Volleyball Meets #22 Washington With Sweet 16 Spot at Stake

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NCAA Tournament Schedule
Dec. 1   7:00 p.m.   #22 Washington at #9 Creighton (FSGO)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena) | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

• Creighton (29-4) seeks a third Sweet 16 appearance in the last four years when it hosts No. 22 Washington (19-12) on Saturday at 7 p.m. Central.
   The match will air on FOX Sports Go, with Donny Baarns and Shannon Smolinski on the call.
   The winner of the contest will face the winner of Saturday's match between Syracuse and No. 8 Penn State next Friday at a site to be determined.

• Creighton won the only previous meeting against Washington, winning in Seattle over the No. 3 Huskies (25-22, 25-17, 14-25, 25-23).
   In that match, Taryn Kloth and Jaali Winters each had 16 kills, and Brittany Witt dug 17 balls. The Bluejays hit .270 in the contest. Carly DeHoog led four Huskies in double-figures with 13 kills, and Tia Scambray had a match-best 20 digs.

• Creighton's win over No. 3 Washington last year remains the highest-ranked team that Creighton Volleyball has ever beaten.
   It was also Washington's first non-conference loss in the regular-season at all sites since Sept. 13, 2008 (81 matches), the first non-conference home loss for Washington in the regular-season since Sept. 1, 2001 (45 matches) and the first regular-season non-conference loss in fewer than five sets at any site since Sept. 7, 2002 (143 matches).

• With a win on Saturday, Creighton would set a school-record with its 30th victory, breaking a tie it currently holds with the 2012 (29-4) and 2016 (29-7) clubs.

• Creighton improved to 10-7 all-time in its eight NCAA Tournament appearances with Friday's win over South Dakota, including a 7-1 mark in the First Round.
   Creighton is 2-4 all-time in the Second Round, including a win at No. 23 North Carolina in 2015 and a win at No. 4 Kansas in 2016.

• With a win, Creighton can become the first No. 9 national seed to reach the Sweet 16 since the 2015 Kansas team won its first four contests to advance to the Final Four in Omaha.
   Since 2001, the No. 9 seed has advanced to the Sweet 16 (or further) 13-of-17 times, including 2011 national champion UCLA.

• Creighton and Washington share two common opponents this fall. Creighton lost to Illinois and USC, both on the road. Washington split two matches with USC and lost to Illinois.

• Creighton and Washington are two of 16 teams nationally that are appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight time, joining BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, USC and Washington.
   Creighton and Washington are two of 13 teams nationally that have won a NCAA Tournament match each of the last four seasons (BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Purdue, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, USC, Washington and Wisconsin).
   Creighton and Washington have each been ranked in the year-end AVCA poll in 2015, 2016 and 2017. That 11-team list consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, Washington and Wisconsin.
   Creighton and Washington are two of 12 schools to be a national seed in at least three of the last four NCAA Tournaments, joining BYU, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Florida, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin.
   Creighton's 136 wins since the start of the 2014 season rank tied for sixth nationally. That's one more than Washington, which has 135 wins to rank eighth nationally.

• Creighton owns a 4-3 record this year against ranked teams, improving to 14-74 all-time against top-25 foes. That includes a 4-6 record in the postseason, a 4-25 mark in Omaha, and a 9-8 record vs. top-25 foes since the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
   Creighton's four wins this season are the most in program history for one year.
   Creighton is 10-13 vs. ranked teams when ranked itself.
   Saturday will be Creighton's eighth match this fall against a ranked team, setting a school-record for one season.
   In seven matches so far this fall against ranked teams, Taryn Kloth has hit .292 and averaged 4.77 kills per set and 20.4 kills per match. Jaali Winters averages 4.40 kills per set and 3.27 digs per set. Winters owns a double-double in all seven matches against ranked competition this fall, a good omen since Creighton is 6-0 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when she has a double-double (1-3 when she doesn't).

• Friday marked the third time that Creighton did not allow an ace this season, and 11th occasion that CU allowed one ace or less. Washington, on the other hand, served up 12 aces last night vs. Saint Mary's.

• Creighton's .375 hitting percentage last night was its best ever for an NCAA Tournament match.
   The Bluejays have won 120 straight matches when hitting .300 or better.

• Creighton has won 15 straight home matches, a school-record. The second- and third-longest home win streaks in program history were both snapped by Pac-12 teams (Cal in 2013, USC in 2017).

• Creighton is 8-7 all-time in the month of December, including at least one win in each of the previous three years.
   Creighton is 2-1 all-time on December 1, including wins in 2016 (Northern Iowa) and 2017 (Coastal Carolina).

• Creighton is 26-0 this year when winning the third set and 3-4 when it does not; Washington is 15-5 when it does (4-7 when it doesn't).

• Samantha Bohnet missed both matches of the BIG EAST Tournament with a knee injury, only to return on Friday vs. South Dakota and compile a team-best 12 digs. Bohnet's dozen digs were her most since a season-best 16 vs. Xavier on Sept. 29th. In postmatch interviews, she called her quick return to health a "Christmas Miracle".

• Madelyn Cole set a D.J. Sokol Arena single-season record for assists on Friday. Her 38 helpers give her 557 this fall, breaking the mark held by Megan Bober (534) in 2009.

• Creighton served up four aces on Friday, and now owns 197 service winners this year. That breaks the previous school record of 195, which was set in 2000. Madelyn Cole's ace yesterday gave her 29 this season at D.J. Sokol Arena, a facility record for a single-season, and was her 49th at all sites this fall to rank second ever.

• Jaali Winters owns 1,379 career digs. She's three shy of Allie Oelke for fourth place in school history, which is also the most by a Bluejay outside hitter. Winters stands 13 digs behind Janeen Piler's 1,392 for third place among all Creighton players.

• Naomi Hickman had seven blocks on Friday vs. South Dakota and continues to put up a wall at the net. Hickman owns 2.00 blocks per set in CU's last three matches, including two of the top three blocking performances of her career.

• Creighton improved to 87-21 all-time as a ranked team with Friday's triumph, including a 36-4 mark at home. Creighton has been ranked every week since Oct. 31, 2016.

• With 16 kills on Friday vs. South Dakota, Taryn Kloth now owns a team-leading 479 kills this fall. That ranks tied for third-most in Creighton single-season history, and are the most by a senior.

• Taryn Kloth hit a season-high .696 on Friday vs. South Dakota, the 10th-best hitting percentage in any match in school history. It was her first match this fall without an error, and the senior added four digs, two aces and two blocks.
   Kloth has hit .500 or better in three of CU's last seven matches, averaging 4.68 kills on .380 hitting in that time.

• With 16 kills last night, Taryn Kloth moved into fourth in program history with 1,416 career kills. That's two more than Kelly Goc (1,414) from 2004-07.

• Jaali Winters can tie yet another Creighton record on Saturday by appearing in her 138th career match, tying Lauren Smith (2013-16) and Marysa Wilkinson (2014-17). Winters can also tie Smith with her 137th career start. She'll also tie (and likely break) a record for most career NCAA Tournament sets appeared in, as her 41 sets are one behind a mark that Smith and Wilkinson also own.
   Winters also tied Creighton records yesterday with her seventh career ace in NCAA Tournament play, as well as her 127 career digs in NCAA Tournament play and her fourth different NCAA Tournament appeared in.
   Winters entered the weekend with 87 different school records.

• Brittany Witt owns 495 digs this season. With five more digs, she'd become the first player in program history with three consecutive seasons of 500 or more digs.

Volleyball Meets #22 Washington With Sweet 16 Spot at Stake

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Players Mentioned

Samantha Bohnet

Madelyn Cole

Naomi Hickman

Taryn Kloth

Marysa Wilkinson

Jaali Winters

Brittany Witt