Friday, August 24
Los Angeles, Calif.
7:00 PM
Creighton University
1-1
0
vs
3
Northern Iowa
1-0
1
2
3
F
Creighton
23
22
19
0
Northern Iowa
25
25
25
3
Megan Ballenger
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Volleyball Suffers First Loss of Season vs. UNI
8/24/2018 8:28:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton closes the first day of the season with a 1-1 mark
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The No. 13 Creighton Volleyball team closed out the opening day of the season with a 3-0 loss to Northern Iowa on Friday evening at the Trojan Invitational in Los Angeles.
Scores of the match in favor of UNI were 25-23, 25-22, 25-19. UNI is now 1-0 while Creighton fell to 1-1.
Just as it did earlier in the day in a five-set win over No. 5 Kentucky, Creighton lost the opening set. The teams were tied at 16 before a 6-1 burst from the Panthers provided a cushion. Creighton withstood four set point opportunities by UNI before the Panthers clinched a 25-23 set one victory. Megan Ballenger had six kills to lead CU in the first set, and Karlie Taylor had seven kills, four digs and the only ace of the first set for UNI.
UNI doubled its lead to 2-0, hitting .351 in the second set to win 25-22. The Panthers had leads of 16-11 and 20-14 but had to hold off a late Bluejay charge. CU trailed just 23-22 before consecutive kills by UNI ended the set. Creighton hit .417 in the second set and got six kills from Taryn Kloth, but it wasn't enough.
Creighton could not contain the Panthers in the third set as UNI completed the sweep with a 25-19 triumph. A 6-1 flurry midway through the set by UNI gave the Panthers a 13-10 lead it would not relinquish.
Ballenger led CU with 13 kills on .435 hitting, and Kloth finished with 11 kills. Madelyn Cole paced CU with 25 assists and Brittany Witt had a team-high 18 digs. Creighton hit .252 and finished with 44 kills, 37 digs and seven blocks. After 23 service errors in the afternoon victory over Kentucky, the Bluejays had just six service miscues in the nightcap, but also did not record any aces.
UNI was led by 18 kills from Taylor, and 12 by Jaydin Seehase. UNI hit .317 and had 46 kills, five aces, 47 digs and nine blocks.
Creighton concludes play at the Trojan Invitational on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. Central when it takes on tournament host and 10th-ranked USC.
NOTES: Creighton and UNI will meet again on Sept. 15 in Champaign, Ill., at the Illini Classic ... Megan Sharkey made her Creighton debut late in the second set and finished with nine assists and one dig ... Jaali Winters finished with nine kills, snapping her 11-match streak with 10 or more kills ... Northern Iowa's 42 wins against Creighton are more than any other Bluejay opponent, but this was UNI's first sweep in the series since Oct. 15, 2011 when the clubs were Missouri Valley Conference rivals ... Taryn Kloth had 11 kills on Friday night, giving her 965 in her career. She passed Ashley Williams (941) and Erin Swanson (955) on Creighton's career list, and is now tied for 14th place with former teammate Jess Bird.
Scores of the match in favor of UNI were 25-23, 25-22, 25-19. UNI is now 1-0 while Creighton fell to 1-1.
Just as it did earlier in the day in a five-set win over No. 5 Kentucky, Creighton lost the opening set. The teams were tied at 16 before a 6-1 burst from the Panthers provided a cushion. Creighton withstood four set point opportunities by UNI before the Panthers clinched a 25-23 set one victory. Megan Ballenger had six kills to lead CU in the first set, and Karlie Taylor had seven kills, four digs and the only ace of the first set for UNI.
UNI doubled its lead to 2-0, hitting .351 in the second set to win 25-22. The Panthers had leads of 16-11 and 20-14 but had to hold off a late Bluejay charge. CU trailed just 23-22 before consecutive kills by UNI ended the set. Creighton hit .417 in the second set and got six kills from Taryn Kloth, but it wasn't enough.
Creighton could not contain the Panthers in the third set as UNI completed the sweep with a 25-19 triumph. A 6-1 flurry midway through the set by UNI gave the Panthers a 13-10 lead it would not relinquish.
Ballenger led CU with 13 kills on .435 hitting, and Kloth finished with 11 kills. Madelyn Cole paced CU with 25 assists and Brittany Witt had a team-high 18 digs. Creighton hit .252 and finished with 44 kills, 37 digs and seven blocks. After 23 service errors in the afternoon victory over Kentucky, the Bluejays had just six service miscues in the nightcap, but also did not record any aces.
UNI was led by 18 kills from Taylor, and 12 by Jaydin Seehase. UNI hit .317 and had 46 kills, five aces, 47 digs and nine blocks.
Creighton concludes play at the Trojan Invitational on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. Central when it takes on tournament host and 10th-ranked USC.
NOTES: Creighton and UNI will meet again on Sept. 15 in Champaign, Ill., at the Illini Classic ... Megan Sharkey made her Creighton debut late in the second set and finished with nine assists and one dig ... Jaali Winters finished with nine kills, snapping her 11-match streak with 10 or more kills ... Northern Iowa's 42 wins against Creighton are more than any other Bluejay opponent, but this was UNI's first sweep in the series since Oct. 15, 2011 when the clubs were Missouri Valley Conference rivals ... Taryn Kloth had 11 kills on Friday night, giving her 965 in her career. She passed Ashley Williams (941) and Erin Swanson (955) on Creighton's career list, and is now tied for 14th place with former teammate Jess Bird.
Team Stats
CU
UNI
Kills
44
46
Errors
16
13
Attempts
111
104
Hitting %
.252
.317
Points
51.0
60.0
Assists
38
44
Aces
0
5
Blocks
7.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballCreighton Media Availability Volleyball Sept. 17
Wednesday, September 17
#18 Creighton Volleyball vs. #1 Nebraska Highlights - 9/16/25
Wednesday, September 17
Creighton Volleyball vs. Nebraska Press Conference - 9/16/25
Monday, September 15
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. UNI - 9/14/25
Sunday, September 14
