#17 Volleyball Heads Across Town For Omaha Invite

Match #8: #17 Creighton vs. Florida State • Friday, Sept. 9 • 5 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. (Baxter Arena)
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | FSU NOTES |

Match #9: #17 Creighton at Omaha • Saturday, Sept. 10 • 3 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. (Baxter Arena)
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | UNO NOTES |

This Week
No. 17 Creighton (5-2) makes its first trip across town to Baxter Arena this weekend for a pair of matches in the Omaha Invite Presented by Sarpy County Tourism.
   The event actually starts on Thursday when Omaha (4-1) meets Florida State (6-1) at 6:30 p.m.
   Creighton returns to the floor on Friday at 5 p.m. for a neutral site match-up against Florida State.
   The tournament concludes on Saturday at 3 p.m. when Creighton visits tournament host Omaha, also at Baxter Arena.

Broadcast Information
Friday's match vs. Florida State will be streamed via Mavs All-Access, which can be viewed for free at http://omavs.com/watch.
   Saturday's match vs. Omaha will be televised statewide by Nebraska Public Media (channel 12 on Cox), with Larry Punteney and Kathi Wieskamp on the call. It'll also be webcast at https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/watch/live/.
   The match will also be on radio in Omaha on 1180 The Zone (KZOT), which can be heard at http://GoCreighton.com/listen1180. Jon Schriner and Kate Elman will announce.

Live Stats Information
Both matches this weekend will have free live stats at https://omavs.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media. A link is also on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.

Scouting #17 Creighton
Ranked 17th nationally, Creighton is 5-2 this season with the lone losses coming to then-No. 16 Kentucky (3-1 on Sept. 3) and to No. 2 Nebraska (3-2 on Sept. 7). Creighton defeated Iowa State, Wichita State and Wyoming in Laramie to win the season-opening Rumble in the Rockies before picking up wins in Omaha last weekend over then-No. 25 USC and Northern Iowa..
   Keeley Davis (2.81 kps., 2.52 dps., 0.41 saps.) and Kendra Wait (10.07 aps., 2.85 dps., 1.04 kps., .433%) have both been named to the All-Tournament Team after each event thus far.
   Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis (3.89 kps., 2.22 dps.) was named MVP of the Rumble in the Rockies and has led CU in kills in all but two matches to date.
   Creighton returns four starters from last season's 31-4 squad that reached a 10th straight NCAA Tournament and saw the Bluejays win an eighth straight BIG EAST regular-season title. Having added four freshmen and three graduate transfers in the off-season, CU is favored by league coaches to win an ninth straight title in 2022.
   Creighton averages 13.19 kills, 1.52 aces, 15.19 digs and 1.81 blocks per set while hitting .234 as a team.

Scouting Florida State
Florida State is 6-1 this season heading into Thursday's match at Omaha, its best start since 2017. FSU owns wins over Illinois State, Dayton, Florida A&M, James Madison, Yale and Austin Peay and have only been beaten by Cincinnati.
   The Seminoles rank eighth in the country with a .318 hitting percentage, paced by Khori Louis (2.48 kps., .463).
   Audrey Koenig leads the team with 2.84 kills per set and 0.44 aces per set.
   Andjelija Draskovic (5.84 aps.) and Ava Pitchford (5.40 aps.) share the setting duties, and four women own between 42-48 digs.
   FSU averages 13.64 kills, 1.72 aces, 12.72 digs and 2.34 blocks per set.

Scouting Omaha
Omaha is 4-1 on the season and riding some momentum after winning the Omaha Challenge last weekend with wins over Wichita State (3-1) and Northern Colorado (3-2). The lone loss to date came on the road at South Carolina, a team coached by former Creighton assistant Tom Mendoza.
   Shayla McCormick owns a double-double in three straight matches and leads the team with 4.30 kills per set.
   Running the Maverick offense is Sami Clarkson, who boasts 11.15 assists per set to lead the Summit League.
   Iowa State transfer Jaiden Centeno leads UNO with 3.45 digs per set.
   As a team, Omaha averages 13.75 kills, 1.50 aces, 13.65 digs and 2.40 blocks per set on .239 hitting.

Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 419-181 record in her 20th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to eight straight BIG EAST titles (2014-21), and nine league crowns in the last 10 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 11 NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last 11 seasons (including 2022), 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, Brian Rosen and Elise Fulcher.

Series History vs. Florida State
Creighton has never faced Florida State.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth has never faced Florida State.
   FSU coach Chris Poole is 1-0 all-time against Creighton and Booth, with that win coming when Poole's 2003 Arkansas team swept Creighton in Lawrence, Kan.

Series History vs. Omaha
Creighton is 3-0 at the Division I level against Nebraska-Omaha, though the teams have played each other regularly in the spring in recent seasons.
   The first fall meeting came on Sept. 13, 2019 at D.J. Sokol Arena and was won by Creighton (25-15, 25-15, 25-22). Erica Kostelac led CU with 10 kills and Brittany Witt added 10 digs, while UNO was paced by nine kills from Claire Leonard.
   Creighton opened the 2020 season (in the spring of 2021) with a 25-19, 25-19, 25-22 sweep over the Mavericks, as Jaela Zimmerman had 11 kills and 12 digs. McKenna Ruch had 13 kills and 12 digs in her UNO debut.
   Last September, CU defeated UNO 25-17, 25-18, 25-16 at D.J. Sokol Arena as Zimmerman and Norah Sis each had 10 kills and Kendra Wait contributed 25 assists and 12 digs. CU had 13 blocks and held the Mavericks to .059 hitting.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 3-0 against the Mavericks and 3-0 against Matt Buttermore.

Getting Better & Better
Wednesday was Creighton's 600th match under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and it continues to thrive under her direction.
    Below is a look at Creighton's record under Booth in 50-match segments.
Match #   W-L   Opponent   Date   Result
50   25-25   Missouri State   10/22/04   L 0-3
100   56-44   Southern Illinois   09/16/06   W 3-1
150   88-62   vs. So. Illinois   11/23/07   W 3-1
200   115-85   at Missouri State   10/30/09   L 0-3
250   143-107   at #11 Nebraska   09/08/11   L 0-3
300   182-118   Illinois State   11/10/12   W 3-1
350   215-135   South Dakota   09/20/14   L 2-3
400   255-145   at DePaul   11/07/15   W 3-1
450   296-154   Northern Iowa   09/02/17   W 3-0
500   336-164   at #18 Marquette   10/26/18   W 3-1
550   377-173   DePaul   03/06/21   W 3-0
600   419-181   #2 Nebraska   09/07/22   L 2-3

Mojo With The Mavericks
Creighton junior Megan Skovsende was a teammate at Skutt Catholic High School of Omaha sophomore Shayla McCormick.
   Creighton freshman Sky McCune was a teammate at Gretna High School of Omaha junior Kenedy Schaecher.
   Omaha Athletic Director Adrian Dowell is a former Associate AD for Athletic Development at Creighton.
   Omaha Executive Associate AD Mike West is a former Assistant AD for Marketing at Creighton.
   Other members of the Omaha coaching staff in any sport who were former student-athletes at Creighton include Dion Acoff (men's soccer), Tim Walters (women's soccer), Erin Gunther (women's soccer) and Jen Daro (softball).
   New Creighton softball head coach Krista Wood pitched UNO to a Division II national title in 2001 and was inducted into her alma mater's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020.

Put It In Neutral
Creighton is 9-0 on neutral floors the past two seasons (7-0 last year, 2-0 this year), improving to 73-34 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth in neutral site matches.
   The streak will be put to the test on Friday when CU meets Florida State at Baxter Arena.
   Creighton's nine consecutive wins on neutral floors is tied for the nation's third-longest active win streak at a neutral site:
Longest Active Neutral Site Win Streaks
   Rank   Streak   School
   1.   32   Michigan State
   2.   12   Western Kentucky
   3.   9   Creighton
       9   UNLV
       9   Kentucky
       9   Providence

Road Dubs Too
Creighton's success hasn't just been limited to neutral floors, as the Bluejays will take a seven-match winning streak in true road matches into Saturday afternoon's matinee at Omaha.
   That ranks as the sixth-longest streak in the NCAA, and tied for the fourth-longest streak in school history.
Longest Active Road Win Streaks
   Rank   Streak   School
   1.   18   Louisville
   2.   10   BYU
   3.   9   Wright State
   4.   8   Mississippi State
       8   VCU
   6.   7   Creighton
       7   UNLV

Creighton's Longest Road Win Streaks
Wins   Dates   Snapped By
   9   Sept. 30-Dec. 2, 2016   at #5 Texas, 3-0
   8   Sept. 29 - Nov. 30, 2012   at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
   8   Sept. 28 - Nov. 3, 2018   at #2 Nebraska, 3-1
   7   Sept. 21-Nov. 9, 2007   at #24 Wichita State, 3-0
   7   Nov. 21, 2009-Oct. 2, 2010   at Drake, 3-1
   7   Sept. 6-Oct. 26, 2018   at Villanova, 3-0
   7   Oct. 2, 2021-Present   TBD
   6   Oct. 14-Nov. 17, 2000   at Missouri State, 3-0
   6   Oct. 31, 2015-Aug. 28, 2016   at USC, 3-2

Sky High
Freshman Sky McCune had a season-high 22 digs in Wednesday's match vs. Nebraska, 10 more than her previous best as a Bluejay.
   McCune's 22 digs were the most by a non-libero for Creighton since Jaela Zimmerman had 22 vs. Butler on Nov. 7, 2021.
   McCune's 22 digs were also the most by a freshman since Ellie Bolton closed her debut season with 27 digs vs. Morehead State on April 14, 2021.

Winning The Serving Game
Creighton owns 35 service aces and just 29 serving errors in the past five matches.
   On Wednesday, Nebraska became Creighton's first opponent without an ace since DePaul on Nov. 26, 2021 in last year's BIG EAST Tournament.
   It also marked the first time since Nov. 2, 2019 (vs. Penn State) that Nebraska did not record an ace.

Double-Double On the Double
Creighton had three women finish Wednesday's match vs. Nebraska with a double-double, as Norah Sis (15 kills, 12 digs), Keeley Davis (19 kills, 15 digs) and Kendra Wait (46 assists, 18 digs).
   It's the first time that Creighton had three women post a double-double in the same match since the same three women did so vs. Kansas on Dec. 3, 2021.

Over The Mendoza Line
Creighton hit .202 on Wednesday vs. Nebraska. While that's a mark below CU's average of .234, it was still the first team all season to surpass .200 hitting against the Huskers.
   Entering the night, NU had been holding foes to a nation-leading .077 mark.

After Going Five
Prior to Wednesday, the last time Creighton played a five-set match came on Oct. 16, 2021 in a loss at UConn. The Bluejays followed that up with 14 consecutive victories during a span in which CU dropped two total sets.

Husker Hangover?
Playing Nebraska hasn't resulted in an emotional or physical hangover the following match. Creighton is 10-4 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth in the match following squaring off against Nebraska.
   Last season, Creighton won its next eight matches.
   In 2016, Creighton went on a 23-match win streak after dropping a match to NU.

The Colorado Kid
Keeley Davis had a team-high 19 kills on Wednesday against Nebraska. While a dozen shy of her career-high (31) set in 2019 at Marquette, it was still her most since she also had 19 kills vs. Marquette on Feb. 5, 2021.
   The Colorado native leads CU in aces (11), ranks second in kills (76) and third in digs (68), blocks (12) and assists (13).

Historically Speaking
No. 17 Creighton hosted 15,797 fans on Sept. 7 against No. 2 Nebraska, setting a record for the largest regular-season volleyball-only crowd in NCAA history.
   Here's a look at the top volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history. Of note, each of the 13 figures of 11,000 or more have been in the state of Nebraska.
   The second-largest crowd in the country this season is 8,157 fans by Nebraska vs. Tulsa.
Largest Regular-Season Volleyball-Only Crowds in NCAA History
   Att.   Opponent, Result   Date   Site
   15,797   Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2   9/7/22   Omaha, NE
   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   09/08/21   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

Largest Crowds To See The Jays
Wednesday's record crowd of 15,797 marked the seventh time in Creighton's history that more than 5,000 fans attended a home volleyball match.
   In seven volleyball matches at CHI Health Center Omaha, Creighton has played before an average of 12,066 fans. That includes record-breaking crowds set in 2007 (13,081), 2018 (14,022) and 2022 (15,797).
   Below is a list of the largest crowds (and home crowds) in Creighton Volleyball history:
Creighton's Largest Home Crowds All-Time
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU W-L   Facility
   15,797   #2 Nebraska   09/07/22   L 2-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   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
   2,509   #22 Washington   12/01/18   L 0-3   Sokol Arena

Largest Crowds (All Sites)
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU Result   Facility
   15,797   #2 Nebraska   09/07/22   L 2-3   CHI Health Ctr.
   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.
   8,060   at #9 Nebraska   09/17/14   L 1-3   Devaney Ctr.

Freshmen Phenoms
Either Sky McCune or Ava Martin has started every match this season for the Bluejays.
   Creighton has started a true freshman in each of its last 58 matches, and a true or redshirt freshman of any kind in each of its past 67 contests.
   Keeley Davis started the final nine contests of 2019 as a redshirt freshman before Kiara Reinhardt started all 16 matches during the 2020 season. Last year Norah Sis and Kendra Wait each started all 35 matches.
   Creighton is 54-13 in the past 67 matches, and 48-10 in the last 58 contests during these streaks.

Sis Races Past 500
Sophomore Norah Sis reached 500 career kills in last Saturday's match vs. #16 Kentucky. It came in her 40th career match, and 132nd career set.
   The only other players in CU history to reach 500 kills in fewer matches are Jaali Winters and Melissa Walsh, both of whom graduated with the CU career record for kills. Winters reached 500 kills in 124 sets, while Walsh did so in 133 sets.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 500 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Jaali Winters   34   12/04/15   vs. Coastal Carolina
Melissa Walsh   37   09/25/99   Indiana State
Norah Sis   40   09/03/22   #16 Kentucky
JoDe Cieloha   43   10/15/95   at Indiana State
Keeley Davis   43   03/28/21   Xavier
Amanda Cvejdlik   44   10/13/06   at Wichita State

Tournament Tested
Creighton has played in 10 tournaments since the start of the 2021 calendar year, and won seven of them.
   The only events that CU has not won were the '2020' NCAA Tournament (won by Kentucky) , the 2022 Bluejay Invitational (won by Kentucky) and the 2021 NCAA Tournament (won by Wisconsin). Kentucky and Wisconsin are the last two NCAA champions.
   Let's take a closer look:
Creighton Tournaments Since Jan. 1, 2021
Year   Event   CU Record (Place)
2021   BIG EAST Tournament   2-0 (1st)
2021   NCAA Tournament   0-1 (T-25th)
2021   Mizzou Invitational   3-0 (1st)
2021   Bluegrass Battle   3-0 (1st)
2021   Bluejay Invitational   3-0 (1st)
2021   Shocker Volleyball Classic   3-0 (1st)
2021   BIG EAST Tournament   2-0 (1st)
2021   NCAA Tournament   1-1 (T-17th)
2022   Rumble in the Rockies   3-0 (1st)
2022   Bluejay Invitational   2-1 (2nd)

On A Roll
Creighton is 21-3 in its last 24 matches, with the only setbacks in that span being a 3-1 loss to Kansas in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, last Saturday's loss to No. 16 Kentucky and Wednesday's 3-2 heartbreaker against No. 2 Nebraska.
   The Bluejays are 67-14 in sets played in those 24 matches, and 14 of the victories have been 3-0 sweeps.

Top 25 History
Creighton is 150-37 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 16-22 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, 37 of Creighton's 66 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 242-29 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but two of its past 83 home matches over unranked teams and all but eight of its last 99 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 eight seasons (2015-22). That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories in 2019.
   Eleven of Creighton's top 25 wins all-time have come against either Marquette (6) or Kentucky (5).
   The highest ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten at any site were No. 3 Washington (8/26/17 in Seattle) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/21 in Lexington). CU's highest-ranked opponent it has defeated at home was a 3-1 win over then-No. 9 Marquette on Nov. 22, 2019.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 16-22)
Home: 6-9   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
09/02/22   #17 Creighton   #25 USC   3-1
09/03/22   #16 Kentucky   #17 Creighton   1-3
09/07/22   #2 Nebraska   #17 Creighton   2-3

MVP Sis Also Picks Up BIG EAST Honor
In addition to being named MVP of the Rumble in the Rockies, Norah Sis also brought home BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week accolades on Aug. 29th.
   The Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year averaged 5.23 points, 4.91 kills, 2.27 digs and 0.36 blocks per set on .250 hitting.
   The Papillion, Neb., product started her season with near-identical double-doubles on Friday in wins over Iowa State (17 kills, 10 digs, 1 assist) and Wichita State (15 kills, 10 digs, 1 block). The reigning VolleyballMag.com National Freshman of the Year then slammed 22 kills while adding five digs, three blocks and an ace in a 3-1 win at Wyoming to clinch the tournament title. Her 25.0 points against the Cowgirls were a career-best effort and helped her earned Tournament MVP honors for the second time in her young career.
   Sis was honored as BIG EAST Freshman of the Week six times last season, when she was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, but this is her first BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week accolade.

Hall Call
Megan (Bober) Varasteh has been announced as part of the 2022 class for the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame, McCormick Endowed Athletic Director Marcus Blossom announced on Friday, August 26th.
   Varasteh is part of the 54th class of inductees (along with Renae Sinkler-O'Gorman and Carol Ketcham) and will give the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame 94 inductees, plus the 1991 Creighton Baseball Team. The Athletics Hall of Fame started in 1968 with the induction of Bluejay great Bob Gibson.
   Varasteh starred as a member of the Creighton Volleyball program from 2008-12, becoming the program's first player in earn AVCA All-America honors multiple times. She became the volleyball program's first woman named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year as well as MVC Tournament MVP, helping the Bluejays to their first regular-season and conference tournament titles and a then-record 29 victories. She closed her career with a school-record 15 triple-doubles (second in MVC history) and as the only player in league history with at least 4,000 assists, 1,000 digs, 800 kills and 400 blocks.
   In addition to being named Creighton's Female Athlete of the Year, she was also recognized as the Carl M. Reinert, S.J., Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, repeated her spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team selection as a senior.
    The 2022 Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame banquet will be held on Saturday, October 15 at Hilton Omaha.

Poll Road Ahead
Creighton has been ranked in each of the last 17 AVCA Top 25 polls. With little movement from week-to-week, however, CU is one of 20 teams to be ranked each of those polls, a group that includes Baylor, BYU, Creighton, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, Washington, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin.
   Creighton has been ranked in all but six of the past 86 weeks the AVCA has put out a Top 25 poll.

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 8-12 against ranked non-conference foes over the last five seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
   Creighton owned 12 non-conference wins last 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   31-4
2022   5-2 so far   1-2 so far   TBD

Schmitt A Ki Player
Kiana Schmitt entered the 2022 season with three career matches (of 60 played) with 10 or more kills, but the senior already has three matches in double-figures this fall.
   Schmitt had 10 kills on Aug. 26 vs. Wichita State, then tied her career-high with 12 kills one night later win at Wyoming. She then had 10 kills vs. No. 2 Nebraska on Sept. 7.
   Creighton is 24-3 all-time when Schmitt has six or more kills.

Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 18th in the AVCA preseason poll. It's the eighth time in the past 10 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason.
   The No. 18 slotting was tied for the fourth-best preseason ranking in program history.
   Over the previous 14 seasons, 255-of-350 teams (72.9 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and since 2008 318-of-350 teams (90.9 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament.
   This year marks the 11th straight season that CU has been ranked at least one week, extending a program record.
   Year   Preseason Rank   Final W-L   Final Rank
   2013   25th   23-9   NR
   2014   23rd   25-9   NR
   2016   18th   27-9   9th
   2017   9th   26-7   16th
   2018   13th   29-5   13th
   2019   18th   25-6   16th
   2020   16th   12-4   NR
   2022   18th   TBD   TBD

Some Fab Freshmen
Including Sky McCune on Aug. 26 vs. Iowa State, Creighton has started 15 different true freshmen in its season opener since 2009, and 19 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), Norah Sis (2021) and Sky McCune (2022), 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 Kostelac (2019) and Mahina Pua'a (2020) in season-openers.
   Ten of those women (Sis, Wait, 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, Davis was BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2019 and Sis recognized as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2022.
   Last 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. The 2012 and 2021 teams are the two winningest single-season teams in program history.

Believe The Hype
Creighton's recruiting class of freshmen Morgan Colangelo, Ava Martin, Sky McCune and Ann Marie Remmes was recognized as the nation's No. 24 class by PrepVolleyball.
   Martin was listed as the nation's No. 47 recruit, while McCune was tabbed 52nd-best. Creighton now owns eight players on its 2022 roster who were Top 100 recruits.
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
47   2022   Ava Martin
52   2022   Sky McCune
* 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)
2022   24th   (Colangelo, Martin, McCune, Remmes)

Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-16 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters
   From last year's team, only Abby Bottomley, Naomi Hickman, Eve Magill, Ally Van Eekeren, Annika Welty are not back.
   All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 511.8 of a possible 700% back (73.1 percent).
   Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Assists   1,331 (87.4%)   192 (12.6%)
Kills   1,307 (80.2%)   323 (19.8%)
Points   1,627.0 (75.6%)   526.0 (24.4%)
Matches Started   154 (73.3%)   56 (26.7%)
Digs   1,460 (70.6%)   607 (29.4%)
Aces   128 (66.7%)   64 (33.3%)
Blocks   192 (58.0%)   139.0 (42.0%)

Jae-Z Plays The Hits
Jaela Zimmerman owns 997 kills, good for 15th in Creighton history. She stands just three kills of becoming the 15th Bluejay ever to reach the 1,000 kill milestone. Zimmerman has played in 103 career matches.
Career Kills
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Jaali Winters   494   1,843   2015-18
   2.   Leah Ratzlaff   409   1,622   2002-05
   3.   Melissa Walsh   394   1,596   1998-01
   4.   Taryn Kloth   462   1,427   2015-18
   5.   Kelly Goc   394   1,414   2004-07
   6.   Jessica Houts   451   1,385   2005-09
   7.   JoDe Cieloha   398   1,375   1994-97
   8.   Leah McNary   458   1,257   2011-14
   9.   Marysa Wilkinson   499   1,183   2014-17
   10.   Lauren Smith   511   1,160   2013-16
   11.   Allie Oelke   445   1,126   2007-10
   12.   Kelli Browning   424   1,104   2011-14
   13.   Amanda Cvejdlik   343   1,029   2005-08
   14.   Shelly Kapler   388   1,000   1996-99
   15.   Jaela Zimmerman   342   997   2018-Pr.

Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Career Kills
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Melissa Walsh   70   10/15/00   Eastern Illinois
Jaali Winters   73   08/25/17   vs. Saint Mary's
Leah Ratzlaff   76   10/22/04   Missouri State
JoDe Cieloha   83   09/13/97   at Drake
Kelly Goc   87   11/24/06   vs Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts   90   11/08/08   Illinois State
Leah McNary   96   09/12/14   Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik   99   11/15/08   at Evansville
Shelly Kapler   103   11/18/99   vs. Missouri St.
Taryn Kloth   103   08/31/18   vs. NC State
Allie Oelke   107   10/09/10   Wichita State
Kelli Browning   110   10/26/14   DePaul
Lauren Smith   119   10/07/16   at Villanova
Marysa Wilkinson   120   09/30/17   at St. John's

10 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 10 seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make 10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
   The only other sport in Creighton history to make 10 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 10 NCAA Tournaments (2012-21). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Texas and Washington.
   There are also 13 schools that have appeared in 11 of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments, a group that includes Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Minnesota, Purdue and Stanford.
   Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Texas and Washington have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since at least 2010.
Dealing Up Aces
Keeley Davis had six aces on the opening weekend of the season, becoming the eighth player in CU history to reach century mark for her career.
   Davis reached 100 career aces in her 82nd career contest, which ranks third-fastest in Bluejay history.
   It's also worth noting that three of Davis' teammates entered the year having owned more than 100 career aces, though they've done so at other schools. Bethany Clapp owned 103 aces in 97 matches at Incarnate Word, Jazz Schmidt had 103 aces in 96 matches at Division II Palm Beach Atlantic and Allison Whitten had 103 aces in 115 contests at Morehead State.
Service Aces, Career
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Molly Moran   341   145   1998-01
   2.   Melissa Weisensee   411   125   1994-97
   3.   Brittany Witt   471   122   2016-19
   4.   JoDe Cieloha   398   113   1994-97
   5.   Keeley Davis   305   109   2019-Pr.
   6.   Kate Elman   464   105   2012-15
   7.   Shelly Kapler   388   104   1996-99
   8.   Jaali Winters   494   101   2015-18
   9.   Madelyn Cole   225   93   2018-19
   10.   Carolyn Decker   300   89   2004-08

Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Aces (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Molly Moran   73   08/31/01   vs. DePaul
Melissa Weisensee   77   11/01/96   Southern Illinois
Keeley Davis   82   08/26/22   vs. Wichita St.
JoDe Cieloha   85   09/06/97   at UNLV
Shelly Kapler   95   10/15/99   Bradley
Brittany Witt   107   10/05/19   Seton Hall
Kate Elman   120   11/15/15   Butler
Jaali Winters   135   11/17/18   Providence

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 419-3 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 62-34 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. 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 22 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   1-1   31-4
2022   0-1   5-2
Total   77-62   512-333

Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won nine conference regular-season titles. All but one of Creighton's nine crowns were outright titles, whereas Texas shared one title and WKU shared five.
   Creighton has also won eight conference tournament titles since 2012, tied for the most in the nation with Dayton and Western Kentucky.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2021
Regular-Season   League Tournament
9 (1 shared) Creighton   8 Creighton
9 (1) Texas   8 Dayton
9 (5) Western Kentucky   8 Western Kentucky
8 BYU   7 Fairfield
8 (1) Colorado State   6 LIU
8 Fairfield   6 American

Home Sweet Home
Creighton enters its 10th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
   Since then, the Bluejays are 80-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (73-3 in the regular-season, 7-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
   Since November of 2014, Creighton is 64-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 58-1 league mark and a 6-0 mark in the conference tournament. The only setback (on Feb. 6, 2021 vs. Marquette) 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 2018, Bluejay fifth-year senior Jaela Zimmerman is 35-1 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, winning 105-of-123 sets played.

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Creighton Volleyball has been picked to win the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of league coaches.
   Creighton earned 9-of-11 first place votes and 99 of a possible 100 points. That was just ahead of Marquette's 90 points and the other two votes for first place.
   DePaul (72) was picked third, just ahead of UConn (71) and St. John's (66). Rounding out the bottom half of the poll were Villanova (54), Butler (47), Xavier (42), Georgetown (25), Providence (25) and Seton Hall (14).
   Creighton also had three women among the 12 members on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team in Jaela Zimmerman and Kendra Wait as well as unanimous selection Norah Sis. Sis was also tabbed the BIG EAST's Preseason Player of the Year.
   Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 17 of 19 years under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including nine 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   1st   - -
2022   1st   ???   ???

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. In 2021, Creighton and Marquette shared the regular-season title and CU won the tournament title.
   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 (thru 9/7)
             BIG EAST only   All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)   W   L   W   L
Creighton (9)   137   13   232   62
Marquette (8)   120   27   213   70
Xavier   84   64   134   130
Butler   81   69   146   124
Villanova (1)   77   73   147   118
St. John's (1)   71   79   157   127
Seton Hall (1)   66   83   134   141
DePaul   40   110   100   158
Georgetown   33   109   83   166
Providence*   22   112   85   150
Connecticut#   17   9   30   21
*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.

Set 1 Result A Strong Indicator
Creighton is 354-33 (.915) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 65-148 (.305) 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 126-4 in its last 130 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 and on Sept. 3, 2022 to No. 16 Kentucky.
   Creighton has gone 86-3 in its last 89 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to an 8-14 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
   Creighton has gone 127-2 in its last 129 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.

2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 349-11 (.969) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 292-5 mark (.983) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 218-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 111-1 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 15-203 (.069) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 13-104 (.111) under Booth. 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

Eleventh Heaven
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her team to 11 NCAA Tournaments.
   That puts her in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history, as she's tied former men's soccer coach Bob Warming atop that list.
Name   Sport   NCAA's @CU
Bob Warming   Men's Soccer   11
Kirsten Bernthal Booth   Volleyball   11
Dana Altman   Men's Basketball   7
Greg McDermott   Men's Basketball   7
Brent Vigness   Softball   7
Elmar Bolowich   Men's Soccer   6

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Last season Creighton played four matches against 2020 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, going 3-1 against such teams.
   This year's team owns eight matches (Iowa State, Kentucky, Nebraska, Florida State, Kansas State, Rice and Marquette) scheduled against teams that made the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and CU is 1-2 against those foes to date.
   After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 90-103 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
2022   1-2 so far
TOTAL   93-138
TOTAL Under Booth   90-103

Marian Pipeline
This is the 20th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as senior Emily Bressman keeps the streak alive.
   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.
2022: Emily Bressman
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

8 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
With its 2021 title, Creighton became the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win eight straight regular-season titles.       The previous record had been seven by Notre Dame from 1999-2005.
   The Bluejay volleyball team is also the first Creighton program in any sport to win eight or more straight league titles, surpassing the five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96).

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 419 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport   Victories (thru 9/8)
Brent Vigness, Softball   819
Ed Servais, Baseball   618*
Mary Higgins, Softball   564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis   498*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball   419*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball   387*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis   347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball   327
*still active coaching at Creighton

Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a .500 record or better against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
   The Bluejays own 152 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 27 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
   CU still has not lost to four league foes (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence, Xavier) since joining the BIG EAST, and Seton Hall (3), Marquette (4), Villanova (3) and St. John's (3) are the only BIG EAST programs to top the Bluejays multiple times since 2013.
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   17-1   -   17-1
Connecticut   0-1   1-0   1-1
DePaul   18-0   1-0   19-0
Georgetown   16-0   -   16-0
Marquette   15-3   5-1   20-4
Providence   13-0   -   13-0
Seton Hall   13-3   2-0   15-3
St. John's   14-2   0-1   14-3
Villanova   13-3   3-0   16-3
Xavier   18-0   3-0   21-0
Total   137-13   15-2   152-15

Last Season Summary
Creighton went 31-4 last season, won an eighth straight BIG EAST regular-season title and reached the Second Round while playing in its 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament.
   Norah Sis was named a Third Team All-American by the AVCA and the National Freshman of the Year by VolleyballMag.com. Also named Honorable Mention All-American were Jaela Zimmerman and Kendra Wait.
   CU's 31 victories were a school-record and included five tournament titles.

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Players Mentioned

Ellie Bolton

Abby Bottomley

Emily Bressman

Bethany Clapp

Morgan Colangelo

Keeley Davis

Naomi Hickman

Eve Magill

Ava Martin

Sky McCune

Kiara Reinhardt

Ann Marie Remmes

Jazz Schmidt

Kiana Schmitt

Norah Sis

Megan Skovsende

Ally Van Eekeren

Kendra Wait

Annika Welty

Allison Whitten

Jaela Zimmerman