Sunday, November 21
Omaha, Neb.
1:00 PM
Creighton University
28-3,16-2Big East
3
vs
0
St. John's
15-17,6-12Big East
1
2
3
F
St. John's
12
24
20
0
Creighton
25
26
25
3
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Volleyball Tops St. John's; Wins Eighth Straight BIG EAST Title
11/21/2021 2:30:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton is first scchool to win eight straight BIG EAST Volleyball crowns
OMAHA, Neb. -- No. 21 Creighton became the first volleyball team in BIG EAST history to win eight straight regular-season conference titles with a 3-0 victory vs. St. John's on Sunday, Nov. 21. The victory allows the Bluejays to tie Marquette for the regular-season league crown after the Golden Eagles wrapped up conference play on Saturday night with a 3-0 win vs. Villanova.
Scores of the match were 25-12, 26-24, 25-20, as Creighton improved to 28-3 (16-2 BIG EAST), while St. John's ends its season with a 15-17 mark (6-12 BIG EAST). The Bluejays honored seniors Abby Bottomley, Naomi Hickman and Annika Welty following the match.
Creighton had five blocks in the first set and hit .357 to clobber the Johnnies, 25-12. Jaela Zimmerman had four kills and four digs while Hickman returned to the starting lineup and had a hand in all five of CU's blocks.
The second set featured 11 ties and four lead changes. The contest was tied at 23-all before a kill from Kendra Wait gave CU the lead. Just when it looked like Creighton won the second set on a kill from Kiana Schmitt, the Red Storm won a challenge review to knot the score at 24-all. The hosts wouldn't be rattled though, as Norah Sis put down a kill, then served an ace, to close out the set.
The final frame featured 13 ties and four lead changes but Creighton once again came up big at the end of the set. After back-to-back attack errors to tie the set at 20-all, Creighton ended the match on a 5-0 run with Sis at the serving line. The run started with a block from Hickman and Kiana Schmitt and was capped off by a kill from Hickman, who was playing in her final regular-season home match as a Bluejay.
Sis led all players with 13 kills, hitting .294 on the afternoon, to pace a Bluejay attack that hit .236 and had 43 kills. Hickman owned eight blocks and five kills while Kendra Wait finished with 34 assists, nine digs and five kills on .714 hitting. Creighton served up nine aces, 47 digs and 11 blocks.
St. John's, which played without stars Efrosini Alexakou and Rachele Rastelli, was led by 10 kills from Giorgia Walther. The Red Storm hit .029 and had 25 kills, six aces, 40 digs and seven blocks.
Creighton now turns its attention to the BIG EAST Championship, presented by JEEP. The top-seeded Bluejays will face fourth-seeded DePaul (19-11, 12-6 BIG EAST) on Friday at 3 p.m. in Milwaukee, Wis. Creighton is 13-2 in eight all-time appearances at the BIG EAST Championship with six titles, including the 2020 crown, while DePaul is making its first appearance at the BIG EAST Championships since joining the league in 2005. The first semifinal will feature second-seeded Marquette (25-4, 16-2 BIG EAST) vs. third-seeded Connecticut (21-9, 13-5 BIG EAST) at 12:30 p.m.
NOTES: Though Creighton and Marquette both finished 16-2 in league play, the Bluejays are the top seed because it beat the Golden Eagles in both head-to-head meetings this fall ... Creighton snapped a two-match losing streak against St. John's, improving to 14-3 all-time against the Red Storm ... Creighton improved to 137-13 all-time in BIG EAST regular-season play ... Creighton's 28 wins are its most ever entering a conference tournament, and one shy of the record for an entire season which was done in 2012, 2016 and 2018 ... Creighton has won 11 straight matches, tied for the fifth-longest winning streak in program history ... Creighton has won 11 straight home matches, the sixth-longest streak in program history. CU has also won 17 straight matches inside D.J. Sokol Arena ...Creighton's 28 match wins and 87 set victories lead the nation.
Scores of the match were 25-12, 26-24, 25-20, as Creighton improved to 28-3 (16-2 BIG EAST), while St. John's ends its season with a 15-17 mark (6-12 BIG EAST). The Bluejays honored seniors Abby Bottomley, Naomi Hickman and Annika Welty following the match.
Creighton had five blocks in the first set and hit .357 to clobber the Johnnies, 25-12. Jaela Zimmerman had four kills and four digs while Hickman returned to the starting lineup and had a hand in all five of CU's blocks.
The second set featured 11 ties and four lead changes. The contest was tied at 23-all before a kill from Kendra Wait gave CU the lead. Just when it looked like Creighton won the second set on a kill from Kiana Schmitt, the Red Storm won a challenge review to knot the score at 24-all. The hosts wouldn't be rattled though, as Norah Sis put down a kill, then served an ace, to close out the set.
The final frame featured 13 ties and four lead changes but Creighton once again came up big at the end of the set. After back-to-back attack errors to tie the set at 20-all, Creighton ended the match on a 5-0 run with Sis at the serving line. The run started with a block from Hickman and Kiana Schmitt and was capped off by a kill from Hickman, who was playing in her final regular-season home match as a Bluejay.
Sis led all players with 13 kills, hitting .294 on the afternoon, to pace a Bluejay attack that hit .236 and had 43 kills. Hickman owned eight blocks and five kills while Kendra Wait finished with 34 assists, nine digs and five kills on .714 hitting. Creighton served up nine aces, 47 digs and 11 blocks.
St. John's, which played without stars Efrosini Alexakou and Rachele Rastelli, was led by 10 kills from Giorgia Walther. The Red Storm hit .029 and had 25 kills, six aces, 40 digs and seven blocks.
Creighton now turns its attention to the BIG EAST Championship, presented by JEEP. The top-seeded Bluejays will face fourth-seeded DePaul (19-11, 12-6 BIG EAST) on Friday at 3 p.m. in Milwaukee, Wis. Creighton is 13-2 in eight all-time appearances at the BIG EAST Championship with six titles, including the 2020 crown, while DePaul is making its first appearance at the BIG EAST Championships since joining the league in 2005. The first semifinal will feature second-seeded Marquette (25-4, 16-2 BIG EAST) vs. third-seeded Connecticut (21-9, 13-5 BIG EAST) at 12:30 p.m.
NOTES: Though Creighton and Marquette both finished 16-2 in league play, the Bluejays are the top seed because it beat the Golden Eagles in both head-to-head meetings this fall ... Creighton snapped a two-match losing streak against St. John's, improving to 14-3 all-time against the Red Storm ... Creighton improved to 137-13 all-time in BIG EAST regular-season play ... Creighton's 28 wins are its most ever entering a conference tournament, and one shy of the record for an entire season which was done in 2012, 2016 and 2018 ... Creighton has won 11 straight matches, tied for the fifth-longest winning streak in program history ... Creighton has won 11 straight home matches, the sixth-longest streak in program history. CU has also won 17 straight matches inside D.J. Sokol Arena ...Creighton's 28 match wins and 87 set victories lead the nation.
Team Stats
SJU
CU
Kills
25
43
Errors
22
18
Attempts
105
106
Hitting %
.029
.236
Points
38.0
63.0
Assists
24
42
Aces
6
9
Blocks
7.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ VolleyballS
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH
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