Saturday, October 16
Storrs, Conn.
2:30 PM
Creighton University
17-3,5-2Big East
2
at
3
Connecticut
14-6,6-2Big East
1
2
3
4
5
F
Creighton
17
25
25
22
12
2
UConn
25
18
21
25
15
3
Ellie Bolton had a season-high 19 digs on Saturday.
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
#19 Volleyball Upset At UConn As Bottomley Surpasses 2,500 Career Digs
10/16/2021 4:58:00 PM | Volleyball
Abby Bottomley becomes 17th player in NCAA history to reach 2,500 career digs
STORRS, Conn. -- Abby Bottomley became the 17th player in NCAA history to reach 2,500 career digs but was injured a few points later and did not return in No. 19 Creighton Volleyball's 3-2 loss at UConn on Saturday.
Scores of the match in favor of UConn were 25-17, 18-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-12 as the Huskies moved to 14-6 on the season and 6-2 in BIG EAST play. Creighton fell to 17-3 and is 5-2 in league play, having played a league-high five road matches to date.
Creighton had four players post a double-double for the second straight match as Norah Sis (23 kills, 21 digs), Keeley Davis (13 kills, 10 digs), Jaela Zimmerman (13 kills, 12 digs) and Kendra Wait (47 assists, 13 digs) all played a key role. Bottomley finished with eight digs today and 2,501 in her career while her replacement, Ellie Bolton, came off the bench to provide a season-high 19 digs. Creighton had 62 kills, five aces, 90 digs and 9.0 blocks on .153 hitting.
UConn had 56 kills, four aces, 85 digs and 12.0 blocks on .168 hitting. Caylee Parker had 24 kills and 15 digs while McKayla Wuensch (46 assists, 14 digs) and Jasmine Davis (13 kills, 16 digs) also had double-doubles in UConn's first win ever over a top-25 opponent.
Davis served Creighton to a 5-0 lead to start the match, which quickly expanded to 9-2, before UConn stormed back to take a 12-10 lead after a stretch that saw eight of CU's season-high 33 attack errors in a stretch of 10 points. The Huskies continued their momentum to take the first set 25-17, hitting .292 while holding the Jays to .028 hitting. Zimmerman had five kills for CU, but the hosts owned five blocks to limit the Bluejay attack.
After falling behind 11-6 early in the second set the Bluejays bounced back to take a 14-13 lead and eventually even the match on an ace by Davis. Sis had five kills and five digs in the second set in CU's 25-21 victory.
Creighton never trailed in the third set, but did lose Bottomley after the senior was involved in a collision on a point when the score was 11-8. She did not return to the match, and Booth did not provide an update on her status following the match. Despite the absence of their senior libero, the Jays didn't skip a beat and went on to a 25-21 victory to go up 2-1 in the match. Davis had seven kills in the third set as Wait issued 14 assists.
UConn prevailed in a fourth set that featured 13 ties and three lead changes. The score was deadlocked at 18-all before UConn embarked on a 5-0 run to take control. The Jays got back within one at 23-22 before Parker had a kill and block assist to force a fifth set. Bolton had 10 digs in the fourth set from the libero position, returning to the position she played most of her freshman season. Sis added six kills in 10 swings but the Jays also had 10 attack errors, a serving error, a blocking error and a ball handling miscue.
Creighton led the first half of the final set, taking an 8-5 lead at one point, before UConn rallied with a 4-0 run to take a 12-10 lead and fended off CU the rest of the way. Parker's fifth kill of the set ended CU's first volleyball trip to Gampel Pavilion in defeat. UConn hit .333 in the final set with 10 kills and just one attack error in 27 swings.
"We knew UConn was a good team and I thought we made too many unforced errors to come out with the win tonight," said Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "Obviously we have to go back to the gym to get better."
Creighton returns to the court on Sunday at Noon Central when it visits Providence in a match that will air on FloSports.
NOTES: Despite today's loss, Creighton's 17-3 record equals the program's best start after 20 matches all-time ... Creighton fell to 2-3 when playing on Kirsten Bernthal Booth's birthday ... Creighton fell to 27-3 all-time on BIG EAST Digital Network ... Norah Sis became Creighton's third freshman ever with four or more matches of 20+ kills, joining Jaali Winters (9) and Melissa Walsh (4) ... Creighton had won 104 straight matches against BIG EAST teams when winning the third set ... Kendra Wait and Jaela Zimmerman each had their 10th double-double of the season, while Keeley Davis had her 10th career double-double ... Norah Sis had career-highs with 23 kills and 21 digs and Keeley Davis tied her season-high with 13 digs. Sis is the first Bluejay with 20 kills and 20 digs in a match since Jaali Winters (21 kills, 25 digs) vs. Michigan in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, and first Bluejay freshman to do it since Winters (21 kills, 21 digs) vs. North Carolina in the 2015 NCAA Tournament ... Abby Bottomley ended the day with 2,501 career digs. She's the first BIG EAST player to ever reach that mark, though 2,158 of those came at High Point ... Naomi Hickman (439) moved past JoDe Cieloha (437) for fifth in Creighton history in career block assists ... Creighton fell to 1-1 in five set matches this season and 62-33 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Scores of the match in favor of UConn were 25-17, 18-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-12 as the Huskies moved to 14-6 on the season and 6-2 in BIG EAST play. Creighton fell to 17-3 and is 5-2 in league play, having played a league-high five road matches to date.
Creighton had four players post a double-double for the second straight match as Norah Sis (23 kills, 21 digs), Keeley Davis (13 kills, 10 digs), Jaela Zimmerman (13 kills, 12 digs) and Kendra Wait (47 assists, 13 digs) all played a key role. Bottomley finished with eight digs today and 2,501 in her career while her replacement, Ellie Bolton, came off the bench to provide a season-high 19 digs. Creighton had 62 kills, five aces, 90 digs and 9.0 blocks on .153 hitting.
UConn had 56 kills, four aces, 85 digs and 12.0 blocks on .168 hitting. Caylee Parker had 24 kills and 15 digs while McKayla Wuensch (46 assists, 14 digs) and Jasmine Davis (13 kills, 16 digs) also had double-doubles in UConn's first win ever over a top-25 opponent.
Davis served Creighton to a 5-0 lead to start the match, which quickly expanded to 9-2, before UConn stormed back to take a 12-10 lead after a stretch that saw eight of CU's season-high 33 attack errors in a stretch of 10 points. The Huskies continued their momentum to take the first set 25-17, hitting .292 while holding the Jays to .028 hitting. Zimmerman had five kills for CU, but the hosts owned five blocks to limit the Bluejay attack.
After falling behind 11-6 early in the second set the Bluejays bounced back to take a 14-13 lead and eventually even the match on an ace by Davis. Sis had five kills and five digs in the second set in CU's 25-21 victory.
Creighton never trailed in the third set, but did lose Bottomley after the senior was involved in a collision on a point when the score was 11-8. She did not return to the match, and Booth did not provide an update on her status following the match. Despite the absence of their senior libero, the Jays didn't skip a beat and went on to a 25-21 victory to go up 2-1 in the match. Davis had seven kills in the third set as Wait issued 14 assists.
UConn prevailed in a fourth set that featured 13 ties and three lead changes. The score was deadlocked at 18-all before UConn embarked on a 5-0 run to take control. The Jays got back within one at 23-22 before Parker had a kill and block assist to force a fifth set. Bolton had 10 digs in the fourth set from the libero position, returning to the position she played most of her freshman season. Sis added six kills in 10 swings but the Jays also had 10 attack errors, a serving error, a blocking error and a ball handling miscue.
Creighton led the first half of the final set, taking an 8-5 lead at one point, before UConn rallied with a 4-0 run to take a 12-10 lead and fended off CU the rest of the way. Parker's fifth kill of the set ended CU's first volleyball trip to Gampel Pavilion in defeat. UConn hit .333 in the final set with 10 kills and just one attack error in 27 swings.
"We knew UConn was a good team and I thought we made too many unforced errors to come out with the win tonight," said Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "Obviously we have to go back to the gym to get better."
Creighton returns to the court on Sunday at Noon Central when it visits Providence in a match that will air on FloSports.
NOTES: Despite today's loss, Creighton's 17-3 record equals the program's best start after 20 matches all-time ... Creighton fell to 2-3 when playing on Kirsten Bernthal Booth's birthday ... Creighton fell to 27-3 all-time on BIG EAST Digital Network ... Norah Sis became Creighton's third freshman ever with four or more matches of 20+ kills, joining Jaali Winters (9) and Melissa Walsh (4) ... Creighton had won 104 straight matches against BIG EAST teams when winning the third set ... Kendra Wait and Jaela Zimmerman each had their 10th double-double of the season, while Keeley Davis had her 10th career double-double ... Norah Sis had career-highs with 23 kills and 21 digs and Keeley Davis tied her season-high with 13 digs. Sis is the first Bluejay with 20 kills and 20 digs in a match since Jaali Winters (21 kills, 25 digs) vs. Michigan in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, and first Bluejay freshman to do it since Winters (21 kills, 21 digs) vs. North Carolina in the 2015 NCAA Tournament ... Abby Bottomley ended the day with 2,501 career digs. She's the first BIG EAST player to ever reach that mark, though 2,158 of those came at High Point ... Naomi Hickman (439) moved past JoDe Cieloha (437) for fifth in Creighton history in career block assists ... Creighton fell to 1-1 in five set matches this season and 62-33 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Team Stats
CU
UConn
Kills
62
56
Errors
33
25
Attempts
189
184
Hitting %
.153
.168
Points
76.0
72.0
Assists
55
53
Aces
5
4
Blocks
9.0
12.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
4
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
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