Erica Kostelac
Photo by: Corey Solotorovsky
#14 Volleyball Starts BIG EAST Road Schedule This Weekend
10/1/2019 8:30:00 PM | Volleyball
Bluejays visit St. John's and Seton Hall
Download Notes as a PDF
This Weekend
Oct. 4 6 pm CST #14 Creighton at St. John's Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena) | VIDEO | STATS
Oct. 5 6 pm CST #14 Creighton at Seton Hall South Orange, N.J. (Walsh Gymnasium) | VIDEO | STATS
This Week
No. 14 Creighton (9-3, 2-0 BIG EAST) plays the first two of its league-high 10 road matches of the regular-season this weekend when it ventures to the East Coast for a pair of BIG EAST battles.
The Bluejays put their 21-match BIG EAST win streak in regular-season play on the line on Friday in Queens, N.Y., when they take on St. John's (9-6, 1-1 BIG EAST) in a 6 p.m. CST match-up at Carnesecca Arena.
Creighton then meets up with Seton Hall (5-11, 0-2 BIG EAST) on Saturday evening in another 6 p.m. CST contest from Walsh Gymnasium in South Orange, N.J.
Broadcast Information
Both matches this weekend will have free video webcasts.
Friday's contest at St. John's will air on ESPN3 at http://www.espn.com/watch?id=c2986acc-de7a-4cc3-ab6a-af614a05e185.
Saturday's match at Seton Hall is free to watch and will air on the Pirate Sports Network at SHUPirates.com/watch.
Exact links to both broadcasts can be found on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Live Stats Information
All Creighton home matches will have free live stats at http://creighton.statbroadcast.com.
Fans can also find links to road matches on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting #14 Creighton
Creighton is 9-3 after a grueling non-conference schedule that's featured five top-20 teams and a true road match against defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa.
CU started 0-2 with losses to No. 2 Nebraska (3-1) and No. 20 Baylor (3-0) in Lincoln before bouncing back with nine wins in 10 September matches, including victories over No. 12 Kentucky (3-1) and No. 15 USC (3-1).
With All-BIG EAST setter Madelyn Cole (10.45 aps., 2.84 dps., 0.27 saps.) directing the offense, five women are averaging multiple kills per set for the Bluejays.
Keeley Davis is a four-time reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and leads CU with 2.86 kills per set. She's supported by fellow attackers Jaela Zimmerman (2.75 kps.), Erica Kostelac (2.57 kps.), Naomi Hickman (2.11 kps., .337%) and Megan Ballenger (2.16 kps., .327%, 1.05 bps.). Zimmerman was named MVP of the Creighton Classic on Sept. 21, while Hickman was named MVP of the UNI Tournament on Sept. 7.
Three-time Preseason All-BIG EAST libero Brittany Witt (4.89 dps.) anchors the defense.
Creighton was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference behind current No. 10 Marquette.
Creighton averages 13.52 kills, 14.98 digs, 1.90 blocks and 1.43 aces per set on .244 hitting.
The Bluejays went 29-5 last season, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament, in a season that saw the Bluejays win the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles for the fifth straight season. Gone are three starters, including All-American outside hitters Taryn Kloth (4.15 kps., .283%) and Jaali Winters (3.82 kps., 3.06 dps.).
Scouting St. John's
St. John's is 9-6 on the season, with five losses against teams that have been ranked at some point this season. The Red Storm opened BIG EAST play last weekend with a 3-1 win at DePaul before falling 3-1 in a loss at No. 10 Marquette.
Efrosini Alexakou (3.98 kps.), Klara Mikelova (2.82 kps.) and Rachele Rastelli (2.94) are among the top offensive trios in the BIG EAST.
All-BIG EAST setter Erica Di Maulo (9.83 aps.) directs the offense, and 2018 BIG EAST Libero of the Year Amanda Sanabia (3.75 dps.) leads the defense.
As a team, St. John's averages 13.34 kills, 1.43 aces, 12.47 digs and 2.18 blocks per set on .238 hitting.
Scouting Seton Hall
Seton Hall is 5-11 this season and 0-2 in BIG EAST action. The Pirates own wins over Binghamton, Iona, St. Francis (PA), William & Mary and George Mason.
Haylee Gasser (2.78 kps.), Julia Wilkins (2.21 kps.) and Amanda Rachwal (2.07 kps.) pace the Pirates in kills per set, and Elizabeth Sottung (0.32 saps.) leads the club in aces per set.
Maggie Cvelbar (7.43 aps.) and Grace Rosenberg (5.61 aps.) have each seen extensive time at setter, and Raygan Murray (4.14 dps.) is the team's libero.
The Pirates average 11.20 kills, 15.49 digs, 1.55 blocks and 1.33 aces per set on .162 hitting.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 355-168 record in her 17th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to five straight BIG EAST titles, and six league crowns in the last seven 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 eight NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last eight 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. St. John's
Creighton leads the all-time series with St. John's by an 11-1 margin, including a 6-0 record in Queens.
St. John's lone win in the series came in 2013 in Omaha, as the Red Storm handed Creighton its first five-set home loss inside D.J. Sokol Arena. Since then, Creighton has won the last 11 meetings in the series, winning 33-of-38 sets.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 11-1 vs. St. John's and coach Joanne Persico.
Series History vs. Seton Hall
Creighton is 11-3 all-time against Seton Hall, and 4-2 in South Orange. The Bluejays have won 10 straight meetings in the series, including eight consecutive sweeps.
The Pirates are one of two (Villanova) BIG EAST teams to beat Creighton multiple times since the start of the 2014 season, with CU going 10-2 against the Pirates and 85-3 against everyone else.
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 55-5 in the month of November.
Since the start of the 2014 season, Creighton is a combined 80-5 in the months of October (41-3) and November (39-2).
It's About Time
Both of Creighton's road matches this weekend will take place in the Eastern time zone, but history suggests the travel hasn't been an issue.
Creighton has gone 25-1 in its last 26 matches in the Eastern time zone.
Hall Pass
Creighton has won 26 straight sets against Seton Hall, outscoring the Pirates 651-460 in that time. The Hall has scored more than 19 points in just nine of those 26 sets.
Creighton has outblocked SHU 82.5 - 27.5 in those 26 sets, and out-aced the Pirates 43-9.
As seen in the chart below, the team with more aces in the Creighton/Seton Hall series is 14-0 all-time, while the team with more blocks is 13-0-1 all-time in the series.
Date Result Aces Blocks 11/03/13 CU 3-0 CU 3-1 CU 12.5-8.0
11/16/13 SHU 3-1 SHU 6-2 SHU 16.0-14.0
10/10/14 SHU 3-2 SHU 9-3 SHU 22.0-14.0
11/23/14 SHU 3-0 SHU 2-0 SHU 13.0-7.0
11/29/14 CU 3-1 CU 2-0 CU 18.0-8.0
09/25/15 CU 3-1 CU 5-5 CU 11.0-8.0
10/31/15 CU 3-0 CU 4-2 CU 9.0-6.0
10/16/16 CU 3-0 CU 3-1 CU 13.0-3.0
10/28/16 CU 3-0 CU 5-1 CU 11.0-2.0
11/25/16 CU 3-0 CU 6-0 CU 7.0-4.0
09/29/17 CU 3-0 CU 4-0 CU 7.5-2.5
10/22/17 CU 3-0 CU 6-0 CU 7.0-2.0
10/05/18 CU 3-0 CU 5-1 CU 12.0-2.0
11/03/18 CU 3-0 CU 6-0 CU 9.0-2.0
Ace Queens
One big difference in recent Creighton/Seton Hall match-ups has been the discrepancy in service aces.
In fact, Seton Hall has had just once ace in its last five meetings versus CU, with that coming by Caitlin Koska on October 5, 2018.
In those five meetings, Creighton has 27 aces and 29 errors in 366 serving attempts, while Seton Hall owns one ace and 20 service errors in 281 attempts.
Best vs. Best
St. John's and Creighton have more in common than you might think.
Both teams boast a former BIG EAST Libero of the Year. Creighton's Brittany Witt won the award in 2017, while St. John's Amanda Sanabia was recognized in 2018.
Both teams have an All-BIG EAST setter. Last year Creighton's Madelyn Cole led the league with 10.92 assists per set, while Red Storm senior Erica Di Maulo was second with 10.14 assists per set.
St. John's features reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Efrosini Alexakou, who averaged 3.57 kills per set a year ago. Creighton boasts Keeley Davis (2.86 kpg. this year), the four-time reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and a prohibitive favorite for Freshman of the Year accolades in 2019.
St. John's is coached by reigning BIG EAST Coach of the Year Joanne Persico, who led the Red Storm to a third-place finish in league play a year ago. Creighton is led by Kirsten Bernthal Booth, who has led the Bluejays to five straight league titles and was the 2018 AVCA East Region Coach of the Year. Booth was also recognized as the 2015 and 2016 BIG EAST Coach of the Year.
Match 1 of Weekend vs. Match 2
One of the challenges of going on the road in the BIG EAST is typically having to play matches on back-to-back days, without the benefit of a travel day in between that Creighton opponents are afforded when they come to Omaha.
Creighton, however, has managed to enjoy success, regardless of when it plays on the road.
Since joining the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton is 45-7 in league road matches. That includes a 19-6 mark in its first game of the weekend, and a 24-1 record (with 21 straight wins) when playing a second day in a row. CU is also 2-0 in single matches against travel partners that don't have an accompanying match.
Creighton is also 54-2 in league home matches, including a 23-1 mark (with 21 straight wins) when playing the first match of a three-day weekend, as well as a 23-1 mark (with 16 straight wins) when playing two days later. Creighton is also 2-0 when playing a solo home match, and 3-0-0 both on day one and day two when playing on consecutive days at home without a break.
Davis Honored For Fourth Straight Week
Creighton's Keeley Davis has earned her fourth consecutive BIG EAST Freshman of the Week award on October 1st, making her the first Creighton Volleyball player in history to be honored with a league award in four straight weeks.
Davis also becomes the only volleyball student-athlete since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in 2013 to win any league award four weeks in a row.
Davis led Creighton in kills and tied for first in aces during her first weekend of BIG EAST competition, averaging 3.71 points, 3.00 kills, 0.71 digs and 0.57 aces per set on .220 hitting.
The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native opened her week with eight kills, three digs and three service aces in a 3-0 sweep of Villanova.
She then had a team-best 13 kills, adding two digs, two blocks and an ace, in a 3-1 victory over Georgetown. Six of her 13 kills came in the fourth set, including each of CU's final four points.
Davis leads the Bluejays with 126 kills and 14 aces this season.
Davis & Ballenger Honored By BIG EAST
Megan Ballenger and Keeley Davis have been honored by the BIG EAST Conference as the league's Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, on Sept. 24.
Ballenger averaged 3.00 points, 2.83 blocks, 1.33 kills and 0.50 digs per set to help Creighton to a pair of 3-0 sweeps and the Creighton Classic title.
Ballenger tied her career-high in a 3-0 sweep of Wichita State with eight blocks, part of a defensive effort that held Wichita State to .011 hitting. She added five kills, two digs and an assist.
Two days later, Ballenger set a new career-high with nine blocks in a 3-0 sweep over Wyoming to clinch the Creighton Classic crown. She added three kills and a dig as the Cowgirls hit just .055.
Davis had the best weekend of her young career, earning All-Tournament Team honors at the Creighton Classic after averaging 3.67 kills, 1.00 digs, 0.83 blocks and 0.67 aces per set on .327 hitting in 3-0 wins over Wichita State and Wyoming.
Davis had 12 kills on .409 hitting in Creighton's 3-0 win over Wichita State, adding two blocks, two digs and an ace. She followed that up with 10 kills, four digs, three blocks and three aces in a 3-0 victory over Wyoming in the title match of the Creighton Classic as she hit .273.
Davis surpassed the 100 kill mark in the win over Wyoming, tied for the third-quickest player to that milestone in program history.
It was the third straight week that Davis has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, something only Jaali Winters (in 2015) has done in program history.
League Opener Histories
Last Friday's win over DePaul improved Creighton to a 18-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 15-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 6-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and six straight wins.
Each of the previous six times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), the Bluejays went on to win both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, going a combined 102-6 in regular-season league action (and 12-0 in league tournament action) during those years.
In the 17 previous seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and it owns a combined .745 (228-78) 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 now 21-5 overall and 15-2 under Booth, with nine straight wins.
In league road openers, Creighton is 16-9 overall and 13-3 under Booth, with five straight wins entering Friday.
What's The Difference?
En route to its league titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, Creighton compiled an 85-5 record in BIG EAST regular-season play. The Jays won those five titles by a combined 12.5 games over their nearest competitors, meaning if you took the record for the best second-place club each year they'd be 72-17.
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
For the second straight season, Creighton was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST. Last year CU was picked second and went 18-0 in league play en route to a fifth straight regular-season title.
This year a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches tabbed Marquette the favorite with 80 points and eight first-place votes, edging out Creighton's 73 points and two first-place votes. St. John's was picked third in the league's preseason poll, with Villanova fourth and Butler fifth. Rounding out the poll are Georgetown, DePaul, Seton Hall, Xavier and Providence.
Creighton also had three women named to the 12 member on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as Megan Ballenger, Madelyn Cole and Brittany Witt were all honored. It was the third straight preseason honor for Witt.
Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 14 of 16 years under Booth, including eight years where it's finished exactly where it was picked.
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 1st #1
2019 2nd TBD TBD
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 own 109 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 19 more wins than Marquette for most in the league as of Monday.
CU still has not lost to four league foes (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence, Xavier) since joining the BIG EAST, and Seton Hall (3), Marquette (3) and Villanova (2) are the only BIG EAST programs to top the Bluejays multiple times since 2013.
Opponent Reg. Season BE Tourney Total
Butler 11-1 - 11-1
DePaul 12-0 - 12-0
Georgetown 13-0 - 13-0
Marquette 10-2 3-1 13-3
Providence 10-0 - 10-0
Seton Hall 9-3 2-0 11-3
St. John's 11-1 - 11-1
Villanova 11-2 3-0 14-2
Xavier 12-0 3-0 15-0
Total 99-9 11-1 110-10
Any Venue Will Do
Since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton has a .667 winning percentage 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) 82-14
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
5 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
With its 2018 title, Creighton became the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win five straight outright regular-season titles.
No team had won five straight regular-season BIG EAST titles (including shares) since Notre Dame won seven in a row from 1999-2005.
The only other team in Creighton history to win five 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.
5 Straight BIG EAST Championship Titles Too
Creighton won its fifth straight BIG EAST Championship title in 2018, becoming the first team to do so since Pittsburgh's seven straight league tournament titles from 1988-94.
Creighton is the only school in the country to win a league tournament each of the last five seasons.
Creighton is 11-1 all-time in six 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 in a league tournament after appearing in just 4-of-9 tournaments prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival.
Home Sweet Home
Creighton has gone unbeaten at home in league play in five of its previous seven seasons (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018).
Creighton is 54-2 all-time (.964) 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 85-7 (.924) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility, including 39 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 13 seasons (entering 2019). That streak that dates back to its days at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, a site that was torn down three years ago and no longer exists.
Ran The Table, Again
Creighton tied the BIG EAST record for the best record in league history with an 18-0 mark last fall, matching the mark first done by the 2016 Bluejay club.
Creighton's 18-0 mark in 2016 made CU the first team to finish BIG EAST play unbeaten since Notre Dame went 14-0 in 2009.
Here's a look at the most consecutive wins to start league play in BIG EAST history:
Consecutive Wins To Start BIG EAST Play
Wins School Year Final W-L
18 Creighton 2016 18-0
18 Creighton 2018 18-0
14 St. John's 2006 14-0
14 Notre Dame 2009 14-0
13 Louisville 2007 13-1
Sweeeeeeeeeep!!!
Creighton swept 14-of-18 matches at all sites in BIG EAST play last season, and has swept 13 of its last 15 regular-season home matches against league foes dating to 2017.
During Creighton's 39-match home winning streak in league play, the Bluejays have dropped only 15 (of 132) sets at home, with nine of those setbacks coming in set two.
Creighton is 36-3 in set one, 30-9 in set two, 37-2 in set three, 10-1 in set four and 4-0 in set five during that home streak in league play, which means they are 77-5 in sets that they spend at least some time on the south bench.
During this 39-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 108 all-time regular-season BIG EAST matches at all sites, Creighton is 60-4 in three-set matches, 28-2 in four-set matches and 11-3 in five-set contests.
BEDN Brings Out The Best In the Bluejays
Next Saturday's match at Marquette will appear on BIG EAST Digital Network.
Since the network originated in 2014, Creighton is 24-1 on BEDN. Five of those victories came in five sets.
Nice Work, Ace
In 20 regular-season league matches since the start of last fall, Creighton allowed three aces or less in 17 of them, and one ace or less in nine of them.
Creighton served more aces than its opponent in 18-of-20 league matches in that time, and was tied on one other occasion.
The Bluejays have won 79 consecutive matches against BIG EAST foes when owning more aces than its competition since a Nov. 1, 2013 loss to St. John's.
Witt Keeps On Digging
Senior Brittany Witt has four matches this fall with 20 or more matches, giving her 22 for her career.That ranks fourth-most in program history.
Matches With 20+ Digs, Career
20+D Name Years
41 Kate Elman 2012-15
32 Julianne Mandolfo 2010-11
27 Bianca Rivera 2007-08
22 Brittany Witt 2016-Pres.
20 Janeen Piller 2001-04
19 Nayka Benitez 2009-10
Jays On A Roll
Dating to last season, Creighton has won 21 straight league contests, the program's second-longest conference streak ever.
The last BIG EAST team to defeat CU was Villanova on Nov. 17, 2017.
Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins
Wins Dates Snapped By League
28 Oct. 31, 2015-Sept. 30, 2017 at Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
21 Nov. 18, 2017-Present ??? BIG EAST
14 Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012 Never (left MVC) MVC
BIG EAST's Best
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, 2017 and 2018.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team (through Oct. 1, 2019) since the league's reconfiguration in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013 (through 10/1)
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (6) 99 9 168 49
Marquette (6) 87 21 158 54
Xavier 68 39 105 93
Butler 59 47 111 88
Seton Hall (1) 55 52 105 101
Villanova (1) 56 53 114 87
St. John's 48 60 116 96
Georgetown 28 81 72 126
DePaul 21 88 71 124
Providence* 12 80 59 116
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 and
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.
All-Tourney Trio in Omaha
Three Bluejays were named to the All-Tournament Team at the Creighton Classic -- Jaela Zimmerman, Madelyn Cole and Keeley Davis.
Zimmerman took home MVP honors after averaging 4.50 kills per set on .404 hitting. She had a career-high 16 kills vs. Wyoming. It's the first All-Tournament Team and MVP honor of the sophomore's career.
Cole was recognized after averaging 10.83 assists, 2.50 digs and 1.33 blocks per set in two wins. It's her second All-Tournament Team accolade this fall, and the fourth of her career.
Davis averaged 3.67 kills per set and hit .327 to earn the first All-Tournament Team recognition in her young career.
Iron Woman Witt
Brittany Witt has played in all 408 sets that Creighton's participated in since enrolling on campus in the fall of 2016.
Witt is just the fourth woman in program history to have played in every set the team has played in over any four-year span; Lauren Smith (511 from 2013-16), Megan Bober (480 from 2009-12) and Korie Lebeda (428 from 2005-08).
Newcomers Unite
Newcomers Keeley Davis (126) and Erica Kostelac (113) rank first and third on the 2019 Creighton team in kills as each woman bids to become the first newcomer to lead CU in kills since Jaali Winters in 2015.
Davis has 10 or more kills in nine different matches thus far, joining JoDe Cieloha (1994) are the only other player to start their Creighton careers with double-figure kills in nine of their first 12 contests.
No Bluejay player has ever had 10+ kills in 10-of-13 matches to start a career, something Davis can accomplish this weekend.
Winters is the only player with 10+ kills in 10-of-14 matches to start a career. No one has ever done it in 11-of-14 matches.
Only JoDe & Jaali More Quickly Than Keeley
Keeley Davis surpassed the 100 kill milestone during the 10th match of her career on Sept. 21 vs. Wyoming.
Only two women in program history have gotten there in fewer matches, JoDe Cieloha (8 matches) and Jaali Winters (9).
In case you're curious, Winters owns the mark for fastest to 200 kills, needing 15 matches.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
JoDe Cieloha 8 09/23/94 at Drake
Jaali Winters 9 9/12/15 Pacific
Melissa Walsh 10 09/26/98 at Bradley
Carolyn Decker 10 09/18/04 Illinois State
Keeley Davis 10 09/21/19 Wyoming
Allie Oelke 11 09/15/07 vs. Charlotte
Homestand Ended on Sunday
Creighton wrapped up a seven-match homestand on Sunday vs. Georgetown, going 6-1.
It was the third-longest streak of home matches in program history for one season.
The 2015 team had nine home matches in a row from Sept. 11-27, while the 2018 club closed the year with eight straight home contests.
September To Remember
Creighton went 9-1 in September. It was just the second month in program history with a .900 winning percentage or better in 10+ matches, joining October of 2015.
Best Winning Percentage, Month (Min. 10 Matches)
Pct. W-L Month, Year
.909 10-1 October 2015
.900 9-1 September 2019
.818 9-2 September, 2018
.769 10-3 September 2006
.750 9-3 September, 2012
Ballenger Can Block
Megan Ballenger tied her career-high with eight blocks on Sept. 19 vs. Wichita State, then established a new best with nine rejections two days later vs. Wyoming.
Ballenger, now owns 314 blocks in her career after averaging a whopping 2.83 blocks per set during the Creighton Classic.
She became the first Bluejay with eight or more blocks in consecutive contests since Kelli Browning did so on Oct. 3-4, 2014.
Another Strong Start
Creighton is off to its first 9-3 start since the 2013 campaign, and with a win on Friday will start 10-3 or better through 13 contests for the first time since 2012 saw the Jays open 29-3.
Here's how this year compares to Creighton's last two teams, statistically, after 12 matches:
Year 2017 2018 2019
Match W-L 8-4 8-4 9-3
Set W-L 28-14 29-16 29-15
vs. Top-25 3-3 1-3 2-3
Tourney Titles 3 2 2
Kills/Set 13.67 13.96 13.52
Hitting % .257 .229 .244
Aces/Set 1.38 1.20 1.43
Digs/Set 15.19 16.89 14.98
Blocks/Set 2.18 2.21 1.90
Kill/Set Leader Winters, 3.21 Kloth, 4.24 Davis, 2.86
Dig/Set Leader Witt, 3.90 Witt, 4.60 Witt, 4.89
Davis Repeats As Freshman of the Week
Keeley Davis repeated as BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Sept. 17 after averaging 2.82 kills, 1.00 digs, 0.45 blocks and 0.18 aces per set on .239 hitting to help Creighton to a runner-up finish at the Bluejay Invitational.
Davis hit a season-best .500 with seven kills in 14 swings against Nebraska-Omaha on Friday, then added 10 kills, six digs, three blocks and an ace in a 3-1 victory over Drake.
The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native wrapped up the weekend with a season-best 14 kills against No. 12 Washington, adding four digs and a block.
Davis is the fourth player in program history to win BIG EAST Freshman of the Week accolades in consecutive weeks. Megan Ballenger did it Sept. 12 & 19, 2016; Brittany Witt did it Oct. 10 & 17, 2016, and Jaali Winters did it three weeks in a row on Sept. 28, Oct. 5 & Oct. 12 in 2015, as well as two straight weeks on Nov. 10 & 16, 2015.
Non-Conference Comes to a Close
Armed with a 7-3 mark, Creighton finished non-conference play with a record of .500 or better for the fifth straight year, no small feat considering the degree of difficulty that head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth regularly challenges her team with prior to league play.
This season also clinched a 10th straight campaign of five or more non-league victories.
All-Tourney Duo
Brittany Witt and Erica Kostelac were each named to the All-Tournament Team on Sept. 14 at the Bluejay Invitational.
Witt led CU with 53 digs (4.82 dps.) and shared team-best honors with Kostelac with four service aces. It's the second All-Tourney Team accolade this fall (Husker Invitational), and sixth of her career.
Kostelac hit .321 while topping the Bluejays with 36 kills (3.27 kps.), recording 10 or more kills in each contest. It's her first honor as a Bluejay.
Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won nine matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point, including last 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 355-2 under Booth when it reaches a match 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
Booth Earns 350th Win at Creighton
Kirsten Bernthal Booth picked up her 350th victory at Creighton on Sept. 13 with a 3-0 triumph over Nebraska-Omaha. The victory gave her a record of 350-167.
Booth has beaten 89 different schools while at Creighton, adding USC, Nebraska-Omaha and Wyoming this season.
Here's a look at Booth's record at the time of some of her milestone victories at Creighton:
W-L Opponent Date
1-1 vs. Auburn (in Ames, Iowa) 08/30/03
50-43 Jacksonville State 09/01/06
100-71 at Drake 10/31/08
150-108 Illinois State 09/30/11
200-123 Xavier 10/18/13
250-144 at Xavier 10/17/15
300-157 Villanova 09/24/17
350-167 Nebraska-Omaha 09/13/19
Can You Dig It?
Senior Brittany Witt ranks second in Creighton history on the all-time digs chart as she continues her pursuit of predecessor Kate Elman's record of 2,054.
Most Career Digs, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Kate Elman 464 2,054 2012-15
2. Brittany Witt 408 1,749 2016-Pr.
3. Janeen Piller 336 1,392 2001-04
4. Jaali Winters 494 1,386 2015-18
5. Allie Oelke 445 1,382 2007-10
Witt Closes In On 100 Aces
With two more service winners senior libero Brittany Witt can become CU's seventh player to reach 100 aces in a career.
Witt has played in 115 matches to date and stands to become the fifth-fastest Bluejay player to reach the century mark.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Aces (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Molly Moran 73 08/31/01 vs. DePaul
Melissa Weisensee 77 11/01/96 Southern Illinois
JoDe Cieloha 85 09/06/97 at UNLV
Shelly Kapler 95 10/15/99 Bradley
Kate Elman 120 11/15/15 Butler
Jaali Winters 135 11/17/18 Providence
Most Career Service Aces, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Molly Moran 341 145 1998-01
2. Melissa Weisensee 411 125 1994-97
3. JoDe Cieloha 398 113 1994-97
4. Kate Elman 464 105 2012-15
5. Shelly Kapler 388 104 1996-99
6. Jaali Winters 494 101 2015-18
7. Brittany Witt 408 98 2016-Pr.
8. Carolyn Decker 300 89 2004-08
9. Allie Oelke 445 86 2007-10
Megan Bober 480 86 2009-12
Just A Few Streaks...
- Creighton has won 70 straight matches against unranked teams when winning set one.
- Creighton has won 54 straight home matches against unranked teams.
- Creighton has won 28 matches in a row against teams that enter the match with a record below .500.
Hickman Earns Two Honors
Naomi Hickman entered September with a career-high of nine kills, only to reel off double-figure kills in each match of the UNI Tournament en route to MVP honors.
Hickman opened her month with a career-high 17 kills in CU's win over No. 12 Kentucky on Sept. 6, hitting .640 in 25 swings.
Hickman then had 10 kills during the victory over Northern Iowa before wrapping up the weekend with 11 kills in 15 errorless swings as she hit .733 in the victory over No. 15 USC.
For the weekend, Hickman averaged 2.92 kills per set and hit .465 with 38 kills in 71 swings against just five attack errors.
The rosters of the four teams in the UNI Tournament featured 10 players who have previously been named All-Americans by the AVCA.
For her efforts, Hickman was also named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week.
Friday Night Fun?
September 6 was a special day for the Creighton Volleyball and Men's Soccer programs, as both teams picked up top-25 victories. Volleyball beat No. 12 Kentucky in the afternoon before the men's soccer program downed No. 21 Akron at night.
In school history, Creighton has picked up wins over ranked men's soccer and volleyball teams on the same day just three times.
Last year on Aug. 24, the men's soccer team defeated No. 11 Clemson, 2-0, and No. 13 Bluejay Volleyball beat #5 Kentucky, 3-2.
The first time it happened occurred on Aug. 30, 2013, when men's soccer beat No. 14 Tulsa 2-0 and volleyball knocked off No. 13 BYU, 3-1.
The Gauntlet
Creighton played five different non-conference teams that were in the top-25 of the preseason AVCA coaches poll. That was tied for the third-most of any team in the nation, and trailed only preseason No. 1 Stanford and Wichita State's six. Among the other teams with five ranked non-conference foes are 2019 Bluejay opponents Kentucky, Northern Iowa and Washington.
The Bluejays met up with preseason No. 2 Nebraska, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 13 Washington, No. 14 USC and No. 20 Baylor in 2019.
This is the seventh straight season that Creighton will face four or more non-conference foes that are in the preseason Top 25.
The three teams to have beaten Creighton this season are a combined 31-3 and are currently ranked No. 1 (Baylor), No. 2 (Nebraska) and No. 8 (Washington).
Offensive Parity
Creighton has five women with between 93 and 126 kills this season after 12 matches, yet another example of the program's offensive parity.
En route to the title at the UNI Tournament on Sept. 13-14, Megan Ballenger, Keeley Davis, Naomi Hickman and Erica Kostelac each had 10 or more kills in all three matches.
Five Bluejays are currently averaging between 2.11 and 2.86 kills per set. CU hasn't had five players average at least 2.20 kills per set for a full season since 2005 (Leah Ratzlaff, Kelly Goc, Jessica Houts, Abby Baumann and Amanda Cvejdlik).
Hickman & Davis Honored by BIG EAST
Creighton Volleyball's Naomi Hickman and Keeley Davis were honored by the BIG EAST Conference as Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week, respectively, on Sept. 10th.
The Bluejay duo helped Creighton to the UNI Tournament title in Cedar Falls in victories over No. 12 Kentucky, defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa and No. 15 USC.
Hickman shared team-high honors with 38 kills in 13 sets (2.92 kps.) and hit .465 while earning MVP honors of the UNI Tournament. She entered the week with a career-high of nine kills, only to reach double-figures in all three matches in Cedar Falls. She posted 17 kills on .640 hitting in the Bluejay victory over Kentucky, adding three blocks and two digs. The Lawrence, Kan., native then added 10 kills and four blocks in CU's 3-2 triumph over Northern Iowa on Friday night. She capped her weekend with 11 kills in 15 errorless swings, hitting a career-best .733, in the Bluejays' first win over USC in program history. Hickman added nine blocks (0.69 bps.), four digs (0.31 dps.) and an ace (0.08) on the weekend.
It's the first time Hickman has earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors, though she was recognized on Sept. 4, 2018 as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week.
Davis averaged 2.96 points, 2.62 kills, 0.85 digs, 0.38 blocks and 0.15 aces per set on .168 hitting over the weekend, owning double-figure kills in each contest. Her week started with 12 kills in a win over No. 12 Kentucky, as she added two blocks and a dig in the win over the Wildcats. The redshirt freshman then had 10 kills, three blocks and a season-high seven digs to help the Jays topple longtime nemesis Northern Iowa in five sets before closing the weekend with 12 kills, three blocks and an ace on .296 hitting in a victory over No. 15 USC. Davis' kill on match point against the Trojans clinched the tournament title.
It was the first on-court recognition from the BIG EAST for Davis.
All-Tourney Trio
Junior middle blocker Naomi Hickman was named Most Valuable Player of the UNI Tournament and joined on the All-Tournament team by Creighton teammates Megan Ballenger and Madelyn Cole.
The trio were key cogs in Creighton's 3-0 weekend that included four-set wins over No. 12 Kentucky and No. 15 USC, as well as a 3-2 win against tournament host and defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa.
Hickman and Ballenger shared team-high honors with 38 kills in 13 sets (2.92 kps.). Hickman hit .465 while Ballenger hit .437 as the Bluejay middle blocking duo dominated all weekend long. Cole quarterbacked a Bluejay offense that hit .266 on the weekend, dishing 153 assists in 13 sets (11.77 aps.). Cole also hit .455 in 22 swings and contributed 39 digs (3.00 dps.), 11 blocks (0.85 bps.) and two aces (0.15 saps.).
Hickman entered the week with a career-high of nine kills, only to reach double-figures in all three matches in Cedar Falls. She posted 17 kills on .640 hitting in the Bluejay victory over Kentucky, adding three blocks and two digs. Hickman then added 10 kills and four blocks in CU's 3-2 triumph over Northern Iowa on Friday night. She capped her weekend with 11 kills in 15 errorless swings, hitting a career-best .733, in the Bluejays' first win over USC in program history.
Ballenger had 12 kills on .579 hitting in the victory over Kentucky, adding five blocks. She then finished with 10 kills and a pair of blocks while hitting at a .348 clip later that night vs. UNI. Ballenger then tied her career-high with 16 kills in the title game victory over USC, hitting .414 in the process.
Cole had double-doubles in all three matches. She had 53 assists, 14 digs and five blocks as CU hit .319 in the win vs. Kentucky. Cole added 48 assists and tied a season-high with 15 digs in a five-set win vs. UNI. She closed the weekend with 52 assists, 10 digs, five kills and four blocks as the Jays hit .355 in the win over USC.
Joining Hickman, Ballenger and Cole on the All-Tournament Team were Kentucky's Gabby Curry and Leah Edmond, USC's Emilia Weske and UNI's Karlie Taylor.
Top 25 x 3
Creighton was the only volleyball team in the nation to start the season by playing three different ranked teams, as it met No. 2 Nebraska, No. 20 Baylor and No. 12 Kentucky.
Illinois also opened with three straight matches against ranked teams, but two of those were against Tennessee in back-to-back contests.
This season marks the first time that Creighton's first three matches of the season have come against top-25 competition.
Top 25 x 5
Per research by Liberty SID Joe Carmany and Texas SID Jocelyn VerVelde, Creighton was one of three teams to open the year with five straight matches against teams that ended the 2018 campaign with a top-25 RPI.
USC and Texas are also among that group.
Creighton: Nebraska, Baylor, Kentucky, UNI, USC
USC: Texas State, Texas, Kentucky, UNI, Creighton
Texas: UNI, USC, Minnesota, Stanford, BYU
Top 25 Jays
Creighton remained ranked a season-best 14th in this week's AVCA poll. That means the Jays are in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 44th straight week. The streak started on Oct. 31, 2016.
Nationally, that's the 10th-longest active streak, as seen below:
Consecutive Active Weeks in AVCA Top 25
Streak Team Current Rank
548 Stanford 3
548 Nebraska 2
465 Penn State 5
438 Florida 12
242 Texas 6
97 Wisconsin 13
96 BYU 9
67 Minnesota 7
48 Kentucky 15
44 Creighton 14
Witt Honored in Lincoln
Senior Brittany Witt was Creighton's lone representative on the Husker Invitational All-Tournament Team on Aug. 31st.
A libero from Omaha, Neb., Witt had 16 digs over the course of four sets in CU's season-opener against No. 2 Nebraska, then added 15 more digs in three sets against No. 20 Baylor one night later.
For the weekend Witt averaged 4.43 digs per set and also added a total of five assists in seven sets played against top-20 competition.
The Husker Invitational marks the fifth different event that Witt has earned All-Tournament Team honors during her Bluejay career.
Baylor's Yossiana Pressley took home MVP honors and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by fellow Bears Hannah Lockin and Shelly Stafford. Nebraska's Lauren Stivrins and Kenzie Knuckles joined Witt and UCLA's Mac May, as well.
Baylor and Nebraska both went 2-0 in the event, as each team defeated Creighton and UCLA once each.
100+ Starts For Ballenger
Senior middle blocker Megan Ballenger has made 107 career starts, including each of Creighton's last 74 contests. The last time she didn't start came on Sept. 3, 2016 against USC.
Ballenger 107 career starts is tied for eighth in program history. The school record is 138 starts, set last year by Ballenger's former high school and college teammate, Jaali Winters.
Ballenger's senior teammate Madelyn Cole has made 100 career starts (including 95 straight) when you factor in 54 starts before transferring in from Marshall.
Last Year Summary
Creighton went 29-5 last fall, winning the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles for the fifth straight season. The Bluejays earned the No. 9 national seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosted for the second straight season, defeating South Dakota before falling to No. 22 Washington in the second round.
Jaali Winters was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, BIG EAST Championship MVP and a Third Team All-American after finishing with 96 school records, including Creighton's career kill mark (1,843). Winters, along with Honorable Mention All-American Taryn Kloth, were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. Joining them as First Team All-BIG EAST honorees was setter Madelyn Cole.
Creighton ranked 11th nationally in average home attendance (2,802), including a record crowd of 14,022 in a five-set match vs. Nebraska.
New Blood
Junior Naomi Hickman has started Creighton's season opener each of the past three years, and next year has a chance to become the 16th player to start four season openers.
Jaali Winters finished off the feat last fall, as seen below.
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
Select Company
The BIG EAST's Creighton and Marquette are two of 16 teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last seven NCAA Tournaments. That group features BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, USC and Washington.
Creighton is one of 13 teams to win a match in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. That group includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Purdue, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, USC, Washington and Wisconsin.
Creighton is also one of 10 teams to be in the year-end AVCA poll in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. That list includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
Creighton is one of 14 schools with seven straight seasons of 20+ wins (2012-18). That list features American, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington, Western Kentucky.
Creighton is one of just seven schools nationally who have won 23 matches or more in each of the last seven seasons (2012-18). That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford and Texas.
Ranked To Start The Year
Creighton started this season ranked No. 18 in the AVCA Coaches poll. It's the sixth time in the past seven campaigns that CU's been ranked in the preseason AVCA poll, and fourth straight fall.
Only 12 teams have been ranked in the preseason each of the last four years: BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Those same 12 teams are the only programs to be ranked in the preseason in six of the last seven campaigns.
Being ranked in the preseason poll is no guarantee of future success, however. In the last 11 seasons (including 2018), only 197-of-275 teams (71.6 percent) would be in both the preseason and postseason AVCA Top 25 polls.
Since 2008, all but 28 teams (of 275) named in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament (89.8 percent).
The only previous time that Creighton Volleyball was ranked 18th in the preseason was the 2016 campaign, which saw the Bluejays reach the Elite Eight.
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 29-5 13th
2019 18th TBD TBD
Top 25 History
Creighton is 16-78 all-time against teams in the top-25 of the AVCA poll, but 11-12 since the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
An opening-weekend 2017 win at No. 3 Washington is the highest-ranked team that the Bluejays have ever beaten, surpassing a win at No. 4 Kansas the previous December.
Creighton is 5-31 all-time against top-10 foes (5-24 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth).
Creighton lost its first 31 true road matches against top-25 foes, but has 'improved' to 5-37 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 96-25 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 12-17 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, 32 of Creighton's 53 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 183-21 against unranked teams. Creighton has won 54 straight home matches over unranked teams.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 117-99 in the 75 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 60-30 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 97-66 in 59 regular-season tournaments, including 16 titles.
Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.
Setting The Table
For just the second time in the last eight years, Creighton started the same opening day setter in consecutive seasons.
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, before graduating.
Last year Madelyn Cole started the season-opener against No. 5 Kentucky, producing a double-double in the five-set victory. She had another double-double in this year's lid-lifter against No. 2 Nebraska.
The revolving door at setter hasn't hurt the team in that time, as each of the previous seven seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and six of them saw Creighton win conference titles.
Creighton won six of those eight (including 2019) season-opening matches.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 293-10 (.967) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 236-4 mark (.983) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 163-2 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009.
Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that won the first two sets in 2018 won 94.8 percent of their matches, and have won 95.0 percent of their matches in the last 10 years.
Conversely, the Jays are 14-197 (.067) 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
Set 1 Result A Strong Indicator
Creighton is 294-30 (.907) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 61-138 (.307) under Booth when it drops the first set.
Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that lost the first set in 2018 won just 20.7 percent of their matches last season, and 20.2 percent of their matches in the previous 10 seasons.
Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 97-2 in its last 99 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 24-2 when winning the first set and 5-3 when dropping the opener.
This year's team is 7-0 when winning the first set, but is 2-3 when dropping the opener.
Creighton has won 70 straight matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.
Third Set's A Charm
One key factor to watch in 2018 was the result of the third set.
Creighton was 26-0 last season when winning the third set, but 3-4 when dropping the third set.
This year's team is 7-1 when taking the third frame, but 2-2 when losing the third set.
Since an Oct. 10, 2014 loss at Seton Hall, Creighton is a perfect 82-0 against BIG EAST teams (74-0 in the regular-season and 8-0 in league tournament play) when winning the third set.
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 56-29 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 14 of its last 18 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, a 2018 win at Butler and a Sept. 6 win at UNI this fall.
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 29-5
2019 1-0 9-3
Total 71-57 448-320
Marian Pipeline
This is the 17th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as senior Brittany Witt returns and is joined by freshman Emily Bressman. It's also the eighth straight season with multiple Marian grads.
Each of the last eight 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.
2019: Emily Bressman, Brittany Witt
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 9-of-15 letterwinners to the court from last season, including three starters and libero Brittany Witt.
From last year's team, only Samantha Bohnet, Taryn Kloth, Kelsey O'Connell, Jaali Winters, Kari Zumach (transferred to Indiana and Alexa Roumeliotis (transferred to Colorado State) are not back.
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 1485 (94.5%) 87 (5.5%)
Blocks 190 (67.7%) 90.5 (32.3%)
Aces 122 (59.8%) 82 (40.2%)
Matches Started 110 (53.9%) 94 (46.1%)
Digs 960 (49.9%) 963 (50.1%)
Points 927 (42.7%) 1246.5 (57.3%)
Kills 615 (36.4%) 1074 (63.6%)
Seven Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last seven seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men's soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008, and also reached seven straight NCAA Tournaments from 2010-16.
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Last season Creighton played 13 matches against 2017 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, going 8-5 against such teams.
This year's team is scheduled to play eight matches against teams that played in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, and currently 3-3 in those contests.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 81-98 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 8-5
2019 3-3
TOTAL 84-133
TOTAL Under Booth 81-98
The Great Eight
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has now directed her troops to eight NCAA Tournaments. That puts her in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history.
Booth is the second head coach in Creighton history to lead eight different NCAA Tournament teams, trailing only former men's soccer coach Bob Warming.
Name Sport NCAA's @CU
Bob Warming Men's Soccer 11
Kirsten Bernthal Booth Volleyball 8
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 355 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history.
Coach, Sport Victories
Brent Vigness, Softball 777*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Ed Servais, Baseball 558*
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 445*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 355*
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball 327
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 327*
*still active coaching at Creighton
All They Do Is Win
Creighton entered 2019 with a 111-28 record since the start of the 2015 season. On a national basis, the 111 wins were sixth-most, and CU's .799 win percentage was 10th-best.
Previous Four Years (2015-18)
Sorted By Wins Sorted By Win Percentage
1. 124 Nebraska 1. BYU .901 118-13
2. 118 BYU 2. Nebraska .873 124-18
3. 114 Minnesota 3. Texas .870 107-16
114 Stanford 4. Stanford .857 114-19
5. 113 Western Kentucky 5. Minnesota .851 114-20
6. 111 Creighton 6. Florida .844 108-20
111 Penn State 7. W. Kentucky .843 113-21
8. 108 Florida 8. Dayton .811 103-24
9. 107 Texas 9. Penn State .810 111-26
10. 105 Washington 10. Creighton .799 111-28
Attendance Notes
How many fans is 14,022 (a figure Creighton hosted in a match last year vs. Nebraska)? 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.
- The other nine schools in the BIG EAST last fall attracted a total of 47,821 fans in 119 home dates (402 per match), compared to 47,632 fans in Omaha in 17 home matches (2,802 per match). Multiply 402 by 34 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 18,000 fans in any season, nor averaged more than 1,100 fans per home match for a full season.
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 2018 national leaders in average home attendance.
Rank Average School
1. Nebraska 8,205
2. Wisconsin 6,595
3. Hawai'i 5,502
4. Minnesota 5,318
5. Texas 3,631
6. BYU 3,429
7. Penn State 3,346
8. Michigan State 3,069
9. Florida 2,951
10. Illinois 2,856
11. Creighton 2,802
12. Utah 2,638
Up To Speed on Seeds
Creighton is one of 12 schools to be a national seed in three of the last four NCAA Tournaments.
BYU, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford and Texas have been national seeds all four times.
Creighton, Florida, UCLA, USC, Washington and Wisconsin have each been national seeds three times in that span.
You Dig?
They say that defense wins championships, and that's certainly proven true for Creighton.
Creighton has won 81 straight matches against BIG EAST teams when winning the dig battle, a streak that dates to Oct. 10, 2014 at Seton Hall.
All but four of Creighton's last 72 matches (against all foes) have been won by the team with more digs, which goes back to Sept. 15, 2017.
Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play
Creighton collected eight non-conference wins in 2018 for the first time since the 2013 team went 9-3.
Creighton is 6-9 against ranked non-conference foes over the last three seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
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 29-5
2019 7-3 2-3 TBD
This and That
Amaze your friends and neighbors with this nugget...
• Kirsten Bernthal Booth earned AVCA East Region Coach of the Year honors in 2018. It's the third time that Booth has been recognized (also 2015 and 2016) in the East Region. She is the nation's only coach to be honored three of the last four seasons.
• This year marks the fifth straight campaign Creighton has beaten multiple top-25 programs.
• Creighton finished last season ranked 11th nationally in average home attendance (2,802).
• Naomi Hickman is averaging 2.58 kills per set while hitting .478 in five matches this season against top-20 competition.
• Last Sunday was Creighton's 150th match all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena. CU is 122-28 all-time in the facility, which opened in 2009.
• Creighton owns 448 victories since restarting its program in 1994, and can reach 450 this weekend with a pair of victories. CU owns 320 losses in the same span.
Players Mentioned
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/ VolleyballCreighton vs. Kentucky Volleyball Press Conference - 12/13/25
Sunday, December 14
Creighton Volleyball NCAA Tournament Highlights vs. Kentucky, 12/13/25
Saturday, December 13
Kentucky Volleyball Media Availability - 12/12/25
Friday, December 12
Arizona State Volleyball Press Conference After Creighton Match - 12/11/25
Thursday, December 11
