Friday, September 3
Lexington, Ky.
4:00 PM
Creighton University
vs
Southern California
Photo by: Cassie Florido
Volleyball Meets USC, #3 Kentucky and UNI at Bluegrass Battle
9/1/2021 3:25:00 PM | Volleyball
Bluejays look to win tourney for third time since 2017
Download Notes as a PDF
This Weekend - Bluegrass Battle
Sept. 3   4:00 pm   Creighton vs. USC (ESPN3)   Lexington, Ky. (Memorial Coliseum)
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | NOTES
Sept. 4   9:30 am   Creighton at #3 Kentucky (SEC Network+)   Lexington, Ky. (Memorial Coliseum)
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | NOTES
Sept. 4   4:00 pm   Creighton vs. Northern Iowa (ESPN3)   Lexington, Ky. (Memorial Coliseum)
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | NOTES
This Weekend
Creighton (3-0) takes on three traditional powers this weekend at the Bluegrass Battle.
   The Bluejays hit the floor on Friday at 4 p.m. Central when they meet up with USC (2-1).
   Creighton plays twice on Saturday, starting with a 9:30 a.m. Central match-up against defending national champion and No. 3 Kentucky (3-0).
   CU ends play at 4 p.m. Central on Saturday with a contest vs. Northern Iowa (2-1).
   The matches will be played inside Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky.
Broadcast Information
Creighton's matches vs. USC and Northern Iowa can be seen on ESPN+. Saturday morning's contest at Kentucky will air 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. Links will be on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton started 3-0 last week, sweeping matches vs. Kansas City, Saint Louis and Missouri while outscoring those foes by a 225-143 margin.
   A Creighton team that returned all six starters from last year's team that won a seventh straight BIG EASt title and made a ninth straight NCAA Tournament trip was led by a trio of newcomers last weekend.
   Freshman setter Kendra Wait (10.22 3.56 dps., 1.11 bps., 1.33 kps., .440%) was named MVP of the Mizzou Invitational, while classmate Norah Sis (3.33 kps., .272%) joined her on the All-Tournament Team. A third newcomer, High Point transfer Abby Bottomley, averaged 4.56 digs per set and served up five aces in her initial weekend as a Bluejay.
   Leading the Bluejay returnees are Preseason All-BIG EAST selections Jaela Zimmerman (2.67 kps., 2.78 dps.) and Naomi Hickman (2.11 kps., 1.11 bps., .333%), while Keeley Davis (1.89 dps.) was also an All-BIG EAST choice each of the past two seasons.
   Creighton averages 14.22 kills, 1.89 aces, 16.11 digs and 2.83 blocks per set while hitting .287 as a team.
Scouting USC
USC is 2-1 this season, sweeping Campbell and CSUN after losing the opener in five sets to Denver.
   Brooke Botkin (3.82, .375%) and Emilia Weske (3.45 kps.) top USC in kills, while Raquel Lazaro (6.27 aps., 0.90 saps.) and Mia Tuaniga (3.90 aps.) have each logged time at setter. Shannon Scully (3.91 dps.) leads the team in digs by a wide margin.
   As a team, USC hits .314 and averages 12.27 kills, 2.55 aces, 11.09 digs and 1.82 blocks per set.
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Scouting #3 Kentucky
The defending national champion after going 24-1 last season, Kentucky is 3-0 this season after commanding 3-0 sweeps vs. Texas State, Dayton and Cincinnati last weekend in a tournament hosted by Dayton.
   All-American Alli Stumler (3.67 kps., 0.44 saps.), Madi Skinner (3.11 kps.) and Reagan Rutherford (2.11 kps.) top the Wildcat offense, while Emma Grome (10.78 aps.) has replaced 2020 National Player of the Year Madison Lilley.
   Riah Walker leads Kentucky with 3.78 digs per set and Azhani Tealer averages a team-leading 1.67 blocks per set.
   As a team, UK averages 14.00 kills, 2.00 aces, 13.67 digs and 3.00 blocks per set while hitting .365 as a team.
Scouting Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa is 2-1 this season after sandwiching 3-1 wins vs. North Dakota State and Green Bay around a 3-1 loss to Ball State last week.
   Kira Fallert leads UNI with 3.00 kills per set and has hit .256, while Emily Holterhaus (2.25 kps.) and Carly Spies (2.08 kps., .311%, 1.42 bps.) aren't far behind.
   Jenna Brandt (5.42 aps.) and Tayler Alden (4.25 aps.) have shared setting duties and Kaylee Donner tops the Panthers with 2.71 digs per set.
   UNI averages 11.83 kills, 2.25 aces, 10.58 digs and 2.67 blocks per set while hitting .182.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 386-175 record in 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. USC
USC is 6-1 all-time against Creighton, with all seven matches taking place since 2014. Oddly, the team to win the opening set is just 3-4
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-6 all-time against USC, but has never faced Brad Keller.
   Creighton's lone win in the series came in Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 2019, as the Jays won a 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-20 contest.
   Megan Ballenger topped CU with 16 kills and four blocks on .414 hitting, and fellow middle blocker Naomi Hickman finished off the best weekend of her career with 11 kills on 15 errorless swings to hit .733 to earn MVP honors. Madelyn Cole authored a third straight double-double with 52 assists and 10 digs, and Brittany Witt provided 19 digs. CU hit .355 as a team and finished with 65 kills, four aces, 60 digs and six blocks.
Series History vs. Kentucky
Creighton has won the last three meetings to improve to 4-2 all-time against Kentucky, including wins in 2017 (3-0 in Omaha), 2018 (3-2 in Los Angeles) and 2019 (3-1 in Cedar Falls). A 3-0 win in 2015 over the Wildcats in Cedar Falls marked Creighton's first top-10 victory ever.
   In the 2019 meeting, Naomi Hickman hit .640 with a career-high 17 kills in 25 swings to lead CU, while Madelyn Cole (53 assists, 14 digs) added a double-double.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 4-2 against Kentucky and also 4-2 against Craig Skinner. Skinner is 2-4 against CU, tied (with USC) for his worst winning percentage at UK against any team he's faced five or more times.
   Since the start of the 2015 season, Kentucky is 151-35. The only school to beat the Wildcats four times in that span is Creighton.
Series History vs. Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa owns a 42-12 record all-time against Creighton, including a 4-5 record on neutral floors.
   After winning just three of the first 43 meetings, Creighton has won nine of the last 11 match-ups in the series. CU's nine wins are tied with UNI's Valley rival Illinois State for the most against the Panthers since 2012.
   Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 12-23 vs. Northern Iowa and 12-23 vs. Bobbi Petersen. Petersen is 30-12 overall against Creighton.
   Six of CU's 12 wins against the Panthers have come in five sets. In 54 all-time meetings, Creighton has swept the Panthers just five times.
   Creighton's last seven victories over Northern Iowa have come in six different states (twice in Nebraska and once each in Iowa, Kentucky, California, Kansas, Illinois).
Head To Head
This weekend's Bluegrass Battle marks the seventh time in the past eight seasons that Creighton, UNI, USC and Kentucky have met in a tournament that has rotated sites.
   The Women of Troy are 14-4 with four titles (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018). Creighton is 9-9 with two titles (2017, 2019), Kentucky is 8-10, and UNI is 5-13.
   USC is 5-1 against Creighton and UNI and 4-2 against Kentucky.
   Creighton is 4-2 against Northern Iowa, 4-2 against Kentucky and 1-5 against USC.
   Northern Iowa is 2-4 against Kentucky, 2-4 against Creighton and 1-5 against USC.
   Kentucky is 4-2 against Northern Iowa, 2-4 versus Creighton, and 2-4 against USC.
   The event host has gone 11-7 with three titles (USC in 2016; Creighton in 2017; USC in 2018).
Final Tournament Standings Since 2014
2014 @UKÂ Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â UK 2-1Â Â Â CU 1-2Â Â Â UNI 0-3
2015 @UNIÂ Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â CU 1-2Â Â Â UNI 1-2Â Â Â UK 1-2
2016 @USCÂ Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â CU 1-2Â Â Â UK 1-2Â Â Â UNI 1-2
2017 @CUÂ Â Â CU 2-1Â Â Â UK 2-1Â Â Â UNI 1-2Â Â Â USC 1-2
2018 @USCÂ Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â UNI 2-1Â Â Â CU 1-2Â Â Â UK 0-3
2019 @UNIÂ Â Â CU 3-0Â Â Â UK 2-1Â Â Â USC 1-2Â Â Â UNI 0-3
Tourney Results, Last Six Years
   2014   2015   2016   2017   2018   2019
Match-up   at UK   at UNI   at USC   at CU   at USC   at UNI
CU-UKÂ Â Â UK 3-0Â Â Â CU 3-0Â Â Â UK 3-0Â Â Â CU 3-0Â Â Â CU 3-2Â Â Â CU 3-1
CU-USCÂ Â Â USC 3-1Â Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â USC 3-2Â Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â USC 3-2Â Â Â CU 3-1
CU-UNIÂ Â Â CU 3-2Â Â Â UNI 3-1Â Â Â CU 3-0Â Â Â CU 3-0Â Â Â UNI 3-0Â Â Â CU 3-2
USC-UNIÂ Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â USC 3-1Â Â Â UNI 3-1Â Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â USC 3-1
UK-UNIÂ Â Â UK 3-1Â Â Â UK 3-1Â Â Â UNI 3-0Â Â Â UK 3-2Â Â Â UNI 3-2Â Â Â UK 3-0
UK-USCÂ Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â USC 3-0Â Â Â UK 3-1Â Â Â USC 3-1Â Â Â UK 3-1
Familiar Foes
The field for this weekend's Bluegrass Battle is reuniting for the seventh time in the past eight seasons, as the event started in 2014 in Lexington, went to Cedar Falls in 2015, was held in Los Angeles in 2016 moved to Omaha in 2017, returned to Los Angeles in 2018 and Cedar Falls in 2019. It was not played in 2020 due to COVID.
   The four-year tourney was renewed prior to 2018, so this weekend marks the third year of the second four-year cycle. The event is scheduled for Omaha in 2022.
   The event features a nice mix not only geographically, but also of some traditional and upcoming powers in the college game.
   USC has made 29 of the last 30 NCAA Tournament appearances, and been to the Regional Final (or beyond) in 12 of the last 20. The Trojans claim six national titles in program history. Friday's showdown will be the eighth meeting between the Bluejays and the Women of Troy since September 6, 2014.
   Northern Iowa has won 20 or more matches in 18-of-21 seasons under Bobbi Petersen, during which time the Panthers have advanced to 15 NCAA Tournaments.
   Kentucky has made 16 straight NCAA Tournaments, a streak that coincides with the arrival of coach Craig Skinner. The Wildcats own 20 or more wins in 13 of the last 14 seasons and have seven Sweet 16 trips in that span, including last year's national title.
   Creighton has ascended onto the national stage in recent seasons. Since inheriting a 3-23 team in 2003, Kirsten Bernthal Booth has helped the Bluejays reach the NCAA Tournament in each of the last nine seasons, winning a match seven of those times. All 11 seasons of 20-plus wins in the program's modern history have come since 2006.
Digging Deeper
In the six previous versions of this rotating tournament, Creighton is 5-1 in its first match of the weekend.
   The Jays are 1-5 in its second match, and 3-3 in its third match.
Against The Champs
Creighton is 0-5 all-time against defending national champions heading into Saturday's match-up at Kentucky.
   CU was swept by Nebraska (2001 and 2005) and Stanford (2005), lost in four sets to Nebraska (2016) and in five sets to Nebraska (2018).
   Creighton is 1-10 all-time against teams the season after a Final Four appearance, and 1-6 on the road. The lone victory came on Dec. 2, 2016, when CU outlasted Kansas to clinch the program's second Sweet 16 trip in program history.
CU vs. Previous Year Final Four Teams
Date   Result              Previous Year Finish
09/25/01Â Â Â Nebraska 3, CU 0Â Â Â NCAA Champion
09/10/05Â Â Â Stanford 3, CU 0Â Â Â NCAA Champion
09/24/06Â Â Â Nebraska 3, CU 1Â Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
08/31/07Â Â Â Nebraska 3, CU 0Â Â Â NCAA Champion
09/01/09Â Â Â Nebraska 3, CU 0Â Â Â Final Four
09/17/15Â Â Â Nebraska 3, CU 1Â Â Â NCAA Champion
09/08/16Â Â Â Kansas 3, CU 2Â Â Â Final Four
12/02/16Â Â Â CU 3, Kansas 2Â Â Â Final Four
12/10/16Â Â Â Texas 3, CU 0Â Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
09/06/18Â Â Â Nebraska 3, CU 2Â Â Â NCAA Champion
08/30/19Â Â Â Nebraska 3, CU 1Â Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
Booth Seeks 500th Career Win
Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth enters the Bluegrass Battle with a career record of 498-216 in 22 seasons as a head coach, meaning she's just two victories away from 500 in her career.
   As Creighton head coach, Booth owns a 386-175 record in 19 seasons.
   Booth's 386 Division I wins rank 55th-most among active I coaches, but are second-most among coaches who have spent 19 years or less at the Division I level, and five behind Purdue's Dave Shondell.
Diaper Dandies
Creighton freshmen Kendra Wait and Norah Sis were both named to the Mizzou Invitational All-Tournament Teams, with Wait bringing home MVP honors after averaging 10.22 assists, 3.56 digs, 1.33 kills and 1.11 blocks per set on .440 hitting.
   Wait is the first freshman in CU history to be named MVP of an event to start the season.
   Wait and Sis were just the second and third true freshmen in Creighton history to be named All-Tournament following their first event, joining JoDe Cieloha in 1994 at the Tulane Invitational.
Bring Your Own Broom
Creighton opened the season with 3-0 wins last weekend vs. Kansas City, Saint Louis and Missouri.
   It's the second time in program history that Creighton has opened the year with three straight sweeps, joining the 2006 club that swept Nevada, Montana State and Florida Atlantic at the 12th Annual Holiday Inn Classic.
   Last weekend, the 12th Annual Holiday Classic in 2006 and the SDSU Invitational in 2005 joined the 2018 SMU DoubleTree Classic as the only four times in program history that CU has won all nine (or more) sets of any tournament.
   Creighton's nine straight set wins to open the season are one behind the school-record done by the 2006 club, which lost its 11th set of the year to Jacksonville State in an eventual 3-2 victory.
   All told, Creighton outscored the opposition 225-143 last weekend. Saturday's first foe, Kentucky, also went 3-0 with three sweeps last week and outscored its opponents 225-134.
   Through matches of Tuesday, only 21 teams nationally had played but yet to have lost a set. Jacksonville State is 12-0 in sets and 16 teams (Creighton, Kentucky, Nicholls State, New Mexico, Saint Mary's, Tennessee, Miami (Fla.), Florida Gulf Coast, Arizona, Memphis, Oregon, Evansville, South Alabama, BYU, Delaware State and Wake Forest) were 3-0 with three sweeps. Four others (Ole Miss, Texas, Auburn and William & Mary) were 2-0 with two sweeps.
Best Starts
Creighton has started 3-0 for the first time since 2017, when it opened with four straight wins including triumphs over No. 3 Washington and No. 13 Kentucky.
   It's just the sixth time ever that Creighton has started 3-0 or better. During three of those first five seasons, CU's first loss came to a ranked team, and on four occasions it came during a home match.
Most Wins Before First Loss, CU History
   Wins   Season   Lost to
   5   2006   Iowa
   4   2000   at #6 Hawai'i
   4   2012   #21 Kansas State
   4   2013   California
   4   2017   #18 USC
   3   2021   TBD
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.
   That means Saturday's contest at Kentucky will be Creighton's 100th match-up all-time against a top-25 opponent.
   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 120-31 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 60 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 211-25 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but one of its past 69 home matches over unranked teams and all but five of its last 65 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
   After a total of three total top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton enters this season having earned at least one top-25 win every year since 2015. That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories in 2019.
Against The Top 10
Creighton is 7-32 all-time against top-10 teams, including a 7-25 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. Two of those previous top-10 wins have each been against Kentucky, Marquette and Kansas.
   Here's a list of top-10 victories that Creighton has posted all-time.
   The highest-ranked team CU has ever beaten was No. 3 Washington in 2017. Saturday's foe, Kentucky, is ranked third.
Date   Opponent   CU Score
08/26/17   at #3 Washington   W 3-1
12/02/16   at #4 Kansas   W 3-2
08/24/18Â Â Â vs. #5 Kentucky (Los Angeles, Calif.)Â Â Â W 3-2
09/09/17   at #7 Kansas   W 3-0
11/22/19   #9 Marquette   W 3-1
09/05/15Â Â Â vs. #10 Kentucky (Cedar Falls, Iowa)Â Â Â W 3-0
10/12/19   at #10 Marquette   W 3-2
Old MVC Rivals Get Reacquainted
Saturday's match-up with Northern Iowa will be Creighton's 55th against the Panthers since the program's restart in 1994, the most of any opponent.
   The only other teams that Creighton has played more than 40 times are Wichita State (47) and Illinois State (43).
   UNI is the only opponent to defeat Creighton more than 30 times, something the Panthers have done 42 times.
   Creighton and Northern Iowa have played all but one season (2013) since the Bluejays restarted volleyball in 1994.
   The teams were Missouri Valley Conference rivals who played twice annually from 1994-2012, plus six more MVC Tournament meetings.
   The teams did not play in 2013, but have played six of the previous seven campaigns as part of a four-year tournament that also includes Kentucky and USC. UNI also visited Creighton last season in a non-conference battle.
   Creighton is 7-2 against Northern Iowa since leaving the MVC, compared to a 5-40 mark when the two were Valley rivals.
Connections To UNI And The State of Iowa
Creighton and UNI have numerous connections
between the two schools and states.
   Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth grew up during part of her childhood in the Cedar Falls suburb of Waterloo, and attended grad school at the University of Iowa. She got her first college head coaching job at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
   Recently retired Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen is a 1971 graduate of Northern Iowa. He had been at Creighton since 1980, ascending to the Athletic Director position in 1994, before retiring on August 16th.      Creighton men's basketball coach Greg McDermott played (1984-88) and served as a head coach (2001-06) at Northern Iowa.
   Northern Iowa women's basketball head coach Tanya Warren played at Creighton and has spent two stints as an assistant coach with the Bluejays. One of two players in program history with a retired number, Warren played for Rasmussen.
   Northern Iowa women's soccer head coach Bruce Erickson served as Creighton's head women's soccer coach from 1999-2014, where he won a program-record 163 games and led the Jays to five NCAA Tournaments.
   Creighton Sports Information Director and volleyball contact Rob Anderson worked as Northern Iowa's volleyball SID in 2000 and 2001.
Pack A Snack
In this event in 2018, Creighton played two of its longest matches in program history.
    Creighton's season-opening contest against Kentucky was 2:36 in length and featured the highest-scoring fifth set (22-20) in program history, as the Jays survived after staring down a pair of match points in the fifth set for the first time since 2011.
   One night later, Creighton and USC squared off in the longest match by time (3:04) in school history, which saw USC emerge with an 18-16 win in the fifth set. The match included 49 ties and 19 lead changers. By comparison, the Los Angeles Rams exhibition game against the Houston Texans that happened just down the street at the LA Coliseum earlier in the day lasted 3:02 to complete.
Hello World!
Bluejay freshman Eve Magil could make herCreighton debut 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 Abby 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
2021   Norah Sis•   3   11   4   28   .250   0   1   5   4
2020   Kiara Reinhardt•   3   7   4   16   .188   0   2   2   4
2021   Kendra Wait•   3   5   0   9   .556   32   0   7   2
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
2017Â Â Â Abby Bottomley$Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â ---Â Â Â 6Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 0
2020   Ellie Bolton   3   0   0   0   ---   2   0   12   0
2020   Katie Maser   1   0   0   0   ---   1   0   0   0
2021   Abby Bottomley   3   0   0   0   ---   1   2   14   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
2021   Abbey Milner   1   0   0   0   ---   0   0   0   0
$Bottomley's stats from debut at High Point
Some Fab Freshmen
Including Kendra Wait and Norah Sis last Friday vs. Kansas City, Creighton has started 14 different true freshmen in its season opener since 2009, and 18 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), Kiara Reinhardt (2020), Kendra Wait (2021) and Norah Sis (2021), with Coleman, Lebeda and Wait the only 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 or BIG EAST's All-Freshman Team (though the BIG EAST had no such team from 2013-19). 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.
   Friday marked the first time that Creighton started multiple true freshmen in a season-opener since 2012, when Ashley Jansen and Melanie Jereb both earning a starting nod.
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
68Â Â Â 2004Â Â Â Carolyn Decker
55Â Â Â 2008Â Â Â Laurel Sanford
60Â Â Â 2011Â Â Â Michelle Sicner
73Â Â Â 2013Â Â Â Jess Bird
50Â Â Â 2014Â Â Â Lydia Dimke*
18Â Â Â 2015Â Â Â Taryn Kloth
41Â Â Â 2015Â Â Â Jaali Winters
77Â Â Â 2016Â Â Â Erica Kostelac#
98Â Â Â 2017Â Â Â Naomi Hickman
99Â Â Â 2017Â Â Â Steph Gaston
49Â Â Â 2018Â Â Â Jaela Zimmerman
42Â Â Â 2018Â Â Â Keeley Davis
46Â Â Â 2020Â Â Â Kiara Reinhardt
97Â Â Â 2020Â Â Â Ellie Bolton
7Â Â Â 2021Â Â Â Kendra Wait
28Â Â Â 2021Â Â Â Norah Sis
31Â Â Â 2021Â Â Â 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)
2009Â Â Â Highest HMÂ Â Â Boggs, Greisch, Moon, Templeton, Thorson)
2010Â Â Â High HMÂ Â Â (Fliss, Hackbarth, Malm, Mandolfo, S. Smith)
2011Â Â Â Highest HMÂ Â Â (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)
2019Â Â Â Highest HMÂ Â Â (Bressman, Krause, Schmitt, Van Eekeren)
2020   27th   (Bolton, Maser, Reinhardt, Skovsende)
2021   5th   (Magill, Milner, Sis, Wait)
Nice Serving, Ace
Creighton opened the season last weekend with 17 aces compared to just 14 service errors.
   It's just the second time that CU has owned more aces than errors after three matches. The only other time came in 2000, when CU opened with 30 aces and 28 errors.
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%)
You Can Count On Her
The last time Creighton, USC, Kentucky and Northern Iowa met up was in 2019 in Cedar Falls at the UNI Tournament, and nobody excelled more than Naomi Hickman.
   Hickman was named Tournament MVP and subsequently BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week after amassing 38 kills and nine blocks while hitting .465 in three victories. She entered that event with a career-high of nine kills, but nearly doubled that with 17 kills on .640 hitting in a win vs. No. 12 Kentucky. One day later, Hickman hit .733 with 11 kills in a win over No. 15 USC.
   As a junior, Hickman averaged 1.97 kills and 1.09 blocks per set while hitting .394 in eight matches against top-25 competition.
   Last season, Hickman averaged 1.83 kills and 1.67 blocks per set while hitting .463 in regular-season matches against top-50 competition. She was also named MVP of the BIG EAST Championship while helping CU to the title.
   When Hickman excels, it usually leads to good things for her team. The Bluejays are 26-3 in her career when she has seven or more kills,
Familiar Face
Senior Naomi Hickman has started Creighton's season opener each of the past five years. She's the 16th player to start four season openers, but the only one to do so five times.
Four or More 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   2017-21
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
Kendra Wait started Creighton's season-opener at setter, the eight different Bluejay to earn that role 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 Mahina Pua'a earned the nod on opening night, while Wait started this season.
   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 eight of those 10 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 386-3 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
08/26/11Â Â Â vs. UTSAÂ Â Â 12-14, 13-14Â Â Â 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
1994Â Â Â 0-2Â Â Â 5-20
1995Â Â Â 0-2Â Â Â 11-19
1996Â Â Â 2-6Â Â Â 9-19
1997Â Â Â 3-5Â Â Â 15-13
1998Â Â Â 2-3Â Â Â 7-18
1999Â Â Â 3-3Â Â Â 13-15
2000Â Â Â 3-3Â Â Â 16-12
2001Â Â Â 1-1Â Â Â 14-13
2002Â Â Â 1-3Â Â Â 3-23
2003Â Â Â 5-1Â Â Â 12-18
2004Â Â Â 4-0Â Â Â 18-11
2005Â Â Â 3-1Â Â Â 16-14
2006Â Â Â 4-2Â Â Â 21-10
2007Â Â Â 2-0Â Â Â 21-10
2008Â Â Â 2-3Â Â Â 18-9
2009Â Â Â 1-4Â Â Â 14-17
2010Â Â Â 3-3Â Â Â 21-12
2011Â Â Â 5-2Â Â Â 17-14
2012Â Â Â 4-1Â Â Â 29-4
2013Â Â Â 3-2Â Â Â 23-9
2014Â Â Â 3-2Â Â Â 25-9
2015Â Â Â 5-2Â Â Â 27-9
2016Â Â Â 4-3Â Â Â 29-7
2017Â Â Â 4-1Â Â Â 26-7
2018Â Â Â 3-2Â Â Â 29-5
2019Â Â Â 2-1Â Â Â 25-6
2020Â Â Â 4-2Â Â Â 12-4
2021Â Â Â 0-0Â Â Â 3-0
Total   76-60   479-327
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 shared) Creighton   7 Creighton
8 (1) Texas   7 Dayton
8 (4) Western Kentucky   7 Western Kentucky
7 American   6 American
7 BYUÂ Â Â 6 Fairfield
7 Colorado State   6 LIU
7 Fairfield  Â
7 Florida A&M
Block Around The Clock
Naomi Hickman is in the top-10 of every one of Creighton's career blocking records. She is currently ninth with 0.97 blocks per set, eighth with 345 block assists and 10th with 369 total blocks.
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.   Naomi Hickman   379   24   345   369   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   379   369   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.   Naomi Hickman   379   345   2017-Pr.
   9.   Megan Ballenger   450   343   2016-19
   10.   JoDe Cieloha   398   331   1994-97
Bottoms Up
Abby Bottomley compiled an incredible 2,158 digs in four seasons at High Point University. Those 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 2,199 career digs, trailing only Valparaiso's Rylee Cookerly's 2,578.
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 four matches (Missouri, 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
1994Â Â Â 0-4
1995Â Â Â 0-2
1996Â Â Â 0-2
1997Â Â Â 0-3
1998Â Â Â 0-5
1999Â Â Â 2-4
2000Â Â Â 0-4
2001Â Â Â 1-6
2002Â Â Â 0-5
2003Â Â Â 0-3
2004Â Â Â 2-2
2005Â Â Â 0-6
2006Â Â Â 4-6
2007Â Â Â 4-9
2008Â Â Â 6-8
2009Â Â Â 1-11
2010Â Â Â 4-7
2011Â Â Â 2-6
2012Â Â Â 8-3
2013Â Â Â 6-6
2014Â Â Â 4-5
2015Â Â Â 11-5
2016Â Â Â 10-7
2017Â Â Â 8-6
2018Â Â Â 8-5
2019Â Â Â 5-4
2020Â Â Â 3-1
2021Â Â Â 1-0
TOTALÂ Â Â 90-135
TOTAL Under Booth   87-100
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
2020Â Â Â 1st (MW)Â Â Â 1st (MW)Â Â Â - -
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 8/30/21)
           BIG EAST only   All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)Â Â Â WÂ Â Â LÂ Â Â WÂ Â Â L
Creighton (8)Â Â Â 121Â Â Â 11Â Â Â 199Â Â Â 56
Marquette (7)Â Â Â 104Â Â Â 25Â Â Â 186Â Â Â 63
Xavier   78   52   119   113
Butler   71   61   127   108
Villanova (1)Â Â Â 70Â Â Â 62Â Â Â 131Â Â Â 101
St. John's (1)Â Â Â 65Â Â Â 67Â Â Â 139Â Â Â 108
Seton Hall (1)Â Â Â 60Â Â Â 69Â Â Â 112Â Â Â 124
Georgetown   30   94   77   140
DePaul   28   104   83   141
Providence*Â Â Â 18Â Â Â 98Â Â Â 69Â Â Â 135
Connecticut#Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 9
*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 318-11 (.967) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 261-5 mark (.981) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 188-3 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 322-32 (.910) 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 54-2 in its last 56 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 97-2 in its last 99 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.
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 386 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history.
Coach, Sport   Victories (as of 9/1/21)
Brent Vigness, Softball   804*
Ed Servais, Baseball   587*
Mary Higgins, Softball   564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis   478*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball   386*
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
2003Â Â Â 3-8Â Â Â 0-0Â Â Â 12-18
2004Â Â Â 8-2Â Â Â 0-1Â Â Â 18-11
2005Â Â Â 6-5Â Â Â 0-3Â Â Â 16-14
2006Â Â Â 8-3Â Â Â 0-1Â Â Â 21-10
2007Â Â Â 6-5Â Â Â 0-3Â Â Â 21-10
2008Â Â Â 3-5Â Â Â 0-3Â Â Â 18-9
2009Â Â Â 3-8Â Â Â 0-3Â Â Â 14-17
2010Â Â Â 5-5Â Â Â 0-1Â Â Â 21-12
2011Â Â Â 5-7Â Â Â 0-1Â Â Â 17-14
2012Â Â Â 9-2Â Â Â 0-1Â Â Â 29-4
2013Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 1-2Â Â Â 23-9
2014Â Â Â 7-6Â Â Â 0-5Â Â Â 25-9
2015Â Â Â 6-7Â Â Â 1-4Â Â Â 27-9
2016Â Â Â 6-6Â Â Â 0-4Â Â Â 29-7
2017Â Â Â 7-4Â Â Â 3-3Â Â Â 26-7
2018Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 1-3Â Â Â 29-5
2019Â Â Â 7-3Â Â Â 2-3Â Â Â 25-6
2020Â Â Â 3-2Â Â Â 0-0Â Â Â 12-4
2021   3-0 so far   0-0   3-0 so far
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
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.
Players Mentioned
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/ VolleyballCreighton Volleyball vs. South Florida Press Conference - 9/20/25
Saturday, September 20
#18 Creighton Volleyball vs. South Florida Highlights - 9/20/25
Saturday, September 20
Creighton Volleyball Media Availability - 9/17/25
Wednesday, September 17
#18 Creighton Volleyball vs. #1 Nebraska Highlights - 9/16/25
Wednesday, September 17
