Three Jays Named Preseason All-BIG EAST As Volleyball Picked To Win Division

OMAHA, Neb. -- The six-time defending league champion Creighton Volleyball program has been picked to win the Midwest Division of the BIG EAST Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches. The Bluejays own six BIG EAST regular-season titles, five conference tournament titles and a 112-7 overall record against league foes since the start of the 2014 campaign.

For the sixth straight season, Creighton had at least three women earn Preseason All-BIG EAST accolades. In the fall of 2019 it was Megan Ballenger, Madelyn Cole and Brittany Witt, but after all three of those women graduated, this year's Bluejay honorees are Keeley Davis, Erica Kostelac and Jaela Zimmerman. All three women are honored with preseason acclaim for the first time, marking the eighth straight campaign that multiple Bluejays were recognized.

Creighton picked up 3-of-5 first place votes from Midwest Division coaches, though coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. CU's 15 points were one more than Marquette, who received the two remaining first place votes. DePaul was picked third, one spot ahead of Xavier and then Butler. The East Division was topped by unanimous pick St. John's. The Red Storm are picked ahead of Villanova, Connecticut, Seton Hall and Providence. Georgetown is not playing volleyball this spring.,

The Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year is St. John's outside hitter Efrosini Alexakou. She'll look to become the second Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year to also win the league's top individual honor at year's end since 2013.

Davis led Creighton with 3.35 kills per set during a standout 2019 season that saw her be named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, First Team All-BIG EAST and AVCA First Team All-East Region. Now a sophomore, the outside hitter looks to pick up where she left off.

Kostelac ranked 61st in the country last year with 0.39 aces per set. The senior outside hitter ranked among the BIG EAST leaders in league play in aces per set (2nd), points per set (7th), kills per set (8th) and hitting percentage (8th) in 2019.

Zimmerman was Creighton's lone unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST choice after averaging 3.27 kills and 0.31 aces per set in the fall of 2019. The junior outside hitter plays all six rotations for the Jays and averaged 3.88 kills and 2.48 digs per set in CU's final seven matches last season, when she earned First Team All-BIG EAST acclaim.

The Bluejays return four starters and 10 letterwinners from a 25-6 team in the fall of 2019 that won the BIG EAST regular-season title while reaching an eighth straight NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays ended last season ranked No. 16 in the final AVCA poll.

Creighton's preseason prognosis of first place marks the 17th straight season of a top-five prediction in its league, after nine such accolades from the Missouri Valley Conference from 2004-12 before joining the BIG EAST in 2013. In the previous 26 seasons (19 in the MVC, seven in the BIG EAST), Creighton has improved its preseason ranking 12 times, been ranked correctly nine times, and dropped from preseason expectations just five times. Notably, 15 of Creighton's 17 previous teams under head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth have met or exceeded preseason poll predictions, and the two that didn't dropped just a single slot.

Ranked No. 15 nationally, Creighton will open the season this Friday (Jan. 22) when it hosts Nebraska-Omaha at 6 p.m. inside D.J. Sokol Arena.

Spring 2021 Preseason BIG EAST Volleyball Honors
Preseason BIG EAST Volleyball Player of the Year
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's, Jr., OH

Preseason All-BIG EAST *
(listed alphabetically by institution, then last name)
Melody Davidson, Butler, Jr., MB
Keeley Davis, Creighton, So., OH
Erica Kostelac, Creighton, Sr., OH
Jaela Zimmerman, Creighton, Jr., OH ^
Donna Brown, DePaul. Jr., MH ^
Hannah Vanden Berg, Marquette, So., OH
Hope Werch, Marquette, Sr., OH ^
Taylor Wolf, Marquette, Sr., RS/Setter
Jennifer Leitman, Providence, So., OH
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's, Jr., OH ^
Rachele Rastelli, St. John's, Jr. RS ^
Sophia Howling, Villanova, Jr., MH
Lauren Hanlon, Xavier, So., RS

Spring 2021 Preseason Coaches' Polls
First-place votes in ()

*East Division*		*Midwest Division*
1. St. John's (4)	16 pts.	1. Creighton (3)	15 pts.
2. Villanova (1)	13	2. Marquette (2)	14
3. Connecticut	8	3. DePaul	8
4. Seton Hall	7	4. Xavier	7
5. Providence	6	5. Butler	6

^ denotes unanimous selection
* There are 13 members of the Spring 2021 Preseason All-BIG EAST Volleyball squad due to a tie in voting.

Three Jays Named Preseason All-BIG EAST As Volleyball Picked To Win Division

Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Madelyn Cole

Keeley Davis

Erica Kostelac

Brittany Witt

Jaela Zimmerman

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