Friday, October 4
Indianapolis, Ind
6:00 PM
Creighton University
at
Butler
Photo by: Justin Kreutzian
#6 Volleyball Plays BIG EAST Road Opener at Butler on Friday
10/3/2024 1:30:00 PM | Volleyball
Bluejays have won 10 league road openers in a row
Match #15: #6 Creighton at Butler • Indianapolis, Ind. • Friday, Oct. 4 • 6 p.m. CST | VIDEO | STATS | CU NOTES | BU NOTES |
This Week
After hosting three matches in five days last week, No. 6 Creighton Volleyball's (12-2, 3-0 BIG EAST) lone contest the rest of this week is a road trip to face Butler (2-12, 0-2 BIG EAST).
Friday's match will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., with first serve coming at 6 p.m. Central.
Friday's Broadcast Information
Plans call for Friday's match will be streamed at no charge on the Butler YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/butlerathletics. The feed does not include an announcer.
Live Stats Information
Friday's match will have free live stats, with links at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
Links will also be on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting #6 Creighton
Creighton is off to a 12-2 start this season, with both losses coming in five sets on the road to top-five teams Nebraska (Sept. 10) and Louisville (Sept. 15). The Bluejays are a program-best No. 6 in this week's AVCA rankings, thanks in large part to back-to-back Top 10 wins over No. 6 Purdue (3-1) and No. 10 Kansas (3-0) in late September.
Creighton won three of the four non-conference tournaments it played in, winning the Bluejay Invitational, Creighton Classic and Jayhawk Classic this fall.
The 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year Kendra Wait (11.06 aps., 2.94 dps., 0.84 kps., 0.86 bps., .323%) opened her senior campaign by collecting MVP honors at the Bluejay Invitational, while 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis (3.79 kps., .289%) was named MVP of the Creighton Classic.
Junior Ava Martin (3.35 kps.) was named Preseason All-BIG EAST, Kiara Reinhardt (1.38 bps.) leads the league in blocs per set, and transfers Maddy Bilinovic (4.12 dps.) and Elise Goetzinger (2.47 kps., 1.22 bps., .315%) have made an immediate impact.
CU returns four starters from last season's 29-5 squad that reached a 12th straight NCAA Tournament and saw the Bluejays win a 10th straight BIG EAST regular-season title and its ninth BIG EAST Tournament crown in the past decade. CU was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST by league coaches in 2024.
CU averages 14.24 kills, 1.47 aces, 15.37 digs and 2.78 blocks per set and has hit .287.
Scouting Butler
Butler has lost eight straight matches to fall to 2-12 on the season, including 3-0 losses vs. DePaul and at Xavier last weekend to open league play. Both victories came against Indiana State.
Abby Maesch (3.21 kps.) and Elise Ward (2.93 kps.) lead the Bulldogs in kills and libero Lauren Evans tops BU with 18 aces.
Setter Cora Taylor (8.86 aps.) directs the offense and Evans (2.93 dps.) leads the defense.
As a team, Butler averages 11.16 kills, 13.40 digs, 2.24 blocks and 1.34 aces per set while hitting .157.
Series History vs. Butler
Creighton is 20-1 all-time against Butler. The Bulldogs ruined Creighton's BIG EAST debut on Oct. 4, 2013 in Indianapolis, handing the Bluejays a four-set loss, but Creighton has won all 20 meetings since then. CU has also won the last 10 sets played in the series.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 20-1 vs. Butler and 2-0 when facing Butler head coach Kyle Shondell.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 482-191 record in her 22nd season with the Bluejays.
She's led Creighton to 10 straight BIG EAST regular-season titles (2014-23), and 11 league crowns in the previous 12 years. Booth guided 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 13 seasons (including 2024), another program first.
She is currently serving as President of the AVCA.
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.
With A Win On Friday...
- Creighton would win its 11th straight BIG EAST road opener, beating Butler in its league road opener for the fourth time in the past five seasons and fifth time in the last seven years.
- Creighton would beat Butler for the 21st straight time, improving to 21-1 all-time against the Bulldogs.
- Creighton would win its 26th straight match against an unranked team.
- Creighton would win its 17th straight regular-season BIG EAST match.
- Creighton would win its 19th straight match against a BIG EAST team.
- Creighton would win a season-high sixth straight match.
Like Father, Like Son?
Butler head coach Kyle Shondell is the son of Purdue head coach Dave Shondell, and his uncle John Shondell is an assistant with the Boilermakers.
Creighton's swept then-No. 16 Purdue last year in West Lafayette, and defeated No. 6 Purdue two weeks ago in Lawrence, Kan.
Creighton's also swept Butler both meetings last season.
All They Do Is Win
Creighton won its final 13 regular-season BIG EAST matches last season and is 3-0 this fall. That's the program's fourth-longest streak of league wins in team history, but just past halfway to the record.
Creighton'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
16 Oct. 7, 2023 - Present ? ? ? BIG EAST
14 Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012 Never (left MVC) MVC
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
Putting The 0 In October And November
Creighton is 74-6 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 61-4 in the 11th month of the year.
Creighton has won 41 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.
Milestone Watch
Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones.
Maddy Bilinovic owns 992 career digs, just eight shy of 1,000 for her career. The first 790 of those came with Penn State.
Sydney Breissinger owns 390 career digs, putting her 10 shy of 400. She's also four aces shy of 50.
Elise Goetzinger is nine blocks shy of 300 in her career. That includes 231 blocks with Kentucky.
Jaya Johnson is 10 kills away from 100.
Norah Sis owns 1,408 career kills. She's six behind Kelly Goc (1,414) for fifth place and 19 shy of Olympian Taryn Kloth (1,427) for fourth place in CU history.
Kendra Wait owns 1,812 career assists inside D.J. Sokol Arena, just 62 shy of Megan Bober's facility record of 1,874.
Wait's 4,229 career assists (in all venues) is 130 short of Bober's 4,359 for second place in CU history.
4,000 And Counting
Kendra Wait surpassed the 4,000 assist mark in the Sept. 15 match at No. 4 Louisville and starts this weekend with 4,229 in her career.
That puts her 130 assists out of second place.
Career Assists
Name Sets No. Years
1. Korie Lebeda 428 5,281 2005-08
2. Megan Bober 480 4,359 2009-12
3. Kendra Wait 395 4,229 2021-Pr.
4. Kailey Reyes 368 4,207 1998-01
5. Melissa Weisensee 411 4,018 1994-97
6. Brittany Coleman 259 2,711 2003-05
7. Lydia Dimke 237 2,614 2016-17
8. Madelyn Cole 225 2,469 2018-19
9. Michelle Sicner 384 2,014 2011-14
10. Maggie Baumert 191 1,975 2014-15
Doubling Up
Kendra Wait has had a double-double in nine matches this season, and finished one dig shy in three other contests.
Wait's 62 double-doubles (in 114 matches played) rank third-most in program history with at least 15 matches still on the schedule.
Wait has owned a double-double in each of her last eight matches against a Top 25 foe and 16-of-18 overall contests against the Top 25 in her career.
Career Matches With a Double-Double, Career
D-D Name Years
65 Melissa Weisensee 1994-97
64 Kailey Reyes 1998-01
62 Kendra Wait 2021-Present
60 Melissa Walsh 1998-01
58 Jaali Winters 2015-18
Senior Class Heroes
Creighton's senior class already ranks as one of the winning groups in program history. The current group that arrived in the fall of 2021 is a combined 99-16.
Kendra Wait has played in all 99 victories and can become the 11th student-athlete to appear in 100 or more victories.
Most Wins, Four-Year Span
W-L Years
111-28 2015-18
109-25 2016-19
107-32 2014-17
104-31 2012-15
104-34 2013-16
99-16 2021-Pres.
99-18 2020-23
97-19 2018-21
95-19 2019-22
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
116 Naomi Hickman 2017-21
111 Jaali Winters 2015-18
110 Kiana Schmitt 2019-23
109 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
109 Brittany Witt 2016-19
107 Megan Ballenger 2016-19
106 Marysa Wilkinson 2014-17
104 Lauren Smith 2013-16
102 Melanie Jereb 2012-15
101 Ashley Jansen 2012-15
99 Kendra Wait 2021-Pres.
98 Jaela Zimmerman 2018-22
129 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked sixth in this week's AVCA poll, the 129th time in program history it's been ranked. That's 40th-most of all programs in NCAA history.
This week is Creighton's fourth straight week this fall and 25th week all-time as a Top 10 team.
The No. 6 ranking is the best ranking in program history -- matching last week -- and surpassing the previous best of No. 7 on Aug. 28, 2017.
All 129 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 52 polls.
Since the start of the 2017 season, here's which teams have been ranked the most weeks:
Most Weeks Ranked Since 2017
Rk. Weeks Team
1. 124* Florida
124* Kentucky
124* Texas
4. 115 Nebraska
115 Penn State
115 BYU
115 Purdue
115 Wisconsin
9. 113* Baylor
10. 109 Creighton
11. 108* Pittsburgh
12. 107 Stanford
107 Minnesota
14. 100 Oregon
15. 92 Washington
16. 88* Louisville
* includes 9 weeks in Fall of 2020 when most schools didn't play
Best Rankings Ever
Creighton is ranked sixth in this week's AVCA poll, its best mark ever. This is the program's 25th Top 10 ranking ever.
Date Rank
September 23, 2024 6th
September 30, 2024 6th
August 28, 2017 7th
September 11, 2017 8th
December 19, 2016 (Year-End) 9th
August 9, 2017 (Preseason) 9th
September 4, 2017 9th
October 29, 2018 9th
November 5, 2018 9th
November 12, 2018 9th
November 19, 2018 9th
November 26, 2018 9th
October 28, 2019 9th
November 4, 2019 9th
September 9, 2024 9th
September 16, 2024 9th
September 10, 2018 10th
September 17, 2018 10th
September 24, 2018 10th
October 1, 2018 10th
October 8, 2018 10th
October 15, 2018 10th
October 22, 2018 10th
October 21, 2019 10th
November 25, 2019 10th
League Opener Histories
Including last weekend's sweep vs. Providence, Creighton owns a 23-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 20-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes an 11-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and 11 straight wins since a 2013 loss at Butler.
Each of the previous 11 times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 177-13 in regular-season league action. Creighton also won 10 of the last 11 conference tournament titles during those years, going 20-1 at the league tournament in those seasons.
In the 22 seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .781 (306-86) winning percentage (entering 2024) in league matches.
In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Bluejays have had a losing record on five occasions and owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
In conference home openers, Creighton is 26-5 overall and 20-2 under Booth, with 14 straight wins (including 2024).
In league road openers, Creighton is 21-9 overall and 18-3 under Booth, with 10 straight wins, entering Friday's contest at Butler.
The last team to win a BIG EAST regular-season or tournament title without winning its regular-season opener in conference play was Cincinnati in the fall of 2008.
10 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
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, doubling the five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96) in the MVC.
Home Sweet Home
Creighton is in its 12th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
Since then, the Bluejays are 103-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (94-3 in the regular-season, 9-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since November of 2014, Creighton is 87-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 79-1 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 the fall of 2020, Bluejay seniors Abbey Milner, Kendra Wait and Norah Sis are 31-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 93-9 in sets.
Creighton has won 37 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.
Taming The Bulldogs
Creighton owns 20 straight wins over Butler, tied for its third-longest win streak ever against one program.
Last Friday Creighton defeated Providence for the 17th consecutive meeting.
Most Consecutive Match Wins Over One Team
Wins Opponent Dates
24 DePaul 2013-Present
23 Xavier 2013-22
20 Georgetown 2013-Present
20 Butler 2013-Present
19 Southern Illinois 2003-11
18 Seton Hall 2014-Present
17 Providence 2014-Present
16 Indiana State 2005-Present
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.
Creighton owns 10 regular-season titles (3 shared) in that time, while Marquette owns four regular-season (3 shared) crowns.
As it relates to BIG EAST Tournament titles, Creighton has won nine, Marquette one and St. John's one since 2013.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings, 2013 - October 1, 2024
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (11) 173 16 295 72
Marquette (10) 155 31 265 90
Xavier 109 77 172 161
Butler 98 90 173 165
St. John's (1) 96 92 211 151
Villanova (1) 93 95 180 153
Seton Hall (1) 80 107 161 176
DePaul 57 131 138 191
Georgetown 40 140 107 209
Connecticut# 30 34 65 56
Providence* 29 143 111 194
*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.
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Creighton Volleyball was the unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of league coaches.
Creighton earned 10 first place votes to earn the maximum 100 points. Marquette earned Creighton's first place vote (coaches can't vote for their own teams) as well as nine other second-place votes to finish second in the poll with 91 points.
St. John's (80) was picked third, just ahead of DePaul (74) and Butler (58). Rounding out the bottom half of the poll were Xavier (49), Seton Hall (40), Villanova (39), Connecticut (33), Georgetown (27) and Providence (14).
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 third straight fall.
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
2024 1st ??? ???
October Excellence
Creighton has won 41 straight home matches played in the month of October, last losing in the month at home on Oct. 15, 2011 vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa.
How long has it been? Creighton freshmen Alivia Hausmann and Emersen Strain were each five years old at the time.
The Gauntlet
Creighton played five non-conference matches against Top 25 teams, winning three of those, as part of a non-conference schedule ranked as the nation's fifth-toughest.
This year was the fifth time in program history that Creighton played five or more Top 25 opponents prior to conference play, also doing so in 2014 (going 0-5), 2015 (1-4), 2017 (3-3) and 2019 (2-3).
This year's 11-match gauntlet ended with the first time that Creighton has ever played three consecutive matches against Top 10 foes (No. 4 Louisville, No. 6 Purdue, No. 10 Kansas), also part of the first time Creighton played four Top 10 teams in the same month.
The only other Bluejay teams to play four Top 10 teams in the same season were in 2015 (5, with one of those in the NCAA Tournament), 2016 (4, with two of those in the NCAA Tournament), 2018 (4) and 2019 (4, with one of those in the NCAA Tournament). The challenging schedule paid off in each case, as those previous four teams went a combined 70-2 in league play and 8-0 in league tournament action and 7-4 in NCAA Tournament play.
The only other time Creighton has previously played five ranked teams in the same month was September of 2017, a stretch that also featured matches on consecutive days against ranked Purdue and Kansas teams in Lawrence.
Strength Of Schedule
Here's how the BIG EAST teams compared in strength of schedule as the league entered conference play, as well as everyone's RPI and record against Top 100 RPI teams.
SOS* RPI* Team W-L vs Top 100
4 36 Marquette 4-5 2-4
5 4 Creighton 9-2 6-2
174 110 DePaul 8-4 1-2
193 127 Villanova 7-4 0-2
194 231 Georgetown 7-5 0-2
242 304 Butler 2-10 0-4
274 211 Seton Hall 6-5 0-3
276 310 Xavier 2-8 0-1
277 103 St. John's 11-3 1-2
288 48 Connecticut 12-0 1-0
316 234 Providence 7-4 0-1
*SOS based on NCAA report; RPI based on unofficial FigStats
Stepping Up
Creighton's played five ranked teams this season, and its defense is a big reason the Bluejays are 3-2 in those contests.
Maddy Bilinovic has averaged 4.38 digs per set against Top 25 opponents, compared to 3.93 digs per set versus unranked foes.
Sydney Breissinger averages 2.43 digs per set against Top 25 competition compared to 1.93 digs per set in the remaining contests.
Creighton has allowed just 0.62 aces per set against ranked teams (13 aces in 21 sets), compared to 1.07 aces against unranked foes (30 aces in 28 sets).
Dominance Against The Unranked
Creighton is 27-1 in sets this year against unranked teams and 74-2 in sets dating to Oct. 7, 2023 against unranked opposoition. Creighton has outscored unranked opponents 698-470, winning an incredible 59.8 percent of all points.
Creighton has allowed 20 or more points in just eight of the 28 sets against unranked foes.
The Bluejays are hitting .317 against unranked teams this year, while holding those foes to .090 hitting. CU also owns decisive advantages in kills (414-264), aces (51-30), digs (432-364) and blocks (82-32) in those matches.
The Incredible Third Sets
Creighton is 13-1 in the third set this season, outscoring foes 356-246. In its recent stretch of three straight Top 10 foes, the Bluejays outscored those teams by an incredible 75-43 margin.
Creighton is hitting .332 in the third set this year, its best of any frame. That figure grows to .342 in the third set against ranked teams this fall.
Hidden Stats
Creighton has owned more aces than its opponent in 12-of-14 matches this season, and tied Missouri in another.
When it comes to blocks, Creighton has outblocked 12-of-14 opponents this year, losing that category only to USC and Louisville.
Creighton has also outdug every opponent this season except Nebraska.
Avoiding Losing Streaks
One key to Creighton's extended success over the last dozen years has been its ability to bounce back after a loss.
The Bluejays have won their last 25 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.
And if that's not enough, EVERY SINGLE OTHER TEAM in the country (all 347 of them) has had a multi-match losing streak since Creighton's last skid and every other team in the BIG EAST has had a multi-match losing streak this season alone.
Creighton has also won its last 17 matches after a five-set loss, a streak that dates back to early in the 2016 campaign.
And while not in jeopardy on Friday, it's still worth bragging about that Creighton has also not lost back-to-back matches against conference foes since a three-match losing streak in November of 2011.
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.
Hunting The Top 10
Creighton is 10-36 all-time against top-10 teams, including a 10-29 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and a 2-2 record this year.
Nine of the 10 victories came away from home, including four sweeps. All four top-five triumphs were also away from home.
The highest-ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten are No. 3 Washington (8/26/2017) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/2021), both on the road.
Creighton's All-Time Top 10 Wins
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
09/20/24 vs. #6 Purdue (Lawrence, Kan.) W 3-1
09/21/24 at #10 Kansas W 3-0
Nationwide Success
With a 179-13 record against BIG EAST teams since 2014, it's safe to say the 10-time defending BIG EAST champion Creighton Volleyball program has proven itself over the last decade in league play.
This year, it's going national. The Bluejays have beaten at least one team from each of the other "Power Four" conferences, as well as two teams from its former league, the MVC. The Bluejays are...
1-0 vs. American Athletic Conference teams
1-1 vs. Atlantic Coast Conference teams
2-0 vs. Big 12 Conference teams
3-0 vs. BIG EAST Conference teams
2-1 vs. Big Ten Conference teams
2-0 vs. Missouri Valley Conference teams
1-0 vs. Southeastern Conference teams
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton's 29 victories last season were tied for sixth-most in the nation and its .853 win percentage was tied for ninth-best.
Additionally, Creighton's 87 victories in the previous three seasons (2020-22) are tied for fourth in the country (behind only Louisville, Pitt and Wisconsin) and its 312 wins in the previous 12 campaigns is sixth-most (behind only WKU, Nebraska, Texas, Penn State and BYU).
Creighton also ranked tied for first nationally in fewest sets lost (22) last year with Nebraska and Dayton.
Creighton has won 78-of-91 sets in its past 27 matches dating to midway through last season.
Fewest Sets Lost in 2023
Rk. Sets Lost Team
1. 22 Creighton
22 Nebraska
22 Dayton
4. 23 Wisconsin
23 Tennessee
23 Western Michigan
Fewest Sets Lost in 2024
Rk. Sets Lost Team
1. 0 Pittsburgh
2. 5 San Jose State
3. 7 Kansas
7 Georgia Southern
5. 8 Nebraska
8 Dayton
8 Penn State
8. 9 Creighton
9 North Carolina
9 Oregon
9 Bucknell
Set-tle Down
Since the start of the 2021 season, Creighton is 75-3 in three-set matches, 15-4 in four-set matches and 9-9 in five set contests.
The Streak At Home
Creighton had its first unbeaten home season in program history last year, going a perfect 13-0 in matches and 39-3 in sets.
With eight more wins this season, the Bluejays have extended the program record to 21 straight home wins, surpassing a 15-match home win streak from Sept. 7-Nov. 30, 2018 that had been the standard.
Creighton's 21-match home win streak is the tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the country.
Creighton has won 56 of its last 58 sets played at D.J. Sokol Arena overall and did not lose a single set to a BIG EAST opponent last fall.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
21 Sept. 1, 2023 - Present TBD
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
Nation's Longest Active Home Win Streaks (10/2)
Wins Team Next Home Match
33 Stephen F. Austin 10/5 vs. Texas A&M-Commerce
33 Nebraska 10/6 vs. Iowa
27 Yale 10/5 vs. Princeton
21 Creighton 10/18 vs. Xavier
21 Wisconsin 10/6 vs. Washington
21 Pittsburgh 10/9 vs. #17 SMU
17 Florida State 10/11 vs. #4 Louisville
Top 25 History
Creighton is 213-47 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 24-27 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That mark is 4-3 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
Since the start of the 2012 season, 42 of Creighton's 76 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 297-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 113 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 159 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 24-27)
Home: 10-9 Away: 8-11 Neutral: 6-7
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
09/05/24 #11 Creighton #20 USC 3-1
09/10/24 #5 Nebraska #9 Creighton 2-3
09/15/24 #4 Louisville #9 Creighton 2-3
09/20/24 #9 Creighton #6 Purdue 3-1
09/21/24 #9 Creighton #10 Kansas 3-0
They Hit What?
Creighton hit .426 in its Sept. 21 sweep over No. 10 Kansas. That's the best mark Creighton has ever hit against a Top 25 team, and tied for the 17th-best mark in program history against any opponent.
Creighton hit over .425 on five occasions last year, hitting .493 at Villanova (Oct. 27), .488 vs. Georgetown (Oct. 13), .465 at Seton Hall (Nov. 10), .442 vs. High Point (Sept. 15) and .430 at Providence (Oct. 21).
The Bluejays have hit .400 or better twice this year so far, including a season-best .471 on Sept. 29 vs. UConn.
Creighton is 303-9 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when hitting .250 or better and as a program has won 172 straight matches when hitting .300 or better, a streak that dates to October of 1996.
Birds Of A Feather
Creighton has showcased a pair of new jerseys this season, as Nike designed some custom-made uniforms.
Both the white and navy ("Midnight Jays") jerseys are sleeveless in a drastic change from past years.
The uniforms also feature several different colors of "Hyper-Elite" arm sleeves, which the players wear on their arms and can be mix & matched for a number of uniform combinations.
If you look closely, the arms sleeves also have a feather design pattern, a nod to Creighton's Bluejay nickname.
Creighton unveiled some throwback royal blue jerseys on Sept. 27 vs. Providence with its old Jays script logo as part of Alumni Night. Those are also the first Bluejay jerseys in decades (and maybe ever) to feature last names on the back.
Her Kind Of City
Kentucky transfer Elise Goetzinger is a perfect 16-0 in matches played in Omaha in her career.
Goetzinger started all five of UK's matches en route to the 2020 national title (in the spring of 2021), which were played in CHI Health Center Omaha's convention center and arena. The Wildcats beat UNLV, No. 18 Western Kentucky, No. 9 Purdue, No. 7 Washington and No. 5 Texas en route to the championship.
In 2022 Goetzinger was named to the All-Tournament Team while helping the Wildcats to the Bluejay Invitational title with wins over UNI, No. 17 Creighton and No. 25 USC.
During those 16 wins, Goetzinger owns 111 kills and 59 blocks while hitting .387 in 53 sets played.
Jays Earn Tourney Titles
Creighton's Bluejay Invitational title on the opening weekend of the fall season marked the 13th straight season that Creighton has won at least one tournament, a streak that dates to 2012. Creighton won three of its four non-conference tournaments this year.
During that span, the Bluejays have won 34 tournament titles, not to mention 10 regular-season league crowns.
Creighton has also now won at least one home tournament each of the last eight seasons.
Creighton won five different tournaments last season, tying a program record, and outside of the NCAA Tournament has now won seven of the eight tournaments it has played in.
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
2024 3 CU, CU, KU
Packed House
Creighton announced in July that it had sold out of season tickets, and fans have shown up in a big way this fall.
The Bluejays are averaging 2,346 fans per home match (25th-best nationally), including a crowd of 2,569 on Aug. 30 vs. NC State that was the third-largest volleyball crowd ever inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton Volleyball's Largest Home Crowds
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
15,797 #2 Nebraska 09/07/22 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
14,022 #7 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Ctr.
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
2,653 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
2,569 NC State 08/30/24 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
Any Stat Will Do
Since joining the BIG EAST a dozen years ago, Creighton has been dominant when it wins just about any stat category, as seen below:
Statistic W L Pct.
With Better Hitting Pct. 286 9 .969
When Hitting .250+ 203 6 .971
When Hitting .300+ 111 0 1.000
When Serving 10+ Aces 17 2 .895
When Owning More Kills 275 21 .929
When Owning More Aces 206 21 .907
When Owning More Digs 238 21 .919
When Owning More Blocks 218 17 .928
Olympians Made Here
Taryn Kloth made history earlier this summer when the 2018 graduate became the first female Creighton student-athlete to compete in the Olympics.
The South Dakota native paired with Kristen Nuss to tie for ninth place in Beach Volleyball, winning their first three matches before losing to a team from Canada that went on to win the silver medal.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and associate head coach Angie Oxley Behrens both made the trip to Paris to watch three of Kloth's matches.
Kloth was a First Team All-BIG EAST choice in 2016 and 2018 and named BIG EAST Tournament MVP in 2017. She ranks fourth in CU history with 1,427 career kills and won four BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles.
61*
Creighton Volleyball traditionally owns one of the nation's top non-conference schedules, but head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth might have outdone herself this year.
All 11 of Creighton's non-conference matches were against teams with a Top 61 RPI last year.
Each of the top four teams that Creighton plays from that list will be faced outside of Omaha.
2023 RPI School 2024 CU Result
1 at Nebraska L 2-3
6 at Louisville L 2-3
13 vs. Purdue W 3-1
15 at Kansas W 3-0
30 USC W 3-1
34 Missouri W 3-0
35 vs. Northern Iowa W 3-0
43 NC State W 3-0
52 Drake W 3-0
60 vs. Rice W 3-0
61 Kansas State W 3-0
12 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous 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.
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 11-15 against ranked non-conference foes over the last eight 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
2024 9-2 3-2 TBD
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 12th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 19th. It's the 10th time in the past 12 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason, and third year in a row.
The No. 12 slotting was the second-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 preseason No. 13 San Diego, No. 14 Ohio State and No. 23 Rice reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
This year marks the 13th 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
2024 12th TBD TBD
Sis Is Killing It
Norah Sis enters Friday ranked sixth in Creighton history with 1,408 career kills.
She has a chance to move into the top four on Friday.
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. Norah Sis 354 1,408 2021-Pr.
7. Jessica Houts 451 1,385 2005-09
8. JoDe Cieloha 398 1,375 1994-97
9. Leah McNary 458 1,257 2011-14
10. Marysa Wilkinson 499 1,183 2014-17
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 482-3 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 70-41 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 29 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 in 2022 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
2024 0-2 12-2 so far
Total 85-69 575-343
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
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 23-2 in the match after a five-setter.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 401-11 (.973) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 344-5 mark (.986) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 267-3 (.989) when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 138-1 (.993) 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 94.9 percent of their matches from 2014-23.
Conversely, the Jays are 17-208 (.076) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 15-109 (.121) 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 409-36 (.919) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 71-155 (.314) under Booth when it drops the first set.
Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that lost the first set won just 20.3 percent of their matches from 2014-23.
Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 156-5 in its last 161 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 143-6 in its last 149 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 14-21 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 180-4 in its last 184 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
This year's team has nine matches scheduled against teams that made the 2023 NCAA Tournament with contests scheduled against Marquette (2x), Nebraska, Kansas, Purdue, Louisville, Northern Iowa, USC and Missouri.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 110-109 since, including a 6-2 record this year.
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
2024 6-2 so far
TOTAL 112-144
TOTAL Under Booth 110-109
Lucky 13
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 9
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Jim Flanery Women's Basketball 7
Elmar Bolowich Men's Soccer 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 482 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport Victories
Brent Vigness, Softball 819
Ed Servais, Baseball 678*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 542*#
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 482*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 427*
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
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning percentage better than .750 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 192 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 31 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 4-1 1-0 5-1
DePaul 22-0 2-0 24-0
Georgetown 20-0 - 20-0
Marquette 18-5 6-1 24-6
Providence 17-0 - 17-0
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 173-16 19-2 192-18
Production Returns
Creighton returns 13-of-18 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters.
From last year's team, only Kiana Schmitt, Ellie Bichelmeyer, Ann Marie Remmes, Ellie Bolton and Morgan Colangelo are not back.
All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 516.2 of a possible 700% back (73.7 percent).
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 1,457 (93.3%) 105 (6.7%)
Aces 155 (87.1%) 23 (12.9%)
Digs 1486 (79.4%) 385 (20.6%)
Points 1434.0 (67.5%) 691.5 (32.5%)
Kills 1,134 (67.3%) 552 (32.7%)
Matches Started 135 (66.2%) 69 (33.8%)
Blocks 145.0 (55.4%) 116.5 (44.6%)
President Booth
Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is the current President of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, having started her service on January 1, 2024.
She is also 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.
This Week
After hosting three matches in five days last week, No. 6 Creighton Volleyball's (12-2, 3-0 BIG EAST) lone contest the rest of this week is a road trip to face Butler (2-12, 0-2 BIG EAST).
Friday's match will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., with first serve coming at 6 p.m. Central.
Friday's Broadcast Information
Plans call for Friday's match will be streamed at no charge on the Butler YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/butlerathletics. The feed does not include an announcer.
Live Stats Information
Friday's match will have free live stats, with links at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
Links will also be on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting #6 Creighton
Creighton is off to a 12-2 start this season, with both losses coming in five sets on the road to top-five teams Nebraska (Sept. 10) and Louisville (Sept. 15). The Bluejays are a program-best No. 6 in this week's AVCA rankings, thanks in large part to back-to-back Top 10 wins over No. 6 Purdue (3-1) and No. 10 Kansas (3-0) in late September.
Creighton won three of the four non-conference tournaments it played in, winning the Bluejay Invitational, Creighton Classic and Jayhawk Classic this fall.
The 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year Kendra Wait (11.06 aps., 2.94 dps., 0.84 kps., 0.86 bps., .323%) opened her senior campaign by collecting MVP honors at the Bluejay Invitational, while 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis (3.79 kps., .289%) was named MVP of the Creighton Classic.
Junior Ava Martin (3.35 kps.) was named Preseason All-BIG EAST, Kiara Reinhardt (1.38 bps.) leads the league in blocs per set, and transfers Maddy Bilinovic (4.12 dps.) and Elise Goetzinger (2.47 kps., 1.22 bps., .315%) have made an immediate impact.
CU returns four starters from last season's 29-5 squad that reached a 12th straight NCAA Tournament and saw the Bluejays win a 10th straight BIG EAST regular-season title and its ninth BIG EAST Tournament crown in the past decade. CU was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST by league coaches in 2024.
CU averages 14.24 kills, 1.47 aces, 15.37 digs and 2.78 blocks per set and has hit .287.
Scouting Butler
Butler has lost eight straight matches to fall to 2-12 on the season, including 3-0 losses vs. DePaul and at Xavier last weekend to open league play. Both victories came against Indiana State.
Abby Maesch (3.21 kps.) and Elise Ward (2.93 kps.) lead the Bulldogs in kills and libero Lauren Evans tops BU with 18 aces.
Setter Cora Taylor (8.86 aps.) directs the offense and Evans (2.93 dps.) leads the defense.
As a team, Butler averages 11.16 kills, 13.40 digs, 2.24 blocks and 1.34 aces per set while hitting .157.
Series History vs. Butler
Creighton is 20-1 all-time against Butler. The Bulldogs ruined Creighton's BIG EAST debut on Oct. 4, 2013 in Indianapolis, handing the Bluejays a four-set loss, but Creighton has won all 20 meetings since then. CU has also won the last 10 sets played in the series.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 20-1 vs. Butler and 2-0 when facing Butler head coach Kyle Shondell.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 482-191 record in her 22nd season with the Bluejays.
She's led Creighton to 10 straight BIG EAST regular-season titles (2014-23), and 11 league crowns in the previous 12 years. Booth guided 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 13 seasons (including 2024), another program first.
She is currently serving as President of the AVCA.
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.
With A Win On Friday...
- Creighton would win its 11th straight BIG EAST road opener, beating Butler in its league road opener for the fourth time in the past five seasons and fifth time in the last seven years.
- Creighton would beat Butler for the 21st straight time, improving to 21-1 all-time against the Bulldogs.
- Creighton would win its 26th straight match against an unranked team.
- Creighton would win its 17th straight regular-season BIG EAST match.
- Creighton would win its 19th straight match against a BIG EAST team.
- Creighton would win a season-high sixth straight match.
Like Father, Like Son?
Butler head coach Kyle Shondell is the son of Purdue head coach Dave Shondell, and his uncle John Shondell is an assistant with the Boilermakers.
Creighton's swept then-No. 16 Purdue last year in West Lafayette, and defeated No. 6 Purdue two weeks ago in Lawrence, Kan.
Creighton's also swept Butler both meetings last season.
All They Do Is Win
Creighton won its final 13 regular-season BIG EAST matches last season and is 3-0 this fall. That's the program's fourth-longest streak of league wins in team history, but just past halfway to the record.
Creighton'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
16 Oct. 7, 2023 - Present ? ? ? BIG EAST
14 Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012 Never (left MVC) MVC
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
Putting The 0 In October And November
Creighton is 74-6 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 61-4 in the 11th month of the year.
Creighton has won 41 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.
Milestone Watch
Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones.
Maddy Bilinovic owns 992 career digs, just eight shy of 1,000 for her career. The first 790 of those came with Penn State.
Sydney Breissinger owns 390 career digs, putting her 10 shy of 400. She's also four aces shy of 50.
Elise Goetzinger is nine blocks shy of 300 in her career. That includes 231 blocks with Kentucky.
Jaya Johnson is 10 kills away from 100.
Norah Sis owns 1,408 career kills. She's six behind Kelly Goc (1,414) for fifth place and 19 shy of Olympian Taryn Kloth (1,427) for fourth place in CU history.
Kendra Wait owns 1,812 career assists inside D.J. Sokol Arena, just 62 shy of Megan Bober's facility record of 1,874.
Wait's 4,229 career assists (in all venues) is 130 short of Bober's 4,359 for second place in CU history.
4,000 And Counting
Kendra Wait surpassed the 4,000 assist mark in the Sept. 15 match at No. 4 Louisville and starts this weekend with 4,229 in her career.
That puts her 130 assists out of second place.
Career Assists
Name Sets No. Years
1. Korie Lebeda 428 5,281 2005-08
2. Megan Bober 480 4,359 2009-12
3. Kendra Wait 395 4,229 2021-Pr.
4. Kailey Reyes 368 4,207 1998-01
5. Melissa Weisensee 411 4,018 1994-97
6. Brittany Coleman 259 2,711 2003-05
7. Lydia Dimke 237 2,614 2016-17
8. Madelyn Cole 225 2,469 2018-19
9. Michelle Sicner 384 2,014 2011-14
10. Maggie Baumert 191 1,975 2014-15
Doubling Up
Kendra Wait has had a double-double in nine matches this season, and finished one dig shy in three other contests.
Wait's 62 double-doubles (in 114 matches played) rank third-most in program history with at least 15 matches still on the schedule.
Wait has owned a double-double in each of her last eight matches against a Top 25 foe and 16-of-18 overall contests against the Top 25 in her career.
Career Matches With a Double-Double, Career
D-D Name Years
65 Melissa Weisensee 1994-97
64 Kailey Reyes 1998-01
62 Kendra Wait 2021-Present
60 Melissa Walsh 1998-01
58 Jaali Winters 2015-18
Senior Class Heroes
Creighton's senior class already ranks as one of the winning groups in program history. The current group that arrived in the fall of 2021 is a combined 99-16.
Kendra Wait has played in all 99 victories and can become the 11th student-athlete to appear in 100 or more victories.
Most Wins, Four-Year Span
W-L Years
111-28 2015-18
109-25 2016-19
107-32 2014-17
104-31 2012-15
104-34 2013-16
99-16 2021-Pres.
99-18 2020-23
97-19 2018-21
95-19 2019-22
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
116 Naomi Hickman 2017-21
111 Jaali Winters 2015-18
110 Kiana Schmitt 2019-23
109 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
109 Brittany Witt 2016-19
107 Megan Ballenger 2016-19
106 Marysa Wilkinson 2014-17
104 Lauren Smith 2013-16
102 Melanie Jereb 2012-15
101 Ashley Jansen 2012-15
99 Kendra Wait 2021-Pres.
98 Jaela Zimmerman 2018-22
129 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked sixth in this week's AVCA poll, the 129th time in program history it's been ranked. That's 40th-most of all programs in NCAA history.
This week is Creighton's fourth straight week this fall and 25th week all-time as a Top 10 team.
The No. 6 ranking is the best ranking in program history -- matching last week -- and surpassing the previous best of No. 7 on Aug. 28, 2017.
All 129 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 52 polls.
Since the start of the 2017 season, here's which teams have been ranked the most weeks:
Most Weeks Ranked Since 2017
Rk. Weeks Team
1. 124* Florida
124* Kentucky
124* Texas
4. 115 Nebraska
115 Penn State
115 BYU
115 Purdue
115 Wisconsin
9. 113* Baylor
10. 109 Creighton
11. 108* Pittsburgh
12. 107 Stanford
107 Minnesota
14. 100 Oregon
15. 92 Washington
16. 88* Louisville
* includes 9 weeks in Fall of 2020 when most schools didn't play
Best Rankings Ever
Creighton is ranked sixth in this week's AVCA poll, its best mark ever. This is the program's 25th Top 10 ranking ever.
Date Rank
September 23, 2024 6th
September 30, 2024 6th
August 28, 2017 7th
September 11, 2017 8th
December 19, 2016 (Year-End) 9th
August 9, 2017 (Preseason) 9th
September 4, 2017 9th
October 29, 2018 9th
November 5, 2018 9th
November 12, 2018 9th
November 19, 2018 9th
November 26, 2018 9th
October 28, 2019 9th
November 4, 2019 9th
September 9, 2024 9th
September 16, 2024 9th
September 10, 2018 10th
September 17, 2018 10th
September 24, 2018 10th
October 1, 2018 10th
October 8, 2018 10th
October 15, 2018 10th
October 22, 2018 10th
October 21, 2019 10th
November 25, 2019 10th
League Opener Histories
Including last weekend's sweep vs. Providence, Creighton owns a 23-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 20-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes an 11-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and 11 straight wins since a 2013 loss at Butler.
Each of the previous 11 times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 177-13 in regular-season league action. Creighton also won 10 of the last 11 conference tournament titles during those years, going 20-1 at the league tournament in those seasons.
In the 22 seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .781 (306-86) winning percentage (entering 2024) in league matches.
In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Bluejays have had a losing record on five occasions and owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
In conference home openers, Creighton is 26-5 overall and 20-2 under Booth, with 14 straight wins (including 2024).
In league road openers, Creighton is 21-9 overall and 18-3 under Booth, with 10 straight wins, entering Friday's contest at Butler.
The last team to win a BIG EAST regular-season or tournament title without winning its regular-season opener in conference play was Cincinnati in the fall of 2008.
10 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
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, doubling the five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96) in the MVC.
Home Sweet Home
Creighton is in its 12th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
Since then, the Bluejays are 103-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (94-3 in the regular-season, 9-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since November of 2014, Creighton is 87-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 79-1 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 the fall of 2020, Bluejay seniors Abbey Milner, Kendra Wait and Norah Sis are 31-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 93-9 in sets.
Creighton has won 37 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.
Taming The Bulldogs
Creighton owns 20 straight wins over Butler, tied for its third-longest win streak ever against one program.
Last Friday Creighton defeated Providence for the 17th consecutive meeting.
Most Consecutive Match Wins Over One Team
Wins Opponent Dates
24 DePaul 2013-Present
23 Xavier 2013-22
20 Georgetown 2013-Present
20 Butler 2013-Present
19 Southern Illinois 2003-11
18 Seton Hall 2014-Present
17 Providence 2014-Present
16 Indiana State 2005-Present
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.
Creighton owns 10 regular-season titles (3 shared) in that time, while Marquette owns four regular-season (3 shared) crowns.
As it relates to BIG EAST Tournament titles, Creighton has won nine, Marquette one and St. John's one since 2013.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings, 2013 - October 1, 2024
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (11) 173 16 295 72
Marquette (10) 155 31 265 90
Xavier 109 77 172 161
Butler 98 90 173 165
St. John's (1) 96 92 211 151
Villanova (1) 93 95 180 153
Seton Hall (1) 80 107 161 176
DePaul 57 131 138 191
Georgetown 40 140 107 209
Connecticut# 30 34 65 56
Providence* 29 143 111 194
*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.
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Creighton Volleyball was the unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of league coaches.
Creighton earned 10 first place votes to earn the maximum 100 points. Marquette earned Creighton's first place vote (coaches can't vote for their own teams) as well as nine other second-place votes to finish second in the poll with 91 points.
St. John's (80) was picked third, just ahead of DePaul (74) and Butler (58). Rounding out the bottom half of the poll were Xavier (49), Seton Hall (40), Villanova (39), Connecticut (33), Georgetown (27) and Providence (14).
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 third straight fall.
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
2024 1st ??? ???
October Excellence
Creighton has won 41 straight home matches played in the month of October, last losing in the month at home on Oct. 15, 2011 vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa.
How long has it been? Creighton freshmen Alivia Hausmann and Emersen Strain were each five years old at the time.
The Gauntlet
Creighton played five non-conference matches against Top 25 teams, winning three of those, as part of a non-conference schedule ranked as the nation's fifth-toughest.
This year was the fifth time in program history that Creighton played five or more Top 25 opponents prior to conference play, also doing so in 2014 (going 0-5), 2015 (1-4), 2017 (3-3) and 2019 (2-3).
This year's 11-match gauntlet ended with the first time that Creighton has ever played three consecutive matches against Top 10 foes (No. 4 Louisville, No. 6 Purdue, No. 10 Kansas), also part of the first time Creighton played four Top 10 teams in the same month.
The only other Bluejay teams to play four Top 10 teams in the same season were in 2015 (5, with one of those in the NCAA Tournament), 2016 (4, with two of those in the NCAA Tournament), 2018 (4) and 2019 (4, with one of those in the NCAA Tournament). The challenging schedule paid off in each case, as those previous four teams went a combined 70-2 in league play and 8-0 in league tournament action and 7-4 in NCAA Tournament play.
The only other time Creighton has previously played five ranked teams in the same month was September of 2017, a stretch that also featured matches on consecutive days against ranked Purdue and Kansas teams in Lawrence.
Strength Of Schedule
Here's how the BIG EAST teams compared in strength of schedule as the league entered conference play, as well as everyone's RPI and record against Top 100 RPI teams.
SOS* RPI* Team W-L vs Top 100
4 36 Marquette 4-5 2-4
5 4 Creighton 9-2 6-2
174 110 DePaul 8-4 1-2
193 127 Villanova 7-4 0-2
194 231 Georgetown 7-5 0-2
242 304 Butler 2-10 0-4
274 211 Seton Hall 6-5 0-3
276 310 Xavier 2-8 0-1
277 103 St. John's 11-3 1-2
288 48 Connecticut 12-0 1-0
316 234 Providence 7-4 0-1
*SOS based on NCAA report; RPI based on unofficial FigStats
Stepping Up
Creighton's played five ranked teams this season, and its defense is a big reason the Bluejays are 3-2 in those contests.
Maddy Bilinovic has averaged 4.38 digs per set against Top 25 opponents, compared to 3.93 digs per set versus unranked foes.
Sydney Breissinger averages 2.43 digs per set against Top 25 competition compared to 1.93 digs per set in the remaining contests.
Creighton has allowed just 0.62 aces per set against ranked teams (13 aces in 21 sets), compared to 1.07 aces against unranked foes (30 aces in 28 sets).
Dominance Against The Unranked
Creighton is 27-1 in sets this year against unranked teams and 74-2 in sets dating to Oct. 7, 2023 against unranked opposoition. Creighton has outscored unranked opponents 698-470, winning an incredible 59.8 percent of all points.
Creighton has allowed 20 or more points in just eight of the 28 sets against unranked foes.
The Bluejays are hitting .317 against unranked teams this year, while holding those foes to .090 hitting. CU also owns decisive advantages in kills (414-264), aces (51-30), digs (432-364) and blocks (82-32) in those matches.
The Incredible Third Sets
Creighton is 13-1 in the third set this season, outscoring foes 356-246. In its recent stretch of three straight Top 10 foes, the Bluejays outscored those teams by an incredible 75-43 margin.
Creighton is hitting .332 in the third set this year, its best of any frame. That figure grows to .342 in the third set against ranked teams this fall.
Hidden Stats
Creighton has owned more aces than its opponent in 12-of-14 matches this season, and tied Missouri in another.
When it comes to blocks, Creighton has outblocked 12-of-14 opponents this year, losing that category only to USC and Louisville.
Creighton has also outdug every opponent this season except Nebraska.
Avoiding Losing Streaks
One key to Creighton's extended success over the last dozen years has been its ability to bounce back after a loss.
The Bluejays have won their last 25 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.
And if that's not enough, EVERY SINGLE OTHER TEAM in the country (all 347 of them) has had a multi-match losing streak since Creighton's last skid and every other team in the BIG EAST has had a multi-match losing streak this season alone.
Creighton has also won its last 17 matches after a five-set loss, a streak that dates back to early in the 2016 campaign.
And while not in jeopardy on Friday, it's still worth bragging about that Creighton has also not lost back-to-back matches against conference foes since a three-match losing streak in November of 2011.
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.
Hunting The Top 10
Creighton is 10-36 all-time against top-10 teams, including a 10-29 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and a 2-2 record this year.
Nine of the 10 victories came away from home, including four sweeps. All four top-five triumphs were also away from home.
The highest-ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten are No. 3 Washington (8/26/2017) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/2021), both on the road.
Creighton's All-Time Top 10 Wins
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
09/20/24 vs. #6 Purdue (Lawrence, Kan.) W 3-1
09/21/24 at #10 Kansas W 3-0
Nationwide Success
With a 179-13 record against BIG EAST teams since 2014, it's safe to say the 10-time defending BIG EAST champion Creighton Volleyball program has proven itself over the last decade in league play.
This year, it's going national. The Bluejays have beaten at least one team from each of the other "Power Four" conferences, as well as two teams from its former league, the MVC. The Bluejays are...
1-0 vs. American Athletic Conference teams
1-1 vs. Atlantic Coast Conference teams
2-0 vs. Big 12 Conference teams
3-0 vs. BIG EAST Conference teams
2-1 vs. Big Ten Conference teams
2-0 vs. Missouri Valley Conference teams
1-0 vs. Southeastern Conference teams
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton's 29 victories last season were tied for sixth-most in the nation and its .853 win percentage was tied for ninth-best.
Additionally, Creighton's 87 victories in the previous three seasons (2020-22) are tied for fourth in the country (behind only Louisville, Pitt and Wisconsin) and its 312 wins in the previous 12 campaigns is sixth-most (behind only WKU, Nebraska, Texas, Penn State and BYU).
Creighton also ranked tied for first nationally in fewest sets lost (22) last year with Nebraska and Dayton.
Creighton has won 78-of-91 sets in its past 27 matches dating to midway through last season.
Fewest Sets Lost in 2023
Rk. Sets Lost Team
1. 22 Creighton
22 Nebraska
22 Dayton
4. 23 Wisconsin
23 Tennessee
23 Western Michigan
Fewest Sets Lost in 2024
Rk. Sets Lost Team
1. 0 Pittsburgh
2. 5 San Jose State
3. 7 Kansas
7 Georgia Southern
5. 8 Nebraska
8 Dayton
8 Penn State
8. 9 Creighton
9 North Carolina
9 Oregon
9 Bucknell
Set-tle Down
Since the start of the 2021 season, Creighton is 75-3 in three-set matches, 15-4 in four-set matches and 9-9 in five set contests.
The Streak At Home
Creighton had its first unbeaten home season in program history last year, going a perfect 13-0 in matches and 39-3 in sets.
With eight more wins this season, the Bluejays have extended the program record to 21 straight home wins, surpassing a 15-match home win streak from Sept. 7-Nov. 30, 2018 that had been the standard.
Creighton's 21-match home win streak is the tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the country.
Creighton has won 56 of its last 58 sets played at D.J. Sokol Arena overall and did not lose a single set to a BIG EAST opponent last fall.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
21 Sept. 1, 2023 - Present TBD
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
Nation's Longest Active Home Win Streaks (10/2)
Wins Team Next Home Match
33 Stephen F. Austin 10/5 vs. Texas A&M-Commerce
33 Nebraska 10/6 vs. Iowa
27 Yale 10/5 vs. Princeton
21 Creighton 10/18 vs. Xavier
21 Wisconsin 10/6 vs. Washington
21 Pittsburgh 10/9 vs. #17 SMU
17 Florida State 10/11 vs. #4 Louisville
Top 25 History
Creighton is 213-47 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 24-27 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That mark is 4-3 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
Since the start of the 2012 season, 42 of Creighton's 76 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 297-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 113 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 159 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 24-27)
Home: 10-9 Away: 8-11 Neutral: 6-7
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
09/05/24 #11 Creighton #20 USC 3-1
09/10/24 #5 Nebraska #9 Creighton 2-3
09/15/24 #4 Louisville #9 Creighton 2-3
09/20/24 #9 Creighton #6 Purdue 3-1
09/21/24 #9 Creighton #10 Kansas 3-0
They Hit What?
Creighton hit .426 in its Sept. 21 sweep over No. 10 Kansas. That's the best mark Creighton has ever hit against a Top 25 team, and tied for the 17th-best mark in program history against any opponent.
Creighton hit over .425 on five occasions last year, hitting .493 at Villanova (Oct. 27), .488 vs. Georgetown (Oct. 13), .465 at Seton Hall (Nov. 10), .442 vs. High Point (Sept. 15) and .430 at Providence (Oct. 21).
The Bluejays have hit .400 or better twice this year so far, including a season-best .471 on Sept. 29 vs. UConn.
Creighton is 303-9 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when hitting .250 or better and as a program has won 172 straight matches when hitting .300 or better, a streak that dates to October of 1996.
Birds Of A Feather
Creighton has showcased a pair of new jerseys this season, as Nike designed some custom-made uniforms.
Both the white and navy ("Midnight Jays") jerseys are sleeveless in a drastic change from past years.
The uniforms also feature several different colors of "Hyper-Elite" arm sleeves, which the players wear on their arms and can be mix & matched for a number of uniform combinations.
If you look closely, the arms sleeves also have a feather design pattern, a nod to Creighton's Bluejay nickname.
Creighton unveiled some throwback royal blue jerseys on Sept. 27 vs. Providence with its old Jays script logo as part of Alumni Night. Those are also the first Bluejay jerseys in decades (and maybe ever) to feature last names on the back.
Her Kind Of City
Kentucky transfer Elise Goetzinger is a perfect 16-0 in matches played in Omaha in her career.
Goetzinger started all five of UK's matches en route to the 2020 national title (in the spring of 2021), which were played in CHI Health Center Omaha's convention center and arena. The Wildcats beat UNLV, No. 18 Western Kentucky, No. 9 Purdue, No. 7 Washington and No. 5 Texas en route to the championship.
In 2022 Goetzinger was named to the All-Tournament Team while helping the Wildcats to the Bluejay Invitational title with wins over UNI, No. 17 Creighton and No. 25 USC.
During those 16 wins, Goetzinger owns 111 kills and 59 blocks while hitting .387 in 53 sets played.
Jays Earn Tourney Titles
Creighton's Bluejay Invitational title on the opening weekend of the fall season marked the 13th straight season that Creighton has won at least one tournament, a streak that dates to 2012. Creighton won three of its four non-conference tournaments this year.
During that span, the Bluejays have won 34 tournament titles, not to mention 10 regular-season league crowns.
Creighton has also now won at least one home tournament each of the last eight seasons.
Creighton won five different tournaments last season, tying a program record, and outside of the NCAA Tournament has now won seven of the eight tournaments it has played in.
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
2024 3 CU, CU, KU
Packed House
Creighton announced in July that it had sold out of season tickets, and fans have shown up in a big way this fall.
The Bluejays are averaging 2,346 fans per home match (25th-best nationally), including a crowd of 2,569 on Aug. 30 vs. NC State that was the third-largest volleyball crowd ever inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton Volleyball's Largest Home Crowds
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
15,797 #2 Nebraska 09/07/22 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
14,022 #7 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Ctr.
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
2,653 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
2,569 NC State 08/30/24 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
Any Stat Will Do
Since joining the BIG EAST a dozen years ago, Creighton has been dominant when it wins just about any stat category, as seen below:
Statistic W L Pct.
With Better Hitting Pct. 286 9 .969
When Hitting .250+ 203 6 .971
When Hitting .300+ 111 0 1.000
When Serving 10+ Aces 17 2 .895
When Owning More Kills 275 21 .929
When Owning More Aces 206 21 .907
When Owning More Digs 238 21 .919
When Owning More Blocks 218 17 .928
Olympians Made Here
Taryn Kloth made history earlier this summer when the 2018 graduate became the first female Creighton student-athlete to compete in the Olympics.
The South Dakota native paired with Kristen Nuss to tie for ninth place in Beach Volleyball, winning their first three matches before losing to a team from Canada that went on to win the silver medal.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and associate head coach Angie Oxley Behrens both made the trip to Paris to watch three of Kloth's matches.
Kloth was a First Team All-BIG EAST choice in 2016 and 2018 and named BIG EAST Tournament MVP in 2017. She ranks fourth in CU history with 1,427 career kills and won four BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles.
61*
Creighton Volleyball traditionally owns one of the nation's top non-conference schedules, but head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth might have outdone herself this year.
All 11 of Creighton's non-conference matches were against teams with a Top 61 RPI last year.
Each of the top four teams that Creighton plays from that list will be faced outside of Omaha.
2023 RPI School 2024 CU Result
1 at Nebraska L 2-3
6 at Louisville L 2-3
13 vs. Purdue W 3-1
15 at Kansas W 3-0
30 USC W 3-1
34 Missouri W 3-0
35 vs. Northern Iowa W 3-0
43 NC State W 3-0
52 Drake W 3-0
60 vs. Rice W 3-0
61 Kansas State W 3-0
12 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous 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.
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 11-15 against ranked non-conference foes over the last eight 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
2024 9-2 3-2 TBD
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 12th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 19th. It's the 10th time in the past 12 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason, and third year in a row.
The No. 12 slotting was the second-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 preseason No. 13 San Diego, No. 14 Ohio State and No. 23 Rice reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
This year marks the 13th 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
2024 12th TBD TBD
Sis Is Killing It
Norah Sis enters Friday ranked sixth in Creighton history with 1,408 career kills.
She has a chance to move into the top four on Friday.
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. Norah Sis 354 1,408 2021-Pr.
7. Jessica Houts 451 1,385 2005-09
8. JoDe Cieloha 398 1,375 1994-97
9. Leah McNary 458 1,257 2011-14
10. Marysa Wilkinson 499 1,183 2014-17
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 482-3 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 70-41 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 29 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 in 2022 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
2024 0-2 12-2 so far
Total 85-69 575-343
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
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 23-2 in the match after a five-setter.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 401-11 (.973) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 344-5 mark (.986) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 267-3 (.989) when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 138-1 (.993) 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 94.9 percent of their matches from 2014-23.
Conversely, the Jays are 17-208 (.076) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 15-109 (.121) 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 409-36 (.919) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 71-155 (.314) under Booth when it drops the first set.
Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that lost the first set won just 20.3 percent of their matches from 2014-23.
Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 156-5 in its last 161 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 143-6 in its last 149 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 14-21 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 180-4 in its last 184 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
This year's team has nine matches scheduled against teams that made the 2023 NCAA Tournament with contests scheduled against Marquette (2x), Nebraska, Kansas, Purdue, Louisville, Northern Iowa, USC and Missouri.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 110-109 since, including a 6-2 record this year.
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
2024 6-2 so far
TOTAL 112-144
TOTAL Under Booth 110-109
Lucky 13
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 9
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Jim Flanery Women's Basketball 7
Elmar Bolowich Men's Soccer 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 482 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport Victories
Brent Vigness, Softball 819
Ed Servais, Baseball 678*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 542*#
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 482*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 427*
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
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning percentage better than .750 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 192 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 31 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 4-1 1-0 5-1
DePaul 22-0 2-0 24-0
Georgetown 20-0 - 20-0
Marquette 18-5 6-1 24-6
Providence 17-0 - 17-0
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 173-16 19-2 192-18
Production Returns
Creighton returns 13-of-18 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters.
From last year's team, only Kiana Schmitt, Ellie Bichelmeyer, Ann Marie Remmes, Ellie Bolton and Morgan Colangelo are not back.
All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 516.2 of a possible 700% back (73.7 percent).
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 1,457 (93.3%) 105 (6.7%)
Aces 155 (87.1%) 23 (12.9%)
Digs 1486 (79.4%) 385 (20.6%)
Points 1434.0 (67.5%) 691.5 (32.5%)
Kills 1,134 (67.3%) 552 (32.7%)
Matches Started 135 (66.2%) 69 (33.8%)
Blocks 145.0 (55.4%) 116.5 (44.6%)
President Booth
Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is the current President of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, having started her service on January 1, 2024.
She is also 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.
Players Mentioned
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/ VolleyballCreighton Volleyball vs Nebraska Postgame Press Conference Spring Match
Saturday, April 18
Nebraska Volleyball vs Creighton Postgame Press Conference Spring Match
Saturday, April 18
Creighton Volleyball Media Availability - 4/15/26
Wednesday, April 15
Creighton vs. Kentucky Volleyball Press Conference - 12/13/25
Sunday, December 14
