Sis Named National Freshman of the Year by VolleyballMag.com

OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton Volleyball's Norah Sis was named VolleyballMag.com's National Freshman of the Year on Friday, Dec. 24. Sis was also one of four Bluejays named an All-American by VolleyballMag.com along with teammates Abby Bottomley, Kendra Wait and Jaela Zimmerman.

This year marks the sixth straight season that Creighton has had at least one All-American from VolleyballMag.com. Creighton's four All-America choices were tied for third-most nationally, trailing only Nebraska and Washington with five each. The Bluejays were also the nation's only school with multiple freshmen to be recognized.

Sis led Creighton with 3.75 kills per set and her 435 kills were 106 more than any other freshman on a top-25 team. The Papillion product was named to four different All-Tournament Teams and brought home MVP honors at the BIG EAST Tournament. The outside hitter was named AVCA Third Team All-American, AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year, AVCA All-East Region, BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, picked up six BIG EAST Freshman of the Week accolades and also landed on the All-BIG EAST Team. She averaged 4.43 kills per set and 3.36 digs per set on .260 hitting in eight contests against top-50 opponents.

Sis is Creighton's first student-athlete to be recognized with a top honor by VolleyballMag.com, though the website did name Kirsten Bernthal Booth its National Coach of the Year in 2016. Other past Creighton honorees from VolleyballMag.com include Keeley Davis on the All-Freshman Team in 2019, Jaali Winters as a Third Team All-American in 2016 and 2018, Brittany Witt as a Fourth Team All-American in 2019 and Honorable Mention All-America laurels for Witt in 2017, Lydia Dimke in 2016 and 2017 and Jaela Zimmerman in 2019 and 2020.

Bottomley was selected an Honorable Mention All-American after being named a Fourth Team All-American last season while at High Point. The libero from Virginia Beach, Va., finished her career ranked seventh in NCAA history with 2,711 career digs. The five-time First Team All-Conference choice ranked 21st nationally in digs and 28th in service aces, ranking second in the BIG EAST in both categories. Bottomley became the program's only player ever named a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American and was a three-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week in 2021.

Zimmerman was recognized as a VolleyballMag.com All-American for the third consecutive season. The three-time All-BIG EAST pick averaged 3.69 kills and 3.22 digs was the only player in the league to average at least 3.00 kills and 3.00 digs per set. Zimmerman was named MVP of the Bluegrass Battle, Bluejay Invitational and Shocker Volleyball Classic and also earned All-Tournament Team accolades at the BIG EAST Championship. The Lincoln, Neb,. product averaged 4.52 kills per set in eight matches against top-50 competition. Zimmerman was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the AVCA for a second straight season earlier this month.

Wait was named Honorable Mention All-American by VolleyballMag.com after a standout freshman campaign that saw her collect a team-high 17 double-doubles and lead the BIG EAST with 10.46 assists per set. Wait also ranked among the BIG EAST leaders in blocks per set (17th) and digs per set (14th) as she brought home All-BIG EAST and BIG EAST All-Freshman honors. The Gardner, Kan., native was a five-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, picked up one BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week recognition and collected four All-Tournament Team honors. Wait was named All-East Region as well as an Honorable Mention All-American by the AVCA.

Creighton finished its season on Dec. 3 with a 31-4 overall record after making its 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays won their eighth straight BIG EAST regular-season title while also capturing its seventh league tournament title in the past eight campaigns.

Creighton's All-Time VolleyballMag.com Honors
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Keeley Davis - 2019

NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Kirsten Bernthal Booth - 2016

NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Norah Sis - 2021

THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICA
Norah Sis - 2021
Jaali Winters - 2016, '18

FOURTH TEAM ALL-AMERICA
Brittany Witt - 2019

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICA
Abby Bottomley - 2021
Lydia Dimke - 2016, '17
Kendra Wait - 2021
Brittany Witt - 2017
Jaela Zimmerman - 2019, '20, '21

Sis Named National Freshman of the Year by VolleyballMag.com

Players Mentioned

Abby Bottomley

Keeley Davis

Norah Sis

Kendra Wait

Jaela Zimmerman

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