#10 Volleyball Opens BIG EAST Play with Home Weekend

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This Week's Schedule
Sept. 21   7:00 p.m.   DePaul at #10 Creighton (Fox Sports Go)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena) | STATS | VIDEO
Sept. 23   1:00 p.m.   #21 Marquette at #10 Creighton (Fox Sports Go)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena) | STATS | VIDEO

This Week
No. 10 Creighton (8-4, 0-0 BIG EAST) opens its quest for a fifth straight BIG EAST title this week when league play gets started.
   The Bluejays host DePaul (2-9, 0-0 BIG EAST) on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.
   On Sunday, No. 21 Marquette (9-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) comes to Omaha in a 1 p.m. battle of the top two teams in the preseason poll of league coaches.
   Both matches will take place at D.J. Sokol Arena inside the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center (2,500) in Omaha, Neb.

Broadcast Information
Both matches this weekend will be streamed on FOXSportsGo.com and on the FOX Sports Go app. Donny Baarns and Shannon Smolinski will announce the action on Friday. Jake Ryan will join Rob Simms to broadcast Sunday's contest.
   A link to the broadcast of each match can be found on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.

Live Stats Information
Both matches this weekend will have free live stats at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
   Fans can also find the exact links on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.

Scouting #10 Creighton
Creighton went 8-4 in non-conference play against a grueling schedule that included five national seeds from a year ago and 11 matches against teams that played in the postseason.
   Creighton's best wins include triumphs over No. 5 Kentucky, Northern Iowa, NC State, Iowa State and Wichita State, while the losses have come against Northern Iowa, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 10 USC and No. 8 Illinois.
   Three returning All-Americans pace the Bluejays. Senior outside hitters Jaali Winters (3.76 kps., 3.53 dps.) and Taryn Kloth (4.24 kps., .260%), as well as 2017 BIG EAST Libero of the Year Brittany Witt (4.60 dps.) all were named Preseason All-BIG EAST this season. Winters was named MVP of the Bluejay Invitational on Sept. 9, while Kloth owns four matches of 23+ kills this fall.
   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 10.78 assists per set and a pair of All-Tournament Team accolades.
   Creighton has been picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference.
   CU averages 13.96 kills, 1.20 aces, 16.89 digs and 2.21 blocks per set on .229 hitting overall.

Scouting DePaul
After a 2-1 start including road wins at Northern Illinois and Central Michigan, DePaul has lost eight straight contests to fall to 2-9 under new head coach Marie Zidek.
   The Blue Demons offense features seven women with between 37 and 78 kills, a group led by Emma Price's 2.11 kills per set. Brittany Maxwell, a preseason All-BIG EAST performer, has not played this season.
   Natalie Hayward (4.25 aps.) and Katie Dolan (3.76 aps.) split setting duties, and Isabelle Banez (4.00 dps.) tops the team in digs by a large margin.
   As a team, DePaul averages 11.31 kills, 0.69 aces, 14.61 digs and 1.06 blocks per set on .138 hitting.

Scouting No. 21 Marquette
Ranked No. 21 nationally, Marquette is off to a 9-3 start that includes a win over No. 10 USC and losses to No. 16 Baylor, No. 3 BYU and No. 6 Wisconsin.
   Reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Allie Barber (4.39 kps., .336%) leads the Golden Eagles on offense and is one of the best front row players in the nation.
   U.S. Collegiate National Team middle blocker Jenna Rosenthal (2.49 kps., .326%, 1.02 bps.) is a force in the middle, and 2017 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Hope Werch averages 2.39 kills per set and owns a league-high 20 aces.
   Martha Konovodoff averages 5.05 digs per set, and Lauren Speckman (7.26 aps.) and Sarah Rose (4.95 aps.) share setting duties.
   The Golden Eagles average 14.29 kills, 1.63 aces, 15.71 digs and 1.73 blocks per set while hitting .252 as a team. Marquette is favored to win the BIG EAST for the first time in program history.

Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who is in her 16th season with a 325-164 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. DePaul
Creighton has won 10 of 11 previous meetings with DePaul, and is 10-0 since the two schools became BIG EAST rivals.
   DePaul swept the first meeting in 2001 in DeKalb, Ill., before Creighton's recent run, which has included one five-set win (a CU comeback from down 0-2 in Omaha in 2015), five different four-set wins and four sweeps.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 10-0 against DePaul. She has never faced Marie Zidek.

Series History vs. Marquette
Creighton is 13-4 all-time against Marquette, including a 9-1 mark in the past five seasons against MU. That includes a five-set victory in Milwaukee over Marquette to win the 2017 BIG EAST Championship.
   Marquette snapped CU's 28-match win streak in league play on October 5th in Milwaukee.
   Ten of the last 16 meetings have been sweeps, and teams to win the first set are 14-3 all-time in the history of the series. CU is also 3-0 in the fifth set all-time against the Golden Eagles.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 13-4 against Marquette and 9-1 against Ryan Theis.

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.

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   ??   ??

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 29-0 in that span. The Bluejays were 11-0 (including two BIG EAST Tournament wins) in 2015, 10-0 in 2016 and 8-0 last fall.
   Creighton has not lost a home match to a BIG EAST team since Seton Hall upset the Bluejays on Nov. 23, 2014.

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 Sept. 18) since the league's reconfiguration in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013 (thru 9/18)
             BIG EAST only   All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)   W   L   W   L
Creighton (5)   79   9   137   45
Marquette (5)   69   19   126   48
Xavier   59   29   93   76
Butler   53   35   102   67
Seton Hall (1)   50   38   95   78
Villanova (1)   44   44   93   75
St. John's   35   53   95   82
Georgetown   17   71   52   112
DePaul   16   72   58   104
Providence*   10   62   52   90
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 and
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.

Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning record against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
   The Bluejays enter this weekend with 88 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 16 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
   Seton Hall and Marquette are the only league foes to top the Bluejays three times since 2013.
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   9-1   -   9-1
DePaul   10-0   -   10-0
Georgetown   10-0   -   10-0
Marquette   8-2   2-1   10-3
Providence   8-0   -   8-0
Seton Hall   7-3   2-0   9-3
St. John's   9-1   -   9-1
Villanova   8-2   2-0   10-2
Xavier   10-0   3-0   13-0
Total   79-9   9-1   88-10

Ranked vs. Ranked in the BIG EAST
Sunday's match-up between No. 10 Creighton and No. 21 Marquette will be the first regular-season BIG EAST match-up since 2005 that features a pair of ranked teams.
   You'd have to go back to October 29, 2005 to find the last time two ranked BIG EAST faced each other in league play, when No. 7 Notre Dame beat No. 6 Louisville.
   The last time any two BIG EAST foes faced each other while ranked came Nov. 18, 2007, when No. 20 St. John's swept No. 21 Louisville in the title match of the conference tournament.
   Marquette will be the first ranked conference foe to come to D.J. Sokol Arena for a regular-season match since No. 12 Northern Iowa on Oct. 15, 2011 back when the Bluejays were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Jays Get New Court
After playing on the same sport court tiled surface since the opening of D.J. Sokol Arena, Creighton Volleyball will install and play on a new Taraflex® Sports Flooring surface that is being installed at D.J. Sokol Arena this week.
   Taraflex® floors have been used for the last 11 Summer Olympics, and provides better shock absorbption 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, with plans calling for lead donors Dorothy Nipp and Jane Alseth to be recoginized for their role in the fundraising efforts prior to Friday's contest.

Ace Server
Madelyn Cole leads Creighton with 14 aces this season, including one in each of CU's last eight contests.
   Her streak of eight straight matches with an ace is the program's longest since Megan Ballenger did so from Sept. 25-Oct. 21, 2016. No Bluejay has had a streak of nine straight matches with an ace since Julianne Mandolfo (11 straight) in 2010.
Consecutive Matches With An Ace
   15   Amanda Cvejdlik, Sept. 29-Nov. 18, 2006
   11   Kim Whitman, Sept. 5-Oct. 4, 1998
   11   Molly Moran, Oct. 7-Nov. 10, 2000
   11   Julianne Mandolfo, Oct. 2-Nov. 13, 2010
   9   Melissa Weisensee, Sept. 1-20, 1995
   8   Molly Moran, Sept. 22-Oct. 19, 2001
   8   Kelli Koochi, Sept. 3-14, 1999
   8   Nayka Benitez, Nov. 10-27, 2009
   8   Megan Ballenger, Sept. 25-Oct. 21, 2016
   8   Madelyn Cole, Aug. 31, 2018 - Present

Winters Plays Defense, Too
One strategy Marquette tried to employ against Creighton last season was to serve at Jaali Winters as much as possible, Winters passed eight balls leading to first-ball kills among 38 serve receptions in MU's win in Milwaukee before making a huge improvement and contributing to 12 kills in 16 serve receptions in Omaha in the CU triumph. In the BIG EAST Tournament, her passing led to 14 kills in 25 serve receptions.
   For the 2017 season, Winters passed 327 balls on serve receive that led directly to first-ball kills, 122 more than the next closest teammate. She's leading CU in that category again this year by a wide margin, dishing 109 first-ball kills in 12 matches.

Barber Chopped
One key player Creighton will try to slow is Marquette junior outside hitter Allie Barber, the 2017 BIG EAST Player of the Year and the 2018 Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year.
   Barber had 21 kills on .541 hitting in MU's win over the Bluejays in Milwaukee a year ago, but was limited to a combined 28 kills on .171 hitting Creighton's two wins last season.
   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 five head-to-head matches over the past three seasons:
Name   Wins   SP   K-E-TA   PCT.   SA   D   TB
Winters   4   18   67-28-198   .197   1   62   2
Kloth   4   18   54-24-163   .184   1   25   5
Barber   1   18   71-15-188   .297   1   19   6

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)   63-12
Al McGuire Center (MU)   7-2
Hinkle Fieldhouse (BU)   6-1
Carnesecca Arena (SJU)   5-0
McGrath-Phillips Arena (DPU)   5-0
Cintas Center (XU)   5-0
McDonough Arena (GU)   5-0
Alumni Hall (PC)   4-0
Jake Nevin Field House (VU)   3-2
Walsh Gym (SHU)   3-2

Home Sweet Home
Creighton has gone unbeaten at home in league play in four of its previous six seasons (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017).
   Creighton is 42-2 all-time (.955) in regular-season BIG EAST play at D.J. Sokol Arena, falling once each to St. John's (2013) and Seton Hall (2014).
   Since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009, Creighton is 73-7 (.913) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility, including 27 straight victories.
   Creighton has won all nine meetings with St. John's since that 2013 upset, and all eight encounters versus Seton Hall since dropping the home match in 2014.
   The Bluejays have had a winning record in conference home matches each of the last 12 seasons (entering 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.

League Opener Histories
Last season's win over Georgetown improved Creighton to a 16-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 13-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 4-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and four straight wins.
   Each of the last five times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), the Bluejays went on to win both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, going a combined 84-6 in regular-season league action (and 10-0 in league tournament action) during those years.
   In the 16 seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and it owns a combined .729 (210-78) winning percentage in league matches.
    In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Jays have had a losing record five times and it owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
   In conference home openers, Creighton is 19-5 overall and 13-2 under Booth, with seven straight wins.
   In league road openers, Creighton is 15-9 overall and 12-3 under Booth, with four straight wins.

Witt Takes Home Defensive Honors
Creighton libero Brittany Witt has been named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for the first time this fall, and sixth time in her career.
   Witt averaged 5.40 digs per set in three matches at the Illini Classic last weekend as Creighton went 2-1.
   The 2017 BIG EAST Libero of the Year had 12 digs and was not aced in CU's 3-0 win over Lipscomb to open the weekend. She then had 16 digs in a sweep over UNI as Creighton avenged a loss from three weeks earlier.
   The Omaha native wrapped up the weekend with a season-high 26 digs in a four-set match at No. 8 Illinois, matching the most by a Bluejay in any contest this season.
   Witt has now had 10 or more digs in a career-high 15 straight matches, and is one of four players in program history to have 10+ digs in each of CU's first dozen matches of any season.

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.

Winters Is Coming
Jaali Winters enters this week with 1,561 kills, good for third place on Creighton's all-time career kills list. In just four weeks this season, Taryn Kloth has climbed from 17th to 10th, and she could ascend another spot this week.
Most Career Kills, Creighton History
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Leah Ratzlaff   409   1,622   2002-05
   2.   Melissa Walsh   394   1,596   1998-01
   3.   Jaali Winters   421   1,561   2015-Pr.
   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.   Leah McNary   458   1,257   2011-14
   8.   Marysa Wilkinson   499   1,183   2014-17
   9.   Lauren Smith   511   1,160   2013-16
   10.   Taryn Kloth   389   1,128   2015-Pr.
   11.   Allie Oelke   445   1,126   2007-10

Winters Is Coming, Part 2
Jaali Winters ranks second nationally among active players with both 1,561 career kills and 4,354 attack attempts. She trails only Taylor Louis, who has 1,715 kills and 4,441 attack attempts during her career that started at Marquette and has continued at Iowa.
   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.

Jaali Scaling The Record Books
Jaali Winters continues to rewrite the record book nearly every time she takes the corurt.
   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 Saturday night at Illinois, Winters broke Ratzlaff's school record for career attack attempts. Winters now owns 4,354 attempts, five more than Ratzlaff's previous record.
   It remains possible that by the end of the month that Winters will erase another mark once owned by Ratzlaff, with that mark being the all-time kills mark. Winters has 1,561 so far in her career as she chases after Ratzlaff's mark of 1,622.
   Below is a complete list of all 76 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
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
10+ Kill matches   Career   92
Attack Attempts   Career   4,354
Kills at D.J. Sokol Arena   Career   603
Kills Per Set at Sokol   Career   3.84
Attempts at Sokol Arena   Career   1,577
Points at Sokol Arena   Career   661.5
Points Per Set at Sokol   Career   4.21
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

Double Trouble
Jaali Winters owns eight double-doubles this season, giving her 50 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
   50   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 1,561 career kills and 1,184 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 third in the BIG EAST with 169 kills and seventh with 159 digs, making her the league's only player with 113 or more kills and digs. The six players ahead of her are all liberos who have combined for four kills all season, while Winters averages 3.76 kills per set.

All-American Effort
An honorable mention All-American in 2016, Taryn Kloth is well on her way to garnering even more accolades during her senior campaign.
   In four contests this fall against teams who were ranked at the time of the match, Kloth has averaged 4.79 kills per set and hit a robust .291. She owns 74 kills in her last three matches against teams ranked in the top-25 this fall.

Sunday's Key Stat?
One key factor to watch on Sunday is the result of the third set between Creighton and Marquette.
   Marquette is 9-0 this season when winning the third set, but 0-3 when dropping the third set.
   Creighton is 7-0 this season when winning the third set, but 1-4 when dropping the third set.
   Since a Oct. 10, 2014 loss at Seton Hall, Creighton is a perfect 63-0 against BIG EAST teams (57-0 in the regular-season and 6-0 in league tournament play) when winning the third set.

Top 10 Jays
Creighton Volleyball remained a season-best 10th in this week's AVCA poll. It's the sixth different time in program history that the Bluejays have spent in the top-10.
   Here's a look at Creighton's all-time top-10 rankings in the AVCA poll:
Rank   Week   W-L That Week
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   TBD

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 started last weekend in ninth and climbed to sixth. She's likely to move into the top five this weekend, as well.
Most Career Digs, Creighton History
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Kate Elman   464   2,054   2012-15
   2.   Janeen Piller   336   1,392   2001-04
   3.   Allie Oelke   445   1,382   2007-10
   4.   Kailey Reyes   368   1,258   1998-01
   5.   Melissa Walsh   394   1,240   1998-01
   6.   Brittany Witt   291   1,231   2016-Pr.
   7.   Julianne Mandolfo   241   1,224   2010-11
   8.   Melissa Weisensee   411   1,223   1994-97
   9.   Melanie Jereb   471   1,218   2012-15
   10.   Jaali Winters   411   1,184   2015-Pr.

Quick Witt-ed
Brittany Witt has had 10 or more digs in every match this season, and 15 in a row dating back to last season.
   The streak of 12 straight matches with 10+ digs to open a season is the fourth-longest in program history
   Witt's streak of 15 straight double-figure matches in a row is the longest streak of her career, and is tied for eighth-longest in program history.
   Jaali Winters enters Friday with 10 or more digs in 10 straight matches.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Digs, To Start Year
   32   Kate Elman   2012
   29   Janeen Piller   (every match) 2004
   27   Bianca Rivera   2007
   12   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
   19   Bianca Rivera, Sept. 20-Nov. 28, 2008
   18   Allie Oelke, Oct. 10, 2009-Aug. 28, 2010
   15   Abby Baumann, Sept. 15-Nov. 3, 2006
   15   Katie Mehal, Oct. 6-Nov. 24, 2006
   15   Nayka Benitez, Nov. 13, 2009-Sept. 10, 2010
   15   Allie Oelke, Sept. 3-Oct. 16, 2010
   15   Brittany Witt, Nov. 25, 2017 - Present
   14   Mallory Lahm, Oct. 4-Nov. 25, 2005

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

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, Neb.
   13,396   Hawaii at Nebraska   10/21/07   Lincoln, Neb.
   13,081   2 matches (CP@CU; PSU-NU)   09/02/07   Omaha, Neb.

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.
- Through matches of September 17, the other nine schools in the BIG EAST had attracted a total of 15,503 fans in 38 home dates (408 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, through matches of Sept. 16:
   Rank   Average   School
   1.   Nebraska   8,117
   2.   Wisconsin   7,052
   3.   Creighton   6,089
   4.   Minnesota   4,844
   5.   Hawai'i   4,765
   6.   Florida   4,185
   7.   Texas   3,506
   8.   Northern Iowa   3,369
   9.   Penn State   3,279
   10.   BYU   3,073

The Most Through 12 Matches...
Despite playing a postseason team from a year ago in 11-of-12 matches to date, Creighton is off to an outstanding start statistically this fall.
   Madelyn Cole's 485 assists are the second-most by a Bluejay through 12 matches since Korie Lebeda's 574 assists in 2006. The only person with more was Lydia Dimke with 500 in 2016, a season that saw her earn BIG EAST Player of the Year accolades.
   Creighton's 760 digs are the team's most through 12 matches since 794 digs after 12 contests in 2010.
   Taryn Kloth's 191 kills are the most by a Bluejay through 12 matches since Leah Ratzlaff had 199 kills in 2005. Here's a list of the most kills after 12 matches in a season in program history:
Most Kills After 12 Matches, Season, CU History
   Kills   Name   Hit %   Atk.   Year
   199   Leah Ratzlaff   .261   501   2005
   191   Leah Ratzlaff   .195   544   2003
   191   Taryn Kloth   .260   477   2018
   190   Alicia Runge   .244   500   2010
   178   Melissa Walsh   .229   463   1999
   175   Amanda Cvejdlik   .244   402   2006
   170   JoDe Cieloha   .293   345   1996
   169   Jaali Winters   .201   517   2018
   166   Jessica Houts   .305   371   2008
   166   Kelli Browning   .394   322   2014

Top 25 History
Creighton is 11-74 all-time against teams in the top-25 of the AVCA poll, but 6-8 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 4-36 after wins in recent seasons at No. 23 North Carolina (2015), No. 4 Kansas (2016), No. 3 Washington (2017) and No. 7 Kansas (2017).
   Creighton is 66-21 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 7-13 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 158-21 against unranked teams. Creighton has won 37 straight home matches over unranked teams.
   This is the second time that Creighton has been ranked exactly 10th. The first time was a week ago.

Top 25 Jays
Creighton started the 2018 campaign ranked 13th and is currently 10th.
   This means the Bluejays are in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 27th straight week. That streak started on Oct. 31, 2016. Nationally, that's the 14th-longest active streak, as seen below:
Consecutive Active Weeks in AVCA Top 25
   Streak   Team   Current Rank
   531   Stanford   2
   531   Nebraska   3
   448   Penn State   4
   421   Florida   11
   245   Washington   13
   225   Texas   5
   80   Wisconsin   6
   79   BYU   1
   67   UCLA   17
   50   Minnesota   7
   36   San Diego   24
   31   Kentucky   20
   30   Utah   23
   27   Creighton   10

Sweep City
Creighton won the SMU DoubleTree Classic by sweeping all three matches from Aug. 31-Sept. 1. It's just the third time in program history CU has not dropped a set while winning a tournament, and first time since the 12th Annual Holiday Inn Classic in 2005.
   CU first did it at the SDSU Invitational in 2004.

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

Kloth Surpasses 1,000 Kills
Taryn Kloth now owns 1,128 career kills after a hot start to her senior season. She's the second active Bluejay to reach the 1,000 mark, as Jaali Winters owns 1,561 career kills to rank third in team history.
   Winters reached 1,000 in last year's opening match vs. Saint Mary's in her 73rd career match. Kloth reached the milestone in her 104th career match, doing so against North Carolina State on August 31st.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Melissa Walsh   70   10/15/00   Eastern Illinois
Jaali Winters   73   08/25/17   vs. Saint Mary's
Leah Ratzlaff   76   10/22/04   Missouri State
JoDe Cieloha   83   09/13/97   at Drake
Kelly Goc   87   11/24/06   vs. Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts   90   11/08/08   Illinois State
Leah McNary   96   09/12/14   Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik   99   11/15/08   at Evansville
Shelly Kapler   103   11/18/99   vs. Missouri St.
Taryn Kloth   104   08/31/18   vs. NC State
Allie Oelke   107   10/09/10   Wichita State
Kelli Browning   110   10/26/14   DePaul
Lauren Smith   119   10/07/16   at Villanova
Marysa Wilkinson   120   09/30/17   at St. John's

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

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.

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 69 service errors in the past 11 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 now owns six career matches of 20+ kills, including four this fall, as seen below:
Taryn Kloth -- Most Kills in a Match
       Kills   Opponent   Date
       26   #7 Nebraska   9/6/18
       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).
   CU has never had multiple players with mulitple 25 kills in a match in the same season, which could happen if Winters does it one more time this fall.
   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
   17   Jaali Winters   2015-Pres.
   13   Kelly Goc   2004-07
   10   JoDe Cieloha   1994-97
   6   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
   5   Jaali Winters   2015-Pres.
   2   Jessica Houts   2005-09
   2   Taryn Kloth   2015-Pres.
   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

Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 110-96 in the 70 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 53-27 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 90-63 in 55 regular-season tournaments, including 14 titles.
   Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.
   Last year marked the first time since 2004 that Creighton won back-to-back regular-season tournament titles in the same season (something CU has also done this fall), and was also the first time Creighton has won three tourney titles in the same regular-season.
   Creighton won its first tournament title of 2018 by sweeping all three matches at the SMU DoubleTree Classic in Dallas on Aug. 31-Sept. 1, and also claimed the Bluejay Invitational crowd from Sept. 7-9.

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 325-2 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

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 plays 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 meet 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   ???

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.

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 18 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, UTSA, 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.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 270-10 (.964) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 213-4 mark (.982) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 140-2 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 13-193 (.063) all-time when trailing a match 0-2. Those 13 comebacks in program history from down 0-2 are listed below.
Date   Opponent   Sets 3-5 scores   Coach
09/19/97   at Bradley   15-11, 15-13, 15-8   Wallace
10/01/99   at Drake   15-6, 17-15, 15-11   Wallace
09/03/04   vs. Montana   30-20, 30-21, 15-11   Booth
10/15/04   at Bradley   30-22, 30-23, 15-11   Booth
10/15/05   at So. Illinois   30-25, 30-24, 15-8   Booth
09/21/07   at No. Iowa   31-29, 30-26, 15-12   Booth
11/16/12   at Wichita St.   25-16, 25-20, 16-14   Booth
09/05/14   vs. No. Iowa   25-16, 25-22, 15-5   Booth
11/08/14   at Butler   25-16, 25-20, 15-13   Booth
09/20/15   Kansas State   25-23, 26-24, 15-13   Booth
10/09/15   DePaul   25-21, 25-12, 15-11   Booth
11/20/15   at Georgetown   30-28, 26-24, 15-7   Booth
10/13/17   Butler   25-21, 25-23, 15-9   Booth

Set 1 Result A Strong Indicator
Creighton is 268-30 (.899) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 57-134 (.298) 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 80-2 in its last 82 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 5-2 when winning the first set and 3-2 when dropping the opener.
   Creighton has won 47 straight matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.

Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 53-29 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 12 of its last 16 true road matches to go five sets, including wins in 2012 over league rivals Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State, wins in 2013 at Denver and at Wichita State, wins in 2014 at Butler and at St. John's, a win at Georgetown in 2015, an NCAA Tournament win at No. 4 Kansas in 2016 and 2017 victories at Butler, Georgetown and Marquette.
   It's also worth noting that Creighton is 11-3 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
   Below is a list of Creighton's record in five-set matches on a yearly basis:
Year   Set 5 W-L   Total W-L
1994   0-2   5-20
1995   0-2   11-19
1996   2-6   9-19
1997   3-5   15-13
1998   2-3   7-18
1999   3-3   13-15
2000   3-3   16-12
2001   1-1   14-13
2002   1-3   3-23
2003   5-1   12-18
2004   4-0   18-11
2005   3-1   16-14
2006   4-2   21-10
2007   2-0   21-10
2008   2-3   18-9
2009   1-4   14-17
2010   3-3   21-12
2011   5-2   17-14
2012   4-1   29-4
2013   3-2   23-9
2014   3-2   25-9
2015   5-2   27-9
2016   4-3   29-7
2017   4-1   26-7
2018   1-2   8-4
Total   68-57   418-316

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.

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.

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 15 straight appearances 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 57-3 against BIG EAST opposition, including a 6-0 mark in league tournament play.

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 will face this season include Madison Lilley (Kentucky), Carlyle Nusbaum (Lipscomb) and Jenna Rosenthal (Marquette).

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 9-of-12 opponents so far this fall, and one more this week.
   After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 75-94 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   5-4
TOTAL   78-129
TOTAL Under Booth   75-94

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 Booth became Creighton Volleyball's winningest coach in the program's modern history on August 26, 2007, and hasn't let up.
   Booth won her 300th match at CU on Sept. 24 vs. Villanova, and now owns 325 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank sixth 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*
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball   327
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball   325*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball   312*
*still active coaching at Creighton

All They Do Is Win
Creighton owns a 115-36 record since the start of the 2014 season. On a national basis, the 115 wins are tied for 10th-most.
Most Wins, Since 2014 (through 9/9)
   Rank   School   Wins
   1.   Western Kentucky   131
   2.   Penn State   130
   3.   BYU   127
       Nebraska   127
   5.   Washington   124
   6.   Stanford   122
   7.   Florida   119
   8.   Dayton   118
   9.   Texas   116
   10.   Creighton   115
       Colorado State   115
   12.   Wisconsin   114
   13.   Minnesota   112
   14.   American   111
       North Dakota   111
   16.   Towson   109

Last Year Summary
Creighton went 26-7 last fall, winning the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles for the fourth straight season. The Bluejays earned the No. 9 national seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosted for the first time, defeating Coastal Carolina before falling to No. 12 Michigan State in the second round.
   Lydia Dimke, Brittany Witt and Marysa Wilkinson were named honorable mention All-Americans by the AVCA and joined by Jaali Winters as First Team All-BIG EAST honorees.
   Creighton won each of the first three tournaments of the season, picking up wins over No. 3 Washington, No. 7 Kansas and No. 13 Kentucky along the way.

This and That
Amaze your friends and neighbors with these nuggets...
• The last three polls have marked the first time since Nov. 26, 2007 that two BIG EAST teams are both in the top-25 of the same AVCA poll. On that occasion in 2007, St. John's was ranked 18th and Louisville ranked 24th. Currently Creighton is ranked 10th and Marquette 21st.
• Creighton has won five sets this season after an opponent owned a set point.
• Sunday's match vs. Marquette will be Creighton's 100th against a BIG EAST foe since joining the league in the summer of 2013. Creighton is 79-9 in league play and 9-1 in conference tournament action, good for an 88-10 combined mark.
• Off to an 8-4 start this fall, Creighton's improved to 418-316 in program history. It marks the first time that CU has been more than 102 wins over .500, an impressive feat considering the program was 59 matches under .500 before Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival.
• With a win on Sunday, Creighton will have 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.
• All four of Creighton's seniors will graduate in December.

#10 Volleyball Opens BIG EAST Play with Home 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