2023 Creighton Volleyball Recap
12/31/2023 1:42:00 PM | Volleyball
2023 Creighton Volleyball Recap (PDF)
On paper it looks just like so many other recent Creighton Volleyball seasons. More than 20 wins. A BIG EAST regular-season title. A BIG EAST Tournament title. A return to the NCAA Tournament.
In reality, it was anything but normal. Creighton was picked second in the BIG EAST preseason poll, overcame injuries to six different players and exorcised some NCAA demons at home en route to a 29-5 season that included five tournament titles, a 10th consecutive BIG EAST regular-season crown and the program's first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2016. Throw in Creighton's first undefeated home season and it's easy to see why the 2023 campaign will long be remembered as one of the program's best.
The Bluejays started the season ranked 18th in the preseason AVCA poll as it headed into a non-conference scheduled with a gauntlet of teams that appeared in the 2022 postseason. CU took down defending Atlantic-10 champion Loyola (Chicago) before handing No. 16 Purdue its first 3-0 non-conference home loss since 2007. Despite a 3-2 loss to Duke on Aug. 27, the first two wins were enough to earn Creighton the Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier title.
CU continued its winning ways the following weekend, defeating Ball State (3-2), LSU (3-0) and Northern Iowa (3-1) to earn the Bluejay Invitational title for the fourth time in the past seven seasons. Incredibly, Creighton would not drop another set at home the rest of the season.
Creighton's first tasted adversity on Sept. 5th as reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis was injured in practice the day before CU's match at No. 4 Nebraska, which eventually caused her to miss a dozen matches. The Huskers, who hadn't lost a set while cruising to a 6-0 record to start the season, saw their unblemished set record snapped when Creighton won the third game.
The Bluejays then defeated a pair of eventual NCAA Tournament teams, Omaha and Iowa State, to win the MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge at Baxter Arena.
Non-conference play wrapped up the following weekend when CU swept High Point before defeating No. 9 Minnesota for the first time in program history to clinch the Diet Coke Classic title.
The 9-2 start catapulted the Bluejays to a season-best No. 11 ranking in the AVCA poll, but that would be short-lived as a short-handed CU squad suffered its first loss in 24 meetings against Xavier on Sept. 23rd. CU responded with 3-0 home wins vs. St. John's and Seton Hall, only to drop to 3-2 in league play with a 3-0 loss at Marquette.
Falling two games out of first place, Creighton plowed ahead with a program 10 straight sweeps, including a win over No. 25 Marquette that moved CU back into a tie for first place after the Golden Eagles had stumbled against St. John's three weeks earlier. The wins came despite injuries/illnesses to key contributors such as Ellie Bolton, Ann Marie Remmes, Sydney Breissinger, Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Emma Ziegler.
After a 3-1 win at St. John's that snapped the set streak, the Bluejays avenged the loss to Xavier with a 3-0 victory on Nov. 17th before clinching a share of its unprecedented 10th straight BIG EAST regular-season title with a sweep over Butler to end the regular-season.
CU was the top seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and swept DePaul in the semifinals before posting another 3-0 win over St. John's to lock up a fourth straight BIG EAST Tournament title.
The hot stretch was enough to earn Creighton a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament and the chance to host the opening weekend for the third straight campaign.
But unlike the previous four times it had hosted (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022), this year's squad fed off the crowd and would advance to the Regional Semifinals thanks to 3-0 sweeps of both Colgate and Minnesota. Both wins came in front of sold out crowds at D.J. Sokol Arena, where Creighton finished undefeated (13-0) for the first time.
The Jays would pack their bags for Pittsburgh days later, only to fall in five sets on ESPN2 to No. 7 Louisville to end the season with a 29-5 record.
Junior setter Kendra Wait was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, BIG EAST Setter of the Year, AVCA All-American and College Sports Communicators First Team Academic All-American thanks to another standout season.
Senior middle blocker Kiana Schmitt won BIG EAST Tournament MVP accolades and picked up Third Team Academic All-America plaudits.
Also gaining postseason acclaim were Ava Martin (First Team All-BIG EAST; AVCA Honorable Mention All-American), Norah Sis (First Team All-BIG EAST; Volleyball Magazine Second Team All-American) and Destiny Ndam-Simpson (BIG EAST All-Freshman Team).
Leading the Bluejays was Kirsten Bernthal Booth, who was named AVCA East Region Coach of the Year for the fourth time and shared BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Creighton would finish the season ranked No. 15 in the year-end AVCA poll.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton was coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 470-189 record after 21 seasons with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to 10 straight BIG EAST regular-season titles (2014-23), and 11 league crowns in the last 12 years. Booth led the Bluejays to their first three Sweet 16's (2015, 2016, 2023) 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 fourth time in 2023.
The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only 13 NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last 12 seasons (including 2023), 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 was assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Brian Rosen and Adam Kessenich.
Creighton's NCAA Tournament History
Creighton made its 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the past 14 years after earning a 12th straight bid to the Big Dance. The Bluejays made their NCAA debut in 2010 and have been in every tournament since then with the exception of 2011.
The Bluejays are 14-13 in those 13 appearances, and have knocked off the likes of Iowa State (2010 and 2019), Marquette (2012), Arkansas (2013), Coastal Carolina (2015 and 2017), No. 23 North Carolina (2015), Northern Iowa (2016), No. 4 Kansas (2016), No. 17 Michigan (2016), South Dakota (2018), Ole Miss (2021), Colgate (2023) and Minnesota (2023).
Creighton is 10-3 in First Round play, 3-7 in the Second Round, 1-2 in the Regional Semifinals and 0-1 in the Regional Finals. The Bluejays are 5-4 at home, 7-4 in neutral-site matches and 2-5 in true road matches.
Creighton made its third trip to the Sweet 16, reaching the Regional Semifinal in San Diego, Calif., in 2015 before advancing to the Regional Final in 2016 in Austin, Texas.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 14-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and is the only Bluejay head coach to lead the program into the postseason. Booth's 13th appearances in the NCAA Tournament as Creighton's coach are more than any other coach in any other Bluejay sport ever.
NCAA Tourney Streak
The inclusion of Creighton Volleyball into the 2023 NCAA Tournament extended an impressive streak for Bluejay athletics.
This year marked the 37th straight academic calendar year that Creighton has had at least one NCAA Tournament team.
12 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 12 seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men's soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.
Creighton is one of seven teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments (2012-23). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.
There are also 13 schools that have appeared in 13 of the last 14 NCAA Tournaments, a group that includes Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Minnesota, Purdue, San Diego, Stanford and Washington. Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, and Texas have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since at least 2010.
Against NCAA Tournament Teams
Creighton went 9-3 this fall against teams in the field of 64, including two wins over Minnesota and one victory each against Colgate, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, High Point, Marquette, Purdue and Omaha.
In 12 matches this fall against NCAA Tournament teams, Norah Sis averaged 4.33 kills and 2.81 digs per set, Ava Martin averaged 3.77 kills per set, Kiana Schmitt hit .310 and averaged 2.56 kills per set, Kendra Wait averaged 10.49 assists and 3.81 digs per set and Ellie Bolton averaged 4.47 digs per set. The Jays hit .243 and averaged 14.42 kills, 1.16 aces, 16.35 digs and 2.17 blocks per set.
vs. NCAA Tournament Teams
Opponent CU Score
Purdue W 3-0
Northern Iowa W 3-1
Nebraska L 1-3
Omaha W 3-0
Iowa State W 3-1
High Point W 3-0
Minnesota W 3-2
Marquette L 0-3
Marquette W 3-0
Colgate W 3-0
Minnesota W 3-0
Louisville L 2-3
Seed Value
Creighton was a top 16 national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in the past nine seasons. Only 11 schools in the country can say that, as seen below:
Rk. School Top 16 Seeds Since 2015
1. Nebraska 9
Texas 9
3. BYU 8
Florida 8
Minnesota 8
Wisconsin 8
7. Kentucky 7
Penn State 7
Stanford 7
.10. Creighton 6
Washington 6
Saving The Best For Last
Creighton clinched its third Sweet 16 appearance in dramatic fashion, saving three set points in the third set against a Minnesota team that was desperate to extend its season.
It was the fourth time this season that Creighton has won a set after surviving a set point.
On the other hand, Creighton was 94-4 when owning a set point itself, including 79 straight victories to close the season.
How Sweet It Is
While it's been a couple years since the Creighton Volleyball team had played in the Sweet 16, it's nothing new for the Creighton Athletic Department.
The Creighton women's basketball team played in the Elite Eight in 2022, the Bluejay men's soccer team appeared in the College Cup in 2022 and the men's basketball team reached the Elite Eight in 2023.
Besides Creighton, the only other school nationally to reach the Sweet 16 in those four sports since the start of the 2021-22 academic year is UCLA.
Awards Season
Creighton enjoyed quite the awards haul after another strong season.
Kendra Wait was Creighton's most decorated athlete during the season. She named AVCA All-East Region for the third time, as well as being named an AVCA Third Team All-American and Volleyball Magazine Third Team All-American. Wait was Creighton's lone honoree on the Pittsburgh Regional All-Tournament Team, and also voted by College Sports Communicators as an Academic All-District selection in addition to being a prestigious First Team Academic All-American.
Norah Sis didn't play enough matches to qualify for AVCA or College Sports Communicators awards, but she was recognized as a Second team All-American by Volleyball Magazine.
Ava Martin was named AVCA All-East Region as well as being selected an Honorable Mention All-American by both the AVCA as well as Volleyball Magazine.
Kiana Schmitt also garnered All-East Region accolades. College Sports Communicators also named Schmitt an Academic All-District choice, in addition to being a Third Team Academic All-American.
A pair of Bluejay coaches were also given their credit. Kirsten Bernthal Booth was named AVCA East Region Coach of the Year for the fourth occasion, while Volleyball Magazine named assistant coach Brian Rosen as one of their "College Coaching Hotshots".
Bright Lights
Creighton made nine appearances this season on television, going 7-2.
All-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Creighton is 36-24 when playing on television.
Though the Bluejays have appeared on FS1 and ESPNU a few times, the Sweet 16 match vs. Louisville marked CU's debut on ESPN2.
Put It In Neutral
Creighton went 5-2 on neutral floors this season, continuing a trend of playing well at neutral sites.
The Bluejays are 17-2 the past three years on neutral floors, including a 7-0 mark in 2021 and a 4-0 record last season.
Included in that stretch are neutral-site wins over USC (2021), Northern Iowa (2021), Iowa State (2022 & 2023), Florida State (2022), Kansas State (2022), Loyola Chicago (2023), High Point (2023) and St. John's (2023).
Against Ranked Foes
After a total of three top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton has earned at least one top-25 win each of the last nine seasons (2015-23). That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories in 2019.
Creighton is 26-86 all-time against ranked teams and 14 of those top 25 wins all-time have come against either Marquette (9) 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.
This year is the seventh season that CU owns multiple Top-25 victories. The Jays beat three Top 25 teams in 2017, 2022 and 2023, and a record four in 2018 and 2019.
Top 25 History
Creighton is 201-45 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 21-25 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, 40 of Creighton's 74 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 288-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 106 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 150 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 21-25)
Home: 9-9 Away: 7-9 Neutral: 5-7
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
10/14/22 #21 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-2
11/19/22 #16 Marquette #11 Creighton 0-3
11/26/22 #15 Creighton #14 Marquette 3-2
08/26/23 #18 Creighton #16 Purdue 3-0
09/06/23 #4 Nebraska #16 Creighton 1-3
09/16/23 #14 Creighton #9 Minnesota 3-2
11/05/23 #17 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-0
12/07/23 #7 Louisville #17 Creighton 2-3
Going Streaking
Creighton has won 13 consecutive home matches, the nation's eighth-longest active streak.
That's one of many active streaks for the Bluejays right now. Here's a look at a bunch of them:
Nation's Longest Active Home Win Streaks
Rk. Streak Team
1. 28 Stephen F. Austin
2. 24 Yale
3. 23 Nebraska*
4. 17 Western Michigan
17 Wisconsin*
6. 16 High Point
16 Pittsburgh*
8. 13 Creighton
9. 12 Dayton
12 Western Kentucky
12 FGCU
12 Lipscomb
12 UC Santa Barbara
12 James Madison
* NCAA Tournament Regional host
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
15 Sept. 7 - Nov. 30, 2018 #22 Washington, 3-0
13 Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013 California, 3-0
13 Sept. 9, 2016-Sept. 1, 2017 #18 USC, 3-0
13 Sept. 1, 2023 - Present ? ? ?
12 Sept. 20-Nov. 28, 2015 #4 Kansas, 3-2
12 Sept. 19, 2019 - Jan. 29, 2021 South Dakota, 3-2
12 Sept. 10-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas, 3-1
12 Sept. 23-Nov. 26, 2022 Auburn, 3-2
10 Sept. 2-Dec. 1, 2017 #12 Michigan State, 3-1
Creighton's Most Consecutive Wins
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
17 Sept. 23-Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0
17 Oct. 7 - Dec. 2, 2023 vs. #7 Louisville, 3-2
14 Sept. 19-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0
14 Oct. 17-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas, 3-1
CU's Most Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins
Wins Dates Snapped By League
31 Nov. 18, 2017 - Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0 BIG EAST
28 Oct. 31, 2015 - Sept. 30, 2017 at Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
28 Oct. 17, 2021- Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
14 Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012 Never (left MVC) MVC
13 Oct. 7, 2023 - Present ? ? ? BIG EAST
12 Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015 at Villanova, 3-2 BIG EAST
11 Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014 Seton Hall, 3-0 BIG EAST
11 Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017 at Villanova, 3-0 BIG EAST
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
8 Oct. 2, 2021 - Sept. 10, 2022 at Rice, 3-2
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. 7-Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0
7 Oct. 7, 2023 - Present ? ? ?
Home Court Advantage
Creighton finished 13-0 at home this season, where it was dominant inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
The Bluejays won their final 32 sets at home, and didn't drop a set there since dropping the second set (36-34) on Sept. 3 vs. Northern Iowa.
Of the 42 sets that CU played at home this season, it scored 25 points or more in 41 of them and actually averaged 25.17 points per set. That figure climbs to 25.41 if you throw out the fifth set vs. Ball State that was played to just 15.
Attendance Update
Creighton finished the season ranked 30th in average fans per home match (2,161) and 32nd nationally in total home attendance (28,089).
Creighton had led the BIG EAST in average home attendance in every non-COVID year since joining the league prior to this year, when Marquette topped it.
Creighton's 28,089 home fans this fall ranked in fifth-most in program history. The 2,161 fans per home match were also its third-most ever.
Most Home Fans, Season
Rk. Fans Dates Year
1. 47,632 17 2018
2. 41,805 17 2022
3. 30,211 14 2021
4. 29,905 18 2015
5. 28,089 13 2023
6. 25,615 13 2019
Highest Home Attendance Average, Season
Average Rk. Fans Dates Year
1. 2,802 47,632 17 2018
2. 2,459 41,805 17 2022
3. 2,161 28,089 13 2023
4. 2,158 30,211 14 2021
5. 1,970 25,615 13 2019
NCAA Crowds
Creighton hosted its third and fourth-largest crowds in D.J. Sokol Arena history during the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, selling out the venue both days.
All told, Creighton attracted 5,131 fans on the opening weekend of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. That figure ranked 11th-best among the 16 host sites nationally.
NCAA Round 1/2 Attendance
Rk. Host Rd. 1 Rd. 2 Total
1) Nebraska 8599 8640 17239
2) Wisconsin 7229 7229 14458
3) Louisville 5035 5529 10564
4) Pitt 4936 4936 9872
5) Texas 4122 3978 8100
6) Arkansas 3847 3557 7404
7) BYU 3504 3427 6931
8) Stanford 2729 2885 5614
9) Washington State 2976 2463 5439
10) Oregon 3022 2342 5364
11) Creighton 2563 2568 5131
12) Purdue 2415 2415 4830
13) Kentucky 2180 2573 4753
14) Tennessee 2304 1958 4262
15) Florida 2102 2104 4206
16) Kansas 1662 n/a 1662*
*Friday's Kansas/Penn State match not known
Packing Them In
Large crowds filled D.J. Sokol Arena during the postseason. While the top seven home crowds in program history have occurred at CHI Health Center Omaha, D.J. Sokol Arena has also attracted nine crowds of 2,500 or more, including a pair in early December..
Largest Home Crowds, Creighton History
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
15,797 #2 Nebraska 09/07/22 L 2-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
14,022 #7 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
11,279 #3 Nebraska f09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
2,653 Auburn 12/02/22 L 2-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,578 #13 Kentucky 09/01/17 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,568 Minnesota 12/02/23 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,563 Colgate 12/01/23 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,552 South Dakota 11/30/18 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,517 Coastal Carolina 12/01/17 W 3-1 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,514 #7 Nebraska 08/31/10 L 0-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,509 #22 Washington 12/01/18 L 0-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,504 #9 Marquette 11/22/19 W 3-1 D.J. Sokol Arena
Milwaukee's Best
Creighton had three players named to the All-Tournament Team at the BIG EAST Championships.
Ava Martin hit .333 and averaged 3.17 kills per set.
Kendra Wait averaged 10.17 kills, 2.33 digs, 1.33 kills and 0.83 blocks per set while hitting .615 and directing a CU attack that hit .344.
Kiana Schmitt hit .452 and averaged 3.00 kills and 1.50 blocks per set while earning MVP honors.
BIG EAST Awards Haul
Kendra Wait was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Setter of the Year, while Creighton shared BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors, it was announced on Nov. 21.
Overall, Creighton had four women earn All-BIG EAST acclaim while a fifth was named to the All-Freshman Team.
Wait was named Player of the Year and Setter of the Year for the first time as the junior picked up All-BIG EAST acclaim for the third time.
Also earning All-BIG EAST recognition for a third time was junior Norah Sis, the 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year.
Additionally, both Kiana Schmitt and Ava Martin brought home All-BIG EAST honors for the second straight season, while Destiny Ndam-Simpson was a member of the All-Freshman Team.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth and her staff shared BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors with St. John's. It's the fourth time that Booth has been recognized by the BIG EAST, having also won the honor in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
This year marks the 11th time in as many years as a member of the BIG EAST that Creighton has had multiple all-conference selections, and ninth straight season with three or more First Team selections.
Seed History
No fewer than 10-of-16 seeds have reached the Sweet 16 in each of the last 23 seasons, including 2023.
On average in that time, 12.91 of the 16 seeds have advanced each year, or roughly 80.7 percent.
The only times that all 16 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16 was in both 2001 and 2003.
Year Seeds to Sweet 16?
2023 13/16
2022 15/16
2021 14/16
2020 14/16
2019 13/16
2018 12/16
2017 11/16
2016 12/16
2015 13/16
2014 13/16
2013 11/16
2012 12/15
2011 11/16
2010 11/16
2009 12/16
2008 13/16
2007 10/16
2006 15/16
2005 13/16
2004 14/16
2003 16/16
2002 13/16
2001 16/16
Booth's Decade of Dominance
Kirsten Bernthal Booth has won nine BIG EAST Tournament titles, tied with former Notre Dame coach Debbie Brown for most in league history.
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton's final campaign in the Missouri Valley Conference, Creighton has won 11 regular-season titles and 10 league tournament crowns.
Tourney Champs!
Creighton has won four straight BIG EAST Tournaments. Nationally, only Creighton (4), UMBC (4), Florida Gulf Coast (3) and Colgate (3) have won three or more straight league tournaments.
With a win on Nov. 25th, Creighton became the fourth different team to win four straight BIG EAST tournament titles, but first program to do it twice.
4 Straight BIG EAST Tourney Titles
1988-94 Pittsburgh
1995-98 Notre Dame
2014-18 Creighton
2020-23 Creighton
BIG EAST Tournament Champions
Creighton Volleyball earned the school's 11th different BIG EAST Tournament title won by the school since joining the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013.
All but two of those titles have been won by the volleyball program.
Creighton's BIG EAST Tournament Titles (11)
Baseball (1): 2019
Men's Soccer (1): 2022
Volleyball (9): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Creigh10 Is Your CHAMP10N!
Regular-season champions from 2014-23, Creighton is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 10 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 10 or more straight league titles, surpassing the five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96).
The only other teams nationally with an active streak of more than four straight regular-season league titles are Texas (Big 12) and Kentucky (SEC), each with seven, Towson (Coastal Athletic), Fairfield (Metro Atlantic Athletic) and WKU (Conference USA) with five each, and High Point (Big South) and Colgate (Patriot) both with four.
Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won 11 conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton's 11 crowns were outright titles, whereas Texas shared one title and WKU shared five.
Creighton has also won 10 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2023
Regular-Season League Tournament
11 (3 shared) Creighton 10 Creighton
11 (1) Texas 9 Dayton
11 (5) Western Kentucky 9 Western Kentucky
10 (1) Fairfield 8 Fairfield
8 (8) Florida A&M 7 LIU
8 (4) Yale
8 (2) BYU
8 (1) Colorado State
BIG EAST'S Best
Since the reconfigufration 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, 2022 and 2023, Creighton and Marquette shared the regular-season title and CU won the tourney title.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings, 2013 - 2023
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (10) 170 16 283 70
Marquette (9) 153 30 259 84
Xavier 108 76 169 152
Butler 98 88 171 153
St. John's (1) 94 92 198 148
Villanova (1) 91 95 171 149
Seton Hall (1) 80 105 155 169
DePaul 55 131 128 187
Georgetown 40 138 100 202
Connecticut# 30 32 53 54
Providence* 29 141 104 188
*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.
Tournament Tested
Creighton has played in 19 tournaments since the start of the 2021 calendar year, and won 14 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), the 2021 NCAA Tournament (won by Wisconsin), the 2022 NCAA Tournament (won by Texas) the 2022 Rice adidas Invitational (won by Rice) and the 2023 NCAA Tournament (won by Texas). Kentucky, Wisconsin and Texas (twice) are the last four 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)
2022 Omaha Invitational 2-0 (1st)
2022 Rice adidas Invitational 1-1 (2nd)
2022 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2022 NCAA Tournament 0-1 (T-33rd)
2023 Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier 2-1 (1st)
2023 Bluejay Invitational 3-0 (1st)
2023 MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge 2-0 (1st)
2023 Diet Coke Challenge 2-0 (1st)
2023 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2023 NCAA Tournament 2-1 (T-9th)
Collecting Hardware
Creighton won each of its first five tournaments of a season for the second time (2021, 2023) in the last three seasons after having never done it from 1994-2020.
Keep in mind that when Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton had been 17-33 in 15 regular-season tournaments all-time, with just one tournament title (the 2000 Iowa State Heritage Classic).
Jays Earn Tourney Titles
Creighton opened the season by winning the Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier at Purdue on Aug. 25-27, followed by the Bluejay Invitational on Sept. 1-3, the MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge on Sept. 8-10 and then the Diet Coke Classic on Sept. 15-16.
It's the 12th straight season that Creighton has won at least one tournament, a streak that started in 2012. During that span, the Bluejays have won 30 tournament titles, not to mention 10 regular-season league crowns.
Creighton's Tournament Titles Since 2012
Year Titles Won Tourney Hosts
2012 3 USF, UNC, MVC
2013 1 BGSU
2014 1 CU, BIG EAST
2015 1 BIG EAST
2016 1 BIG EAST
2017 4 WASH, CU, KU, BIG EAST
2018 3 SMU, CU, BIG EAST
2019 2 UNI, CU
2020 1 BIG EAST
2021 5 MIZZ, UK, CU, WSU, BIG EAST
2022 3 WYO, UNO, BIG EAST
2023 5 Purdue, CU, UNO, MINN, BIG EAST
Volleyball State
It was another impressive year of volleyball in the state of Nebraska.
Creighton won a share of its 10th straight BIG EAST regular-season title, then won its fourth straight BIG EAST Tournament title, and advanced to the Sweet 16.
Omaha owned a share of the Summit League regular-season title, then won its first Summit League Tournament title, to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level.
An hour down the road, top-ranked Nebraska has clinched its first Big Ten title since 2017 and is the top overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament. The Cornhuskers reached the NCAA title match, where it was swept by Texas.
Home Sweet Home
Creighton is in its 11th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
Since then, the Bluejays are 100-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (91-3 in the regular-season, 9-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since November of 2014, Creighton is 84-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 76-1 league mark and a 8-0 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 Kiana Schmitt went 43-1 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (with 34 straight wins), and 129-22 in sets.
Creighton has won 34 straight regular-season sets against BIG EAST opponents inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
Putting The 0 In October And November
Creighton is 73-6 in the 10th month of the year since Oct. 1, 2016.
Creighton's been awfully good in the month of November too. Since Nov. 1, 2014, CU is 59-4 in the 11th month of the year.
Creighton has won 40 straight October home matches (since 10/15/11) and 37 consecutive home matches in November (since 11/23/14). Incredibly, Creighton is 111-10 in sets in those home November contests.
Didn't Have To Wait Long
Creighton junior Kendra Wait owns 1,158 assists this season, reached her 1,000th helper on Nov. 19 vs. Butler.
Wait joined Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer Korie Lebeda (2005-08) as the second player in program history to reach 1,000 assists as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Kailey Reyes (1998-2001) reached 1,000 assists each of her final three campaigns, while Megan Bober (2009-12) did it as a freshman, sophomore and senior.
Single-Season Matches to 1,000 Assists
Name MP Opponent Year
Korie Lebeda 21 at Drake 2006
Brittany Coleman 22 at Southern Illinois 2004
Korie Lebeda 23 Missouri State 2005
Brittany Coleman 23 Northern Iowa 2003
Kailey Reyes 23 at Southern Illinois 1999
Melissa Weisensee 23 at Evansville 1996
Kailey Reyes 24 at Wichita State 2000
Melissa Weisensee 24 at Evansville 1997
Kendra Wait 24 Providence 2022
Kailey Reyes 25 Wichita State 2001
Korie Lebeda 25 Southern Illinois 2007
Korie Lebeda 26 Bradley 2008
Lydia Dimke 26 Xavier 2016
Madelyn Cole 26 at Seton Hall 2018
Megan Bober 27 Evansville 2010
Lydia Dimke 27 Georgetown 2017
Madelyn Cole 27 #9 Marquette 2019
Megan Bober 28 at Northern Iowa 2009
Megan Bober 28 at Wichita State 2012
Michelle Sicner 28 Xavier 2013
Kendra Wait 29 at Villanova 2021
Kendra Wait 29 Butler 2023
Maggie Baumert 32 vs. Seton Hall 2014
Decade of Dominance
Eleven years in the BIG EAST gives Creighton a pretty good set of data to compare its yearly performance in league matches.
Here's how the 2023 campaign compared to previous seasons:
Creighton's Year-By-Year BIG EAST Stats
Year W-L KPS HIT% SAPS DPS BPS
2013 12-4 13.75 .213 1.00 16.20 3.13
2014# 16-2 14.89 .242 1.30 17.09 2.86
2015# 17-1 15.02 .271 1.33 16.97 2.47
2016# 18-0 15.37 .317 1.69 16.08 2.41
2017# 16-2 14.81 .302 1.31 16.62 2.05
2018# 18-0 14.45 .294 2.13 15.67 2.38
2019# 17-1 14.61 .269 2.07 15.80 2.25
2020# 7-1 12.93 .249 1.30 14.17 2.75
2021# 16-2 13.95 .242 1.82 18.02 2.86
2022# 17-1 14.80 .299 1.85 16.10 2.33
2023# 16-2 14.40 .313 1.89 15.91 2.30
#won league's regular-season title
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton's 29 victories were tied for sixth-most in the nation and its .853 win percentage was tied for ninth-best.
Creighton also ranked tied for first nationally in fewest sets lost (22). Here's that list:
Fewest Sets Lost
Rk. Sets Lost Team
1. 22 Creighton
22 Nebraska
22 Dayton
4. 23 Wisconsin
23 Tennessee
23 Western Michigan
That's Why She's The MVP
Junior Norah Sis is a two-time BIG EAST Tournament MVP as well as the 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year, so it should come as little surprise that Creighton was a better team when she was on the floor in 2023.
The numbers show that to be true, as well. Compared to the national leaders this year, Creighton's .913 winning percentage with Sis would rank third, its 15.31 kills per set with Sis would rank first and its .313 hitting percentage with Sis would rank second.
Category With Sis Without Sis
Team Match Record 21-2 8-3
Team Set Record 67-10 27-12
Team Record vs Top 25 2-1 1-1
Team Set Record vs Top 25 8-3 4-5
Team's Set 1 Record 21-2 9-2
Percent of Points Won 57.0% 53.1%
Kills Per Set 15.31 13.00
Hitting Percentage .313 .224
Aces Per Set 1.73 1.15
Digs Per Set 16.14 16.10
Blocks Per Set 2.36 2.05
Opponents Blocks Per Set 1.27 1.88
Martin Kills Per Set 3.60 3.59
Martin Hitting Percentage .325 .210
Reinhardt Kills Per Set 1.47 1.10
Reinhardt Hitting Percentage .398 .220
Hall Mark
Including its 3-0 victory on Nov. 10th, Creighton has swept Seton Hall each of the last 16 meetings, and won each of the last 50 sets against the Pirates.
The 50 straight set victories over the Pirates is easily the longest in program history over one opponent.
Most Consecutive Set Wins Over One Team
Wins Opponent Dates
50 Seton Hall 2015-Present
29 Providence 2017-Present
25 Indiana State 2005-09
24 Xavier 2015-18
23 Indiana State 2009-Present
22 Georgetown 2019-Present
19 Providence 2014-17
19 Butler 2018-21
It's Awfully Clean Around Here
Creighton's record streak of 30 straight sets won came to an end on Nov. 11th when St. John's took the first set over the Bluejays. That streak broke the previous mark of 29 straight sets won, accomplished last year.
Creighton entered the Sweet 16 having won 21 straight sets, which was the sixth-longest streak in history.
Creighton's Most Consecutive Sets Won
Set Wins Dates Snapped By
30 Oct.7 - Nov. 10, 2023 at St. John's
29 Oct. 16-Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette
25 Oct. 22-Nov. 20, 2016 Villanova
25 Oct. 26-Nov. 23, 2018 #16 Marquette
22 Nov. 7-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas
21 Nov. 11 - Dec. 2, 2023 vs. #7 Louisville
19 Oct. 12-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova
They Say Defense Wins Championships
Creighton held opponents to .144 hitting, a figure that ranked as the nation's third-best mark.
In league play, CU foes hit an even smaller .115, the best mark since the BIG EAST's reconfiguration in 2013.
Including 2023, Creighton has finished first or second in the BIG EAST in opponent's hitting percentage each of the last eight seasons.
All but one of Creighton's matches this year were won by the team with the better hitting percentage. In Kirsten Bernthal Booth's 21 years on the Bluejay sideline, Creighton is 454-18 (.962) when it owns a better hitting percentage, compared to a 16-171 mark (.086) when it doesn't.
A Shot In The Arm
Ellie Bichelmeyer's role changed throughout the season. She started 19 times, but also had four matches where she never saw the floor, but the fifth-year senior stayed the course and it paid off.
After receiving a cortisone injection prior to CU's Oct. 13 match vs. Georgetown, she's literally given the Bluejay offense a shot in the arm.
During that stretch she averaged 2.24 kills and 0.64 blocks per set while hitting .350, a huge uptick compared to her 1.19 kills and 0.31 blocks per set on .138 hitting prior to that point.
Wait Wait, There's More
Junior Kendra Wait owns 53 double-doubles in 100 matches as a Bluejay. That ranks seventh-most in program history.
Wait joins Kailey Reyes (4) and Melissa Weisensee (3) as one of three Bluejays with three different seasons of 15 or more double-dips.
Matches With a Double-Double, Career
D-D Name Years
65 Melissa Weisensee 1994-97
64 Kailey Reyes 1998-01
60 Melissa Walsh 1998-01
58 Jaali Winters 2015-18
57 Megan Bober 2009-12
56 Korie Lebeda 2005-08
53 Kendra Wait 2021-Present
Matches With a Double-Double, Season
D-D Name Year
24 Megan Bober 2012
21 Korie Lebeda 2006
20 Melissa Weisensee 1997
19 Melissa Walsh 1998
19 Megan Bober 2011
18 Melissa Walsh 1999
18 Korie Lebeda 2008
18 Kendra Wait 2022
18 Kendra Wait 2023
17 Melissa Weisensee 1995
17 Kailey Reyes 1999
17 Melissa Weisensee 1996
17 Kailey Reyes 2001
17 Michelle Sicner 2013
17 Lydia Dimke 2016
17 Kendra Wait 2021
Good Start = Better Finish
Creighton has won the first point of a set 58.6 percent of the time (68/116), and when that occurs, good things happen.
Creighton was 60-8 (.882) in sets this season when winning the opening point of a set, including 40 victories in a row at one point.
On the other hand Creighton was still a pretty healthy 34-14 (.708) when the opponent took a 1-0 lead in a set.
Sponsored By The Number 20
Finishing the fall 29-5, here's a few facts about Creighton Volleyball and the 20-win milestone it reached on Nov. 3rd:
• Since restarting its program in 1994 Creighton has reached 20 or more wins 14 times, all of which have happened in the 21 seasons under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
• The only time in the last 12 seasons (including 2023) that Creighton didn't win 20 matches was the COVID-affected 2020 season (played in the Spring of 2021), when it finished 12-4.
• The quickest that Creighton has reached 20 victories is 23 matches, done in 2012, 2021 and 2022. This year's team did it in 24 matches.
• Including 2023, the only teams to win 20 or more matches each of the last 12 seasons (2012-2023) have been Kentucky, Texas and Western Kentucky. The only teams to do it 11 times in that span have been BYU, Creighton, Florida, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State and Washington.
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a record better than .750 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 189 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 30 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
CU still has not lost to three league foes (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence) since joining the BIG EAST, and Marquette (6), Villanova (3), Seton Hall (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 20-1 - 20-1
Connecticut 3-1 1-0 4-1
DePaul 22-0 2-0 24-0
Georgetown 20-0 - 20-0
Marquette 17-5 6-1 23-6
Providence 16-0 - 16-0
Seton Hall 17-3 2-0 19-3
St. John's 18-2 1-1 19-3
Villanova 17-3 3-0 20-3
Xavier 20-1 4-0 24-1
Total 170-16 19-2 189-18
No Losers Here
Creighton has been as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.
Creighton, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Texas, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin are the nation's only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
If you go back two years more, the nation's only teams to lose six times or less in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons are Creighton, Pittsburgh and Texas.
Creighton is one of just two schools nationally who have won 25 matches or more in every season between 2014-23 (not counting the 2020 COVID-19 year). That group consists of BYU and Creighton.
What's A Poll Really Mean?
This year marked the third time in the last 11 years that Creighton was picked second in the BIG EAST behind Marquette.
In 2018 Creighton went 20-0 against BIG EAST teams, including a 3-0 mark over Marquette.
In 2019 Creighton went 17-2 against BIG EAST teams, including a 2-0 record vs. Marquette.
This year Creighton has gone 16-2 when playing BIG EAST teams, including a 1-1 mark vs. Marquette.
Creighton won the regular-season BIG EAST title in 2018, 2019 and 2023, and won the tournament in both 2018 and 2023.
Wait Reaches 1,000 Digs
Kendra Wait became the fifth player in program history to reach 3,000 career assists on Sept. 29th vs. St. John's. On Oct. 28 at Georgetown, she became the 16th player to reach 1,000 career digs. It came in her 89th career contest.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 53 11/08/08 Illinois State
Julianne Mandolfo 56 10/22/11 Evansville
Kate Elman 59 11/16/13 at Seton Hall
Nayka Benitez 60 11/27/10 at Northern Iowa
Brittany Witt 68 12/01/17 Coastal Carolina
Kailey Reyes 77 09/01/01 vs. Texas-San Antonio
Janeen Piller 80 09/25/04 at Missouri State
Melissa Walsh 85 09/08/01 at #24 Santa Clara
Kendra Wait 89 10/28/23 at Georgetown
Allie Oelke 95 09/04/10 vs. Iowa
Melissa Weisensee 97 10/04/97 at Missouri State
Sarah Schulze 101 11/13/09 Southern Illinois
Jaali Winters 103 11/25/17 at Marquette
Melanie Jereb 105 09/12/15 CSU Bakersfield
Korie Lebeda 108 10/17/08 Evansville
Megan Bober 118 10/27/12 Southern Illinois
Digs
Name Sets No. Years
1. Brittany Witt 471 2,079 2016-19
2. Kate Elman 464 2,054 2012-15
3. Janeen Piller 336 1,392 2001-04
4. Jaali Winters 494 1,386 2015-18
5. Allie Oelke 445 1,382 2007-10
6. Kailey Reyes 368 1,258 1998-01
7. Melissa Walsh 394 1,240 1998-01
8. Julianne Mandolfo 241 1,224 2010-11
9. Melissa Weisensee 411 1,223 1994-97
10. Melanie Jereb 471 1,218 2012-15
11. Korie Lebeda 428 1,130 2005-08
12. Kendra Wait 341 1,125 2021-23
13. Megan Bober 480 1,123 2009-12
Libero Roles Change
Creighton used three different liberos during the last two months of the season, but lost just four sets during that time.
Ellie Bolton served as CU's libero the first 19 matches of the season before suffering an injury.
She was replaced by sophomore Sky McCune, who handled the role on Oct. 20-21.
Sydney Breissinger returned to the floor after missing six matches due to injury and donned the alternate jersey the final six weekends. Breissinger became CU's first freshman to wear the libero jersey since Bolton did in the 2020 (Spring 2021) campaign.
This year marked the first time that the Bluejays have utilized three different women as a libero in the same season since the 2020 (Spring 2021) season, when Bolton (14 matches), Grace Nelson (3 matches) and Jaela Zimmerman (1 match) all did so.
This was just the third time since the libero was introduced to the college game in 2002 that Creighton has played three ore more women at libero in the same season, having done so in 2020 (see the above paragraph) as well as 2005, when five different women (Mallory Lahm, Brittany Coleman, Emily Greisch, Katie Mehal and Molly Lahr) all shared the role.
Sis Plays All Six
Junior Norah Sis made her long-awaited return to the front row on Oct. 20th, playing all six rotations for the first time in seven weeks (Sept. 1-3).
In the 15 matches she played after that, she led all players in kills 11 times and also hit .400 or better four times.
After returning to the front row, Sis ranked second in the BIG EAST in kills per set (4.31) and second in points per set (4.86).
Since Sis returned overall (she played back row her first two matches after returning), Creighton was 50-4 in those sets. Creighton led all BIG EAST teams in hitting percentage (.336), opponent hitting percentage (.138), kills per set (15.17) and assists per set (14.04) in that time.
That's every team category except aces per set (2nd; 1.83), blocks per set (2nd; 2.40) and digs per set (4th; 15.00),
Offensive Parity Works Wonders
Creighton hit .335 over the course of its final 18 matches, winning 53-of-57 sets, and its parity was a big reason why.
In that time seven different women owned 48 kills or more and all of those women also hit .270 or higher in that span.
Last 18 Matches
Name K E TA Pct.
Norah Sis 207 64 529 .270
Ava Martin 183 42 444 .318
Kiana Schmitt 149 33 271 .428
Ellie Bichelmeyer 112 30 234 .350
Kiara Reinhardt 89 15 180 .411
Kendra Wait 68 6 149 .416
Destiny Ndam-Simpson 48 17 107 .290
TEAM 864 213 1945 .335
Offense Settles In
Creighton's offense was on an absolute tear during the final 17 matches.
During that span Creighton hit .300 or better in 36 of the 54 sets and had 11 or more kills in all but one of the 53 sets played to 25 points.
The Bluejays hit an insane .378 in the first set of those matches (271-52-579), surpassing the .600 mark and going without an attack error in three of the contests.
Opponent K E ATK PCT.
Georgetown 45 5 82 .488
Villanova 46 11 103 .340
at UConn 49 9 101 .396
at Providence 45 8 86 .430
at Villanova 41 5 73 .493
at Georgetown 41 13 107 .262
DePaul 46 9 115 .322
#25 Marquette 54 11 111 .387
at Seton Hall 57 10 101 .465
at St. John's 51 17 120 .283
Xavier 46 12 100 .340
Butler 47 8 105 .371
DePaul 45 11 102 .333
St. John's 43 10 93 .355
Colgate 48 10 119 .319
Minnesota 56 20 141 .255
#7 Louisville 60 22 171 .222
Total 820 191 1,830 .344
Setting The Table
Three-time All-BIG EAST selection Kendra Wait has started all 100 matches she's played in during her career, with Creighton going 87-13 in those contests.
Against Loyola (Chicago), Wait became the first Bluejay setter to start three straight season-openers since Megan Bober did so all four years of her career from 2009-12.
Besides Wait and Bober, the only other women to start three or more season-openers at setter have been Korie Lebeda (2005-08), Kailey Reyes (1998-2001) and Melissa Weisensee (1994-97).
Schmitt Joins Century Club
Senior Kiana Schmitt played in 110 victories during her career, becoming the 10th Bluejay to appear in 100 triumphs.
Schmitt's .873 winning percentage (110-16) in matches appeared in was easily the best, far outpacing the .820 win percentage for Taryn Kloth (109-24 from 2015-18).
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
W-L Pct. Name Years
116-26 .817 Naomi Hickman 2017-21
111-28 .799 Jaali Winters 2015-18
110-16 .873 Kiana Schmitt 2019-23
109-24 .820 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
109-25 .813 Brittany Witt 2016-19
107-25 .811 Megan Ballenger 2016-19
106-32 .768 Marysa Wilkinson 2014-17
104-34 .754 Lauren Smith 2013-16
102-31 .767 Melanie Jereb 2012-15
101-31 .765 Ashley Jansen 2012-15
98-16 .860 Jaela Zimmerman 2018-22
Best Sets
Creighton has only had 10 sets in program history in which it has hit .654 or better, but two of those came in the final 17 matches of the fall.
Creighton hit .667 in the first set vs. Georgetown on Oct. 13 and .737 at Providence on Oct. 21st, also in the first set.
Best Team Hitting Percentage in a Set
% K-E-TA Opponent (Set #) Date
.818 18-0-22 at DePaul (1) 10/6/17
.737 14-0-19 at Providence (1) 10/21/23
.722 13-0-18 at Georgetown (5) 11/20/15
.714 10-0-14 vs. Northern Iowa (5) 9/5/14
.714 15-0-21 at DePaul (3) 10/11/19
.684 13-0-19 Eastern Illinois (2) 10/15/00
.682 15-0-22 Tulsa (3) 10/27/95
.667 18-2-24 Xavier (1) 9/28/22
.667 14-0-21 Georgetown (1) 10/13/23
.654 18-1-26 Bradley (3) 9/25/10
The Streak
Creighton has not lost three conference matches in the same season since 2013, when it finished 12-4 in its inaugural BIG EAST campaign.
The Bluejays have suffered one league loss or fewer in the second half of conference play during each of the last 10 seasons.
League Record by Year
Year 1st Half 2nd Half Place
1994 2-8 1-9 T-9th MVC
1995 3-7 3-7 T-7th MVC
1996 2-7 3-6 T-6th MVC
1997 6-3 4-5 T-3rd MVC
1998 2-7 3-6 8th MVC
1999 5-4 4-5 5th MVC
2000 5-4 5-4 T-4th MVC
2001 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2002 1-8 1-8 T-9th MVC
2003 5-4 4-5 T-5th MVC
2004 5-4 5-4 5th MVC
2005 4-5 6-3 5th MVC
2006 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2007 7-2 7-2 T-2nd MVC
2008 7-2 8-1 2nd MVC
2009 4-5 6-3 T-4th MVC
2010 7-2 6-3 3rd MVC
2011 6-3 6-3 4th MVC
2012 8-1 9-0 1st MVC
2013 6-2 6-2 T-2nd BIG EAST
2014 8-1 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2015 9-0 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2016 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2017 8-1 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2018 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2019 9-0 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2020 3-1 4-0 1st BIG EAST (Midwest)
2021 7-2 9-0 T-1st BIG EAST
2022 9-0 8-1 T-1st BIG EAST
2023 7-2 9-0 T-1st BIG EAST
Total 177-89 177-89 --
Better and Better
Kiana Schmitt established herself as one of the best middle blockers in the BIG EAST and beyond.
Schmitt had 10 kills and two blocks her entire freshman year in 2019, only seeing action in 18 sets. Schmitt has upped her numbers all five seasons and finished 2023 posting career-high numbers across the board.
Year STARTS KPS PCT% BPS PPS
2019 0 .56 .409 .11 .61
2020 4 1.46 .299 .60 1.76
2021 19 1.64 .274 .84 2.09
2022 32 2.27 .317 .98 2.78
2023 34 2.65 .379 1.08 3.22
TOTAL 89 2.06 .330 .89 2.53
Sans Sis, Ndam-Simpson & Schmitt Shined
Creighton went 8-3 in the 11 matches without two-time All-American Norah Sis, and the play of Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Kiana Schmitt was a key reason why.
Ndam-Simpson averaged 2.72 kills per set while Schmitt's averaged 2.69 kills per set on .351 hitting without Sis.
Helping to replace Sis' defensive production was setter Kendra Wait, who averaged 3.79 digs per set in that span.
It Doesn't Seem Possible
Creighton went 13-0 at home this season and was the only BIG EAST program that did not lose a home contest in 2023.
Believe it or not, this was the first time that Creighton has ever started 4-0 or better at home.
The previous best? Both the 2001 and 2014 Bluejay teams started 3-0 at home.
This year marked Creighton's first unbeaten home regular-season in program history.
All They Do Is Win
Creighton has ranked as one of the nation's most successful programs since the start of the 2015 season.
Creighton ranks sixth nationally with 235 wins and seventh-best with an .822 win percentage.
Most Wins, Since Start of 2015
Rk. Wins Team
1. 255 Western Kentucky
2. 253 Nebraska
3. 243 Pittsburgh
4. 240 Texas
5. 238 BYU
6. 235 Creighton
7. 233 Wisconsin
8. 226 Stephen F. Austin
9. 222 Florida
10. 221 Stanford
Best Win Pct,. Since Start of 2015
Rk. Pct. Team W-L
1. .892 Texas 240-29
2. .879 Western Kentucky 255-35
3. .869 BYU 238-36
4. .858 Nebraska 253-42
5. .838 Pittsburgh 243-47
6. .829 Wisconsin 233-48
7. .819 Creighton 235-52
9. .813 Stanford 221-51
8. .804 Florida 222-54
10. .797 Towson 208-53
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton owns 87 wins during the last three seasons, fourth-most in the nation in that span and trailing only Louisville (90), Pitt (90) and Wisconsin (89), all of whom reached multiple Final Fours in that span.
The only teams with 27 or more wins each of the last three two campaigns are Creighton, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Texas, UCF, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin.
Here's a list of the teams with the most wins since the start of the Fall 2021 season:
Most Wins Nationally, Since 2021
Wins School
90 Louisville
90 Pittsburgh
89 Wisconsin
87 Creighton
87 Western Kentucky
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
This year's team played 14 matches (Loyola Chicago, Purdue, Ball State, LSU, UNI, Nebraska, Iowa State, High Point, Colgate, Louisville, Minnesota 2x and Marquette 2x) scheduled against teams that made the 2022 NCAA Tournament. CU went 11-3 in those contests.
All three times that Creighton had nine wins against teams coming off NCAA Tourney appearances (2015, 2016, 2023), it reached the Sweet 16 or beyond.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 105-108 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 5-4
2023 11-3
TOTAL 108-143
TOTAL Under Booth 105-108
Avoiding Losing Streaks
One key to Creighton's extended success over the last decade has been its ability to bounce back after a loss.
The Bluejays have won their last 22 contests immediately following a loss and have not dropped consecutive matches since opening the season 0-2 to begin the 2019 campaign with back-to-back losses to No. 2 Nebraska and No. 20 Baylor in Lincoln, Neb.
By comparison, every other team in the BIG EAST has had a multi-match losing streak this season alone.
And if that's not enough, EVERY SINGLE OTHER TEAM in the country (all 343 of them) has had a multi-match losing streak since Creighton's last skid.
Creighton has not lost back-to-back matches against conference teams since a three-match losing streak in November of 2011.
Creighton has also won its last 14 matches after a five-set loss, a streak that dates back to early in the 2016 campaign.
Dishing 3,000
Junior setter Kendra Wait became the fifth player in Bluejay history to reach 3,000 assists in her career when she reached the milestone in the first set vs. St. John's on Sept. 29th.
Wait got there in 80 career matches, the third-fastest Bluejay player to that milestone.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 3,000 Assists (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Korie Lebeda 65 08/28/07 at Iowa State
Kailey Reyes 72 11/17/00 at Wichita State
Kendra Wait 80 09/29/23 St. John's
Melissa Weisensee 88 09/05/97 vs. UTSA
Megan Bober 90 11/04/11 Wichita State
The BIG EAST Beasts
The latest unofficial RPI had the BIG EAST as the nation's sixth-best conference, trailing only the Pac-12, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and ACC.
Hitting Pretty
Creighton owned five 3-0 wins in the final 11 weeks in which it has hit .430 or better, including a .488 mark vs. Georgetown on Oct. 13th and a .493 mark at Villanova on Oct. 27th that both rank top-four in program history.
Best Attack Percentage, Creighton History
.536 vs. Tulsa (41-4-69) (3s) 10-27-95
.495 vs. Liberty (57-8-99) (3s) 9-2-05
.493 at Villanova (41-5-73) (3s) 10-27-23
.488 vs. Georgetown (45-5-82) (3s) 10-13-23
.476 at DePaul (46-6-84) (3s) 10-6-17
.471 vs. Providence (36-4-68) (3s) 10-19-14
.467 vs. Seton Hall (48-5-92) (3s) 11-3-19
.465 at Seton Hall (57-10-101) (3s) 11-10-23
.4463 vs. Georgetown (62-8-121) (4s) 9-22-17
.4459 vs. Belmont (38-5-74) (3s) 9-8-17
.442 vs. High Point (48-10-86) (3s) 9-15-23
What's Your Twenty?
Sophomore Ava Martin had 20 or more kills in four different matches this season, something only five other sophomores in program history have ever done.
Martin's five career efforts of 20 or more kills is tied for eighth-most in program history.
Matches With 20+ Kills, Season
20+K Name Year
11 Leah Ratzlaff, So. 2003
9 Leah Ratzlaff, Jr. 2004
9 Jaali Winters, Fr. 2015
9 Norah Sis, So. 2022
8 Melissa Walsh, Jr. 2000
7 Melissa Walsh, So. 1999
7 Leah Ratzlaff, Sr. 2005
6 Kelly Goc, Jr. 2006
6 Jaali Winters, So. 2016
5 Kelly Goc, Sr. 2007
5 Taryn Kloth, Sr. 2018
4 Melissa Walsh, Fr. 1998
4 Melissa Walsh, Sr. 2001
4 Jessica Houts, So. 2006
4 Norah Sis, Fr. 2021
4 Ava Martin, So. 2023
Matches With 20+ Kills, Career
20+K Name Years
27 Leah Ratzlaff 2002-05
23 Melissa Walsh 1998-01
18 Jaali Winters 2015-18
15 Norah Sis 2021-Present
13 Kelly Goc 2004-07
10 JoDe Cieloha 1994-97
7 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
5 Jessica Houts 2005-09
5 Leah McNary 2011-14
5 Ava Martin 2022-Present
This Is 20/20
Junior Kendra Wait became the first player in Creighton history with three different matches in the same month with at least 20 assists and 20 digs when she did it in September.
Her seven such matches in her career are tied for the most in CU history with Melissa Weisensee and Kailey Reyes.
Most 20 Assist, 20 Dig Matches in a Season
4 Melissa Weisensee 1997
4 Kailey Reyes 2000
3 Kailey Reyes 1999
3 Kendra Wait 2022
3 Kendra Wait 2023
Most 20 Assist, 20 Dig Matches in a Career
7 Melissa Weisensee 1994-97
7 Kailey Reyes 1998-01
7 Kendra Wait 2021-Pres.
2 Brittany Coleman 2003-05
2 Michelle Sicner 2011-14
1 Korie Lebeda 2005-08
1 Lydia Dimke 2016-17
20 Assists, 20 Digs In A Match
A D Name Opp. Date
47 22 Melissa Weisensee Bradley (4s) 9/9/94
51 21 Melissa Weisensee at Wichita State (5s) 9/14/96
53 24 Melissa Weisensee at Indiana State (5s) 10/18/96
40 23 Melissa Weisensee at Drake (5s) 9/13/97
46 38 Melissa Weisensee Evansville (4s) 10/10/97
46 21 Melissa Weisensee Missouri State (4s) 10/31/97
65 22 Melissa Weisensee at Evansville (5s) 11/8/97
55 28 Kailey Reyes Evansville (5s) 9/11/99
65 24 Kailey Reyes Illinois State (4s) 9/24/99
40 21 Kailey Reyes Missouri State (4s) 11/6/99
49 28 Kailey Reyes at Illinois State (4s) 10/13/00
44 23 Kailey Reyes Bradley (4s) 10/28/00
64 23 Kailey Reyes at Evansville (5s) 11/4/00
45 20 Kailey Reyes vs. Evansville (4s) 11/24/00
54 22 Brittany Coleman at Illinois State (4s) 10/18/03
62 21 Brittany Coleman at So. Illinois (4s) 10/29/04
71 20 Korie Lebeda at Evansville (5s) 11/18/06
27 20 Michelle Sicner Illinois State (4s) 9/30/11
44 21 Michelle Sicner Xavier (4s) 11/29/13
41 20 Lydia Dimke vs. Wichita State (5s) 8/27/16
40 21 Kendra Wait at Marquette (4s) 10/29/21
59 36 Kendra Wait vs. Florida State (5s) 9/9/22
56 24 Kendra Wait at Rice (5s) 9/18/22
60 20 Kendra Wait #14 Marquette (5s) 11/26/22
43 22 Kendra Wait Northern Iowa (4s) 9/3/23
42 22 Kendra Wait at #9 Minnesota (5s) 9/16/23
45 26 Kendra Wait at Xavier (5s) 9/23/23
Bolting Down The Defense
After doing it five total times in the first three years of her career, senior Ellie Bolton owned six matches of 20 or more digs this season.
Only six players in program history have more than 11 career matches with 20+ digs.
Matches With 20+ Digs, Career
20+D Name Years
41 Kate Elman 2012-15
32 Julianne Mandolfo 2010-11
27 Bianca Rivera 2007-08
27 Brittany Witt 2016-19
20 Janeen Piller 2001-04
19 Nayka Benitez 2009-10
11 Katie Mehal 2004-07
11 Ellie Bolton 2020-23
9 Kailey Reyes 1998-01
Booth Earns 450th Win at CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth owns a 470-189 record on the Creighton sideline, reaching the 450-win milestone on Sept. 16 with a road win at No. 9 Minnesota. Booth has beaten 98 different schools while at Creighton.
Coaching alongside Booth for each of those wins is assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens, who is also in her 21st season at CU.
Here's a look at Booth's record at the time of some of her milestone victories at Creighton:
W-L Opponent Date 1-1 vs. Auburn (in Ames, Iowa) 08/30/03
50-43 Jacksonville State 09/01/06
100-71 at Drake 10/31/08
150-108 Illinois State 09/30/11
200-123 Xavier 10/18/13
250-144 at Xavier 10/17/15
300-157 Villanova 09/24/17
350-167 Nebraska-Omaha 09/13/19
400-178 Marquette 10/10/21
450-186 at #9 Minnesota 09/16/23
Poll Votes Creighton 15th
Creighton finished 15th in the final TARAFLEX Top 25 poll of the season.
Creighton started the season 18th in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 and reached as high as 11th (Sept. 18th poll) this fall. It had been the highest ranking in the month of September for the program since it was 10th the final three weeks in September of 2018.
Creighton's best ranking ever is No. 7, done on Aug. 28, 2017. CU was last ranked in the top 10 on Nov. 25, 2019 when it was No. 10.
123 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked in the most recent AVCA poll for the 123nd time in program history. That's 38th-most of all programs in NCAA history.
All 123 rankings have occurred since 2012 and under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
The Bluejays are one of 15 schools (along with Baylor, BYU, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 46 polls.
Handful Named To All-Tournament Team
Creighton had five different student-athletes named to the All-Tournament Team at the Diet Coke Classic, which recognized players who were the best at each position.
Outside hitter Ava Martin was named Tournament MVP and joined on the list by middle blockers Ann Marie Remmes and Kiana Schmitt, libero Ellie Bolton and setter Kendra Wait.
En route to winning four preseason tournaments, Creighton's Ellie Bolton (Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier), Norah Sis (Bluejay Invitational) and Ava Martin (Diet Coke Classic) each picked up Tournament MVP accolades. It would have almost certainly been more, but the MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge did not recognize an All-Tournament Team.
Bouncing Back
The Creighton staff is quick to credit athletic performance coach Brad Schmidt for helping the team get stronger during the off-season and maintaining that strength during the season.
Need evidence of that? Since Aug. 25, 2018, Creighton is 20-2 in the match following a five-setter.
Hunting The Top 10
Including its Sept. 16th win at No. 9 Minnesota, Creighton is 9-36 all-time against top-10 teams, including a 9-29 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Eight of the nine victories came away from home, including three sweeps. All four top-five triumphs were also away from home.
The list of top-10 wins is below. Notably, Creighton is also 7-2 in the match after a top-10 victory, falling only after the win at Kansas in 2017 and vs. Kentucky in 2018.
Date Opponent Score
09/05/15 vs. #10 Kentucky (Cedar Falls, Iowa) W 3-0
12/02/16 at #4 Kansas W 3-2
08/26/17 at #3 Washington W 3-1
09/09/17 at #7 Kansas W 3-0
08/24/18 vs. #5 Kentucky (Los Angeles, Calif.) W 3-2
10/12/19 at #10 Marquette W 3-2
11/22/19 #9 Marquette W 3-1
09/04/21 at #3 Kentucky W 3-0
09/16/23 at #9 Minnesota W 3-2
Destined For Greatness?
Destiny Ndam-Simpson led Creighton with 13 kills in her first start on Sept. 6 at No. 4 Nebraska.
It was the most kills by a Bluejay in their first career start since sixth-year senior transfer Jazz Schmidt had 17 vs. Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 28, 2015.
Creighton's last freshman with 13 or more kills in their first career start was the woman that Ndam-Simpson replaced in the starting line-up that day, Norah Sis. Sis had 13 kills vs. Kansas City in her collegiate debut on Aug. 27, 2021.
Ndam-Simpson's 13 kills were the second-most ever against a ranked team by a Bluejay in their first career start, trailing only the 14 by Jess Bird in 2013 against No. 13 BYU.
Most Kills, First Career Start
K Name Opponent Date
17 Jaali Winters vs. Miami (Ohio) 8/28/15
17 Jazz Schmidt at Rice 9/18/22
15 Shannon Scrutton UW-Green Bay 8/31/96
15 Jessica Houts at Colorado 9/9/05
14 Jess Bird vs. #13 BYU 8/30/13
13 JoDe Cieloha vs. Chattanooga 9/2/94
13 Norah Sis vs. UMKC 8/27/21
13 Destiny Ndam-Simpson at #4 Nebraska 9/6/23
Simpson Starts Strong
Destiny Ndam-Simpson had double-figure kills in each of her first four career starts until it was snapped on Sept. 22 at Butler.
She's just the second player in program history with 10 or more kills in each of her first four starts, joining JoDe Cieloha (8 straight in 1994).
Higher & Higher
Creighton had no shortage of pressure-packed situations in 2023, as 24 of its 110 sets were decided by exactly two points (going 17-7). That doesn't include five drama-filled fifth sets (going 2-3).
Creighton was also 10-4 this year in sets that required more than 25 points for a winner to emerge.
On Sept. 3rd vs. Northern Iowa, Creighton played in a 36-34 set that was its second-highest scoring set in program history. The only one with more points was a 38-36 second set win at Butler on Nov. 12, 2017.
The match vs. Northern Iowa featured 44 ties and 20 lead changes. That was the most ties since there were 46 on Oct. 12, 2019 at Marquette and the most lead changes since there were 23 vs. Butler on Nov. 12, 2017.
The Gauntlet Continues
Creighton faced another challenging non-conference schedule this fall.
All told, nine of Creighton's 11 non-conference opponents owned 20 or more wins last season, combining to go 240-112 (.682). Just four of the 11 non-conference matches were at home.
All 11 of the foes owned a top-85 RPI, 10 appeared in the postseason and four won a conference title last season. Creighton went 4-0 against 2022 league champs and 9-1 against the 2022 postseason qualifiers.
Two of the teams that Creighton faced in non-conference play did not lose a league contest this fall (Northern Iowa and High Point).
Sis Ties Record At 1,000 Kill Milestone
Norah Sis became the 16th Bluejay ever to reach the 1,000 kill milestone when she did it on Sept. 2 vs. LSU.
Sis achieved the milestone in her 70th career match, tying Melissa Walsh for reaching 1,000 kills the fastest in program history.
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. Norah Sis 306 1,226 2021-Pr.
10. Marysa Wilkinson 499 1,183 2014-17
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Career Kills
Name MP Date Opponent
Melissa Walsh 70 10/15/00 Eastern Illinois
Norah Sis 70 09/02/23 LSU
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
Jaela Zimmerman 111 11/13/22 Seton Hall
Lauren Smith 119 10/07/16 at Villanova
Marysa Wilkinson 120 09/30/17 at St. John's
My Favorite Martin
Ava Martin started her sophomore season with matches of 14 (Loyola), 15 (Purdue), 20 (Duke), 16 (Ball State), 16 (LSU) and 22 (UNI) kills. Martin also finished her freshman season last fall with matches of 22 (Marquette) and 14 (Auburn) kills.
Both those items put her in select company.
Martin is the first Bluejay ever with four (or more...she ended at six) straight matches of 14 or more kills to start the season.
She's also the first Bluejay with eight straight matches of 14 or more kills in program history.
In those eight matches, Martin averaged 4.21 kills per set while hitting .287. Seven of the eight opponents were in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 18th in the AVCA preseason poll. It's the ninth time in the past 11 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 last 16 seasons, 295-of-400 teams (73.8 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and since 2008 362-of-400 teams (90.5 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament, as all but No. 13 San Diego, No. 14 Ohio State and No. 23 Rice reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
This year marks the 12th 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 27-5 21st
2023 18th 29-5 15th
A Head Start
Creighton got a leg up on the competition thanks to having 10 extra practices in May and a trip to Italy and Slovenia from May 31 - June 11th.
Every member of the current team except Emma Ziegler was on the trip, which also included four matches.
Believe The Hype
Creighton's recruiting class of freshmen Sydney Breissinger, Audrey Clark, Jaya Johnson, Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Ava TeStrake was recognized as the nation's No. 22 class by PrepVolleyball.
Ndam-Simpson was listed as the nation's No. 21 recruit, TeStrake was tabbed 37th-best and Breissinger No. 139. Creighton now owns nine players on its 2023 roster who were Top 150 recruits by PrepVolleyball.
Top-100 PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces
(list started in 2004; expanded to 150 in 2021)
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
41 2022 Ava Martin
55 2022 Sky McCune
21 2023 Destiny Ndam-Simpson
37 2023 Ava TeStrake
139 2023 Sydney Breissinger
* signed with Purdue and later transferred to Creighton
# signed with Cincinnati and later transferred to Creighton
current Bluejays in bold italic
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)
2023 22nd (Breissinger, Clark, Johnson, Ndam-Simpson, TeStrake)
Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-18 letterwinners to the court from last season, including five starters.
From last year's team, only Emily Bressman, Bethany Clapp, Keeley Davis, Jazz Schmidt, Megan Skovsende, Allison Whitten and Jaela Zimmerman are not back.
All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 524.3 of a possible 700% back (74.9 percent).
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 1,384 (86.2%) 221 (13.8%)
Blocks 204 (84.3%) 38 (15.7%)
Matches Started 154 (80.2%) 192 (19.8%)
Kills 1,329 (77.6%) 383 (22.4%)
Points 1648 (76.9%) 494 (23.1%)
Aces 115 (61.2%) 73 (38.8%)
Digs 1142 (57.9%) 830 (42.1%)
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 390-11 (.973) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 333-5 mark (.985) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 256-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 131-1 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 17-206 (.076) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 15-107 (.123) under Booth. Those 17 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
10/07/22 at UConn 25-15, 25-12, 15-13 Booth
10/14/22 #16 Marquette 25-19, 25-16, 15-8 Booth
Set 1 Result A Strong Indicator
Creighton is 400-36 (.917) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 70-153 (.314) 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 149-5 in its last 154 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, on Sept. 3, 2022 to No. 16 Kentucky and on Dec. 2, 2022 to Auburn.
Creighton has gone 132-6 in its last 138 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 13-19 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 171-4 in its last 175 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.
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 470-3 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
A Baker's Dozen, Cousin
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her team to 13 NCAA Tournaments. That's more than any other coach in Creighton history.
Name Sport NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth Volleyball 13
Bob Warming Men's Soccer 11
Greg McDermott Men's Basketball 8
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Elmar Bolowich Men's Soccer 6
Jim Flanery Women'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 470 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport Victories (thru 12/31/23)
Brent Vigness, Softball 819
Ed Servais, Baseball 643*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 528*#
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 470*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 412*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis 347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball 327
*still active coaching at Creighton
#currently just the women's tennis coach
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 70-39 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 19 of its last 27 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, at South Dakota in the 2020 campaign, at Omaha and UConn in 2022 and at No. 9 Minnesota in 2023.
It's also worth noting that Creighton is 19-5 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton's six victories in five-set matches last season broke the program record of five previously done in 2003, 2011 and 2015. The nine five-set matches in 2022 was also a record.
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 6-3 27-5
2023 2-3 29-5
Total 85-67 563-341
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Creighton Volleyball was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of league coaches.
Creighton earned 4-of-11 first place votes and 94 of a possible 100 points. That was just behind of Marquette's 97 points and the other seven votes for first place.
Xavier (78) was picked third, just ahead of St. John's (64) and Connecticut (63). Rounding out the bottom half of the poll were DePaul (59), Villanova (46), Butler (40), Seton Hall (30), Providence (18) and Georgetown (16).
Creighton also had three women among the 12 members on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team in Ava Martin as well as unanimous selections Kendra Wait and Norah Sis. Sis was also tabbed the BIG EAST's Preseason Player of the Year for the second straight fall.
Including 2023, Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 19 of 21 years under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including 10 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 T-1st - -
2022 1st T-1st - -
2023 2nd T-1st #1
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 10-13 against ranked non-conference foes over the last seven seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
Non-Conference Records, By Year, Under Booth
Year Non-Con W-L vs. Ranked Non-Con Final W-L
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 8-3 1-2 27-5
2023 9-2 2-1 29-5
President Elect Booth
Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is the current President-Elect of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Booth began her service on January 1, 2023, and will become AVCA President in 2024. She is part of the 17-member AVCA Board of Directors, which includes elected representatives, appointed voting members for Diversity Development and Legislation, and non-voting members for Education and Awards.
She will finish out her term as Past President in 2026.
Booth is in her 21st season as the head women's volleyball coach at Creighton.
On paper it looks just like so many other recent Creighton Volleyball seasons. More than 20 wins. A BIG EAST regular-season title. A BIG EAST Tournament title. A return to the NCAA Tournament.
In reality, it was anything but normal. Creighton was picked second in the BIG EAST preseason poll, overcame injuries to six different players and exorcised some NCAA demons at home en route to a 29-5 season that included five tournament titles, a 10th consecutive BIG EAST regular-season crown and the program's first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2016. Throw in Creighton's first undefeated home season and it's easy to see why the 2023 campaign will long be remembered as one of the program's best.
The Bluejays started the season ranked 18th in the preseason AVCA poll as it headed into a non-conference scheduled with a gauntlet of teams that appeared in the 2022 postseason. CU took down defending Atlantic-10 champion Loyola (Chicago) before handing No. 16 Purdue its first 3-0 non-conference home loss since 2007. Despite a 3-2 loss to Duke on Aug. 27, the first two wins were enough to earn Creighton the Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier title.
CU continued its winning ways the following weekend, defeating Ball State (3-2), LSU (3-0) and Northern Iowa (3-1) to earn the Bluejay Invitational title for the fourth time in the past seven seasons. Incredibly, Creighton would not drop another set at home the rest of the season.
Creighton's first tasted adversity on Sept. 5th as reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis was injured in practice the day before CU's match at No. 4 Nebraska, which eventually caused her to miss a dozen matches. The Huskers, who hadn't lost a set while cruising to a 6-0 record to start the season, saw their unblemished set record snapped when Creighton won the third game.
The Bluejays then defeated a pair of eventual NCAA Tournament teams, Omaha and Iowa State, to win the MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge at Baxter Arena.
Non-conference play wrapped up the following weekend when CU swept High Point before defeating No. 9 Minnesota for the first time in program history to clinch the Diet Coke Classic title.
The 9-2 start catapulted the Bluejays to a season-best No. 11 ranking in the AVCA poll, but that would be short-lived as a short-handed CU squad suffered its first loss in 24 meetings against Xavier on Sept. 23rd. CU responded with 3-0 home wins vs. St. John's and Seton Hall, only to drop to 3-2 in league play with a 3-0 loss at Marquette.
Falling two games out of first place, Creighton plowed ahead with a program 10 straight sweeps, including a win over No. 25 Marquette that moved CU back into a tie for first place after the Golden Eagles had stumbled against St. John's three weeks earlier. The wins came despite injuries/illnesses to key contributors such as Ellie Bolton, Ann Marie Remmes, Sydney Breissinger, Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Emma Ziegler.
After a 3-1 win at St. John's that snapped the set streak, the Bluejays avenged the loss to Xavier with a 3-0 victory on Nov. 17th before clinching a share of its unprecedented 10th straight BIG EAST regular-season title with a sweep over Butler to end the regular-season.
CU was the top seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and swept DePaul in the semifinals before posting another 3-0 win over St. John's to lock up a fourth straight BIG EAST Tournament title.
The hot stretch was enough to earn Creighton a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament and the chance to host the opening weekend for the third straight campaign.
But unlike the previous four times it had hosted (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022), this year's squad fed off the crowd and would advance to the Regional Semifinals thanks to 3-0 sweeps of both Colgate and Minnesota. Both wins came in front of sold out crowds at D.J. Sokol Arena, where Creighton finished undefeated (13-0) for the first time.
The Jays would pack their bags for Pittsburgh days later, only to fall in five sets on ESPN2 to No. 7 Louisville to end the season with a 29-5 record.
Junior setter Kendra Wait was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, BIG EAST Setter of the Year, AVCA All-American and College Sports Communicators First Team Academic All-American thanks to another standout season.
Senior middle blocker Kiana Schmitt won BIG EAST Tournament MVP accolades and picked up Third Team Academic All-America plaudits.
Also gaining postseason acclaim were Ava Martin (First Team All-BIG EAST; AVCA Honorable Mention All-American), Norah Sis (First Team All-BIG EAST; Volleyball Magazine Second Team All-American) and Destiny Ndam-Simpson (BIG EAST All-Freshman Team).
Leading the Bluejays was Kirsten Bernthal Booth, who was named AVCA East Region Coach of the Year for the fourth time and shared BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Creighton would finish the season ranked No. 15 in the year-end AVCA poll.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton was coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 470-189 record after 21 seasons with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to 10 straight BIG EAST regular-season titles (2014-23), and 11 league crowns in the last 12 years. Booth led the Bluejays to their first three Sweet 16's (2015, 2016, 2023) 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 fourth time in 2023.
The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only 13 NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last 12 seasons (including 2023), 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 was assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Brian Rosen and Adam Kessenich.
Creighton's NCAA Tournament History
Creighton made its 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the past 14 years after earning a 12th straight bid to the Big Dance. The Bluejays made their NCAA debut in 2010 and have been in every tournament since then with the exception of 2011.
The Bluejays are 14-13 in those 13 appearances, and have knocked off the likes of Iowa State (2010 and 2019), Marquette (2012), Arkansas (2013), Coastal Carolina (2015 and 2017), No. 23 North Carolina (2015), Northern Iowa (2016), No. 4 Kansas (2016), No. 17 Michigan (2016), South Dakota (2018), Ole Miss (2021), Colgate (2023) and Minnesota (2023).
Creighton is 10-3 in First Round play, 3-7 in the Second Round, 1-2 in the Regional Semifinals and 0-1 in the Regional Finals. The Bluejays are 5-4 at home, 7-4 in neutral-site matches and 2-5 in true road matches.
Creighton made its third trip to the Sweet 16, reaching the Regional Semifinal in San Diego, Calif., in 2015 before advancing to the Regional Final in 2016 in Austin, Texas.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 14-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and is the only Bluejay head coach to lead the program into the postseason. Booth's 13th appearances in the NCAA Tournament as Creighton's coach are more than any other coach in any other Bluejay sport ever.
NCAA Tourney Streak
The inclusion of Creighton Volleyball into the 2023 NCAA Tournament extended an impressive streak for Bluejay athletics.
This year marked the 37th straight academic calendar year that Creighton has had at least one NCAA Tournament team.
12 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 12 seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men's soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.
Creighton is one of seven teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments (2012-23). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.
There are also 13 schools that have appeared in 13 of the last 14 NCAA Tournaments, a group that includes Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Minnesota, Purdue, San Diego, Stanford and Washington. Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, and Texas have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since at least 2010.
Against NCAA Tournament Teams
Creighton went 9-3 this fall against teams in the field of 64, including two wins over Minnesota and one victory each against Colgate, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, High Point, Marquette, Purdue and Omaha.
In 12 matches this fall against NCAA Tournament teams, Norah Sis averaged 4.33 kills and 2.81 digs per set, Ava Martin averaged 3.77 kills per set, Kiana Schmitt hit .310 and averaged 2.56 kills per set, Kendra Wait averaged 10.49 assists and 3.81 digs per set and Ellie Bolton averaged 4.47 digs per set. The Jays hit .243 and averaged 14.42 kills, 1.16 aces, 16.35 digs and 2.17 blocks per set.
vs. NCAA Tournament Teams
Opponent CU Score
Purdue W 3-0
Northern Iowa W 3-1
Nebraska L 1-3
Omaha W 3-0
Iowa State W 3-1
High Point W 3-0
Minnesota W 3-2
Marquette L 0-3
Marquette W 3-0
Colgate W 3-0
Minnesota W 3-0
Louisville L 2-3
Seed Value
Creighton was a top 16 national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in the past nine seasons. Only 11 schools in the country can say that, as seen below:
Rk. School Top 16 Seeds Since 2015
1. Nebraska 9
Texas 9
3. BYU 8
Florida 8
Minnesota 8
Wisconsin 8
7. Kentucky 7
Penn State 7
Stanford 7
.10. Creighton 6
Washington 6
Saving The Best For Last
Creighton clinched its third Sweet 16 appearance in dramatic fashion, saving three set points in the third set against a Minnesota team that was desperate to extend its season.
It was the fourth time this season that Creighton has won a set after surviving a set point.
On the other hand, Creighton was 94-4 when owning a set point itself, including 79 straight victories to close the season.
How Sweet It Is
While it's been a couple years since the Creighton Volleyball team had played in the Sweet 16, it's nothing new for the Creighton Athletic Department.
The Creighton women's basketball team played in the Elite Eight in 2022, the Bluejay men's soccer team appeared in the College Cup in 2022 and the men's basketball team reached the Elite Eight in 2023.
Besides Creighton, the only other school nationally to reach the Sweet 16 in those four sports since the start of the 2021-22 academic year is UCLA.
Awards Season
Creighton enjoyed quite the awards haul after another strong season.
Kendra Wait was Creighton's most decorated athlete during the season. She named AVCA All-East Region for the third time, as well as being named an AVCA Third Team All-American and Volleyball Magazine Third Team All-American. Wait was Creighton's lone honoree on the Pittsburgh Regional All-Tournament Team, and also voted by College Sports Communicators as an Academic All-District selection in addition to being a prestigious First Team Academic All-American.
Norah Sis didn't play enough matches to qualify for AVCA or College Sports Communicators awards, but she was recognized as a Second team All-American by Volleyball Magazine.
Ava Martin was named AVCA All-East Region as well as being selected an Honorable Mention All-American by both the AVCA as well as Volleyball Magazine.
Kiana Schmitt also garnered All-East Region accolades. College Sports Communicators also named Schmitt an Academic All-District choice, in addition to being a Third Team Academic All-American.
A pair of Bluejay coaches were also given their credit. Kirsten Bernthal Booth was named AVCA East Region Coach of the Year for the fourth occasion, while Volleyball Magazine named assistant coach Brian Rosen as one of their "College Coaching Hotshots".
Bright Lights
Creighton made nine appearances this season on television, going 7-2.
All-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Creighton is 36-24 when playing on television.
Though the Bluejays have appeared on FS1 and ESPNU a few times, the Sweet 16 match vs. Louisville marked CU's debut on ESPN2.
Put It In Neutral
Creighton went 5-2 on neutral floors this season, continuing a trend of playing well at neutral sites.
The Bluejays are 17-2 the past three years on neutral floors, including a 7-0 mark in 2021 and a 4-0 record last season.
Included in that stretch are neutral-site wins over USC (2021), Northern Iowa (2021), Iowa State (2022 & 2023), Florida State (2022), Kansas State (2022), Loyola Chicago (2023), High Point (2023) and St. John's (2023).
Against Ranked Foes
After a total of three top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton has earned at least one top-25 win each of the last nine seasons (2015-23). That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories in 2019.
Creighton is 26-86 all-time against ranked teams and 14 of those top 25 wins all-time have come against either Marquette (9) 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.
This year is the seventh season that CU owns multiple Top-25 victories. The Jays beat three Top 25 teams in 2017, 2022 and 2023, and a record four in 2018 and 2019.
Top 25 History
Creighton is 201-45 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 21-25 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, 40 of Creighton's 74 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 288-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 106 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 150 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 21-25)
Home: 9-9 Away: 7-9 Neutral: 5-7
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
10/14/22 #21 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-2
11/19/22 #16 Marquette #11 Creighton 0-3
11/26/22 #15 Creighton #14 Marquette 3-2
08/26/23 #18 Creighton #16 Purdue 3-0
09/06/23 #4 Nebraska #16 Creighton 1-3
09/16/23 #14 Creighton #9 Minnesota 3-2
11/05/23 #17 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-0
12/07/23 #7 Louisville #17 Creighton 2-3
Going Streaking
Creighton has won 13 consecutive home matches, the nation's eighth-longest active streak.
That's one of many active streaks for the Bluejays right now. Here's a look at a bunch of them:
Nation's Longest Active Home Win Streaks
Rk. Streak Team
1. 28 Stephen F. Austin
2. 24 Yale
3. 23 Nebraska*
4. 17 Western Michigan
17 Wisconsin*
6. 16 High Point
16 Pittsburgh*
8. 13 Creighton
9. 12 Dayton
12 Western Kentucky
12 FGCU
12 Lipscomb
12 UC Santa Barbara
12 James Madison
* NCAA Tournament Regional host
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
15 Sept. 7 - Nov. 30, 2018 #22 Washington, 3-0
13 Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013 California, 3-0
13 Sept. 9, 2016-Sept. 1, 2017 #18 USC, 3-0
13 Sept. 1, 2023 - Present ? ? ?
12 Sept. 20-Nov. 28, 2015 #4 Kansas, 3-2
12 Sept. 19, 2019 - Jan. 29, 2021 South Dakota, 3-2
12 Sept. 10-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas, 3-1
12 Sept. 23-Nov. 26, 2022 Auburn, 3-2
10 Sept. 2-Dec. 1, 2017 #12 Michigan State, 3-1
Creighton's Most Consecutive Wins
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
17 Sept. 23-Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0
17 Oct. 7 - Dec. 2, 2023 vs. #7 Louisville, 3-2
14 Sept. 19-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0
14 Oct. 17-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas, 3-1
CU's Most Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins
Wins Dates Snapped By League
31 Nov. 18, 2017 - Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0 BIG EAST
28 Oct. 31, 2015 - Sept. 30, 2017 at Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
28 Oct. 17, 2021- Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
14 Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012 Never (left MVC) MVC
13 Oct. 7, 2023 - Present ? ? ? BIG EAST
12 Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015 at Villanova, 3-2 BIG EAST
11 Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014 Seton Hall, 3-0 BIG EAST
11 Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017 at Villanova, 3-0 BIG EAST
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
8 Oct. 2, 2021 - Sept. 10, 2022 at Rice, 3-2
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. 7-Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0
7 Oct. 7, 2023 - Present ? ? ?
Home Court Advantage
Creighton finished 13-0 at home this season, where it was dominant inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
The Bluejays won their final 32 sets at home, and didn't drop a set there since dropping the second set (36-34) on Sept. 3 vs. Northern Iowa.
Of the 42 sets that CU played at home this season, it scored 25 points or more in 41 of them and actually averaged 25.17 points per set. That figure climbs to 25.41 if you throw out the fifth set vs. Ball State that was played to just 15.
Attendance Update
Creighton finished the season ranked 30th in average fans per home match (2,161) and 32nd nationally in total home attendance (28,089).
Creighton had led the BIG EAST in average home attendance in every non-COVID year since joining the league prior to this year, when Marquette topped it.
Creighton's 28,089 home fans this fall ranked in fifth-most in program history. The 2,161 fans per home match were also its third-most ever.
Most Home Fans, Season
Rk. Fans Dates Year
1. 47,632 17 2018
2. 41,805 17 2022
3. 30,211 14 2021
4. 29,905 18 2015
5. 28,089 13 2023
6. 25,615 13 2019
Highest Home Attendance Average, Season
Average Rk. Fans Dates Year
1. 2,802 47,632 17 2018
2. 2,459 41,805 17 2022
3. 2,161 28,089 13 2023
4. 2,158 30,211 14 2021
5. 1,970 25,615 13 2019
NCAA Crowds
Creighton hosted its third and fourth-largest crowds in D.J. Sokol Arena history during the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, selling out the venue both days.
All told, Creighton attracted 5,131 fans on the opening weekend of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. That figure ranked 11th-best among the 16 host sites nationally.
NCAA Round 1/2 Attendance
Rk. Host Rd. 1 Rd. 2 Total
1) Nebraska 8599 8640 17239
2) Wisconsin 7229 7229 14458
3) Louisville 5035 5529 10564
4) Pitt 4936 4936 9872
5) Texas 4122 3978 8100
6) Arkansas 3847 3557 7404
7) BYU 3504 3427 6931
8) Stanford 2729 2885 5614
9) Washington State 2976 2463 5439
10) Oregon 3022 2342 5364
11) Creighton 2563 2568 5131
12) Purdue 2415 2415 4830
13) Kentucky 2180 2573 4753
14) Tennessee 2304 1958 4262
15) Florida 2102 2104 4206
16) Kansas 1662 n/a 1662*
*Friday's Kansas/Penn State match not known
Packing Them In
Large crowds filled D.J. Sokol Arena during the postseason. While the top seven home crowds in program history have occurred at CHI Health Center Omaha, D.J. Sokol Arena has also attracted nine crowds of 2,500 or more, including a pair in early December..
Largest Home Crowds, Creighton History
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
15,797 #2 Nebraska 09/07/22 L 2-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
14,022 #7 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
11,279 #3 Nebraska f09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
2,653 Auburn 12/02/22 L 2-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,578 #13 Kentucky 09/01/17 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,568 Minnesota 12/02/23 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,563 Colgate 12/01/23 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,552 South Dakota 11/30/18 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,517 Coastal Carolina 12/01/17 W 3-1 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,514 #7 Nebraska 08/31/10 L 0-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,509 #22 Washington 12/01/18 L 0-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,504 #9 Marquette 11/22/19 W 3-1 D.J. Sokol Arena
Milwaukee's Best
Creighton had three players named to the All-Tournament Team at the BIG EAST Championships.
Ava Martin hit .333 and averaged 3.17 kills per set.
Kendra Wait averaged 10.17 kills, 2.33 digs, 1.33 kills and 0.83 blocks per set while hitting .615 and directing a CU attack that hit .344.
Kiana Schmitt hit .452 and averaged 3.00 kills and 1.50 blocks per set while earning MVP honors.
BIG EAST Awards Haul
Kendra Wait was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Setter of the Year, while Creighton shared BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors, it was announced on Nov. 21.
Overall, Creighton had four women earn All-BIG EAST acclaim while a fifth was named to the All-Freshman Team.
Wait was named Player of the Year and Setter of the Year for the first time as the junior picked up All-BIG EAST acclaim for the third time.
Also earning All-BIG EAST recognition for a third time was junior Norah Sis, the 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year.
Additionally, both Kiana Schmitt and Ava Martin brought home All-BIG EAST honors for the second straight season, while Destiny Ndam-Simpson was a member of the All-Freshman Team.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth and her staff shared BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors with St. John's. It's the fourth time that Booth has been recognized by the BIG EAST, having also won the honor in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
This year marks the 11th time in as many years as a member of the BIG EAST that Creighton has had multiple all-conference selections, and ninth straight season with three or more First Team selections.
Seed History
No fewer than 10-of-16 seeds have reached the Sweet 16 in each of the last 23 seasons, including 2023.
On average in that time, 12.91 of the 16 seeds have advanced each year, or roughly 80.7 percent.
The only times that all 16 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16 was in both 2001 and 2003.
Year Seeds to Sweet 16?
2023 13/16
2022 15/16
2021 14/16
2020 14/16
2019 13/16
2018 12/16
2017 11/16
2016 12/16
2015 13/16
2014 13/16
2013 11/16
2012 12/15
2011 11/16
2010 11/16
2009 12/16
2008 13/16
2007 10/16
2006 15/16
2005 13/16
2004 14/16
2003 16/16
2002 13/16
2001 16/16
Booth's Decade of Dominance
Kirsten Bernthal Booth has won nine BIG EAST Tournament titles, tied with former Notre Dame coach Debbie Brown for most in league history.
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton's final campaign in the Missouri Valley Conference, Creighton has won 11 regular-season titles and 10 league tournament crowns.
Tourney Champs!
Creighton has won four straight BIG EAST Tournaments. Nationally, only Creighton (4), UMBC (4), Florida Gulf Coast (3) and Colgate (3) have won three or more straight league tournaments.
With a win on Nov. 25th, Creighton became the fourth different team to win four straight BIG EAST tournament titles, but first program to do it twice.
4 Straight BIG EAST Tourney Titles
1988-94 Pittsburgh
1995-98 Notre Dame
2014-18 Creighton
2020-23 Creighton
BIG EAST Tournament Champions
Creighton Volleyball earned the school's 11th different BIG EAST Tournament title won by the school since joining the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013.
All but two of those titles have been won by the volleyball program.
Creighton's BIG EAST Tournament Titles (11)
Baseball (1): 2019
Men's Soccer (1): 2022
Volleyball (9): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Creigh10 Is Your CHAMP10N!
Regular-season champions from 2014-23, Creighton is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 10 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 10 or more straight league titles, surpassing the five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96).
The only other teams nationally with an active streak of more than four straight regular-season league titles are Texas (Big 12) and Kentucky (SEC), each with seven, Towson (Coastal Athletic), Fairfield (Metro Atlantic Athletic) and WKU (Conference USA) with five each, and High Point (Big South) and Colgate (Patriot) both with four.
Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won 11 conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton's 11 crowns were outright titles, whereas Texas shared one title and WKU shared five.
Creighton has also won 10 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2023
Regular-Season League Tournament
11 (3 shared) Creighton 10 Creighton
11 (1) Texas 9 Dayton
11 (5) Western Kentucky 9 Western Kentucky
10 (1) Fairfield 8 Fairfield
8 (8) Florida A&M 7 LIU
8 (4) Yale
8 (2) BYU
8 (1) Colorado State
BIG EAST'S Best
Since the reconfigufration 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, 2022 and 2023, Creighton and Marquette shared the regular-season title and CU won the tourney title.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings, 2013 - 2023
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (10) 170 16 283 70
Marquette (9) 153 30 259 84
Xavier 108 76 169 152
Butler 98 88 171 153
St. John's (1) 94 92 198 148
Villanova (1) 91 95 171 149
Seton Hall (1) 80 105 155 169
DePaul 55 131 128 187
Georgetown 40 138 100 202
Connecticut# 30 32 53 54
Providence* 29 141 104 188
*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.
Tournament Tested
Creighton has played in 19 tournaments since the start of the 2021 calendar year, and won 14 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), the 2021 NCAA Tournament (won by Wisconsin), the 2022 NCAA Tournament (won by Texas) the 2022 Rice adidas Invitational (won by Rice) and the 2023 NCAA Tournament (won by Texas). Kentucky, Wisconsin and Texas (twice) are the last four 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)
2022 Omaha Invitational 2-0 (1st)
2022 Rice adidas Invitational 1-1 (2nd)
2022 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2022 NCAA Tournament 0-1 (T-33rd)
2023 Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier 2-1 (1st)
2023 Bluejay Invitational 3-0 (1st)
2023 MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge 2-0 (1st)
2023 Diet Coke Challenge 2-0 (1st)
2023 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2023 NCAA Tournament 2-1 (T-9th)
Collecting Hardware
Creighton won each of its first five tournaments of a season for the second time (2021, 2023) in the last three seasons after having never done it from 1994-2020.
Keep in mind that when Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton had been 17-33 in 15 regular-season tournaments all-time, with just one tournament title (the 2000 Iowa State Heritage Classic).
Jays Earn Tourney Titles
Creighton opened the season by winning the Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier at Purdue on Aug. 25-27, followed by the Bluejay Invitational on Sept. 1-3, the MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge on Sept. 8-10 and then the Diet Coke Classic on Sept. 15-16.
It's the 12th straight season that Creighton has won at least one tournament, a streak that started in 2012. During that span, the Bluejays have won 30 tournament titles, not to mention 10 regular-season league crowns.
Creighton's Tournament Titles Since 2012
Year Titles Won Tourney Hosts
2012 3 USF, UNC, MVC
2013 1 BGSU
2014 1 CU, BIG EAST
2015 1 BIG EAST
2016 1 BIG EAST
2017 4 WASH, CU, KU, BIG EAST
2018 3 SMU, CU, BIG EAST
2019 2 UNI, CU
2020 1 BIG EAST
2021 5 MIZZ, UK, CU, WSU, BIG EAST
2022 3 WYO, UNO, BIG EAST
2023 5 Purdue, CU, UNO, MINN, BIG EAST
Volleyball State
It was another impressive year of volleyball in the state of Nebraska.
Creighton won a share of its 10th straight BIG EAST regular-season title, then won its fourth straight BIG EAST Tournament title, and advanced to the Sweet 16.
Omaha owned a share of the Summit League regular-season title, then won its first Summit League Tournament title, to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level.
An hour down the road, top-ranked Nebraska has clinched its first Big Ten title since 2017 and is the top overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament. The Cornhuskers reached the NCAA title match, where it was swept by Texas.
Home Sweet Home
Creighton is in its 11th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
Since then, the Bluejays are 100-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (91-3 in the regular-season, 9-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since November of 2014, Creighton is 84-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 76-1 league mark and a 8-0 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 Kiana Schmitt went 43-1 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (with 34 straight wins), and 129-22 in sets.
Creighton has won 34 straight regular-season sets against BIG EAST opponents inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
Putting The 0 In October And November
Creighton is 73-6 in the 10th month of the year since Oct. 1, 2016.
Creighton's been awfully good in the month of November too. Since Nov. 1, 2014, CU is 59-4 in the 11th month of the year.
Creighton has won 40 straight October home matches (since 10/15/11) and 37 consecutive home matches in November (since 11/23/14). Incredibly, Creighton is 111-10 in sets in those home November contests.
Didn't Have To Wait Long
Creighton junior Kendra Wait owns 1,158 assists this season, reached her 1,000th helper on Nov. 19 vs. Butler.
Wait joined Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer Korie Lebeda (2005-08) as the second player in program history to reach 1,000 assists as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Kailey Reyes (1998-2001) reached 1,000 assists each of her final three campaigns, while Megan Bober (2009-12) did it as a freshman, sophomore and senior.
Single-Season Matches to 1,000 Assists
Name MP Opponent Year
Korie Lebeda 21 at Drake 2006
Brittany Coleman 22 at Southern Illinois 2004
Korie Lebeda 23 Missouri State 2005
Brittany Coleman 23 Northern Iowa 2003
Kailey Reyes 23 at Southern Illinois 1999
Melissa Weisensee 23 at Evansville 1996
Kailey Reyes 24 at Wichita State 2000
Melissa Weisensee 24 at Evansville 1997
Kendra Wait 24 Providence 2022
Kailey Reyes 25 Wichita State 2001
Korie Lebeda 25 Southern Illinois 2007
Korie Lebeda 26 Bradley 2008
Lydia Dimke 26 Xavier 2016
Madelyn Cole 26 at Seton Hall 2018
Megan Bober 27 Evansville 2010
Lydia Dimke 27 Georgetown 2017
Madelyn Cole 27 #9 Marquette 2019
Megan Bober 28 at Northern Iowa 2009
Megan Bober 28 at Wichita State 2012
Michelle Sicner 28 Xavier 2013
Kendra Wait 29 at Villanova 2021
Kendra Wait 29 Butler 2023
Maggie Baumert 32 vs. Seton Hall 2014
Decade of Dominance
Eleven years in the BIG EAST gives Creighton a pretty good set of data to compare its yearly performance in league matches.
Here's how the 2023 campaign compared to previous seasons:
Creighton's Year-By-Year BIG EAST Stats
Year W-L KPS HIT% SAPS DPS BPS
2013 12-4 13.75 .213 1.00 16.20 3.13
2014# 16-2 14.89 .242 1.30 17.09 2.86
2015# 17-1 15.02 .271 1.33 16.97 2.47
2016# 18-0 15.37 .317 1.69 16.08 2.41
2017# 16-2 14.81 .302 1.31 16.62 2.05
2018# 18-0 14.45 .294 2.13 15.67 2.38
2019# 17-1 14.61 .269 2.07 15.80 2.25
2020# 7-1 12.93 .249 1.30 14.17 2.75
2021# 16-2 13.95 .242 1.82 18.02 2.86
2022# 17-1 14.80 .299 1.85 16.10 2.33
2023# 16-2 14.40 .313 1.89 15.91 2.30
#won league's regular-season title
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton's 29 victories were tied for sixth-most in the nation and its .853 win percentage was tied for ninth-best.
Creighton also ranked tied for first nationally in fewest sets lost (22). Here's that list:
Fewest Sets Lost
Rk. Sets Lost Team
1. 22 Creighton
22 Nebraska
22 Dayton
4. 23 Wisconsin
23 Tennessee
23 Western Michigan
That's Why She's The MVP
Junior Norah Sis is a two-time BIG EAST Tournament MVP as well as the 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year, so it should come as little surprise that Creighton was a better team when she was on the floor in 2023.
The numbers show that to be true, as well. Compared to the national leaders this year, Creighton's .913 winning percentage with Sis would rank third, its 15.31 kills per set with Sis would rank first and its .313 hitting percentage with Sis would rank second.
Category With Sis Without Sis
Team Match Record 21-2 8-3
Team Set Record 67-10 27-12
Team Record vs Top 25 2-1 1-1
Team Set Record vs Top 25 8-3 4-5
Team's Set 1 Record 21-2 9-2
Percent of Points Won 57.0% 53.1%
Kills Per Set 15.31 13.00
Hitting Percentage .313 .224
Aces Per Set 1.73 1.15
Digs Per Set 16.14 16.10
Blocks Per Set 2.36 2.05
Opponents Blocks Per Set 1.27 1.88
Martin Kills Per Set 3.60 3.59
Martin Hitting Percentage .325 .210
Reinhardt Kills Per Set 1.47 1.10
Reinhardt Hitting Percentage .398 .220
Hall Mark
Including its 3-0 victory on Nov. 10th, Creighton has swept Seton Hall each of the last 16 meetings, and won each of the last 50 sets against the Pirates.
The 50 straight set victories over the Pirates is easily the longest in program history over one opponent.
Most Consecutive Set Wins Over One Team
Wins Opponent Dates
50 Seton Hall 2015-Present
29 Providence 2017-Present
25 Indiana State 2005-09
24 Xavier 2015-18
23 Indiana State 2009-Present
22 Georgetown 2019-Present
19 Providence 2014-17
19 Butler 2018-21
It's Awfully Clean Around Here
Creighton's record streak of 30 straight sets won came to an end on Nov. 11th when St. John's took the first set over the Bluejays. That streak broke the previous mark of 29 straight sets won, accomplished last year.
Creighton entered the Sweet 16 having won 21 straight sets, which was the sixth-longest streak in history.
Creighton's Most Consecutive Sets Won
Set Wins Dates Snapped By
30 Oct.7 - Nov. 10, 2023 at St. John's
29 Oct. 16-Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette
25 Oct. 22-Nov. 20, 2016 Villanova
25 Oct. 26-Nov. 23, 2018 #16 Marquette
22 Nov. 7-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas
21 Nov. 11 - Dec. 2, 2023 vs. #7 Louisville
19 Oct. 12-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova
They Say Defense Wins Championships
Creighton held opponents to .144 hitting, a figure that ranked as the nation's third-best mark.
In league play, CU foes hit an even smaller .115, the best mark since the BIG EAST's reconfiguration in 2013.
Including 2023, Creighton has finished first or second in the BIG EAST in opponent's hitting percentage each of the last eight seasons.
All but one of Creighton's matches this year were won by the team with the better hitting percentage. In Kirsten Bernthal Booth's 21 years on the Bluejay sideline, Creighton is 454-18 (.962) when it owns a better hitting percentage, compared to a 16-171 mark (.086) when it doesn't.
A Shot In The Arm
Ellie Bichelmeyer's role changed throughout the season. She started 19 times, but also had four matches where she never saw the floor, but the fifth-year senior stayed the course and it paid off.
After receiving a cortisone injection prior to CU's Oct. 13 match vs. Georgetown, she's literally given the Bluejay offense a shot in the arm.
During that stretch she averaged 2.24 kills and 0.64 blocks per set while hitting .350, a huge uptick compared to her 1.19 kills and 0.31 blocks per set on .138 hitting prior to that point.
Wait Wait, There's More
Junior Kendra Wait owns 53 double-doubles in 100 matches as a Bluejay. That ranks seventh-most in program history.
Wait joins Kailey Reyes (4) and Melissa Weisensee (3) as one of three Bluejays with three different seasons of 15 or more double-dips.
Matches With a Double-Double, Career
D-D Name Years
65 Melissa Weisensee 1994-97
64 Kailey Reyes 1998-01
60 Melissa Walsh 1998-01
58 Jaali Winters 2015-18
57 Megan Bober 2009-12
56 Korie Lebeda 2005-08
53 Kendra Wait 2021-Present
Matches With a Double-Double, Season
D-D Name Year
24 Megan Bober 2012
21 Korie Lebeda 2006
20 Melissa Weisensee 1997
19 Melissa Walsh 1998
19 Megan Bober 2011
18 Melissa Walsh 1999
18 Korie Lebeda 2008
18 Kendra Wait 2022
18 Kendra Wait 2023
17 Melissa Weisensee 1995
17 Kailey Reyes 1999
17 Melissa Weisensee 1996
17 Kailey Reyes 2001
17 Michelle Sicner 2013
17 Lydia Dimke 2016
17 Kendra Wait 2021
Good Start = Better Finish
Creighton has won the first point of a set 58.6 percent of the time (68/116), and when that occurs, good things happen.
Creighton was 60-8 (.882) in sets this season when winning the opening point of a set, including 40 victories in a row at one point.
On the other hand Creighton was still a pretty healthy 34-14 (.708) when the opponent took a 1-0 lead in a set.
Sponsored By The Number 20
Finishing the fall 29-5, here's a few facts about Creighton Volleyball and the 20-win milestone it reached on Nov. 3rd:
• Since restarting its program in 1994 Creighton has reached 20 or more wins 14 times, all of which have happened in the 21 seasons under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
• The only time in the last 12 seasons (including 2023) that Creighton didn't win 20 matches was the COVID-affected 2020 season (played in the Spring of 2021), when it finished 12-4.
• The quickest that Creighton has reached 20 victories is 23 matches, done in 2012, 2021 and 2022. This year's team did it in 24 matches.
• Including 2023, the only teams to win 20 or more matches each of the last 12 seasons (2012-2023) have been Kentucky, Texas and Western Kentucky. The only teams to do it 11 times in that span have been BYU, Creighton, Florida, Marquette, Nebraska, Penn State and Washington.
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a record better than .750 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 189 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 30 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
CU still has not lost to three league foes (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence) since joining the BIG EAST, and Marquette (6), Villanova (3), Seton Hall (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 20-1 - 20-1
Connecticut 3-1 1-0 4-1
DePaul 22-0 2-0 24-0
Georgetown 20-0 - 20-0
Marquette 17-5 6-1 23-6
Providence 16-0 - 16-0
Seton Hall 17-3 2-0 19-3
St. John's 18-2 1-1 19-3
Villanova 17-3 3-0 20-3
Xavier 20-1 4-0 24-1
Total 170-16 19-2 189-18
No Losers Here
Creighton has been as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.
Creighton, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Texas, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin are the nation's only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
If you go back two years more, the nation's only teams to lose six times or less in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons are Creighton, Pittsburgh and Texas.
Creighton is one of just two schools nationally who have won 25 matches or more in every season between 2014-23 (not counting the 2020 COVID-19 year). That group consists of BYU and Creighton.
What's A Poll Really Mean?
This year marked the third time in the last 11 years that Creighton was picked second in the BIG EAST behind Marquette.
In 2018 Creighton went 20-0 against BIG EAST teams, including a 3-0 mark over Marquette.
In 2019 Creighton went 17-2 against BIG EAST teams, including a 2-0 record vs. Marquette.
This year Creighton has gone 16-2 when playing BIG EAST teams, including a 1-1 mark vs. Marquette.
Creighton won the regular-season BIG EAST title in 2018, 2019 and 2023, and won the tournament in both 2018 and 2023.
Wait Reaches 1,000 Digs
Kendra Wait became the fifth player in program history to reach 3,000 career assists on Sept. 29th vs. St. John's. On Oct. 28 at Georgetown, she became the 16th player to reach 1,000 career digs. It came in her 89th career contest.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 53 11/08/08 Illinois State
Julianne Mandolfo 56 10/22/11 Evansville
Kate Elman 59 11/16/13 at Seton Hall
Nayka Benitez 60 11/27/10 at Northern Iowa
Brittany Witt 68 12/01/17 Coastal Carolina
Kailey Reyes 77 09/01/01 vs. Texas-San Antonio
Janeen Piller 80 09/25/04 at Missouri State
Melissa Walsh 85 09/08/01 at #24 Santa Clara
Kendra Wait 89 10/28/23 at Georgetown
Allie Oelke 95 09/04/10 vs. Iowa
Melissa Weisensee 97 10/04/97 at Missouri State
Sarah Schulze 101 11/13/09 Southern Illinois
Jaali Winters 103 11/25/17 at Marquette
Melanie Jereb 105 09/12/15 CSU Bakersfield
Korie Lebeda 108 10/17/08 Evansville
Megan Bober 118 10/27/12 Southern Illinois
Digs
Name Sets No. Years
1. Brittany Witt 471 2,079 2016-19
2. Kate Elman 464 2,054 2012-15
3. Janeen Piller 336 1,392 2001-04
4. Jaali Winters 494 1,386 2015-18
5. Allie Oelke 445 1,382 2007-10
6. Kailey Reyes 368 1,258 1998-01
7. Melissa Walsh 394 1,240 1998-01
8. Julianne Mandolfo 241 1,224 2010-11
9. Melissa Weisensee 411 1,223 1994-97
10. Melanie Jereb 471 1,218 2012-15
11. Korie Lebeda 428 1,130 2005-08
12. Kendra Wait 341 1,125 2021-23
13. Megan Bober 480 1,123 2009-12
Libero Roles Change
Creighton used three different liberos during the last two months of the season, but lost just four sets during that time.
Ellie Bolton served as CU's libero the first 19 matches of the season before suffering an injury.
She was replaced by sophomore Sky McCune, who handled the role on Oct. 20-21.
Sydney Breissinger returned to the floor after missing six matches due to injury and donned the alternate jersey the final six weekends. Breissinger became CU's first freshman to wear the libero jersey since Bolton did in the 2020 (Spring 2021) campaign.
This year marked the first time that the Bluejays have utilized three different women as a libero in the same season since the 2020 (Spring 2021) season, when Bolton (14 matches), Grace Nelson (3 matches) and Jaela Zimmerman (1 match) all did so.
This was just the third time since the libero was introduced to the college game in 2002 that Creighton has played three ore more women at libero in the same season, having done so in 2020 (see the above paragraph) as well as 2005, when five different women (Mallory Lahm, Brittany Coleman, Emily Greisch, Katie Mehal and Molly Lahr) all shared the role.
Sis Plays All Six
Junior Norah Sis made her long-awaited return to the front row on Oct. 20th, playing all six rotations for the first time in seven weeks (Sept. 1-3).
In the 15 matches she played after that, she led all players in kills 11 times and also hit .400 or better four times.
After returning to the front row, Sis ranked second in the BIG EAST in kills per set (4.31) and second in points per set (4.86).
Since Sis returned overall (she played back row her first two matches after returning), Creighton was 50-4 in those sets. Creighton led all BIG EAST teams in hitting percentage (.336), opponent hitting percentage (.138), kills per set (15.17) and assists per set (14.04) in that time.
That's every team category except aces per set (2nd; 1.83), blocks per set (2nd; 2.40) and digs per set (4th; 15.00),
Offensive Parity Works Wonders
Creighton hit .335 over the course of its final 18 matches, winning 53-of-57 sets, and its parity was a big reason why.
In that time seven different women owned 48 kills or more and all of those women also hit .270 or higher in that span.
Last 18 Matches
Name K E TA Pct.
Norah Sis 207 64 529 .270
Ava Martin 183 42 444 .318
Kiana Schmitt 149 33 271 .428
Ellie Bichelmeyer 112 30 234 .350
Kiara Reinhardt 89 15 180 .411
Kendra Wait 68 6 149 .416
Destiny Ndam-Simpson 48 17 107 .290
TEAM 864 213 1945 .335
Offense Settles In
Creighton's offense was on an absolute tear during the final 17 matches.
During that span Creighton hit .300 or better in 36 of the 54 sets and had 11 or more kills in all but one of the 53 sets played to 25 points.
The Bluejays hit an insane .378 in the first set of those matches (271-52-579), surpassing the .600 mark and going without an attack error in three of the contests.
Opponent K E ATK PCT.
Georgetown 45 5 82 .488
Villanova 46 11 103 .340
at UConn 49 9 101 .396
at Providence 45 8 86 .430
at Villanova 41 5 73 .493
at Georgetown 41 13 107 .262
DePaul 46 9 115 .322
#25 Marquette 54 11 111 .387
at Seton Hall 57 10 101 .465
at St. John's 51 17 120 .283
Xavier 46 12 100 .340
Butler 47 8 105 .371
DePaul 45 11 102 .333
St. John's 43 10 93 .355
Colgate 48 10 119 .319
Minnesota 56 20 141 .255
#7 Louisville 60 22 171 .222
Total 820 191 1,830 .344
Setting The Table
Three-time All-BIG EAST selection Kendra Wait has started all 100 matches she's played in during her career, with Creighton going 87-13 in those contests.
Against Loyola (Chicago), Wait became the first Bluejay setter to start three straight season-openers since Megan Bober did so all four years of her career from 2009-12.
Besides Wait and Bober, the only other women to start three or more season-openers at setter have been Korie Lebeda (2005-08), Kailey Reyes (1998-2001) and Melissa Weisensee (1994-97).
Schmitt Joins Century Club
Senior Kiana Schmitt played in 110 victories during her career, becoming the 10th Bluejay to appear in 100 triumphs.
Schmitt's .873 winning percentage (110-16) in matches appeared in was easily the best, far outpacing the .820 win percentage for Taryn Kloth (109-24 from 2015-18).
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
W-L Pct. Name Years
116-26 .817 Naomi Hickman 2017-21
111-28 .799 Jaali Winters 2015-18
110-16 .873 Kiana Schmitt 2019-23
109-24 .820 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
109-25 .813 Brittany Witt 2016-19
107-25 .811 Megan Ballenger 2016-19
106-32 .768 Marysa Wilkinson 2014-17
104-34 .754 Lauren Smith 2013-16
102-31 .767 Melanie Jereb 2012-15
101-31 .765 Ashley Jansen 2012-15
98-16 .860 Jaela Zimmerman 2018-22
Best Sets
Creighton has only had 10 sets in program history in which it has hit .654 or better, but two of those came in the final 17 matches of the fall.
Creighton hit .667 in the first set vs. Georgetown on Oct. 13 and .737 at Providence on Oct. 21st, also in the first set.
Best Team Hitting Percentage in a Set
% K-E-TA Opponent (Set #) Date
.818 18-0-22 at DePaul (1) 10/6/17
.737 14-0-19 at Providence (1) 10/21/23
.722 13-0-18 at Georgetown (5) 11/20/15
.714 10-0-14 vs. Northern Iowa (5) 9/5/14
.714 15-0-21 at DePaul (3) 10/11/19
.684 13-0-19 Eastern Illinois (2) 10/15/00
.682 15-0-22 Tulsa (3) 10/27/95
.667 18-2-24 Xavier (1) 9/28/22
.667 14-0-21 Georgetown (1) 10/13/23
.654 18-1-26 Bradley (3) 9/25/10
The Streak
Creighton has not lost three conference matches in the same season since 2013, when it finished 12-4 in its inaugural BIG EAST campaign.
The Bluejays have suffered one league loss or fewer in the second half of conference play during each of the last 10 seasons.
League Record by Year
Year 1st Half 2nd Half Place
1994 2-8 1-9 T-9th MVC
1995 3-7 3-7 T-7th MVC
1996 2-7 3-6 T-6th MVC
1997 6-3 4-5 T-3rd MVC
1998 2-7 3-6 8th MVC
1999 5-4 4-5 5th MVC
2000 5-4 5-4 T-4th MVC
2001 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2002 1-8 1-8 T-9th MVC
2003 5-4 4-5 T-5th MVC
2004 5-4 5-4 5th MVC
2005 4-5 6-3 5th MVC
2006 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2007 7-2 7-2 T-2nd MVC
2008 7-2 8-1 2nd MVC
2009 4-5 6-3 T-4th MVC
2010 7-2 6-3 3rd MVC
2011 6-3 6-3 4th MVC
2012 8-1 9-0 1st MVC
2013 6-2 6-2 T-2nd BIG EAST
2014 8-1 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2015 9-0 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2016 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2017 8-1 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2018 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2019 9-0 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2020 3-1 4-0 1st BIG EAST (Midwest)
2021 7-2 9-0 T-1st BIG EAST
2022 9-0 8-1 T-1st BIG EAST
2023 7-2 9-0 T-1st BIG EAST
Total 177-89 177-89 --
Better and Better
Kiana Schmitt established herself as one of the best middle blockers in the BIG EAST and beyond.
Schmitt had 10 kills and two blocks her entire freshman year in 2019, only seeing action in 18 sets. Schmitt has upped her numbers all five seasons and finished 2023 posting career-high numbers across the board.
Year STARTS KPS PCT% BPS PPS
2019 0 .56 .409 .11 .61
2020 4 1.46 .299 .60 1.76
2021 19 1.64 .274 .84 2.09
2022 32 2.27 .317 .98 2.78
2023 34 2.65 .379 1.08 3.22
TOTAL 89 2.06 .330 .89 2.53
Sans Sis, Ndam-Simpson & Schmitt Shined
Creighton went 8-3 in the 11 matches without two-time All-American Norah Sis, and the play of Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Kiana Schmitt was a key reason why.
Ndam-Simpson averaged 2.72 kills per set while Schmitt's averaged 2.69 kills per set on .351 hitting without Sis.
Helping to replace Sis' defensive production was setter Kendra Wait, who averaged 3.79 digs per set in that span.
It Doesn't Seem Possible
Creighton went 13-0 at home this season and was the only BIG EAST program that did not lose a home contest in 2023.
Believe it or not, this was the first time that Creighton has ever started 4-0 or better at home.
The previous best? Both the 2001 and 2014 Bluejay teams started 3-0 at home.
This year marked Creighton's first unbeaten home regular-season in program history.
All They Do Is Win
Creighton has ranked as one of the nation's most successful programs since the start of the 2015 season.
Creighton ranks sixth nationally with 235 wins and seventh-best with an .822 win percentage.
Most Wins, Since Start of 2015
Rk. Wins Team
1. 255 Western Kentucky
2. 253 Nebraska
3. 243 Pittsburgh
4. 240 Texas
5. 238 BYU
6. 235 Creighton
7. 233 Wisconsin
8. 226 Stephen F. Austin
9. 222 Florida
10. 221 Stanford
Best Win Pct,. Since Start of 2015
Rk. Pct. Team W-L
1. .892 Texas 240-29
2. .879 Western Kentucky 255-35
3. .869 BYU 238-36
4. .858 Nebraska 253-42
5. .838 Pittsburgh 243-47
6. .829 Wisconsin 233-48
7. .819 Creighton 235-52
9. .813 Stanford 221-51
8. .804 Florida 222-54
10. .797 Towson 208-53
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton owns 87 wins during the last three seasons, fourth-most in the nation in that span and trailing only Louisville (90), Pitt (90) and Wisconsin (89), all of whom reached multiple Final Fours in that span.
The only teams with 27 or more wins each of the last three two campaigns are Creighton, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Texas, UCF, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin.
Here's a list of the teams with the most wins since the start of the Fall 2021 season:
Most Wins Nationally, Since 2021
Wins School
90 Louisville
90 Pittsburgh
89 Wisconsin
87 Creighton
87 Western Kentucky
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
This year's team played 14 matches (Loyola Chicago, Purdue, Ball State, LSU, UNI, Nebraska, Iowa State, High Point, Colgate, Louisville, Minnesota 2x and Marquette 2x) scheduled against teams that made the 2022 NCAA Tournament. CU went 11-3 in those contests.
All three times that Creighton had nine wins against teams coming off NCAA Tourney appearances (2015, 2016, 2023), it reached the Sweet 16 or beyond.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 105-108 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 5-4
2023 11-3
TOTAL 108-143
TOTAL Under Booth 105-108
Avoiding Losing Streaks
One key to Creighton's extended success over the last decade has been its ability to bounce back after a loss.
The Bluejays have won their last 22 contests immediately following a loss and have not dropped consecutive matches since opening the season 0-2 to begin the 2019 campaign with back-to-back losses to No. 2 Nebraska and No. 20 Baylor in Lincoln, Neb.
By comparison, every other team in the BIG EAST has had a multi-match losing streak this season alone.
And if that's not enough, EVERY SINGLE OTHER TEAM in the country (all 343 of them) has had a multi-match losing streak since Creighton's last skid.
Creighton has not lost back-to-back matches against conference teams since a three-match losing streak in November of 2011.
Creighton has also won its last 14 matches after a five-set loss, a streak that dates back to early in the 2016 campaign.
Dishing 3,000
Junior setter Kendra Wait became the fifth player in Bluejay history to reach 3,000 assists in her career when she reached the milestone in the first set vs. St. John's on Sept. 29th.
Wait got there in 80 career matches, the third-fastest Bluejay player to that milestone.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 3,000 Assists (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Korie Lebeda 65 08/28/07 at Iowa State
Kailey Reyes 72 11/17/00 at Wichita State
Kendra Wait 80 09/29/23 St. John's
Melissa Weisensee 88 09/05/97 vs. UTSA
Megan Bober 90 11/04/11 Wichita State
The BIG EAST Beasts
The latest unofficial RPI had the BIG EAST as the nation's sixth-best conference, trailing only the Pac-12, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and ACC.
Hitting Pretty
Creighton owned five 3-0 wins in the final 11 weeks in which it has hit .430 or better, including a .488 mark vs. Georgetown on Oct. 13th and a .493 mark at Villanova on Oct. 27th that both rank top-four in program history.
Best Attack Percentage, Creighton History
.536 vs. Tulsa (41-4-69) (3s) 10-27-95
.495 vs. Liberty (57-8-99) (3s) 9-2-05
.493 at Villanova (41-5-73) (3s) 10-27-23
.488 vs. Georgetown (45-5-82) (3s) 10-13-23
.476 at DePaul (46-6-84) (3s) 10-6-17
.471 vs. Providence (36-4-68) (3s) 10-19-14
.467 vs. Seton Hall (48-5-92) (3s) 11-3-19
.465 at Seton Hall (57-10-101) (3s) 11-10-23
.4463 vs. Georgetown (62-8-121) (4s) 9-22-17
.4459 vs. Belmont (38-5-74) (3s) 9-8-17
.442 vs. High Point (48-10-86) (3s) 9-15-23
What's Your Twenty?
Sophomore Ava Martin had 20 or more kills in four different matches this season, something only five other sophomores in program history have ever done.
Martin's five career efforts of 20 or more kills is tied for eighth-most in program history.
Matches With 20+ Kills, Season
20+K Name Year
11 Leah Ratzlaff, So. 2003
9 Leah Ratzlaff, Jr. 2004
9 Jaali Winters, Fr. 2015
9 Norah Sis, So. 2022
8 Melissa Walsh, Jr. 2000
7 Melissa Walsh, So. 1999
7 Leah Ratzlaff, Sr. 2005
6 Kelly Goc, Jr. 2006
6 Jaali Winters, So. 2016
5 Kelly Goc, Sr. 2007
5 Taryn Kloth, Sr. 2018
4 Melissa Walsh, Fr. 1998
4 Melissa Walsh, Sr. 2001
4 Jessica Houts, So. 2006
4 Norah Sis, Fr. 2021
4 Ava Martin, So. 2023
Matches With 20+ Kills, Career
20+K Name Years
27 Leah Ratzlaff 2002-05
23 Melissa Walsh 1998-01
18 Jaali Winters 2015-18
15 Norah Sis 2021-Present
13 Kelly Goc 2004-07
10 JoDe Cieloha 1994-97
7 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
5 Jessica Houts 2005-09
5 Leah McNary 2011-14
5 Ava Martin 2022-Present
This Is 20/20
Junior Kendra Wait became the first player in Creighton history with three different matches in the same month with at least 20 assists and 20 digs when she did it in September.
Her seven such matches in her career are tied for the most in CU history with Melissa Weisensee and Kailey Reyes.
Most 20 Assist, 20 Dig Matches in a Season
4 Melissa Weisensee 1997
4 Kailey Reyes 2000
3 Kailey Reyes 1999
3 Kendra Wait 2022
3 Kendra Wait 2023
Most 20 Assist, 20 Dig Matches in a Career
7 Melissa Weisensee 1994-97
7 Kailey Reyes 1998-01
7 Kendra Wait 2021-Pres.
2 Brittany Coleman 2003-05
2 Michelle Sicner 2011-14
1 Korie Lebeda 2005-08
1 Lydia Dimke 2016-17
20 Assists, 20 Digs In A Match
A D Name Opp. Date
47 22 Melissa Weisensee Bradley (4s) 9/9/94
51 21 Melissa Weisensee at Wichita State (5s) 9/14/96
53 24 Melissa Weisensee at Indiana State (5s) 10/18/96
40 23 Melissa Weisensee at Drake (5s) 9/13/97
46 38 Melissa Weisensee Evansville (4s) 10/10/97
46 21 Melissa Weisensee Missouri State (4s) 10/31/97
65 22 Melissa Weisensee at Evansville (5s) 11/8/97
55 28 Kailey Reyes Evansville (5s) 9/11/99
65 24 Kailey Reyes Illinois State (4s) 9/24/99
40 21 Kailey Reyes Missouri State (4s) 11/6/99
49 28 Kailey Reyes at Illinois State (4s) 10/13/00
44 23 Kailey Reyes Bradley (4s) 10/28/00
64 23 Kailey Reyes at Evansville (5s) 11/4/00
45 20 Kailey Reyes vs. Evansville (4s) 11/24/00
54 22 Brittany Coleman at Illinois State (4s) 10/18/03
62 21 Brittany Coleman at So. Illinois (4s) 10/29/04
71 20 Korie Lebeda at Evansville (5s) 11/18/06
27 20 Michelle Sicner Illinois State (4s) 9/30/11
44 21 Michelle Sicner Xavier (4s) 11/29/13
41 20 Lydia Dimke vs. Wichita State (5s) 8/27/16
40 21 Kendra Wait at Marquette (4s) 10/29/21
59 36 Kendra Wait vs. Florida State (5s) 9/9/22
56 24 Kendra Wait at Rice (5s) 9/18/22
60 20 Kendra Wait #14 Marquette (5s) 11/26/22
43 22 Kendra Wait Northern Iowa (4s) 9/3/23
42 22 Kendra Wait at #9 Minnesota (5s) 9/16/23
45 26 Kendra Wait at Xavier (5s) 9/23/23
Bolting Down The Defense
After doing it five total times in the first three years of her career, senior Ellie Bolton owned six matches of 20 or more digs this season.
Only six players in program history have more than 11 career matches with 20+ digs.
Matches With 20+ Digs, Career
20+D Name Years
41 Kate Elman 2012-15
32 Julianne Mandolfo 2010-11
27 Bianca Rivera 2007-08
27 Brittany Witt 2016-19
20 Janeen Piller 2001-04
19 Nayka Benitez 2009-10
11 Katie Mehal 2004-07
11 Ellie Bolton 2020-23
9 Kailey Reyes 1998-01
Booth Earns 450th Win at CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth owns a 470-189 record on the Creighton sideline, reaching the 450-win milestone on Sept. 16 with a road win at No. 9 Minnesota. Booth has beaten 98 different schools while at Creighton.
Coaching alongside Booth for each of those wins is assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens, who is also in her 21st season at CU.
Here's a look at Booth's record at the time of some of her milestone victories at Creighton:
W-L Opponent Date 1-1 vs. Auburn (in Ames, Iowa) 08/30/03
50-43 Jacksonville State 09/01/06
100-71 at Drake 10/31/08
150-108 Illinois State 09/30/11
200-123 Xavier 10/18/13
250-144 at Xavier 10/17/15
300-157 Villanova 09/24/17
350-167 Nebraska-Omaha 09/13/19
400-178 Marquette 10/10/21
450-186 at #9 Minnesota 09/16/23
Poll Votes Creighton 15th
Creighton finished 15th in the final TARAFLEX Top 25 poll of the season.
Creighton started the season 18th in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 and reached as high as 11th (Sept. 18th poll) this fall. It had been the highest ranking in the month of September for the program since it was 10th the final three weeks in September of 2018.
Creighton's best ranking ever is No. 7, done on Aug. 28, 2017. CU was last ranked in the top 10 on Nov. 25, 2019 when it was No. 10.
123 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked in the most recent AVCA poll for the 123nd time in program history. That's 38th-most of all programs in NCAA history.
All 123 rankings have occurred since 2012 and under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
The Bluejays are one of 15 schools (along with Baylor, BYU, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 46 polls.
Handful Named To All-Tournament Team
Creighton had five different student-athletes named to the All-Tournament Team at the Diet Coke Classic, which recognized players who were the best at each position.
Outside hitter Ava Martin was named Tournament MVP and joined on the list by middle blockers Ann Marie Remmes and Kiana Schmitt, libero Ellie Bolton and setter Kendra Wait.
En route to winning four preseason tournaments, Creighton's Ellie Bolton (Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier), Norah Sis (Bluejay Invitational) and Ava Martin (Diet Coke Classic) each picked up Tournament MVP accolades. It would have almost certainly been more, but the MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge did not recognize an All-Tournament Team.
Bouncing Back
The Creighton staff is quick to credit athletic performance coach Brad Schmidt for helping the team get stronger during the off-season and maintaining that strength during the season.
Need evidence of that? Since Aug. 25, 2018, Creighton is 20-2 in the match following a five-setter.
Hunting The Top 10
Including its Sept. 16th win at No. 9 Minnesota, Creighton is 9-36 all-time against top-10 teams, including a 9-29 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Eight of the nine victories came away from home, including three sweeps. All four top-five triumphs were also away from home.
The list of top-10 wins is below. Notably, Creighton is also 7-2 in the match after a top-10 victory, falling only after the win at Kansas in 2017 and vs. Kentucky in 2018.
Date Opponent Score
09/05/15 vs. #10 Kentucky (Cedar Falls, Iowa) W 3-0
12/02/16 at #4 Kansas W 3-2
08/26/17 at #3 Washington W 3-1
09/09/17 at #7 Kansas W 3-0
08/24/18 vs. #5 Kentucky (Los Angeles, Calif.) W 3-2
10/12/19 at #10 Marquette W 3-2
11/22/19 #9 Marquette W 3-1
09/04/21 at #3 Kentucky W 3-0
09/16/23 at #9 Minnesota W 3-2
Destined For Greatness?
Destiny Ndam-Simpson led Creighton with 13 kills in her first start on Sept. 6 at No. 4 Nebraska.
It was the most kills by a Bluejay in their first career start since sixth-year senior transfer Jazz Schmidt had 17 vs. Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 28, 2015.
Creighton's last freshman with 13 or more kills in their first career start was the woman that Ndam-Simpson replaced in the starting line-up that day, Norah Sis. Sis had 13 kills vs. Kansas City in her collegiate debut on Aug. 27, 2021.
Ndam-Simpson's 13 kills were the second-most ever against a ranked team by a Bluejay in their first career start, trailing only the 14 by Jess Bird in 2013 against No. 13 BYU.
Most Kills, First Career Start
K Name Opponent Date
17 Jaali Winters vs. Miami (Ohio) 8/28/15
17 Jazz Schmidt at Rice 9/18/22
15 Shannon Scrutton UW-Green Bay 8/31/96
15 Jessica Houts at Colorado 9/9/05
14 Jess Bird vs. #13 BYU 8/30/13
13 JoDe Cieloha vs. Chattanooga 9/2/94
13 Norah Sis vs. UMKC 8/27/21
13 Destiny Ndam-Simpson at #4 Nebraska 9/6/23
Simpson Starts Strong
Destiny Ndam-Simpson had double-figure kills in each of her first four career starts until it was snapped on Sept. 22 at Butler.
She's just the second player in program history with 10 or more kills in each of her first four starts, joining JoDe Cieloha (8 straight in 1994).
Higher & Higher
Creighton had no shortage of pressure-packed situations in 2023, as 24 of its 110 sets were decided by exactly two points (going 17-7). That doesn't include five drama-filled fifth sets (going 2-3).
Creighton was also 10-4 this year in sets that required more than 25 points for a winner to emerge.
On Sept. 3rd vs. Northern Iowa, Creighton played in a 36-34 set that was its second-highest scoring set in program history. The only one with more points was a 38-36 second set win at Butler on Nov. 12, 2017.
The match vs. Northern Iowa featured 44 ties and 20 lead changes. That was the most ties since there were 46 on Oct. 12, 2019 at Marquette and the most lead changes since there were 23 vs. Butler on Nov. 12, 2017.
The Gauntlet Continues
Creighton faced another challenging non-conference schedule this fall.
All told, nine of Creighton's 11 non-conference opponents owned 20 or more wins last season, combining to go 240-112 (.682). Just four of the 11 non-conference matches were at home.
All 11 of the foes owned a top-85 RPI, 10 appeared in the postseason and four won a conference title last season. Creighton went 4-0 against 2022 league champs and 9-1 against the 2022 postseason qualifiers.
Two of the teams that Creighton faced in non-conference play did not lose a league contest this fall (Northern Iowa and High Point).
Sis Ties Record At 1,000 Kill Milestone
Norah Sis became the 16th Bluejay ever to reach the 1,000 kill milestone when she did it on Sept. 2 vs. LSU.
Sis achieved the milestone in her 70th career match, tying Melissa Walsh for reaching 1,000 kills the fastest in program history.
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. Norah Sis 306 1,226 2021-Pr.
10. Marysa Wilkinson 499 1,183 2014-17
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Career Kills
Name MP Date Opponent
Melissa Walsh 70 10/15/00 Eastern Illinois
Norah Sis 70 09/02/23 LSU
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
Jaela Zimmerman 111 11/13/22 Seton Hall
Lauren Smith 119 10/07/16 at Villanova
Marysa Wilkinson 120 09/30/17 at St. John's
My Favorite Martin
Ava Martin started her sophomore season with matches of 14 (Loyola), 15 (Purdue), 20 (Duke), 16 (Ball State), 16 (LSU) and 22 (UNI) kills. Martin also finished her freshman season last fall with matches of 22 (Marquette) and 14 (Auburn) kills.
Both those items put her in select company.
Martin is the first Bluejay ever with four (or more...she ended at six) straight matches of 14 or more kills to start the season.
She's also the first Bluejay with eight straight matches of 14 or more kills in program history.
In those eight matches, Martin averaged 4.21 kills per set while hitting .287. Seven of the eight opponents were in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 18th in the AVCA preseason poll. It's the ninth time in the past 11 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 last 16 seasons, 295-of-400 teams (73.8 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and since 2008 362-of-400 teams (90.5 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament, as all but No. 13 San Diego, No. 14 Ohio State and No. 23 Rice reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
This year marks the 12th 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 27-5 21st
2023 18th 29-5 15th
A Head Start
Creighton got a leg up on the competition thanks to having 10 extra practices in May and a trip to Italy and Slovenia from May 31 - June 11th.
Every member of the current team except Emma Ziegler was on the trip, which also included four matches.
Believe The Hype
Creighton's recruiting class of freshmen Sydney Breissinger, Audrey Clark, Jaya Johnson, Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Ava TeStrake was recognized as the nation's No. 22 class by PrepVolleyball.
Ndam-Simpson was listed as the nation's No. 21 recruit, TeStrake was tabbed 37th-best and Breissinger No. 139. Creighton now owns nine players on its 2023 roster who were Top 150 recruits by PrepVolleyball.
Top-100 PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces
(list started in 2004; expanded to 150 in 2021)
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
41 2022 Ava Martin
55 2022 Sky McCune
21 2023 Destiny Ndam-Simpson
37 2023 Ava TeStrake
139 2023 Sydney Breissinger
* signed with Purdue and later transferred to Creighton
# signed with Cincinnati and later transferred to Creighton
current Bluejays in bold italic
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)
2023 22nd (Breissinger, Clark, Johnson, Ndam-Simpson, TeStrake)
Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-18 letterwinners to the court from last season, including five starters.
From last year's team, only Emily Bressman, Bethany Clapp, Keeley Davis, Jazz Schmidt, Megan Skovsende, Allison Whitten and Jaela Zimmerman are not back.
All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 524.3 of a possible 700% back (74.9 percent).
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 1,384 (86.2%) 221 (13.8%)
Blocks 204 (84.3%) 38 (15.7%)
Matches Started 154 (80.2%) 192 (19.8%)
Kills 1,329 (77.6%) 383 (22.4%)
Points 1648 (76.9%) 494 (23.1%)
Aces 115 (61.2%) 73 (38.8%)
Digs 1142 (57.9%) 830 (42.1%)
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 390-11 (.973) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 333-5 mark (.985) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 256-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 131-1 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 17-206 (.076) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 15-107 (.123) under Booth. Those 17 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
10/07/22 at UConn 25-15, 25-12, 15-13 Booth
10/14/22 #16 Marquette 25-19, 25-16, 15-8 Booth
Set 1 Result A Strong Indicator
Creighton is 400-36 (.917) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 70-153 (.314) 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 149-5 in its last 154 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, on Sept. 3, 2022 to No. 16 Kentucky and on Dec. 2, 2022 to Auburn.
Creighton has gone 132-6 in its last 138 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 13-19 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 171-4 in its last 175 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.
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 470-3 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
A Baker's Dozen, Cousin
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her team to 13 NCAA Tournaments. That's more than any other coach in Creighton history.
Name Sport NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth Volleyball 13
Bob Warming Men's Soccer 11
Greg McDermott Men's Basketball 8
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Elmar Bolowich Men's Soccer 6
Jim Flanery Women'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 470 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport Victories (thru 12/31/23)
Brent Vigness, Softball 819
Ed Servais, Baseball 643*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 528*#
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 470*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 412*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis 347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball 327
*still active coaching at Creighton
#currently just the women's tennis coach
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 70-39 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 19 of its last 27 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, at South Dakota in the 2020 campaign, at Omaha and UConn in 2022 and at No. 9 Minnesota in 2023.
It's also worth noting that Creighton is 19-5 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton's six victories in five-set matches last season broke the program record of five previously done in 2003, 2011 and 2015. The nine five-set matches in 2022 was also a record.
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 6-3 27-5
2023 2-3 29-5
Total 85-67 563-341
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Creighton Volleyball was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of league coaches.
Creighton earned 4-of-11 first place votes and 94 of a possible 100 points. That was just behind of Marquette's 97 points and the other seven votes for first place.
Xavier (78) was picked third, just ahead of St. John's (64) and Connecticut (63). Rounding out the bottom half of the poll were DePaul (59), Villanova (46), Butler (40), Seton Hall (30), Providence (18) and Georgetown (16).
Creighton also had three women among the 12 members on the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team in Ava Martin as well as unanimous selections Kendra Wait and Norah Sis. Sis was also tabbed the BIG EAST's Preseason Player of the Year for the second straight fall.
Including 2023, Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 19 of 21 years under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including 10 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 T-1st - -
2022 1st T-1st - -
2023 2nd T-1st #1
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 10-13 against ranked non-conference foes over the last seven seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
Non-Conference Records, By Year, Under Booth
Year Non-Con W-L vs. Ranked Non-Con Final W-L
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 8-3 1-2 27-5
2023 9-2 2-1 29-5
President Elect Booth
Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is the current President-Elect of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Booth began her service on January 1, 2023, and will become AVCA President in 2024. She is part of the 17-member AVCA Board of Directors, which includes elected representatives, appointed voting members for Diversity Development and Legislation, and non-voting members for Education and Awards.
She will finish out her term as Past President in 2026.
Booth is in her 21st season as the head women's volleyball coach at Creighton.
Players Mentioned
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/ VolleyballWednesday, May 27
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Saturday, April 18
Saturday, April 18
