Volleyball Visits DePaul; #10 Marquette This Week

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This Weekend
Oct. 11   11 am   #13 Creighton at DePaul   Chicago, Ill. (McGrath-Phillips Arena) | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
Oct. 12   6 pm   #13 Creighton at #10 Marquette (BEDN)   Milwaukee, Wis. (Al McGuire Center) | LIVE STATS | TWITTER VIDEO | YOUTUBE VIDEO | CAFFEINE.TV VIDEO

This Week
No. 13 Creighton (11-3, 4-0 BIG EAST) heads to the Midwest for a pair of matches this weekend.
   On Friday morning at 11 a.m., CU takes on DePaul (9-7, 1-3 BIG EAST) at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
   On Saturday at 6 p.m., a top-25 match-up will see Creighton visit No. 10 Marquette (14-2, 4-0 BIG EAST) in a rematch of last year's BIG EAST Championship title game. That contest will take place at Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wis.

Broadcast Information
Both matches this weekend will have free video webcasts.
   Friday's contest at DePaul will air on DePaulBlueDemons.com/watch.
   Saturday's match at Marquette will air on BIG EAST Digital Network and be broadcast by Bob Brainerd. It can be seen at
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ike29-VD2D4
Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1eaJbAwMjaBGX
Caffeine: https://www.caffeine.tv/bedn2
   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 #13 Creighton
Creighton is 11-3 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 is also 4-0 in BIG EAST play this year, dropping just one set in victories over Villanova, Georgetown, St. John's and Seton Hall.
   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 (10.66 aps., 2.60 dps., 0.30 saps.) directing the offense, five women are averaging multiple kills per set for the Bluejays.
   Keeley Davis is a five-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and leads CU with 2.90 kills and 0.36 aces per set. She's supported by fellow attackers Jaela Zimmerman (2.72 kps.), Erica Kostelac (2.64 kps.), Naomi Hickman (2.14 kps., .349%) and Megan Ballenger (2.18 kps., .339%, 1.02 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 (5.04 dps.) anchors the defense.
   Creighton was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference behind current No. 10 Marquette.
   Creighton averages 13.70 kills, 15.04 digs, 1.95 blocks and 1.52 aces per set on .248 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 DePaul
DePaul started the season 8-1 but has lost 6-of-7 since then to fall to 9-7 overall, including a 1-3 BIG EAST mark. The Blue Demons beat Seton Hall on Sept. 28 for their lone league win, and also own five-set losses in league play to both Xavier and Butler.
   Preseason All-BIG EAST pick Brittany Maxwell leads the Blue Demons with 3.83 kills per set and is also second on the team with 11 aces.
   Katie Dolan (5.43 aps.) and Natalie Hayward (5.38 aps.) share time at setter, and libero Isabelle Banez (5.28 dps.) leads the BIG EAST in digs per set.
   The Blue Demons average 13.74 kills, 1.05 aces, 15.69 digs and 1.94 blocks per set on .212 hitting.

Scouting #10 Marquette
Ranked 10th nationally, Marquette is off to its best start since 1985 with a 14-2 overall mark. The Golden Eagles knocked off No. 13 BYU and No. 4 Wisconsin earlier this year, and are 4-0 in BIG EAST play following consecutive 3-1 wins over St. John's and Xavier.
   Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Allie Barber leads the league with 4.65 kills per set and also hits at a .285 clip. She's supported offensively by Kaitlyn Lines (2.57 kps.) and Hope Werch (2.53 kps., .292%., 0.42 saps.).
   Lauren Speckman (7.00 aps.) and Sarah Rose (5.19 aps.) split setting duties, and Martha Konovodoff (4.57 dps.) handles the libero role.
   Marquette averages 14.83 kills, 1.50 aces, 15.55 digs and 1.54 blocks per set on .267 hitting.

Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 357-168 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. DePaul
Creighton has won 12 of 13 previous meetings with DePaul, and is 12-0 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 six sweeps.
   Creighton has swept each of the last five meetings, and owns 17 straight set victories overall vs. DePaul entering Friday.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 12-0 against DePaul and 2-0 versus Marie Zidek.

Series History vs. Marquette
Creighton is 16-4 all-time against Marquette, including five straight victories. The Bluejays are 12-1 in the previous five seasons against MU, and have posted at least one 3-0 win in Omaha over the Golden Eagles in each of the last four years.
   Teams to win the first set are 17-3 in the history of the series, and CU has owned a 2-0 lead at intermission in eight of the last 13 meetings.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 16-4 against Marquette and 12-1 against Ryan Theis.

Chasing 200
Creighton's next victory will be its 200th since the start of the 2012 season, something only seven other programs have reached through matches of Tuesday.
Most Wins Since 2012
   1.   224   Penn State
   2.   220   Western Kentucky
   3.   214   BYU
   4.   213   Stanford
   5.   210   Nebraska
   6.   202   Florida
       202   Washington
   8.   199   Creighton
       199   Texas
       199   Minnesota

A 1 And A 2...
Not only are Creighton tied atop the league standings with identical 4-0 conference records, but they're also first and second (in some order) in five other categories during conference action.
   Creighton is first and Marquette second in hitting percentage, kills per set, aces per set
   Marquette is first and Creighton second in opponent hitting percentage and assists per set,

Davis Wins Fifth Straight Freshman Award
Keeley Davis has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the fifth straight time after leading the Bluejays with 19 kills and four aces in 3-0 sweeps at St. John's and at Seton Hall last weekend.
   Davis averaged 4.00 points, 3.17 kills, 1.00 digs, 0.67 aces and 0.33 blocks per set in the victories.
   She opened her week with 10 kills, three digs, two blocks an an ace in a 3-0 win at St. John's. Five of her kills came in the final set of the victory as she became the first player in program history with double-digit kills in 10 of her first 13 matches.
   The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native then followed that up with by sharing team-high honors with nine kills and three aces to go with four digs in Creighton's ninth consecutive 3-0 win over Seton Hall.
   Davis' big weekend helped her take over the league lead in aces per set during BIG EAST play. She also leads all freshmen in kills per set and points per set in conference action.
   Davis, who last week became the first Creighton Volleyball player in history to be honored with a league award in four straight weeks, is now the first Creighton Volleyball player in history to be honored with a league award in five straight weeks.

Comparing Seasons
Now in its seventh year in the BIG EAST, this year's Creighton team compares favorably with some of its past teams.
   The 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 teams all would win the BIG EAST Championship and regular-season league title.
Creighton in BIG EAST Play (League Stats Only)
Year   W-L   KPS   HIT%   SAPS   DPS   BPS
2013   12-4   13.75   .213   1.00   16.20   3.13
2014   16-2   14.09   .242   1.30   17.09   2.86
2015   17-1   15.02   .271   1.33   16.97   2.47
2016   18-0   15.37   .317   1.69   16.08   2.41
2017   16-2   14.81   .302   1.31   16.62   2.05
2018   18-0   14.45   .294   2.13   15.67   2.38
2019   4-0   14.46   .296   2.15   14.77   1.85

Serving Better
After being plagued by serving accuracy woes to start the season, Creighton has made vast improvements during the past three weekends.
   Creighton started the year with 42 aces and 99 service errors in its first nine contests, during which time CU won 20-of-34 sets. Creighton served just 87.0 percent of its 762 serves inbounds in that span.
   In five matches since then, Creighton has 34 service aces and 32 service errors while winning 15-of-16 sets played. CU has served 389 times, serving it inbounds 91.8 percent of the time. Keeley Davis (11 aces, 6 errors), Madelyn Cole (8/3) and Jaela Zimmerman (4/1) have fueled the resurgence behind the service stripe.

Pencil Her In For 10+ Digs
Brittany Witt has led Creighton in digs during all 14 matches this season, reaching double-figures in 13 of those contests.
   Her next match will make her the second player in program history with 10+ digs in 100 career matches.
Matches With 10+ Digs, Career
   10+ Digs   Name   Years
   110   Kate Elman   2012-15
   99   Brittany Witt   2016-Pres.
   74   Janeen Piller   2001-04
   71   Allie Oelke   2007-10
   65   Melissa Weisensee   1994-97

Ranked vs. Ranked in the BIG EAST
After going 12 years without a match-up of ranked BIG EAST teams, No. 13 Creighton and No. 10 Marquette will square off in a top-25 battle for the fourth time in 13 months on Saturday night.
   Last year Creighton was ranked No. 10 when it beat No. 21 Marquette in Omaha (Sept. 23) and No. 18 Marquette in Milwaukee (Oct. 26) before No. 9 CU toppled No. 16 Marquette at the BIG EAST Championships in Omaha on Nov. 24.
   The first meeting last year had been the first regular-season BIG EAST match-up since Oct. 29, 2005 that featured a pair of ranked teams.
   Before last year's CU/MU battles, the last previous time any two BIG EAST foes faced each other while ranked at any point in time came Nov. 18, 2007, when No. 20 St. John's swept No. 21 Louisville in the title match of the conference tournament.

98 Wins While Ranked
Creighton owns a 98-25 all-time when playing as a ranked team and could have an opportunity for its 100th victory as a top-25 club on Saturday when it meets No. 10 Marquette.
   Ranked Creighton teams are 4-0 all-time when facing DePaul, and 6-1 when taking on Marquette.
   Creighton is 12-17 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself.
   The Bluejays are also 5-31 all-time in all matches against top-10 foes (5-24 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth).

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 98-25 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 185-21 against unranked teams. Creighton has won 54 straight home matches over unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 12-17)
Home: 3-5   Away: 4-6    Neutral: 5-6
Date   Winner   Loser   CU Score
11/19/12   #11 Minnesota   #21 Creighton   1-3
08/30/13   #25 Creighton   #13 BYU   3-1
09/14/13   #11 UCLA   #24 Creighton   1-3
09/16/13   #7 Hawaii   #23 Creighton   2-3
08/30/14   #22 Kansas   #23 Creighton   1-3
09/03/16   #23 Kentucky   #22 Creighton   0-3
12/02/16   #21 Creighton   #4 Kansas   3-2
12/09/16   #21 Creighton   #17 Michigan   3-2
12/10/16   #5 Texas   #21 Creighton   0-3
08/26/17   #9 Creighton   #3 Washington   3-1
09/01/17   #7 Creighton   #13 Kentucky   3-0
09/02/17   #18 USC   #7 Creighton   0-3
09/08/17   #17 Purdue   #9 Creighton   1-3
09/09/17   #9 Creighton   #7 Kansas   3-0
09/16/17   #19 Iowa State   #8 Creighton   2-3
12/12/17   #12 MIchigan St.   #15 Creighton   1-3
08/24/18   #13 Creighton   #5 Kentucky   3-2
08/25/18   #10 USC   #13 Creighton   2-3
09/06/18   #7 Nebraska   #14 Creighton   2-3
09/15/18   #8 Illinois   #10 Creighton   1-3
09/23/18   #10 Creighton   #21 Marquette   3-0
10/26/18   #10 Creighton   #18 Marquette   3-1
11/24/18   #9 Creighton   #16 Marquette   3-1
12/01/18   #22 Washington   #9 Creighton   0-3
08/30/19   #2 Nebraska   #18 Creighton   1-3
08/31/19   #20 Baylor   #18 Creighton   0-3
09/06/19   #23 Creighton   #12 Kentucky   3-1
09/07/19   #23 Creighton   #15 USC   3-1
09/14/19   #12 Washington   #17 Creighton   1-3

BEDN Brings Out The Best In the Bluejays
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.

Jays On A Roll
Dating to last season, Creighton has won 23 straight regular-season league contests, the program's second-longest conference streak ever. That doesn't factor in a 4-0 mark in league championship play in that time.
   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
       23   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. 8, 2019) since the league's reconfiguration in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013 (through 10/8)
             BIG EAST only   All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)   W   L   W   L
Creighton (6)   101   9   170   49
Marquette (6)   88   21   159   55
Xavier   69   41   105   96
Butler   61   49   113   91
Villanova (1)   57   53   115   88
Seton Hall (1)   56   53   106   102
St. John's   49   61   117   97
Georgetown   28   82   74   126
DePaul   20   90   70   126
Providence*   12   82   59   118
*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 own 112 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 20 more wins than Marquette for most in the league as of Tuesday, Oct. 8.
   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   10-3   2-0   12-3
St. John's   12-1   -   12-1
Villanova   11-2   3-0   14-2
Xavier   12-0   3-0   15-0
Total   101-9   11-1   112-10

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
Carnesecca Arena (SJU)   7-0
Cintas Center (XU)   6-0
McGrath-Phillips Arena (DPU)   6-0
McDonough Arena (GU)   6-0
Walsh Gym (SHU)   5-2
Alumni Hall (PC)   4-0
Jake Nevin Field House (VU)   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.

Setting An Example
Since the start of last season, Creighton is 24-0 against BIG EAST competition. The Bluejays are 72-8 in sets against league foes in that time, dropping two sets to Marquette, meaning they've gone 63-6 in sets against everyone else.
   Marquette is 20-3 in that same span, with all three losses coming to Creighton. The Golden Eagles are 62-14 in sets against league foes in that time, with nine of those losses against Creighton, meaning they've gone 60-5 in sets against everyone else.

Ran The Table, Again
Creighton has won 23 straight regular-season conference matches. On a national basis through matches of October 8, that ranked as tied for the second-longest nationally with Stephen F. Austin. Only Kentucky (29) is longer.
   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

Creighton & Marquette In 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 and Marquette are two 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.

Crushing It Against The Top 25
Junior Naomi Hickman has been dominant against top-25 foes this season, averaging 2.58 kills per set and hitting .478.
   That includes Hickman's career-high 17 kills in a win over No. 12 Kentucky and .733 hitting in a 3-1 victory over No. 15 USC.
   In three matches last season against Marquette, Hickman averaged 1.75 blocks per set and hit .273.

Another Strong Start
Creighton is off to its first 11-3 start since the 2012 campaign, which saw the Jays open 29-3.
   Here's how this year compares to Creighton's last two teams, statistically, after 14 matches:
Year   2017   2018   2019
Match W-L   10-4   10-4   11-3
Set W-L   34-15   35-16   35-15
vs. Top-25   3-3   2-3   2-3
Tourney Titles   3   2   2
Kills/Set   13.94   14.14   13.68
Hitting %   .265   .245   .247
Aces/Set   1.33   1.27   1.52
Digs/Set   15.39   16.98   14.92
Blocks/Set   2.20   2.22   1.95
Kill/Set Leader   Winters, 3.31   Kloth, 4.27   Davis, 2.90
Dig/Set Leader   Witt, 3.82   Witt, 4.65   Witt, 4.98

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 56-5 in October, and 55-5 in the month of November.
   Since the start of the 2014 season, Creighton is a combined 82-5 in the months of October (43-3) and November (39-2).

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 47-7 in league road matches. That includes a 20-6 mark in its first game of the weekend, and a 25-1 record (with 22 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 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 became 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 145 kills and 18 aces this season.

Davis & Ballenger Honored By BIG EAST
Megan Ballenger and Keeley Davis were 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.

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

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 12 meetings with St. John's since that 2013 upset, and all 11 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.

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 110 all-time regular-season BIG EAST matches at all sites, Creighton is 62-4 in three-set matches, 28-2 in four-set matches and 11-3 in five-set contests.

Nice Work, Ace
In 22 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 19-of-22 league matches in that time, and was tied on two other occasions.
   The Bluejays have won 80 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 five matches this fall with 20 or more matches, giving her 23 in her career. That ranks fourth-most in team 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
   23   Brittany Witt   2016-Pres.
   20   Janeen Piller   2001-04
   19   Nayka Benitez   2009-10

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 414 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 (145) and Erica Kostelac (132) 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 10 different matches thus far, joining Jaali Winters (2015) are the only other player to start their Creighton careers with double-figure kills in 10 of their first 14 contests.

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

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.
   She became the first Bluejay with eight or more blocks in consecutive contests since Kelli Browning did so on Oct. 3-4, 2014.
   Ballenger, now owns 319 blocks in her career.

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 357-2 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   414   1,786   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
Brittany Witt became CU's seventh player to reach 100 aces in a career, doing so on Oct. 5 at St. John's.
   Witt reached the century mark in her 117th match, making her the fifth-fastest Bluejay player to reach 100 aces.
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
Brittany Witt   117   10/05/19   at St. John's
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   414   100   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 72 straight matches against unranked teams when winning set one.
- Creighton has won 54 straight home matches against unranked teams.
- Creighton has won 29 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 35-3 and are currently ranked No. 1 (Baylor), No. 5 (Nebraska) and No. 11 (Washington).

Offensive Parity
Creighton has five women with between 108 and 145 kills this season after 14 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 2.16 and 2.90 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 improved to a season-best 13th in this week's AVCA poll. That means the Jays are in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 45th 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
   549   Stanford   2
   549   Nebraska   5
   466   Penn State   8
   439   Florida   14
   243   Texas   4
   98   Wisconsin   7
   97   BYU   9
   68   Minnesota   6
   49   Kentucky   12
   45   Creighton   13

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 and Cole
Senior middle blocker Megan Ballenger has made 109 career starts, including each of Creighton's last 76 contests. The last time she didn't start came on Sept. 3, 2016 against USC.
   Ballenger 109 career starts is 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 102 career starts (including 97 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

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 295-10 (.967) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 238-4 mark (.983) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 165-2 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 87-0 all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena when up 2-0 at the break.
   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 296-30 (.908) 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 9-0 when winning the first set, but is 2-3 when dropping the opener.
   Creighton has won 72 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 9-1 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 84-0 against BIG EAST teams (76-0 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   11-3
Total   71-57   450-320

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 357 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   357*
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 83 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 74 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.
• Since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton is 11-1 at the conference tournament. No other BIG EAST team has a winning record in league championship action in that time.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Samantha Bohnet

Emily Bressman

Madelyn Cole

Keeley Davis

Naomi Hickman

Taryn Kloth

Erica Kostelac

Kelsey O'Connell

Alexa Roumeliotis

Jaali Winters

Brittany Witt

Jaela Zimmerman

Kari Zumach