Volleyball Opens 2021 Season Friday at Mizzou Invitational

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2021 Volleyball Media Guide

This Weekend - Mizzou Invitational
Aug. 27   10:00 am   Creighton vs. Kansas City   Columbia, Mo. (Hearnes Center) | LIVE STATS
Aug. 27   5:00 pm   Creighton vs. Saint Louis   Columbia, Mo. (Hearnes Center) | LIVE STATS
Aug. 28   3:00 pm   Creighton at Missouri    Columbia, Mo. (Hearnes Center) | SEC Network + | LIVE STATS

This Weekend
Creighton (0-0) opens the 2021 season with three matches at the Mizzou Invitational.
   The season starts this Friday at 10:00 a.m. when the Bluejays meet Kansas City (0-0) in the season-opener for both teams.
   Seven hours later at 5 p.m., Creighton plays another neutral-site contest, this time vs. Saint Louis (0-0).
   On Saturday, Creighton squares off against tournament host Missouri (0-0) at 3 p.m.
   The matches will be played inside Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.

Broadcast Information
Neither of Creighton's matches on Friday will be webcast.
   Creighton's match on Saturday vs. Missouri can be viewed on SEC Network+, which is available at WatchESPN.com. A cable login or additional subscription might be required.

Live Stats Information
All three matches will have free live stats available at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
   Fans can also find the links on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.

Scouting Creighton
Creighton returns all six starters from last season's 12-4 squad that reached a ninth straight NCAA Tournament and saw the Bluejays win a seventh straight BIG EAST regular-season title. CU is favored by league coaches to win an eighth straight title.
   Leading the Bluejay returnees are Preseason All-BIG EAST selections Jaela Zimmerman (3.45 kps., 2.71 dps.) and Naomi Hickman (1.48 kps., 1.18 bps., .330%).
   Two-time All-BIG EAST choice Keeley Davis (3.02 kps.) was left off this year's preseason team, as was High Point transfer Abby Bottomley (5.38 dps., 0.44 saps.), the 2020 Big South Conference Player of the Year.
   Other returning starters include All-BIG EAST Tournament Team selection Annika Welty (2.06 kps.), All-Freshman Team pick Kiara Reinhardt (1.29 kps., 1.23 bps.) and setter Ally Van Eekeren (5.77 aps.).
   Bottomley joins four freshmen (Eve Magill, Abbey Milner, Norah Sis and Kendra Wait) who were regarded as the nation's No. 5 recruiting class in the country by Prep Volleyball.
   Creighton averaged 13.05 kills, 1.44 aces, 14.48 digs and 2.51 blocks per set while hitting .230 as a team last season.

Scouting Kansas City
Kansas City started 13-1 last season before three straight losses to end the campaign 13-4. All 17 matches came against teams from the Summit League, and it included two 3-2 victories vs. a South Dakota team that Creighton split a pair of 3-2 matches against.
   Omaha native Alli Schomers (10.26 aps. in 2020) is a two-time Conference Setter of the Year and directs an offense led by returners Melanie Brecka (4.17 kps.), Odyssey Warren (2.35 kps.) and De'Janae Arnold (1.93 kps, .285%, 0.89 bps.).
   Brecka was named Summit League Player of the Year and led the Roos in kills in all 17 matches last year, breaking the 20-kill mark seven times and posting nine double-doubles.
   Last year's UMKC team averaged 12.89 kills, 1.49 aces, 16.27 digs and 1.70 blocks per set while hitting .187.

Scouting Saint Louis
Saint Louis went 8-10 last season, including a 6-4 mark against Atlantic-10 Conference competition.
   SLU's top two attackers from last season, Maya Taylor (3.61 kps., 0.30 saps.) and Emily Henken (2.11 kps., 0.41 saps.) both return, but setter Kennedy Cordia (9.53 aps.) is one of five departures from a year ago.
   Saint Louis averaged 12.12 kills, 1.89 aces, 14.55 digs and 1.56 blocks per set while hitting .185 as a group.

Scouting Missouri
Missouri finished last season 16-8 overall and ranked 25th nationally after reaching the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers went 8-2 at home, losing only to eventual national champion Kentucky twice at Hearnes Center.
   Four of Mizzou's top five attackers from a year ago have departed, but Anna Dixon (3.00 kps.) returns. Also back is libero Emily Brown (3.37 dps.).
   Helping to offset the loss of eight players from last year's roster are talented transfers in Kansas State outside hitter Brynn Carlson (2.73 kps.) and Maryland setter Nicole Alford (5.59 aps.).
   This year's Mizzou squad was picked to finish in a tie for eighth place in the SEC in a vote of league coaches. The Tigers did not have any Preseason All-SEC choices.       Last year's Missouri team averaged 13.23 kills, 1.35 aces, 12.42 digs and 1.75 blocks per set while hitting .265.

Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 383-175 record entering her 19th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to seven straight outright BIG EAST titles, and eight league crowns in the previous nine 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 10 NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached CU into the top-25 each of the previous nine seasons (not including 2021, yet), 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 City
Creighton owns a 14-2 lead in the all-time series against Kansas City, including a 1-0 mark on neutral floors (3-0 in Milwaukee in 1995).
   Creighton has won all five meetings since 2000, including 2003 and 2004 contests under the leadership of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
   A Nov. 16, 2002 victory in Omaha over the Kangaroos was Creighton's final match under Howard Wallace prior to the hiring of Booth 11 weeks later.

Series History vs. Saint Louis
Saint Louis owns a 3-2 lead in the all-time series vs. Creighton, but the Bluejays won a 2006 match at Middle Tennessee in the only previous neutral-site battle.
   The series started when SLU defeated the Bluejays in both 1995 and 1996. Creighton won a five-set battle in 2006, and the road teams exchanged 3-0 sweeps in 2009 and 2010.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 2-1 against the Billikens.

Series History vs. Missouri
Creighton defeated Mizzou in four sets on Sept. 10, 2004, in the only previous meeting between the schools.
   That 3-1 victory (31-29, 16-30, 30-26, 30-28) started a 3-0 weekend as Creighton won the Quality Inn Tiger Invitational. At the time, it was just the second tournament title won under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and Booth called it "one of the biggest wins in school history". Leah Ratzlaff led CU with 18 kills in the match, including 10 in the fourth set, while Janeen Piller notched 25 digs.
   Booth is 1-0 in her career against Missouri.
   Creighton has won three straight matches against teams from the SEC and are 9-4 under Booth against the SEC.

Last Season Summary
Creighton won the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles while returning to the NCAA Tournament in a most unusual season. The global COVID-19 pandemic pushed an abbreviated season into the spring, with limited crowds and face coverings required during the regular-season.
   Creighton went 3-1 in non-conference play before opening BIG EAST play by splitting two matches with No. 25 Marquette. The Bluejays won their final six league matches to finish atop the Midwest Division, then defeated UConn and Marquette for their sixth BIG EAST Tournament title in seven seasons.
   The entire NCAA Tournament was held in Omaha, but CU fell in five sets to Ohio Valley Conference champ Morehead State in the First Round.
   Jaela Zimmerman earned East Region Player of the Year honors from the AVCA and joined on the All-Conference Team alongside Keeley Davis and Naomi Hickman. Hickman was named Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Tournament, with Annika Welty and All-Freshman Team honoree Kiara Reinhardt also being named All-Tourney.

Season Opening History
Last season's win vs. Nebraska-Omaha improved Creighton to 17-10 in season-opening matches since restarting the program in 1994, and 13-5 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 10-2 mark since 2009.
   Creighton will enter Saturday's match at Missouri with a 12-15 mark in road openers, including an 11-7 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.

Hello World!
Four Bluejay freshmen (Eve Magill, Abbey Milner, Norah Sis and Kendra Wait), as well as senior transfer Abby Bottomley, could make their Creighton debuts this weekend.
   Below is the current Creighton players and how they performed in their regular-season collegiate debuts (as well as at previous schools in the case of Bottomley).
   Records for a Bluejay debut can be found at the bottom of page three. Interestingly, the career leaders or career runner-ups for Creighton Volleyball in digs (Brittany Witt and Kate Elman), aces (Molly Moran), kills (Jaali Winters) and blocks (Kelli Browning) also own the CU record or are second for that same category for a Bluejay debut.
Year   Name   SP   K   E   TA   Pct.   A   SA   DIG   TB
2019   Keeley Davis   4   13   7   47   .128   0   2   2   0
2020   Kiara Reinhardt•   3   7   4   16   .188   0   2   2   4
2017   Naomi Hickman•   3   5   2   8   .375   0   0   3   1
2018   Jaela Zimmerman   5   1   1   6   .000   0   0   6   0
2018   Annika Welty   3   1   1   6   .000   0   0   1   0
2019   Emily Bressman•   4   1   2   6   -.167   1   0   5   0
2017   Abby Bottomley$   4   0   0   0   ---   6   0   14   0
2020   Ellie Bolton   3   0   0   0   ---   2   0   12   0
2020   Katie Maser   1   0   0   0   ---   1   0   0   0
2019   Ally VanEekeren   3   0   0   0   ---   0   1   0   0
2020   Megan Skovsende   1   0   0   0   ---   0   0   2   0
2019   Kiana Schmitt   1   0   0   0   ---   0   0   0   0
$Bottomley's stats from debut at High Point

Some Fab Freshmen
Including Kiara Reinhardt last 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), with Coleman and Lebeda the only true freshmen to start at setter in the season-opener.
   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 Kosetelac (2019) and Mahina Pua'a (2020) in season-openers.
   Eight of those women (Reinhardt, Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team (the BIG EAST started such a team in 2020). 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.

Believe The Hype
Creighton's recruiting class of freshmen Eve Magill, Abbey Milner, Norah Sis and Kendra Wait was recognized as the nation's No. 5 class last fall by PrepVolleyball.
   Wait was tabbed the nation's No. 7 freshman recruit, making her the program's most-decorated recruit since 2004. Sis, at No. 28, is the program's third-highest recruit (behind Wait and No. 18 in 2015's Taryn Kloth), with No. 31 Eve Magill not far behind.
   In the summer, Volleyball Magazine recognized CU's group of newcomers (which included the four freshmen and Abby Bottomley) as the No. 8 incoming class in the nation.
Top-100 PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces
(list started in 2004)
Rank   Year   Player
68   2004   Carolyn Decker
55   2008   Laurel Sanford
60   2011   Michelle Sicner
73   2013   Jess Bird
50   2014   Lydia Dimke*
18   2015   Taryn Kloth
41   2015   Jaali Winters
77   2016   Erica Kostelac#
98   2017   Naomi Hickman
99   2017   Steph Gaston
49   2018   Jaela Zimmerman
42   2018   Keeley Davis
46   2020   Kiara Reinhardt
97   2020   Ellie Bolton
7   2021   Kendra Wait
28   2021   Norah Sis
31   2021   Eve Magill
* signed with Purdue and later transferred to Creighton
# signed with Cincinnati and later transferred to Creighton

PrepVolleyball.com Recruiting Rankings (list started in 2004)
Year   Rank   Freshman Recruits
2004   Best of the Rest   (Baumann, Decker, Goc, Lahm, Mehal)
2005   Honorable-Mention   (Cvejdlik, Houts, Lebeda)
2006   None   (Bloemke, Schulze, Workman)
2007   None   (Feldman, Oelke, Vrbicky)
2008   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Almgren, Bober, Sanford)
2009   Highest HM   Boggs, Greisch, Moon, Templeton, Thorson)
2010   High HM   (Fliss, Hackbarth, Malm, Mandolfo, S. Smith)
2011   Highest HM   (Browning, McNary, Neisler, Sicner, Stivers)
2012   High Honorable-Mention   (Elman, Jansen, Jereb, L. Smith)
2013   None   (Bird, Crawford, Foje)
2014   Highest Honorable-Mention   (Lawrence, Tupper, Wilkinson)
2015   11th   (Ballenger, Bohnet, Kloth, O'Connell, Winters)
2016   High Honorable-Mention   (Conlon, Taylor, Witt)
2017   25th   (Gaston, Hickman, Roumeliotis)
2018   10th   (Davis, Welty, Zimmerman, Zumach)
2019   Highest HM   (Bressman, Krause, Schmitt, Van Eekeren)
2020   27th   (Bolton, Maser, Reinhardt, Skovsende)
2021   5th   (Magill, Milner, Sis, Wait)

Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-15 letterwinners to the court from last season, including all six starters, as well as returning libero Ellie Bolton.
   From last year's team, only Grace Nelson, Mahina Pua'a, Erica Kostelac and Makenna Krause are not back.
   Creighton returns 98.4 percent of its blocks, its most since 2007 (99.3).
   Creighton returns 94.3 percent of its kills, most since 2016 (94.7).
   Creighton returns 93.7 percent of its points, most since 2014 (99.1).
   Creighton returns 86.5 percent of its starts, most since 2014 (98.1).
   Creighton returns 81.7 percent of its digs, most since 2017 (95.0).
   All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 595.5 of a possible 700% back (85.1 percent), which would be its highest since 2014 (99.1).
   Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Blocks   153 (98.4%)   2.5 (1.6%)
Kills   763 (94.3%)   46 (5.7%)
Points   987.0 (93.7%)   66.5 (6.3%)
Matches Started   83 (86.5%)   13 (13.5%)
Digs   734 (81.7%)   164 (18.3%)
Aces   71 (79.8%)   18 (20.2%)
Assists   462 (61.5%)   289 (38.5%)

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.
   No Bluejay has ever started five straight season openers, something she can do on Friday vs. Kansas City.
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

Nine Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last nine seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
   The only other sport in Creighton history to make nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men's soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.
   Creighton is one of nine teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last nine NCAA Tournaments (2012-20). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Texas and Washington.

Setting The Table
With Mahina Pua'a having graduated, Creighton is assured to start a different setter in its season-opening match for the eighth time in the past 10 seasons.
   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. Last season Pua'a earned the nod on opening night.
   The revolving door at setter hasn't hurt the team in that time, as each of the previous nine seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and seven of them saw Creighton win conference titles.
   Creighton won seven of those 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 season-opening wins over No. 5 Kentucky in 2018 and vs. UTSA in 2011. Three of those other comeback wins have come against Wichita State.
   On the other hand, Creighton is 383-3 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

Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 61-32 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 4-2 mark last 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 campaign.
   It's also worth noting that Creighton is 15-4 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
   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   4-2   12-4
2021   0-0   0-0
Total   76-60   476-327

Let's Play Five
Creighton ended last season with a five-set match vs. Morehead State in the NCAA Tournament and last Friday hosted a five-set exhibition match vs. Iowa State. Last season Creighton went 4-2 in five-set matches.
   UMKC ended last season with a five-set loss to South Dakota in the Summit League Tournament, and played the full five sets in 8-of-17 contests overall a year ago. The Roos went 6-2 in those matches.
   Creighton has played a five-set match in its season-opener in three of the past six seasons, and five times overall in Kirsten Bernthal Booth's first 18 campaigns. Three of the last four times CU opened the season with a neutral-site match, it went five sets.

High School Reunion
Sophomore Megan Skovsende will square off against former high school teammate Alli Schomers in Creighton's season-opener vs. Kansas City.
   Skovsende had 302 kills as a freshman at Skutt Catholic High School in the fall of 2006. Schomers, meanwhile, finished with more than 1,250 assists for the SkyHawks during her senior season.
   Not surprisingly for a team where 11-of-14 women ended up playing collegiate volleyball (including six at the Division I level), Skutt finished the season 44-0 and lost just six sets.

Kansas City Here I Come
Creighton boasts four women from the Kansas City metro area on its 2021 roster.
   Senior Annika Welty is from Parkville, which is 10 miles from Kansas City on the Missouri side of the border.
   Senior Naomi Hickman is from Lawrence, roughly 40 miles from Kansas City.
   Sophomore Ellie Bolton is from Shawnee, which is 10 miles from Kansas City
   Freshman Kendra Wait hails from Gardner, which is located 30 miles form Kansas City.
   Welty, Hickman and Bolton all played club volleyball for KC Power, while Wait played for MAVS Volleyball Club.

Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won eight conference regular-season titles. All eight of Creighton's crowns were outright titles, whereas Texas shared one title and WKU shared four.
   Creighton has also won seven conference tournament titles since 2012, tied for the most in the nation with Dayton and Western Kentucky.
Most Conference Titles Since 2012
Regular-Season   League Tournament
8 (0) Creighton   7 Creighton
8 (1) Texas   7 Dayton
8 (4) Western Kentucky   7 Western Kentucky
7 American   6 American
7 BYU   6 Fairfield
7 Colorado State   6 LIU
7 Fairfield
7 Florida A&M

Block Around The Clock
Naomi Hickman starts her fifth collegiate season on the verge of the top-10 of nearly every one of Creighton's career blocking records.
   She is currently ninth with 0.97 blocks per set, ninth with 335 block assists and 11th with 359 total blocks. With seven more total blocks, she'll tie Melissa Walsh for 10th place.
Career Records
Total Blocks
       Name   Sets   BS   BA   Tot.   Years
   1.   Jessica Houts   451   73   536   609   2005-09
   2.   Kelli Browning   424   55   547   602   2011-14
   3.   Lauren Smith   511   61   499   560   2013-16
   4.   Ashley Williams   359   100   347   447   2001-04
   5.   JoDe Cieloha   398   106   331   437   1994-97
   6.   Megan Bober   480   42   380   422   2009-12
   7.   Marysa Wilkinson   499   47   374   421   2014-17
   8.   Laurel Sanford   369   43   376   419   2008-11
   9.   Megan Ballenger   450   29   343   372   2016-19
   10.   Melissa Walsh   394   46   320   366   1998-01
   11.   Naomi Hickman   370   24   335   359   2017-Pr.

Blocks Per Set (Min. 80 Blocks)
       Name   Sets   No.   Avg.   Years
   1.   Kelli Browning   424   602   1.42   2011-14
   2.   Jessica Houts   451   609   1.35   2005-09
   3.   Ashley Williams   359   447   1.25   2001-04
   4.   Taffy Smart   73   88   1.21   1998
   5.   Laurel Sanford   369   419   1.14   2008-11
   6.   JoDe Cieloha   398   437   1.098   1994-97
   7.   Lauren Smith   511   560   1.096   2013-16
   8.   Sarah Beulke   299   307   1.03   2001-04
   9.   Naomi Hickman   370   359   0.97   2017-Pr.
   10.   Megan Waldren   87   81   0.93   1994

Block Assists
       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.   Naomi Hickman   370   335   2017-Pr.
   10.   JoDe Cieloha   398   331   1994-97

Bottoms Up
Abby Bottomley starts her Creighton career this weekend after compiling an incredible 2,158 digs in four seasons at High Point University.
   The 2,158 digs at High Point are more than Brittany Witt's Creighton record (2,079), and helped her lead the Big South Conference in digs each of the previous four seasons.
   Bottomley ranks second among the nation's active Division I players with her 2,158 career digs, trailing only Valparaiso's Rylee Cookerly (2,514).

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Creighton Volleyball has been picked to win the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of league coaches.
   Last season CU was picked to win the Midwest Division and went 7-1 in league play en route to a seventh straight regular-season title.
   This spring, a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches tabbed Creighton as the favorite with 8-of-11 first place votes and 97 of a possible 100 points. That was just ahead of Marquette's 93 points and the other three votes for first place.
   St. John's (83) was picked third, just ahead of Xavier (68) and Villanova (56). Rounding out the bottom half of the poll were UConn (48), DePaul (48), Providence (44), Butler (31), Seton Hall (27) and Georgetown (10).
   Creighton also had two women among the 12 members on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team in Naomi Hickman and unanimous selection Jaela Zimmerman.
   Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 16 of 18 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   1st (MW)   1st (MW)   - -
2021   1st   ???   ???

Home Sweet Home
Creighton enters its ninth season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
   Since then, the Bluejays are 72-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (65-3 in the regular-season, 7-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
   Since November of 2014, Creighton is 56-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 50-1 league mark and a 6-0 mark in the conference tournament. The only setback (on Feb. 6, 2021) was played as a non-conference match, only to be flipped to a league contest 19 days later.
   Put another way, since enrolling at Creighton in 2017, Bluejay senior Naomi Hickman is 35-1 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, winning 105-of-126 sets played.

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, 2018 and 2020. CU won the 2019 regular-season crown, while St. John's upset nationally-ranked Creighton and Marquette to bring home the 2019 tournament title. In 2020, Creighton won the Midwest Division regular-season title, while St. John's claimed the East Division crown.
   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 2020)
             BIG EAST only   All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)   W   L   W   L
Creighton (8)   121   11   196   56
Marquette (7)   104   25   183   63
Xavier   78   52   118   111
Butler   71   61   126   106
Villanova (1)   70   62   129   100
St. John's (1)   65   67   139   105
Seton Hall (1)   60   69   112   121
Georgetown   30   94   76   138
DePaul   28   104   81   140
Providence*   18   98   67   134
Connecticut#   4   4   4   7
*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.

2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 315-11 (.966) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 258-5 mark (.981) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 185-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 97-1 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 319-32 (.909) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 64-143 (.300) 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 110-3 in its last 113 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 51-2 in its last 53 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 7-9 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
   Creighton has gone 94-2 in its last 96 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.

Third Set's A Charm
Since an Oct. 10, 2014 loss at Seton Hall, Creighton is a perfect 101-0 against BIG EAST teams (91-0 in the regular-season and 10-0 in league tournament play) when winning the third set.

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Last season Creighton played four matches against 2019 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, going 3-1 against such teams.
   This year's team owns three matches (Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota) scheduled against teams that made the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
   After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 86-100 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   3-1
2021   0-0
TOTAL   89-135
TOTAL Under Booth   86-100

Marian Pipeline
This is the 19th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as junior Emily Bressman keeps the streak alive.
   Last season was the first time since 2010 that Creighton's year-end leader in digs wasn't 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.
2021: Emily Bressman
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

7 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
With its 2020 title, Creighton became the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win seven straight outright regular-season titles.
   No team had won seven 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 seven or more consecutive league titles, surpassing the five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96).

Perfect Ten
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her team to 10 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 10 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   10
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 owns 383 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history.
Coach, Sport   Victories (as of 8/25/21)
Brent Vigness, Softball   804*
Ed Servais, Baseball   587*
Mary Higgins, Softball   564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis   478*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball   383*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball   356*
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   3-2   0-0   12-4
2021   0-0   0-0   0-0

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 134 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 26 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   1-0   1-0
DePaul   16-0   -   16-0
Georgetown   14-0   -   14-0
Marquette   13-3   4-1   17-4
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   16-0   3-0   19-0
Total   121-11   13-2   134-13

Volleyball Opens 2021 Season Friday at Mizzou Invitational

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ellie Bolton

Abby Bottomley

Emily Bressman

Keeley Davis

Naomi Hickman

Erica Kostelac

Makenna Krause

Eve Magill

Katie Maser

Abbey Milner

Grace Nelson

Mahina Pua'a

Kiara Reinhardt

Kiana Schmitt

Norah Sis

Megan Skovsende

Ally Van Eekeren

Kendra Wait

Annika Welty

Jaela Zimmerman