Saturday, November 13
Villanova, Pa.
6:00 PM
Creighton University
26-3,14-2Big East
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0
Villanova
15-13,7-9Big East
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Creighton
25
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Villanova
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Photo by: Chelsea Nicholson
Volleyball Hits .426 in Sweep At Villanova
11/13/2021 7:31:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton improves to 26-3 with ninth straight win
VILLANOVA, Pa. -- The No. 23 Creighton Volleyball team hit a season-high .426 in a dominant 3-0 sweep at Villanova on Saturday, Nov. 13. The Bluejays improved to 26-3 overall with a 25-11, 25-15, 25-18 victory at Jake Nevin Fieldhouse, a venue where the seven-time defending BIG EAST champs had lost in three of its previous five visits.
Keeley Davis and Kiana Schmitt combined for 18 kills in 27 errorless swings while Norah Sis and Jaela Zimmerman each owned a dozen kills for the Bluejays. Creighton had 53 kills, two aces, 45 digs and 5.0 blocks. CU's .436 hitting was its best since hitting .467 on Nov. 3, 2019 vs. Seton Hall and its best during a road match since hitting .476 at DePaul on Oct. 6, 2017.
Villanova was paced by six kills from Riley Homer, but the Wildcats hit just .117 for the contest. The hosts finished with 24 kills, two aces, 27 digs and two blocks.
"We've been playing pretty solid defensively in the serve and pass game but our offense had just been okay, so it was good to get a night that I thought we were really doing things well on offense," said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "Villanova's a good team, the gym was really loud and it was Senior Night, but I really liked that our team didn't let that energy affect them. I thought we saw some good maturity from the group."
Zimmerman dominated the first set with seven kills to lead an effort that saw Creighton hit .516, claiming 18 kills on 31 swings. The Bluejays flew to leads of 9-4 and 17-7 while eliminating any hope of another upset bid by the Wildcats. Freshman Kendra Wait dished 11 assists in the game, with her final set of the frame resulting in her 1,000th career assist.
The second set was even at 12-all before the Bluejays broke free with a 13-3 run to end the set. The burst included a 4-0 serving run by Zimmerman and a 5-0 run to end the set from Wait. Sis was even more of a force in the second set with eight kills in 10 errorless swings as CU hit .444, while Schmitt had four kills in a span of five points when the lead stretched from 18-14 to 22-15.
Creighton trailed 15-14 just past the midpoint of the third set before closing out the Wildcats with a 10-3 run. Zimmerman keyed that separation with two kills and an ace before Annika Welty finished off the match with her ninth kill, tying a season-high. The final set saw Davis, Zimmerman and Welty all record four kills. Welty.
Creighton returns home on Friday at 6:30 p.m. to host Seton Hall.
NOTES: Creighton has won a season-long nine straight matches, the ninth-longest win streak in program history ... Creighton's 26-3 start matches the 2012 team for the best record in program history after 29 matches ... Kendra Wait reached 1,000 career assists in her 95th career set played and the 29th match of her career, fifth-fastest in program history ... Creighton's 26 wins are tied for the national lead, as are its 11 true road wins and 81 sets won. CU's 17 wins away from home lead the country ... Creighton has won 25 straight matches when outblocking the opposition ... Creighton owns a 1/2 game lead over Marquette, which plays on Sunday at fifth-place Butler. UConn fell to two games behind the Bluejays with a 3-1 loss at Seton Hall on Saturday.
Keeley Davis and Kiana Schmitt combined for 18 kills in 27 errorless swings while Norah Sis and Jaela Zimmerman each owned a dozen kills for the Bluejays. Creighton had 53 kills, two aces, 45 digs and 5.0 blocks. CU's .436 hitting was its best since hitting .467 on Nov. 3, 2019 vs. Seton Hall and its best during a road match since hitting .476 at DePaul on Oct. 6, 2017.
Villanova was paced by six kills from Riley Homer, but the Wildcats hit just .117 for the contest. The hosts finished with 24 kills, two aces, 27 digs and two blocks.
"We've been playing pretty solid defensively in the serve and pass game but our offense had just been okay, so it was good to get a night that I thought we were really doing things well on offense," said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "Villanova's a good team, the gym was really loud and it was Senior Night, but I really liked that our team didn't let that energy affect them. I thought we saw some good maturity from the group."
Zimmerman dominated the first set with seven kills to lead an effort that saw Creighton hit .516, claiming 18 kills on 31 swings. The Bluejays flew to leads of 9-4 and 17-7 while eliminating any hope of another upset bid by the Wildcats. Freshman Kendra Wait dished 11 assists in the game, with her final set of the frame resulting in her 1,000th career assist.
The second set was even at 12-all before the Bluejays broke free with a 13-3 run to end the set. The burst included a 4-0 serving run by Zimmerman and a 5-0 run to end the set from Wait. Sis was even more of a force in the second set with eight kills in 10 errorless swings as CU hit .444, while Schmitt had four kills in a span of five points when the lead stretched from 18-14 to 22-15.
Creighton trailed 15-14 just past the midpoint of the third set before closing out the Wildcats with a 10-3 run. Zimmerman keyed that separation with two kills and an ace before Annika Welty finished off the match with her ninth kill, tying a season-high. The final set saw Davis, Zimmerman and Welty all record four kills. Welty.
Creighton returns home on Friday at 6:30 p.m. to host Seton Hall.
NOTES: Creighton has won a season-long nine straight matches, the ninth-longest win streak in program history ... Creighton's 26-3 start matches the 2012 team for the best record in program history after 29 matches ... Kendra Wait reached 1,000 career assists in her 95th career set played and the 29th match of her career, fifth-fastest in program history ... Creighton's 26 wins are tied for the national lead, as are its 11 true road wins and 81 sets won. CU's 17 wins away from home lead the country ... Creighton has won 25 straight matches when outblocking the opposition ... Creighton owns a 1/2 game lead over Marquette, which plays on Sunday at fifth-place Butler. UConn fell to two games behind the Bluejays with a 3-1 loss at Seton Hall on Saturday.
Team Stats
CU
VU
Kills
53
24
Errors
10
13
Attempts
101
94
Hitting %
.426
.117
Points
60.0
28.0
Assists
43
22
Aces
2
2
Blocks
5.0
2.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
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