#18 Volleyball Drops Opener at #2 Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A second set comeback to tie the match heading to intermission wasn't enough as the No. 18 Creighton Volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision at No. 2 Nebraska on Friday night before 8,450 fans at Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln.

Scores of the match in favor of the Cornhuskers were 25-19, 24-26, 25-17, 25-21. It was NU's first win in a season-opener since 2016.

Redshirt freshman Keeley Davis made her Bluejay debut and paced her club with 13 kills, while Lincoln native Jaela Zimmerman had a career-high 12 kills and added 10 digs for her first collegiate double-double. Also notching a double-double for Creighton was Madelyn Cole. The Bluejay senior setter contributed 32 assists and 15 digs on the evening. CU wrapped up the night with 44 kils, six aces, 65 digs and five blocks on .067 hitting.

Nebraska was paced by 13 kills from Lexi Sun, and All-American Lauren Stivrins chipped in with nine kills and hit .500 in 16 swings. Sophomore setter Nicklin Hames finished with 35 assists, 15 digs and four aces. The Cornhuskers had 47 kills, five aces, 68 digs and eight blocks on .176 hitting.

Creighton fell behind 5-1 to start the match and never led in the opening set. A 4-0 run on Cole's serve brought CU within 13-10 and prompted a Nebraska timeout, but the hosts answered with three straight points and remained in control. Zimmerman led CU with four kills in the first set.

The second set featured 12 ties and four lead changes. Creighton overcame a 23-21 deficit with a kill by Erica Kostelac and combo block by Cole and Megan Ballenger. A Bluejay service error gave Nebraska a chance to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission, but CU answered the bell with the next three points. Zimmerman had a kill to even the score at 24, then got CU a set point chance by serving up an ace. The Jays won the frame when Carpi Davis' attack missed the corner and CU claimed a 26-24 victory.

Creighton could not maintain the momentum in the third set, never leading in a 25-17 setback. The Cornhuskers raced to an 11-4 lead and didn't look back despite six kills from CU's Keeley Davis. Creighton hit -.065 in the set with 12 attack errors in 46 swings.

Creighton trailed 10-7 in the fourth set but would battle back to tie the score at 11 on a kill by Naomi Hickman. The score was knotted as late as 21-all before NU scored the final four points of the night. Hickman had four kills in six swings during the final game for CU.

Creighton returns to the court on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. when it closes out play at the Husker Invitational against No. 20 Baylor. The Bears swept UCLA in the first match of the day on Friday.

NOTES: Creighton fell to 16-10 all-time in season-opening matches, and 12-5 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth ... Emily Bressman became the first true freshman to start Creighton's season-opener since Naomi Hickman in 2017, and 15th since 2000 ... Keeley Davis' 13 kills are tied for third-most in Creighton history for a debut, trailing only Jaali Winters (17 in 2015) and Jess Bird (14 in 2013) ... Creighton's streak of eight straight road wins was snapped. The streak was tied for second-longest in program history, and one behind the mark of nine set by the 2016 club ... Creighton fell to 14-76 all-time against top-25 foes, and 5-31 against top-10 teams ... Madelyn Cole now has an ace in 12 straight matches, the second-longest streak in program history. Only Amanda Cvejdlik (15 in 2006) has had a longer stretch ... From 2016-18, Nebraska led the country with 92 wins while Creighton was tied for fourth-most with 84 ... The crowd of 8,450 was the second-largest road crowd in Creighton history, trailing only the 8,627 fans in a 2002 battle against the Huskers that was also played at Bob Devaney Sports Center ... Erica Kostelac had five kills and nine digs in her Creighton debut, with her first kill being a highlight-reel defensive dig that fell over the other side of the net untouched.

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Team Stats

Keeley Davis

Jaela Zimmerman

Naomi Hickman

Erica Kostelac

Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Emily Bressman

Madelyn Cole

Keeley Davis

Naomi Hickman

Erica Kostelac

Jaali Winters

Jaela Zimmerman