Friday, August 25
West Lafayette, Ind.
3 PM
Creighton University
vs
Loyola (Chicago)
Photo by: Catherine Grosdidier
#18 Volleyball Opens 2023 Regular Season on Friday
8/22/2023 9:45:00 AM | Volleyball
Bluejays take on Loyola (Chicago), #16 Purdue and Duke in West Lafayette, Ind.
Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier
All matches played at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind.
Match #1: #18 Creighton vs. Loyola (Chicago) • Friday, Aug. 25 • 3 p.m. CST
| BTN+ VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF) | LOYOLA NOTES |
Match #2: #18 Creighton at #16 Purdue • Saturday, Aug. 26 • 2:30 p.m. CST
| BTN VIDEO | LIVE STATS | PURDUE RADIO | CU NOTES (PDF) | PURDUE NOTES (PDF) |
Match #3: #18 Creighton vs. Duke • Sunday, Aug. 27 • 11 a.m. CST
| BTN+ VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF) | DUKE NOTES (PDF)
This Weekend
No. 18 Creighton (0-0) opens the 2023 season with three matches at the Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier.
The season starts this Friday, Aug. 25, at 3 p.m. Central when the Bluejays meet Loyola Chicago (0-0) in the season-opener for both programs.
On Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Central, the Bluejays square off against No. 16 Purdue in its first top-25 match-up of the fall.
On Sunday, Creighton concludes play in the tournament with a 11 a.m. Central contest vs. Duke.
The matches will be played inside Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind.
Broadcast Information
Creighton's matches on Friday (vs. Loyola) and Sunday (vs. Duke) will air on BTN+. For subscription info, visit https://www.bigtenplus.com. If you're on the fence about subscribing, keep in mind that Creighton Volleyball's matches on Sept. 15 (vs. High Point) and Sept. 16 (at Minnesota) will also be on BTN+.
Saturday's contest vs. No. 16 Purdue will be televised nationally on BTN and streamed at https://www.foxsports.com/live/btn. Purdue will also have radio coverage of the match at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/purdue/.
Live Stats Information
All three matches will have free live stats available at http://Purdue.StatBroadcast.com.
Fans can also find the links on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting #18 Creighton
Creighton returns five starters from last season's 27-5 squad that reached an 11th straight NCAA Tournament and saw the Bluejays win a ninth straight BIG EAST regular-season title and its eighth BIG EAST Tournament crown in the past nine years. Despite all that success, CU is picked to finish second by league coaches in 2023.
The Bluejays return four All-BIG EAST selections from a year ago, a group led by 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis (4.33 kps., 2.51 dps.). Sis was named BIG EAST Tournament MVP in both 2021 and 2022 and Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year in both 2022 and 2023.
Also back are all-league picks Ava Martin (2.49 kps.), Kiana Schmitt (2.27 kps., .317%) and Kendra Wait (11.16 aps., 3.23 dps.).
Creighton picked up transfers Ellie Bichelmeyer (Rice) and Emma Ziegler (Denver) to bolster a top-25 recruiting class led by top-40 recruits Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Ava TeStrake.
CU averaged 14.39 kills, 1.58 aces, 16.57 digs and 2.03 blocks per set and hit .266 last season.
Scouting Loyola (Chicago)
Loyola (Chicago) returns its entire starting lineup (and libero) from a team that went 25-9 last year and won the Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament titles.
Reigning A-10 Player of the Year Karlie McNabb (3.36 kps.) and Bree Borum (8.34 aps., 2.77 dps.) were both named First Team All-Conference last year, while Emily Banitt (2.30 kps., 0.72 bps.) and Taylor Venuto (2.23 kps., .392%) were both Second Team selections.
The Ramblers averaged 13.73 kills, 14.74 digs, 2.15 blocks and 1.72 aces per set last season while hitting .248 as a team.
Scouting No. 16 Purdue
Purdue went 21-11 last season, falling two wins short of a third straight Elite Eight appearance. The Boilermakers have won at least one match in each of the last eight NCAA Tournaments.
Eva Hudson was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year after averaging 4.22 kills per set and posting a league-leading 515 kills, while Raven Colvin averaged 1.42 blocks per set and hit .285. Additionally, Maddie Schermerhorn collected 4.62 digs per set and is regarded as one of the league's top liberos.
Purdue also boasts one of the nation's top-five recruiting classes, a group that features Chloe Chicoine and Elkhorn (Neb.) North product Grace Heaney. Also new is Denver grad transfer Lorrin Poulter (10.20 aps., 0.46 saps.).
The 2022 Boilermaker squad averaged 12.86 kills, 14.20 digs, 2.60 blocks and 1.38 aces per set while hitting .217 as a unit.
Scouting Duke
Duke went 16-13 last season, winning just 4-of-13 matches away from home.
Gracie Johnson led the Blue Devils with 4.40 kills per set last year, more than twice as many as any other teammate. She also led the club with 53 service aces (0.50 saps.) and 87 service errors.
Keep an eye on Michigan transfer Jess Robinson (2.25 kps., 1.13 bps., .438%) in the middle, as well as ACC All-Freshman Team member Kerry Keefe (2.39 kps,. .288%) on the right side.
Setter Devon Chang (10.26 aps.) graduated, but libero Nikki Underwood (3.78 dps.) does return.
The Blue Devils averaged 12.68 kills, 13.78 digs, 2.16 blocks and 1.58 aces per set while hitting .195.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 441-184 record entering her 21st season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to nine straight BIG EAST titles (2014-22), and 10 league crowns in the last 11 years. Booth led the Bluejays to their first two Sweet 16's (2015, 2016) and first Elite Eight (2016) in program history. In 2016 she was recognized as VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Coach of the Year and AVCA East Region Coach of the Year. Booth was tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the third time in 2019.
The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only 12 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 is assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Brian Rosen and Adam Kessenich.
Series History vs. Loyola (Chicago)
Creighton and Loyola (Chicago) have never met.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 3-2 all-time against the current members of the A-10, going 3-1 vs. Saint Louis and 0-1 vs. Dayton.
Series History vs. Purdue
Purdue took a 3-1 decision (25-21, 25-15, 22-25, 27-25) over Creighton on Sept. 8, 2017 in Lawrence, Kan., in the only previous meeting between the Boilermakers and Bluejays.
Danielle Cuttino (21 kills, .576%) and Sherridan Atkinson (21 kills, .500%) helped Purdue hit .411 in the victory.
Creighton was paced by 14 kills and Marysa Wilkinson, while Jaali Winters added 13 kills, 10 digs and four service aces.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 0-1 against Purdue and coach Dave Shondell.
Series History vs. Duke
Creighton and Duke have never met.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 6-2 all-time against the current members of the ACC, going 1-0 against Florida State, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Wake Forest, 1-1 vs. North Carolina and 0-1 against Louisville.
Last Season Summary
Creighton went 27-5 last season, won a ninth straight BIG EAST regular-season title, won its eight BIG EAST Tournament in the past nine seasons, and played in its 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Norah Sis was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Tournament MVP. She was joined on the All-BIG EAST squad by Kiana Schmitt, Kendra Wait and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Ava Martin.
CU posted three top-25 victories in the season, topping No. 25 USC (Sept. 2), No. 16 Marquette (Oct. 14) and No. 14 Marquette (Nov. 26).
Exhibition Recap
Creighton has played two scrimmages in preparation for the start of the regular-season.
In its annual Blue/White scrimmage (Aug. 12), the Blue team rallied for a 3-2 win. All 18 players saw action during at least one set on both the Blue and White sides.
Last Saturday (Aug. 19), Creighton lost the first set but won the final four in an exhibition contest against two-time defending Big Sky Conference champion Northern Colorado.
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.
Hello World!
Six Bluejay freshmen (Sydney Breissinger, Audrey Clark, Morgan Colangelo, Jaya Johnson, Destiny Ndam-Simpson, Ava TeStrake), as well as transfers Ellie Bichelmeyer and Emma Ziegler, could make their Creighton debuts this weekend.
Below is the current Creighton players and how they performed in their regular-season collegiate debuts (as well as at previous schools in the case of Bichelmeyer and Ziegler).
Records for a Bluejay debut can be found at the bottom of page three. Interestingly, the career leaders or career runner-ups for Creighton Volleyball in digs (Brittany Witt and Kate Elman), aces (Molly Moran), kills (Jaali Winters) and blocks (Kelli Browning) also own the CU record or are second for that same category for a Bluejay debut.
Year Name SP K E TA Pct. A SA DIG TB
2021 Norah Sis• 3 11 4 28 .250 0 1 5 4
2020 Kiara Reinhardt• 3 7 4 16 .188 0 2 2 4
2021 Kendra Wait• 3 5 0 9 .556 32 0 7 2
2019 Ellie Bichelmeyer% 2 3 3 10 .000 0 0 1 2
2022 Ava Martin 1 3 0 4 .750 0 0 0 1
2020 Ellie Bolton 3 0 0 0 --- 2 0 12 0
2020 Katie Maser 1 0 0 0 --- 1 0 0 0
2019 Kiana Schmitt 1 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0 0
2021 Abbey Milner 1 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0 0
2021 Emma Ziegler# 1 0 0 0 --- 2 0 0 0
2022 Sky McCune• 3 0 0 0 --- 2 0 5 0
2022 Ann Marie Remmes 1 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0 1
#Ziegler's stats from debut at Denver
%Bichelmeyer's stats from debut at Rice
Don't I Know You?
There's more familiarity than you might think between Creighton and its opponents this week.
In a preseason questionnaire, Creighton's Ellie Bolton listed Loyola (Chicago) teammates Anna Feldkamp and Olivia Lovett as her best friends that play college volleyball elsewhere. That's not too surprising...the trio combined to win a pair of state titles at St. James (Kan.) Academy in 2017 and 2018, with both teams ranking among the top-20 nationally.
Likewise, Creighton's Emma Ziegler named Lorrin Poulter, which shouldn't come as a huge surprise since the two were both setters for the University of Denver the last two seasons.
Creighton's Norah Sis played alongside Purdue's Chloe Chicoine and Raven Colvin while winning a Gold Medal at the U21 Women's NORCECA Pan American Cup in the summer of 2022, as well as Eva Hudson and Chicoine in the summer of 2023. In 2023, Chicoine was named the Tournament's Best Spiker, while Sis was named Second Best Spiker.
Purdue freshman Grace Heaney hails from Omaha and starred at Elkhorn North High School. One of Heaney's teammates with the Wolves in both volleyball and basketball was Reese Booth, the daughter of Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. Another teammate was Creighton freshman Destiny Ndam-Simpson.
Duke setter Emma Worthington hails from Omaha, where she attended Duchesne Academy.
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 15 seasons, 275-of-375 teams (73.3 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and since 2008 340-of-375 teams (90.7 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament, as all but No. 12 UCLA, No. 17 Illinois and No. 22 Utah reached the 2022 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 TBD TBD
Top 25 History
Creighton is 172-40 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 18-23 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, 38 of Creighton's 69 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 262-31 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 94 home matches over unranked teams and all but 10 of its last 121 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
After a total of three top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton has earned at least one top-25 win each of the last eight seasons (2015-22). That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories in 2019.
Creighton is 23-84 all-time against ranked teams and 13 of those top 25 wins all-time have come against either Marquette (8) or Kentucky (5).
The highest ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten at any site were No. 3 Washington (8/26/17 in Seattle) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/21 in Lexington). CU's highest-ranked opponent it has defeated at home was a 3-1 win over then-No. 9 Marquette on Nov. 22, 2019.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 18-23)
Home: 8-9 Away: 5-8 Neutral: 5-6
Date Winner Loser CU Score
11/19/12 #11 Minnesota #21 Creighton 1-3
08/30/13 #25 Creighton #13 BYU 3-1
09/14/13 #11 UCLA #24 Creighton 1-3
09/16/13 #7 Hawaii #23 Creighton 2-3
08/30/14 #22 Kansas #23 Creighton 1-3
09/03/16 #23 Kentucky #22 Creighton 0-3
12/02/16 #21 Creighton #4 Kansas 3-2
12/09/16 #21 Creighton #17 Michigan 3-2
12/10/16 #5 Texas #21 Creighton 0-3
08/26/17 #9 Creighton #3 Washington 3-1
09/01/17 #7 Creighton #13 Kentucky 3-0
09/02/17 #18 USC #7 Creighton 0-3
09/08/17 #17 Purdue #9 Creighton 1-3
09/09/17 #9 Creighton #7 Kansas 3-0
09/16/17 #19 Iowa State #8 Creighton 2-3
12/12/17 #12 Michigan St. #15 Creighton 1-3
08/24/18 #13 Creighton #5 Kentucky 3-2
08/25/18 #10 USC #13 Creighton 2-3
09/06/18 #7 Nebraska #14 Creighton 2-3
09/15/18 #8 Illinois #10 Creighton 1-3
09/23/18 #10 Creighton #21 Marquette 3-0
10/26/18 #10 Creighton #18 Marquette 3-1
11/24/18 #9 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-1
12/01/18 #22 Washington #9 Creighton 0-3
08/30/19 #2 Nebraska #18 Creighton 1-3
08/31/19 #20 Baylor #18 Creighton 0-3
09/06/19 #23 Creighton #12 Kentucky 3-1
09/07/19 #23 Creighton #15 USC 3-1
09/14/19 #12 Washington #17 Creighton 1-3
10/12/19 #13 Creighton #10 Marquette 3-2
11/22/19 #12 Creighton #9 Marquette 3-1
12/07/19 #7 Minnesota #15 Creighton 2-3
02/05/21 #19 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-2
02/06/21 #25 Marquette #19 Creighton 0-3
09/08/21 #3 Nebraska #19 Creighton 0-3
09/02/22 #17 Creighton #25 USC 3-1
09/03/22 #16 Kentucky #17 Creighton 1-3
09/07/22 #2 Nebraska #17 Creighton 2-3
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 at #16 Purdue
108 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked in the most recent AVCA poll for the 108th time in program history. That's 43rd-most of all programs in NCAA history, and close behind Loyola Marymount (114), Santa Clara (113) and Missouri (110) for a spot in the top-40.
All 108 rankings have occurred since 2012 and under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
The Bluejays are one of 18 schools (along with Baylor, BYU, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 31 polls.
Season Opening History
Last season's win vs. Iowa State improved Creighton to 19-10 in season-opening matches since restarting the program in 1994, and 15-5 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 12-2 mark since 2009.
Creighton will enter Saturday's match at Purdue with a 14-15 mark in road openers, including a 13-7 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Some Fab Freshmen
Creighton has started 15 different true freshmen in its season opener since 2009, and 19 such players since 2000.
Since 2000, the only true freshmen to start CU's season-opener have been Brittany Coleman (2003), Carolyn Decker (2004), Korie Lebeda (2005), Allie Oelke (2007), Brooke Boggs (2009), Heather Thorson (2009), Julianne Mandolfo (2010), Katie Neisler (2011), Michelle Sicner (2011), Melanie Jereb (2012), Ashley Jansen (2012), Jess Bird (2013), Jaali Winters (2015), Naomi Hickman (2017), Emily Bressman (2019), Kiara Reinhardt (2020), Kendra Wait (2021), Norah Sis (2021) and Sky McCune (2022), with Coleman, Lebeda and Wait the only freshmen to start at setter in the season-opener.
In addition, CU also started redshirt freshmen Lauren Smith (2013) and Brittany Lawrence (2015), as well as transfers Maggie Baumert (2014), Lydia Dimke (2016), Madelyn Cole (2018), Erica Kostelac (2019) and Mahina Pua'a (2020) in season-openers.
Eleven of those women (Martin, Sis, Wait, Reinhardt, Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC or BIG EAST's All-Freshman Team (though the BIG EAST had no such team from 2013-19). Winters was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2015, Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2016, Davis was BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2019, Sis recognized as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2021 and Martin named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2022.
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 Skylar 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%)
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton owns 58 wins during the last two seasons, fourth-most in the nation in that span and trailing only Final Four qualifiers Louisville (63), Pitt (61) and Wisconsin (59).
The only teams with 27 or more wins each of the past two campaigns are Creighton, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Texas, UCF, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin.
No Losers Here
Creighton has been nearly as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.
Creighton, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Texas, Towson, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin are the nation's only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 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 and 2022 seasons are Creighton, Pittsburgh and Texas.
11 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous 11 seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make 11 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make 11 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men's soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.
Creighton is one of nine teams nationally to have appeared in each of the previous 11 NCAA Tournaments (2012-22). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Texas and Washington.
There are also 13 schools that have appeared in 12 of the last 13 NCAA Tournaments, a group that includes Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Minnesota, Purdue and Stanford.
Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Texas and Washington have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since at least 2010.
Milestone Watch
• Kiana Schmitt enters her fifth year of college with 499 career kills.
• Norah Sis is 76 kills shy of 1,000.
• Kendra Wait is 15 assists shy of 2,500.
Sis Eyes 1,000 Kills
Norah Sis stands 76 kills shy of becoming the 16th Bluejay ever to reach the 1,000 kill milestone. Her most prolific three-match stretch ever is 70 kills, which she did to end her sophomore campaign.
Sis has played in 65 career matches, and could become the quickest Bluejay ever to 1,000 kills if she does it this weekend.
Career Kills
Name Sets No. Years
1. Jaali Winters 494 1,843 2015-18
2. Leah Ratzlaff 409 1,622 2002-05
3. Melissa Walsh 394 1,596 1998-01
4. Taryn Kloth 462 1,427 2015-18
5. Kelly Goc 394 1,414 2004-07
6. Jessica Houts 451 1,385 2005-09
7. JoDe Cieloha 398 1,375 1994-97
8. Leah McNary 458 1,257 2011-14
9. Marysa Wilkinson 499 1,183 2014-17
10. Lauren Smith 511 1,160 2013-16
11. Allie Oelke 445 1,126 2007-10
12. Kelli Browning 424 1,104 2011-14
13. Amanda Cvejdlik 343 1,029 2005-08
14. Shelly Kapler 388 1,000 1996-99
Jaela Zimmerman 357 1,000 2018-22
16. Jess Bird 377 965 2013-16
Megan Ballenger 450 965 2016-19
18. Keeley Davis 383 962 2019-22
19. Erin Swanson 319 955 1998-01
20. Ashley Williams 359 941 2001-04
21. Norah Sis 229 924 2021-Pr.
22. Megan Bober 480 833 2009-12
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Career Kills
Name MP Date Opponent
Melissa Walsh 70 10/15/00 Eastern Illinois
Jaali Winters 73 08/25/17 vs. Saint Mary's
Leah Ratzlaff 76 10/22/04 Missouri State
JoDe Cieloha 83 09/13/97 at Drake
Kelly Goc 87 11/24/06 vs Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts 90 11/08/08 Illinois State
Leah McNary 96 09/12/14 Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik 99 11/15/08 at Evansville
Shelly Kapler 103 11/18/99 vs. Missouri St.
Taryn Kloth 103 08/31/18 vs. NC State
Allie Oelke 107 10/09/10 Wichita State
Kelli Browning 110 10/26/14 DePaul
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
A Great Start
Norah Sis enters her junior season with 924 kills in her career. The 924 kills is the second-most ever by a Bluejay in their first two seasons, trailing only Jaali Winters' 994.
Winters ended her career with a school-record 1,843 kills.
Most Kills, After 2 Seasons at Creighton
Kills Yr1 Yr2 Name Year
994 546 448 Jaali Winters 2015 & 2016
924 435 489 Norah Sis 2021 & 2022
769 341 428 Melissa Walsh 1998 & 1999
733 270 463 Alicia Runge 2009 & 2010 (Jr. & Sr.)
696 180 516 Leah Ratzlaff 2002 & 2003
653 267 386 Jessica Houts 2005 & 2006
640 225 415 Amanda Cvejdlik 2005 & 2006
Sis...BOOM!
Norah Sis finished last season with back-to-back matches of 23 and then 30 kills, giving her a chance to become the third Bluejay with three straight contests of 20 or more kills should she start this year with a bang.
Additionally, Sis owns 10 or more kills in each of her last 15 contests, putting her in contention to move into a tie for fourth place on that list.
Consecutive Matches, 20 or More Kills
4 Melissa Walsh, Sept. 24-Oct. 1, 1999
3 Leah Ratzlaff, Oct. 18-31, 2003
3 Leah Ratzlaff, Nov. 15-22, 2003
3 Leah Ratzlaff, Oct. 29-Nov. 6, 2004
3 Jaali Winters, Dec. 1-9, 2016
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills
58 Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005
21 Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015 - Aug. 28, 2016
19 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997
18 Jaela Zimmerman, Nov. 16, 2019 - March 27, 2021
15 Norah Sis, Oct. 7, 2022 - Present
14 Kelly Goc, Sept. 8-Oct. 19, 2007
Put It In Neutral
Creighton has won 11 straight neutral site matches, including a 4-0 mark on neutral floors last season, improving to 75-34 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth in neutral site matches.
Creighton will play four of its first nine matches on neutral floors this fall.
Entering Year 21
Creighton's Kirsten Bernthal Booth and Purdue's Dave Shondell are both entering their 21st year coaching at their respective schools.
Nationally, no other coaches hired to a Division I job prior to the fall 2003 season have more wins than Booth (441) or Shondell (435). A distant third on that list is Lipscomb's Brandon Rosenthal (361).
Setting The Table
Two-time All-BIG EAST selection Kendra Wait enters her junior season having started all 66 matches she's played in during her career.
Should she get the nod on Friday vs. Loyola, Wait will become 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 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).
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 441-3 under Booth when it reaches a match point opportunity, falling only when it wasted two match points on Sept. 4, 2010 to Iowa, two match points on Nov. 1, 2013 in a loss to St. John's, and two match points on Dec. 7, 2019 in an NCAA Tournament loss at No. 7 Minnesota.
Surviving Match Points, Under Booth
Date Opponent MP(s) Faced Final Set 5
08/30/03 vs. McNeese State 13-14, 15-16 18-16
10/10/03 Wichita State 13-14 16-14
10/13/06 at Wichita State 12-14, 13-14, 14-15 17-15
09/11/07 at Drake 13-14, 14-15 17-15
08/26/11 vs. UTSA 12-14, 13-14 16-14
11/16/12 at Wichita State 13-14 16-14
09/20/15 Kansas State 23-24 (4th set) 15-13
11/20/15 at Georgetown 23-24, 26-27 (4th set) 15-7
08/24/18 vs. #5 Kentucky 16-15, 19-18 22-20
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 68-36 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 18 of its last 25 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 and at Omaha and UConn in 2022.
It's also worth noting that Creighton is 18-5 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 0-0 0-0
Total 83-64 534-336
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 17-2 in the match following a five-setter since Aug. 25, 2018.
That's notable since CU's last match (even if it was nine months ago) was a five-set contest vs. Auburn.
Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won 10 conference regular-season titles. All but two of Creighton's nine crowns were outright titles, whereas Texas shared one title and WKU shared five.
Creighton has also won nine conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2022
Regular-Season League Tournament
10 (2 shared) Creighton 9 Creighton
10 (1) Texas 8 Dayton
10 (5) Western Kentucky 8 Western Kentucky
9 Fairfield 7 Fairfield
8 BYU 6 American
8 (1) Colorado State 6 LIU
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.
Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 18 of 20 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 1st - -
2022 1st 1st - -
2023 2nd ??? ???
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 92-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (83-3 in the regular-season, 9-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since November of 2014, Creighton is 76-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 68-1 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 is 35-1 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (with 28 straight wins), and 105-22 in sets.
BIG EAST'S Best
Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton, Marquette and St. John's are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
Marquette won the regular-season and tournament title in 2013, while Creighton swept both titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020. CU won the 2019 regular-season crown, while St. John's upset nationally-ranked Creighton and Marquette to bring home the 2019 tournament title. In 2020, Creighton won the Midwest Division regular-season title, while St. John's claimed the East Division crown. In both 2021 and 2022, Creighton and Marquette shared the regular-season title and CU won the tournament title.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (10) 154 14 254 65
Marquette (9) 137 28 238 73
Xavier 97 69 151 140
Butler 91 77 158 137
Villanova (1) 83 85 154 135
St. John's (1) 81 87 174 137
Seton Hall (1) 72 95 141 154
DePaul 46 122 110 172
Georgetown 35 125 86 186
Connecticut# 27 17 45 32
Providence* 26 126 95 167
*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.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 365-11 (.971) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 308-5 mark (.984) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 232-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 120-1 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 17-204 (.077) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 15-105 (.125) 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 372-34 (.916) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 69-150 (.315) 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 136-5 in its last 141 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 104-4 in its last 108 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 12-16 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 145-3 in its last 148 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Last season Creighton played nine matches against 2021 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, going 5-4 against such teams.
This year's team has at least 11 matches (Loyola Chicago, Purdue, Ball State, LSU, UNI, Nebraska, Iowa State, High Point, Minnesota and Marquette 2x) scheduled against teams that made the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 94-105 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 0-0 so far
TOTAL 97-140
TOTAL Under Booth 94-105
A Dozen, Cousin
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her team to 12 NCAA Tournaments. That's more than any other coach in Creighton history.
Name Sport NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth Volleyball 12
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
9 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Regular-season champions from 2014-22, Creighton is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win nine 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 nine or more straight league titles, surpassing the five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96).
Climbing The List
Kirsten Bernthal Booth became Creighton Volleyball's winningest coach in the program's modern history on August 26, 2007, and hasn't let up. Booth owns 441 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport Victories (thru 8/20/23)
Brent Vigness, Softball 819
Ed Servais, Baseball 643*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 528*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 441*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 401*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis 347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball 327
*still active coaching at Creighton
Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play
Despite annually facing one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules, Creighton has continued to excel against elite competition.
Creighton is 8-12 against ranked non-conference foes over the last previous 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
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a record better than .500 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 171 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 28 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
CU still has not lost to four league foes (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence, Xavier) since joining the BIG EAST, and Marquette (5), 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 18-1 - 18-1
Connecticut 2-1 1-0 3-1
DePaul 20-0 1-0 21-0
Georgetown 18-0 - 18-0
Marquette 16-4 6-1 22-5
Providence 15-0 - 15-0
Seton Hall 15-3 2-0 17-3
St. John's 16-2 0-1 16-3
Villanova 15-3 3-0 18-3
Xavier 19-0 4-0 23-0
Total 154-14 17-2 171-16
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 then 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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/ VolleyballCreighton vs. Kentucky Volleyball Press Conference - 12/13/25
Sunday, December 14
Creighton Volleyball NCAA Tournament Highlights vs. Kentucky, 12/13/25
Saturday, December 13
Kentucky Volleyball Media Availability - 12/12/25
Friday, December 12
Arizona State Volleyball Press Conference After Creighton Match - 12/11/25
Thursday, December 11
