creighton to a 2-0 mark last weekend, hitting a team-high .480 and averaging 3.25 points, 2.50 kills, 1.33 blocks and 0.67 digs per set in victories at St. John's and Seton Hall to take home BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors on Tuesday.
   The Buffalo, Minn., native hit .385 on Friday in a sweep at third-place St. John's, recording seven kills, two digs and a career-high six blocks. The win clinched a top-two seed at the BIG EAST Championship for the Bluejays.
   One night later Zumach had eight kills, two blocks and two digs while hitting a career-high .583 in Creighton's eighth straight sweep over Seton Hall.
   Zumach, who previously was recognized on October 23rd, is the sixth player in Creighton's six-year history in the BIG EAST to win multiple Freshman of the Week honors, joining Megan Ballenger, Lauren Smith, Marysa Wilkinson, Jaali Winters and Brittany Witt.

What's Your Scenario
Creighton clinched its 16th straight appearance in a conference tournament with last Friday's win at St. John's.
   Creighton will be a top-two seed in the BIG EAST Championship, which it will host from Nov. 23-24 in Omaha at D.J. Sokol Arena.
   With any combination of two Creighton wins or two Marquette losses in the next two weekends, the Bluejays will clinch the top seed.

Tie-Breaking Policies
Any ties with regards to seeding for the BIG EAST Championship or for an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament (if no conference tournament is played) will be broken using the BIG EAST volleyball tie-breaker.
   In the event of a two-way tie between Villanova and Georgetown, it would be Villanova who would advance. The teams split two meetings, but the Wildcats own a 5-3 advantage in head-to-head sets.
   Many other (potential) tiebreakers won't be resolved until the final week of the season,when Xavier visits both Georgetown and Marquette.
Ties between two teams
1. Head to head match record
2. Head to head set record
3. Head to head point total
4. Match record vs. highest finishing conference opponent
5. Match record vs 2nd highest finishing conference opponent (and so forth)
6. Coin toss
Ties of three teams or more
1. Tied teams are viewed as a mini-conference. As soon as one team breaks the tie, the tiebreaking procedure starts over.
2. Best match record within the mini-conference
3. Best set record within the mini-conference
4. Best point percentage (total points scored divided by total points played) within the mini-conference
5. Match record vs. highest finishing conference opponent
6. Match record vs. 2nd highest finishing conference opponent (and so forth)
7. Coin toss

Magic Numbers
Creighton has clinched a top-two seed in the 2018 BIG EAST Championship, which will be contested Nov. 23-24 in Omaha.
   Marquette has also clinched a top-three seed.
   There are two league tournament semifinals that will be played on Nov. 23. The first semifinal will take place at 2 p.m., while Creighton will play in the second semifinal at 4:30 p.m.

Can Volleyball Join Soccer as Champs?
Creighton men's soccer won the BIG EAST regular-season title last week, and the volleyball team will try to join them in the near future.
   Across the board, Creighton has won nine BIG EAST regular-season titles since joining the league in the summer of 2013, as seen below:
Creighton's BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles (9)
Baseball: 2014, 2017
Men's Soccer: 2014, 2018
Volleyball: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Women's Basketball: 2016-17 (tie)

4 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Creighton has won each of the last four BIG EAST regular-season titles. No team had won four straight regular-season BIG EAST titles (including shares) since Notre Dame won seven in a row from 1999-2005.
   Notre Dame had also been the last team to win four or more straight outright BIG EAST regular-season titles, having claimed four in a row from 1999-2002. No team has ever won five straight outright titles, which CU is striving to do.
   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.

What's The Difference?
En route to its league titles in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, Creighton has compiled a 67-5 record in BIG EAST play. The Jays have won those four titles by a combined 10 games over their nearest competitors, meaning if you took the record for the second-place club each year they'd be 57-15.

BEDN Brings Out The Best In the Bluejays
Creighton has three (Nov. 11, Nov. 16, Nov. 23) remaining scheduled appearances this fall on BIG EAST Digital Network.
   Since the network originated in 2014, Creighton is 20-1 on BEDN. Five of those victories came in five sets.
   Creighton returns to BEDN on Sunday against Villanova, then again on Nov. 16 vs. Providence.

Nice Work, Ace
Creighton faced 108 serves last weekend without being aced by either St. John's or Seton Hall. It's the first time in program history that CU was not aced during consecutive contests.
   Since last being aced early in the third set by DePaul's Natalie Howard on Oct. 27, Creighton has faced 121 straight serves without surrendering a service ace.
   In 14 league matches this fall, Creighton has allowed three aces or less in 12 of them, and one ace or less in seven of them.
   Creighton has served more aces than its opponent in 13-of-14 league matches this year. The Bluejays have won 73 consecutive matches against BIG EAST foes when owning more aces than its competition since a Nov. 1, 2013 loss to St. John's.

Team > Individuals
Creighton doesn't have a single player ranked in the top 35 of any statistically category nationally, but is in the top-35 of five different team categories.
   Creighton ranks 10th in winning percentage (.846), 13th in kills per set (14.23), 21st in assists per set (13.17), 24th in aces per set (.260) and 29th in aces per set (1.56)

In Search Of 200 Home Wins
Creighton enters this weekend with an all-time home record of 198-110 record, including a 109-26 mark at D.J. Sokol Arena since it opened in 2009.
   Should Creighton complete an eighth straight unbeaten weekend, the Bluejays will earn their 200th home victory in program history on Sunday vs. Villanova.
   Creighton was 100-91 all-time at home on the morning of Sept. 25, 2010, but is 98-19 at home since.
   Here's a look at Creighton's home record in 25-win increments.
Match #   W-L   Opponent   Date   Result
55   25-30   Bradley   10/24/98   W 3-0
105   50-55   Bradley   10/31/03   W 3-2
149   75-74   Illinois State   09/28/07   W 3-1
187   100-87   San Francisco   08/27/10   W 3-1
222   125-97   Bradley   10/06/12   W 3-1
252   150-102   DePaul   10/26/14   W 3-0
282   175-107   Xavier   11/06/16   W 3-0
currently   198-110

750th Match Upcoming
Creighton owns a 432-316 mark since restarting its program in 1994. Sunday's match vs. Villanova will be the program's 750th contest.
   Here's a look at Creighton's record in 75-match segments.
Match #   W-L   Opponent   Date   Result
75   22-53   at Illinois State   10/19/96   L 1-3
150   54-96   at Drake   10/01/99   W 3-2
225   91-134   vs. UCSB   09/09/01   L 0-3
300   115-185   at Wichita State   11/08/03   L 0-3
375   166-209   vs. Green Bay   09/14/07   W 3-0
450   211-239   at #21 No. Iowa   11/20/09   L 1-3
525   257-268   vs. Ball State   09/07/12   W 3-0
600   314-286   at DePaul   10/03/14   W 3-1
675   371-304   at Marquette   10/22/16   W 3-1
   432-316 so far   Villanova   11/11/18   230 pm

Championship Season
Creighton has saved some of its best work for the months of October and November in recent seasons.
   Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton is 54-5 in October, and 48-5 in the month of November.
   Since the start of the 2014 season, Creighton is a combined 73-5 in the months of October and November.

What's Your 20?
Creighton reached 20 wins on October 27th with a victory at DePaul, matching the earliest date on the calendar in program history that the team has reached 20 victories.
   The 2012 team won its 20th match on Oct. 27, as well. That club finished 29-4.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Creighton has won 14 straight matches, which ranks as the nation's ninth-longest streak through matches of Nov. 7.
Rank   Wins   Team   Next Match
1.   24   Stephen F. Austin   11/8
2.   23   BYU   11/8
3.   22   Denver   11/9
4.   20   Stanford   11/8
5.   19   UCF   11/9
6.   15   Minnesota   11/9
   15   Rice   11/8
   15   Kentucky   11/9
9.   14   Creighton   11/9

Seven Straight 20-Win Seasons
Creighton has picked up 20 (or more) victories for the 10th time in the program's modern history, and seventh straight season.
   When Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton's modern day school record for wins in a season was 16.
   Creighton was one of 17 schools with six straight seasons of 20+ wins (2012-17) entering this fall. That list features American, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington, Western Kentucky and Wichita State.
   Among those to extend the streak to seven (or more) this year have been BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Marquette and Stanford.
   The following schools are still trying to extend their streak of 20-win seasons in 2018, through matches of November 5.
Team   2018 W-L   Next Match
Penn State   19-5   11/9
American   19-10   11/6
Nebraska   18-6   11/7
Western Kentucky   18-9   11/8
Kentucky   18-4   11/9
Hawai'i   16-7   11/6
Texas   15-4   11/7
Kansas   15-7   11/10
Florida State   16-8   11/11
Washington   15-9   11/8
Wichita State   12-12   11/9

Seeking 23
Creighton is also one of just nine schools nationally who have won 23 matches or more in each of the previous six seasons (2012-17). That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Western Kentucky.
   With the Bluejays one win away from a 23rd victory this fall, here's where the teams on that list stand:
Team   2018 W-L   Next Match
BYU   23-0   11/8
Creighton   22-4   11/9
Stanford   22-1   11/8
Florida   20-5   11/11
Penn State   19-5   11/9
Nebraska   18-6   11/7
Western Kentucky   18-9   11/8
Texas   15-4   11/7
Washington   15-9   11/8

Jays To Pirates: "I'm The Captain Now"
Creighton has beaten Xavier 15 straight times, and won 26 straight sets over Seton Hall.
   The 26 straight set victories over the Pirates is a record against any opponent, one more than a stretch against Indiana State from 2005-09.

Most Consecutive Match Wins Over One Team
   Wins   Opponent   Dates
   19   Southern Illinois   2003-11
   16   Indiana State   2005-Present
   15   Xavier   2013-Present

Most Consecutive Set Wins Over One Team
   Wins   Opponent   Dates
   26   Seton Hall   2015-Present
   25   Indiana State   2005-09
   24   Xavier   2015-18
   23   Indiana State   2009-Present
   19   Providence   2014-17

Road Wins Keep Coming
Creighton has won eight consecutive road matches, tied for the second-longest streak in program history and one shy of the current mark of nine done in 2016 by CU's Elite Eight team.
Creighton's Longest Road Win Streaks
Wins   Dates   Snapped By
   9   Sept. 30-Dec. 2, 2016   at #5 Texas, 3-0
   8   Sept. 29 - Nov. 30, 2012   at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
   8   Sept. 28, 2018 - Present   TBD
   7   Sept. 21-Nov. 9, 2007   at #24 Wichita State, 3-0
   7   Nov. 21, 2009-Oct. 2, 2010   at Drake, 3-1

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.
   Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team (through Nov. 7) since the league's reconfiguration in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013 (thru 11/7)
             BIG EAST only   All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)   W   L   W   L
Creighton (5)   93   9   151   45
Marquette (5)   81   21   139   50
Xavier   66   36   100   83
Butler   58   43   107   75
Seton Hall (1)   54   49   99   89
Villanova (1)   52   51   101   82
St. John's   45   58   105   87
Georgetown   24   79   58   120
DePaul   20   82   62   114
Providence*   12   74   54   102
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 and
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.

Jays On A Roll
Creighton has won 14 straight matches, the third-longest streak in program history.
   Dating to last season, Creighton has also won 15 straight league contests, the program's second-longest conference streak ever.
   Consecutive Wins (All Matches)
       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
       14   Sept. 21, 2018 - Present   ? ? ?
       12   Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015   at Villanova, 3-2

Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins
       Wins   Dates   Snapped By   League
       28   Oct. 31, 2015-Sept. 30, 2017   at Marquette, 3-0   BIG EAST
       15   Nov. 18, 2017-Present   ???   BIG EAST
       14   Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012   Never (left MVC)   MVC

Player of the Year Candidate Comparisons
While 12 All-BIG EAST performers return from last year, it would seem that Marquette's Allie Barber and the Creighton duo of Taryn Kloth and Jaali Winters lead the way in the running for 2018 BIG EAST Player of the Year contention.
   Barber has some of the top attacking numbers, Kloth leads the trio in aces and blocks, while Winters is the only true six rotation player of the bunch and is tops in the group in digs and double-doubles.
   In matches amongst the top three teams, Winters' team is 4-0 and she is averaging 5.31 kills and 3.15 digs per set with four aces and six blocks on .373 hitting. Kloth's team is 4-0 and she is averaging 4.23 kills and 1.31 digs per set with three aces and seven blocks on .271 hitting. Barber's team is 1-2 and she is averaging 5.40 kills and 0.60 digs per set with no aces and three blocks on .347 hitting.
Statistic   Kloth   Winters   Barber
Kills   376   355   406
Kills Per Set   4.04   3.82   4.56
Hitting Pct.   .269   .248   .360
Digs   121   288   51
Digs Per Set   1.30   3.10   0.57
Aces   21   20   2
Aces Per Set   0.23   0.22   0.02
Blocks   38   36   33
Blocks Per Set   0.41   0.39   0.37
Points   421.0   396.5   425.5
Points Per Set   4.53   4.26   4.78
Double-Doubles   1   13   0
BIG EAST Kills   185   186   207
BIG EAST Kills Per Set   3.85   3.88   4.70
BIG EAST Hitting Pct.   .279   .299   .384
BIG EAST Digs   61   129   22
BIG EAST Digs Per Set   1.27   2.69   0.50
BIG EAST Aces   13   13   2
BIG EAST Aces Per Set   0.27   0.27   0.05
BIG EAST Blocks   23   15   13
BIG EAST Blocks Per Set   0.48   0.31   0.30
BIG EAST Points   213.0   207.5   216.0
BIG EAST Points Per Set   4.44   4.32   4.91
BIG EAST Double-Doubles   1   5   0
BIG EAST Offensive POW   1   2   3
BIG EAST Defensive POW   0   1   0

Three Top Attackers Collide
One key reason that Creighton has gone 6-1 in the last three seasons against Marquette is their ability to slow standout outside hitter Allie Barber, the 2017 BIG EAST Player of the Year and the 2018 Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year.
   Here's a look at the stats of the BIG EAST's top three outside hitters (Taryn Kloth, Jaali Winters and Allie Barber) in their seven head-to-head matches over the past three seasons:
Name   Wins   SP   K-E-TA   PCT.   SA   D   TB
Winters   6   25   107-33-290   .255   1   92   4
Kloth   6   25   87-32-238   .231   3   31   9
Barber   1   25   109-25-272   .309   1   22   8

Third Set's A Charm
One key factor to watch this weekend is the result of the third set.
   Creighton is 19-0 this season when winning the third set, but 3-4 when dropping the third set.
   Since a Oct. 10, 2014 loss at Seton Hall, Creighton is a perfect 75-0 against BIG EAST teams (69-0 in the regular-season and 6-0 in league tournament play) when winning the third set.
   Georgetown is 12-1 when winning the third set, but 2-11 when losing the third set this season.
   Villanova is 10-2 when winning the third set, but 4-10 when losing the third set this season.

Set 1 Result A Strong Indicator
Creighton is 281-30 (.904) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 58-134 (.302) under Booth when it drops the first set.
   Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that lost the first set in 2017 won just 20.8 percent of their matches last season.
   Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 85-2 in its last 87 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only on Sept. 12, 2015 to Pacific and on Sept. 6, 2018 to No. 7 Nebraska.
   Last year's team was 22-0 when winning the first set and 4-7 when dropping the first set.
   This year's team is 18-2 when winning the first set and 4-2 when dropping the opener.
   Creighton has won 58 straight matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.

Unbeaten In Conference
There are 32 conferences in the country, and Creighton is one of 10 teams that remains unbeaten in league play.
Team   League W-L   Conference
Creighton   14-0   BIG EAST
Minnesota   14-0   Big Ten
Stanford   14-0   Pacific 12
Stephen F. Austin   14-0   Southland
BYU   13-0   West Coast
Denver   13-0   Summit
UCF   13-0   American Athletic
Kentucky   12-0   Southeastern
Rice   12-0   Confrence USA
Stony Brook   10-0   America East

Ranked vs. Ranked in the BIG EAST
Creighton's two wins over Marquette this season have been the first regular-season BIG EAST match-ups since 2005 that featured a pair of ranked teams.
   You'd have to go back to October 29, 2005 to find the last previous time two ranked BIG EAST had faced each other in league play, when No. 7 Notre Dame beat No. 6 Louisville.
   The last previous time any two BIG EAST foes faced each other while ranked at any point in time came Nov. 18, 2007, when No. 20 St. John's swept No. 21 Louisville in the title match of the conference tournament.
   Creighton's victory at No. 18 Marquette on Oct. 26 was the first road win by any team in BIG EAST play over a ranked league team since 2012.

All-American Efforts
An honorable mention All-American in 2016, Taryn Kloth is well on her way to garnering even more accolades during her senior campaign.
   In six contests this fall against teams who were ranked at the time of the match, Kloth has averaged 4.77 kills per set and hit a robust .302. She averages 20.7 kils per match against ranked opponents this year.
   Jaali Winters averages 4.35 kills and 3.12 digs per set on .238 hitting against top-25 foes this fall. She's had a double-double in all six matches against ranked teams this fall.

Top 25 History
Creighton is 13-74 all-time against teams in the top-25 of the AVCA poll, but 8-8 since the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
   Last year's win at No. 3 Washington was the highest-ranked team that the Bluejays have ever beaten, surpassing a win at No. 4 Kansas the previous December.
   Creighton is 5-30 all-time against top-10 foes (5-23 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth).
   Creighton lost its first 31 true road matches against top-25 foes, but has 'improved' to 5-36 after wins in recent seasons at No. 23 North Carolina (2015), No. 4 Kansas (2016), No. 3 Washington (2017) and No. 7 Kansas (2017) and No. 18 Marquette (2018).
   Creighton is 80-21 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 9-13 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That mark improves to 2-1 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
   Since the start of the 2012 season, 28 of Creighton's 49 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 170-21 against unranked teams. Creighton has won 42 straight home matches over unranked teams.
   This is the fifth time that Creighton has been ranked exactly ninth. Creighton was ranked ninth in the 2016 year-end poll, the preseason 2017 poll, on Sept. 4 2017 and then also last week. CU is 9-1 all-time when ranked ninth.

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

Jaali Scaling The Record Books
Jaali Winters continues to rewrite the record book nearly every time she takes the court.
   On Sept. 9 vs. Wichita State, Winters had her 90th career match with 10+ kills, breaking the CU mark of 89 set by Leah Ratzlaff (2002-05).
   On Sept. 15 at Illinois, Winters broke Ratzlaff's school record for career attack attempts.
   On Oct. 7 at home against St. John's, Winters took down Ratzlaff's mark for career kills.
   On Oct. 12 at Georgetown, Winters broke Ratzlaff's record for career points.
   Below is a complete list of all 80 school records that are currently owned by Winters:
Category   Type   Figure
10+ Kills by a freshman   Consecutive Matches   19
Kills in a debut   Match   17
Points Served To Start Match   Match   11
Attack Attempts   Match (5-set)   77
Block Solos   Match (5-set)   4
Kills at D.J. Sokol Arena   Match (3-set)   23
Kills at D.J. Sokol Arena   Match (4-set)   23
Kills at D.J. Sokol Arena   Match (5-set)   28
Attempts at Sokol Arena   Match (5-set)   77
Kills   Match (4-set NCAA)   21
Kills   Match (5 set NCAA)   24
Attempts   Match (4-set NCAA)   63
Attempts   Match (5-set NCAA)   66
Points   Match (4-set NCAA)   22.0
Points   Match (5-set NCAA)   26.0
Kills   Match (3-set B.E. Tourn.)   18
Kills   Match (5-set B.E. Tourn.)   21
Attempts   Match (3-set B.E. Tourn.)   37
Attempts   Match (5-set B.E. Tourn.)   77
Aces   Match (3-set B.E. Tourn.)   3
Aces   Match (5-set B.E. Tourn.)   1
Digs   Match (3-set B.E. Tourn.)   14
Block Solos   Match (5-set B.E. Tourn.)   1
Points   Match (3-set B.E. Tourn.)   19.0
Points   Match (5-set B.E. Tourn.)   22.5
Kills by a freshman   Season   546 (2015)
Kills Per Set by a freshman   Season   4.07 (2015)
20+ Kill matches by a frosh   Season   9 (2015)
10+ Kill matches   Season   31 (2015)
Kills   Season   546 (2015)
Attack Attempts   Season   1,428 (2015)
Points   Season   595.5 (2015)
Kills at D.J. Sokol Arena   Season   249 (2015)
KIlls Per Set at Sokol   Season   4.08 (2015)
Attempts at Sokol Arena   Season   611 (2015)
Points at Sokol Arena   Season   269.5 (2015)
Points Per Set at Sokol   Season   4.42 (2015)
Sets Played at Sokol   Season   61 (2015)
KIlls   Season (NCAA Tourn.)   79 (2016)
Kills Per Set   Season (NCAA Tourn.)   4.42 (2015)
Attempts   Season (NCAA Tourn.)   218 (2016)
Points   Season (NCAA Tourn.)   86.5 (2016)
Points Per Set   Season (NCAA Tourn.)   4.81 (2016)
Double-Doubles   Season (NCAA Tourn.)   3 (2016)
Kills   Season (B.E. Tourn.)   39 (2015)
Kills Per Set   Season (B.E. Tourn.)   4.88 (2015)
Attempts   Season (B.E. Tourn.)   114 (2015)
Aces   Season (B.E. Tourn.)   5 (2016)
Aces Per Set   Season (B.E. Tourn.)   0.83 (2016)
Points   Season (B.E. Tourn.)   41.5 (2015
Points Per Set   Season (B.E. Tourn.)   5.58 (2016)
Double-Doubles   Season (B.E. Tourn.)   2 (2017)
Quickest to 200 kills   Career   15 matches
Quickest to 300 kills   Career   21 matches
Quickest to 400 kills   Career   28 matches
Quickest to 500 kills   Career   34 matches
Quickest to 600 kills   Career   41 matches
Quickest to 1700 kills   Career   128 matches
10+ Kill matches   Career   104
Kills   Career   1,747
Attack Attempts   Career   4,826
Points   Career   1937.0
Kills at D.J. Sokol Arena   Career   683
Kills Per Set at Sokol   Career   3.86
Attempts at Sokol Arena   Career   1,785
Points at Sokol Arena   Career   747.5
Points Per Set at Sokol Arena   Career   4.22
Kills   Career (NCAA Tourn.)   155
Kills Per Set   Career (NCAA Tourn.)   4.08
Attempts   Career (NCAA Tourn.)   465
Points   Career (NCAA Tourn.)   169.5
Points Per Set   Career (NCAA Tourn.)   4.46
Wins Played in   Career (NCAA Tourn.)   6
Kills   Career (B.E. Tourn.)   85
Kills Per Set   Career (B.E. Tourn.)   3.86
Aces   Career (B.E. Tourn.)   7
Aces Per Set   Career (B.E. Tourn.)   0.32
Points   Career (B.E. Tourn.)   100.0
Points Per Set   Career (B.E. Tourn.)   4.55
Double-Doubles   Career (B.E. Tourn.)   4

Onto The Next One
Now the Creighton recordholder in kills, Jaali Winters is continuing her onslaught on the BIG EAST all-time kills list. She's currently ninth all-time, but trails only Xavier's Abbey Bessler since the league's reconfiguration in 2013.
   The figures were researched by Matt DeMarinis of WhiteAndBlueReview.com, as the league record book doesn't have such a list.
Big East Volleyball All-Time Kills Leaders
   1.   2,145   Lola Arslanbekova, Louisville   2009-12
   2.   1,976   Stephanie Niemer, Cincinnati   2007-10
   3.   1,852   Karin Palgutova, St. John's   2012-15
       1,852   Diana Andreyko, Pittsburgh   2004-07
   5.   1,815   Ann Marie Lucanie, Pittsburgh   1990-93
   6.   1,801   Marcela Gurgel, South Florida   2006-09
   7.   1,774   Abbey Bessler, Xavier   2013-16
   8.   1,766   Jackie Ahlers, St. John's   2002-04, 06
   9.   1,747   Jaali Winters, Creighton   2015-18
   10.   1,729   Sarah Katinger, Providence   1998-01

Keeping It 100
Creighton's senior class is 104-27 in the last four seasons. Creighton had reached 100 victories in a four-year span only three times previously, with the record being 107 from 2014-17.
   Jaali Winters has played in all 104 of those wins, while Taryn Kloth's participated in 102 of them.
   With two more wins, Winters can tie Marysa Wilkinson's school-record by playing in 106 victories.
Most Wins, Four-Year Span
   W-L   Years
   107-32   2014-17
   104-27   2015-Pres.
   104-31   2012-15
   104-34   2013-16
   94-36   2011-14

Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
   106   Marysa Wilkinson   2014-17
   104   Lauren Smith   2013-16
   104   Jaali Winters   2015-Pres.
   102   Melanie Jereb   2012-15
   102   Taryn Kloth   2015-Pres.
   101   Ashley Jansen   2012-15

Best Starts After 26 Matches
At 22-4 overall, Creighton is off to its second-best start after 26 matches, and best in the program's BIG EAST era.
   Only CU's 2012 team, which started 23-3, had a better mark at this point in the season.
Best Creighton Record After 26 Matches
   W-L after 26   Year   W-L after 28
   23-3   2012   25-3
   22-4   2018   ?
   21-5   2017   22-6
   20-6   2016   22-6

Halfway Home
Creighton has gone 8-1 or better in nine straight halves (matches 1-9 or 10-18) of league play. Creighton is 49-4 all-time in the first half of BIG EAST play, and 44-5 in the second half since joining the league in 2013.
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
2018   9-0   5-0 so far
Total   142-84   135-87   --

Let's Get It Started
Creighton has started 11-0 or better in league play for the third time in the last four seasons, and this year's 14-0 start is the second-best in program history.
   Below is a list of Creighton's best starts in conference play all-time:
Start   League   Year   Final W-L   Final Place
18-0   BIG EAST   2016   18-0   1st
14-0   BIG EAST   2018   TBD   TBD
11-0   BIG EAST   2015   17-1   1st

TCB
With 8-17 Providence on tap for the final week of the regular-season, it's worth noting that Creighton has won 26 straight matches against teams that enter a match under .500 since a loss at USC on Sept. 3, 2016.
   The Bluejays have not lost a match to a conference team with an overall record under .500 prior to the match since Nov. 12, 2011 at Bradley.

You Dig?
They say that defense wins championships, and that's certainly proven true for Creighton.
   Creighton has won 73 straight matches against BIG EAST teams when winning the dig battle, a streak that dates to Oct. 10, 2014 at Seton Hall.
   All but one of Creighton's last 54 matches (against all foes) have been won by the team with more digs, which goes back to Sept. 15, 2017.

Attendance Mark Falls
Creighton smashed yet another major home attendance record on Oct. 21st.
   CU has currently hosted 30,716 fans in nine home contests. That's breaks the previous program record of 29,905 set in 2015 over the course of 18 home contests. Creighton still has a minimum of five home matches left.
   Earlier this year Creighton set a program record for the largest home crowd in school history when 14,022 turned out on Sept. 6 to see the Bluejays host Nebraska.

Winters Is Here
Jaali Winters enters this weekend with a school-record 1,747 kills, after setting the mark in the second set on Oct. 7 vs. St. John's.
   Not to be forgotten, Winters' All-American teammate on the outside Taryn Kloth has climbed up to seventh on CU's all-time kills list.
Most Career Kills, Creighton History
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Jaali Winters   469   1,747   2015-Pr.
   2.   Leah Ratzlaff   409   1,622   2002-05
   3.   Melissa Walsh   394   1,596   1998-01
   4.   Kelly Goc   394   1,414   2004-07
   5.   Jessica Houts   451   1,385   2005-09
   6.   JoDe Cieloha   398   1,375   1994-97
   7.   Taryn Kloth   437   1,313   2015-Pr.
   8.   Leah McNary   458   1,257   2011-14
   9.   Marysa Wilkinson   499   1,183   2014-17
   10.   Lauren Smith   511   1,160   2013-16

Winters Is Coming, Part 2
Jaali Winters ranks third nationally among active players with 1,747 career kills and third with 4,826 attack attempts. Taylor Louis, who has 1,881 kills and 4,8911 attack attempts during her career that started at Marquette and has continued at Iowa, leads both categories.
   Winters' Creighton team met Louis' Marquette team three times in 2015 and twice in 2016, with Winters owning more head-to-head kills (92-79) in fewer attack attempts (237-248).
   Creighton won all five matches.

Winters Wins Weekly Awards
Jaali Winters was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 9th after she averaged 4.50 kills and 2.33 digs per set on .353 hitting to help Creighton to a pair of sweeps. She also became Creighton's all-time kills leader during the week prior.
   Winters opened with 11 kills, nine digs and two blocks in a 3-0 win over Seton Hall. Six of her kills and four of her digs came in the first set to help set the tone against a Pirates team that would not lead in the final two frames.
   On Sunday, Winters had 16 kills and hit a season-best .441 in a 3-0 win versus St. John's. Her kill to give Creighton a 14-10 lead in the second set was the 1,623rd of her career, breaking Leah Ratzlaff's Creighton record that had stood since 2005.
   Winters was also targeted 42 times in serve receive without being aced.
   Winters also won the Offensive Player of the Week award on Oct. 30th after averaging 4.79 points, 4.57 kills, 3.57 digs and 0.43 blocks per set on .389 hitting in victories at No. 18 Marquette (3-1) and at DePaul (3-0). The six-rotation senior also handled 30-of-31 serve receptions successfully and helped CU convert those into 16 first ball kills.
    The Ankeny, Iowa, native opened her week leading the Bluejays in kills (25), digs (19) and hitting percentage (.442) as Creighton snapped No. 18 Marquette's nine-match win streak on Friday as the Bluejays became the first club to post a conference road win over a ranked BIG EAST team since 2012.
    On Saturday, Winters had seven kills and six digs in Creighton's 3-0 sweep at DePaul.
   Winters has now been named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week three times in her career (also 10/17/17) to go along with her pair of Defensive Player of the Week (10/31/17 and 9/11/18) laurels. She remains the only player in league history to be honored with both awards at any point in a career.
   Creighton has now had three different women named Offensive Player of the Week (Ballenger and Kloth once each and Winters twice) and three women named Defensive Player of the Week (Hickman, Winters, Witt) this fall.

Cole Reaches 1,000 Assists
Madelyn Cole reached 1,000 assists this season last Saturday in Creighton's 26th match (and her 93rd set) of the fall.
   She's the ninth player in program history to record 1,000 career assists.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Assists (Career)
Name   SP   MP   Date   Opponent
Korie Lebeda   77   23   10/29/05   Missouri St.
Brittany Coleman   86   23   11/01/03   Northern Iowa
Lydia Dimke   88   26   11/06/16   Xavier
Madelyn Cole   93   26   11/03/18   at St. John's
Kailey Reyes   97   27   09/04/99   Boise State
Maggie Baumert   103   32   11/29/14   vs. Seton Hall
Megan Bober   106   28   11/20/09   at #21 No. Iowa
Melissa Weisensee   119   35   09/20/95   Wichita State
Michelle Sicner   267   72   10/04/13   at Butler

Fewest Single-Season Matches to 1,000 Assists
Name   MP   Opponent   Year
Korie Lebeda   21   at Drake   2006
Brittany Coleman   22   at Southern Illinois   2004
Korie Lebeda   23   Missouri State   2005
Brittany Coleman   23   Northern Iowa   2003
Kailey Reyes   23   at Southern Illinois   1999
Melissa Weisensee   23   at Evansville   1996
Kailey Reyes   24   at Wichita State   2000
Melissa Weisensee   24   at Evansville   1997
Kailey Reyes   25   Wichita State   2001
Korie Lebeda   25   Southern Illinois   2007
Korie Lebeda   26   Bradley   2008
Lydia Dimke   26   Xavier   2016
Madelyn Cole   26   at St. John's   2018
Megan Bober   27   Eansville   2010
Lydia Dimke   27   Georgetown   2017
Megan Bober   28   at Northern Iowa   2009
Megan Bober   28   at Wichita State   2012
Michelle Sicner   28   Xavier   2013
Maggie Baumert   32   vs. Seton Hall   2014

Back-To-Back-To-Back-To-Back
Creighton won its fourth straight BIG EAST Championship title last year, becoming the first team to do so since Notre Dame won four in a row from 1995-98.
   Creighton (2014-Present), Pittsburgh (1988-94) and Notre Dame (1995-98) are the only four schools to ever win back-to-back-to-back-to-back BIG EAST Championships in volleyball.
   The only five schools nationally 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 16 straight appearances (including 2018) in a league tournament after appearing in just 4-of-9 tournaments prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival.
   Creighton's current senior class is 71-3 against BIG EAST opposition, including a 6-0 mark in league tournament play.

Kloth A Senior CLASS Award Finalist
Creighton's Taryn Kloth is one of 10 women who excels both on and off the court that has been selected as a finalist for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate volleyball. Kloth is the only finalist from the BIG EAST.
   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.
   Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
   Fans can vote every day for Kloth at
http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/volleyball_2018/.

Zumach Nets League Honor
Kari Zumach was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Oct. 23 after helping CU to a pair of wins.
   A Buffalo, Minn., native, Zumach averaged 2.31 points, 1.88 kills, 0.88 blocks and 0.50 digs per set while hitting .448 in victories over Xavier and Butler.
   Zumach made her first career BIG EAST start last Thursday in a win over Xavier, and she came through with a season-high nine kills on season-high .471 hitting. She added three digs and tied for the team-lead with four blocks as CU rallied for a five-set win.
    On Saturday vs. Butler, the right-side hitter had six kills on .417 hitting, adding three blocks and a dig. She had exactly two kills and one block in all three sets of a match that Creighton never trailed in at any point.

Solid Start In Cincinnati
Jaali Winters was at the service line as Creighton scored the first 11 points of a Sept. 29 sweep at Xavier. Winters had three aces and a kill to help contribute to the hot start.
   Per the NCAA record book, it was tied for the third-best serving run to start a match in NCAA history. It's also a Creighton record, besting the mark held by Megan Ballenger vs. Seton Hall in 2016, as seen below:
Consecutive Points Served to Start a Match
   No.   Player: Team vs. Opponent   Date
   13   Allison Kearney, Arkansas St. vs. Alcorn St.   09/16/11
   12   Katie Bova, Valparaiso vs. IUPUI   10/01/05
   11   Kristin Carpenter, Penn State vs. Princeton   09/18/10
   11   Taylor Barnes, Baylor vs. Louisiana-Monroe   09/01/06
   11   Jaali Winters, Creighton at Xavier   09/29/18
   10   Megan Carter, Lafayette vs. Providence   10/15/05
   10   Megan Ballenger, Creighton vs. Seton Hall   10/16/16

Getting Better & Better
The Oct. 26 triumph at Marquette was Creighton's 500th match under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and it continues to thrive under her direction.
    Below is a look at Creighton's record under Booth in 50-match segments.
Match #   W-L   Opponent   Date   Result
50   25-25   Missouri State   10/22/04   L 0-3
100   56-44   Southern Illinois   09/16/06   W 3-1
150   88-62   vs. So. Illinois   11/23/07   W 3-1
200   115-85   at Missouri State   10/30/09   L 0-3
250   143-107   at #11 Nebraska   09/08/11   L 0-3
300   182-118   Illinois State   11/10/12   W 3-1
350   215-135   South Dakota   09/20/14   L 2-3
400   255-145   at DePaul   11/07/15   W 3-1
450   296-154   Northern Iowa   09/02/17   W 3-0
500   336-164   at #18 Marquette   10/26/18   W 3-1

14 Aces, 5 Errors
Creighton served up a season-high 14 aces against Butler on October 20th and countered that with just five serving errors.
   The +9 ace/error differential ranks tied for third-greatest since the program's 1994 restart, and was the best since a +10 (12 aces, 2 errors) disparity at DePaul on Oct. 3, 2014.
Diff.   Aces   Errors   Opponent   Date
+11   15   4   vs. NE Illinois   9/23/95
+10   12   2   at DePaul   10/3/14
+9   12   3   at Evansville   10/7/94
+9   15   6   UMKC   11/12/95
+9   14   5   Butler   10/20/18
+8   13   5   at New Mexico   9/4/04
+8   12   4   DePaul   9/25/16

Kloth Earned Player of the Week Honor
Creighton senior Taryn Kloth was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 25.
   Though Kloth was named First Team All-Conference in 2016, and Second Team All-Conference and BIG EAST Championship Most Valuable Player in 2017, it's the first time in her career the Sioux Falls, S.D., native has been named a Player of the Week by the BIG EAST.
   Kloth averaged 5.08 points, 4.50 kills, 1.17 digs, 0.50 blocks and 0.33 aces per set on .440 hitting as No. 10 Creighton won all six sets it played to open BIG EAST play.
    The outside hitter had 11 kills, four digs and an ace on .409 hitting as Creighton swept DePaul to open league play. She then had 16 kills, three digs and two blocks on .464 hitting in a sweep over No. 21 Marquette, the preseason league favorite. Kloth had eight kills in the opening set, a 25-17 triumph, that set the tone in the victory.

Sweeeeeeeeeep!!!
Creighton has swept 10-of-14 matches at all sites in BIG EAST play this season, and swept eight of its last nine home matches against league foes dating to last fall.
   During Creighton's 33-match home winning streak in league play, the Bluejays have dropped only 14 (of 113) sets at home, with nine of those setbacks coming in set two.
   Creighton is 30-3 in set one, 24-9 in set two, 32-1 in set three, 9-1 in set four and 4-0 in set five during that home streak, which means they are 66-4 in sets that they spend at least some time on the south bench.
   During this 33-match regular-season home win streak in league play, only one opponent has won more than three sets against CU in Omaha, Villanova (4), while neither Providence nor Marquette have won a set.
   In Creighton's 102 all-time regular-season BIG EAST matches at all sites, Creighton is 55-4 in three-set matches, 27-2 in four-set matches and 11-3 in five-set contests.

Something To Shoot For
Creighton's current senior class has never lost to a BIG EAST team at D.J. Sokol Arena, going a perfect 35-0 in that span. The Bluejays were 11-0 (including two BIG EAST Tournament wins) in 2015, 10-0 in 2016, 8-0 last fall and 6-0 to date this fall.
   Creighton has not lost a home match to a BIG EAST team since Seton Hall upset the Bluejays on Nov. 23, 2014.

Home Sweet Home
Creighton has gone unbeaten at home in league play in four of its previous six seasons (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017), and is off to a 6-0 start in conference home matches this fall.
   Creighton is 48-2 all-time (.960) 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 79-7 (.919) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility, including 33 straight victories.
   Creighton has won all 11 meetings with St. John's since that 2013 upset, and all 10 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 13 seasons (including 2018). That streak that dates back to its days at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, a site that was torn down two years ago and no longer exists.
   Creighton has not lost an October home match since October 15, 2011 against Northern Iowa, having won its last 29 such matches.

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 102 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 18 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
   Seton Hall and Marquette are the only league foes to top the Bluejays three times since 2013.
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   11-1   -   11-1
DePaul   12-0   -   12-0
Georgetown   11-0   -   11-0
Marquette   10-2   2-1   12-3
Providence   8-0   -   8-0
Seton Hall   9-3   2-0   11-3
St. John's   11-1   -   11-1
Villanova   9-2   2-0   11-2
Xavier   12-0   3-0   15-0
Total   93-9   9-1   102-10

Top 10 Jays
Creighton Volleyball remained to a season-best ninth in this week's AVCA poll. It's the 14th different week in program history that the Bluejays have spent in the top-10, and ninth in a row.
   Here's a look at Creighton's all-time top-10 rankings in the AVCA poll:
Rank   Week   W-L That Week
9   12/19/16   0-0 (year end poll)
9   8/9/17   3-0
7   8/28/17   2-1
9   9/4/17   2-1
8   9/11/17   0-2
10   9/10/18   2-1
10   9/17/18   2-0
10   9/24/18   2-0
10   10/1/18   2-0
10   10/8/18   2-0
10   10/15/18   2-0
10   10/22/18   2-0
9   10/29/18   2-0
9   11/05/18   TBD

Top 25 Jays
Creighton started the 2018 campaign ranked 13th and are currently ranked ninth.
   This means the Bluejays are in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 34th straight week. That streak started on Oct. 31, 2016. Nationally, that's the 11th-longest active streak, as seen below:
Consecutive Active Weeks in AVCA Top 25
   Streak   Team   Current Rank
   538   Stanford   2
   538   Nebraska   6
   455   Penn State   7
   428   Florida   14
   232   Texas   5
   87   Wisconsin   8
   86   BYU   1
   74   UCLA   21
   57   Minnesota   3
   38   Kentucky   11
   34   Creighton   9

Double Trouble
Jaali Winters owns 13 double-doubles this season, including one in all six matches this season against top-25 opponents. Winters owns 55 double-doubles in her career. That ranks sixth-most in program history, and the most by any outside hitter.
Matches With a Double-Double, Career
   D-D   Name   Years   Primary Position
   65   Melissa Weisensee   1994-97   Setter
   64   Kailey Reyes   1998-01   Setter
   60   Melissa Walsh   1998-01   Middle Blocker
   57   Megan Bober   2009-12   Setter
   56   Korie Lebeda   2005-08   Setter
   55   Jaali Winters   2015-Pres.   Outside Hitter
   41   Allie Oelke   2007-10   Outside Hitter

Winters Part Of 1,000 & 1,000 Club
Jaali Winters enters this week with 1,747 career kills and 1,313 career digs. Last year she became 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.
   Winters ranks fourth in the BIG EAST with 355 kills and 12th with 288 digs, making her the league's only player with more than 275 kills and digs. The 10 players with more than 290 digs have combined for 14 kills all fall, while Winters averages 3.82 kills per set.

Jays Get New Court
After playing on the same sport court tiled surface since the opening of D.J. Sokol Arena, Creighton Volleyball introduced a new Taraflex® Sports Flooring surface at D.J. Sokol Arena for its match on Sept. 21 vs. DePaul.
   Taraflex® floors have been used for the last 11 Summer Olympics, and provides better shock absorption and comfort while preventing both short and long-term injuries, preventing skin burns and providing for optimal levels of sliding while also allowing for easier maintenance.
   The new court was paid for by private donations.

Any Venue Will Do
Since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton has a .500 record or better (in all matches) at every venue in which it has played a BIG EAST match.
Site   Creighton W-L
D.J. Sokol Arena (CU)   69-12
Al McGuire Center (MU)   8-2
Hinkle Fieldhouse (BU)   7-1
Cintas Center (XU)   6-0
McGrath-Phillips Arena (DPU)   6-0
Carnesecca Arena (SJU)   6-0
McDonough Arena (GU)   6-0
Alumni Hall (PC)   4-0
Jake Nevin Field House (VU)   4-2
Walsh Gym (SHU)   4-2

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
For the first time since Creighton's 2012 season in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Bluejays were not picked to win their league. This year a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches tabbed Marquette with 78 points and six first-place votes, edging out Creighton's 76 points and four first-place votes. Butler was picked third in the league's preseason poll, with Villanova fourth.       Creighton also had three women named to the 12 member on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as Taryn Kloth, Jaali Winters and Brittany Witt were all honored. It was the second straight preseason honor for Kloth and Witt, and third in a row for Winters.
   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 predicted.
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   - -
2018   2nd   ??   ??

Winters Earns Defensive Award
Senior Jaali Winters was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 11th in recognition of her 4.54 digs and 3.92 kills per set.
   Winters had a double-double in all three matches, starting with 18 kills and 18 digs against No. 7 Nebraska on Sept. 6.
   She then lifted a career-high 26 digs to go with 15 kills in a win over Iowa State one night later. Winters' 26 digs vs. Iowa State were the most by a Bluejay outside hitter in one match since October 23, 2009 (Allie Oelke), and were the most by any Creighton player in a four-set match since Oct. 4, 2014 (Kate Elman).
   The Ankeny, Iowa, native closed out her week with 18 kills and 15 digs in a victory over Wichita State.
   Winters was named MVP of the Bluejay Invitational for her efforts.
   This was the second time in her career she's been named Defensive Player of the Week by the BIG EAST (also Oct. 31, 2017), but that's hardly her only league honor. Winters has also been named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week once, was a six-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week in 2015, is a three-time First Team All-BIG EAST selection, the 2015 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament MVP and a three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree.

Can You Dig It?
Junior Brittany Witt and senior Jaali Winters have climbed into the top 10 in Creighton history on the all-time digs chart. Witt is up to second, while Winters is fifth.
Most Career Digs, Creighton History
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Kate Elman   464   2,054   2012-15
   2.   Brittany Witt   339   1,433   2016-Pr.
   3.   Janeen Piller   336   1,392   2001-04
   4.   Allie Oelke   445   1,382   2007-10
   5.   Jaali Winters   469   1,313   2015-Pr.
   6.   Kailey Reyes   368   1,258   1998-01
   7.   Melissa Walsh   394   1,240   1998-01
   8.   Julianne Mandolfo   241   1,224   2010-11
   9.   Melissa Weisensee   411   1,223   1994-97
   10.   Melanie Jereb   471   1,218   2012-15

More Attendance Notes
How many fans is 14,022? Consider these facts...
- In the five seasons (1998-02) before Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival in 2003, the Bluejays attracted a total of 13,670 fans in 51 home matches, an average of 268 fans per match.
- Last year Creighton's nine BIG EAST peers attracted a grand total of 51,433 fans in 122 home dates, an average of 422 fans per match. Multiply 422 by 33 and you still don't get to 14,022.
- Since Creighton joined the BIG EAST in 2013, no league peer has attracted as many as 10,000 fans in any season, nor averaged more than 845 fans per home match for a full season.
- Through matches of November 7, the other nine schools in the BIG EAST had attracted a total of 38,933 fans in 103 home dates (378 per match).
   Last year Creighton led the BIG EAST in average home attendance in volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, baseball and men's basketball.
   Here's a look at the national leaders in average home attendance, after matches of November 4:
   Rank   Average   School
   1.   Nebraska   8,186
   2.   Wisconsin   7,052
   3.   Hawai'i   5,436
   4.   Minnesota   5,310
   5.   Texas   3,734
   6.   Creighton   3,413
   7.   Penn State   3,403
   8.   BYU   2,912
   9.   Florida   2,824
   10.   Michigan State   2,765

Quick Witt-ed
Brittany Witt started her junior season with 10 straight matches in each of her first 18 matches, and a streak of 21 in a row dating to last year, before "just" nine digs at Georgetown on Oct. 12.
   The streak of 18 straight matches with 10+ digs to open a season was the fourth-longest in program history
   Witt's streak of 21 straight double-figure matches in a row was the longest streak of her career, and was the sixth-longest in CU history.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Digs, To Start Year
   32   Kate Elman   2012
   29   Janeen Piller   (every match) 2004
   27   Bianca Rivera   2007
   18   Brittany Witt   2018
   9   Nayka Benitez   2010

Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Digs
   43   Janeen Piller, Oct. 10, 2003-Nov. 26, 2004
   32   Kate Elman, Aug. 24 - Nov. 30, 2012
   30   Kate Elman, Sept. 30, 2013 - Sept. 12, 2014
   27   Bianca Rivera, Aug. 24-Nov. 9, 2007
   23   Julianne Mandolfo, Sept. 9-Nov. 24, 2011
   21   Brittany Witt, Nov. 25, 2017 - Oct. 7, 2018
   19   Bianca Rivera, Sept. 20-Nov. 28, 2008

Ranked Pair
August 24th marked just the second time that Creighton Soccer and Creighton Volleyball both beat ranked teams on the same day, as the volleyball team topped No. 5 Kentucky (3-2) just hours before the men's soccer team defeated No. 11 Clemson (2-0).
   The only previous day with both teams taking down top-25 foes had been Aug. 30, 2013, when the volleyball team opened its season with a 3-1 win over No. 13 BYU and the men's soccer team followed with a 2-0 triumph over No. 14 Tulsa.
   This year has been the first time both teams have been ranked in the top-10 at the same time.

Record Crowd
Creighton set an NCAA regular-season record for a volleyball-only crowd on Sept. 6 when it hosted 14,022 fans for its home match against No. 7 Nebraska.
   The total eclipsed the previous NCAA mark of 13,870 that Nebraska hosted in 2009 for a match against UCLA, and also topped the previous record for a Creighton home match of 13,081 set in 2007 when the Bluejays entertained Cal Poly.
   In five all-time volleyball matches at CHI Health Center Omaha, Creighton has played before an average of 11,477 fans.
   Below is a list of the largest crowds (and home crowds) in Creighton and NCAA Volleyball history:
Largest Home Crowds
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU W-L   Facility
   14,022   #7 Nebraska   09/06/18   L 2-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   13,081   #18 Cal Poly   09/02/07   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   12,112   #1 Nebraska   09/24/06   L 1-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   10,131   #4 Nebraska   09/15/15   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   8,037   #2 Nebraska   10/05/08   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   2,578   #13 Kentucky   09/01/17   W 3-0   Sokol Arena

Largest Crowds (All Sites)
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU Result   Facility
   14,022   #7 Nebraska   09/06/18   L 2-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   13,081   #18 Cal Poly   09/02/07   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   12,112   #1 Nebraska   09/24/06   L 1-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   10,131   #4 Nebraska   09/15/15   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   8,627   at #5 Nebraska   09/29/02   L 0-3   Devaney Ctr.
   8,277   vs. Montana St.   09/16/16   W 3-0   Devaney Ctr.

Largest Crowds
NCAA Volleyball-Only Regular-Season History
   Att.   Match   Date   Site
   14,022   Nebraska at Creighton   09/06/18   Omaha, Neb.
   13,870   UCLA at Nebraska   09/13/09   Lincoln, Neb.
   13,412   LSU at Nebraska   09/12/08   Lincoln, eb.
   13,396   Hawaii at Nebraska   10/21/07   Lincoln, Neb.
   13,081   2 matches (CP@CU; PSU-NU)   09/02/07   Omaha, Neb.

Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play
Creighton collected eight non-conference wins for the first time since the 2013 team went 9-3.
   Creighton Volleyball went 3-3 against ranked non-conference teams last season. Before last fall, CU had been 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
   This year's club is 8-4 in non-conference play, and 1-3 against ranked teams in the non-con.
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   26-7
2018   8-4   1-3   TBD

How Many MVP's Can They Have?
Creighton has won seven different tournaments since the start of the 2016 season, and had five different MVP's honored.
   Three members of this year's team (Jaali Winters, Taryn Kloth and Megan Ballenger) have won at least one tourney MVP in their careers.
Year   Event   MVP
2016   BIG EAST Championship   Jaali Winters
2017   Husky Invitational   Marysa Wilkinson
2017   Bluejay Invitational   Lydia Dimke
2017   Kansas Invitational   Jaali Winters
2017   BIG EAST Championship   Taryn Kloth
2018   SMU DoubleTree Classic   Megan Ballenger
2018   Bluejay Invitational   Jaali Winters

15 Not Enough For These Jays
Normally when a fifth set is contested, a team must reach 15 points (and win by two) to earn a victory.
   In both of CU's five-setters on the opening weekend at the Trojan Invitational, that still wasn't enough to decide a victor.
   Creighton lost to No. 10 USC by an 18-16 count in the fifth set on Aug. 25.
   One day earlier, Creighton saved two match points and eventually converted its sixth match point opportunity to take a 22-20 decision vs. No. 5 Kentucky.
   The 22-20 score was the highest-scoring fifth set in program history, eclipsing a 20-18 win in 2016 at No. 4 Kansas and a 20-18 loss to Iowa in St. Louis in 2010.

All Night Long
Creighton played the longest match (by time) in program history on Aug. 25 against No. 10 USC, as its match against the Women of Troy lasted 3:04. That match was so long that it exceeded the length of the Los Angeles Rams preseason game (3:02) against the Houston Texans that was played just blocks away earlier in the day.
   The previous longest matches had been 2:45, done twice in the fall of 2000.
Creighton's Longest Matches (By Length)
   Time   Opponent, Date   Result
   3:04   at #10 USC, 8/25/18   USC 3-2
   2:45   at Indiana State, 10/14/00   CU 3-2
   2:45   at Evansville, 11/4/00   CU 3-2
   2:42   at USC, 9/3/16   USC 3-2

BIG EAST Honors Ballenger and Hickman
Megan Ballenger was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and Naomi Hickman honored as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on September 4th.
   Ballenger earned MVP honors at the SMU DoubleTree Classic after helping Creighton to three 3-0 sweeps. She averaged 3.89 points, 3.44 kills and 0.78 blocks per set while hitting .529.
   Hickman averaged 1.78 blocks per set to help Creighton win all nine sets it played. She opened the tournament by tying her career-high with six blocks against Arkansas State, then broke that mark hours later with seven blocks against North Carolina State.
   This was Hickman's first career Player of the Week honor from the BIG EAST. Ballenger was previously recognized as BIG EAST Freshman of the Week three times in 2016.

Service Improves
Creighton had 23 service errors in its season-opening victory over No. 5 Kentucky, including nine errors in 20 attempts in the first set of the season.
   Creighton has minimized such mistakes since then, with a total of just 162 service errors in the past 25 contests.
   Below is a list of the most service errors in a match in program history:
Most Team Service Errors in a match, Creighton history
SE   Opponent   Date   Aces   Result
25   at Wichita State   9/24/04   5   L 3-1
23   vs. #5 Kentucky   8/24/18   5   W 3-2
21   San Francisco   8/27/10   1   W 3-1
20   Drake   10/10/98   9   L 3-2
18   at Evansville   9/12/98   5   L 0-3
18   Drake   10/8/04   5   W 3-1
18   vs. Miami (Ohio)   8/28/15   7   W 3-2

Special K
Taryn Kloth had a (then) career-high 25 kills in the Aug. 25 match at No. 10 USC. It was two more than her previous best, which was set in 2016 at USC the last time she faced the Women of Troy in the Galen Center.
   Kloth eclipsed that with a career-best 26 kills versus No. 7 Nebraska on Sept. 6, and one night later added 23 putaways vs. Iowa State in just four sets. When Kloth had 26 kills on .400 hitting vs. Nebraska, she became the first Creighton player with 26+ kills to hit .400 or better since Kelly Goc hit .625 with 26 kills on Nov. 16, 2007 vs. Drake.
   Kloth also had 26 kills on Sept. 28 in a win at Butler.
   Kloth now owns seven career matches of 20+ kills, including five this fall, as seen below:
Taryn Kloth -- Most Kills in a Match
       Kills   Opponent   Date
       26   #7 Nebraska   9/6/18
       26   at Butler   9/28/18
       25   at #10 USC   8/25/18
       23   at USC   9/3/16
       23   Iowa State   9/7/18
       23   at #8 Illinois   9/15/18
       20   at Villanova   10/7/16

25 Kill Duo
Senior All-American outside hitters Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth each had a match of 25 kills on the opening weekend of the season.
   Winters had 25 kills against No. 5 Kentucky on Aug. 24, and one day later Kloth had 25 kills at No. 10 USC.
   In all of last season, Winters (with 28 at Butler) was the only Bluejay performer with 20+ kills in any match last season.
   This year marks the first time since 2000 that multiple Creighton players have had a match with 25 or more kills. In 2000, Melissa Walsh had three matches while Melanie Keolanui did it once. It also happened in 1998 with Walsh (twice) and Shelly Kapler (once).
   This is already the first time CU has had multiple players with mulitple 25 kill matches in the same season. If Kloth can compile 25 kills in another match this year, she'll become the first Bluejay with four matches of 25+ kills in the same season.
   Below is a list of Creighton players with the most career matches of 20 or more kills, as well as 25 or more kills.
Most Matches With 20+ Kills, Creighton Career
   20+K   Name   Years
   23   Melissa Walsh   1998-01
   20   Leah Ratzlaff   2002-05
   18   Jaali Winters   2015-Pres.
   13   Kelly Goc   2004-07
   10   JoDe Cieloha   1994-97
   7   Taryn Kloth   2015-Pres.
   5   Jessica Houts   2005-09
   5   Leah McNary   2011-14

Most Matches With 25+ Kills, Creighton Career
   25+K   Name   Years
   8   Melissa Walsh   1998-01
   6   Leah Ratzlaff   2002-05
   6   Jaali Winters   2015-Pres.
   3   Taryn Kloth   2015-Pres.
   2   Jessica Houts   2005-09
   1   Michelle Prorock   1994-96
   1   JoDe Cieloha   1994-97
   1   Shelly Kapler   1996-99
   1   Melanie Keolanui   1997-00
   1   Kelly Goc   2004-07
   1   Alicia Runge   2009-10

Four For Four For Number Five
Jaali Winters has started each of the last four season openers, becoming the 15th player in school history to start the initial match of the season four times. Below is that list:
Four Opening Day Starts
Name   Years
JoDe Cieloha   1994-97
Melissa Weisensee   1994-97
Shelly Kapler   1996-99
Erin Swanson   1998-01
Kailey Reyes   1998-01
Melissa Walsh   1998-01
Carolyn Decker   2004-06, 08
Korie Lebeda   2005-08
Jessica Houts   2006-09
Allie Oelke   2007-10
Heather Thorson   2009-12
Megan Bober   2009-12
Jess Bird   2013-16
Lauren Smith   2013-16
Jaali Winters   2015-18

Setting The Table
For the sixth time in seven years, Creighton had a different opening day setter.
   The Jays started the season with Megan Bober 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. Lydia Dimke started the initial contest in both 2016 and 2017, but she has graduated.
   This year Madelyn Cole started the season-opener against No. 5 Kentucky, producing a double-double in the five-set victory.
   The revolving door at setter hasn't hurt the team in that time, as each of the previous six seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and five of them saw Creighton win conference titles. Creighton also won six of those seven season-opening matches.

Top 10 Recruiting Class
Creighton's freshman quartet of Keeley Davis, Annika Welty, Jaela Zimmerman and Kari Zumach were named the nation's No. 10 recruiting class by PrepVolleyball.com. That's the highest-ranked class in program history.
   The same organization ranked Davis as the nation's No. 42 recruit, with Zimmerman 49th.
   Creighton has had just two top-50 recruits previously (No. 18 Taryn Kloth in 2015, No. 41 Jaali Winters in 2015) while No. 50 (in 2014) Lydia Dimke went to Purdue for two years before transferring to Creighton.
Top-100 PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces at CU
Rank   Year   Player
68   2004   Carolyn Decker
55   2008   Laurel Sanford
60   2011   Michelle Sicner
73   2013   Jess Bird
50   2014   Lydia Dimke*
18   2015   Taryn Kloth
41   2015   Jaali Winters
98   2017   Naomi Hickman
99   2017   Steph Gaston
42   2018   Keeley Davis
49   2018   Jaela Zimmerman
* signed with Purdue and later transferred to Creighton

PrepVolleyball.com Recruiting Class Rankings
Year   Rank   Freshman Recruits
2004   Best of the Rest   (Baumann, Decker, Goc, Lahm, Mehal)
2005   Honorable-Mention   (Cvejdlik, Houts, Lebeda)
2006   None   (Bloemke, Schulze, Workman)
2007   None   (Feldman, Oelke, Vrbicky)
2008   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Almgren, Bober, Sanford)
2009   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Boggs, Greisch, Moon, Templeton, Thorson)
2010   High Honorable-Mention   (Fliss, Hackbarth, Malm, Mandolfo, S. Smith)
2011   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Browning, McNary, Neisler, Sicner, Stivers)
2012   High Honorable-Mention   (Elman, Jansen, Jereb, L. Smith)
2013   None   (Bird, Crawford, Foje)
2014   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Lawrence, Tupper, Wilkinson)
2015   11th   (Ballenger, Bohnet, Kloth, O'Connell, Winters)
2016   High Honorable-Mention   (Conlon, Taylor, Witt)
2017   25th   (Gaston, Hickman, Roumeliotis)
2018   10th   (Davis, Welty, Zimmerman, Zumach)

The Gauntlet
Creighton played five different non-conference teams that were in the top-25 of the preseason AVCA coaches poll. That's tied for the most in the nation, with Northern Iowa, Texas, USC and Wichita State.
   The Bluejays met up with No. 2 Nebraska, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 10 USC, No. 12 Illinois and No. 21 Iowa State in 2018.
   This is the sixth straight season that Creighton will face four or more non-conference foes that are in the preseason Top 25.
   Of Creighton's 12 non-conference matches this year, all but one (Lipscomb) were against a team that played in the postseason last fall.

European Summer Tour
Creighton got a head start on the 2018 season with an 11-day trip to Europe in mid-June.
   The team played five matches while spending time in Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic.
   All 15 members of the 2018 team were allowed to participate, including the seven newcomers.

Ranked To Start The Year
Creighton started the season ranked No. 13 in the AVCA Coaches poll. It's the fifth time in the past six campaigns that CU's been ranked in the preseason AVCA poll, and third straight fall.
   Being ranked in the preseason poll is no guarantee of future success, however. In the previous 10 seasons, only 178-of-250 teams (71.2 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).
Creighton's History in the AVCA Preseason Poll
   Year   Preseason Rank   Final W-L   Final Rank
   2013   25th   23-9   NR
   2014   23rd   25-9   NR
   2016   18th   27-9   9th
   2017   9th   26-7   16th
   2018   13th   TBD   ???

Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won nine matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point, including this year's season-opening win over No. 5 Kentucky. Three of those comeback wins have come against Wichita State.
   On the other hand, Creighton is 339-2 under Booth when it reaches a math 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
08/24/18   vs. #5 Kentucky   16-15, 19-18   22-20

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. 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 one of 15 teams to win a match in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments. That group includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Purdue, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, USC, Washington and Wisconsin.
   Creighton is also one of 17 schools with six straight seasons of 20+ wins (2012-17). That list features American, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington, Western Kentucky and Wichita State.
   Creighton is also one of just nine schools nationally who have won 23 matches or more in each of the previous six seasons (2012-17). That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Western Kentucky.
   Creighton is also one of 11 teams to be in the year-end AVCA poll in 2015, 2016 and 2017. That list includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, Washington and Wisconsin.

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Taryn Kloth gained valuable experience this summer with the US Collegiate National Team, spending 11 days in China in late May.
   It's the second straight season that Kloth has been part of USA Volleyball, as in 2017 she was part of USA Volleyball's team that went to Minneapolis, Minn.
   Among Kloth's USA Volleyball teammates from 2018 that Creighton faced this season include Madison Lilley (Kentucky), Carlyle Nusbaum (Lipscomb) and Jenna Rosenthal (Marquette). CU went 1-0 against Kentucky and Lipscomb and 2-0 versus Marquette this fall.

2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 281-10 (.966) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 224-4 mark (.982) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 151-2 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009.
   Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that won the first two sets in 2017 won 97.0 percent of their matches last season.
   Conversely, the Jays are 14-193 (.068) all-time when trailing a match 0-2. Those 14 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
10/18/18   Xavier   25-17, 25-17, 15-13   Booth

Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 55-29 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 13 of its last 17 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, 2017 victories at Butler, Georgetown and Marquette and a 2018 win at Butler.
   It's also worth noting that Creighton is 12-3 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   26-7
2018   3-2   22-4
Total   70-57   432-316

Marian Pipeline
This is the 16th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as senior Kelsey O'Connell and junior Brittany Witt return.
   Each of the last seven 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.
2018: Kelsey O'Connell, Brittany Witt
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

Production Returns
Creighton returns 8-of-13 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters and libero Brittany Witt.
   From last year's team, only Marysa Wilkinson, Lydia Dimke, Kenzie Crawford, Jaclyn Taylor (transferred to Nebraska-Omaha) and Brittany Lawrence (graduated and transferred to Northern Colorado) are not back.
   Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Assists   334 (22.7%)   1203 (77.3%)
Digs   1465 (76.7%)   444 (23.3%)
Aces   123 (80.9%)   29 (19.1%)
Kills   1164 (69.1%)   520 (30.9%)
Matches Started   118 (59.6%)   80 (40.4%)
Points   1428 (68.5%)   656 (31.5%)
Blocks   141 (56.9%)   107 (43.1%)

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Last season Creighton played 14 matches against 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, going 8-6 against such teams.
   This year's team will play 11 matches against teams that played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, including 11-of-26 opponents so far this fall.
   After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 77-94 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   8-6
2018   7-4
TOTAL   80-129
TOTAL Under Booth   77-94

Lucky Number Seven
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she directed her troops to seven NCAA Tournaments. 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

Climbing The List
Kirsten Bernthal Boothbecame 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 339 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history.
Coach, Sport   Victories
Brent Vigness, Softball   757*
Mary Higgins, Softball   564
Ed Servais, Baseball   517*
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis   427*
Kirste Bernthal Booth, Volleyball   339*
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball   327
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball   312*
*still active coaching at Creighton

All They Do Is Win
Creighton owns a 129-36 record since the start of the 2014 season. On a national basis, the 129 wins are eighth-most.
Most Wins, Since 2014 (through 11/4)
   Rank   School   Wins
   1.   Western Kentucky   141
   2.   Penn State   140
   3.   BYU   139
   4.   Stanford   136
       Nebraska   136
   6.   Washington   131
   7.   Florida   130
   8.   Creighton   129
   9.   Dayton   128
   10.   Colorado State   127
   11.   Texas   126
       Minnesota   126
   13.   American   124
   14.   Wisconsin   123

This and That
Amaze your friends and neighbors with these facts...
• Creighton has won six sets this season after an opponent owned a set point.
• Creighton is the only team in the nation to rank in the top-10 in average home attendance in both women's volleyball and men's soccer.
• Jaali Winters has played in 56 matches that were either four-set or five-set contests. She's had 10 kills in all but one of them, and had nine in the other.
• Off to an 22-4 start this fall, Creighton's improved to 432-316 in program history. It marks the first time that CU has been more than 116 wins over .500, an impressive feat considering the program was 59 matches under .500 before Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival.
• Creighton owns multiple wins over top-25 teams for the fourth straight season. From 1994-2014, Creighton had a total of three seasons with one ranked win each.
• Creighton's three wins over ranked teams this season tie a school-record first done in 2017.
• Creighton has played 27 matches against ranked teams in the last four years (going 10-17), including seven matches vs. ranked teams in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and six such squads this fall.
• All four of Creighton's seniors will graduate in December.

#9 Volleyball Opens Homestand With Georgetown & Villanova This Weekend

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Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Madelyn Cole

Kenzie Crawford

Keeley Davis

Lydia Dimke

Naomi Hickman

Taryn Kloth

Brittany Lawrence

Kelsey O'Connell

Jaclyn Taylor

Annika Welty

Marysa Wilkinson

Jaali Winters

Brittany Witt

Jaela Zimmerman

Kari Zumach