#15 Volleyball Hosts Creighton Classic

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This Weekend -- Creighton Classic
Sept. 19   6:30 pm   Wichita State at #15 Creighton (NET)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena) | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
Sept. 20   2:00 pm   Wyoming vs. Wichita State   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena) | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | FREE ADMISSION
Sept. 21   1:00 pm   Wyoming at #15 Creighton   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena) | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | TICKETS

This Week
No. 15 Creighton (5-3) closes out non-conference play this week when it hosts the three-team Creighton Classic.
   The Bluejays will host former Missouri Valley Conference rival Wichita State (3-6) on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 6:30 p.m.
   CU rounds out the tournament on Saturday at 1 p.m. with a match against Wyoming (4-5).
   The Shockers and Cowgirls will also meet on Friday at 2 p.m. in a match that is free to attend.
   All matches will take place at D.J. Sokol Arena (2,500) on the Creighton campus in Omaha, Neb.

Broadcast Information
Thursday's match will be televised statewide on NET, with Thor Tripp and Kathi Weiskamp on the call. The contest can also be viewed at
http://netnebraska.org/television.
   The final two matches of the Creighton Classic will be video webcast at no charge at
http://GoCreighton.com/watch.
   Friday's match will not have announcers.
   Donny Baarns will handle play-by-play for Saturday's contest, with former Bluejay libero Kate Elman making her debut in the analyst role.

Live Stats Information
All matches at the Creighton Classic will have free live stats at http://creighton.statbroadcast.com.
   Fans can also find the links on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.

Scouting #15 Creighton
Creighton is 5-3 after three weekends of play against a grueling 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 five straight wins, including victories over No. 12 Kentucky (3-1), Northern Iowa (3-2) and No. 15 USC (3-1). The Jays went 2-1 last weekend, defeating Nebraska-Omaha (3-0) and Drake (3-1) before dropping a match to No. 12 Washington (3-1).
   Three seniors with a wealth of experience lead the Bluejays; middle blocker Megan Ballenger (2.23 kps., 0.81 bps., .312%), setter Madelyn Cole (10.48 aps., 2.97 dps.) and libero Brittany Witt (4.97 dps.). All three women were named Preseason All-BIG EAST last month.
   The MVP of the UNI Tournament was Naomi Hickman (2.32 kps., .404%), who had a breakthrough weekend in Cedar Falls. The junior entered September with a career-high of nine kills, then reached double-figures in all three contests, including 17 in a win vs. No. 12 Kentucky and 11 on .733 hitting in a triumph against No. 15 USC.
   Redshirt freshman Keeley Davis (2.68 kps.) and Cincinnati transfer Erica Kostelac (2.61 kps.) lead the team in kills, with Kostelac earning Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Teams last weekend.
   Creighton was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference behind current No. 8 Marquette.
   Creighton averages 13.32 kills, 15.10 digs, 1.56 blocks and 1.29 aces per set on .231 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 Wichita State
Wichita State is 3-6 this season against an elite schedule that includes the likes of Penn State, BYU and Texas.
   Megan Taflinger leads WSU with 3.03 kills per set and is joined on the offensive attack by Nicole Anderson (2.33 kps.) and Sina Uluave (2.15 kps.).
   Kora Kauling (5.14 aps.), McKayla Wuensch (5.07 aps.) and Kayce Litzau (4.89 aps.) have all seen time at setter, and Kara Bown (3.23 dps.) tops the club in digs.
   WSU averages 10.85 kills, 0.88 aces, 13.24 digs and 1.66 blocks per set on .197 hitting as a team.

Scouting Wyoming
Wyoming is 4-5 this season, but are winless in five matches outside of Laramie this fall. The Cowgirls arrive in Omaha after an 0-3 record in Vermillion, S.D., where they suffered losses to Iowa (3-1), South Dakota (3-1) and UC Davis (3-2) last weekend.
   KC McMahon leads Wyoming with 3.33 kills per set, with Tara Traphagan not far behind with 2.88 digs per set. Jackie McBride leads Wyoming with 1.15 blocks per set and .333 hitting while also contributing 2.58 kills per set.
   Mackenzie Coates leads Wyoming with 8.73 assists per set and Madi Fields digs 4.47 balls per set.
   As a team, Wyoming averages 12.17 kills, 1.11 aces, 13.26 digs and 2.13 blocks per set on .225 hitting.

Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 351-168 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. Wichita State
Creighton is 24-23 in 47 meetings against Wichita State since 1994, but the Bluejays are 7-2 in their last nine meetings with WSU. CU is 14-7 all-time at home against Wichita State, including a 6-0 mark inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 13-15 vs. Wichita State and Chris Lamb, while Lamb is 17-17 vs. Creighton all-time. Of Booth's 13 wins over WSU, three of them have come after surviving a match point for the Shockers. CU has swept WSU just once in 28 matches under Booth, and hasn't swept the Shockers in Omaha since 2001.
   Six of the last 13 meetings have gone five sets, and the teams have played 12 five-set matches all-time. Creighton has won seven of the last nine meetings to go the distance, and owns an overall 8-4 edge in those contests.
   Last year Creighton won a four-set match over Wichita State (23-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-23) to win the Bluejay Invitational title.

Series History vs. Wyoming
Wyoming won the only previous meeting against Creighton in four sets (30-28, 30-23, 25-30, 30-24) at the Omaha Civic Auditorium on Oct. 6, 2003.
   Jaden Custer (12 kills, 10 digs), Leah Ratzlaff (11 kills, 14 digs) and Brittany Coleman (42 assists, 10 digs) each had double-doubles for CU in the match.
   Wyoming was paced by 16 kills and 16 digs by Michele Rauter.

Newcomers Unite
Newcomers Keeley Davis (83) and Erica Kostelac (81) rank first and second 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.
   Both women also have 10 or more kills in six different matches. Winters (2015) and JoDe Cieloha (1994) are the only other players to start their Creighton careers with double-figure kills in six of their first eight contests.
   Davis and Kostelac are the first Bluejay duo to each own six matches of 10+ kills within the first eight contests of any season since 2006 when Amanda Cvejdlik, Kelly Goc and Abby Baumann each did it.

Davis Repeats As Freshman of the Week
Keeley Davis repeated as BIG EAST Freshman of the Week 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 last weekend.
   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 leads CU with 83 kills during her redshirt freshman season.
   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 5-3 mark, Creighton will finish non-conference play with a record of .500 or better regardless of this week's results.
   It's the fifth straight year of a .500 or better non-conference record, 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 clinches 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 last weekend 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.

Witt Off To A Hot Start
Brittany Witt ranks second in the BIG EAST Conference with 4.97 digs per set, which amounts to 154 digs in 31 sets played. It's the most digs and digs per set after eight matches by a Bluejay since Julianne Mandolfo averaged 5.13 digs per set through the first eight matches of 2011 when she went on to be named MVC Libero of the Year. That season would see Mandolfo establish Bluejay records for digs in a season (693) and digs per set (5.92).
   Like Mandolfo, Witt is also a product of Omaha Marian High School.
   Witt's numbers are a good sign compared to how she's started previous years. Witt averaged 3.55 digs per set through eight matches in 2018, and her 2017 BIG EAST Libero of the Year campaign had averaged 3.42 digs per set at this point of the season.

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 351-2 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 88 different schools while at Creighton, and can make it 89 on Saturday vs. Wyoming.
   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

Witt Closes In On 100 Aces
Brittany Witt had three aces on Saturday vs. Washington, pushing her career total to 97. With three more service winners the senior libero can become CU's seventh player to reach 100 in a career.
   Witt has played in 111 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   395   97   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 66 straight matches against unranked teams when winning set one.
- Creighton has won 50 straight home matches against unranked teams.
- Creighton has won 27 matches in a row against teams that enter the match with a record below .500.

When At Home...
Between 15 previous Bluejay Invitationals, (2005-19), two Creighton First Serve Festivals (1996-97), three Creighton Classics (2011, 2014 and 2015), one MVC Tournament (2009) and three BIG EAST Tournaments (2013, 2015, 2018), Creighton has won just five of the 24 tournaments it has hosted since the program's 1994 restart.
   Those were the 2014 Bluejay Invitational, the 2015 BIG EAST Tournament, the 2017 Bluejay Invitational, the 2018 Bluejay Invitational and the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament.

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 plays five different non-conference teams that were in the top-25 of the preseason AVCA coaches poll. That's tied for the third-most of any team in the nation, and trails 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 will meet up with 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 21-1 and are currently ranked No. 1 (Nebraska), No. 5 (Baylor) and No. 10 (Washington).

Offensive Parity
Creighton has five women with between 69 and 83 kills this season after eight 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 2.23 and 2.68 kills per set. CU hasn't had five players average at least 2.20 kills per set (minimum 10 matches played) 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's 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.

Valley Rivalries Renewed
Two weeks after renewing acquaintances with Northern Iowa and one week after facing Drake, Creighton will meet another former Missouri Valley Conference rival when it squares off against Wichita State on Thursday.
   Since leaving The Valley in 2013, Creighton is 9-3 against former MVC schools. The Jays are 6-2 against Northern Iowa and 1-0 vs. Drake. CU was 2-1 against Wichita State before the Shockers joined the American Athletic Conference in 2017.

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 has already met No. 2 Nebraska and then-No. 20 (and now No. 17) Baylor before meeting then-No. 12 Kentucky last Friday.
   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 is ranked a season-best 15th in this week's AVCA poll. That means the Jays are in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 42nd 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
   546   Stanford   2
   546   Nebraska   1
   463   Penn State   4
   436   Florida   11
   240   Texas   3
   95   Wisconsin   9
   94   BYU   12
   65   Minnesota   7
   46   Kentucky   16
   42   Creighton   15

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 103 career starts, including each of Creighton's last 70 contests. The last time she didn't start came on Sept. 3, 2016 against USC.
   Ballenger 103 career starts is tied for ninth in program history. The school record is 138 starts, set last year by Ballenger's former high school and college teammate, Jaali Winters.

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 92-25 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 179-21 against unranked teams. Creighton has won 50 straight home matches over unranked teams.

Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 115-99 in the 74 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 58-30 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 95-66 in 58 regular-season tournaments, including 15 titles.
   Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.

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

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 289-10 (.967) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 232-4 mark (.983) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 159-2 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 290-30 (.906) 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 93-2 in its last 95 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 3-0 when winning the first set, but is 2-3 when dropping the opener.
   Creighton has won 66 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 1-2 when losing the third set, and 4-1 when taking the third frame.
   Since an Oct. 10, 2014 loss at Seton Hall, Creighton is a perfect 81-0 against BIG EAST teams (73-0 in the regular-season and 8-0 in league tournament play) when winning the third set.

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   395   1,688   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

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   5-3
Total   71-57   444-320

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.

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.

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 351 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   351*
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 79 straight matches against BIG EAST teams when winning the dig battle, a streak that dates to Oct. 10, 2014 at Seton Hall.
   All but three of Creighton's last 68 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   5-3   2-3   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 108 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 20 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
   Seton Hall and Marquette are the only league foes to top the Bluejays three times since 2013.
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   11-1   -   11-1
DePaul   12-0   -   12-0
Georgetown   12-0   -   12-0
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   10-2   3-0   13-2
Xavier   12-0   3-0   15-0
Total   97-9   11-1   108-10

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.

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

Kari Zumach