#21 Volleyball Seeks BIG EAST Title To Close Regular Season

This Weekend
Nov. 19   6:30 pm   Seton Hall at #21 Creighton (FloSports)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
LIVE VIDEO | FLOSPORTS SUBSCRIPTION INFO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF)

Nov. 21   1:00 pm   St. John's at #21 Creighton (FS1) (Senior Day)   Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF)

This Weekend
No. 21 Creighton (26-3, 14-2 BIG EAST) closes regular-season play this weekend with a pair of home matches and an eighth consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title within its reach.
   But before picking up any hardware, the Bluejays will need to defeat a pair of teams who are among the rare few in the BIG EAST that have beaten Creighton inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
   The weekend gets started on Friday at 6:30 p.m. when the Bluejays welcome Seton Hall (14-16, 6-10 BIG EAST).
   On Sunday, Creighton hosts St. John's (14-16, 5-11 BIG EAST) at 1 p.m. in the final regular-season match around the league this fall.
   Creighton will honor seniors Abby Bottomley, Naomi Hickman and Annika Welty following Sunday's contest.

Broadcast Information
Friday's match vs. Seton Hall will air on FloSports, a subscription-based service, with Jake Ryan and Shannon Smolinski on the call.
   More information about discounted subscription rates to all FloSports programming can be found at http://GoCreighton.com/FloSports.
   Sunday's contest will be nationally-televised on FS1, with Bob Brainerd and Jill Dorsey on the call. Sunday's match can be seen on-line at http://FoxSports.com/live.

Live Stats Information
Every match this season will have free live stats.
   Exact links are on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.

Scouting No. 21 Creighton
Creighton is 26-3 overall this season, tied for first in the BIG EAST with a 14-2 league mark, but owns two wins over co-leader Marquette. CU leads the nation with 17 wins away from home and is tied for the national lead with 26 overall victories, 11 road match victories and 81 sets won.
   The Bluejays went 12-1 while rampaging through the non-conference schedule, winning a tournament title in each of the first four weeks of the season.
   Creighton owns 20 sweeps among its 26 victories, including 3-0 victories vs. No. 3 Kentucky, Missouri, Wichita State, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas City and SMU. The Jays also have beaten Marquette (twice), Illinois and Omaha in four sets and USC in five frames. The only losses have come to No. 3 Nebraska, St. John's and UConn.
   A Creighton team that returned all six starters from last year's team that won a seventh straight BIG EAST title and made a ninth straight NCAA Tournament trip has had huge contributions from a top-10 class of newcomers.
   Norah Sis (3.63 kps., 3.01 dps.) became the first freshman in school history to be named All-Tournament after each of the first three events of her career. Classmate Kendra Wait (10.57 aps., 3.03 dps., 0.81 bps., 1.18 kps., .312%) was named MVP of the Mizzou Invitational and also earned three All-Tournament Team accolades. Sis (6) and Wait (5) have combined to win 11-of-12 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors to date.
   A third newcomer, High Point transfer Abby Bottomley, leads CU with 5.03 digs per set and is second with 0.39 aces per set. The three-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week earned All-Tournament Team honors in Lexington and Wichita and ranks 11th in NCAA history with 2,636 career digs.
   Senior OH Jaela Zimmerman (3.75 kps., 3.24 dps.) is a six-rotation star and one of two players in the BIG EAST (along with teammate Norah Sis) averaging at least 3.00 kills and 3.00 digs per set. Named the 2020 AVCA East Region Player of the Year, Zimmerman is a two-time All-BIG EAST choice and was named MVP of the Bluegrass Battle, the Bluejay Invitational and Shocker Volleyball Classic.
   Creighton averages 14.14 kills, 1.55 aces, 18.25 digs and 2.77 blocks per set while hitting .243 as a team. The Bluejays are holding foes to .125 hitting and 0.82 aces per set.

Scouting Seton Hall
Seton Hall is 14-16 this season and coming off wins last weekend vs. UConn (3-1) and St. John's (3-0), the two league teams who have beaten Creighton this fall.
   Perri Lucas (2.68 kps.) tops the Pirates in kills and Cagla Bengi owns a team-high 27 aces.
   Taylor Jakubowski (4.88 aps.) and Bengi (4.60 aps.) set the offense and Anna Holland paces the Pirates with 399 digs.
   Seton Hall hits .220 as a team and averages 12.29 kills, 1.18 aces, 15.36 digs and 2.35 blocks per set.

Scouting St. John's
St. John's is 14-16 this fall and 5-11 in BIG EAST action. The Red Storm enter the final week of the regular- season with a five-match losing streak, though three of those setbacks have come in five sets.
   Rachele Rastelli (4.44 kps., .264%) leads the BIG EAST in kills but missed both matches last weekend. The Red Storm have also been without 2020 BIG EAST Player of the Year Efrosini Alexakou (2.66 kps., 2.94 dps.), who has not played since late September.
   Tiziana Baumrukova (8.66 aps.) and Wiktoria Kowalczyk (3.84 aps.) set the offense, and Ariadni Kathariou owns a league-best 1.31 blocks per set. Sheena Yoshioka paces SJU with 3.06 digs per set.
   As a team, St. John's averages 13.26 kills, 1.54 aces, 12.72 digs and 2.39 blocks per set on .216 hitting.

Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 409-178 record in her 19th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to seven straight outright BIG EAST titles, and eight league crowns in the previous nine 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. Booth was tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the third time in 2019.
   The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only 10 NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last 10 seasons (including 2021), 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 Justin Dueck.

Series History vs. Seton Hall
Creighton is 14-3 all-time against Seton Hall, and 6-1 in Omaha. The Bluejays have won 13 straight meetings in the series, including 11 consecutive sweeps. CU won 26-24, 25-15, 25-18 in October in South Orange.
   The Pirates are one of four (joining Marquette, St. John's & Villanova) BIG EAST teams to beat Creighton multiple times since the start of the 2014 season, with CU going 13-2 against the Pirates and 121-8 against everyone else.

Series History vs. St. John's
Creighton leads the all-time series with St. John's by a 13-3 margin, including a 6-1 mark in Omaha.
   After losing the first meeting, Creighton won 13 straight contests vs. St. John's until that streak was snapped in the 2019 BIG EAST Tournament semifinals in Milwaukee. That loss came after CU had won 30-of-31 sets vs. SJU. The teams did not square off last season, and SJU stunned the Bluejays last month in Queens in four sets.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 13-3 vs. St. John's and coach Joanne Persico.

Recapping Last Weekend
Creighton had little trouble in disposing of Georgetown and Villanova last weekend on the road, outscoring the Hoyas and Wildcats 150-86 and winning each set by seven points or more.
   Norah Sis led Creighton with 20 kills while Kiana Schmitt (.476), Keeley Davis (.412) and Annika Welty (.400) all hit .400 or better.

Hall Mark
Creighton has swept Seton Hall each of the last 11 meetings, and won each of the last 35 sets.
   The 35 straight set victories over the Pirates is the longest in program history over one opponent.
Most Consecutive Set Wins Over One Team
   Wins   Opponent   Dates
   35   Seton Hall   2015-Present
   25   Indiana State   2005-09
   24   Xavier   2015-18
   23   Indiana State   2009-Present
   20   Providence   2017-Present
   19   Providence   2014-17
   19   Butler   2018-21

Jak Of All Trades
Seton Hall setter Taylor Jakubowski is the younger sister of former Creighton women's soccer standout Taryn Jakubowski.

What a Senior Class
Creighton will honor three seniors following its final home match of the season on Sunday vs. St. John's as Abby Bottomley, Naomi Hickman and Annika Welty will be recognized.
   Bottomley leads CU with 478 digs and 5.03 digs per set while ranking second on the Bluejay team with 37 service aces. She ranks 11th in NCAA history with 2,536 career digs and was a four-time First Team All-Big South Conference selection at High Point from 2017-20.
   Hickman has started most of her five seasons at Creighton and ranks as one of the best blockers in program history. Named MVP of the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament and an AVCA All-East Region First Team honoree last season, the Lawrence, Kan., product has appeared in a program record 112 victories. She's also the only player in program history to start five season-openers.
   Welty has appeared in 76 matches as a Bluejay, recording 333 kill and 196 blocks. She was named to the All-Tournament Team after helping Creighton to the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament title.
   Since Hickman first enrolled in 2017, Creighton owns a record of 118-25 and has won four conference regular-season titles, three BIG EAST Tournament titles and made the NCAA Tournament every year.

7 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
With its 2020 title, Creighton became the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win seven straight outright regular-season titles. Two wins this weekend will make CU the first team to ever win eight straight BIG EAST volleyball titles.
   Before last year, no team had won seven straight regular-season BIG EAST titles (including shares) since Notre Dame won seven in a row from 1999-2005, though the Irish shared the title in 2003 (with Pittsburgh) and 2005 (with Louisville)
   The Bluejay volleyball team is also the first Creighton program in any sport to win seven or more straight league titles, surpassing the five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96).

BIG EAST's Best
Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton, Marquette and St. John's are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
   Marquette won the regular-season and tournament title in 2013, while Creighton swept both titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020. CU won the 2019 regular-season crown, while St. John's upset nationally-ranked Creighton and Marquette to bring home the 2019 tournament title. In 2020, Creighton won the Midwest Division regular-season title, while St. John's claimed the East Division crown.
   Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since the league's realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013 (through 11/17/21)
             BIG EAST only   All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)   W   L   W   L
Creighton (8)   135   13   222   59
Marquette (7)   118   27   206   67
Xavier   84   62   129   126
Butler   79   69   138   120
Villanova (1)   77   71   145   113
St. John's (1)   70   78   153   121
Seton Hall (1)   66   79   126   137
DePaul   38   110   98   151
Georgetown   33   107   83   158
Providence*   21   111   80   148
Connecticut#   16   8   24   15
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 and
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.
#Connecticut rejoined the league in 2020 and
its record from 2013-19 (96-121) is not included above.

Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won eight conference regular-season titles. All eight of Creighton's crowns were outright titles, whereas Texas shared one title and WKU shared four.
   Creighton has also won seven conference tournament titles since 2012, tied for the most in the nation with Dayton and Western Kentucky.
Most Conference Titles Since 2012
Regular-Season   League Tournament
8 (0 shared) Creighton   7 Creighton
8 (1) Texas   7 Dayton
8 (4) Western Kentucky   7 Western Kentucky
7 American   6 American
7 BYU   6 Fairfield
7 Colorado State   6 LIU
7 Fairfield
7 Florida A&M

The Final Weekend
The field for next week's BIG EAST Volleyball Championships in Milwaukee has already been set, as Creighton, Marquette, UConn and DePaul have clinched the four spots in the field.
   Creighton and Marquette enter the final weekend tied for first place with identical 14-2 league records. Should they remain tied, Creighton owns the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to a pair of wins over the Golden Eagles this season. CU hosts Seton Hall and St. John's, while Marquette hosts Georgetown and Villanova.
   Two games behind CU and MU In the standings with a 12-4 league mark is UConn. The Huskies won the only meeting against Creighton to win any potential tiebreaker with the Bluejays, but lost both match-ups vs. Marquette this fall. UConn hosts Butler and Xavier this week.
   Clinching its first bid since joining the league in 2005, DePaul sealed its spot with road wins at Butler and Xavier last weekend. The Blue Demons will be the No. 4 seed, having lost both meetings with the UConn team it could tie for third place with.

Jae-Z Plays The Hits
Jaela Zimmerman owns 951 kills entering this weekend, good for 18th in Creighton history. She stands just 49 kills of passing Erin Swanson (955), Megan Ballenger (965) and Jess Bird (965) to become the 15th Bluejay ever to reach the 1,000 kill milestone.
   Zimmerman has played in 98 career matches.
Career Kills
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Jaali Winters   494   1,843   2015-18
   2.   Leah Ratzlaff   409   1,622   2002-05
   3.   Melissa Walsh   394   1,596   1998-01
   4.   Taryn Kloth   462   1,427   2015-18
   5.   Kelly Goc   394   1,414   2004-07
   6.   Jessica Houts   451   1,385   2005-09
   7.   JoDe Cieloha   398   1,375   1994-97
   8.   Leah McNary   458   1,257   2011-14
   9.   Marysa Wilkinson   499   1,183   2014-17
   10.   Lauren Smith   511   1,160   2013-16
   11.   Allie Oelke   445   1,126   2007-10
   12.   Kelli Browning   424   1,104   2011-14
   13.   Amanda Cvejdlik   343   1,029   2005-08
   14.   Shelly Kapler   388   1,000   1996-99
   15.   Jess Bird   377   965   2013-16
       Megan Ballenger   450   965   2016-19
   17.   Erin Swanson   319   955   1998-01
   18.   Jaela Zimmerman   328   951   2018-Pr.

Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Career Kills
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Melissa Walsh   70   10/15/00   Eastern Illinois
Jaali Winters   73   08/25/17   vs. Saint Mary's
Leah Ratzlaff   76   10/22/04   Missouri State
JoDe Cieloha   83   09/13/97   at Drake
Kelly Goc   87   11/24/06   vs Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts   90   11/08/08   Illinois State
Leah McNary   96   09/12/14   Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik   99   11/15/08   at Evansville
Shelly Kapler   103   11/18/99   vs. Missouri St.
Taryn Kloth   103   08/31/18   vs. NC State
Allie Oelke   107   10/09/10   Wichita State
Kelli Browning   110   10/26/14   DePaul
Lauren Smith   119   10/07/16   at Villanova
Marysa Wilkinson   120   09/30/17   at St. John's

Sis Honored For Sixth Time
Norah Sis was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season, and second consecutive week, on Monday, Nov. 15th.
   Sis averaged 3.33 kills, 3.67 digs, 1.00 blocks and 0.33 aces per set on .308 hitting as Creighton picked up dominating road sweeps at Georgetown and Villanova over the weekend.
   The Papillion, Neb., product had a match-best eight kills to go with 15 digs, three blocks and a pair of aces in Creighton's 3-0 sweep vs. Georgetown on Friday afternoon.
   She then contributed 12 kills on season-high .500 hitting, also contributing seven digs and three blocks vs. Villanova in a 3-0 blanking of the Wildcats.

Chasing A Wins Record
Creighton enters the final weekend of the regular-season with a nation-leading 26 victories. That stands just three behind the program's single-season school-record of 29 set in 2012 and matched in both 2016 and 2018.
   Creighton has never entered a conference tournament with more than 26 victories.
Matches Won
       Year   MP   W   L   Pct.
   1.   2012   33   29   4   .879
       2018   34   29   5   .853
       2016   36   29   7   .806
   4.   2015   36   27   9   .750
   5.   2017   33   26   7   .788
       2021   29   26   3   .897

Sis Wins Fifth Freshman of the Week Honor
Norah Sis wan named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season on Nov. 8.
   The Papillion product averaged 4.00 kills, 3.29 digs, 0.43 blocks and 0.14 aces per set on .294 hitting as the Bluejays defeated Xavier (3-0) and Butler (3-1).
   Sis led Creighton's offense in both matches with 14 kills. She had nine digs, three blocks and an ace on .423 hitting in the sweep vs. Xavier, then contributed 14 digs in the 3-1 win vs. Butler that clinched a spot in the league tournament. It was Sis' 12th double-double of the fall.
   Her 4.00 kills per set for the week were tied for the most in the league last week, and led all players on teams who won at least once.

The Creighton 500
Creighton owns a 502-330 record since reinstating volleyball in 1994, reaching the 500-win mark on Nov. 7 with a win vs. Butler.
   Since 1994, Creighton have had three head coaches and 135 different women have appeared in a match.
   Here's a look at Creighton's record since its 1994 reinstatement at the time of some of the milestone victories:
W-L   Opponent   Date   1-0   vs. Chattanooga   9/2/94
50-91   vs. Southern Illinois   9/10/99
100-160   at Bradley   10/4/03
150-197   Drake   9/22/06
200-224   Texas Tech   8/28/09
250-263   Wichita State   11/4/11
300-278   Georgetown   11/22/13
350-297   Butler   11/15/15
400-310   Seton Hall   10/22/17
450-320   at Seton Hall   10/5/19
500-330   Butler   11/7/21

Wait For It...
Kendra Wait owns 1,025 assists this season and reached the 1,000 assist milestone at the end of the first set of her 29th match (and 95th set) as a Bluejay.
   In program history, only five previous women had reached 1,000 career assists in 95 sets or fewer. Only two of those women (Korie Lebeda and Brittany Coleman) did it as true freshmen, as Wait did.
   Wait is the 10th player in Creighton history to reach 1,000 career assists.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Assists (Career)
Name   SP   MP   Date   Opponent
Korie Lebeda   77   23   10/29/05   Missouri St.
Brittany Coleman   86   23   11/01/03   Northern Iowa
Lydia Dimke   88   26   11/06/16   Xavier
Madelyn Cole   93   26   11/03/18   at Seton Hall
Kendra Wait   95   29   11/13/21   at Villanova
Kailey Reyes   97   27   09/04/99   Boise State
Maggie Baumert   103   32   11/29/14   vs. Seton Hall
Megan Bober   106   28   11/20/09   at #21 No. Iowa
Melissa Weisensee   119   35   09/20/95   Wichita State
Michelle Sicner   267   72   10/04/13   at Butler

On A Roll
Creighton has won a season-best nine straight matches, the ninth-longest streak in program history.
   Creighton owns eight previous win streaks of 10 or longer, but earlier this year had an eight match win streak halted by St. John's.
   Consecutive Wins
       Wins   Dates   Snapped By
       23   Sept. 23-Dec. 9, 2016   at #5 Texas, 3-0
       21   Sept. 21 - Nov. 30, 2018   #22 Washington, 3-0
       17   Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012   at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
       14   Sept. 19-Nov. 3, 2019   at Villanova, 3-0
       12   Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015   at Villanova, 3-2
       11   Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
       11   Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017   at Villanova, 3-0
       10   Oct. 31-Dec. 5, 2015   vs. #2 USC, 3-1
       9   Oct. 17, 2021-Present   ? ? ?
       8   Oct. 25-Nov. 22, 2008   vs. Northern Iowa, 3-2
       8   Sept. 10-25, 2021   at St. John's, 3-1


Home Sweet Home
Creighton has won each of its last nine home matches, and 15 contests in a row inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
   When Creighton returns home on Friday vs. Seton Hall, the Bluejays will have a chance to earn its seventh win streak of 10 or more consecutive home victories.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
   Wins   Dates   Snapped By
   15   Sept. 7 - Nov. 30, 2018   #22 Washington, 3-0
   13   Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013   California, 3-0
   13   Sept. 9, 2016-Sept. 1, 2017   #18 USC, 3-0
   12   Sept. 20-Nov. 28, 2015   #4 Kansas, 3-2
   12   Sept. 19, 2019 - Jan. 29, 2021   South Dakota, 3-2
   10   Sept. 2-Dec. 1, 2017   #12 Michigan State, 3-1
   9   Sept. 20, 2014-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
   9   Sept. 10, 2021-Present   ? ? ?
   8   Sept. 25-Nov. 20, 2010   Northern Illinois, 3-0

Road Kill
Creighton owns an 11-2 record in true road matches. The only other teams in the country with 11 road wins are No. 1 Louisville and CU's BIG EAST rival, Marquette (11-1 with a loss at Creighton).
   Excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Creighton has won nine or more road matches in each of the past six seasons and eight or more road wins in nine campaigns.
   Creighton's 17 wins away from home (9 road, 6 neutral) are the most in the country.
   Speaking of leading the country, Creighton also shares the national lead with 81 sets won so far this fall. The Bluejays are 81-16 in sets, while Ball State is 81-28.

Hickman Takes Over Wins Record
Naomi Hickman has played in 112 wins as a Bluejay, as the Sept. 18 win vs. Wichita State made her the ninth player in Creighton Volleyball's modern history to reach the century mark.
   Hickman took sole possession of the school-record mark when she appeared in a win at Georgetown on Nov. 12.
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
   112   Naomi Hickman   2017-Present
   111   Jaali Winters   2015-18
   109   Taryn Kloth   2015-18
   109   Brittany Witt   2016-19
   107   Megan Ballenger   2016-19
   106   Marysa Wilkinson   2014-17
   104   Lauren Smith   2013-16

Welty Heats Up
Annika Welty has traditionally been at her best at the end of the season, and this year is playing out much the same way.
   Welty is averaging 2.38 kills and 1.31 blocks per set on .303 hitting this November. Taking out the 2020 season that was held in the spring of 2021, Welty has continually upped her game as the stakes increase.
Annika Welty By Month, Career
   KPS   PCT.   BPS   PPS
Aug./Sept.   1.11   .208   .88   1.75
Oct.   1.43   .333   1.05   2.04
Nov./Dec.   1.83   .223   .90   2.32
Total   1.36   .239   .93   1.96

Worth Her Wait In Gold
Creighton Volleyball's Kendra Wait was named Freshman of the Week as well as Defensive Player of the Week by the BIG EAST Conference on Monday, Nov. 1.
   It's Wait's fifth time being honored as Freshman of the Week, having also been recognized on Aug. 30, Sept. 13, Sept. 20 and Sept. 27. Wait is third Bluejay ever to be a five-time conference Freshman of the Week, joining Keeley Davis (10 times in 2019) and Jaali Winters (six times in 2015). Both Davis and Winters went on to be named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and First Team All-BIG EAST every season of their careers to date. It was the first Defensive Player of the Week recognition for the native of Gardner, Kan.
   Wait averaged 9.57 assists, 5.00 digs, 1.57 kills and 1.00 blocks per set on .400 hitting as Creighton moved into a tie for first place in the BIG EAST with road wins at Marquette (3-1) and DePaul (3-0).
   Wait opened her week with 40 assists, 21 digs, six kills and two blocks in a 3-1 win at Marquette. Wait's 21 digs were a season-high as she became just the seventh different player in Bluejay 40 assists and 20 digs in a match, and first since former BIG EAST Player of the Year Lydia Dimke in 2016.
   She then had 27 assists, 14 digs, five blocks and five kills on .500 hitting in the sweep at DePaul, her team-high 12th double-double of the fall.

Freshmen On Fire
Even though scouting reports have been adjusted to stop them, freshman Norah Sis has averaged 4.00 kills and 3.09 digs per set on .294 hitting in the last 13 matches and Kendra Wait has averaged 10.57 assists, 3.00 digs, 1.07 kills and 0.66 blocks per set on .255 hitting in the same span.
   Here's how their numbers compare to the freshmen seasons of some other prominent Bluejays from the past. Also listed are their statistics and how they compare to the nation's other top freshmen on top-25 teams.
Creighton Freshmen - Top Attackers
Name, Year   KPS   HIT%   SAPS   DPS   BPS
Jaali Winters, 2015   4.07   .232   .13   2.49   .44
Melissa Walsh, 1998   3.75   .236   .07   2.76   .88
Norah Sis, 2021   3.63   .250   .18   3.01   .59
JoDe Cieloha, 1994   3.39   .233   .29   2.00   .70
Keeley Davis, 2019   3.35   .219   .31   1.37   .41
Allie Oelke, 2007   3.29   .179   .36   3.19   .56
Amanda Cvejdlik, 2005   2.85   .242   .00   .22   .66
Jessica Houts, 2005   2.84   .264   .16   .57   1.27
Kelly Goc, 2004   2.72   .244   .08   .46   .77
Carolyn Decker, 2004   2.70   .188   .36   2.42   .36
Melanie Jereb, 2012   2.47   .236   .13   2.74   .65

Top 25 Freshmen With 225+ Kills in 2021
Name, Year   K   KPS   HIT%   DPS   BPS
Norah Sis, Creighton   352   3.63   .250   3.01   .59
Grace Chillingworth, Pepp.   289   3.11   .255   .52   .33
Bianca Bertolino, Ga. Tech   227   2.55   .250   2.84   .48
Julia Orzol, Wisconsin   226   3.18   .203   2.14   .49

Creighton Freshmen - Top Setters
Name, Year   APS   KPS   SAPS   DPS   BPS
Korie Lebeda, 2005   13.34   .59   .22   2.54   .66
Brittany Coleman, 2003   11.71   .41   .22   2.53   .26
Kendra Wait, 2021   10.57   1.18   .11   3.03   .81
Kailey Reyes, 1998   10.23   .86   .27   3.40   .42
Megan Bober, 2009   9.63   1.17   ..12   1.93   .93
Melissa Weisensee, 1994   8.26   .90   .41   2.71   .26

Top 25 Freshmen With 900+ Assists in 2021
Name, Year   A   APS   KPS   DPS   BPS
Kendra Wait, Creighton   1,025   10.57   1.18   3.03   .81
Emma Grome, Kentucky   989   11.37   .32   2.13   .51
Kami Miner, Stanford   935   11.27   .67   2.22   .53

Sis, Boom, Ahhh...
Norah Sis is playing a starring role despite her freshman status, averaging 3.63 kills per set.
   In program history, only five CU freshmen have ever averaged more than three kills per set over the course of a season, as seen below:
Most Kills Per Set, Creighton Freshman
(min. 100 kills)
   KPS   Name   Year
   4.07   Jaali Winters   2015
   3.75   Melissa Walsh   1998
   3.63   Norah Sis   2021
   3.39   JoDe Cieloha   1994
   3.35   Keeley Davis   2019
   3.29   Allie Oelke   2007

Freshmen Not Phased
Bluejay freshmen Kendra Wait and Norah Sis have had double-doubles both times they have faced Marquette this season.
   In two matches vs. Marquette this season, Sis has averaged 4.75 kills, 3.38 digs and 0.62 blocks per set on .330 hitting.
   In two matches vs. Marquette this season, Wait has averaged 11.75 assists, 4.25 digs, 1.25 kills, 0.50 blocks and 0.38 aces per set on .296 hitting.
   Creighton has gone 6-1 in seven matches this fall against teams who have received Top 25 votes in any AVCA poll this season. In those contests, Sis averages 4.15 kills and 3.04 digs per set and hits .253 while Wait averages 10.62 assists, 3.42 digs, 0.77 blocks and 1.31 kills per set on .313 hitting.
   Sis (6) and Wait (5) have combined to win 11-of-12 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors this fall.
Aug. 30:   Kendra Wait, Creighton
Sept. 6:   Norah Sis, Creighton
Sept. 13:   Kendra Wait, Creighton
Sept. 20:   Kendra Wait, Creighton
Sept. 27:   Kendra Wait, Creighton
Oct. 4:    Shaliyah Rhoden, Providence
Oct. 11:   Norah Sis, Creighton
Oct. 18:   Norah Sis, Creighton
Oct. 25:   Norah Sis, Creighton
Nov. 1:   Kendra Wait, Creighton
Nov. 8:   Norah Sis, Creighton
Nov. 15:   Norah Sis, Creighton

This Is 20/20
Kendra Wait etched her name in the Creighton record books when she had 40 assists and 21 digs at Marquette on Oct. 29.
   She is the seventh Bluejay in history to have a match with at least 20 assists and 20 digs, and first to do it since 2016 BIG EAST Player of the Year Lydia Dimke had 41 assists and 20 digs vs. Wichita State.
20 Assists, 20 Digs In A Match
A   D   Name   Opp.   Date
40   21   K. Wait   at Marquette (4s)   10/29/21
41   20   L. Dimke   vs. Wichita State (5s)   08/27/16
44   21   M. Sicner   Xavier (4s)   11/29/13
27   20   M. Sicner   Illinois State (4s)   09/30/11
71   20   K. Lebeda   at Evansville (5s)   11/18/06
62   21   B. Coleman   at So. Illinois (4s)   10/29/04
54   22   B. Coleman   at Illinois State (4s)   10/18/03
45   20   K. Reyes   vs. Evansville (4s)   11/24/00
64   23   K. Reyes   at Evansville (5s)   11/04/00
44   23   K. Reyes   Bradley (4s)   10/28/00
49   28   K. Reyes   at Illinois State (4s)   10/13/00
40   21   K. Reyes   Missouri State (4s)   11/06/99
65   24   K. Reyes   Illinois State (4s)   09/24/99
55   28   K. Reyes   Evansville (5s)   09/11/99
65   22   M. Weisensee   at Evansville (5s)   11/08/97
46   21   M. Weisensee   Missouri State (4s)   10/31/97
46   38   M. Weisensee   Evansville (4s)   10/10/97
40   23   M. Weisensee   at Drake (5s)   09/13/97
53   24   M. Weisensee   at Indiana St. (5s)   10/18/96
51   21   M. Weisensee   at Wichita St. (5s)   09/14/96
47   22   M. Weisensee   Bradley (4s)   09/09/94

The Head-to-Head Difference
Creighton and Marquette have dominated the BIG EAST in recent seasons, but CU has owned the overall edge in the standings due largely to the Bluejays' ability to defeat the Golden Eagles on a regular basis.
   Since the start of the 2014 season, Creighton is 18-2 in head-to-head meetings against Marquette and owns just eight losses against the rest of the BIG EAST (3 to Villanova, 2 each to St. John's and Seton Hall and 1 to UConn).
   Marquette is 2-18 in head-to-head meetings against Creighton and owns 15 losses to the rest of the BIG EAST (4 to Xavier, 3 each to Butler, St. John's and Villanova and 2 to Seton Hall).
   Both MU wins vs. Creighton in the past eight seasons have been 3-0 sweeps, while CU owns five 3-0 sweeps, nine 3-1 wins and four 3-2 victories against MU since 2014.
   Both of Marquette's last two regular-season BIG EAST home losses have come to Creighton, as the Jays snapped an 11-match streak in 2019 and a 10-match home win streak in league play on Oct. 29. Take out two home losses to Creighton and Marquette hasn't lost a regular-season league match at home since falling to Butler on Oct. 21, 2017.
   Creighton's been equally tough at home in league play, where it is 56-1 in regular-season home league matches since November of 2014. The only setback (on Feb. 6, 2021 vs. Marquette) was played as a non-conference match, only to be flipped to a league contest 19 days later.

Service With A Smile
Keeley Davis owns 43 aces this season (second in the BIG EAST) and has been on an absolute tear from the service line since CU's win vs. Nebraska-Omaha on Sept. 11th.
   Davis has owned multiple aces in 12 of her last 20 matches, and has 36 aces and 39 service errors in that span.
   Her 0.45 aces per set would rank third-most in Creighton single-season history. She's the eighth Bluejay with 40 or more aces in a season.
Service Aces
       Name   Sets   No.   Year
   1.   Molly Moran   105   59   2000
   2.   Madelyn Cole   118   51   2018
   3.   Molly Moran   94   47   2001
   4.   Melissa Weisensee   107   45   1995
       Amanda Cvejdlik   116   45   2006
   6.   Nayka Benitez   115   43   2009
       Keeley Davis   96   43   2021
   8.   Madelyn Cole   107   42   2019
   9.   Allie Oelke   107   39   2007
       Nayka Benitez   118   39   2010
       Megan Ballenger   109   39   2016

Service Aces Per Set (Min. 20 SA)
       Name   Sets   No.   Avg.   Year
   1.   Molly Moran   105   59   0.562   2000
   2.   Molly Moran   94   47   0.500   2001
   3.   Keeley Davis   96   43   0.448   2021
   4.   Madelyn Cole   118   51   0.432   2018
   5.   Melissa Weisensee   107   45   0.421   1995
   6.   Melissa Weisensee   86   35   0.407   1994
   7.   Madelyn Cole   107   42   0.393   2019
   8.   Abby Bottomley   95   37   0.389   2021
   9.   Amanda Cvejdlik   116   45   0.3879   2006
   10.   Erica Kostelac   80   31   0.3878   2019
   11.   Nayka Benitez   115   43   0.3739   2009

Sis Earns Third Straight Freshman Honor
Creighton's Norah Sis was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the third straight week, and fourth time overall, on Oct. 25th.
   The Bluejay outside hitter hit .320 and averaged 3.17 kills, 2.83 digs, 1.50 blocks and 0.17 aces in a pair of 3-0 victories over Georgetown and Villanova.
   Sis picked up her fourth consecutive double-double vs. Georgetown when she collected 10 kills and 10 digs on .269 hitting. She also tied a season-high with five blocks.
   The Papillion product finished off the week with nine kills, seven digs, four blocks and an ace on .375 hitting vs. Villanova as the Bluejays picked up their 20th win of the fall.
   Sis has previously been honored by the league on Sept. 6, Oct. 11 and Oct. 18 and is the third player in Creighton history to win three straight league Freshman of the Week accolades. Joining her in that elite category are teammates Kendra Wait (3 straight in 2021) and Keeley Davis (7 straight in 2019).

BIG EAST Up To Sixth
After ranking as the 11th-best conference in 2019, the BIG EAST is up to the No. 6 league this fall.
   One reason for the rapid rise is the enormous improvement by four teams, as well as the return of UConn to the league.
   Here's each league school with their 2019 year-end RPI, as well as their RPI entering this week
   If you were to go back even further, since 2018 all but one BIG EAST schools has improved their RPI from the end of 2018 to now.
Name   2019 RPI   2021 RPI   Change
Creighton   23   12   +11
Marquette   16   14   +2
St. John's   64   104   -40
DePaul   182   56   +126
UConn               200 (in AAC)   69   +131
Villanova   60   114   -54
Xavier   180   178   +2
Seton Hall   287   180   +107
Butler   159   176   -17
Providence   298   232   +66
Georgetown   224   262   -38
League Rank   11th   6th

20 Wins, Again
Creighton is 26-3 this year, with the Oct. 24 win vs. Villanova marking the 12th time in the program's modern history the Bluejays have won 20 matches or more.
   It's also the ninth time in the past 10 seasons that CU has reached that milestone. The only exception came during the 2020 season, when a limited schedule greatly affected by COVID-19 limited the Jays to 16 total matches.
   Prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival at Creighton, the Bluejays had never won more than 16 times in any season since the program's 1994 reinstatement.

What's Your 20?
Creighton is off to a 26-3 start this season. Those 26 victories surpass the win total from all of last season's abbreviated campaign, when the Bluejays finished 12-4 overall. Creighton's 26 wins rank tied for the most nationally this season with Ball State (26-3).
   Prior to last season, Creighton, BYU and Florida were the nation's only programs with 25 or more wins in every season from 2014-19.

Best Starts After 29 Matches
Creighton's 26-3 start equals the program's best mark after 29 matches in history, as the 2012 team also started 26-3 (and eventually 29-3).
   This is the third time that Creighton has started 23-4 or better through 29 matches. Each of the first two clubs to do it not only reached the NCAA Tournament, but advanced to the Second Round.
Best Starts After 29 Matches, Creighton History
   W-L   Year   Final W-L (NCAA's)
   26-3   2012   29-4 (NCAA Round 2)
   26-3   2021   TBD
   25-4   2018   29-5 (NCAA Round 2)

You Can Count On Her
As a junior Naomi Hickman averaged 1.97 kills and 1.09 blocks per set while hitting .394 in eight matches against top-25 competition.
   Last season, Hickman averaged 1.83 kills and 1.67 blocks per set while hitting .463 in regular-season matches against top-50 competition. She was also named MVP of the BIG EAST Championship while helping CU to the title.
   When Hickman excels, it usually leads to good things for her team. The Bluejays are 32-4 in her career when she has seven or more kills,

On The Run
Creighton has a ton of weapons behind the serving line, and has had 63 different serving runs of five or longer this season.
   Here's who's authored those serving runs:
Abby Bottomley   17
Keeley Davis   16
Jaela Zimmerman   9
Norah Sis   7
Kendra Wait   5
Megan Skovsende   4
Ellie Bolton   3
Naomi Hickman   1
Emily Bressman   1

Davis Trending Up
Keeley Davis started the season playing mostly as a defensive specialist, but lately she's become the front row weapon that we got accustomed to seeing when she was an All-BIG EAST and All-Region selection in 2019 and 2020.
   Davis had just 12 kills in CU's first seven matches before she had 27 kills in three contests at the Bluejay Invitational on Sept. 10-11.
   During Creighton's last 13 matches, Davis has 109 kills (2.48 kps.) in the process during those 44 sets. She's also added 0.57 aces and 1.89 digs per set in that span.
   Her 10-0 serving run early in the first set changed the momentum of the Oct. 10 win vs. Marquette. She then did it again on Oct. 17 at UConn when she served up a 12-0 run near the beginning of the first set. It was the third time in five weeks she's had a serving run of 10 or longer (also 13-0 vs. Wyoming).

Booth Earns 400th Win at CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth enters this weekend with a 409-179 record on the Creighton sideline, reaching the 400-win milestone on Oct. 10 with a win over Marquette. Booth has beaten 91 different schools while at Creighton.
   Coaching alongside Booth for each of those wins is assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens, who is also in her 19th year at CU.
   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
400-178   Marquette   10/10/21

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 owns 409 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport   Victories (as of 11/15/21)
Brent Vigness, Softball   804*
Ed Servais, Baseball   587*
Mary Higgins, Softball   564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis   478*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball   409*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball   357*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis   347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball   327
*still active coaching at Creighton

Sis-ter Act
Freshman Norah Sis had 20 kills in the fourth match of her career, a 3-2 win vs. USC on Sept. 3rd, and then added 20 more vs. Illinois on Sept. 11th in her ninth match. She had 22 kills on Oct. 10 vs. Marquette and 23 at UConn on Oct. 16.
   She's just the second freshman in program history to have a match with 20 or more kills in one of her first 10 matches, joining Carolyn Decker in 2004. Decker did it in her second match. Sis is the first Bluejay to ever have multiple contests of 20+ kills in her first 10 matches.
   Sis is the 11th Bluejay freshman ever to have a match with 20 or more kills, and first since Keeley Davis in 2019.
   Sis, Jaali Winters and Melissa Walsh are the only Bluejay freshmen with four or more matches of 20+ digs.
Creighton Freshmen With 20+ Kills in a Match
   Times   Name (High)   MP Before 1st Time     Year
   9   Jaali Winters (28)   13     2015
   4   Melissa Walsh (30)   15     1998
   4   Norah Sis (23)   4    2021
   3   JoDe Cieloha (23)         12     1994
   1   Michelle Prorock (23)   21     1994
   1   Shelly Kapler (22)   16     1996
   1   Jodi Bjoin (21)   18     1999
   1   Kelly Goc (20)   11     2004
   1   Carolyn Decker (22)   2     2004
   1   Allie Oelke (23)   14     2007
   1   Keeley Davis (31)      16     2019

Speaking of Sis
While we're on the topic of Norah Sis, the freshman surpassed 100 career kills in her ninth match of the season vs. Illinois. That equals Jaali Winters for second-fastest in program history to that milestone, trailing only JoDe Cieloha (8 in 1994).
   Sis got to 200 career kills on Oct. 8 vs. DePaul in her 18th match, tied for third-fastest in program history, and reached 300 kills in her 25th match, which is third-fastest.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
JoDe Cieloha   8   09/23/94   at Drake
Jaali Winters   9   09/12/15   Pacific
Norah Sis   9   09/11/21   Illinois
Melissa Walsh   10   09/26/98   at Bradley
Carolyn Decker   10   09/18/04   Illinois State
Keeley Davis   10   09/21/19   Wyoming

Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Jaali Winters   15   09/27/15   Villanova
Melissa Walsh   16   10/16/98   at Indiana State
JoDe Cieloha   18   10/30/94   at UMKC
Allie Oelke   18   10/06/07   at So. Illinois
Keeley Davis   18   10/20/19   Xavier
Norah Sis   18   10/08/21   DePaul

Creighton's Quickest Players To 300 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Jaali Winters   21   10/16/15   at Butler
Melissa Walsh   23   11/08/98   at UMKC
Norah Sis   25   10/30/21   at DePaul
JoDe Cieloha   26   09/02/95   vs. Green Bay
Allie Oelke   27   11/09/07   at Missouri State
Keeley Davis   27   11/22/19   #9 Marquette

Sis Honored Yet Again
Creighton Volleyball's Norah Sis was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the third straight week, and fourth time overall, on October 25th.
   The Bluejay outside hitter hit .320 and averaged 3.17 kills, 2.83 digs, 1.50 blocks and 0.17 aces in a pair of one-sided 3-0 victories last week over Georgetown and Villanova.
   Sis picked up her fourth consecutive double-double on Friday vs. Georgetown when she collected 10 kills and 10 digs on .269 hitting. She also tied a season-high with five blocks.
   The Papillion product finished off the week with nine kills, seven digs, four blocks and an ace on .375 hitting vs. Villanova as the Bluejays picked up their 20th win of the fall.
   Sis has previously been honored by the league on Sept. 6, Oct. 11 and Oct. 18 and is the third player in Creighton history to win three straight league Freshman of the Week accolades. Joining her in that elite category are teammates Kendra Wait (3 straight in 2021) and Keeley Davis (7 straight in 2019).

Bottoms Up
Abby Bottomley compiled an incredible 2,158 digs in four seasons at High Point University. Those 2,158 digs at High Point are more than Brittany Witt's Creighton record (2,079), and helped her lead the Big South Conference in digs each of the previous four seasons.
   Bottomley ranks 11th all-time in NCAA history with her 2,636 career digs, trailing only Valparaiso's Rylee Cookerly's 3,012 among active players.
   Bottomley has become the first BIG EAST player ever to reach 2,500 career digs or more, and it wouldn't be a shocker to see her climb into the top-10 all-time this weekend.
   Rk   Player, Team   Years   Digs
   1.   Lara Newberry, Chatanooga   2005-08   3,176
   2.   Rylee Cookerly, Valparaiso   2017-Pr.   3,012
   3.   Paula Gentil, Minnesota   2002-05   2,791
   4.   Kim Diehlmann,Hartford   1989-92   2,780
   5.   Courtney Pence, Illinois St.   2015-18   2,778
   6.   Taylor Root, Valparaiso   2009-12   2,752
   7.   Keellie Arneson, Clemson   2012-15   2,707
   8.   Raquel Miotto, UNC Asheville   2006-09   2,694
   9.   Allison Nieters, Iona   2007-10   2,682
   10.   Ellie Blankenship, UNI   2007-10   2,656
   11.   Abby Bottomley, HPU/CU   2017-Pr.   2,636
   12.   Kasey Elswick, UT Martin   2009-12   2,606

Defense Wins Championships
Creighton's defense has risen to the occasion time-and-time again this season. The Bluejays have limited opponents to .125 hitting and just 10.89 kills per set. The marks would be the lowest and second-lowest figures ever, respectfully, by a Bluejay opponent over the course of a season.
   Creighton has allowed just three opponents (Marquette,.252; USC, .247; St. John's, .231) to hit .200 or better this season and held 13 foes under .100.
   Creighton ranks third nationally in opponents hitting percentage, seventh nationally in digs per set and seventh nationally in blocks per set. Creighton is the only school ranked in the top 10 of all three categories.
   Spearheading the defense from the back row is Abby Bottomley, who ranks 25th in the country in digs per set.
   Add it all up and that defense is a major reason that Creighton ranks tied for first nationally with 26 victories this fall.

Top 50 Jays
Speaking of national rankings, here's a complete list of the many categories where Creighton ranks among the top 50 nationally.
Set Victories   1st   Team
Match Victories   1st   Team
Opponent Hitting Percentage   3rd   Team
Digs Per Set   7th   Team
Total Blocks   9th   Team
Winning Percentage   6th   Team
Blocks Per Set   7th   Team
Attacks Per Set   13th   Team
Kills Per Set   12th   Team
Total Home Attendance   12th   Team
Average Home Attendance   13th   Team
NCAA RPI   12th   Team
Team Digs   16th   Team
AVCA Poll   21st   Team
Service Aces   23rd   Keeley Davis
Digs Per Set   25th   Abby Bottomley
Assists Per Set   27th   Team
Aces Per Set   28th   Keeley Davis
Total Assists   32nd   Kendra Wait
Total Digs   35th   Abby Bottomley
Assists Per Set   42nd   Kendra Wait
Total Kills   50th   Team

Zimmerman Is One to Watch
Jaela Zimmerman has started her senior season with a bang, winning three Tournament MVP honors and a pair of BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week accolades.
   Here's how her numbers compare to some of the other recent BIG EAST Players of the Year.
Name, Year   KPS   HIT%   SAPS   DPS   BPS
Barber, '17   4.71   .328   0.09   0.75   0.48
Winters, '18   3.82   .245   0.21   3.06   0.42
Barber, '19   4.66   .307   0.07   0.52   0.34
Alexakou, '20   4.19   .210   0.11   2.74   0.45
Zimmerman, '21   3.75   .216   0.25   3.24   0.59

Bottomley & Wait Triple Up
For the third week in a row Creighton Volleyball's Abby Bottomley and Kendra Wait were honored by the BIG EAST Conference on Sept. 27. Bottomley was named Defensive Player of the Week and Wait recognized as Freshman of the Week.
   Bottomley averaged a league-best 7.71 digs in addition to 1.43 assists and 0.57 aces per set as Creighton opened BIG EAST play with road wins at Butler (3-1) and Xavier (3-0). The Virginia Beach, Va., product had a season-high 31 digs in Friday's 3-1 victory at Butler, adding eight assists and three service aces. She wrapped up her weekend with 23 digs, two assists and an ace in a 3-0 sweep vs. Xavier. That gave her 2,437 career digs, good for a tie for 24th in NCAA history. Creighton held the Bulldogs and Musketeers to combined .112 hitting and seven aces in seven sets played.
   It was Bottomley's third honor this fall after she earned 14 Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week recognitions while at High Point from 2017-20. She's the first Bluejay ever to win Defensive Player of the Week honors three straight weeks.
   Wait excelled in the first BIG EAST weekend of her career, averaging 11.00 assists, 3.86 digs, 1.57 kills, 0.86 blocks and 0.29 aces per set on .550 hitting.
   Wait started her week with 47 assists and a season-high 18 digs in CU's 3-1 win at Butler. Wait added four blocks and four kills in addition to her first career ace. After Butler snapped Creighton's 15-set win streak, Wait had 16 assists, four digs and two kills while setting the Jays to .425 hitting in the decisive fourth frame. She followed that with 30 assists, nine digs and seven kills on .700 hitting in a 3-0 win at Xavier, which also included two blocks and an ace. Wait had kills to end both the second and third sets.
   This was the fourth BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honor for Wait in the first five weeks of the season. Teammate Norah Sis won the other one. Wait joined Jaali Winters and Keeley Davis as the only Bluejays to win three straight league Freshman of the Week honors.

League Opener Histories
Creighton owns a 20-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 17-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes an 8-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and eight straight wins.
   Each of the previous eight times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 126-8 in regular-season league action. Creighton also won seven of the last eight conference tournament titles during those years, going 14-1 in those seasons.
   In the 19 previous seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .760 (257-81) winning percentage (entering 2021) in league matches.
    In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Jays have had a losing record five times and it owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
   In league road openers, Creighton is now 19-9 overall and 16-3 under Booth, with eight straight wins. In conference home openers Creighton is 23-5 overall and 17-2 under Booth, with 11 straight wins.

Home Sweet Home
Creighton is in its ninth season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
   Since then, the Bluejays are 78-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (71-3 in the regular-season, 7-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
   Since November of 2014, Creighton is 62-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 56-1 league mark and a 6-0 mark in the conference tournament. The only setback (on Feb. 6, 2021 vs. Marquette) was played as a non-conference match, only to be flipped to a league contest 19 days later.
   Put another way, since enrolling at Creighton in 2017, Bluejay fifth-year senior Naomi Hickman is 41-1 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, winning 123-of-146 sets played.

Championship Season
Creighton has saved some of its best work for the months of October and November in recent seasons.
   Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton is 70-7 in October and 66-7 in the month of November.
   Narrowing that to the start of the 2014 season, Creighton is a combined 107-9 in the months of October (57-5) and November (50-4).
   Creighton has won 35 straight home matches played in the month of October, a streak that is more than 10 years old since losing to No. 12 Northern Iowa on Oct. 15, 2011. CU has also won 25 home matches in a row in the month of November since losing to Seton Hall on Nov. 23, 2014.

Long Live September
Creighton won 11 matches in September, its most successful month ever.
Most Wins, Month
       W-L   Month, Year
       11-1   September, 2021
       10-1   October 2015
       10-3   September 2006
       9-0   November, 2012
       9-0   October, 2016
       9-0   November, 2018
       9-1   September, 2019
       9-2   September, 2018
       9-3   September, 2012
       9-4   September, 2004

Wait Among The Elite Freshmen
Freshman setter Kendra Wait is one of three freshmen to be a starting setter for a top-25 team, joining Kami Miner (Stanford) and Emma Grome (Kentucky).

Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a .500 record or better against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
   The Bluejays own 148 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 26 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
   CU still has not lost to four league foes (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence, Xavier) since joining the BIG EAST, and Seton Hall (3), Marquette (4), Villanova (3) and St. John's (3) are the only BIG EAST programs to top the Bluejays multiple times since 2013.
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   17-1   -   17-1
Connecticut   0-1   1-0   1-1
DePaul   18-0   -   18-0
Georgetown   16-0   -   16-0
Marquette   15-3   4-1   19-4
Providence   13-0   -   13-0
Seton Hall   12-3   2-0   14-3
St. John's   13-2   0-1   13-3
Villanova   13-3   3-0   16-3
Xavier   18-0   3-0   21-0
Total   135-13   13-2   148-15

Lucky Number 4
Creighton won a tournament title each of the first four weekends of the fall, setting a school record.
   Previously, only the 2017 team had won three straight events when that club won the Husky Invitational, Bluejay Invitational and Kansas Invitational to open the year.
   That being said, the 2017 team lost matches at both the Bluejay Invitational as well as the Kansas Invitational, only to win both events via tiebreaker. This year's team went 3-0 in all four events, winning 36-of-39 sets played.

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Creighton Volleyball was picked to win the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of league coaches.
   Last season CU was picked to win the Midwest Division and went 7-1 in league play en route to a seventh straight regular-season title.
   This spring, a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches tabbed Creighton as the favorite with 8-of-11 first place votes and 97 of a possible 100 points. That was just ahead of Marquette's 93 points and the other three votes for first place.
   St. John's (83) was picked third, just ahead of Xavier (68) and Villanova (56). Rounding out the bottom half of the poll were UConn (48), DePaul (48), Providence (44), Butler (31), Seton Hall (27) and Georgetown (10).
   Creighton also had two women among the 12 members on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team in Naomi Hickman and unanimous selection Jaela Zimmerman.
   Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 16 of 18 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   1st   #1
2020   1st (MW)   1st (MW)   - -
2021   1st   ???   ???

Zimmerman Playing At An MVP Level
Jaela Zimmerman was named Most Valuable Player at the Bluegrass Battle, the Bluejay Invitational and the Shocker Volleyball Classic over the last three weekends of non-conference play.
   It gives her four career MVP honors, having also won the 2019 Creighton Classic MVP accolade in an event that featured Wyoming and Wichita State.
   Zimmerman became Creighton's first player to be named MVP of a tournament on back-to-back weekends in Kirsten Bernthal Booth's 19 years at Creighton, and then did it three weeks in a row.
   Creighton's only other player under Booth with multiple MVP honors in non-conference play of the same season had been Korie Lebeda in 2006, who took home MVP honors in the 12th Annual Holiday Inn Classic to start the season as well as the Blue Raider Bash in the third week of the fall.

Top 25 History
Creighton is 140-34 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 15-20 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, 35 of Creighton's 63 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 233-28 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but one of its past 78 home matches over unranked teams and all but seven of its last 89 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
   After a total of three total top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton has earned at least one top-25 win each of the last seven seasons (2015-21). That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories in 2019.
   Creighton is ranked No. 21 in this week's AVCA poll.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 15-20)
Home: 5-7   Away: 5-7    Neutral: 5-6
Date   Winner   Loser   CU Score
11/19/12   #11 Minnesota   #21 Creighton   1-3
08/30/13   #25 Creighton   #13 BYU   3-1
09/14/13   #11 UCLA   #24 Creighton   1-3
09/16/13   #7 Hawaii   #23 Creighton   2-3
08/30/14   #22 Kansas   #23 Creighton   1-3
09/03/16   #23 Kentucky   #22 Creighton   0-3
12/02/16   #21 Creighton   #4 Kansas   3-2
12/09/16   #21 Creighton   #17 Michigan   3-2
12/10/16   #5 Texas   #21 Creighton   0-3
08/26/17   #9 Creighton   #3 Washington   3-1
09/01/17   #7 Creighton   #13 Kentucky   3-0
09/02/17   #18 USC   #7 Creighton   0-3
09/08/17   #17 Purdue   #9 Creighton   1-3
09/09/17   #9 Creighton   #7 Kansas   3-0
09/16/17   #19 Iowa State   #8 Creighton   2-3
12/12/17   #12 Michigan St.   #15 Creighton   1-3
08/24/18   #13 Creighton   #5 Kentucky   3-2
08/25/18   #10 USC   #13 Creighton   2-3
09/06/18   #7 Nebraska   #14 Creighton   2-3
09/15/18   #8 Illinois   #10 Creighton   1-3
09/23/18   #10 Creighton   #21 Marquette   3-0
10/26/18   #10 Creighton   #18 Marquette   3-1
11/24/18   #9 Creighton   #16 Marquette   3-1
12/01/18   #22 Washington   #9 Creighton   0-3
08/30/19   #2 Nebraska   #18 Creighton   1-3
08/31/19   #20 Baylor   #18 Creighton   0-3
09/06/19   #23 Creighton   #12 Kentucky   3-1
09/07/19   #23 Creighton   #15 USC   3-1
09/14/19   #12 Washington   #17 Creighton   1-3
10/12/19   #13 Creighton   #10 Marquette   3-2
11/22/19   #12 Creighton   #9 Marquette   3-1
12/07/19   #7 Minnesota   #15 Creighton   2-3
02/05/21   #19 Creighton   #25 Marquette   3-2
02/06/21   #25 Marquette   #19 Creighton   0-3
09/08/21   #3 Nebraska   #19 Creighton   0-3

Diaper Dandies
Creighton freshmen Kendra Wait and Norah Sis were both named to the Mizzou Invitational All-Tournament Teams, with Wait bringing home MVP honors after averaging 10.22 assists, 3.56 digs, 1.33 kills and 1.11 blocks per set on .440 hitting.
   Wait is the first freshman in CU history to be named MVP of an event to start the season.
   Wait and Sis were just the second and third true freshmen in Creighton history to be named All-Tournament following their first event, joining JoDe Cieloha in 1994 at the Tulane Invitational.
   One week later, Sis was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the Bluegrass Battle, becoming the first freshman in program history to be All-Tourney after each of her first two events.
   Sis is the first Bluejay (of any class) to be named to an All-Tourney Team in each of CU's first three tournaments of a season since Lydia Dimke in 2017. That streak was snapped in week four at the Shocker Volleyball Classic. Creighton's last player to be named to an All-Tournament Team in four straight weeks was Lauren Smith in the fall of 2015.
   Both Sis and Wait were also named to the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team in CU's third week of the year.
   In week four, Wait garnered her third All-Tournament Team accolade at the Shocker Volleyball Classic.

Believe The Hype
Creighton's recruiting class of freshmen Eve Magill, Abbey Milner, Norah Sis and Kendra Wait was recognized as the nation's No. 5 class last fall by PrepVolleyball.
   Wait was tabbed the nation's No. 7 freshman recruit, making her the program's most-decorated recruit since 2004. Sis, at No. 28, is the program's third-highest recruit (behind Wait and No. 18 in 2015's Taryn Kloth), with No. 31 Eve Magill not far behind.
   In the summer, Volleyball Magazine recognized CU's group of newcomers (which included the four freshmen and Abby Bottomley) as the No. 8 incoming class in the nation.
Top-100 PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces
(list started in 2004)
Rank   Year   Player
68   2004   Carolyn Decker
55   2008   Laurel Sanford
60   2011   Michelle Sicner
73   2013   Jess Bird
50   2014   Lydia Dimke*
18   2015   Taryn Kloth
41   2015   Jaali Winters
77   2016   Erica Kostelac#
98   2017   Naomi Hickman
99   2017   Steph Gaston
49   2018   Jaela Zimmerman
42   2018   Keeley Davis
46   2020   Kiara Reinhardt
97   2020   Ellie Bolton
7   2021   Kendra Wait
28   2021   Norah Sis
31   2021   Eve Magill
47   2022   Ava Martin
52   2022   Skylar McCune
* signed with Purdue and later transferred to Creighton
# signed with Cincinnati and later transferred to Creighton

PrepVolleyball.com Recruiting Rankings
(list started in 2004)
Year   Rank   Freshman Recruits
2004   Best of the Rest   (Baumann, Decker, Goc, Lahm, Mehal)
2005   Honorable-Mention   (Cvejdlik, Houts, Lebeda)
2006   None   (Bloemke, Schulze, Workman)
2007   None   (Feldman, Oelke, Vrbicky)
2008   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Almgren, Bober, Sanford)
2009   Highest HM   Boggs, Greisch, Moon, Templeton, Thorson)
2010   High HM   (Fliss, Hackbarth, Malm, Mandolfo, S. Smith)
2011   Highest HM   (Browning, McNary, Neisler, Sicner, Stivers)
2012   High Honorable-Mention   (Elman, Jansen, Jereb, L. Smith)
2013   None   (Bird, Crawford, Foje)
2014   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Lawrence, Tupper, Wilkinson)
2015   11th   (Ballenger, Bohnet, Kloth, O'Connell, Winters)
2016   High Honorable-Mention   (Conlon, Taylor, Witt)
2017   25th   (Gaston, Hickman, Roumeliotis)
2018   10th   (Davis, Welty, Zimmerman, Zumach)
2019   Highest HM   (Bressman, Krause, Schmitt, Van Eekeren)
2020   27th   (Bolton, Maser, Reinhardt, Skovsende)
2021   5th   (Magill, Milner, Sis, Wait)

Largest Crowds To See The Jays
Creighton hosted 11,279 fans on Sept. 8 for its match vs. No. 3 Nebraska at CHI Health Center Omaha.
   In addition to being the largest crowd in the nation this season, it was the fourth-biggest home crowd in Creighton history and the 10th-largest volleyball-only regular-season crowd in NCAA history.
   In six all-time volleyball matches at CHI Health Center Omaha, Creighton has played before an average of 11,444 fans. That includes 14,022 fans in 2018 for a match vs. Nebraska, a figure that remains the largest regular-season volleyball-only crowd in NCAA history.
   Creighton has also hosted the third-largest NCAA Soccer crowd of 2021, having welcomed 6,577 fans to Morrison Stadium on Sept. 18 for a men's soccer game vs. Georgetown.
   Below is a list of the largest crowds (and home crowds) in Creighton Volleyball history:
Creighton's Largest Home Crowds
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU W-L   Facility
   14,022   #6 Nebraska   09/06/18   L 2-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   13,081   #18 Cal Poly   09/02/07   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   12,112   #1 Nebraska   09/24/06   L 1-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   11,279   #3 Nebraska   09/08/21   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   10,131   #4 Nebraska   09/15/15   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   8,037   #2 Nebraska   10/05/08   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   2,578   #13 Kentucky   09/01/17   W 3-0   Sokol Arena
   2,552   South Dakota   11/30/18   W 3-0   Sokol Arena
   2,517   Coastal Carolina   12/01/17   W 3-1   Sokol Arena
   2,514   #7 Nebraska   08/31/10   L 0-3   Sokol Arena

Creighton's Largest Crowds (All Sites)
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU Result   Facility
   14,022   #6 Nebraska   09/06/18   L 2-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   13,081   #18 Cal Poly   09/02/07   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   12,112   #1 Nebraska   09/24/06   L 1-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   11,279   #3 Nebraska   09/08/21   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   10,131   #4 Nebraska   09/15/15   L 0-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   8,627   at #5 Nebraska   09/29/02   L 0-3   Devaney Ctr.
   8,450   at #2 Nebraska   08/30/19   L 1-3   Devaney Ctr.
   8,277   vs. Montana St.   09/16/16   W 3-0   Devaney Ctr.
   8,249   at #1 Nebraska   09/17/16   L 1-3   Devaney Ctr.
   8,237   vs. #20 Baylor (@NU)   08/31/19   L 0-3   Devaney Ctr.

Historically Speaking
Here's a look at the top volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history. Of note, each of the 12 figures of 11,000 or more have been in the state of Nebraska.
Largest Regular-Season NCAA VB-Only Crowds In History
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU Result   Facility
   14,022   Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2   9/6/18   Omaha, NE
   13,870   UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-2   9/13/09   Lincoln, NE
   13,412   Nebraska def. LSU, 3-0   9/12/08   Lincoln, NE
   13,396   Nebraska def. Hawai'i, 3-0   10/21/07   Lincoln, NE
   13,081   Cal Poly def. Creighton, 3-0   9/2/07   Omaha, NE
       Nebraska def. Penn State, 3-0
   12,504   Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0   11/4/00   Lincoln, NE
   12,112   Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-1   9/24/06   Omaha, NE
   11,892   Dayton def. W. Michigan, 3-0   9/11/10   Lincoln, NE
       Nebraska def. Illinois, 3-2
   11,529   Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0   10/22/95   Lincoln, NE
   11,279   Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-0   9/8/21   Omaha, NE
   11,076   Nebraska def. UCLA, 3-1   8/25/07   Omaha, NE
       Tennessee def. Utah, 3-2
   11,032   UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-1   9/14/91   Lincoln, NE
   10,927   Minnesota def. Illinois, 3-1   10/16/04   Minneapolis, MN
   10,645   Purdue def. W. Michigan, 3-1   10/29/85   W. Lafayette, IN
   10,576   Penn St. def. Hawai'i, 3-0   8/27/05   Omaha, NE
       Nebraska def. Stanford, 3-0
   10,570   Purdue def. Wisconsin, 3-2   10/17/08   W. Lafayette, IN

Dear Abby
High Point transfer Abby Bottomley transferred to Creighton this fall and had 10 or more digs in each of her first 16 matches to start this season. She's just the fifth Bluejay ever to start a year that way, and the third to start her Bluejay career in that fashion.
   Bottomley needed just seven matches to surpass 100 digs with the Bluejays, third-fastest in program history. She surpassed 200 digs with the Jays in her 12th match, second-fastest in program history. Bottomley reached 300 digs at CU in her 18th career match and 400 digs in her 25th contest.
   Bottomley enters this weekend with 478 digs in 29 matches played (95 sets), giving her a chance to become the fourth Bluejay to reach 500 digs in 30 matches or less.
Consec. Matches, 10 or More Digs, To Start Season
   32#   Kate Elman   2012
   29   Janeen Piller   (every match) 2004
   27#   Bianca Rivera   2007
   18   Brittany Witt   2018
   16#   Abby Bottomley   2021
   9   Nayka Benitez   2010
#streak during first season at CU

Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Digs
   43   Janeen Piller, Oct. 10, 2003-Nov. 26, 2004
   32   Kate Elman, Aug. 24 - Nov. 30, 2012
   30   Kate Elman, Sept. 30, 2013 - Sept. 12, 2014
   27   Bianca Rivera, Aug. 24-Nov. 9, 2007
   23   Julianne Mandolfo, Sept. 9-Nov. 24, 2011
   21   Brittany Witt, Nov. 25, 2017 - Oct. 7, 2018
   19   Bianca Rivera, Sept. 20-Nov. 28, 2008
   18   Allie Oelke, Oct. 10, 2009-Aug. 28, 2010
   16   Abby Bottomley, Aug. 27-Oct. 1, 2021
   15   Abby Baumann, Sept. 15-Nov. 3, 2006
   15   Katie Mehal, Oct. 6-Nov. 24, 2006
   15   Nayka Benitez, Nov. 13, 2009-Sept. 10, 2010
   15   Allie Oelke, Sept. 3-Oct. 16, 2010

Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   6   09/02/07   Cal Poly
Brittany Witt   6   09/08/16   #4 Kansas
Abby Bottomley   7   09/08/21   #3 Nebraska
Nayka Benitez   8   09/12/09   Connecticut
Ellie Bolton   8   03/06/21   DePaul

Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   11   09/15/07   vs. Charlotte
Abby Bottomley   12   09/18/21   vs. South Dakota
Nayka Benitez   13   09/25/09   at Indiana State
Kate Elman   13   09/22/13   Drake
Brittany Witt   13   09/23/16   Marquette

Creighton's Quickest Players To 300 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   15   09/28/07   Illinois State
Kate Elman   17   10/05/12   Northern Iowa
Nayka Benitez   18   10/16/09   at Evansville
Abby Bottomley   18   10/08/21   DePaul
Julianne Mandolfo   19   10/16/10   at Drake

Creighton's Quickest Players To 400 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   20   10/13/07   Missouri State
Kate Elman   22   10/26/12   Evansville
Julianne Mandolfo   24   11/05/10   at Wichita State
Nayka Benitez   25   11/10/09   #20 Saint Louis
Abby Bottomley   25   10/30/21   at DePaul

Creighton's Quickest Players To 500 Digs (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Bianca Rivera   25   11/02/07   Southern Illinois
Kate Elman   27   11/10/12   Illinois State
Nayka Benitez   30   11/21/09   at Bradley
Julianne Mandolfo   31   11/27/10   at Northern Iowa
Brittany Witt   35   12/09/16   vs. #17 Michigan

Hometown Flavor
Creighton's 2021 roster boasts five players from the state of Nebraska, including Omaha-area products Emily Bressman, Norah Sis and Megan Skovsende. Grand Island native Katie Maser and Lincoln's Jaela Zimmerman round out the in-state natives.

Double-Double x 4
Creighton has had four players finish with a double-double in the same match three times this season, having done it vs. Illinois (Sept. 11), Marquette (Oct. 10) and at UConn (Oct. 16).
   When CU did it in September, it marked the first time since Feb. 5, 2021 that Creighton had four players with a double-double in the same match.
   Prior to Feb. 5, it hadn't happened since Nov. 20, 2015, when Jaali Winters, Samantha Bohnet, Jess Bird and Lauren Smith did it at Georgetown.

Against The Champs
Creighton improved to 1-5 all-time against defending national champions with a 3-0 win at No. 3 Kentucky on Sept. 4, 2021.
   CU was swept by Nebraska (2001 and 2005) and Stanford (2005), lost in four sets to Nebraska (2016) and in five sets to Nebraska (2018) prior to this year's victory in Lexington.
   Creighton also improved to 2-10 all-time against teams the season after a Final Four appearance, and 2-6 on the road. Prior to UK, the lone victory came on Dec. 2, 2016, when CU outlasted Kansas to clinch the program's second Sweet 16 trip in program history.
CU vs. Previous Year Final Four Teams
Date   Result                Previous Year Finish
09/25/01   Nebraska 3, CU 0   NCAA Champion
09/10/05   Stanford 3, CU 0   NCAA Champion
09/24/06   Nebraska 3, CU 1   NCAA Runner-Up
08/31/07   Nebraska 3, CU 0   NCAA Champion
09/01/09   Nebraska 3, CU 0   Final Four
09/17/15   Nebraska 3, CU 1   NCAA Champion
09/08/16   Kansas 3, CU 2   Final Four
12/02/16   CU 3, Kansas 2   Final Four
12/10/16   Texas 3, CU 0   NCAA Runner-Up
09/06/18   Nebraska 3, CU 2   NCAA Champion
08/30/19   Nebraska 3, CU 1   NCAA Runner-Up
09.04/21   CU 3, Kentucky 1   NCAA Champion

Booth Earns 500th Career Win
Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth picked up her 500th career victory on Sept. 4 when Creighton defeated No. 3 Kentucky.
   It came in the fifth match of her 22nd season, and improved her to 500-216 as a head coach and 388-175 in 19 years at Creighton.
   Booth's 409 Division I wins rank 53rd-most among active coaches, and the most among coaches who have spent 19 years or less at the Division I level.

Some Fab Freshmen
Including Kendra Wait and Norah Sis on Aug. 27 vs. Kansas City, Creighton has started 14 different true freshmen in its season opener since 2009, and 18 such players since 2000.
   Since 2000, the only true freshmen to start CU's season-opener have been Brittany Coleman (2003), Carolyn Decker (2004), Korie Lebeda (2005), Allie Oelke (2007), Brooke Boggs (2009), Heather Thorson (2009), Julianne Mandolfo (2010), Katie Neisler (2011), Michelle Sicner (2011), Melanie Jereb (2012), Ashley Jansen (2012), Jess Bird (2013), Jaali Winters (2015), Naomi Hickman (2017), Emily Bressman (2019), Kiara Reinhardt (2020), Kendra Wait (2021) and Norah Sis (2021), with Coleman, Lebeda and Wait the only freshmen to start at setter in the season-opener.
   In addition, CU also started redshirt freshmen Lauren Smith (2013) and Brittany Lawrence (2015), as well as transfers Maggie Baumert (2014), Lydia Dimke (2016), Madelyn Cole (2018), Erica Kosetelac (2019) and Mahina Pua'a (2020) in season-openers.
   Eight of those women (Reinhardt, Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC or BIG EAST's All-Freshman Team (though the BIG EAST had no such team from 2013-19). Winters was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2015, Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2016 and Davis was BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2019.
   This year marked the first time that Creighton started multiple true freshmen in a season-opener since 2012, when Ashley Jansen and Melanie Jereb both earning a starting nod.

Block Around The Clock
Naomi Hickman is in the top-10 of every one of Creighton's career blocking records. She is currently fourth with 432 block assists, fourth with 466 total blocks and ninth with 1.02 blocks per set.
Career Records
Block Assists
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Kelli Browning   424   547   2011-14
   2.   Jessica Houts   451   536   2005-09
   3.   Lauren Smith   511   499   2013-16
   4.   Naomi Hickman   458   432   2017-Pr.
   5.   Megan Bober   480   380   2009-12

Total Blocks
       Name   Sets   BS   BA   Tot.   Years
   1.   Jessica Houts   451   73   536   609   2005-09
   2.   Kelli Browning   424   55   547   602   2011-14
   3.   Lauren Smith   511   61   499   560   2013-16
   4.   Naomi Hickman   458   34   432   466   2017-Pr.
   5.   Ashley Williams   359   100   347   447   2001-04

Blocks Per Set (Min. 80 Blocks)
       Name   Sets   No.   Avg.   Years
   1.   Kelli Browning   424   602   1.42   2011-14
   2.   Jessica Houts   451   609   1.35   2005-09
   3.   Ashley Williams   359   447   1.25   2001-04
   4.   Taffy Smart   73   88   1.21   1998
   5.   Laurel Sanford   369   419   1.14   2008-11
   6.   JoDe Cieloha   398   437   1.098   1994-97
   7.   Lauren Smith   511   560   1.096   2013-16
   8.   Sarah Beulke   299   307   1.03   2001-04
   9.   Naomi Hickman   458   466   1.02   2017-Pr.
   10.   Megan Waldren   87   81   0.93   1994

Familiar Face
Senior Naomi Hickman has started Creighton's season opener each of the past five years. She's the 16th player to start four season openers, but the only one to do so five times.
Four or More 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
Naomi Hickman   2017-21

Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-15 letterwinners to the court from last season, including all six starters, as well as returning libero Ellie Bolton.
   From last year's team, only Grace Nelson, Mahina Pua'a, Erica Kostelac and Makenna Krause are not back.
   Creighton returns 98.4 percent of its blocks, its most since 2007 (99.3).
   Creighton returns 94.3 percent of its kills, most since 2016 (94.7).
   Creighton returns 93.7 percent of its points, most since 2014 (99.1).
   Creighton returns 86.5 percent of its starts, most since 2014 (98.1).
   Creighton returns 81.7 percent of its digs, most since 2017 (95.0).
   All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 595.5 of a possible 700% back (85.1 percent), which would be its highest since 2014 (99.1).
   Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Blocks   153 (98.4%)   2.5 (1.6%)
Kills   763 (94.3%)   46 (5.7%)
Points   987.0 (93.7%)   66.5 (6.3%)
Matches Started   83 (86.5%)   13 (13.5%)
Digs   734 (81.7%)   164 (18.3%)
Aces   71 (79.8%)   18 (20.2%)
Assists   462 (61.5%)   289 (38.5%)

Nine Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last nine seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
   The only other sport in Creighton history to make nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men's soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.
   Creighton is one of nine teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last nine NCAA Tournaments (2012-20). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Texas and Washington.

More Tidbits From Kentucky
A few additional leftover notes from the win over Kentucky that will impress your friends and neighbors, but don't fit in elsewhere in these notes.
- Since the start of 2015, Kentucky is 167-39, but just 1-5 against Creighton. No other program has beaten the Wildcats more than three times.
- Kentucky First Team All-American Alli Stumler's six kills vs. Creighton were her least in a match since she had five on Nov. 8, 2019 at Georgia, which was 39 matches ago.
- Creighton's 3-0 win snapped a streak of 59 matches in a row for UK without being swept    .
- Creighton's 3-0 win also snapped Kentucky's nation-leading win streak of 12 matches and was Kentucky's first loss at home in 18 straight matches.
- Creighton's 3-0 win was the first home sweep for Kentucky since Nov. 1, 2017 vs. Florida (49 matches).

Setting The Table
Kendra Wait started Creighton's season-opener at setter, the eighth different Bluejay to earn that role in the past 10 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, while Madelyn Cole started in 2018 and 2019. Last season Mahina Pua'a earned the nod on opening night, while Wait started this season.
   The revolving door at setter hasn't hurt the team in that time, as each of the previous nine seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and eight of them saw Creighton win conference titles.
   Creighton won eight of those 10 season-opening matches.

Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won nine matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point, including season-opening wins over No. 5 Kentucky in 2018 and vs. UTSA in 2011. Three of those other comeback wins have come against Wichita State.
   On the other hand, Creighton is 409-3 under Booth when it reaches a match point opportunity, falling only when it wasted two match points on Sept. 4, 2010 to Iowa, two match points on Nov. 1, 2013 in a loss to St. John's, and two match points on Dec. 7, 2019 in an NCAA Tournament loss at No. 7 Minnesota.
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

Third Set's A Charm
Since an Oct. 10, 2014 loss at Seton Hall, Creighton is 112-1 against BIG EAST teams (102-1 in the regular-season and 10-0 in league tournament play) when winning the third set.
   Creighton's streak of 104 wins in a row was snapped on Oct. 16 at UConn.

Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 62-33 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 1-1 mark this season 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 16 of its last 22 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, wins at UNI and No. 10 Marquette in 2019 and at South Dakota in the 2020 campaign.
   It's also worth noting that Creighton is 15-4 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   2-1   25-6
2020   4-2   12-4
2021   1-1   26-3
Total   77-61   502-330

2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 340-11 (.969) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 283-5 mark (.983) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 209-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 106-1 all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena when up 2-0 at the break.
   Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that won the first two sets won 95.0 percent of their matches from 2009-18.
   Conversely, the Jays are 15-201 (.069) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 13-102 (.113) under Booth. Those 15 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
01/31/21   at So. Dakota   25-20, 25-23, 15-7   Booth

Set 1 Result A Strong Indicator
Creighton is 345-32 (.915) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 64-146 (.305) 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 that season, and 20.2 percent of their matches from 2009-18.
   Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 121-3 in its last 124 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only on Sept. 12, 2015 to Pacific, on Sept. 6, 2018 to No. 7 Nebraska and on Jan. 29, 2021 to South Dakota.
   Creighton has gone 77-2 in its last 79 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 7-12 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
   Creighton has gone 119-2 in its last 121 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.

Marian Pipeline
This is the 19th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as junior Emily Bressman keeps the streak alive.
   Last season was the first time since 2010 that Creighton's year-end leader in digs wasn't 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.
2021: Emily Bressman
2020: Emily Bressman
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

Perfect Ten
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her team to 10 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 10 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   10
Dana Altman   Men's Basketball   7
Brent Vigness   Softball   7
Elmar Bolowich   Men's Soccer   6
Greg McDermott   Men's Basketball   6

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Last season Creighton played four matches against 2019 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, going 3-1 against such teams.
   This year's team owned four matches (Missouri, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota) scheduled against teams that made the 2020 NCAA Tournament, and they went 3-1 vs. that gauntlet.
   After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 89-101 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   5-4
2020   3-1
2021   3-1
TOTAL   92-136
TOTAL Under Booth   89-101

Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play
Despite annually facing one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules, Creighton has continued to excel against elite competition.
   Creighton is 7-10 against ranked non-conference foes over the last four seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
   Creighton owned 12 non-conference wins this season to set a program record for a regular-season. It's actually also the first season with 10 wins prior to league play.
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   7-3   2-3   25-6
2020   3-2   0-0   12-4
2021   12-1   1-1   TBD

Last Season Summary
Creighton won the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles while returning to the NCAA Tournament in a most unusual season. The global COVID-19 pandemic pushed an abbreviated season into the spring, with limited crowds and face coverings required during the regular-season.
   Creighton went 3-1 in non-conference play before opening BIG EAST play by splitting two matches with No. 25 Marquette. The Bluejays won their final six league matches to finish atop the Midwest Division, then defeated UConn and Marquette for their sixth BIG EAST Tournament title in seven seasons.
   The entire NCAA Tournament was held in Omaha, but CU fell in five sets to Ohio Valley Conference champ Morehead State in the First Round.
   Jaela Zimmerman earned East Region Player of the Year honors from the AVCA and joined on the All-Conference Team alongside Keeley Davis and Naomi Hickman. Hickman was named Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Tournament, with Annika Welty and All-Freshman Team honoree Kiara Reinhardt also being named All-Tourney.

#21 Volleyball Seeks BIG EAST Title To Close Regular Season

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Players Mentioned

Ellie Bolton

Abby Bottomley

Emily Bressman

Keeley Davis

Naomi Hickman

Erica Kostelac

Makenna Krause

Eve Magill

Katie Maser

Abbey Milner

Grace Nelson

Mahina Pua'a

Kiara Reinhardt

Kiana Schmitt

Norah Sis

Megan Skovsende

Kendra Wait

Annika Welty

Jaela Zimmerman