Friday, September 3
Lexington, Ky.
4:00 PM
Creighton University
3
vs
2
Southern California
Photo by: Cassie Florido
Volleyball Stuns USC With Late Comeback; Meets Defending Champ Kentucky Next
9/3/2021 5:30:00 PM | Volleyball
Bluejays improve to 4-0 on the season
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Creighton Volleyball trailed 13-10 in the fifth set before a match-ending 5-0 run on Jaela Zimmerman's serve to defeat USC in a 3-2 win over national powerhouse USC on Friday afternoon at the Bluegrass Battle in Lexington, Ky.
Scores of the match in CU's favor were 25-19, 25-21, 18-25, 19-25, 15-13.
Creighton freshman Norah Sis had a season-high 20 kills while hitting .308 to pace the offense, and Zimmerman earned her 16th career double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs. Kendra Wait nearly notched her first career triple-double, finishing with 49 assists, nine kills and eight digs. Abby Bottomley matched her season-best with 17 digs for CU to pace the defense and Hickman had a hand in five of CU's seven blocks. For the match, CU had 68 kills, three aces, 67 digs and seven blocks on .293 hitting.
Brooke Botkin led USC with 24 kills and hit .327, while Shannon Scully provided 19 digs. The Women of Troy had 60 kills, seven aces, 60 digs and five blocks on .247 hitting.
"These experiences are so good for us," said victorious Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "We were playing a good USC team that made some adjustments and personnel changes. They dominated sets three and four, and I think it's easy for a team to roll over, so I was really pleased with how we bounced back. I thought we got a little tentative throughout the match so we've got to learn to be aggressive in tight situations, but I think it's such a great learning opportunity. That's going to be a huge win for us on the resume."
Creighton (4-0) started its weekend red-hot, racing to a 6-1 lead in the opener behind the serving of Keeley Davis. The margin grew as large as 12-5, only to see USC rally to knot the score at 14-all. The Jays quickly regained their momentum behind the right arms of Zimmerman and Sis before pulling away for a 25-19 victory. Zimmerman finished with six kills and five digs, while Sis added five kills. Wait added a dozen assists and directed a Bluejay offense that hit .353.
Creighton never trailed in the second set, starting quickly to move in front 12-7. The Women of Troy did close to within one point at 19-18, 21-20 and 22-21, but Creighton withstood USC each time it was needed. Sis served a set-ending 3-0 run, which was capped by a kill from Naomi Hickman. Creighton hit ..410 in the second set with 20 kills in 39 swings as Wait dished 15 helpers and Sis downed eight kills.
Creighton fell behind 8-2 in the third set and unable to get closer than a deuce the rest of the way. USC hit .500 in 32 swings in the set compared to CU's .312 hitting percentage. The loss snapped Creighton's school-record streak of 11 straight set wins to open a season.
After Creighton took a 13-10 lead in the fourth set, the Trojans regained the lead with a seven -point burst as CU committed five errors in quick succession. That would be too much to overcome, as USC won 25-19 to even the match. the Bluejays hit .just .114 in the fourth set while USC hit .176 and had 20 digs and three blocks. Botkin had seven of USC's 12 kills in the set.
Creighton and USC traded sideouts for the first eight points of the final frame before a 4-0 run by the Trojans put USC in front, 7-4. Creighton would finally tie the score at 13-all on a USC attack error, then take a 14-13 lead when Hickman stuffed middle blocker Sabrina Smith. A hitting miscue by Trojans star Botkin ended the match, USC's sixth attack error of the game.
USC had a three-match winning streak snapped, falling to 3-2 on the season. The Women of Troy started the day with a 3-0 win over CU's opponent on Saturday at 4 p.m. Central, Northern Iowa.
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. Central when it faces tournament host and third-ranked Kentucky. CU has won three straight matches against the Wildcats, who won the 2020 NCAA title. Saturday's match can be seen on SEC Network+.
NOTES: Creighton improved to 2-6 all-time against USC, including a 1-2 mark in five-set matches after losses in 2016 and 2018 (both in Los Angeles) ... Creighton is now 6-1 in its first match of this tournament that also involves UNI, USC and Kentucky ... Creighton improved to 62-32 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth and 262-5 when taking a 2-0 lead in a match ... Abby Bottomley had 17 digs and now owns 10 or more digs in each of her last 17 matches ... Creighton has started 4-0 for the fifth time in program history, and first time since 2017. CU's only previous 5-0 start came in 2006 ... Norah Sis became the first Creighton freshman with 20+ kills in a match since Keeley Davis had 31 on Oct. 12, 2019 at Marquette ... Naomi Hickman had eight kills and hit .500 in 14 swings. She now had 26 kills in her career vs. USC and has hit .420 vs. the Trojans ... Naomi Hickman had five blocks and now owns 374 in her career, moving past Megan Ballenger (372) for ninth in CU history. Hickman's four block assists give her 349 in her career, two more than Ashley Williams (347) for seventh in program history ... Abby Bottomley's 17 digs moved her over the 2,200 mark in her career. Her 2,216 digs ranks second-most among active players nationally ... The win was Creighton's 200th since the start of the 2013 season, something only 13 schools nationally can claim ... Creighton improved to 11-0 when Kiana Schmitt has six or more kills and 27-3 when Naomi Hickman has seven or more kills.
Scores of the match in CU's favor were 25-19, 25-21, 18-25, 19-25, 15-13.
Creighton freshman Norah Sis had a season-high 20 kills while hitting .308 to pace the offense, and Zimmerman earned her 16th career double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs. Kendra Wait nearly notched her first career triple-double, finishing with 49 assists, nine kills and eight digs. Abby Bottomley matched her season-best with 17 digs for CU to pace the defense and Hickman had a hand in five of CU's seven blocks. For the match, CU had 68 kills, three aces, 67 digs and seven blocks on .293 hitting.
Brooke Botkin led USC with 24 kills and hit .327, while Shannon Scully provided 19 digs. The Women of Troy had 60 kills, seven aces, 60 digs and five blocks on .247 hitting.
"These experiences are so good for us," said victorious Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "We were playing a good USC team that made some adjustments and personnel changes. They dominated sets three and four, and I think it's easy for a team to roll over, so I was really pleased with how we bounced back. I thought we got a little tentative throughout the match so we've got to learn to be aggressive in tight situations, but I think it's such a great learning opportunity. That's going to be a huge win for us on the resume."
Creighton (4-0) started its weekend red-hot, racing to a 6-1 lead in the opener behind the serving of Keeley Davis. The margin grew as large as 12-5, only to see USC rally to knot the score at 14-all. The Jays quickly regained their momentum behind the right arms of Zimmerman and Sis before pulling away for a 25-19 victory. Zimmerman finished with six kills and five digs, while Sis added five kills. Wait added a dozen assists and directed a Bluejay offense that hit .353.
Creighton never trailed in the second set, starting quickly to move in front 12-7. The Women of Troy did close to within one point at 19-18, 21-20 and 22-21, but Creighton withstood USC each time it was needed. Sis served a set-ending 3-0 run, which was capped by a kill from Naomi Hickman. Creighton hit ..410 in the second set with 20 kills in 39 swings as Wait dished 15 helpers and Sis downed eight kills.
Creighton fell behind 8-2 in the third set and unable to get closer than a deuce the rest of the way. USC hit .500 in 32 swings in the set compared to CU's .312 hitting percentage. The loss snapped Creighton's school-record streak of 11 straight set wins to open a season.
After Creighton took a 13-10 lead in the fourth set, the Trojans regained the lead with a seven -point burst as CU committed five errors in quick succession. That would be too much to overcome, as USC won 25-19 to even the match. the Bluejays hit .just .114 in the fourth set while USC hit .176 and had 20 digs and three blocks. Botkin had seven of USC's 12 kills in the set.
Creighton and USC traded sideouts for the first eight points of the final frame before a 4-0 run by the Trojans put USC in front, 7-4. Creighton would finally tie the score at 13-all on a USC attack error, then take a 14-13 lead when Hickman stuffed middle blocker Sabrina Smith. A hitting miscue by Trojans star Botkin ended the match, USC's sixth attack error of the game.
USC had a three-match winning streak snapped, falling to 3-2 on the season. The Women of Troy started the day with a 3-0 win over CU's opponent on Saturday at 4 p.m. Central, Northern Iowa.
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. Central when it faces tournament host and third-ranked Kentucky. CU has won three straight matches against the Wildcats, who won the 2020 NCAA title. Saturday's match can be seen on SEC Network+.
NOTES: Creighton improved to 2-6 all-time against USC, including a 1-2 mark in five-set matches after losses in 2016 and 2018 (both in Los Angeles) ... Creighton is now 6-1 in its first match of this tournament that also involves UNI, USC and Kentucky ... Creighton improved to 62-32 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth and 262-5 when taking a 2-0 lead in a match ... Abby Bottomley had 17 digs and now owns 10 or more digs in each of her last 17 matches ... Creighton has started 4-0 for the fifth time in program history, and first time since 2017. CU's only previous 5-0 start came in 2006 ... Norah Sis became the first Creighton freshman with 20+ kills in a match since Keeley Davis had 31 on Oct. 12, 2019 at Marquette ... Naomi Hickman had eight kills and hit .500 in 14 swings. She now had 26 kills in her career vs. USC and has hit .420 vs. the Trojans ... Naomi Hickman had five blocks and now owns 374 in her career, moving past Megan Ballenger (372) for ninth in CU history. Hickman's four block assists give her 349 in her career, two more than Ashley Williams (347) for seventh in program history ... Abby Bottomley's 17 digs moved her over the 2,200 mark in her career. Her 2,216 digs ranks second-most among active players nationally ... The win was Creighton's 200th since the start of the 2013 season, something only 13 schools nationally can claim ... Creighton improved to 11-0 when Kiana Schmitt has six or more kills and 27-3 when Naomi Hickman has seven or more kills.
Players Mentioned
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OH
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
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MB/RS
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OH
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