Saturday, March 27
Omaha, Neb.
6:00 PM
Creighton University
9-3, 6-1BIG EAST
3
vs
2
Xavier
7-6, 3-2BIG EAST
1
2
3
4
5
F
Xavier
17
25
25
16
12
2
Creighton
25
23
22
25
15
3
Photo by: Catherine Grosdidier
Volleyball Escapes Xavier Upset Bid To Clinch Midwest Division Title
3/27/2021 8:35:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton improves to 18-0 all-time vs. the Musketeers.
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton Volleyball clinched first place in the Midwest Division of the BIG EAST Conference with a come-from-behind 3-2 win vs. Xavier on Saturday night at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Scores of the match in favor of Creighton were 25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 25-16, 15-12.
Creighton (9-3, 6-1 BIG EAST) improved to 18-0 all-time against Xavier (7-6, 3-2 BIG EAST), but it wasn't easy.
The Bluejays trailed 2-1 in set and the teams were tied 12-all late in the fifth set before Naomi Hickman made plays on both sides of the net to help CU close out the win. With the score knotted 12-all in the fifth set, CU went to Hickman, and the senior delivered. She put down her seventh kill in 11 swings on the night to give CU a 13-12 lead. The Jays then won a long rally that led to an attack error by Xavier, and won the contest when Hickman and Kiana Schmitt teamed up to stuff Kelly Franxman on match point.
Creighton pulled away late in the first set to win 25-17 and claim an early lead in the match. After neither team was able to break free by more than two points, it was a 5-0 run on Jaela Zimmerman's serve that helped the Jays to a 22-15 advantage. Keeley Davis led CU with five kills in 10 swings and also contributed three digs. Creighton hit .226 with three blocks and forced the Musketeers into 10 attack errors and .000 hitting in 35 swings.
Xavier raced to a 10-5 lead to force Creighton into a timeout early in the second set, only to see the Bluejays rally with four consecutive points on Kiara Reinhardt's serve. The Jays would play from behind most of the set, rallying to within one at 19-18, 20-19, 21-20 and 22-21 but the Musketeers would side out each time to preserve the lead. CU would strike late, taking advantage of a back row attack error followed by a kill from Zimmerman to take its only lead of the set at 23-22. The Bluejays couldn't capitalize on the momentum, getting aced by Franxman after committing a service error of its own as Xavier earned a set point opportunity at 24-23. Moriah Hopkins then found the back left corner for a kill to seal the 25-23 victory and even the match. Xavier hit .343 in the second set with 15 kills in 35 swings compared to CU's 14 kills on .211 hitting.
Xavier took a 2-1 lead in the match with a come-from-behind 25-22 win in the third set. The Musketeers fell behind 8-3 early but battled back to knot the score at 12. Xavier took its first lead of the set at 23-22 on a Bluejay attack error, and back-to-back blocks by Delaney Hogan clinched the set for the visitors. Xavier had six blocks in the third set, holding CU to .073 hitting.
Creighton started the fourth set quickly, scoring the first five points as Zimmerman served a pair of aces, but once again struggled to put away Xavier. The Muskies drew within one at 9-8, 10-9 and 17-16 before the Bluejays closed out the set with an 8-0 run on Ally Van Eekeren's serve that featured four straight kills by Zimmerman at one point. CU hit .389 in the set with 18 kills in 36 swings as XU did not record a block. Zimmerman had six kills in the fourth set while Bolton had nine digs to set up the dramatic fifth set.
Zimmerman tied her career-high with 19 kills and added 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the spring. Davis had 13 kills and 13 digs for her fifth double-double, and Van Eekeren had 30 assists and 11 digs as well. Putting up career-highs were Annika Welty with 12 kills and Ellie Bolton with 28 digs. Creighton had 64 kills, 71 digs, nine blocks and seven aces on .218 hitting.
Xavier was topped by 17 kills from Franxman and 14 more from Painter. Carrigan O'Reilly earned a double-double with 47 assists and 10 digs. The Musketeers had 53 kills, 10 aces, 70 digs and 10 blocks on .175 hitting.
Creighton and Xavier will close the regular-season on Sunday night at 6 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena. The contest will be the final one of the spring for Xavier, which was eliminated from BIG EAST Tournament contention with Saturday's loss.
NOTES: Creighton's 18 straight wins in the series vs. Xavier are one behind a 19-match win streak vs. Southern Illinois for the longest winning stretch in Bluejay history over another team ... Creighton will open the BIG EAST Tournament next Friday vs. the No. 2 seed from the East Division, Providence. The Friars won a pair of five-set matches vs. Villanova over the weekend to punch their ticket ... Jaela Zimmerman now has 10 or more kills in 18 straight matches, including all 11 contests she's played this spring .... Naomi Hickman passed Melissa Walsh for 10th in Creighton history in block assists and now owns 322 after adding four to her total tonight ... Creighton improved to 4-1 in five-set matches this season, and 61-31 all-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth ... Creighton is now 4-1 when trailing 2-1 in a match this season ... Creighton improved to 49-1 in its last 50 matches when winning the first set ... Four of Creighton's last six home matches have gone five sets.
Scores of the match in favor of Creighton were 25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 25-16, 15-12.
Creighton (9-3, 6-1 BIG EAST) improved to 18-0 all-time against Xavier (7-6, 3-2 BIG EAST), but it wasn't easy.
The Bluejays trailed 2-1 in set and the teams were tied 12-all late in the fifth set before Naomi Hickman made plays on both sides of the net to help CU close out the win. With the score knotted 12-all in the fifth set, CU went to Hickman, and the senior delivered. She put down her seventh kill in 11 swings on the night to give CU a 13-12 lead. The Jays then won a long rally that led to an attack error by Xavier, and won the contest when Hickman and Kiana Schmitt teamed up to stuff Kelly Franxman on match point.
Creighton pulled away late in the first set to win 25-17 and claim an early lead in the match. After neither team was able to break free by more than two points, it was a 5-0 run on Jaela Zimmerman's serve that helped the Jays to a 22-15 advantage. Keeley Davis led CU with five kills in 10 swings and also contributed three digs. Creighton hit .226 with three blocks and forced the Musketeers into 10 attack errors and .000 hitting in 35 swings.
Xavier raced to a 10-5 lead to force Creighton into a timeout early in the second set, only to see the Bluejays rally with four consecutive points on Kiara Reinhardt's serve. The Jays would play from behind most of the set, rallying to within one at 19-18, 20-19, 21-20 and 22-21 but the Musketeers would side out each time to preserve the lead. CU would strike late, taking advantage of a back row attack error followed by a kill from Zimmerman to take its only lead of the set at 23-22. The Bluejays couldn't capitalize on the momentum, getting aced by Franxman after committing a service error of its own as Xavier earned a set point opportunity at 24-23. Moriah Hopkins then found the back left corner for a kill to seal the 25-23 victory and even the match. Xavier hit .343 in the second set with 15 kills in 35 swings compared to CU's 14 kills on .211 hitting.
Xavier took a 2-1 lead in the match with a come-from-behind 25-22 win in the third set. The Musketeers fell behind 8-3 early but battled back to knot the score at 12. Xavier took its first lead of the set at 23-22 on a Bluejay attack error, and back-to-back blocks by Delaney Hogan clinched the set for the visitors. Xavier had six blocks in the third set, holding CU to .073 hitting.
Creighton started the fourth set quickly, scoring the first five points as Zimmerman served a pair of aces, but once again struggled to put away Xavier. The Muskies drew within one at 9-8, 10-9 and 17-16 before the Bluejays closed out the set with an 8-0 run on Ally Van Eekeren's serve that featured four straight kills by Zimmerman at one point. CU hit .389 in the set with 18 kills in 36 swings as XU did not record a block. Zimmerman had six kills in the fourth set while Bolton had nine digs to set up the dramatic fifth set.
Zimmerman tied her career-high with 19 kills and added 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the spring. Davis had 13 kills and 13 digs for her fifth double-double, and Van Eekeren had 30 assists and 11 digs as well. Putting up career-highs were Annika Welty with 12 kills and Ellie Bolton with 28 digs. Creighton had 64 kills, 71 digs, nine blocks and seven aces on .218 hitting.
Xavier was topped by 17 kills from Franxman and 14 more from Painter. Carrigan O'Reilly earned a double-double with 47 assists and 10 digs. The Musketeers had 53 kills, 10 aces, 70 digs and 10 blocks on .175 hitting.
Creighton and Xavier will close the regular-season on Sunday night at 6 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena. The contest will be the final one of the spring for Xavier, which was eliminated from BIG EAST Tournament contention with Saturday's loss.
NOTES: Creighton's 18 straight wins in the series vs. Xavier are one behind a 19-match win streak vs. Southern Illinois for the longest winning stretch in Bluejay history over another team ... Creighton will open the BIG EAST Tournament next Friday vs. the No. 2 seed from the East Division, Providence. The Friars won a pair of five-set matches vs. Villanova over the weekend to punch their ticket ... Jaela Zimmerman now has 10 or more kills in 18 straight matches, including all 11 contests she's played this spring .... Naomi Hickman passed Melissa Walsh for 10th in Creighton history in block assists and now owns 322 after adding four to her total tonight ... Creighton improved to 4-1 in five-set matches this season, and 61-31 all-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth ... Creighton is now 4-1 when trailing 2-1 in a match this season ... Creighton improved to 49-1 in its last 50 matches when winning the first set ... Four of Creighton's last six home matches have gone five sets.
Team Stats
XU
CU
Kills
53
64
Errors
25
27
Attempts
160
170
Hitting %
.175
.218
Points
73.0
80.0
Assists
51
58
Aces
10
7
Blocks
10.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH
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