Friday, September 24
Indianapolis, Ind.
5:00 PM
Creighton University
at
Butler
Photo by: Chelsea Nicholson
BIG EAST Play Beckons For No. 16 Volleyball
9/21/2021 10:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Bluejays have won seven straight league titles
This Weekend
Sept. 24 5 pm CT #16 Creighton at Butler (YouTube) Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse) | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES
Sept. 25 4 pm CT #16 Creighton at Xavier (FloSports) Cincinnati, Ohio (Cintas Center) | LIVE VIDEO INFO ($) | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES
This Weekend
After winning four tournaments in four weekends of non-conference play, it's time to turn the page for No. 16 Creighton (12-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) when it opens a ninth season of BIG EAST play this weekend.
On Friday, Creighton visits Butler (6-7, 0-0 BIG EAST) in a 5 p.m. Central match at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
Saturday at 4 p.m. Central, Creighton takes on Xavier (5-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) at Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Broadcast Information
Butler will be broadcasting Friday's match at no charge on its YouTube channel at http://YouTube.com/ButlerAthletics.
Saturday's match at Xavier will be video webcast on FloSports. More information about discounted subscriptions to FloSports can be found at http://GoCreighton.com/FloSports.
Live Stats Information
Every match this season will have free live stats. Links are on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting No. 16 Creighton
Creighton earned tournament titles in each of the first four weeks of the season to earn its best start in program history at 12-1.
The Jays won the Mizzou Invitational (hosted by Missouri), the Bluegrass Battle (hosted by Kentucky) the Bluejay Invitational (hosted by Creighton) and the Shocker Volleyball Classic (hosted by Wichita State) to open the year.
Creighton owns 10 sweeps among its 12 victories, including 3-0 victories vs. No. 3 Kentucky, Missouri, Wichita State, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas City and SMU. The Jays also beat Illinois in four sets and USC in five frames.
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 has had huge contributions from a top-10 class of newcomers.
Leading the Bluejay returnees are Preseason All-BIG EAST selections Jaela Zimmerman (3.88 kps., 2.93 dps.) and Naomi Hickman (1.60 kps., 1.29 bps., .280%), while Keeley Davis (1.26 ksp., 2.19 dps.) was also an All-BIG EAST choice each of the past two seasons. The 2020 AVCA East Region Player of the Year, Zimmerman was named MVP of the Bluegrass Battle, the Bluejay Invitational and Shocker Volleyball Classic.
Outside hitter Norah Sis (3.45 kps., 2.74 dps.) became the first freshman in school history to be named All-Tournament after each of the first three events of her career. Classmate Kendra Wait (10.52 aps., 3.07 dps., 1.00 bps., 1.26 kps., .319%) was named MVP of the Mizzou Invitational and also earned three All-Tournament Team accolades.
A third newcomer, High Point transfer Abby Bottomley, leads CU with 5.36 digs per set and 0.38 aces per set. The back-to-back BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week earned All-Tournament Team honors in Lexington and Wichita and owns double-figure digs in each of her last 26 matches overall.
Creighton averages 14.31 kills, 1.45 aces, 18.17 digs and 2.75 blocks per set while hitting .247 as a team. The Jays are holding foes to .121 hitting and 0.74 aces per set.
Scouting Butler
Butler is 6-7 this season but just 2-5 at home. The Bulldogs won at California on Sept. 11th, but lost at Hinkle Fieldhouse last weekend against Milwaukee, No. 19 UCLA and Western Michigan.
Preseason All-BIG EAST choice Melody Davidson averages 3.69 kills per and 1.04 blocks per set while hitting .332 and Mariah Grunze averages 2.65 kills and 2.48 digs per set.
Madison Friebel notches 9.90 assists and 2.67 digs per set and Jaymeson Kinley averages 5.08 digs per set.
The Bulldogs average 12.50 kills, 1.21 aces, 16.52 digs and 1.92 blocks per set on .174 hitting. Opponents hit .210 against BU.
Scouting Xavier
Xavier is 5-5 this season, highlighted by wins over Lipscomb and Miami (Ohio) and losses to current unbeatens Louisville and Colorado.
The Musketeers are led offensively by Kelly Franxman (2.40 kps.), Delaney Hogan (2.35 kps.), Moriah Hopkins (2.28 kps.) and have Preseason All-BIG EAST setter Carrigan O'Reilly (9.65 aps., 1.51 kps.) quarterbacking the offense.
Stevie Wolf (4.51 dps.) leads the team in digs and Hogan owns a program-leading 1.00 blocks per set.
As a team, Xavier hits .224 and averages 12.62 kills, 1.00 aces, 14.76 digs and 2.05 blocks per set. Opponents have hit just .168 against the Musketeers.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 395-176 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 last 10 seasons (including 2021), 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. Butler
Creighton is 15-1 all-time against Butler, including five-set victories in three of the past eight meetings.
Butler ruined Creighton's BIG EAST debut on Oct. 4, 2013 in Indianapolis, handing the Bluejays a four-set loss, but Creighton has won all 15 meetings since then.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 15-1 vs. Butler and head coach Sharon Clark.
Series History vs. Xavier
Creighton is 19-0 all-time against Xavier, with all the matches having occurred since 2013. Ten of the last 12 meetings have been 3-0 CU sweeps, but the two exceptions were 3-2 Creighton wins in Omaha in 2018 and the spring of 2021.
Thanks in part to a 3-0 record in league tourney action against the Musketeers, Creighton has more wins against Xavier (19) than any other team since joining the BIG EAST.
Creighton's victory on Oct. 5, 2013 in Cincinnati was the program's first BIG EAST win in history.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 19-0 vs. Xavier, and she is 13-0 against Christy Pfeffenberger.
Recapping The Shocker Volleyball Classic
Creighton went 3-0 last weekend to win the Shocker Volleyball Classic with sweeps of Wyoming, South Dakota and Wichita State.
Jaela Zimmerman was named MVP of the Shocker Volleyball Classic after averaging 4.67 kills, 3.89 digs and 0.44 aces on .295 hitting. For the week Zimmerman had 37 serving attempts without an error and handled 50 service receptions without being aced. Already the first player in program history to be named Tournament MVP on consecutive weekends, she became the first player with three straight MVP recognitions. Zimmerman earned her sixth career BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week award, and second honor this year.
Abby Bottomley averaged a league-high 6.67 digs per set and also served up 0.67 aces per set to earn Shocker Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team acclaim. Bottomley earned her second straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week award after having won the award 14 times in the Big South while at High Point.
Kendra Wait also earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Shocker Volleyball Classic. She averaged 10.78 assists, 3.44 digs, 1.56 kills and 1.11 blocks per set while hitting .448. It's the third time in four weeks that Wait has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, and second straight.
X Marks The Spot
Creighton owns 19 consecutive wins over Xavier, tied for its best streak over any foe ever. CU's 15-match win streak over Butler isn't far behind.
Most Consecutive Match Wins Over One Team
Wins Opponent Dates
19 Southern Illinois 2003-11
19 Xavier 2013-Present
16 Indiana State 2005-Present
16 DePaul 2013-Present
15 Butler 2013-Present
League Opener Histories
Creighton owns a 19-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 16-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 7-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and seven straight wins.
Each of the last eight times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 126-8 in regular-season league action. Creighton also won seven of the last eight conference tournament titles during those years, going 14-1 in those seasons.
In the 19 seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .760 (257-81) winning percentage in league matches.
In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Jays have had a losing record five times and it owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
In league road openers, Creighton is 18-9 overall and 15-3 under Booth, with seven straight wins.
In conference home openers, Creighton is 22-5 overall and 16-2 under Booth, with 10 straight wins.
Home Away from Home
Creighton is 9-0 away from home this season, including eight 3-0 victories.
Creighton entered the week as one of five schools in the country with nine or more wins away from home, but the only one who hasn't yet lost in one of those matches. Others with nine wins include Providence (9-1), Valparaiso (9-2), Kansas City (9-3) and Arkansas-Little Rock (9-3).
Set The Table
Creighton has won 13 straight sets heading into this weekend, a streak that started in the fourth set of a win vs. Illinois on Sept. 11th.
The Bluejays only own eight streaks that are longer in program history, all of which have been accomplished under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Consecutive Sets Won
Set Wins Dates Snapped By
25 Oct. 22-Nov. 20, 2016 Villanova
25 Oct. 26-Nov. 23, 2018 #16 Marquette
19 Oct. 12-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova
15 Oct. 7-21, 2016 at Marquette
15 Sept. 28-Oct. 13, 2018 at Villanova
14 Sept. 10-17, 2004 Illinois State
14 Oct. 6-26, 2012 Southern Illinois
14 Oct. 27-Nov. 11, 2017 at Butler
Going Streaking
Creighton has compiled its second six-match winning streak of the young season, and looks to extend it this weekend at Butler and Xavier.
Only 10 win streaks of seven wins or longer have previously happened in program history.
Consecutive Matches Won
Wins Dates Snapped By
23 Sept. 23-Dec. 9, 2016 at #5 Texas, 3-0
21 Sept. 21-Nov. 30, 2018 #22 Washington, 3-0
17 Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012 at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
14 Sept. 19-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0
12 Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015 at Villanova, 3-2
11 Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014 Seton Hall, 3-0
11 Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017 at Villanova, 3-0
10 Oct. 31-Dec. 5, 2015 vs. #2 USC, 3-1
8 Oct. 25-Nov. 22, 2008 vs. Northern Iowa, 3-2
7 Sept. 4-Sept. 17, 2004 Illinois State, 3-0
6 Sept. 21-Oct. 6, 2007 Wichita State, 3-0
6 Sept. 1-15, 2012 at Kansas, 3-2
6 Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 2014 at Seton Hall, 3-2
6 Aug. 27-Sept. 4, 2021 #3 Nebraska, 3-0
6 Sept. 10, 2021-Present ? ? ?
Long Live September
Creighton has won nine matches this September heading into its final two contests of the month.
The Bluejays have never won more than 10 matches in any month in program history.
Most Wins, Month
W-L Month, Year
10-1 October 2015
10-3 September 2006
9-0 November, 2012
9-0 October, 2016
9-0 November, 2018
9-1 September, 2019
9-1 so far September, 2021
9-2 September, 2018
9-3 September, 2012
9-4 September, 2004
TCB
With 6-7 Butler on tap for Friday, it's worth noting that Creighton has won 49 of its last 50 matches against teams that enter a match under .500, with the lone setback coming Jan. 29, 2021 in five sets vs. an 0-2 South Dakota team.
The Bluejays have not lost a match to a conference team with an overall record under .500 prior to the match since Nov. 12, 2011 at Bradley.
One And Only
Freshman setter Kendra Wait ranks 42nd in the nation in assists per set and 212th in the country in blocks per set.
She's the ONLY player in the country averaging at least 10.40 assists and 1.00 blocks per set.
Wait is one of three freshmen starting setters for a top-25 team, joining Kami Miner (Stanford) and Emma Grome (Kentucky).
A Dozen, Cousin
Creighton is off to a 12-1 start this season. Those 12 victories match the total from all of last season's abbreviated campaign, when the Bluejays finished 12-4 overall.
Prior to last season, Creighton, BYU and Florida were the nation's only programs with 25 or more wins in every season from 2014-19.
Defense Wins Championships
Creighton's defense has risen to the occasion time-and-time again this season. The Bluejays have limited opponents to .121 hitting and just 10.79 kills per set. Both marks would be the lowest figures ever by a Bluejay opponent over the course of a season.
Creighton has allowed just one opponent (USC; .247) to hit .200 or better this season and held seven foes under .100.
Creighton ranks eighth nationally in opponents hitting percentage, ninth nationally in digs per set, 23rd nationally in blocks per set. Creighton is the only school ranked in the top 23 of all three categories.
Spearheading the defense from the back row is Abby Bottomley, who ranks 11th in the country with 5.36 digs per set.
Add it all up and that defense is a major reason that Creighton ranks tied for second nationally with 12 victories this fall.
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).
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
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 9/20/21)
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (8) 121 11 208 57
Marquette (7) 104 25 192 65
Xavier 78 52 123 115
Butler 71 61 130 112
Villanova (1) 70 62 138 104
St. John's (1) 65 67 148 110
Seton Hall (1) 60 69 119 127
Georgetown 30 94 80 145
DePaul 28 104 88 145
Providence* 18 98 77 135
Connecticut# 4 4 12 11
*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.
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 ??? ???
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 BYU 6 Fairfield
7 Colorado State 6 LIU
7 Fairfield
7 Florida A&M
Best Starts Ever
Creighton started this season 6-0 for the first time ever, eclipsing the start by the 2006 team that opened 5-0. Of Creighton's six teams to start 4-0 or better, the first loss for five of those teams came during a home contest and on four occasions, it came against a ranked foe.
Creighton's 12-1 mark entering league play is the program's best mark through 13 contests ever.
Most Wins Before First Loss, CU History
Wins Season Lost to
6 2021 #3 Nebraska
5 2006 Iowa
4 2000 at #6 Hawai'i
4 2012 #21 Kansas State
4 2013 California
4 2017 #18 USC
Most Wins With 1 Loss To Start A Season
Start Season Lost to
12-1 so far 2021 #3 Nebraska
10-1 2006 Iowa
10-1 2012 #21 Kansas State
8-1 2004 Northern Colorado
Lucky Number 4
Creighton has won a tournament title each of the past four weekends, setting a school record.
Previously, only the 2017 team had won three straight events when that club won the Husky Invitational, Bluejay Invitational and Kansas Invitational to open the year.
That being said, the 2017 team lost matches at both the Bluejay Invitational as well as the Kansas Invitational, only to win both events via tiebreaker. This year's team went 3-0 in all three events, winning 36-of-39 sets played.
Zimmerman Playing At An MVP Level
Jaela Zimmerman has been named Most Valuable Player at the Bluegrass Battle, the Bluejay Invitational and the Shocker Volleyball Classic over the past three weekends.
It gives her four career MVP honors, having also won the 2019 Creighton Classic MVP accolade in an event that featured Wyoming and Wichita State.
Zimmerman became Creighton's first player to be named MVP of a tournament on back-to-back weekends in Kirsten Bernthal Booth's 19 years at Creighton, and now has done it three weeks in a row.
Creighton's only other player under Booth with multiple MVP honors in non-conference play of the same season had been Korie Lebeda in 2006, who took home MVP honors in the 12th Annual Holiday Inn Classic to start the season as well as the Blue Raider Bash in the third week of the fall.
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.
One week later, Sis was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the Bluegrass Battle, becoming the first freshman in program history to be All-Tourney after each of her first two events.
Sis is the first Bluejay (of any class) to be named to an All-Tourney Team in each of CU's first three tournaments of a season since Lydia Dimke in 2017. That streak was snapped in week four at the Shocker Volleyball Classic. Creighton's last player to be named to an All-Tournament Team in four straight weeks was Lauren Smith in the fall of 2015.
Both Sis and Wait were also named to the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team in CU's third week of the year.
In week four, Wait garnered her third All-Tournament Team accolade at the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
Hickman Joins Century Club
Naomi Hickman has played in 100 wins as a Bluejay, and the Sept. 18 win vs. Wichita State made her the ninth player in Creighton Volleyball's modern history to reach the century mark.
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
111 Jaali Winters 2015-18
109 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
109 Brittany Witt 2016-19
107 Megan Ballenger 2016-19
106 Marysa Wilkinson 2014-17
104 Lauren Smith 2013-16
102 Melanie Jereb 2012-15
101 Ashley Jansen 2012-15
100 Naomi Hickman 2017-Present
95 Kate Elman 2012-15
Top 25 History
Creighton is 126-32 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 15-20 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, 35 of Creighton's 61 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 219-25 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but one of its past 72 home matches over unranked teams and all but five of its last 73 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
After a total of three total top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton has earned at least one top-25 win each of the last seven seasons (2015-21). That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories in 2019.
Creighton is ranked No. 16 in this week's AVCA poll, the program's best mark since being No. 14 on Jan. 26, 2021.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 15-20)
Home: 5-7 Away: 5-7 Neutral: 5-6
Date Winner Loser CU Score
11/19/12 #11 Minnesota #21 Creighton 1-3
08/30/13 #25 Creighton #13 BYU 3-1
09/14/13 #11 UCLA #24 Creighton 1-3
09/16/13 #7 Hawaii #23 Creighton 2-3
08/30/14 #22 Kansas #23 Creighton 1-3
09/03/16 #23 Kentucky #22 Creighton 0-3
12/02/16 #21 Creighton #4 Kansas 3-2
12/09/16 #21 Creighton #17 Michigan 3-2
12/10/16 #5 Texas #21 Creighton 0-3
08/26/17 #9 Creighton #3 Washington 3-1
09/01/17 #7 Creighton #13 Kentucky 3-0
09/02/17 #18 USC #7 Creighton 0-3
09/08/17 #17 Purdue #9 Creighton 1-3
09/09/17 #9 Creighton #7 Kansas 3-0
09/16/17 #19 Iowa State #8 Creighton 2-3
12/12/17 #12 Michigan St. #15 Creighton 1-3
08/24/18 #13 Creighton #5 Kentucky 3-2
08/25/18 #10 USC #13 Creighton 2-3
09/06/18 #7 Nebraska #14 Creighton 2-3
09/15/18 #8 Illinois #10 Creighton 1-3
09/23/18 #10 Creighton #21 Marquette 3-0
10/26/18 #10 Creighton #18 Marquette 3-1
11/24/18 #9 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-1
12/01/18 #22 Washington #9 Creighton 0-3
08/30/19 #2 Nebraska #18 Creighton 1-3
08/31/19 #20 Baylor #18 Creighton 0-3
09/06/19 #23 Creighton #12 Kentucky 3-1
09/07/19 #23 Creighton #15 USC 3-1
09/14/19 #12 Washington #17 Creighton 1-3
10/12/19 #13 Creighton #10 Marquette 3-2
11/22/19 #12 Creighton #9 Marquette 3-1
12/07/19 #7 Minnesota #15 Creighton 2-3
02/05/21 #19 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-2
02/06/21 #25 Marquette #19 Creighton 0-3
09/08/21 #3 Nebraska #19 Creighton 0-3
Non-Conference Comes to a Close
Armed with a 12-1 mark, Creighton finished non-conference play with a record of .500 or better for the seventh straight year, no small feat considering the degree of difficulty that head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth regularly challenges her team with prior to league play.
This season also clinched a 12th straight campaign of five or more non-league victories.
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 7-10 against ranked non-conference foes over the last four seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
Creighton owns 12 non-conference wins this season to set a program record for a regular-season. It's actually also the first season with 10 wins prior to league play.
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 12-1 1-1 TBD
Double-Double x 4
Creighton had four women finish with a double-double in its Sept. 11 win vs. Illinois as Norah Sis (20 kills, 11 digs), Keeley Davis (12 kills, 13 digs), Jaela Zimmerman (21 kills, 13 digs) and Kendra Wait (46 assists, 15 digs) all had double-doubles.
It marked the first time since Feb. 5, 2021 that Creighton had four players with a double-double in the same match. Back then, it was Ally Van Eekeren, Keeley Davis, Jaela Zimmerman and Mahina Pua'a with double-dips vs. No. 25 Marquette.
Prior to Feb. 5, it hadn't happened since Nov. 20, 2015, when Jaali Winters, Samantha Bohnet, Jess Bird and Lauren Smith did it at Georgetown.
Largest Crowds To See The Jays
Creighton hosted 11,279 fans on Sept. 8 for its match vs. No. 3 Nebraska at CHI Health Center Omaha.
In addition to being the largest crowd in the nation this season, it was the fourth-biggest home crowd in Creighton history and the 10th-largest volleyball-only regular-season crowd in NCAA history.
In six all-time volleyball matches at CHI Health Center Omaha, Creighton has played before an average of 11,444 fans. That includes 14,022 fans in 2018 for a match vs. Nebraska, a figure that remains the largest regular-season volleyball-only crowd in NCAA history.
Creighton has also hosted the largest NCAA Soccer crowd of 2021, having welcomed 6,577 fans to Morrison Stadium on Sept. 18 for a men's soccer game vs. Georgetown.
Below is a list of the largest crowds (and home crowds) in Creighton Volleyball history:
Largest Home Crowds
Att. Opponent Date CU W-L Facility
14,022 #6 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Ctr.
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
2,578 #13 Kentucky 09/01/17 W 3-0 Sokol Arena
2,552 South Dakota 11/30/18 W 3-0 Sokol Arena
2,517 Coastal Carolina 12/01/17 W 3-1 Sokol Arena
2,514 #7 Nebraska 08/31/10 L 0-3 Sokol Arena
Largest Crowds (All Sites)
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
14,022 #6 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Ctr.
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
8,627 at #5 Nebraska 09/29/02 L 0-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,450 at #2 Nebraska 08/30/19 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,277 vs. Montana St. 09/16/16 W 3-0 Devaney Ctr.
8,249 at #1 Nebraska 09/17/16 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,237 vs. #20 Baylor (@NU) 08/31/19 L 0-3 Devaney Ctr.
Historically Speaking
Here's a look at the top volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history. Of note, each of the 12 figures of 11,000 or more have been in the state of Nebraska.
Largest Regular-Season NCAA VB-Only Crowds In History
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
14,022 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/6/18 Omaha, NE
13,870 UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-2 9/13/09 Lincoln, NE
13,412 Nebraska def. LSU, 3-0 9/12/08 Lincoln, NE
13,396 Nebraska def. Hawai'i, 3-0 10/21/07 Lincoln, NE
13,081 Cal Poly def. Creighton, 3-0 9/2/07 Omaha, NE
Nebraska def. Penn State, 3-0
12,504 Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0 11/4/00 Lincoln, NE
12,112 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-1 9/24/06 Omaha, NE
11,892 Dayton def. W. Michigan, 3-0 9/11/10 Lincoln, NE
Nebraska def. Illinois, 3-2
11,529 Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0 10/22/95 Lincoln, NE
11,279 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-0 9/8/21 Omaha, NE
11,076 Nebraska def. UCLA, 3-1 8/25/07 Omaha, NE
Tennessee def. Utah, 3-2
11,032 UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-1 9/14/91 Lincoln, NE
10,927 Minnesota def. Illinois, 3-1 10/16/04 Minneapolis, MN
10,645 Purdue def. W. Michigan, 3-1 10/29/85 W. Lafayette, IN
10,576 Penn St. def. Hawai'i, 3-0 8/27/05 Omaha, NE
Nebraska def. Stanford, 3-0
10,570 Purdue def. Wisconsin, 3-2 10/17/08 W. Lafayette, IN
Hometown Flavor
Creighton's 2021 roster boasts five players from the state of Nebraska, including Omaha-area products Emily Bressman, Norah Sis and Megan Skovsende. Grand Island native Katie Maser and Lincoln's Jaela Zimmerman round out the in-state natives.
Dear Abby
High Point transfer Abby Bottomley transferred to Creighton this fall and has had 10 or more digs in all 13 matches to start this season. She's just the fifth Bluejay ever to start a year that way, and the third to start her Bluejay career in that fashion.
Bottomley needed just seven matches to surpass 100 digs with the Bluejays, third-fastest in program history. She surpassed 200 digs with the Jays in her 12th match, second-fastest in program history.
Consec. Matches, 10 or More Digs, To Start Season
32# Kate Elman 2012
29 Janeen Piller (every match) 2004
27# Bianca Rivera 2007
18 Brittany Witt 2018
13*# Abby Bottomley 2021
9 Nayka Benitez 2010
*active #streak during first season at CU
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 6 09/02/07 Cal Poly
Brittany Witt 6 09/08/16 #4 Kansas
Abby Bottomley 7 09/08/21 #3 Nebraska
Nayka Benitez 8 09/12/09 Connecticut
Ellie Bolton 8 03/06/21 DePaul
Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 11 09/15/07 vs. Charlotte
Abby Bottomley 12 09/18/21 vs. South Dakota
Nayka Benitez 13 09/25/09 at Indiana State
Kate Elman 13 09/22/13 Drake
Brittany Witt 13 09/23/16 Marquette
Sis-ter Act
Freshman Norah Sis had 20 kills in the fourth match of her career, a 3-2 win vs. USC on Sept. 3rd, and then added 20 more vs. Illinois on Sept. 11th in her ninth match.
She's just the second freshman in program history to have a match with 20 or more kills in one of her first 10 matches, joining Carolyn Decker in 2004. Decker did it in her second match. Sis is the first Bluejay to ever have multiple contests of 20+ kills in her first 10 matches.
Sis is the 11th Bluejay freshman ever to have a match with 20 or more kills, and first since Keeley Davis in 2019.
Creighton Freshmen With 20+ Kills in a Match
Times Name (High) MP Before 1st Time Year
9 Jaali Winters (28) 13 2015
4 Melissa Walsh (30) 15 1998
3 JoDe Cieloha (23) 12 1994
2 Norah Sis (20) 4 2021
1 Michelle Prorock (23) 21 1994
1 Shelly Kapler (22) 16 1996
1 Jodi Bjoin (21) 18 1999
1 Kelly Goc (20) 11 2004
1 Carolyn Decker (22) 2 2004
1 Allie Oelke (23) 14 2007
1 Keeley Davis (31) 16 2019
Speaking of Sis
While we're on the topic of Norah Sis, the freshman surpassed 100 career kills in her ninth match of the season vs. Illinois.
That matches Jaali Winters for second-fastest in program history to that milestone, trailing only JoDe Cieloha (8 in 1994).
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
JoDe Cieloha 8 09/23/94 at Drake
Jaali Winters 9 09/12/15 Pacific
Norah Sis 9 09/11/21 Illinois
Melissa Walsh 10 09/26/98 at Bradley
Carolyn Decker 10 09/18/04 Illinois State
Keeley Davis 10 09/21/19 Wyoming
Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Jaali Winters 15 09/27/15 Villanova
Melissa Walsh 16 10/16/98 at Indiana State
JoDe Cieloha 18 10/30/94 at UMKC
Allie Oelke 18 10/06/07 at So. Illinois
Keeley Davis 18 10/20/19 Xavier
Against The Champs
Creighton improved to 1-5 all-time against defending national champions with a 3-0 win at No. 3 Kentucky on Sept. 4, 2021.
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) prior to this year's victory in Lexington.
Creighton also improved to 2-10 all-time against teams the season after a Final Four appearance, and 2-6 on the road. Prior to UK, 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
09/25/01 Nebraska 3, CU 0 NCAA Champion
09/10/05 Stanford 3, CU 0 NCAA Champion
09/24/06 Nebraska 3, CU 1 NCAA Runner-Up
08/31/07 Nebraska 3, CU 0 NCAA Champion
09/01/09 Nebraska 3, CU 0 Final Four
09/17/15 Nebraska 3, CU 1 NCAA Champion
09/08/16 Kansas 3, CU 2 Final Four
12/02/16 CU 3, Kansas 2 Final Four
12/10/16 Texas 3, CU 0 NCAA Runner-Up
09/06/18 Nebraska 3, CU 2 NCAA Champion
08/30/19 Nebraska 3, CU 1 NCAA Runner-Up
09.04/21 CU 3, Kentucky 1 NCAA Champion
Booth Earns 500th Career Win
Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth picked up her 500th career victory on Sept. 4 when Creighton defeated No. 3 Kentucky.
It came in the fifth match of her 22nd season, and improved her to 500-216 as a head coach and 388-175 in 19 years at Creighton.
Booth's 395 Division I wins rank 55th-most among active coaches, but are second-most among coaches who have spent 19 years or less at the Division I level, and one behind Purdue's Dave Shondell.
More Tidbits From Kentucky
A few additional leftover notes from the win over Kentucky that will impress your friends and neighbors, but don't fit in elsewhere in these notes.
- Since the start of 2015, Kentucky is 155-38, but just 1-5 against Creighton. No other program has beaten the Wildcats more than three times.
- Kentucky First Team All-American Alli Stumler's six kills vs. Creighton were her least in a match since she had five on Nov. 8, 2019 at Georgia, which was 39 matches ago.
- Creighton's 3-0 win snapped a streak of 59 matches in a row for UK without being swept .
- Creighton's 3-0 win also snapped Kentucky's nation-leading win streak of 12 matches and was Kentucky's first loss at home in 18 straight matches.
- Creighton's 3-0 win was the first home sweep for Kentucky since Nov. 1, 2017 vs. Florida (49 matches).
Some Fab Freshmen
Including Kendra Wait and Norah Sis on Aug. 27 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.
This year 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
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)
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
You Can Count On Her
As a junior Naomi 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 29-3 in her career when she has seven or more kills,
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%)
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 eight 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 395-3 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 62-32 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 1-0 mark this 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 1-0 12-1
Total 77-60 488-328
Block Around The Clock
Naomi Hickman is in the top-10 of every one of Creighton's career blocking records. She is currently fourth with 384 block assists, ninth with 1.00 blocks per set, and ninth with 413 total blocks.
Career Records
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. Naomi Hickman 412 384 2017-Pr.
5. Megan Bober 480 380 2009-12
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. Naomi Hickman 412 29 384 413 2017-Pr.
10. Megan Ballenger 450 29 343 372 2016-19
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 412 413 1.00 2017-Pr.
10. Megan Waldren 87 81 0.93 1994
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 2,383 career digs, trailing only Valparaiso's Rylee Cookerly's 2,743.
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, and they're 3-1 vs. that gauntlet.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 89-101 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 3-1
TOTAL 92-136
TOTAL Under Booth 89-101
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.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 327-11 (.967) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 270-5 mark (.982) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 196-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 100-1 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 15-201 (.069) 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 331-32 (.912) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 64-144 (.308) 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 113-3 in its last 116 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 63-2 in its last 65 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 7-10 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 105-2 in its last 107 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
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 395 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history.
Coach, Sport Victories (as of 9/22/21)
Brent Vigness, Softball 804*
Ed Servais, Baseball 587*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 478*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 395*
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
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.
Sept. 24 5 pm CT #16 Creighton at Butler (YouTube) Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse) | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES
Sept. 25 4 pm CT #16 Creighton at Xavier (FloSports) Cincinnati, Ohio (Cintas Center) | LIVE VIDEO INFO ($) | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES
This Weekend
After winning four tournaments in four weekends of non-conference play, it's time to turn the page for No. 16 Creighton (12-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) when it opens a ninth season of BIG EAST play this weekend.
On Friday, Creighton visits Butler (6-7, 0-0 BIG EAST) in a 5 p.m. Central match at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
Saturday at 4 p.m. Central, Creighton takes on Xavier (5-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) at Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Broadcast Information
Butler will be broadcasting Friday's match at no charge on its YouTube channel at http://YouTube.com/ButlerAthletics.
Saturday's match at Xavier will be video webcast on FloSports. More information about discounted subscriptions to FloSports can be found at http://GoCreighton.com/FloSports.
Live Stats Information
Every match this season will have free live stats. Links are on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting No. 16 Creighton
Creighton earned tournament titles in each of the first four weeks of the season to earn its best start in program history at 12-1.
The Jays won the Mizzou Invitational (hosted by Missouri), the Bluegrass Battle (hosted by Kentucky) the Bluejay Invitational (hosted by Creighton) and the Shocker Volleyball Classic (hosted by Wichita State) to open the year.
Creighton owns 10 sweeps among its 12 victories, including 3-0 victories vs. No. 3 Kentucky, Missouri, Wichita State, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas City and SMU. The Jays also beat Illinois in four sets and USC in five frames.
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 has had huge contributions from a top-10 class of newcomers.
Leading the Bluejay returnees are Preseason All-BIG EAST selections Jaela Zimmerman (3.88 kps., 2.93 dps.) and Naomi Hickman (1.60 kps., 1.29 bps., .280%), while Keeley Davis (1.26 ksp., 2.19 dps.) was also an All-BIG EAST choice each of the past two seasons. The 2020 AVCA East Region Player of the Year, Zimmerman was named MVP of the Bluegrass Battle, the Bluejay Invitational and Shocker Volleyball Classic.
Outside hitter Norah Sis (3.45 kps., 2.74 dps.) became the first freshman in school history to be named All-Tournament after each of the first three events of her career. Classmate Kendra Wait (10.52 aps., 3.07 dps., 1.00 bps., 1.26 kps., .319%) was named MVP of the Mizzou Invitational and also earned three All-Tournament Team accolades.
A third newcomer, High Point transfer Abby Bottomley, leads CU with 5.36 digs per set and 0.38 aces per set. The back-to-back BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week earned All-Tournament Team honors in Lexington and Wichita and owns double-figure digs in each of her last 26 matches overall.
Creighton averages 14.31 kills, 1.45 aces, 18.17 digs and 2.75 blocks per set while hitting .247 as a team. The Jays are holding foes to .121 hitting and 0.74 aces per set.
Scouting Butler
Butler is 6-7 this season but just 2-5 at home. The Bulldogs won at California on Sept. 11th, but lost at Hinkle Fieldhouse last weekend against Milwaukee, No. 19 UCLA and Western Michigan.
Preseason All-BIG EAST choice Melody Davidson averages 3.69 kills per and 1.04 blocks per set while hitting .332 and Mariah Grunze averages 2.65 kills and 2.48 digs per set.
Madison Friebel notches 9.90 assists and 2.67 digs per set and Jaymeson Kinley averages 5.08 digs per set.
The Bulldogs average 12.50 kills, 1.21 aces, 16.52 digs and 1.92 blocks per set on .174 hitting. Opponents hit .210 against BU.
Scouting Xavier
Xavier is 5-5 this season, highlighted by wins over Lipscomb and Miami (Ohio) and losses to current unbeatens Louisville and Colorado.
The Musketeers are led offensively by Kelly Franxman (2.40 kps.), Delaney Hogan (2.35 kps.), Moriah Hopkins (2.28 kps.) and have Preseason All-BIG EAST setter Carrigan O'Reilly (9.65 aps., 1.51 kps.) quarterbacking the offense.
Stevie Wolf (4.51 dps.) leads the team in digs and Hogan owns a program-leading 1.00 blocks per set.
As a team, Xavier hits .224 and averages 12.62 kills, 1.00 aces, 14.76 digs and 2.05 blocks per set. Opponents have hit just .168 against the Musketeers.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 395-176 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 last 10 seasons (including 2021), 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. Butler
Creighton is 15-1 all-time against Butler, including five-set victories in three of the past eight meetings.
Butler ruined Creighton's BIG EAST debut on Oct. 4, 2013 in Indianapolis, handing the Bluejays a four-set loss, but Creighton has won all 15 meetings since then.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 15-1 vs. Butler and head coach Sharon Clark.
Series History vs. Xavier
Creighton is 19-0 all-time against Xavier, with all the matches having occurred since 2013. Ten of the last 12 meetings have been 3-0 CU sweeps, but the two exceptions were 3-2 Creighton wins in Omaha in 2018 and the spring of 2021.
Thanks in part to a 3-0 record in league tourney action against the Musketeers, Creighton has more wins against Xavier (19) than any other team since joining the BIG EAST.
Creighton's victory on Oct. 5, 2013 in Cincinnati was the program's first BIG EAST win in history.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 19-0 vs. Xavier, and she is 13-0 against Christy Pfeffenberger.
Recapping The Shocker Volleyball Classic
Creighton went 3-0 last weekend to win the Shocker Volleyball Classic with sweeps of Wyoming, South Dakota and Wichita State.
Jaela Zimmerman was named MVP of the Shocker Volleyball Classic after averaging 4.67 kills, 3.89 digs and 0.44 aces on .295 hitting. For the week Zimmerman had 37 serving attempts without an error and handled 50 service receptions without being aced. Already the first player in program history to be named Tournament MVP on consecutive weekends, she became the first player with three straight MVP recognitions. Zimmerman earned her sixth career BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week award, and second honor this year.
Abby Bottomley averaged a league-high 6.67 digs per set and also served up 0.67 aces per set to earn Shocker Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team acclaim. Bottomley earned her second straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week award after having won the award 14 times in the Big South while at High Point.
Kendra Wait also earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Shocker Volleyball Classic. She averaged 10.78 assists, 3.44 digs, 1.56 kills and 1.11 blocks per set while hitting .448. It's the third time in four weeks that Wait has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, and second straight.
X Marks The Spot
Creighton owns 19 consecutive wins over Xavier, tied for its best streak over any foe ever. CU's 15-match win streak over Butler isn't far behind.
Most Consecutive Match Wins Over One Team
Wins Opponent Dates
19 Southern Illinois 2003-11
19 Xavier 2013-Present
16 Indiana State 2005-Present
16 DePaul 2013-Present
15 Butler 2013-Present
League Opener Histories
Creighton owns a 19-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 16-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 7-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and seven straight wins.
Each of the last eight times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 126-8 in regular-season league action. Creighton also won seven of the last eight conference tournament titles during those years, going 14-1 in those seasons.
In the 19 seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .760 (257-81) winning percentage in league matches.
In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Jays have had a losing record five times and it owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
In league road openers, Creighton is 18-9 overall and 15-3 under Booth, with seven straight wins.
In conference home openers, Creighton is 22-5 overall and 16-2 under Booth, with 10 straight wins.
Home Away from Home
Creighton is 9-0 away from home this season, including eight 3-0 victories.
Creighton entered the week as one of five schools in the country with nine or more wins away from home, but the only one who hasn't yet lost in one of those matches. Others with nine wins include Providence (9-1), Valparaiso (9-2), Kansas City (9-3) and Arkansas-Little Rock (9-3).
Set The Table
Creighton has won 13 straight sets heading into this weekend, a streak that started in the fourth set of a win vs. Illinois on Sept. 11th.
The Bluejays only own eight streaks that are longer in program history, all of which have been accomplished under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Consecutive Sets Won
Set Wins Dates Snapped By
25 Oct. 22-Nov. 20, 2016 Villanova
25 Oct. 26-Nov. 23, 2018 #16 Marquette
19 Oct. 12-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova
15 Oct. 7-21, 2016 at Marquette
15 Sept. 28-Oct. 13, 2018 at Villanova
14 Sept. 10-17, 2004 Illinois State
14 Oct. 6-26, 2012 Southern Illinois
14 Oct. 27-Nov. 11, 2017 at Butler
Going Streaking
Creighton has compiled its second six-match winning streak of the young season, and looks to extend it this weekend at Butler and Xavier.
Only 10 win streaks of seven wins or longer have previously happened in program history.
Consecutive Matches Won
Wins Dates Snapped By
23 Sept. 23-Dec. 9, 2016 at #5 Texas, 3-0
21 Sept. 21-Nov. 30, 2018 #22 Washington, 3-0
17 Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012 at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
14 Sept. 19-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0
12 Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015 at Villanova, 3-2
11 Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014 Seton Hall, 3-0
11 Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017 at Villanova, 3-0
10 Oct. 31-Dec. 5, 2015 vs. #2 USC, 3-1
8 Oct. 25-Nov. 22, 2008 vs. Northern Iowa, 3-2
7 Sept. 4-Sept. 17, 2004 Illinois State, 3-0
6 Sept. 21-Oct. 6, 2007 Wichita State, 3-0
6 Sept. 1-15, 2012 at Kansas, 3-2
6 Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 2014 at Seton Hall, 3-2
6 Aug. 27-Sept. 4, 2021 #3 Nebraska, 3-0
6 Sept. 10, 2021-Present ? ? ?
Long Live September
Creighton has won nine matches this September heading into its final two contests of the month.
The Bluejays have never won more than 10 matches in any month in program history.
Most Wins, Month
W-L Month, Year
10-1 October 2015
10-3 September 2006
9-0 November, 2012
9-0 October, 2016
9-0 November, 2018
9-1 September, 2019
9-1 so far September, 2021
9-2 September, 2018
9-3 September, 2012
9-4 September, 2004
TCB
With 6-7 Butler on tap for Friday, it's worth noting that Creighton has won 49 of its last 50 matches against teams that enter a match under .500, with the lone setback coming Jan. 29, 2021 in five sets vs. an 0-2 South Dakota team.
The Bluejays have not lost a match to a conference team with an overall record under .500 prior to the match since Nov. 12, 2011 at Bradley.
One And Only
Freshman setter Kendra Wait ranks 42nd in the nation in assists per set and 212th in the country in blocks per set.
She's the ONLY player in the country averaging at least 10.40 assists and 1.00 blocks per set.
Wait is one of three freshmen starting setters for a top-25 team, joining Kami Miner (Stanford) and Emma Grome (Kentucky).
A Dozen, Cousin
Creighton is off to a 12-1 start this season. Those 12 victories match the total from all of last season's abbreviated campaign, when the Bluejays finished 12-4 overall.
Prior to last season, Creighton, BYU and Florida were the nation's only programs with 25 or more wins in every season from 2014-19.
Defense Wins Championships
Creighton's defense has risen to the occasion time-and-time again this season. The Bluejays have limited opponents to .121 hitting and just 10.79 kills per set. Both marks would be the lowest figures ever by a Bluejay opponent over the course of a season.
Creighton has allowed just one opponent (USC; .247) to hit .200 or better this season and held seven foes under .100.
Creighton ranks eighth nationally in opponents hitting percentage, ninth nationally in digs per set, 23rd nationally in blocks per set. Creighton is the only school ranked in the top 23 of all three categories.
Spearheading the defense from the back row is Abby Bottomley, who ranks 11th in the country with 5.36 digs per set.
Add it all up and that defense is a major reason that Creighton ranks tied for second nationally with 12 victories this fall.
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).
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
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 9/20/21)
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (8) 121 11 208 57
Marquette (7) 104 25 192 65
Xavier 78 52 123 115
Butler 71 61 130 112
Villanova (1) 70 62 138 104
St. John's (1) 65 67 148 110
Seton Hall (1) 60 69 119 127
Georgetown 30 94 80 145
DePaul 28 104 88 145
Providence* 18 98 77 135
Connecticut# 4 4 12 11
*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.
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 ??? ???
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 BYU 6 Fairfield
7 Colorado State 6 LIU
7 Fairfield
7 Florida A&M
Best Starts Ever
Creighton started this season 6-0 for the first time ever, eclipsing the start by the 2006 team that opened 5-0. Of Creighton's six teams to start 4-0 or better, the first loss for five of those teams came during a home contest and on four occasions, it came against a ranked foe.
Creighton's 12-1 mark entering league play is the program's best mark through 13 contests ever.
Most Wins Before First Loss, CU History
Wins Season Lost to
6 2021 #3 Nebraska
5 2006 Iowa
4 2000 at #6 Hawai'i
4 2012 #21 Kansas State
4 2013 California
4 2017 #18 USC
Most Wins With 1 Loss To Start A Season
Start Season Lost to
12-1 so far 2021 #3 Nebraska
10-1 2006 Iowa
10-1 2012 #21 Kansas State
8-1 2004 Northern Colorado
Lucky Number 4
Creighton has won a tournament title each of the past four weekends, setting a school record.
Previously, only the 2017 team had won three straight events when that club won the Husky Invitational, Bluejay Invitational and Kansas Invitational to open the year.
That being said, the 2017 team lost matches at both the Bluejay Invitational as well as the Kansas Invitational, only to win both events via tiebreaker. This year's team went 3-0 in all three events, winning 36-of-39 sets played.
Zimmerman Playing At An MVP Level
Jaela Zimmerman has been named Most Valuable Player at the Bluegrass Battle, the Bluejay Invitational and the Shocker Volleyball Classic over the past three weekends.
It gives her four career MVP honors, having also won the 2019 Creighton Classic MVP accolade in an event that featured Wyoming and Wichita State.
Zimmerman became Creighton's first player to be named MVP of a tournament on back-to-back weekends in Kirsten Bernthal Booth's 19 years at Creighton, and now has done it three weeks in a row.
Creighton's only other player under Booth with multiple MVP honors in non-conference play of the same season had been Korie Lebeda in 2006, who took home MVP honors in the 12th Annual Holiday Inn Classic to start the season as well as the Blue Raider Bash in the third week of the fall.
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.
One week later, Sis was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the Bluegrass Battle, becoming the first freshman in program history to be All-Tourney after each of her first two events.
Sis is the first Bluejay (of any class) to be named to an All-Tourney Team in each of CU's first three tournaments of a season since Lydia Dimke in 2017. That streak was snapped in week four at the Shocker Volleyball Classic. Creighton's last player to be named to an All-Tournament Team in four straight weeks was Lauren Smith in the fall of 2015.
Both Sis and Wait were also named to the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team in CU's third week of the year.
In week four, Wait garnered her third All-Tournament Team accolade at the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
Hickman Joins Century Club
Naomi Hickman has played in 100 wins as a Bluejay, and the Sept. 18 win vs. Wichita State made her the ninth player in Creighton Volleyball's modern history to reach the century mark.
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
111 Jaali Winters 2015-18
109 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
109 Brittany Witt 2016-19
107 Megan Ballenger 2016-19
106 Marysa Wilkinson 2014-17
104 Lauren Smith 2013-16
102 Melanie Jereb 2012-15
101 Ashley Jansen 2012-15
100 Naomi Hickman 2017-Present
95 Kate Elman 2012-15
Top 25 History
Creighton is 126-32 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 15-20 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, 35 of Creighton's 61 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 219-25 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but one of its past 72 home matches over unranked teams and all but five of its last 73 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
After a total of three total top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton has earned at least one top-25 win each of the last seven seasons (2015-21). That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories in 2019.
Creighton is ranked No. 16 in this week's AVCA poll, the program's best mark since being No. 14 on Jan. 26, 2021.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 15-20)
Home: 5-7 Away: 5-7 Neutral: 5-6
Date Winner Loser CU Score
11/19/12 #11 Minnesota #21 Creighton 1-3
08/30/13 #25 Creighton #13 BYU 3-1
09/14/13 #11 UCLA #24 Creighton 1-3
09/16/13 #7 Hawaii #23 Creighton 2-3
08/30/14 #22 Kansas #23 Creighton 1-3
09/03/16 #23 Kentucky #22 Creighton 0-3
12/02/16 #21 Creighton #4 Kansas 3-2
12/09/16 #21 Creighton #17 Michigan 3-2
12/10/16 #5 Texas #21 Creighton 0-3
08/26/17 #9 Creighton #3 Washington 3-1
09/01/17 #7 Creighton #13 Kentucky 3-0
09/02/17 #18 USC #7 Creighton 0-3
09/08/17 #17 Purdue #9 Creighton 1-3
09/09/17 #9 Creighton #7 Kansas 3-0
09/16/17 #19 Iowa State #8 Creighton 2-3
12/12/17 #12 Michigan St. #15 Creighton 1-3
08/24/18 #13 Creighton #5 Kentucky 3-2
08/25/18 #10 USC #13 Creighton 2-3
09/06/18 #7 Nebraska #14 Creighton 2-3
09/15/18 #8 Illinois #10 Creighton 1-3
09/23/18 #10 Creighton #21 Marquette 3-0
10/26/18 #10 Creighton #18 Marquette 3-1
11/24/18 #9 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-1
12/01/18 #22 Washington #9 Creighton 0-3
08/30/19 #2 Nebraska #18 Creighton 1-3
08/31/19 #20 Baylor #18 Creighton 0-3
09/06/19 #23 Creighton #12 Kentucky 3-1
09/07/19 #23 Creighton #15 USC 3-1
09/14/19 #12 Washington #17 Creighton 1-3
10/12/19 #13 Creighton #10 Marquette 3-2
11/22/19 #12 Creighton #9 Marquette 3-1
12/07/19 #7 Minnesota #15 Creighton 2-3
02/05/21 #19 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-2
02/06/21 #25 Marquette #19 Creighton 0-3
09/08/21 #3 Nebraska #19 Creighton 0-3
Non-Conference Comes to a Close
Armed with a 12-1 mark, Creighton finished non-conference play with a record of .500 or better for the seventh straight year, no small feat considering the degree of difficulty that head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth regularly challenges her team with prior to league play.
This season also clinched a 12th straight campaign of five or more non-league victories.
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 7-10 against ranked non-conference foes over the last four seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
Creighton owns 12 non-conference wins this season to set a program record for a regular-season. It's actually also the first season with 10 wins prior to league play.
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 12-1 1-1 TBD
Double-Double x 4
Creighton had four women finish with a double-double in its Sept. 11 win vs. Illinois as Norah Sis (20 kills, 11 digs), Keeley Davis (12 kills, 13 digs), Jaela Zimmerman (21 kills, 13 digs) and Kendra Wait (46 assists, 15 digs) all had double-doubles.
It marked the first time since Feb. 5, 2021 that Creighton had four players with a double-double in the same match. Back then, it was Ally Van Eekeren, Keeley Davis, Jaela Zimmerman and Mahina Pua'a with double-dips vs. No. 25 Marquette.
Prior to Feb. 5, it hadn't happened since Nov. 20, 2015, when Jaali Winters, Samantha Bohnet, Jess Bird and Lauren Smith did it at Georgetown.
Largest Crowds To See The Jays
Creighton hosted 11,279 fans on Sept. 8 for its match vs. No. 3 Nebraska at CHI Health Center Omaha.
In addition to being the largest crowd in the nation this season, it was the fourth-biggest home crowd in Creighton history and the 10th-largest volleyball-only regular-season crowd in NCAA history.
In six all-time volleyball matches at CHI Health Center Omaha, Creighton has played before an average of 11,444 fans. That includes 14,022 fans in 2018 for a match vs. Nebraska, a figure that remains the largest regular-season volleyball-only crowd in NCAA history.
Creighton has also hosted the largest NCAA Soccer crowd of 2021, having welcomed 6,577 fans to Morrison Stadium on Sept. 18 for a men's soccer game vs. Georgetown.
Below is a list of the largest crowds (and home crowds) in Creighton Volleyball history:
Largest Home Crowds
Att. Opponent Date CU W-L Facility
14,022 #6 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Ctr.
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
2,578 #13 Kentucky 09/01/17 W 3-0 Sokol Arena
2,552 South Dakota 11/30/18 W 3-0 Sokol Arena
2,517 Coastal Carolina 12/01/17 W 3-1 Sokol Arena
2,514 #7 Nebraska 08/31/10 L 0-3 Sokol Arena
Largest Crowds (All Sites)
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
14,022 #6 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Ctr.
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
8,627 at #5 Nebraska 09/29/02 L 0-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,450 at #2 Nebraska 08/30/19 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,277 vs. Montana St. 09/16/16 W 3-0 Devaney Ctr.
8,249 at #1 Nebraska 09/17/16 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,237 vs. #20 Baylor (@NU) 08/31/19 L 0-3 Devaney Ctr.
Historically Speaking
Here's a look at the top volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history. Of note, each of the 12 figures of 11,000 or more have been in the state of Nebraska.
Largest Regular-Season NCAA VB-Only Crowds In History
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
14,022 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/6/18 Omaha, NE
13,870 UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-2 9/13/09 Lincoln, NE
13,412 Nebraska def. LSU, 3-0 9/12/08 Lincoln, NE
13,396 Nebraska def. Hawai'i, 3-0 10/21/07 Lincoln, NE
13,081 Cal Poly def. Creighton, 3-0 9/2/07 Omaha, NE
Nebraska def. Penn State, 3-0
12,504 Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0 11/4/00 Lincoln, NE
12,112 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-1 9/24/06 Omaha, NE
11,892 Dayton def. W. Michigan, 3-0 9/11/10 Lincoln, NE
Nebraska def. Illinois, 3-2
11,529 Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0 10/22/95 Lincoln, NE
11,279 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-0 9/8/21 Omaha, NE
11,076 Nebraska def. UCLA, 3-1 8/25/07 Omaha, NE
Tennessee def. Utah, 3-2
11,032 UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-1 9/14/91 Lincoln, NE
10,927 Minnesota def. Illinois, 3-1 10/16/04 Minneapolis, MN
10,645 Purdue def. W. Michigan, 3-1 10/29/85 W. Lafayette, IN
10,576 Penn St. def. Hawai'i, 3-0 8/27/05 Omaha, NE
Nebraska def. Stanford, 3-0
10,570 Purdue def. Wisconsin, 3-2 10/17/08 W. Lafayette, IN
Hometown Flavor
Creighton's 2021 roster boasts five players from the state of Nebraska, including Omaha-area products Emily Bressman, Norah Sis and Megan Skovsende. Grand Island native Katie Maser and Lincoln's Jaela Zimmerman round out the in-state natives.
Dear Abby
High Point transfer Abby Bottomley transferred to Creighton this fall and has had 10 or more digs in all 13 matches to start this season. She's just the fifth Bluejay ever to start a year that way, and the third to start her Bluejay career in that fashion.
Bottomley needed just seven matches to surpass 100 digs with the Bluejays, third-fastest in program history. She surpassed 200 digs with the Jays in her 12th match, second-fastest in program history.
Consec. Matches, 10 or More Digs, To Start Season
32# Kate Elman 2012
29 Janeen Piller (every match) 2004
27# Bianca Rivera 2007
18 Brittany Witt 2018
13*# Abby Bottomley 2021
9 Nayka Benitez 2010
*active #streak during first season at CU
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 6 09/02/07 Cal Poly
Brittany Witt 6 09/08/16 #4 Kansas
Abby Bottomley 7 09/08/21 #3 Nebraska
Nayka Benitez 8 09/12/09 Connecticut
Ellie Bolton 8 03/06/21 DePaul
Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 11 09/15/07 vs. Charlotte
Abby Bottomley 12 09/18/21 vs. South Dakota
Nayka Benitez 13 09/25/09 at Indiana State
Kate Elman 13 09/22/13 Drake
Brittany Witt 13 09/23/16 Marquette
Sis-ter Act
Freshman Norah Sis had 20 kills in the fourth match of her career, a 3-2 win vs. USC on Sept. 3rd, and then added 20 more vs. Illinois on Sept. 11th in her ninth match.
She's just the second freshman in program history to have a match with 20 or more kills in one of her first 10 matches, joining Carolyn Decker in 2004. Decker did it in her second match. Sis is the first Bluejay to ever have multiple contests of 20+ kills in her first 10 matches.
Sis is the 11th Bluejay freshman ever to have a match with 20 or more kills, and first since Keeley Davis in 2019.
Creighton Freshmen With 20+ Kills in a Match
Times Name (High) MP Before 1st Time Year
9 Jaali Winters (28) 13 2015
4 Melissa Walsh (30) 15 1998
3 JoDe Cieloha (23) 12 1994
2 Norah Sis (20) 4 2021
1 Michelle Prorock (23) 21 1994
1 Shelly Kapler (22) 16 1996
1 Jodi Bjoin (21) 18 1999
1 Kelly Goc (20) 11 2004
1 Carolyn Decker (22) 2 2004
1 Allie Oelke (23) 14 2007
1 Keeley Davis (31) 16 2019
Speaking of Sis
While we're on the topic of Norah Sis, the freshman surpassed 100 career kills in her ninth match of the season vs. Illinois.
That matches Jaali Winters for second-fastest in program history to that milestone, trailing only JoDe Cieloha (8 in 1994).
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
JoDe Cieloha 8 09/23/94 at Drake
Jaali Winters 9 09/12/15 Pacific
Norah Sis 9 09/11/21 Illinois
Melissa Walsh 10 09/26/98 at Bradley
Carolyn Decker 10 09/18/04 Illinois State
Keeley Davis 10 09/21/19 Wyoming
Creighton's Quickest Players To 200 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Jaali Winters 15 09/27/15 Villanova
Melissa Walsh 16 10/16/98 at Indiana State
JoDe Cieloha 18 10/30/94 at UMKC
Allie Oelke 18 10/06/07 at So. Illinois
Keeley Davis 18 10/20/19 Xavier
Against The Champs
Creighton improved to 1-5 all-time against defending national champions with a 3-0 win at No. 3 Kentucky on Sept. 4, 2021.
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) prior to this year's victory in Lexington.
Creighton also improved to 2-10 all-time against teams the season after a Final Four appearance, and 2-6 on the road. Prior to UK, 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
09/25/01 Nebraska 3, CU 0 NCAA Champion
09/10/05 Stanford 3, CU 0 NCAA Champion
09/24/06 Nebraska 3, CU 1 NCAA Runner-Up
08/31/07 Nebraska 3, CU 0 NCAA Champion
09/01/09 Nebraska 3, CU 0 Final Four
09/17/15 Nebraska 3, CU 1 NCAA Champion
09/08/16 Kansas 3, CU 2 Final Four
12/02/16 CU 3, Kansas 2 Final Four
12/10/16 Texas 3, CU 0 NCAA Runner-Up
09/06/18 Nebraska 3, CU 2 NCAA Champion
08/30/19 Nebraska 3, CU 1 NCAA Runner-Up
09.04/21 CU 3, Kentucky 1 NCAA Champion
Booth Earns 500th Career Win
Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth picked up her 500th career victory on Sept. 4 when Creighton defeated No. 3 Kentucky.
It came in the fifth match of her 22nd season, and improved her to 500-216 as a head coach and 388-175 in 19 years at Creighton.
Booth's 395 Division I wins rank 55th-most among active coaches, but are second-most among coaches who have spent 19 years or less at the Division I level, and one behind Purdue's Dave Shondell.
More Tidbits From Kentucky
A few additional leftover notes from the win over Kentucky that will impress your friends and neighbors, but don't fit in elsewhere in these notes.
- Since the start of 2015, Kentucky is 155-38, but just 1-5 against Creighton. No other program has beaten the Wildcats more than three times.
- Kentucky First Team All-American Alli Stumler's six kills vs. Creighton were her least in a match since she had five on Nov. 8, 2019 at Georgia, which was 39 matches ago.
- Creighton's 3-0 win snapped a streak of 59 matches in a row for UK without being swept .
- Creighton's 3-0 win also snapped Kentucky's nation-leading win streak of 12 matches and was Kentucky's first loss at home in 18 straight matches.
- Creighton's 3-0 win was the first home sweep for Kentucky since Nov. 1, 2017 vs. Florida (49 matches).
Some Fab Freshmen
Including Kendra Wait and Norah Sis on Aug. 27 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.
This year 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
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)
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
You Can Count On Her
As a junior Naomi 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 29-3 in her career when she has seven or more kills,
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%)
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 eight 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 395-3 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 62-32 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including a 1-0 mark this 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 1-0 12-1
Total 77-60 488-328
Block Around The Clock
Naomi Hickman is in the top-10 of every one of Creighton's career blocking records. She is currently fourth with 384 block assists, ninth with 1.00 blocks per set, and ninth with 413 total blocks.
Career Records
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. Naomi Hickman 412 384 2017-Pr.
5. Megan Bober 480 380 2009-12
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. Naomi Hickman 412 29 384 413 2017-Pr.
10. Megan Ballenger 450 29 343 372 2016-19
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 412 413 1.00 2017-Pr.
10. Megan Waldren 87 81 0.93 1994
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 2,383 career digs, trailing only Valparaiso's Rylee Cookerly's 2,743.
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, and they're 3-1 vs. that gauntlet.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 89-101 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 3-1
TOTAL 92-136
TOTAL Under Booth 89-101
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.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 327-11 (.967) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 270-5 mark (.982) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 196-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 100-1 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 15-201 (.069) 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 331-32 (.912) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 64-144 (.308) 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 113-3 in its last 116 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 63-2 in its last 65 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 7-10 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 105-2 in its last 107 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
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 395 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history.
Coach, Sport Victories (as of 9/22/21)
Brent Vigness, Softball 804*
Ed Servais, Baseball 587*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 478*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 395*
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
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 Nebraska Postgame Press Conference Spring Match
Saturday, April 18
Nebraska Volleyball vs Creighton Postgame Press Conference Spring Match
Saturday, April 18
Creighton Volleyball Media Availability - 4/15/26
Wednesday, April 15
Creighton vs. Kentucky Volleyball Press Conference - 12/13/25
Sunday, December 14
