
Volleyball Wins Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier Despite Loss to Duke
8/27/2023 1:48:00 PM | Volleyball
Jays fall to 2-1 on the season
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Norah Sis and Ava Martin combined for 47 kills but it wasn't enough as No. 18 Creighton Volleyball lost in five sets to Duke on Sunday afternoon in West Lafayette, Ind. Despite the loss, Creighton still wins the Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier title. It's the 12th straight season that CU has won at least one tournament.
Scores of the match in Duke's favor were 17-25, 27-25, 27-25, 24-26, 15-11. Creighton is now 2-1 on the season, while Duke is 1-2.
"I thought Duke played an outstanding match and stepped up in big moments with big plays," said Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "I think the disappointment is that we had some big opportunities in game two and game three and didn't seize those. It's a good learning opportunity. We've been really good at 20-plus and today it didn't go in our favor. I love the potential of the group and love the group, so we've got to move on and work to get better."
Creighton never trailed in the first set, a 25-17 victory. The Bluejays hit .316, with Sis (5) and Kiana Schmitt (4) combining for more than half of CU's 16 kills. CU also owned a lofty 23-16 advantage in digs, including six by Ellie Bolton and five more from Sky McCune in her first start of the season. Gracie Johnson had four kills but needed 17 swings to pace Duke's offense, which hit just .114.
CU pulled away early in the second set during a 5-0 serving run from McCune that featured three straight blocks by Ann Marie Remmes to put the Jays up 13-8. But after chipping away at the deficit, Duke used a 4-0 burst to reclaim the lead at 21-20, The Jays would earn a pair of set points at 24-22 and 24-23 before Duke rallied to steal the set, 27-25. Sis garnered six kills during the second set.
Ava Martin had eight kills and Sis seven kills in the third set, but once again the Bluejays would squander a 24-22 lead and lose 27-25. Johnson came up big down the stretch with two kills and an ace to rescue the Blue Devils from the brink. She owned six of her 15 kills in the third set.
Remmes served a key 4-0 run late in the fourth set that put Creighton up 22-16. Duke countered with the next five points to draw within one before an Ellie Bichelmeyer kill gave the Jays some breathing room at 23-21. Duke tied the score at 23 and 24 before the Jays closed out the game victory on a Blue Devil serving error and an ace by Ellie Bolton. Both teams had 19 digs, 17 kills and just three attack errors in the fourth set. Sis (5), Martin (4) and Schmitt (4) combined for 13 of CU's kills.
Creighton fell behind 9-6 in the fifth set after a 3-0 Blue Devil run. CU got within one before its 13th serving error helped Duke retake an 11-8 edge. The Jays again fought back and trailed 11-10 before back-to-back attack errors pushed Duke in front 13-10. Sis pounded her final kill after CU used its final timeout, but the Blue Devils reached match point after a Bluejay ball handling error, then won it on an ace by Christina Barrow.
Sis led Creighton with 27 kills and Martin tallied 20. Sis added 15 digs and was joined in the double-double club by Kendra Wait (53 assists, 18 digs). Bolton collected 23 digs, while McCune and Sydney Breissinger both added 10. Creighton won virtually all the statistical categories, including kills (75), digs (91-81), blocks (8-7) and hitting percentage (.266 - .240). Both teams served five aces.
Rachel Richardson topped four Blue Devils in double-figures with 16 kills, while Kerry Keefe had four of her 13 kills in the final frame. Omaha Duchense product Emma Worthington contributed 52 assists and 16 digs for the Duke side.
Creighton will host the Bluejay Invitational next weekend, facing Ball State (Friday, 6 pm), LSU (Saturday, 5 pm) and Northern Iowa (Sunday, 2:30 pm).
NOTES: Creighton and Duke were meeting for the first time ... Creighton debuted its new black uniforms for the first time ... The BIG EAST had bee n 6-0 in five-set matches prior to CU's setback ... Creighton had won 60 contests in a row when owning a better hitting percentage than its opponent and 46 in a row when winning the blocking battle. CU had been 427-17 under Booth when winning the hitting percentage battle ... Redshirt freshman Morgan Colangelo made her collegiate debut in the second set ... The 27 kills give Norah Sis 969 in her career, moving her past Erin Swanson (955), Keeley Davis (962), Megan Ballenger (965) and Jess Bird (965) for 16th in program history ... This was the 14th career match for Sis with 20 or more kills, and second time for Martin ... The 27 kills from Sis are tied for 12th-most in CU history ... Ellie Bolton finished the weekend with back-to-back matches of 20 or more digs, the third time in her career she's done that but first occasion since April of 2021.
Scores of the match in Duke's favor were 17-25, 27-25, 27-25, 24-26, 15-11. Creighton is now 2-1 on the season, while Duke is 1-2.
"I thought Duke played an outstanding match and stepped up in big moments with big plays," said Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "I think the disappointment is that we had some big opportunities in game two and game three and didn't seize those. It's a good learning opportunity. We've been really good at 20-plus and today it didn't go in our favor. I love the potential of the group and love the group, so we've got to move on and work to get better."
Creighton never trailed in the first set, a 25-17 victory. The Bluejays hit .316, with Sis (5) and Kiana Schmitt (4) combining for more than half of CU's 16 kills. CU also owned a lofty 23-16 advantage in digs, including six by Ellie Bolton and five more from Sky McCune in her first start of the season. Gracie Johnson had four kills but needed 17 swings to pace Duke's offense, which hit just .114.
CU pulled away early in the second set during a 5-0 serving run from McCune that featured three straight blocks by Ann Marie Remmes to put the Jays up 13-8. But after chipping away at the deficit, Duke used a 4-0 burst to reclaim the lead at 21-20, The Jays would earn a pair of set points at 24-22 and 24-23 before Duke rallied to steal the set, 27-25. Sis garnered six kills during the second set.
Ava Martin had eight kills and Sis seven kills in the third set, but once again the Bluejays would squander a 24-22 lead and lose 27-25. Johnson came up big down the stretch with two kills and an ace to rescue the Blue Devils from the brink. She owned six of her 15 kills in the third set.
Remmes served a key 4-0 run late in the fourth set that put Creighton up 22-16. Duke countered with the next five points to draw within one before an Ellie Bichelmeyer kill gave the Jays some breathing room at 23-21. Duke tied the score at 23 and 24 before the Jays closed out the game victory on a Blue Devil serving error and an ace by Ellie Bolton. Both teams had 19 digs, 17 kills and just three attack errors in the fourth set. Sis (5), Martin (4) and Schmitt (4) combined for 13 of CU's kills.
Creighton fell behind 9-6 in the fifth set after a 3-0 Blue Devil run. CU got within one before its 13th serving error helped Duke retake an 11-8 edge. The Jays again fought back and trailed 11-10 before back-to-back attack errors pushed Duke in front 13-10. Sis pounded her final kill after CU used its final timeout, but the Blue Devils reached match point after a Bluejay ball handling error, then won it on an ace by Christina Barrow.
Sis led Creighton with 27 kills and Martin tallied 20. Sis added 15 digs and was joined in the double-double club by Kendra Wait (53 assists, 18 digs). Bolton collected 23 digs, while McCune and Sydney Breissinger both added 10. Creighton won virtually all the statistical categories, including kills (75), digs (91-81), blocks (8-7) and hitting percentage (.266 - .240). Both teams served five aces.
Rachel Richardson topped four Blue Devils in double-figures with 16 kills, while Kerry Keefe had four of her 13 kills in the final frame. Omaha Duchense product Emma Worthington contributed 52 assists and 16 digs for the Duke side.
Creighton will host the Bluejay Invitational next weekend, facing Ball State (Friday, 6 pm), LSU (Saturday, 5 pm) and Northern Iowa (Sunday, 2:30 pm).
NOTES: Creighton and Duke were meeting for the first time ... Creighton debuted its new black uniforms for the first time ... The BIG EAST had bee n 6-0 in five-set matches prior to CU's setback ... Creighton had won 60 contests in a row when owning a better hitting percentage than its opponent and 46 in a row when winning the blocking battle. CU had been 427-17 under Booth when winning the hitting percentage battle ... Redshirt freshman Morgan Colangelo made her collegiate debut in the second set ... The 27 kills give Norah Sis 969 in her career, moving her past Erin Swanson (955), Keeley Davis (962), Megan Ballenger (965) and Jess Bird (965) for 16th in program history ... This was the 14th career match for Sis with 20 or more kills, and second time for Martin ... The 27 kills from Sis are tied for 12th-most in CU history ... Ellie Bolton finished the weekend with back-to-back matches of 20 or more digs, the third time in her career she's done that but first occasion since April of 2021.
Team Stats
CU
DU
Kills
75
66
Errors
24
20
Attempts
192
192
Hitting %
.266
.240
Points
88.0
78.0
Assists
68
63
Aces
5
5
Blocks
8
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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