Photo by: Creighton Athletics
Volleyball Announces Fall 2021 Schedule
7/7/2021 12:30:00 PM | Volleyball
Non-conference slate includes matches vs. Missouri, USC, Kentucky, UNI, Nebraska and Illinois among others
On-line schedule | Schedule PDF
OMAHA, Neb. – The seven-time defending BIG EAST champion Creighton Volleyball team announced its Fall 2021 schedule on Wednesday. The slate includes a road match at defending national champion Kentucky, a home match at CHI Health Center Omaha vs. Nebraska, and the return of an 18-match BIG EAST slate.
"I think it's an outstanding schedule, said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "In our non-conference we try to play some of the toughest teams in the country, and I think we have that. I think we've got a lot of high RPI teams and teams that are going to win a lot of games. It is going to be a battle. Our recruits sign up to play a really tough non-con and they're going to get it this year, so we're excited about that."
Creighton plans takes the court publicly for the first time on Aug. 20 when the Bluejays host Iowa State in an exhibition match at D.J. Sokol Arena.
The Bluejays open the 2021 season at the Mizzou Invitational in Columbia, Mo., where they will take on UMKC (Aug. 27), Saint Louis (Aug. 27) and Missouri (Aug. 28). Mizzou reached the Second Round of the 2020 NCAA Tournament, finishing 16-8 overall.
Creighton's second weekend will take place in Lexington, Ky., at the Bluegrass Battle, as the Bluejays resume their annual tournament with USC (Sept. 3), Kentucky (Sept. 4) and Northern Iowa (Sept. 4). USC and Northern Iowa both reach the NCAA Tournament on a regular basis, while Kentucky has won 15 straight home matches and in April claimed the program's first national title with a 3-1 win vs. Texas in Omaha.
Creighton's first home match of the regular-season is Sept. 8 when the Bluejays welcome Nebraska to CHI Health Center Omaha. The Cornhuskers reached the Elite Eight and finished 16-3 after taking third place in the Big Ten Conference. A record 14,022 fans attended the last time the teams squared off in Omaha.
Creighton will play on campus just days later when it hosts SMU (Sept. 10), Illinois (Sept. 11) and Nebraska-Omaha (Sept. 11) during the Bluejay Invitational. It'll mark Illinois' first trip to Creighton since 2014, and the second year in a row that Creighton has hosted UNO. Creighton has never previously hosted SMU.
In its final non-conference weekend CU will head to Wichita, Kan., for the Shocker Volleyball Classic. That event will take place from Sept. 17-18 and feature Wyoming, South Dakota and host Wichita State. South Dakota split two five-set matches against Creighton and went 16-7 last season while reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time, where it fell to Missouri.
All told, Creighton's 13 non-conference opponents combined to go 121-70 last season, with four reaching the NCAA Tournament and nine owning a winning record.
Creighton opens defense of its seven straight BIG EAST regular-season titles on Friday, Sept. 24, with a match at Butler before heading to Xavier the following day.
The Bluejays also visit St. John's (Oct. 1) and Seton Hall (Oct. 2) before welcoming DePaul (Oct. 8) and Marquette (Oct. 10) in its initial home conference matches of the fall.
Creighton makes its first volleyball trip ever to Storrs on Oct. 16 when it visits Connecticut, then meets Providence (Oct. 17) a day later. The Bluejays will play every league school twice except Connecticut and Providence, as neither of those programs will trek to Omaha this fall.
League play wraps up on Nov. 21 when the Bluejays host St. John's before the BIG EAST Championship is held Nov. 26-27 in Milwaukee, Wis.
"I'm really pumped to get back into our regular rhythm of our conference schedule," noted Booth. "The BIG EAST is going to be tough again this year. There's a lot of unknowns but each night will be a battle."
The NCAA Tournament is slated to start on Dec. 3 and concludes at the Final Four on Dec. 16 & 18 in Columbus, Ohio.
Creighton season ticket holders will receive an e-mail later this month regarding their 2021 Volleyball season tickets. Season tickets will include the Creighton/Nebraska match held at CHI Health Center Omaha. Single-match will go on sale at a later date.
Creighton finished its 2020 season in April with a 12-4 record and its ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays return all six starters in addition to welcoming in a top-five recruiting class as well as High Point transfer Abby Bottomley, who was named Big South Conference Player of the Year.
OMAHA, Neb. – The seven-time defending BIG EAST champion Creighton Volleyball team announced its Fall 2021 schedule on Wednesday. The slate includes a road match at defending national champion Kentucky, a home match at CHI Health Center Omaha vs. Nebraska, and the return of an 18-match BIG EAST slate.
"I think it's an outstanding schedule, said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "In our non-conference we try to play some of the toughest teams in the country, and I think we have that. I think we've got a lot of high RPI teams and teams that are going to win a lot of games. It is going to be a battle. Our recruits sign up to play a really tough non-con and they're going to get it this year, so we're excited about that."
Creighton plans takes the court publicly for the first time on Aug. 20 when the Bluejays host Iowa State in an exhibition match at D.J. Sokol Arena.
The Bluejays open the 2021 season at the Mizzou Invitational in Columbia, Mo., where they will take on UMKC (Aug. 27), Saint Louis (Aug. 27) and Missouri (Aug. 28). Mizzou reached the Second Round of the 2020 NCAA Tournament, finishing 16-8 overall.
Creighton's second weekend will take place in Lexington, Ky., at the Bluegrass Battle, as the Bluejays resume their annual tournament with USC (Sept. 3), Kentucky (Sept. 4) and Northern Iowa (Sept. 4). USC and Northern Iowa both reach the NCAA Tournament on a regular basis, while Kentucky has won 15 straight home matches and in April claimed the program's first national title with a 3-1 win vs. Texas in Omaha.
Creighton's first home match of the regular-season is Sept. 8 when the Bluejays welcome Nebraska to CHI Health Center Omaha. The Cornhuskers reached the Elite Eight and finished 16-3 after taking third place in the Big Ten Conference. A record 14,022 fans attended the last time the teams squared off in Omaha.
Creighton will play on campus just days later when it hosts SMU (Sept. 10), Illinois (Sept. 11) and Nebraska-Omaha (Sept. 11) during the Bluejay Invitational. It'll mark Illinois' first trip to Creighton since 2014, and the second year in a row that Creighton has hosted UNO. Creighton has never previously hosted SMU.
In its final non-conference weekend CU will head to Wichita, Kan., for the Shocker Volleyball Classic. That event will take place from Sept. 17-18 and feature Wyoming, South Dakota and host Wichita State. South Dakota split two five-set matches against Creighton and went 16-7 last season while reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time, where it fell to Missouri.
All told, Creighton's 13 non-conference opponents combined to go 121-70 last season, with four reaching the NCAA Tournament and nine owning a winning record.
Creighton opens defense of its seven straight BIG EAST regular-season titles on Friday, Sept. 24, with a match at Butler before heading to Xavier the following day.
The Bluejays also visit St. John's (Oct. 1) and Seton Hall (Oct. 2) before welcoming DePaul (Oct. 8) and Marquette (Oct. 10) in its initial home conference matches of the fall.
Creighton makes its first volleyball trip ever to Storrs on Oct. 16 when it visits Connecticut, then meets Providence (Oct. 17) a day later. The Bluejays will play every league school twice except Connecticut and Providence, as neither of those programs will trek to Omaha this fall.
League play wraps up on Nov. 21 when the Bluejays host St. John's before the BIG EAST Championship is held Nov. 26-27 in Milwaukee, Wis.
"I'm really pumped to get back into our regular rhythm of our conference schedule," noted Booth. "The BIG EAST is going to be tough again this year. There's a lot of unknowns but each night will be a battle."
The NCAA Tournament is slated to start on Dec. 3 and concludes at the Final Four on Dec. 16 & 18 in Columbus, Ohio.
Creighton season ticket holders will receive an e-mail later this month regarding their 2021 Volleyball season tickets. Season tickets will include the Creighton/Nebraska match held at CHI Health Center Omaha. Single-match will go on sale at a later date.
Creighton finished its 2020 season in April with a 12-4 record and its ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays return all six starters in addition to welcoming in a top-five recruiting class as well as High Point transfer Abby Bottomley, who was named Big South Conference Player of the Year.
Players Mentioned
DS
/ VolleyballCreighton's Ava Martin Has 30 KIlls vs. Marquette - 11/1/25
Monday, November 03
Creighton Volleyball vs Marquette Postgame Press Conference - 11/1/25
Sunday, November 02
Creighton Volleyball Halloween practice
Saturday, November 01
Creighton Volleyball Postgame Press Conference vs DePaul - 10/31/25
Friday, October 31
