Saturday, April 3
Omaha, Neb.
11:30 AM
Creighton University
12-3
3
vs
1
Marquette
10-4
1
2
3
4
F
Marquette
25
19
29
22
1
Creighton
18
25
31
25
3
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Volleyball Tops Marquette To Win Sixth BIG EAST Tourney Title
4/3/2021 2:45:00 PM | Volleyball
Naomi Hickman named Most Outstanding Player
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton Volleyball team won its sixth BIG EAST Tournament title in the last seven years with a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Marquette on Saturday.
Creighton (12-3) lost the first set 25-18 before winning the final three frames 25-19, 31-29, 25-22. It's the third time in the last four seasons that Creighton has lost the opening set to Marquette, only to rally and win the title match.
Naomi Hickman was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament after finishing with 12 kills and five blocks on .579 hitting in the title tilt. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Annika Welty (12 kills, 5 blocks) and Kiara Reinhardt (11 blocks, 8 kills). CU had 58 kills, five aces, 63 digs and 16.0 blocks on .191 hitting.
Marquette (10-4) was paced by 13 kills from Carsen Murray and Taylor Wolf, who also contributed 23 assists and nine digs. The Golden Eagles were represented on the All-Tournament Team by Savannah Rennie (9 kills, 5 blocks) and Hope Werch (12 digs, 10 kills). MU had 53 kills, seven aces, 60 digs and five blocks on .169 hitting.
Marquette served four aces and had CU out of system throughout the first set in a 25-18 victory. Hannah Vanden Berg and Wolf each had a pair of aces and Wolf and Kaitlyn Lines each added four kills to pace MU in the opener. The Midwest Division's second seed raced to a 20-12 lead and never looked back, closing it out with a kill from Vanden Berg.
Creighton won a tight second set that featured 13 ties and seven lead changes. Neither team led by more than two at any point and the score was deadlocked at 18 before Ellie Bolton served up a 5-0 run that moved CU ahead 21-18. Reinhardt had a hand in consecutive blocks to get CU to set point and Welty's winner evened the match heading into intermission. Reinhardt had five blocks in the second set, and Hickman and Jaela Zimmerman each added four kills in the second set.
The third set was an instant classic when you consider the MU/CU rivalry and what was at stake. Creighton had a short-lived 8-7 lead before Marquette answered to take a 19-12 advantage following consecutive aces by Wolf. CU's outlook looked bleak when it fell behind 22-16 before, and even more dire after trailing 24-21. But an attack error by MU followed by a Reinhardt ace helped whittle away the deficit and Welty's kill produced the set's first tie since it was 9-9 as CU staved off a third set point chance by the visitors. CU would side out at 25-24, 25-25, 27-26 and again at 29-28. Having withstood MU's best shot seven times, Creighton took advantage. A Reinhardt kill tied the score at 29 and Werch would sail an attack wide to give CU a set point for the lead. This time, Welty and Reinhardt stuffed Lines. Creighton had four blocks in the set and Welty (5), Reinhardt (4) and Hickman (3) combined for a dozen kills against just one attack error in 20 swings during the vital third set to help offset six kills and six digs by Werch.
Rather than celebrate its third set victory, the Bluejay players stayed focused and carried that momentum into the fourth set. Ally Van Eekeren served CU to a 5-0 lead that featured an ace and three Zimmerman kills, and the Golden Eagles never recovered from the Bluejay avalanche. MU did draw within two on nine occasions, but each time CU would sideout, including a kill from Hickman on match point to close out her most prolific match of the season. Creighton hit .250 in the third set and Van Eekeren had nine assists and four digs in the triumph.
Creighton will learn its NCAA Tournament destination on Sunday at 3 p.m. Central when the entire 48-team field is unveiled on ESPNU.
NOTES: Creighton has now won six of the last seven BIG EAST Championships, while Marquette lost in the final for the fourth straight season ... Creighton improved to 72-4 in home matches against BIG EAST competition since joining the league in 2013, including a 56-1 mark since November of 2014 ... Kirsten Bernthal Booth improved to 20-5 against Marquette and 16-2 against Ryan Theis ... Creighton is now 4-1 against Marquette in BIG EAST Tournament play, including a 3-1 mark in the finals ... Today was the first time Creighton and Marquette have met with both teams being unranked since October 22, 2016 ... Creighton is now 13-2 all-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth with six titles in the BIG EAST Championship, including a 6-1 mark in the finals. The league's other 10 active coaches are a combined 14-29 with two titles ... Kirsten Bernthal Booth's six titles trail only Notre Dame's Debbie Brown (9) ... Creighton has won seven of its last eight matches, and four straight ... Creighton has won six straight home matches, where it went 9-2 this year at D.J. Sokol Arena ... Creighton is now 68-1 in its last 69 home matches vs. unranked teams ... The BIG EAST Championship has been won by the top seed in eight of the last nine seasons ... Naomi Hickman joined Taryn Kloth, Lauren Smith, Marysa Wilkinson, Jaali Winters and Brittany Witt as two-time members of the All-Tournament Team at the BIG EAST Championship. Each of the other five women earned All-America honors at some point in their career ... Naomi Hickman now owns 59 blocks in 38 career sets vs. Marquette (1.55 bps.) ... Creighton's 31-29 win in the third set was its most points in any set since a 38-36 win vs. Butler on Nov. 12, 2017 ... Creighton has now won 101 straight matches vs. BIG EAST teams when winning the third set ... Eleven of the last 14 BIG EAST Championships have been won by the team to win the first set. All three exceptions (2017, 2018, 2020) were when Creighton overcame a 1-0 hole vs. Marquette ... Creighton will be making its 10th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, and ninth in a row ... Naomi Hickman's .579 hitting percentage was the best mark by a Bluejay in BIG EAST Tourney action for any four set match ... Kiara Reinhardt's 11 blocks tied a school record for a BIG EAST Tournament match of any length, first done by Lauren Smith in the 2014 final vs. Seton Hall.
All-Tournament Team
Naomi Hickman, Creighton (MVP)
Annika Welty, Creighton
Kiara Reinhardt, Creighton
Savannah Rennie, Marquette
Hope Werch, Marquette
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's
Genna Florig, UConn
Creighton (12-3) lost the first set 25-18 before winning the final three frames 25-19, 31-29, 25-22. It's the third time in the last four seasons that Creighton has lost the opening set to Marquette, only to rally and win the title match.
Naomi Hickman was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament after finishing with 12 kills and five blocks on .579 hitting in the title tilt. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Annika Welty (12 kills, 5 blocks) and Kiara Reinhardt (11 blocks, 8 kills). CU had 58 kills, five aces, 63 digs and 16.0 blocks on .191 hitting.
Marquette (10-4) was paced by 13 kills from Carsen Murray and Taylor Wolf, who also contributed 23 assists and nine digs. The Golden Eagles were represented on the All-Tournament Team by Savannah Rennie (9 kills, 5 blocks) and Hope Werch (12 digs, 10 kills). MU had 53 kills, seven aces, 60 digs and five blocks on .169 hitting.
Marquette served four aces and had CU out of system throughout the first set in a 25-18 victory. Hannah Vanden Berg and Wolf each had a pair of aces and Wolf and Kaitlyn Lines each added four kills to pace MU in the opener. The Midwest Division's second seed raced to a 20-12 lead and never looked back, closing it out with a kill from Vanden Berg.
Creighton won a tight second set that featured 13 ties and seven lead changes. Neither team led by more than two at any point and the score was deadlocked at 18 before Ellie Bolton served up a 5-0 run that moved CU ahead 21-18. Reinhardt had a hand in consecutive blocks to get CU to set point and Welty's winner evened the match heading into intermission. Reinhardt had five blocks in the second set, and Hickman and Jaela Zimmerman each added four kills in the second set.
The third set was an instant classic when you consider the MU/CU rivalry and what was at stake. Creighton had a short-lived 8-7 lead before Marquette answered to take a 19-12 advantage following consecutive aces by Wolf. CU's outlook looked bleak when it fell behind 22-16 before, and even more dire after trailing 24-21. But an attack error by MU followed by a Reinhardt ace helped whittle away the deficit and Welty's kill produced the set's first tie since it was 9-9 as CU staved off a third set point chance by the visitors. CU would side out at 25-24, 25-25, 27-26 and again at 29-28. Having withstood MU's best shot seven times, Creighton took advantage. A Reinhardt kill tied the score at 29 and Werch would sail an attack wide to give CU a set point for the lead. This time, Welty and Reinhardt stuffed Lines. Creighton had four blocks in the set and Welty (5), Reinhardt (4) and Hickman (3) combined for a dozen kills against just one attack error in 20 swings during the vital third set to help offset six kills and six digs by Werch.
Rather than celebrate its third set victory, the Bluejay players stayed focused and carried that momentum into the fourth set. Ally Van Eekeren served CU to a 5-0 lead that featured an ace and three Zimmerman kills, and the Golden Eagles never recovered from the Bluejay avalanche. MU did draw within two on nine occasions, but each time CU would sideout, including a kill from Hickman on match point to close out her most prolific match of the season. Creighton hit .250 in the third set and Van Eekeren had nine assists and four digs in the triumph.
Creighton will learn its NCAA Tournament destination on Sunday at 3 p.m. Central when the entire 48-team field is unveiled on ESPNU.
NOTES: Creighton has now won six of the last seven BIG EAST Championships, while Marquette lost in the final for the fourth straight season ... Creighton improved to 72-4 in home matches against BIG EAST competition since joining the league in 2013, including a 56-1 mark since November of 2014 ... Kirsten Bernthal Booth improved to 20-5 against Marquette and 16-2 against Ryan Theis ... Creighton is now 4-1 against Marquette in BIG EAST Tournament play, including a 3-1 mark in the finals ... Today was the first time Creighton and Marquette have met with both teams being unranked since October 22, 2016 ... Creighton is now 13-2 all-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth with six titles in the BIG EAST Championship, including a 6-1 mark in the finals. The league's other 10 active coaches are a combined 14-29 with two titles ... Kirsten Bernthal Booth's six titles trail only Notre Dame's Debbie Brown (9) ... Creighton has won seven of its last eight matches, and four straight ... Creighton has won six straight home matches, where it went 9-2 this year at D.J. Sokol Arena ... Creighton is now 68-1 in its last 69 home matches vs. unranked teams ... The BIG EAST Championship has been won by the top seed in eight of the last nine seasons ... Naomi Hickman joined Taryn Kloth, Lauren Smith, Marysa Wilkinson, Jaali Winters and Brittany Witt as two-time members of the All-Tournament Team at the BIG EAST Championship. Each of the other five women earned All-America honors at some point in their career ... Naomi Hickman now owns 59 blocks in 38 career sets vs. Marquette (1.55 bps.) ... Creighton's 31-29 win in the third set was its most points in any set since a 38-36 win vs. Butler on Nov. 12, 2017 ... Creighton has now won 101 straight matches vs. BIG EAST teams when winning the third set ... Eleven of the last 14 BIG EAST Championships have been won by the team to win the first set. All three exceptions (2017, 2018, 2020) were when Creighton overcame a 1-0 hole vs. Marquette ... Creighton will be making its 10th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, and ninth in a row ... Naomi Hickman's .579 hitting percentage was the best mark by a Bluejay in BIG EAST Tourney action for any four set match ... Kiara Reinhardt's 11 blocks tied a school record for a BIG EAST Tournament match of any length, first done by Lauren Smith in the 2014 final vs. Seton Hall.
All-Tournament Team
Naomi Hickman, Creighton (MVP)
Annika Welty, Creighton
Kiara Reinhardt, Creighton
Savannah Rennie, Marquette
Hope Werch, Marquette
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's
Genna Florig, UConn
Team Stats
MU
CU
Kills
53
58
Errors
27
28
Attempts
154
157
Hitting %
.169
.191
Points
65.0
79.0
Assists
50
58
Aces
7
5
Blocks
5.0
16.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
11
Players Mentioned
DS
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballOH
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