Friday, September 30
Omaha, Neb.
6:30 PM
Creighton University
12-3,4-0Big East
3
vs
0
Butler
7-8,1-2Big East
1
2
3
F
Butler
15
16
17
0
#21 Creighton
24
25
25
3
Photo by: Catherine Grosdidier
Zimmerman Returns As #21 Volleyball Sweeps Butler
9/30/2022 8:44:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton improves to 4-0 in BIG EAST play
OMAHA, Neb. -- The No. 21 Creighton Volleyball earned its fourth straight sweep to open BIG EAST play in a Friday night victory over Butler that featured the return of two-time All-American Jaela Zimmerman.
Scores of the match in favor of Creighton (12-3, 4-0 BIG EAST) were 25-15, 25-16, 25-17.
Freshman Ava Martin dominated once again for the Bluejays, hitting .500 and tying her career-high with 14 kills for the second straight match.
Butler (7-8, 1-2 BIG EAST) was paced by 18 digs by 2021 BIG EAST Libero of the Year Jaymeson Kinley, while Amina Shackelford and Mariah Grunze each owned 11 kills.
Creighton never trailed in the first set. The teams exchanged eight straight sideouts before CU broke free from the Bulldogs with a 4-0 run to move ahead 13-9. That ignited a set-ending 14-6 run capped by Martin's seventh kill in eight swings. Zimmerman checked in for fellow All-American Norah Sis to serve set point, her first action since tearing her ACL in Creighton's NCAA Tournament victory over Ole Miss last December. The fifth-year senior from Lincoln received a standing ovation upon checking in.
The Bluejays raced to an 11-3 lead in the second set behind a 7-0 serving run by Keeley Davis. CU hit .344 in the second set as seven different Bluejays collected at least one kill, and Ellie Bolton dug six balls.
Butler took its only lead of the match at 2-1 in the third set, only to surrender the next two points and never play from ahead the rest of the night. The margin grew to 11-6 on an ace from Martin and stretched to 18-10 after Sis had an ace and kill on consecutive points. A kill from Jazz Schmidt -- her fourth in as many swings on the evening -- ended the match in 87 minutes. Creighton hit .294 in the third set and limited the Bulldogs to .029 hitting in 35 swings.
Creighton had 44 kills, three aces, 58 digs and eight blocks on .325 hitting, while Butler finished with 32 kills, one ace, 41 digs and three blocks on .108 hitting.
Creighton has a rare weekend off before hitting the road next Friday for a 5:30 p.m. Central match at UConn.
NOTES: Creighton has now beaten Butler in 18 straight meetings, the fourth-longest win streak by CU over one opponent in program history ... Ava Martin joined Allie Oelke (2007) and JoDe Cieloha (1994) as the only freshmen in program history to own 10 or more kills in each of her first four conference matches ... Creighton has now held 12 of its past 13 league opponents to under .120 hitting ... Creighton has started 4-0 (or better) in league play for the seventh time in the past nine years ... Creighton has not allowed more than 18 points in any of its first 12 sets of league play ... Creighton has won 31 straight sets against BIG EAST opponents dating to last season ... Creighton has won 15 straight regular-season league matches, its third-longest streak in program history ... Creighton has won 145 straight matches when hitting .300 or better ... Kendra Wait had 38 assists and 11 digs (along with five blocks) for her 10th double-double of the year and 27th in her career ... Both Norah Sis and Kendra Wait have started all 50 matches of their collegiate careers ... Ellie Bolton had a season-high 10 digs in her third career start ... Creighton's eight blocks were its most in a three-set match this season.
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Scores of the match in favor of Creighton (12-3, 4-0 BIG EAST) were 25-15, 25-16, 25-17.
Freshman Ava Martin dominated once again for the Bluejays, hitting .500 and tying her career-high with 14 kills for the second straight match.
Butler (7-8, 1-2 BIG EAST) was paced by 18 digs by 2021 BIG EAST Libero of the Year Jaymeson Kinley, while Amina Shackelford and Mariah Grunze each owned 11 kills.
Creighton never trailed in the first set. The teams exchanged eight straight sideouts before CU broke free from the Bulldogs with a 4-0 run to move ahead 13-9. That ignited a set-ending 14-6 run capped by Martin's seventh kill in eight swings. Zimmerman checked in for fellow All-American Norah Sis to serve set point, her first action since tearing her ACL in Creighton's NCAA Tournament victory over Ole Miss last December. The fifth-year senior from Lincoln received a standing ovation upon checking in.
The Bluejays raced to an 11-3 lead in the second set behind a 7-0 serving run by Keeley Davis. CU hit .344 in the second set as seven different Bluejays collected at least one kill, and Ellie Bolton dug six balls.
Butler took its only lead of the match at 2-1 in the third set, only to surrender the next two points and never play from ahead the rest of the night. The margin grew to 11-6 on an ace from Martin and stretched to 18-10 after Sis had an ace and kill on consecutive points. A kill from Jazz Schmidt -- her fourth in as many swings on the evening -- ended the match in 87 minutes. Creighton hit .294 in the third set and limited the Bulldogs to .029 hitting in 35 swings.
Creighton had 44 kills, three aces, 58 digs and eight blocks on .325 hitting, while Butler finished with 32 kills, one ace, 41 digs and three blocks on .108 hitting.
Creighton has a rare weekend off before hitting the road next Friday for a 5:30 p.m. Central match at UConn.
NOTES: Creighton has now beaten Butler in 18 straight meetings, the fourth-longest win streak by CU over one opponent in program history ... Ava Martin joined Allie Oelke (2007) and JoDe Cieloha (1994) as the only freshmen in program history to own 10 or more kills in each of her first four conference matches ... Creighton has now held 12 of its past 13 league opponents to under .120 hitting ... Creighton has started 4-0 (or better) in league play for the seventh time in the past nine years ... Creighton has not allowed more than 18 points in any of its first 12 sets of league play ... Creighton has won 31 straight sets against BIG EAST opponents dating to last season ... Creighton has won 15 straight regular-season league matches, its third-longest streak in program history ... Creighton has won 145 straight matches when hitting .300 or better ... Kendra Wait had 38 assists and 11 digs (along with five blocks) for her 10th double-double of the year and 27th in her career ... Both Norah Sis and Kendra Wait have started all 50 matches of their collegiate careers ... Ellie Bolton had a season-high 10 digs in her third career start ... Creighton's eight blocks were its most in a three-set match this season.
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Team Stats
Butler
CU
Kills
32
44
Errors
18
10
Attempts
120
105
Hitting %
.117
.324
Points
36.0
54.0
Assists
31
43
Aces
1
3
Blocks
3.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
RS/S
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
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