Friday, August 25
West Lafayette, Ind.
3 PM
Creighton University
1-0,0-0Big East
3
vs
0
Loyola (Chicago)
0-1,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
3
F
Loyola Chicago
23
26
22
0
Creighton
25
28
25
3
#18 Volleyball Sweeps A-10 Champion Loyola To Open 2023 Season
8/25/2023 4:55:00 PM | Volleyball
Bluejays win key points late to first win
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Ava Martin had eight of her match-high 14 kills in the third set and Ann Marie Remmes had seven kills on .467 hitting in her first career start as No. 18 Creighton Volleyball swept Loyola (Chicago), 25-23, 28-26, 25-22, in the season-opener for both teams at the Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier in West Lafayette, Ind.
The match featured 12 lead changes and 24 ties in a battle of defending league champions.
"We knew Loyola (Chicago) was a really tough first round match. They returned everybody and they're just a bunch of ballers," said Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "We got punched early big-time, going down big, but I liked our fight. I didn't like that I felt like we were in control of both (sets) two and three and gave up big runs to let them back in. Something that we definitely need to work on. That first game is a lot of jitters and Loyola (Chicago's) a great team and so we think that will be a good win for us long-term."
Martin, the reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, pounded 14 kills while Kiana Schmitt added 10 kills on .500 hitting to lead the Bluejay attack. Preseason All-BIG EAST pick Kendra Wait had 28 assists, nine digs and six kills while serving aces to end the first and third sets. Creighton had 46 kills, 47 digs, three blocks and four aces on .286 hitting overall.
Creighton surrendered the first six points of the season and trailed the entire first set until a 5-0 serving run by Norah Sis tied the score at 21-all. Down 23-22, Remmes and Martin had kills to give CU its first lead and Wait closed out the set with the first ace of the Bluejay season. Creighton had 18 kills on .302 hitting in the first set.
A 7-0 serving run by Sis in the second set put the Jays in control with a 19-14 edge, but Loyola countered with a 6-0 run to take a 20-19 lead. Creighton took advantage of its fifth opportunity at set point when a Loyola attack soared long. Schmitt topped the Bluejays with four kills in the set while Sis upped seven digs.
Once again in the third set, Loyola got to 20 points first before Creighton pulled away at end game. CU took a 23-22 lead on Martin's final kill of the afternoon, then reached match point on Remmes' career-high seventh kill. Following a timeout, Wait's serve couldn't be controlled by Rambler defender Emily Banitt as the Bluejays clinched their 16th season-opening win in 21 tries under Booth.
Though not always thrilled to be trailing late in each set, Booth was pleased with the way her team handled the adversity in crunch time. "I think it shows the composure of our team. They did a good job of staying confident in those situations and taking good swings when we had the opportunity."
Loyola hit .207 and finished with 40 kills, 54 digs, six aces and three blocks. Reigning A-10 Player of the Year Karlie McNabb led the way for the Ramblers with 10 kills. Anna Feldkamp, a former high school teammate of Creighton libero Ellie Bolton, added nine kills and hit .500 in 16 swings.
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. for its first top-25 battle of the season, taking on tournament host and 16th-ranked Purdue on BTN.
NOTES: Friday marked the first meeting between the Bluejays and Ramblers ... Both Creighton and Loyola (Chicago) won their respective conferences last season with identical 17-1 league records. Creighton's in the BIG EAST, while Loyola (Chicago) is in the Atlantic 10 ... Sophomore Ann Marie Remmes, who had four kills in 10 sets played her entire freshman year, made her first career start and notched seven kills ... Three players made their Creighton debuts on Friday, Rice transfer Ellie Bichelmeyer (3 kills, 2 blocks), Denver transfer Emma Ziegler (1 dig) and true freshman Sydney Breissinger (7 digs) ... Creighton has now won 59 straight matches when winning the hitting percentage battle ... Norah Sis finished with a match-high 16 digs, but just six kills, to snap her streak of 15 straight matches of 10 or more kills that ranked fifth-longest in program history ... Creighton has now won 13 of its last 15 season-openers ... Ellie Bolton had eight digs and four assists while donning the libero jersey for the first time since Oct. 16, 2021. Bolton also was used as CU's libero in 52-of-62 sets during her freshman season in the spring of 2021 ... Kiana Schmitt surpassed 500 career kills (now 509), while Kendra Wait eclipsed 2,500 career assists (now 2,513) ... Creighton has won 12 straight neutral-site matches ... Creighton is now 18-2 in the match following a five-set match since Aug. 25, 2018.
The match featured 12 lead changes and 24 ties in a battle of defending league champions.
"We knew Loyola (Chicago) was a really tough first round match. They returned everybody and they're just a bunch of ballers," said Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "We got punched early big-time, going down big, but I liked our fight. I didn't like that I felt like we were in control of both (sets) two and three and gave up big runs to let them back in. Something that we definitely need to work on. That first game is a lot of jitters and Loyola (Chicago's) a great team and so we think that will be a good win for us long-term."
Martin, the reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, pounded 14 kills while Kiana Schmitt added 10 kills on .500 hitting to lead the Bluejay attack. Preseason All-BIG EAST pick Kendra Wait had 28 assists, nine digs and six kills while serving aces to end the first and third sets. Creighton had 46 kills, 47 digs, three blocks and four aces on .286 hitting overall.
Creighton surrendered the first six points of the season and trailed the entire first set until a 5-0 serving run by Norah Sis tied the score at 21-all. Down 23-22, Remmes and Martin had kills to give CU its first lead and Wait closed out the set with the first ace of the Bluejay season. Creighton had 18 kills on .302 hitting in the first set.
A 7-0 serving run by Sis in the second set put the Jays in control with a 19-14 edge, but Loyola countered with a 6-0 run to take a 20-19 lead. Creighton took advantage of its fifth opportunity at set point when a Loyola attack soared long. Schmitt topped the Bluejays with four kills in the set while Sis upped seven digs.
Once again in the third set, Loyola got to 20 points first before Creighton pulled away at end game. CU took a 23-22 lead on Martin's final kill of the afternoon, then reached match point on Remmes' career-high seventh kill. Following a timeout, Wait's serve couldn't be controlled by Rambler defender Emily Banitt as the Bluejays clinched their 16th season-opening win in 21 tries under Booth.
Though not always thrilled to be trailing late in each set, Booth was pleased with the way her team handled the adversity in crunch time. "I think it shows the composure of our team. They did a good job of staying confident in those situations and taking good swings when we had the opportunity."
Loyola hit .207 and finished with 40 kills, 54 digs, six aces and three blocks. Reigning A-10 Player of the Year Karlie McNabb led the way for the Ramblers with 10 kills. Anna Feldkamp, a former high school teammate of Creighton libero Ellie Bolton, added nine kills and hit .500 in 16 swings.
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. for its first top-25 battle of the season, taking on tournament host and 16th-ranked Purdue on BTN.
NOTES: Friday marked the first meeting between the Bluejays and Ramblers ... Both Creighton and Loyola (Chicago) won their respective conferences last season with identical 17-1 league records. Creighton's in the BIG EAST, while Loyola (Chicago) is in the Atlantic 10 ... Sophomore Ann Marie Remmes, who had four kills in 10 sets played her entire freshman year, made her first career start and notched seven kills ... Three players made their Creighton debuts on Friday, Rice transfer Ellie Bichelmeyer (3 kills, 2 blocks), Denver transfer Emma Ziegler (1 dig) and true freshman Sydney Breissinger (7 digs) ... Creighton has now won 59 straight matches when winning the hitting percentage battle ... Norah Sis finished with a match-high 16 digs, but just six kills, to snap her streak of 15 straight matches of 10 or more kills that ranked fifth-longest in program history ... Creighton has now won 13 of its last 15 season-openers ... Ellie Bolton had eight digs and four assists while donning the libero jersey for the first time since Oct. 16, 2021. Bolton also was used as CU's libero in 52-of-62 sets during her freshman season in the spring of 2021 ... Kiana Schmitt surpassed 500 career kills (now 509), while Kendra Wait eclipsed 2,500 career assists (now 2,513) ... Creighton has won 12 straight neutral-site matches ... Creighton is now 18-2 in the match following a five-set match since Aug. 25, 2018.
Team Stats
Loyola
CU
Kills
40
46
Errors
17
12
Attempts
111
119
Hitting %
.207
.286
Points
49.0
53.0
Assists
37
38
Aces
6
4
Blocks
3
3
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballCreighton Volleyball Media Availability September 9
Tuesday, September 09
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. USC, 9/7/25
Sunday, September 07
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. UCSB - 9/6/25
Sunday, September 07
Creighton Volleyball Postgame Interview vs. UCSB - 9/6/25
Sunday, September 07
