Zimmerman Powers #10 Volleyball Past Friars

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Sophomore Jaela Zimmerman had 13 kills, 12 digs and hit .520 to lead the No. 10 Creighton Volleyball team to a 3-0 win at Providence on Saturday, Oct. 26. The victory was Creighton's 29th in a row in regular-season BIG EAST play, establishing a program record.

Creighton (17-3, 10-0 BIG EAST) capped off an unbeaten October with a 25-14, 25-21, 25-16 sweep. Providence, which is winless in 12 all-time matches against the Bluejays, fell to 5-18 (0-10 BIG EAST) following its 14th consecutive setback.

Creighton hit .223 and had 40 kills, four aces, 50 digs and five blocks. Providence owned 22 kills, one ace, 43 digs, 11 blocks and hit .000 in 104 swings.

"I thought we were more energized today and obviously any time we can get out of a conference match with a road sweep we're happy," said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "We're ready to move forward to play St. John's on Friday.

Zimmerman's 13 kills tied her BIG EAST high and were three shy of her career-best as she finished with the fourth double-double of her sophomore season. Her 12 digs snapped Brittany Witt's 20-match streak of leading the Bluejays in digs. Witt finished with 11 digs, but continues to lead the BIG EAST in that category.

"Jaela did a good job of finding different areas of the court to attack, and that was important for us to have success against Providence," noted Booth.

Providence setter Allison Barber notched a double-double with 18 assists and 12 digs, adding five blocks. Addison Root paced PC with nine kills. Brielle Mullally, who had 13 kills on .391 hitting last night, was limited to two kills on 18 swings and hit -.167.

Creighton never trailed in the opening set, a 25-14 romp. The Bluejays used a 7-0 run on Keeley Davis' serve to push their lead to 22-10 and coasted to victory. Zimmerman and Erica Kostelac each had four kills in the first game, with Zimmerman adding four digs. The Friars hit -.103 with five kills and nine attack errors in 39 swings in the lid-lifter.

The second set was the tightest of the match before CU emerged as a 25-21 victor, ensuring a 19th straight BIG EAST match in which CU has led 2-0 at intermission. Zimmerman continued her steady play with four kills and five digs in set two.

Creighton quickly derailed any hopes of a Friar comeback in set three, racing to leads of 11-3 and 23-8. Providence did have a late 6-0 run to draw within nine at 23-14, but Kostelac's ninth kill a short time later closed out CU's 67th sweep in 116 all-time BIG EAST contests. Zimmerman had five kills and Witt added a pair of aces in the final set.

Creighton returns home on Friday, Nov. 1, for a 5:30 p.m. home match vs. St. John's.

NOTES: Creighton has now won 36-of-37 sets all-time against Providence ... Creighton's streak of seven straight road victories is tied for its fifth-longest streak in program history ... Creighton's 12 straight victories is tied for its fourth-longest win streak in team history ... Madelyn Cole's streak of 12 straight matches with an ace was snapped. Her streak was the second-longest ever by a Bluejay, three shy of Amanda Cvejdlik's mark ... Creighton has started 10-0 in league play for the fourth time in the last five seasons ... Creighton finished off the month of October with an 8-0 mark that included seven sweeps, as well as a 3-2 win at No. 10 Marquette ... Creighton has now won the second match when playing on the road in the BIG EAST on consecutive days 24 straight times ... Erica Kostelac surpassed 200 kills at Creighton during the match, finishing with 201. It took her 20 matches, making her the sixth-fastest Bluejay to reach that mark ... Creighton has won 89 straight matches against BIG EAST foes when winning the third set ... Creighton has won 39 in a row against unranked teams.

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Team Stats

Jaela Zimmerman

Erica Kostelac

Keeley Davis

Megan Ballenger

Players Mentioned

Madelyn Cole

Keeley Davis

Erica Kostelac

Brittany Witt

Jaela Zimmerman

Players Mentioned

Madelyn Cole

Keeley Davis

Erica Kostelac

Brittany Witt

Jaela Zimmerman