Saturday, March 20
Manhattan, Kan.
6:00 PM
Creighton University
at
Kansas State
Photo by: Chelsea Nicholson
#24 Volleyball Visits Kansas State on Saturday
3/17/2021 10:58:00 PM | Volleyball
Bluejays will close regular-season with non-conference matches vs. K-State; Iowa State
This Weekend
March 20 6 pm #24 Creighton at Kansas State Manhattan, Kan. (Bramlage Coliseum)
CREIGHTON NOTES (PDF) | LIVE STATS
This Weekend
No. 24 Creighton (8-2, 5-1 BIG EAST) steps out of BIG EAST play this weekend when it meets Kansas State (11-7, 10-6 Big 12) in non-conference action.
Saturday's match will commence at 6 p.m. inside Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.
Broadcast Information
Saturday's match will not be video webcast.
Live Stats Information
Saturday's match will have live stats available at https://www.kstatesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media.
Fans can also find the links on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting #24 Creighton
Ranked 24th nationally, Creighton is 8-2 this spring. The Bluejays have won four straight matches and clinched a spot in next month's BIG EAST Tournament after finishing with a 5-1 mark in league play.
The Bluejay offense has been led by Preseason All-BIG EAST selections Jaela Zimmerman (3.66 kps., 2.68 dps.) and Keeley Davis (3.21 kps., 2.68 dps.). Zimmerman owns five double-doubles this year, one more than Davis.
Senior Naomi Hickman (1.32 kps., 1.39 bps.), Kiara Reinhardt (1.08 kps., 1.16 bps.), Annika Welty (1.70 kps., 0.90 bps.) and Kiana Schmitt (1.62 kps., 0.81 bps., .310%) have helped the Bluejays turn into one of the nation's best blocking teams.
Ally Van Eekeren (5.29 aps.) and Mahina Pua'a (4.49 aps.) have split time at setter, and reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week Ellie Bolton (3.47 dps.) has taken over the libero role.
Creighton averages 12.74 kills, 14.47 digs, 2.64 blocks and 1.47 aces per set while hitting .227 as a team. Creighton was picked to win the Midwest Division of the BIG EAST Conference and has guaranteed itself no worse than a tie for first in the division.
Scouting Kansas State
Kansas State is 11-7 overall after going 10-6 in the fall against Big 12 competition and 1-1 so far this spring in non-conference action.
Aliyah Carter (3.88 kps.) leads the Wildcats in kills per set, with Jayden Nembhard (3.13 kps.) and Brynn Carlson (2.77 kps.) not far behind.
Libero Mackenzie Morris (3.88 dps.) leads the team in digs and Abigail Archibong (1.09 bps.) tops the club in blocks. Shelby Martin (9.09 aps.) and Teana Adams-Kaonohi (8.74 aps.) have each logged significant time as setter.
As a team, K-State averages 12.61 kills, 14.63 digs, 1.87 blocks and 1.29 aces per set while hitting .225 as a team.
K-State placed third in the Big 12, its best finish since 2008, and were ranked 10th in the final AVCA poll of the fall.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 379-173 record in her 18th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to six straight outright BIG EAST titles, and seven league crowns in the last eight 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 nine NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last nine seasons, 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. Kansas State
Creighton is 1-7 all-time against Kansas State, including an 0-5 record in Manhattan. The teams have not met in the regular-season since 2016.
Creighton's lone win vs. K-State in the regular-season came on Sept. 20, 2015, when the Bluejays overcame an 0-2 deficit to beat the Wildcats.
The last two times the teams have met were in fall exhibitions. Creighton saved a match point in a 3-2 win in Manhattan in 2017, then won in 2018 in Omaha in four sets.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-4 in the regular-season against Kansas State in her career.
Top 25 Duo
Creighton is one of seven schools in the country to have a top-25 team in both volleyball and men's basketball this week.
Creighton is joined in that elite grouping by Texas, Baylor, Ohio State, Purdue, Florida State and BYU.
While Creighton's 24th-ranked volleyball team is visiting Kansas State this week, the Bluejays' 19th-ranked men's basketball squad is in Indianapolis for an NCAA Tournament game on Saturday vs. UC Santa Barbara.
Title Hunting
Creighton finished league play with a 5-1 record against Midwest Division teams, clinching a spot in the BIG EAST Championship (April 2-3 in Omaha).
Under normal circumstances, that would have clinched a BIG EAST Midwest Division title (Xavier is 1-1 but only has two league matches left), though league officials have indicated that only the BIG EAST Tournament champ will be recognized as a league champion.
Berths to the BIG EAST Championship (two per division) will be decided by win percentage this season, provided that teams reach the pre-determined minimum of four league matches.
Xavier can lock up a spot with two home wins vs. Butler this weekend, otherwise Marquette will take home that spot.
No team has clinched a conference tournament spot yet in the East Division.
6 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
With its 2019 title, Creighton became the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win six straight outright regular-season titles.
No team had won six 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 six or more consecutive league titles, breaking a tie it had held with the men's soccer program (1992-96).
Player of the Week, Again
Jaela Zimmerman and Ellie Bolton have been recognized by the BIG EAST Conference after the duo helped Creighton to a pair of wins at Butler last weekend. Zimmerman was named the league's Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this spring, while Bolton brought home Defensive Player of the Week acclaim.
Bolton averaged 5.33 digs and 1.00 assists per set as Creighton picked up a pair of 3-0 road wins at Butler. The freshman libero from Shawnee, Kan., anchored a defense that limited Butler to just 8.83 kills per set and .062 hitting in six sets. In Friday's 3-0 blanking of Butler, Bolton had 14 digs and a pair of assists. Creighton held Butler to .096 hitting. Bolton concluded her week with 18 digs and four assists in Saturday's sweep. CU held Butler to .033 hitting. This is the first honor of her college career.
Zimmerman averaged 4.17 kills and 3.50 digs per set while hitting .312 against Butler. On Friday, Zimmerman had 13 kills and nine digs while hitting .448 in a 3-0 sweep. The junior outside hitter from Lincoln, Neb., followed that up with 12 kills, 12 digs and an ace in CU's 3-0 victory on Saturday. This is Zimmerman's second consecutive and third overall Offensive Player of the Week honor this season, as she was previously recognized on Feb. 2 and March 9.
Zimmerman Gets It Done
Junior Jaela Zimmerman owns 10 or more kills in all 10 matches this season. Zimmerman also did that in her final seven contests in the fall of 2019, giving her the fourth-longest streak in program history.
Leah Ratzlaff owns the record with 58 straight, far and away more than anyone else.
CU's Most Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills
58 Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005
21 Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015 - Aug. 28, 2016
19 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997
17 Jaela Zimmerman, Nov. 16, 2019 - Present
14 Kelly Goc, Sept. 8-Oct. 19, 2007
JZ Plays The Hits
Jaela Zimmerman has finished with 10 or more kills in all 10 matches so far this season. That's the fourth-longest streak of double-figure kills to start a season in Creighton history.
Zimmerman joins Efrosini Alexakou (St. John's) and Jennifer Leitman (Providence) as the only players in the BIG EAST with 10 or more kills in each match this season.
CU's Consec. Matches, 10 or More Kills, To Start Year
29 Leah Ratzlaff (every match) 2004
15 Alicia Runge 2010
12 Amanda Cvejdlik 2006
10* Jaela Zimmerman 2020
8 JoDe Cieloha 1994
7 Leah Ratzlaff 2003
7 Leah Ratzlaff 2005
*active
Biggest Block Wins
Creighton averages 2.64 blocks per set, a figure that leads the BIG EAST and ranks 23rd nationally.
Leading the way for the Bluejays are Naomi Hickman (1.39 bps.) and Kiara Reinhardt (1.16 bps.). Hickman leads the BIG EAST and ranks 19th nationally in blocks per set, while Reinhardt is fourth in the BIG EAST with 1.19 blocks per set, a figure that also places her 20th nationally among freshmen and 83rd overall nationally.
Hickman owns 317 career block assists, a figure just outside of the top-10 in program history.
Block Assists, Career
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. Megan Bober 480 380 2009-12
5. Laurel Sanford 369 376 2008-11
6. Marysa Wilkinson 499 374 2014-17
7. Ashley Williams 359 347 2001-04
8. Megan Ballenger 450 343 2016-19
9. JoDe Cieloha 398 331 1994-97
10. Melissa Walsh 394 320 1998-01
-- Naomi Hickman 346 317 2017-Pr.
Jays Add Iowa State To Schedule
Creighton added an additional match to its schedule when it announced that it would be hosting Iowa State on March 27th.
The teams will play a rematch of its 2019 NCAA Tournament contest at 4 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha.
Eyeing 500
Keeley Davis enters this weekend with 480 career kills in 41 career matches.
That puts her on pace to become the third-fastest Bluejay in program history to reach that milestone, trailing only program icons Jaali Winters and Melissa Walsh.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 500 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Jaali Winters 34 12/04/15 vs. Coastal Carolina
Melissa Walsh 37 09/25/99 Indiana State
JoDe Cieloha 43 10/15/95 at Indiana State
Amanda Cvejdlik 44 10/13/06 at Wichita State
Leah Ratzlaff 46 10/18/03 at Illinois State
On The Run
Every team has a rotation where it can feel confident to generate some separation based on who is serving.
Creighton has gone on some serious runs this season, and each time it seems like a different person is at the service line.
Creighton ended its five-set win on Jan. 31 vs. South Dakota with a 7-0 run with Kiara Reinhardt serving.
On Feb. 5th vs. Marquette, Keeley Davis authored a 12-0 run to establish some momentum and put the Jays ahead 17-5 in the first set.
Also on Feb. 5th, Mahina Pua'a served up back-to-back aces to end the match vs. Marquette as part of a 4-0 run.
5-Point Serving Runs This Season
6 Keeley Davis
4 Ally Van Eekeren
3 Kiara Reinhardt
3 Jaela Zimmerman
2 Erica Kostelac
1 Emily Bressman
1 Mahina Pua'a
Let's Play Five
Creighton and South Dakota split a pair of five-set matches on Jan. 29 and Jan. 31.
It's the first time Creighton has played the same team in multiple five-set matches in the same season since going 2-0 in 2017 vs. Butler.
It's the first time Creighton has split five-set matches against the same team in the same season since Wichita State in 2010.
It's the first time Creighton has split five-set matches against the same team in the same season with the road team winning each time since Indiana State in 2000.
Creighton followed the five-setters vs. South Dakota with a five-set match vs. Marquette. It was the first time since CU's memorable 2016 NCAA Tournament run that the program played in three consecutive five-setters.
Of Kansas State's 18 matches this season, nine have gone five sets. The Wildcats are 6-3 in those marathon matches.
Feb. 5-6 Now League Matches
The BIG EAST notified both Creighton and Marquette on Feb. 25th that the matches between the schools on Feb. 5-6 in Omaha will be counted as conference matches after all.
The contests were scheduled as non-conference play, but the decision was made to change that after a COVID pause within the Bluejay program caused the Feb. 19-20 matches to be postponed.
League Opener Histories
The Feb. 5 win vs. Marquette improved Creighton to a 19-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 16-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 7-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and seven straight wins.
Each of the last seven times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 119-7 in regular-season league action. Creighton also won six of the last conference tournament titles during those years, going 12-1 in those seasons.
In the 18 seasons (including 2020-21) that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .758 (250-80) winning percentage 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 conference home openers, Creighton is 22-5 overall and 16-2 under Booth, with 10 straight wins.
In league road openers, Creighton is 17-9 overall and 14-3 under Booth, with six straight wins.
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 and 2018. CU won the 2019 regular-season crown, while St. John's upset nationally-ranked Creighton and Marquette to bring home the 2019 tournament title.
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 3/14/21)
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (7) 119 11 192 54
Marquette (7) 104 25 182 62
Xavier 76 50 115 109
Butler 71 59 126 104
Villanova (1) 69 58 128 96
St. John's (1) 62 67 135 104
Seton Hall (1) 59 67 111 117
Georgetown 30 95 76 139
DePaul 28 104 81 138
Providence* 16 96 65 132
Connecticut# 2 4 2 6
*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.
What's The Difference?
En route to its league titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, Creighton compiled an 102-6 record in BIG EAST regular-season play. The Jays won those six titles by a combined 13.5 games over their nearest competitors, meaning if you took the record for the best second-place club each year they'd be 88-19.
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Though it has won six straight BIG EAST regular-season titles, this year marks the first time since 2017 that Creighton Volleyball has been picked to win the BIG EAST.
Last season CU was picked second and went 17-1 in league play en route to a sixth straight regular-season title.
This spring, a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches tabbed Creighton as the favorite in the Midwest Division with 3-of-5 first place votes, good for 15 points. That edged our Marquette (14 points, 2 first place votes) and also outdistanced DePaul (8), Xavier (7) and Butler (6).
The East Division was headed by St. John's (16 points, 4 first place votes) and Villanova (13, 1) and rounded out by Connecticut (8), Seton Hall (7) and Providence (6).
Creighton also had three women named to the 13 member on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as Keeley Davis, Erica Kostelac and Jaela Zimmerman were all honored. Zimmerman was a unanimous selection.
Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 15 of 17 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
2020-21 1st 1st - -
Davis Doubles Up
Keeley Davis had double-doubles in both matches vs. South Dakota on Jan. 29-31, as the sophomore had 14 kills and 19 digs on Friday before turning in 20 kills and 17 digs on Sunday.
In 31 matches last season, Davis had a total of two double-doubles. Both of those came in her final four contests.
Davis had 303 kills and 97 digs in her first 27 career matches, but since then has 177 kills and 152 digs in her past 14 contests.
Top 25 History
Creighton is 19-80 all-time against teams in the top-25 of the AVCA poll, but 14-14 since the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
An opening-weekend 2017 win at No. 3 Washington is the highest-ranked team that the Bluejays have ever beaten, surpassing a win at No. 4 Kansas the previous December.
Creighton is 7-32 all-time against top-10 foes (7-25 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth).
Creighton lost its first 31 true road matches against top-25 foes, but has 'improved' to 6-38 after wins in recent seasons at No. 23 North Carolina (2015), No. 4 Kansas (2016), No. 3 Washington (2017), No. 7 Kansas (2017), No. 18 Marquette (2018) and No. 10 Marquette (2019).
Creighton is 120-30 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 15-19 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, 34 of Creighton's 58 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 204-23 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but one of its past 64 home matches over unranked teams and all but three of its last 56 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
After a total of three top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton enters this season having earned multiple top-25 victories in every season since 2015. That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories last season.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 15-19)
Home: 5-6 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 3-0
Bouncing Back
Creighton is 136-12 (.919) in league play since the start of the 2012 campaign, a stat that includes CU's final season in the MVC.
After all 12 occasions where it lost, Creighton responded with a victory in its next match.
Creighton has not lost consecutive league matches since suffering a three-match skid in November of 2011.
Hickman For The Block
Naomi Hickman has been a force at the net throughout her career, but her game seems to step up a notch when she's playing against Marquette.
In 34 career sets vs. Marquette, Hickman owns an astounding 54 blocks. That's good for a 1.59 blocks per set average, and it's coming against what has traditionally been one of the nation's best offenses.
Hickman owns four career matches with 10 or more blocks, with three of those coming against Marquette. She's the only player in Creighton history to produce three matches of 10+ blocks against the same opponent.
Most Blocks In A Match - Naomi Hickman
Blocks Opponent, BA-BS, Sets Date
11 Hickman at #10 Marquette (1-10 in 5s) 10-12-19
11 Hickman vs. #25 Marquette (0-11 in 5s) 02-05-21
10 Hickman vs. #9 Marquette (0-10 in 4s) 11-22-19
10 Hickman vs. DePaul (1-9 in 4s) 11-24-19
Matches With 10+ Blocks, Career
10+ Blocks Name Years
9 Kelli Browning 2011-14
5 Laurel Sanford 2008-11
4 Ashley Williams 2001-04
4 Jessica Houts 2006-09
4 Lauren Smith 2013-16
4 Naomi Hickman 2017-Present
3 JoDe Cieloha 1994-97
On The Double
Creighton had four players register a double-double on Feb. 5th in its five-set win vs. No. 25 Marquette, as Ally Van Eekeren (20 assists, 13 digs), Mahina Pua'a (20 assists, 11 digs), Keeley Davis (11 kills, 12 digs) and Jaela Zimmerman (19 kills, 15 digs) each had a double-dip.
It was the first time Creighton had as much as three double-doubles in the same contest since Davis, Zimmerman and Madelyn Cole each did so at No. 7 Minnesota in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
It was the first time Creighton had four double-doubles in the same match since Nov. 20, 2015, when Jaali Winters, Samantha Bohnet, Jess Bird and Lauren Smith did it at Georgetown.
Pua'a (20) and Van Eekeren (24) had combined to play in 44 career Division I matches entering that match, but neither woman had ever attained a double-double. Both women had a double-double not only that evening, but also the following day as well vs. Marquette.
Zimmerman Earns League Award
Creighton's Jaela Zimmerman was recognized as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 2. The recognition actually covered the first two weekends of the season since the majority of the league did not play on the opening weekend.
Zimmerman averaged 3.50 kills, 2.25 digs, 0.81 blocks and 0.25 aces per set while hitting .252 to lead Creighton to a 3-1 start to the season. The Lincoln native had a pair of double-doubles in those contests.
She had 11 kills, 12 digs and a career-best six blocks in CU's season-opening victory vs. Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 22. Two days later Zimmerman had 12 kills, four digs, three blocks and two aces on .320 hitting in a victory over defending MVC champion Northern Iowa.
In a weekend home-and-home vs. South Dakota, the junior starred. She had a career-high 19 kills and added seven digs, two blocks and two aces on .259 hitting on Jan. 31, then contributed 14 kills, 13 digs and two blocks in the rematch on Sunday as the Jays rallied from an 0-2 hole.
This is the second time Zimmerman has been recognized as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, having also been honored on Nov. 25, 2019 following wins vs. No. 9 Marquette and DePaul that helped Creighton clinch a sixth straight BIG EAST regular-season title.
Zimmerman earned the third such honor of her career on March 9, 2021 and a fourth recognition on March 16, 2021.
Reverse Sweeps A Trend
On Jan. 29, Creighton won the first two sets vs. South Dakota before losing the next three. On Jan. 31, it was just the opposite as the Coyotes won the first two sets before the Bluejays answered by winning the next three frames.
A "reverse sweep" like that is rather uncommon in the college game. Since Creighton restarted its volleyball program in 1994, the Bluejays have gone 313-11 when leading a match 2-0 and 15-200 when trailing a match 2-0.
Prior to South Dakota this spring, the only other time that Creighton has traded reverse sweeps against the same team in the same season was in 1999 against Drake, with the road team winning each contest.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 313-11 (.966) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 256-5 mark (.981) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 183-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 95-1 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 15-200 (.070) all-time when trailing a match 0-2. 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 316-31 (.911) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 63-142 (.307) 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 107-3 in its last 110 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 48-1 in its last 49 matches when winning the first set, compared to a 6-8 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 90-1 in its last 91 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 60-31 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 3-1 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 21 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 2020-21 campaign.
It's also worth noting that Creighton is 14-4 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton's back-to-back-to-back five-set matches vs. South Dakota (twice) and Marquette (Jan. 29-Feb. 5) were its first span of three consecutive five-setters since a stretch of three in a row (all wins) during the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
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 3-1 8-2
Total 75-59 472-325
Third Set's A Charm
Since an Oct. 10, 2014 loss at Seton Hall, Creighton is a perfect 98-0 against BIG EAST teams (90-0 in the regular-season and 8-0 in league tournament play) when winning the third set.
Familiar Face
Senior Naomi Hickman has started Creighton's season opener each of the past four years, becoming the 16th player to start four season openers.
Four 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 2017-20
Some Fab Freshmen
Including Kiara Reinhardt this season, Creighton has started 12 different true freshmen in its season opener since 2009, and 16 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) and Kiara Reinhardt (2020). 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 Kostelac (2019) and Mahina Pua'a (2020) in season-openers.
Seven of those women (Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team (the BIG EAST has no such team). 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.
Production Returns
Creighton returns 10-of-14 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters.
From last year's team, only Megan Ballenger, Madelyn Cole, Megan Sharkey and Brittany Witt are not back.
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Kills 1193 (79.5%) 307 (20.5%)
Points 1437.0 (75.1%) 476.0 (24.9%)
Matches Started 124 (66.7%) 62 (33.3%)
Aces 110 (59.5%) 75 (40.5%)
Blocks 134 (58.8%) 94.0 (41.2%)
Digs 793 (47.7%) 868 (52.3%)
Assists 101 (7.2%) 1297 (92.8%)
Select Company
The BIG EAST's Creighton and Marquette are two of 15 teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last eight NCAA Tournaments (2012-19). That group features BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, USC and Washington.
Creighton is one of 13 teams to win a match in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments (2015-19). That group includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Purdue, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, USC, Washington and Wisconsin.
Creighton is also one of 10 teams to be in the year-end AVCA poll in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. That list includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
Creighton is one of 13 schools with eight straight seasons of 20+ wins (2012-19). That list features American, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington, Western Kentucky.
Creighton is one of just seven schools nationally who have won 23 matches or more in each of the last eight seasons (2012-19). That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford and Texas.
Creighton is one of just three schools nationally who have won 25 matches or more in each of the previous six seasons (2014-19). That group consists of BYU, Creighton and Florida.
Creighton is one of just nine programs to have spent at least one week in the AVCA Top 10 in each of the previous four seasons, (2016-19) a list that consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin.
Ranked To Start The Year
Creighton started this season ranked No. 15 in the AVCA Coaches poll. It was the seventh time in the past eight campaigns that CU's been ranked in the preseason AVCA poll, and fifth straight season.
Only 12 teams have been ranked in the preseason each of the last four years: BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Those same 12 teams are the only programs to be ranked in the preseason in seven of the last eight campaigns.
Being ranked in the preseason poll is no guarantee of future success, however. In the last 12 seasons, only 214-of-300 teams (71.3 percent) would be in both the preseason and postseason AVCA Top 25 polls.
Since 2008, all but 31 teams (of 300) named in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament (89.7 percent).
Creighton's History in the AVCA Preseason Poll
Year Preseason Rank Final W-L Final Rank
2013 25th 23-9 NR
2014 23rd 25-9 NR
2016 18th 27-9 9th
2017 9th 26-7 16th
2018 13th 29-5 13th
2019 18th 25-6 16th
2020 15th TBA TBA
Top 25 Jays
Creighton was ranked 24th in the March 15th AVCA poll. The Bluejays have now been ranked in 77 all-time polls, and every poll since Oct. 31, 2016.
Creighton has spent 21 weeks in program history in the top 10, which includes 12 consecutive weeks in 2018. CU's all-time best ranking in program history is No. 7, which came in the poll released on Aug. 28, 2017.
Creighton is one of just nine programs to have spent at least one week in the AVCA Top 10 in each of the previous four seasons, a list that consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin.
Creighton is in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 63rd straight week. The streak started on Oct. 31, 2016. Nationally, that's the ninth-longest active streak, as seen below:
Consecutive Active Weeks in AVCA Top 25
Streak Team Current Rank
567 Nebraska 5
484 Penn State 12
457 Florida 7
261 Texas 2
116 Wisconsin 1
115 BYU 16
86 Minnesota 4
67 Kentucky 3
63 Creighton 24
Setting The Table
Creighton started a different setter in its season-opening match for the seventh time in the past nine seasons when Mahina Pua'a got the nod last Friday vs. Nebraska-Omaha.
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.
The revolving door at setter hasn't hurt the team in that time, as each of the previous eight seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and six of them saw Creighton win conference titles.
Creighton has won seven of the nine previous season-opening matches.
Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won nine matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point, including its season-opening win over No. 5 Kentucky in 2018 and vs. UTSA in 2011. Three of those comeback wins have come against Wichita State.
On the other hand, Creighton is 379-3 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
Ranked At Year's End, Again
The Creighton Volleyball team finished last season ranked 16th in the year-end American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
It was the fifth straight season that Creighton was ranked in the year-end AVCA poll, something only 10 schools (BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin) can claim.
Creighton has now been ranked in the year-end poll on six occasions. The Bluejays were No. 24 in 2012, No. 19 in 2015, No. 9 in 2016, No. 16 in 2017 and No. 13 in 2018 before the No. 16 ranking in 2019.
Home Sweet Home
Including 2020-21, Creighton has gone unbeaten at home in league play in six of the last nine seasons (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019).
Creighton is 63-3 all-time (.955) in regular-season BIG EAST play at D.J. Sokol Arena, falling once each to St. John's (2013) and Seton Hall (2014) and Marquette (2020-21). MU's win on Feb. 6, 2021 snapped CU's 46-match home win streak in league play.
Since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009, Creighton is 94-8 (.922) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility.
Creighton has won all 13 regular-season meetings with St. John's since that 2013 upset, and all 12 encounters versus Seton Hall since dropping the home match in 2014. It has not faced Marquette yet since the loss.
The Bluejays have had a winning record in conference home matches each of the previous 14 seasons. That streak that dates back to its days at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, a site that was torn down five years ago and no longer exists.
Coyotes Snap Some Streaks
South Dakota upset Creighton on Jan. 29th and are the lone blemish in some otherwise impressive streaks. After Jan. 29th, the following was true:
- Creighton was 86-1 in its last 87 matches against unranked teams when winning set one.
- Creighton was 94-1 all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena when leading a match 2-0.
- Creighton was 61-1 in its last 62 home matches against unranked teams and was 108-5 in its last 113 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
- Creighton was 40-1 in its last 41 matches against teams that enter the match with a record below .500.
- Creighton had gone 43-1 in its last 44 matches when winning the first set, compared to a 6-7 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
- Creighton was 12-1 in its last 13 home matches.
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Last season Creighton played nine matches against 2018 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, going 5-4 against such teams.
This year's team has three matches (two vs. Marquette, one vs. Northern Iowa) scheduled against teams that made the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 85-100 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 2-1
TOTAL 88-135
TOTAL Under Booth 85-100
Marian Pipeline
This is the 18th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as sophomore Emily Bressman keeps the streak alive. Believe it or not, this year marks the first time since 2011 that there hasn't been multiple Marian grads.
Each of the last nine years Creighton's year-end leader in digs has been 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.
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
Eight Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last eight seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men's soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.
Creighton is one of 15 teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last eight NCAA Tournaments. That group features BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, USC and Washington.
Creighton is one of 13 teams to win a match in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments (2015-19). That group includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Purdue, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, USC, Washington and Wisconsin.
Nine Is Divine
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her team to nine 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 nine 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 9
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Elmar Bolowich Men's Soccer 6
Greg McDermott Men's Basketball 6
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 won her 300th match at CU on Sept. 24 vs. Villanova, and now owns 379 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history.
Coach, Sport Victories (as of 3/16/21)
Brent Vigness, Softball 796*
Ed Servais, Baseball 567*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 472*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 379*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 355*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis 347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball 327
*still active coaching at Creighton
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 6-9 against ranked non-conference foes over the last three seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
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 3-1 0-0 8-2 so far
Up To Speed on Seeds
Though they weren't a seed in the fall of 2019, Creighton is one of 13 schools to be a national seed in three of the last five NCAA Tournaments.
BYU, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford and Texas have been national seeds all five times.
Florida, Washington and Wisconsin have been a national seed four of those five seasons.
Creighton, Kentucky, UCLA, and USC have each been national seeds three times in that span.
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning record against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 130 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 23 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
CU still has not lost to five league foes (Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Providence, Xavier) since joining the BIG EAST, and Seton Hall (3), Marquette (4), Villanova (3) and St. John's (2) are the only BIG EAST programs to top the Bluejays multiple times since 2013.
Opponent Reg. Season BE Tourney Total
Butler 15-1 - 15-1
Connecticut 0-0 - 0-0
DePaul 16-0 - 16-0
Georgetown 14-0 - 14-0
Marquette 13-3 3-1 16-4
Providence 12-0 - 12-0
Seton Hall 11-3 2-0 13-3
St. John's 13-1 0-1 13-2
Villanova 11-3 3-0 14-3
Xavier 14-0 3-0 17-0
Total 119-11 11-2 130-13
Another 20 Win Season
Creighton went 25-6 in 2019. It was the 11th time in the program's modern history, and eighth straight season, of 20 or more victories.
Keep in mind that when Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton's modern day single-season record for wins was 16, and the Bluejays were coming off a 3-23 campaign.
Creighton is one of 13 schools with eight straight seasons (2012-19) of 20+ wins. That list features American, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Western Kentucky.
Last Season Summary
Creighton went 25-6 in a fall 2019 season that saw the Bluejays win a sixth straight BIG EAST regular-season title and one point away from a third trip to the Sweet 16 in the last five years.
The Bluejays had five women earn All-BIG EAST honors. Libero Brittany Witt (5.09 dps.) was named Third Team All-American and earned her second BIG EAST Libero of the Year award. Setter Madelyn Cole (11.02 aps.) was tabbed Honorable-Mention All-American and AVCA East Region Player of the Year. Megan Ballenger (2.07 kps., 0.97 bps.) controlled the middle, and outside hitters Jaela Zimmerman (3.13 kps.) and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Keeley Davis (3.35 kps.) had breakthrough seasons.
Creighton had four wins over teams ranked in the top-15 (No. 9 Marquette, No. 10 Marquette, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 15 USC) and finished 12-1 at home.
March 20 6 pm #24 Creighton at Kansas State Manhattan, Kan. (Bramlage Coliseum)
CREIGHTON NOTES (PDF) | LIVE STATS
This Weekend
No. 24 Creighton (8-2, 5-1 BIG EAST) steps out of BIG EAST play this weekend when it meets Kansas State (11-7, 10-6 Big 12) in non-conference action.
Saturday's match will commence at 6 p.m. inside Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.
Broadcast Information
Saturday's match will not be video webcast.
Live Stats Information
Saturday's match will have live stats available at https://www.kstatesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media.
Fans can also find the links on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting #24 Creighton
Ranked 24th nationally, Creighton is 8-2 this spring. The Bluejays have won four straight matches and clinched a spot in next month's BIG EAST Tournament after finishing with a 5-1 mark in league play.
The Bluejay offense has been led by Preseason All-BIG EAST selections Jaela Zimmerman (3.66 kps., 2.68 dps.) and Keeley Davis (3.21 kps., 2.68 dps.). Zimmerman owns five double-doubles this year, one more than Davis.
Senior Naomi Hickman (1.32 kps., 1.39 bps.), Kiara Reinhardt (1.08 kps., 1.16 bps.), Annika Welty (1.70 kps., 0.90 bps.) and Kiana Schmitt (1.62 kps., 0.81 bps., .310%) have helped the Bluejays turn into one of the nation's best blocking teams.
Ally Van Eekeren (5.29 aps.) and Mahina Pua'a (4.49 aps.) have split time at setter, and reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week Ellie Bolton (3.47 dps.) has taken over the libero role.
Creighton averages 12.74 kills, 14.47 digs, 2.64 blocks and 1.47 aces per set while hitting .227 as a team. Creighton was picked to win the Midwest Division of the BIG EAST Conference and has guaranteed itself no worse than a tie for first in the division.
Scouting Kansas State
Kansas State is 11-7 overall after going 10-6 in the fall against Big 12 competition and 1-1 so far this spring in non-conference action.
Aliyah Carter (3.88 kps.) leads the Wildcats in kills per set, with Jayden Nembhard (3.13 kps.) and Brynn Carlson (2.77 kps.) not far behind.
Libero Mackenzie Morris (3.88 dps.) leads the team in digs and Abigail Archibong (1.09 bps.) tops the club in blocks. Shelby Martin (9.09 aps.) and Teana Adams-Kaonohi (8.74 aps.) have each logged significant time as setter.
As a team, K-State averages 12.61 kills, 14.63 digs, 1.87 blocks and 1.29 aces per set while hitting .225 as a team.
K-State placed third in the Big 12, its best finish since 2008, and were ranked 10th in the final AVCA poll of the fall.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 379-173 record in her 18th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to six straight outright BIG EAST titles, and seven league crowns in the last eight 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 nine NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last nine seasons, 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. Kansas State
Creighton is 1-7 all-time against Kansas State, including an 0-5 record in Manhattan. The teams have not met in the regular-season since 2016.
Creighton's lone win vs. K-State in the regular-season came on Sept. 20, 2015, when the Bluejays overcame an 0-2 deficit to beat the Wildcats.
The last two times the teams have met were in fall exhibitions. Creighton saved a match point in a 3-2 win in Manhattan in 2017, then won in 2018 in Omaha in four sets.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-4 in the regular-season against Kansas State in her career.
Top 25 Duo
Creighton is one of seven schools in the country to have a top-25 team in both volleyball and men's basketball this week.
Creighton is joined in that elite grouping by Texas, Baylor, Ohio State, Purdue, Florida State and BYU.
While Creighton's 24th-ranked volleyball team is visiting Kansas State this week, the Bluejays' 19th-ranked men's basketball squad is in Indianapolis for an NCAA Tournament game on Saturday vs. UC Santa Barbara.
Title Hunting
Creighton finished league play with a 5-1 record against Midwest Division teams, clinching a spot in the BIG EAST Championship (April 2-3 in Omaha).
Under normal circumstances, that would have clinched a BIG EAST Midwest Division title (Xavier is 1-1 but only has two league matches left), though league officials have indicated that only the BIG EAST Tournament champ will be recognized as a league champion.
Berths to the BIG EAST Championship (two per division) will be decided by win percentage this season, provided that teams reach the pre-determined minimum of four league matches.
Xavier can lock up a spot with two home wins vs. Butler this weekend, otherwise Marquette will take home that spot.
No team has clinched a conference tournament spot yet in the East Division.
6 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
With its 2019 title, Creighton became the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win six straight outright regular-season titles.
No team had won six 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 six or more consecutive league titles, breaking a tie it had held with the men's soccer program (1992-96).
Player of the Week, Again
Jaela Zimmerman and Ellie Bolton have been recognized by the BIG EAST Conference after the duo helped Creighton to a pair of wins at Butler last weekend. Zimmerman was named the league's Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this spring, while Bolton brought home Defensive Player of the Week acclaim.
Bolton averaged 5.33 digs and 1.00 assists per set as Creighton picked up a pair of 3-0 road wins at Butler. The freshman libero from Shawnee, Kan., anchored a defense that limited Butler to just 8.83 kills per set and .062 hitting in six sets. In Friday's 3-0 blanking of Butler, Bolton had 14 digs and a pair of assists. Creighton held Butler to .096 hitting. Bolton concluded her week with 18 digs and four assists in Saturday's sweep. CU held Butler to .033 hitting. This is the first honor of her college career.
Zimmerman averaged 4.17 kills and 3.50 digs per set while hitting .312 against Butler. On Friday, Zimmerman had 13 kills and nine digs while hitting .448 in a 3-0 sweep. The junior outside hitter from Lincoln, Neb., followed that up with 12 kills, 12 digs and an ace in CU's 3-0 victory on Saturday. This is Zimmerman's second consecutive and third overall Offensive Player of the Week honor this season, as she was previously recognized on Feb. 2 and March 9.
Zimmerman Gets It Done
Junior Jaela Zimmerman owns 10 or more kills in all 10 matches this season. Zimmerman also did that in her final seven contests in the fall of 2019, giving her the fourth-longest streak in program history.
Leah Ratzlaff owns the record with 58 straight, far and away more than anyone else.
CU's Most Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills
58 Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005
21 Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015 - Aug. 28, 2016
19 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997
17 Jaela Zimmerman, Nov. 16, 2019 - Present
14 Kelly Goc, Sept. 8-Oct. 19, 2007
JZ Plays The Hits
Jaela Zimmerman has finished with 10 or more kills in all 10 matches so far this season. That's the fourth-longest streak of double-figure kills to start a season in Creighton history.
Zimmerman joins Efrosini Alexakou (St. John's) and Jennifer Leitman (Providence) as the only players in the BIG EAST with 10 or more kills in each match this season.
CU's Consec. Matches, 10 or More Kills, To Start Year
29 Leah Ratzlaff (every match) 2004
15 Alicia Runge 2010
12 Amanda Cvejdlik 2006
10* Jaela Zimmerman 2020
8 JoDe Cieloha 1994
7 Leah Ratzlaff 2003
7 Leah Ratzlaff 2005
*active
Biggest Block Wins
Creighton averages 2.64 blocks per set, a figure that leads the BIG EAST and ranks 23rd nationally.
Leading the way for the Bluejays are Naomi Hickman (1.39 bps.) and Kiara Reinhardt (1.16 bps.). Hickman leads the BIG EAST and ranks 19th nationally in blocks per set, while Reinhardt is fourth in the BIG EAST with 1.19 blocks per set, a figure that also places her 20th nationally among freshmen and 83rd overall nationally.
Hickman owns 317 career block assists, a figure just outside of the top-10 in program history.
Block Assists, Career
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. Megan Bober 480 380 2009-12
5. Laurel Sanford 369 376 2008-11
6. Marysa Wilkinson 499 374 2014-17
7. Ashley Williams 359 347 2001-04
8. Megan Ballenger 450 343 2016-19
9. JoDe Cieloha 398 331 1994-97
10. Melissa Walsh 394 320 1998-01
-- Naomi Hickman 346 317 2017-Pr.
Jays Add Iowa State To Schedule
Creighton added an additional match to its schedule when it announced that it would be hosting Iowa State on March 27th.
The teams will play a rematch of its 2019 NCAA Tournament contest at 4 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha.
Eyeing 500
Keeley Davis enters this weekend with 480 career kills in 41 career matches.
That puts her on pace to become the third-fastest Bluejay in program history to reach that milestone, trailing only program icons Jaali Winters and Melissa Walsh.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 500 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Jaali Winters 34 12/04/15 vs. Coastal Carolina
Melissa Walsh 37 09/25/99 Indiana State
JoDe Cieloha 43 10/15/95 at Indiana State
Amanda Cvejdlik 44 10/13/06 at Wichita State
Leah Ratzlaff 46 10/18/03 at Illinois State
On The Run
Every team has a rotation where it can feel confident to generate some separation based on who is serving.
Creighton has gone on some serious runs this season, and each time it seems like a different person is at the service line.
Creighton ended its five-set win on Jan. 31 vs. South Dakota with a 7-0 run with Kiara Reinhardt serving.
On Feb. 5th vs. Marquette, Keeley Davis authored a 12-0 run to establish some momentum and put the Jays ahead 17-5 in the first set.
Also on Feb. 5th, Mahina Pua'a served up back-to-back aces to end the match vs. Marquette as part of a 4-0 run.
5-Point Serving Runs This Season
6 Keeley Davis
4 Ally Van Eekeren
3 Kiara Reinhardt
3 Jaela Zimmerman
2 Erica Kostelac
1 Emily Bressman
1 Mahina Pua'a
Let's Play Five
Creighton and South Dakota split a pair of five-set matches on Jan. 29 and Jan. 31.
It's the first time Creighton has played the same team in multiple five-set matches in the same season since going 2-0 in 2017 vs. Butler.
It's the first time Creighton has split five-set matches against the same team in the same season since Wichita State in 2010.
It's the first time Creighton has split five-set matches against the same team in the same season with the road team winning each time since Indiana State in 2000.
Creighton followed the five-setters vs. South Dakota with a five-set match vs. Marquette. It was the first time since CU's memorable 2016 NCAA Tournament run that the program played in three consecutive five-setters.
Of Kansas State's 18 matches this season, nine have gone five sets. The Wildcats are 6-3 in those marathon matches.
Feb. 5-6 Now League Matches
The BIG EAST notified both Creighton and Marquette on Feb. 25th that the matches between the schools on Feb. 5-6 in Omaha will be counted as conference matches after all.
The contests were scheduled as non-conference play, but the decision was made to change that after a COVID pause within the Bluejay program caused the Feb. 19-20 matches to be postponed.
League Opener Histories
The Feb. 5 win vs. Marquette improved Creighton to a 19-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 16-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 7-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and seven straight wins.
Each of the last seven times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 119-7 in regular-season league action. Creighton also won six of the last conference tournament titles during those years, going 12-1 in those seasons.
In the 18 seasons (including 2020-21) that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .758 (250-80) winning percentage 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 conference home openers, Creighton is 22-5 overall and 16-2 under Booth, with 10 straight wins.
In league road openers, Creighton is 17-9 overall and 14-3 under Booth, with six straight wins.
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 and 2018. CU won the 2019 regular-season crown, while St. John's upset nationally-ranked Creighton and Marquette to bring home the 2019 tournament title.
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 3/14/21)
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (7) 119 11 192 54
Marquette (7) 104 25 182 62
Xavier 76 50 115 109
Butler 71 59 126 104
Villanova (1) 69 58 128 96
St. John's (1) 62 67 135 104
Seton Hall (1) 59 67 111 117
Georgetown 30 95 76 139
DePaul 28 104 81 138
Providence* 16 96 65 132
Connecticut# 2 4 2 6
*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.
What's The Difference?
En route to its league titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, Creighton compiled an 102-6 record in BIG EAST regular-season play. The Jays won those six titles by a combined 13.5 games over their nearest competitors, meaning if you took the record for the best second-place club each year they'd be 88-19.
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Though it has won six straight BIG EAST regular-season titles, this year marks the first time since 2017 that Creighton Volleyball has been picked to win the BIG EAST.
Last season CU was picked second and went 17-1 in league play en route to a sixth straight regular-season title.
This spring, a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches tabbed Creighton as the favorite in the Midwest Division with 3-of-5 first place votes, good for 15 points. That edged our Marquette (14 points, 2 first place votes) and also outdistanced DePaul (8), Xavier (7) and Butler (6).
The East Division was headed by St. John's (16 points, 4 first place votes) and Villanova (13, 1) and rounded out by Connecticut (8), Seton Hall (7) and Providence (6).
Creighton also had three women named to the 13 member on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as Keeley Davis, Erica Kostelac and Jaela Zimmerman were all honored. Zimmerman was a unanimous selection.
Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 15 of 17 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
2020-21 1st 1st - -
Davis Doubles Up
Keeley Davis had double-doubles in both matches vs. South Dakota on Jan. 29-31, as the sophomore had 14 kills and 19 digs on Friday before turning in 20 kills and 17 digs on Sunday.
In 31 matches last season, Davis had a total of two double-doubles. Both of those came in her final four contests.
Davis had 303 kills and 97 digs in her first 27 career matches, but since then has 177 kills and 152 digs in her past 14 contests.
Top 25 History
Creighton is 19-80 all-time against teams in the top-25 of the AVCA poll, but 14-14 since the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
An opening-weekend 2017 win at No. 3 Washington is the highest-ranked team that the Bluejays have ever beaten, surpassing a win at No. 4 Kansas the previous December.
Creighton is 7-32 all-time against top-10 foes (7-25 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth).
Creighton lost its first 31 true road matches against top-25 foes, but has 'improved' to 6-38 after wins in recent seasons at No. 23 North Carolina (2015), No. 4 Kansas (2016), No. 3 Washington (2017), No. 7 Kansas (2017), No. 18 Marquette (2018) and No. 10 Marquette (2019).
Creighton is 120-30 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 15-19 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, 34 of Creighton's 58 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 204-23 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but one of its past 64 home matches over unranked teams and all but three of its last 56 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
After a total of three top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton enters this season having earned multiple top-25 victories in every season since 2015. That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories last season.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 15-19)
Home: 5-6 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 3-0
Bouncing Back
Creighton is 136-12 (.919) in league play since the start of the 2012 campaign, a stat that includes CU's final season in the MVC.
After all 12 occasions where it lost, Creighton responded with a victory in its next match.
Creighton has not lost consecutive league matches since suffering a three-match skid in November of 2011.
Hickman For The Block
Naomi Hickman has been a force at the net throughout her career, but her game seems to step up a notch when she's playing against Marquette.
In 34 career sets vs. Marquette, Hickman owns an astounding 54 blocks. That's good for a 1.59 blocks per set average, and it's coming against what has traditionally been one of the nation's best offenses.
Hickman owns four career matches with 10 or more blocks, with three of those coming against Marquette. She's the only player in Creighton history to produce three matches of 10+ blocks against the same opponent.
Most Blocks In A Match - Naomi Hickman
Blocks Opponent, BA-BS, Sets Date
11 Hickman at #10 Marquette (1-10 in 5s) 10-12-19
11 Hickman vs. #25 Marquette (0-11 in 5s) 02-05-21
10 Hickman vs. #9 Marquette (0-10 in 4s) 11-22-19
10 Hickman vs. DePaul (1-9 in 4s) 11-24-19
Matches With 10+ Blocks, Career
10+ Blocks Name Years
9 Kelli Browning 2011-14
5 Laurel Sanford 2008-11
4 Ashley Williams 2001-04
4 Jessica Houts 2006-09
4 Lauren Smith 2013-16
4 Naomi Hickman 2017-Present
3 JoDe Cieloha 1994-97
On The Double
Creighton had four players register a double-double on Feb. 5th in its five-set win vs. No. 25 Marquette, as Ally Van Eekeren (20 assists, 13 digs), Mahina Pua'a (20 assists, 11 digs), Keeley Davis (11 kills, 12 digs) and Jaela Zimmerman (19 kills, 15 digs) each had a double-dip.
It was the first time Creighton had as much as three double-doubles in the same contest since Davis, Zimmerman and Madelyn Cole each did so at No. 7 Minnesota in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
It was the first time Creighton had four double-doubles in the same match since Nov. 20, 2015, when Jaali Winters, Samantha Bohnet, Jess Bird and Lauren Smith did it at Georgetown.
Pua'a (20) and Van Eekeren (24) had combined to play in 44 career Division I matches entering that match, but neither woman had ever attained a double-double. Both women had a double-double not only that evening, but also the following day as well vs. Marquette.
Zimmerman Earns League Award
Creighton's Jaela Zimmerman was recognized as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 2. The recognition actually covered the first two weekends of the season since the majority of the league did not play on the opening weekend.
Zimmerman averaged 3.50 kills, 2.25 digs, 0.81 blocks and 0.25 aces per set while hitting .252 to lead Creighton to a 3-1 start to the season. The Lincoln native had a pair of double-doubles in those contests.
She had 11 kills, 12 digs and a career-best six blocks in CU's season-opening victory vs. Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 22. Two days later Zimmerman had 12 kills, four digs, three blocks and two aces on .320 hitting in a victory over defending MVC champion Northern Iowa.
In a weekend home-and-home vs. South Dakota, the junior starred. She had a career-high 19 kills and added seven digs, two blocks and two aces on .259 hitting on Jan. 31, then contributed 14 kills, 13 digs and two blocks in the rematch on Sunday as the Jays rallied from an 0-2 hole.
This is the second time Zimmerman has been recognized as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, having also been honored on Nov. 25, 2019 following wins vs. No. 9 Marquette and DePaul that helped Creighton clinch a sixth straight BIG EAST regular-season title.
Zimmerman earned the third such honor of her career on March 9, 2021 and a fourth recognition on March 16, 2021.
Reverse Sweeps A Trend
On Jan. 29, Creighton won the first two sets vs. South Dakota before losing the next three. On Jan. 31, it was just the opposite as the Coyotes won the first two sets before the Bluejays answered by winning the next three frames.
A "reverse sweep" like that is rather uncommon in the college game. Since Creighton restarted its volleyball program in 1994, the Bluejays have gone 313-11 when leading a match 2-0 and 15-200 when trailing a match 2-0.
Prior to South Dakota this spring, the only other time that Creighton has traded reverse sweeps against the same team in the same season was in 1999 against Drake, with the road team winning each contest.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 313-11 (.966) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 256-5 mark (.981) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 183-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 95-1 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 15-200 (.070) all-time when trailing a match 0-2. 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 316-31 (.911) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 63-142 (.307) 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 107-3 in its last 110 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 48-1 in its last 49 matches when winning the first set, compared to a 6-8 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 90-1 in its last 91 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 60-31 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 3-1 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 21 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 2020-21 campaign.
It's also worth noting that Creighton is 14-4 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton's back-to-back-to-back five-set matches vs. South Dakota (twice) and Marquette (Jan. 29-Feb. 5) were its first span of three consecutive five-setters since a stretch of three in a row (all wins) during the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
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 3-1 8-2
Total 75-59 472-325
Third Set's A Charm
Since an Oct. 10, 2014 loss at Seton Hall, Creighton is a perfect 98-0 against BIG EAST teams (90-0 in the regular-season and 8-0 in league tournament play) when winning the third set.
Familiar Face
Senior Naomi Hickman has started Creighton's season opener each of the past four years, becoming the 16th player to start four season openers.
Four 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 2017-20
Some Fab Freshmen
Including Kiara Reinhardt this season, Creighton has started 12 different true freshmen in its season opener since 2009, and 16 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) and Kiara Reinhardt (2020). 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 Kostelac (2019) and Mahina Pua'a (2020) in season-openers.
Seven of those women (Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team (the BIG EAST has no such team). 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.
Production Returns
Creighton returns 10-of-14 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters.
From last year's team, only Megan Ballenger, Madelyn Cole, Megan Sharkey and Brittany Witt are not back.
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Kills 1193 (79.5%) 307 (20.5%)
Points 1437.0 (75.1%) 476.0 (24.9%)
Matches Started 124 (66.7%) 62 (33.3%)
Aces 110 (59.5%) 75 (40.5%)
Blocks 134 (58.8%) 94.0 (41.2%)
Digs 793 (47.7%) 868 (52.3%)
Assists 101 (7.2%) 1297 (92.8%)
Select Company
The BIG EAST's Creighton and Marquette are two of 15 teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last eight NCAA Tournaments (2012-19). That group features BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, USC and Washington.
Creighton is one of 13 teams to win a match in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments (2015-19). That group includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Purdue, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, USC, Washington and Wisconsin.
Creighton is also one of 10 teams to be in the year-end AVCA poll in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. That list includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
Creighton is one of 13 schools with eight straight seasons of 20+ wins (2012-19). That list features American, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington, Western Kentucky.
Creighton is one of just seven schools nationally who have won 23 matches or more in each of the last eight seasons (2012-19). That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford and Texas.
Creighton is one of just three schools nationally who have won 25 matches or more in each of the previous six seasons (2014-19). That group consists of BYU, Creighton and Florida.
Creighton is one of just nine programs to have spent at least one week in the AVCA Top 10 in each of the previous four seasons, (2016-19) a list that consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin.
Ranked To Start The Year
Creighton started this season ranked No. 15 in the AVCA Coaches poll. It was the seventh time in the past eight campaigns that CU's been ranked in the preseason AVCA poll, and fifth straight season.
Only 12 teams have been ranked in the preseason each of the last four years: BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Those same 12 teams are the only programs to be ranked in the preseason in seven of the last eight campaigns.
Being ranked in the preseason poll is no guarantee of future success, however. In the last 12 seasons, only 214-of-300 teams (71.3 percent) would be in both the preseason and postseason AVCA Top 25 polls.
Since 2008, all but 31 teams (of 300) named in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament (89.7 percent).
Creighton's History in the AVCA Preseason Poll
Year Preseason Rank Final W-L Final Rank
2013 25th 23-9 NR
2014 23rd 25-9 NR
2016 18th 27-9 9th
2017 9th 26-7 16th
2018 13th 29-5 13th
2019 18th 25-6 16th
2020 15th TBA TBA
Top 25 Jays
Creighton was ranked 24th in the March 15th AVCA poll. The Bluejays have now been ranked in 77 all-time polls, and every poll since Oct. 31, 2016.
Creighton has spent 21 weeks in program history in the top 10, which includes 12 consecutive weeks in 2018. CU's all-time best ranking in program history is No. 7, which came in the poll released on Aug. 28, 2017.
Creighton is one of just nine programs to have spent at least one week in the AVCA Top 10 in each of the previous four seasons, a list that consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin.
Creighton is in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 63rd straight week. The streak started on Oct. 31, 2016. Nationally, that's the ninth-longest active streak, as seen below:
Consecutive Active Weeks in AVCA Top 25
Streak Team Current Rank
567 Nebraska 5
484 Penn State 12
457 Florida 7
261 Texas 2
116 Wisconsin 1
115 BYU 16
86 Minnesota 4
67 Kentucky 3
63 Creighton 24
Setting The Table
Creighton started a different setter in its season-opening match for the seventh time in the past nine seasons when Mahina Pua'a got the nod last Friday vs. Nebraska-Omaha.
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.
The revolving door at setter hasn't hurt the team in that time, as each of the previous eight seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and six of them saw Creighton win conference titles.
Creighton has won seven of the nine previous season-opening matches.
Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won nine matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point, including its season-opening win over No. 5 Kentucky in 2018 and vs. UTSA in 2011. Three of those comeback wins have come against Wichita State.
On the other hand, Creighton is 379-3 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
Ranked At Year's End, Again
The Creighton Volleyball team finished last season ranked 16th in the year-end American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
It was the fifth straight season that Creighton was ranked in the year-end AVCA poll, something only 10 schools (BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin) can claim.
Creighton has now been ranked in the year-end poll on six occasions. The Bluejays were No. 24 in 2012, No. 19 in 2015, No. 9 in 2016, No. 16 in 2017 and No. 13 in 2018 before the No. 16 ranking in 2019.
Home Sweet Home
Including 2020-21, Creighton has gone unbeaten at home in league play in six of the last nine seasons (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019).
Creighton is 63-3 all-time (.955) in regular-season BIG EAST play at D.J. Sokol Arena, falling once each to St. John's (2013) and Seton Hall (2014) and Marquette (2020-21). MU's win on Feb. 6, 2021 snapped CU's 46-match home win streak in league play.
Since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009, Creighton is 94-8 (.922) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility.
Creighton has won all 13 regular-season meetings with St. John's since that 2013 upset, and all 12 encounters versus Seton Hall since dropping the home match in 2014. It has not faced Marquette yet since the loss.
The Bluejays have had a winning record in conference home matches each of the previous 14 seasons. That streak that dates back to its days at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, a site that was torn down five years ago and no longer exists.
Coyotes Snap Some Streaks
South Dakota upset Creighton on Jan. 29th and are the lone blemish in some otherwise impressive streaks. After Jan. 29th, the following was true:
- Creighton was 86-1 in its last 87 matches against unranked teams when winning set one.
- Creighton was 94-1 all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena when leading a match 2-0.
- Creighton was 61-1 in its last 62 home matches against unranked teams and was 108-5 in its last 113 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
- Creighton was 40-1 in its last 41 matches against teams that enter the match with a record below .500.
- Creighton had gone 43-1 in its last 44 matches when winning the first set, compared to a 6-7 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
- Creighton was 12-1 in its last 13 home matches.
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Last season Creighton played nine matches against 2018 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, going 5-4 against such teams.
This year's team has three matches (two vs. Marquette, one vs. Northern Iowa) scheduled against teams that made the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 85-100 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 2-1
TOTAL 88-135
TOTAL Under Booth 85-100
Marian Pipeline
This is the 18th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as sophomore Emily Bressman keeps the streak alive. Believe it or not, this year marks the first time since 2011 that there hasn't been multiple Marian grads.
Each of the last nine years Creighton's year-end leader in digs has been 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.
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
Eight Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last eight seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men's soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.
Creighton is one of 15 teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last eight NCAA Tournaments. That group features BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, USC and Washington.
Creighton is one of 13 teams to win a match in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments (2015-19). That group includes BYU, Creighton, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Purdue, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, USC, Washington and Wisconsin.
Nine Is Divine
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her team to nine 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 nine 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 9
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Elmar Bolowich Men's Soccer 6
Greg McDermott Men's Basketball 6
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 won her 300th match at CU on Sept. 24 vs. Villanova, and now owns 379 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history.
Coach, Sport Victories (as of 3/16/21)
Brent Vigness, Softball 796*
Ed Servais, Baseball 567*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 472*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 379*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 355*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis 347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball 327
*still active coaching at Creighton
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 6-9 against ranked non-conference foes over the last three seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
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 3-1 0-0 8-2 so far
Up To Speed on Seeds
Though they weren't a seed in the fall of 2019, Creighton is one of 13 schools to be a national seed in three of the last five NCAA Tournaments.
BYU, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford and Texas have been national seeds all five times.
Florida, Washington and Wisconsin have been a national seed four of those five seasons.
Creighton, Kentucky, UCLA, and USC have each been national seeds three times in that span.
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning record against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 130 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 23 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
CU still has not lost to five league foes (Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Providence, Xavier) since joining the BIG EAST, and Seton Hall (3), Marquette (4), Villanova (3) and St. John's (2) are the only BIG EAST programs to top the Bluejays multiple times since 2013.
Opponent Reg. Season BE Tourney Total
Butler 15-1 - 15-1
Connecticut 0-0 - 0-0
DePaul 16-0 - 16-0
Georgetown 14-0 - 14-0
Marquette 13-3 3-1 16-4
Providence 12-0 - 12-0
Seton Hall 11-3 2-0 13-3
St. John's 13-1 0-1 13-2
Villanova 11-3 3-0 14-3
Xavier 14-0 3-0 17-0
Total 119-11 11-2 130-13
Another 20 Win Season
Creighton went 25-6 in 2019. It was the 11th time in the program's modern history, and eighth straight season, of 20 or more victories.
Keep in mind that when Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton's modern day single-season record for wins was 16, and the Bluejays were coming off a 3-23 campaign.
Creighton is one of 13 schools with eight straight seasons (2012-19) of 20+ wins. That list features American, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Western Kentucky.
Last Season Summary
Creighton went 25-6 in a fall 2019 season that saw the Bluejays win a sixth straight BIG EAST regular-season title and one point away from a third trip to the Sweet 16 in the last five years.
The Bluejays had five women earn All-BIG EAST honors. Libero Brittany Witt (5.09 dps.) was named Third Team All-American and earned her second BIG EAST Libero of the Year award. Setter Madelyn Cole (11.02 aps.) was tabbed Honorable-Mention All-American and AVCA East Region Player of the Year. Megan Ballenger (2.07 kps., 0.97 bps.) controlled the middle, and outside hitters Jaela Zimmerman (3.13 kps.) and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Keeley Davis (3.35 kps.) had breakthrough seasons.
Creighton had four wins over teams ranked in the top-15 (No. 9 Marquette, No. 10 Marquette, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 15 USC) and finished 12-1 at home.
Players Mentioned
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS/OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballWednesday, May 27
Tuesday, May 26
Saturday, April 18
Saturday, April 18
