#5 Volleyball Ready For BIG EAST Tournament

2024 BIG EAST Championship - Presented by JEEP
Match #30: DePaul (19-12) or St. John's (22-11) at #5 Creighton (27-2)
Omaha, Neb. • Friday, Nov. 29 • 2:30 p.m.
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES |

This Week
The postseason beckons for No. 5 Creighton as the 11-time defending BIG EAST regular-season champion Bluejays host the BIG EAST Championship, Presented by JEEP, this week.
    Expanded to six teams in 2022, the tournament gets underway on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 2:30 p.m. when fourth-seeded DePaul (18-12, 10-8 BIG EAST) takes on fifth-seeded St. John's (21-11, 10-8 BIG EAST).
    The second quarterfinal will take place at 5 p.m. on Wednesday when third-seeded Connecticut (24-6, 12-6 BIG EAST) squares off with sixth-seeded Villanova (16-13, 9-9 BIG EAST).
    After taking a day off for Thanksgiving, play resumes on Friday at 2:30 p.m. when top-seeded Creighton (27-2, 18-0 BIG EAST) hosts the winner of Wednesday's 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal between DePaul and St. John's.
    Second-seeded Marquette (22-7, 16-2 BIG EAST hits the floor on Friday at 5 p.m. when it takes on the victor of Wednesday's 5 p.m. quarterfinal between Connecticut and Villanova.
    The final will take place on Saturday at 5 p.m. between the semifinal winners, with an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament up for grabs.
    D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb., will host the BIG EAST Tournament for the sixth time.

Broadcast Information
Creighton's semifinal on Friday will be streamed on FloSports and be broadcasted by Jon Schriner and Shannon Smolinski.
    More information about discounted subscriptions to FloSports programming can be found at http://GoCreighton.com/FloSports.
    Saturday's championship match will be televised on FS2 and be broadcasted by Schriner and Anna Connelly. That match will also be streamed on http://FoxSports.com/live.

Live Stats Information
Links to live stats for the BIG EAST Tournament will be placed on the Creighton Volleyball Schedule page at GoCreighton.com.

Scouting #5 Creighton
Creighton has won 20 straight matches to improve to 27-2 this season. Both losses have come in five sets on the road to top-five teams Nebraska (Sept. 10) and Louisville (Sept. 15).
    Creighton won its 11th consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title, going 18-0 against league foes, while dropping just three sets.
    Creighton's No. 5 slot in the AVCA rankings matches its best ranking ever, and includes back-to-back Top 10 wins over then-No. 6 Purdue (3-1) and then-No. 10 Kansas (3-0) in late September as well as a triumph over then-No. 20 USC (3-1) on Sept. 5th.
    AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalist Kendra Wait (10.99 aps., 2.97 dps., 0.95 kps., 0.91 bps., .363%) has been named BIG EAST Setter of the Week six times this fall and is also the back-to-back defending BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Setter of the Year. Outside hitters Norah Sis (3.85 kps., .316%, 0.45 saps.) and Ava Martin (3.65 kps., .329%, 0.46 saps.) give CU one of the best attacking duos in the country, as both women were unanimous All-BIG EAST selections.
    Kiara Reinhardt (1.48 bps.) leads the league in blocks per set, and transfers Maddy Bilinovic (3.97 dps.) and Elise Goetzinger (2.40 kps., 1.10 bps., .362%) have made an immediate impact and rank among the best in the league at their respective positions. All three women were named All-BIG EAST.
    CU was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST by league coaches in 2024 after returning 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 leads the BIG EAST with 14.49 kills, 1.92 aces and 2.74 blocks per set as well as a .327 hitting percentage. CU's 14.69 digs per set ranks just sixth in the league, but is more a result of some short rallies and strong block, as the Bluejays have been out-dug just once all season.

Scouting DePaul
DePaul went 18-12 this season and 10-8 in BIG EAST action, after losing its final three contests.
    Jill Pressly (4.23 kps., 2.59 dps.,) leads the BIG EAST in kills per set and has accounted for 31.2 percent of DePaul's kills. Audrey Klemp (3.18 kps.) and Ally Kindelberger (2.17 kps., .306%, 0.82 bps.) also supply some offensive firepower, as all three women were named All-BIG EAST.
    Libero Rachel Krasowski (4.67 dps.) leads the league in digs and was named BIG EAST Libero of the Year. Setting duties are split between Ashley Cudiamat (5.50 aps.) and Amanda Saeger (5.38 aps.).
    The Blue Demons average 13.57 kills, 16.16 digs, 1.96 blocks and 1.03 aces per set while hitting .216.
    DePaul and St. John's split a pair of meetings this season. The Blue Demons swept the Red Storm in Chicago on Oct. 6 before falling in four sets in Queens on Nov. 8.

Scouting St. John's
St. John's is 21-11 on the season and went 10-8 in the BIG EAST after victories in five of its final six matches. The Red Storm returned all six starters from last year's team that played in the BIG EAST Tournament final.
    Erin Jones does a little bit of everything for the Johnnies, averaging 3.65 kills, 2.87 digs, 2.20 assists and 0.45 blocks per set. She's had a triple-double in five of the last six matches and was a unanimous All-BIG EAST selection.
    Giorgia Walther (3.40 kps.) and Lucrezia Lodi (2.94 kps.) also carry a large offensive load.
    Wiktoria Kowalczyk (8.99 aps.) is the primary setter, and Rashanny Solano Smith (3.98 dps.) is the libero.
    SJU averages 13.18 kills, 13.63 digs, 2.00 blocks and 1.50 aces per set while hitting .216 as a team.
    The Red Storm open the BIG EAST Tournament against DePaul. SJU was swept in Chicago on Oct. 6 before winning a 3-1 decision in Queens on Nov. 8.

Series History vs. DePaul
Creighton has won 26 of 27 previous meetings with DePaul, and is 26-0 vs. the Blue Demons since the two schools became BIG EAST rivals.
    DePaul swept the first meeting in 2001 in DeKalb, Ill., before Creighton's recent run, which has included three five-set wins (in Omaha in 2015, spring 2021 and 2022), seven different four-set wins and 16 sweeps.
    Creighton has swept 15 of the last 19 meetings at all sites, and has won 59 of its past 65 sets played against the Blue Demons.
    Creighton's active 26-match win streak over DePaul is the program's longest ever against another foe.
    Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 26-0 against DePaul and 16-0 versus Marie Zidek.
    Creighton is 2-0 all-time against DePaul in the BIG EAST Tournament, winning 3-0 in Milwaukee in both the 2021 and 2023 semifinals.

Series History vs. St. John's
Creighton is 21-3 all-time against St. John's, dropping just one set total over the past eight metings. CU is 10-1 all-time in the series in Omaha, dropping just one set in the last 10 Omaha meetings.
    The teams played three times last season, including Creighton's 3-0 sweep over the Red Storm in the BIG EAST Tournament title match, as CU improved to 1-1 all-time against the Johnnies in BIG EAST Tournament action.
    CU swept the Red Storm in Queens on Oct. 12th as Elise Goetzinger hit .611 and had 11 kills.
    Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 21-3 against Joanne Persico and 21-3 vs. St. John's.

Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 497-191 record in her 22nd season with the Bluejays.
    She's led Creighton to 11 straight BIG EAST regular-season titles (2014-24), and 12 league crowns in the previous 13 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 fifth time in 2024.
    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.

Head To Head vs. DePaul
Creighton swept DePaul 25-18, 25-12, 25-13 on Oct. 20 in Omaha as Ava Martin had 10 kills and CU hit .446.
    Last Friday in Chicago, Creighton defeated DePaul in four sets (24-26, 25-21, 25-13, 25-15), as Martin had a season-high 20 kills and Kiara Reinhardt supplied a season-best 11 blocks.
    In the two meetings this year, Martin has averaged 4.29 kills per set and hit an even .400 while Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Elise Goetzinger have each hit .500. CU has outblocked the Blue Demons 21-6, with Reinhardt (2.00 bps.) and Kendra Wait (1.57 bps.) setting up an impenetrable block.
    DePaul has been paced by 3.00 kills per set from Jill Pressly, but the All-BIG EAST choice has hit just .076 in 79 swings. Audrey Klemp had 11 kills and hit .368 in the first meeting but missed last week's match.

Head to Head vs. St. John's
Creighton swept both matches this fall against St. John's, winning 25-18, 25-10, 25-20 in Queens on Oct. 12 before taking a 25-20, 25-18, 25-18 victory on Nov. 1 in Omaha.
    Elise Goetzinger has averaged 3.17 kills per set and hit .613 thanks to 19 kills in 31 errorless swings. Kendra Wait averages 12.67 assists per set and has helped the Jays hit .347 against the Johnnies.
    Erin Jones leads SJU with 3.50 kills per set, why Rashanny Solano Smith tops SJU with 3.67 digs per set.

What About DePaul vs. St. John's?
If you're wondering, DePaul and St. John's split their regular-season series this season. The Blue Demons swept SJU in Chicago on Oct. 6 before the Red Storm won a 3-1 decision in Queens on Nov. 8th.
    St. John's has won five of the last six meetings and is 23-8 all-time against DePaul.
    The teams have never met in the BIG EAST Tournament.
    Though it'll only play one of them, Creighton is quite familiar with both squads. The Bluejays swept DePaul in the 2023 semifinals, then swept St. John's the following day in the final en route to the tournament title.

BIG EAST Awards Haul
Kendra Wait was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Setter of the Year, while Creighton shared BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors, it was announced on Nov. 26. It's the second straight year each of those has happened.
    Overall, Creighton had a program-record six women earn All-BIG EAST acclaim while a seventh was named to the All-Freshman Team.
    Wait was named Player of the Year and Setter of the Year for the second time as the senior picked up All-BIG EAST acclaim for the fourth time after once again leading the BIG EAST in assists per set.
    Also earning All-BIG EAST recognition for a fourth time was senior Norah Sis, the 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year.
    Additionally, Ava Martin brought home All-BIG EAST honors for the third straight season, and Maddy Bilinovic, Kiara Reinhardt and Elise Goetzinger earned their first All-BIG EAST accolade.
    Last but not least, Jaya Johnson was a member of the All-Freshman Team.
    Kirsten Bernthal Booth and her staff picked up BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors, the fifth time that Booth has been recognized by the BIG EAST, having also won the honor in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2022.
    This year marks the 12th time in as many years as a member of the BIG EAST that Creighton has had multiple all-conference selections, and 10th straight season with three or more First Team selections.

All-Conference History
Kendra Wait and Norah Sis were both named All-BIG EAST, joining rare air in Creighton Athletics history.
    The only other student-athletes in school history in any sport to be named First Team All-Conference four times have been Tara Oltman (Softball), Doug McDermott (Men's Basketball) and Jaali Winters (Volleyball). Of those, only Winters got each honor in the BIG EAST.

BIG EAST Championship History
Creighton is 19-2 all-time in 10 previous BIG EAST Championship appearances, including nine titles (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).
    Creighton is 10-1 in the semifinal round and 9-1 in the finals.
    CU is 1-0 against DePaul at the BIG EAST Championship, sweeping the Blue Demons in the 2021 semifinals in Milwaukee. CU is also 4-0 against Xavier in tourney action (2013, 2014, 2016, 2022).
    Eleven of Creighton's last 12 teams have reached the conference tournament title match, a stretch that started in 2012 when the Bluejays were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
    Creighton is 9-1 all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena at the BIG EAST Championships, including titles in 2015, 2018, (the spring of) 2021 and 2022 but did lose in the finals in 2013.
    At 19-2, Creighton is the only team in this weekend's BIG EAST Championship with a winning record in the event all-time. Marquette is 13-15, UConn is 12-41, St. John's is 9-10, DePaul is 1-2 and Villanova is 22-35.
    Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 19-2 in BIG EAST Championship action with nine titles. By comparison, entering this week the league's 10 other active coaches have a combined mark of 20-37 in the BIG EAST Championship with two titles, and none of the other 10 have a winning record in the event.

Booth's Haul
With nine titles, Kirsten Bernthal Booth is one of two volleyball coaches in league history to win six or more BIG EAST Championship titles.
    The only other coach with six or more was Notre Dame's Debbie Brown (9), whom Booth can pass this weekend.

BIG EAST Tournament Champions
Creighton Volleyball is seeking the school's 12th different BIG EAST Tournament title won by the school since joining the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013.
    All but two of those titles have been won by the volleyball program.
Creighton's BIG EAST Tournament Titles (11)
Baseball (1): 2019
Men's Soccer (1): 2022
Volleyball (9): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Back For More (Awards)
Norah Sis was named Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Championships in both 2021 and 2022. That made her the first player to be named Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Championship multiple times since Creighton's Jaali Winters (2016, 2018).
    She's also the first player to have won the award in back-to-back seasons since Notre Dame's Jaimie Lee in 1996 and 1997.
    The only player in league history to be named Most Outstanding Player more than twice was former Pitt star Ann Marie Lucanie, who won it four consecutive seasons from 1990-93.
    Among other Bluejays, Kendra Wait has been named to the All-Tournament Team each of the previous three seasons, while Ava Martin was recognized each of the past two years.

As The Top Seed
Creighton is the No. 1 seed for a conference tournament for 11th time in the last 13 years, and 10th time in 12 BIG EAST seasons.
    The Bluejays were the No. 1 seed in the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, where it defeated Illinois State (3-1) and Wichita State (3-0) to win its first league tournament in program history.
    In BIG EAST Tournament action, Creighton has been the No. 1 seed nine previous times (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023), going 16-1 in those contests. CU went 2-0 to win the title in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2023. In 2019, it was upset in the semifinals by St. John's.
    The BIG EAST Championship has been won by the top seed in nine of the last 11 years, and the No. 1 seed has also gone 20-2 in its last 22 league tourney contests.

With A Win On Friday...
- Improve to 11-1 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals.
- Improve to 17-1 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament play as the No. 1 seed, and 19-1 in all conference tournaments as a No. 1 seed.
- Advance to its 12th conference tournament title match in the past 13 seasons, a stretch that started with the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament final.
- Creighton would improve to 16-0 this season at home, breaking a single-season record for home wins.
- Creighton would extend its program-record home win streak to 29 in a row.
- Creighton would improve to 19-0 this season against teams from the BIG EAST.
- Creighton would improve to 28-2, its best start ever after 30 matches.
- Creighton would win its 41st straight match against an unranked team.
- Creighton would win its 34th straight match against a BIG EAST team.
- Creighton would extend its season-high win streak to 21, tied for the second-longest win streak in program history.
- Creighton would improve to 208-18 against BIG EAST opponents since joining the league in 2013.
- Creighton would improve to 20-2 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship, including an 11-1 mark in the semifinal round.
- Kirsten Bernthal Booth would improve to 20-2 at the BIG EAST Championship, while the rest of the league's active coaches would be a combined 22-39 by the end of Friday's first semifinal.

Winners Win
Through matches of Nov. 26th, Creighton owns 262 wins over the past 10 seasons, which coincides with the start of the 2015 season.
    That ranks fourth-most nationally, and among some of the most storied programs in all the land.
Most Wins, Last 10 Seasons (2015-24)
Rk.    Wins    Team    Next Match
1.    283    Western Kentucky    NCAA's
2.    281    Nebraska    11/29 at Penn State
3.    280    Pittsburgh    11/27 at Louisville
4.    262    Creighton    11/29 vs. St. John's/DePaul
5.    256    Texas    11/27 vs. Tennessee
6.    255    BYU    11/27 at BYU
7.    254    Wisconsin    11/27 vs. Ohio State

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

Tournament Tested
Creighton has played in 24 tournaments since the start of the 2021 calendar year, and won 17 of them.
    The only events that CU has not won were four NCAA Tournaments, the 2022 Bluejay Invitational (won by Kentucky), the 2022 Rice adidas Invitational (won by Rice) and the 2024 Cardinal Classic (won by Louisville).
    Keep in mind that when Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton had been 17-33 in 15 regular-season tournaments all-time, with just one tournament title (the 2000 Iowa State Heritage Classic).
Creighton Tournaments Since Jan. 1, 2021
Year    Event    CU Record (Place)
2021    BIG EAST Tournament    2-0 (1st)
2021    NCAA Tournament    0-1 (T-25th)
2021    Mizzou Invitational    3-0 (1st)
2021    Bluegrass Battle    3-0 (1st)
2021    Bluejay Invitational    3-0 (1st)
2021    Shocker Volleyball Classic    3-0 (1st)
2021    BIG EAST Tournament    2-0 (1st)
2021    NCAA Tournament    1-1 (T-17th)
2022    Rumble in the Rockies    3-0 (1st)
2022    Bluejay Invitational    2-1 (2nd)
2022    Omaha Invitational    2-0 (1st)
2022    Rice adidas Invitational    1-1 (2nd)
2022    BIG EAST Tournament    2-0 (1st)
2022    NCAA Tournament    0-1 (T-33rd)
2023    Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier    2-1 (1st)
2023    Bluejay Invitational    3-0 (1st)
2023    MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge    2-0 (1st)
2023    Diet Coke Challenge    2-0 (1st)
2023    BIG EAST Tournament    2-0 (1st)
2023    NCAA Tournament    2-1 (T-9th)
2024    Bluejay Invitational    3-0 (1st)
2024    Creighton Classic    2-0 (1st)
2024    Cardinal Classic    2-1 (2nd)
2024    Jayhawk Classic    2-0 (1st)

Milestone Watch
Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones.
    Ava Martin's 495 career digs also puts her five shy of 500.
    Norah Sis owns 1,592 career kills, four short of Melissa Walsh's 1,596 for third-most in CU history.
    Norah Sis owns 194 career blocks and is six away from 200.
    Elise Goetzinger owns 795 career kills (216 at Creighton) and is five shy of 800, while her 94 digs puts her six away from 100.
    Sydney Breissinger owns 480 career digs and is 20 shy of 500.
    Destiny Ndam-Simpson owns 198 career kills and is two shy of 200.
    Destiny Ndam-Simpson has played in 99 career sets and is one shy of 100 in her career.
    Kiara Reinhardt owns 388 career blocks and is a dozen shy of 400.

Martin Meets A Milestone
Ava Martin became the 17th player in school history to reach 1,000 career kills when she did so on Nov. 22 at DePaul.
    It came in the junior's 93rd career match, making her the eighth-fastest player to the milestone.
    Martin currently ranks sixth in program history in kills in her first three years at CU.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Kills (Career)
Name    MP    Date    Opponent
Melissa Walsh    70    10/15/00    Eastern Illinois
Norah Sis    70    09/02/23    LSU
Jaali Winters    73    08/25/17    vs. Saint Mary's
Leah Ratzlaff    76    10/22/04    Missouri State
JoDe Cieloha    83    09/13/97    at Drake
Kelly Goc    87    11/24/06    vs. Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts    90    11/08/08    Illinois State
Ava Martin    93    11/22/24    at DePaul
Leah McNary    96    09/12/14    Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik    99    11/15/08    at Evansville
Shelly Kapler    103    11/18/99    vs. Missouri State
Taryn Kloth    103    08/31/18    vs. NC State
Allie Oelke    107    10/09/10    Wichita State
Kelli Browning    110    10/26/14    DePaul
Jaela Zimmerman    111    11/13/22    Seton Hall
Lauren Smith    119    10/07/16    at Villanova
Marysa Wilkinson    120    09/30/17    at St. John's

Most Kills at Creighton, First 3 Seasons
Name    Year 1    Year 2    Year 3    3 Yr Total
Melissa Walsh    341    428    435    1,204
Norah Sis    435    489    302    1,226
Jaali Winters    546    448    398    1,392
Leah Ratzlaff    180    516    479    1,175
Ava Martin    264    417    350    1,031
Kelly Goc    218    345    437    1,000
JoDe Cieloha    271    303    380    954

Best League Starts
Creighton finished 18-0 in league play for the third time ever, having also done so in both 2016 and 2018. No other volleyball program in league history has finished 18-0.
CU's Most Wins Before First League Loss
    Wins    Year (League)    First League Loss
    18    2018 (BIG EAST)    None
    18    2016 (BIG EAST)    None
    18    2024 (BIG EAST)    None
    17    2022 (BIG EAST)    11/19 at #16 Marquette
    12    2019 (BIG EAST)    11/8 at Villanova

Others Seeking Unbeaten Seasons
Creighton is one of nine teams in the country that has yet to lose a regular-season conference match yet.
    Of those teams, Creighton's two sets lost is tied for the fewest with Dayton and Howard.
    The only other two teams to finish BIG EAST play in 18-0 all-time were both from Creighton. CU's 2016 squad lost five sets in conference play, and the 2018 club lost six sets in BIG EAST action.
    Worth noting is that both Dayton and Southeastern Louisiana both were swept in their conference tournament finals.
    Set W-L    Team    League
    54-2    Dayton    Atlantic 10
    54-3    Creighton    BIG EAST
    42-2    Howard    Mid-Eastern Athletic
    54-5    Northern Iowa    Missouri Valley
    54-5    Nebraska    Big Ten
    48-6    Florida A&M    Southwestern Athletic
    54-9    Western Kentucky    Conference-USA
    48-9    UT Arlington    Western Athletic
    48-10    Southeastern Louisiana    Southland

Who Else Has Been Unbeaten?
Creighton is the 14th team to finish BIG EAST play unbeaten. It's worth noting, that only two previous teams (2016 & 2018 Creighton) had gone 18-0, as the others played far less matches.
    Creighton's three sets lost were the fewest by any unbeaten BIG EAST team since Notre Dame dropped three sets in 2001 when it went 12-0.
Unbeaten in BIG EAST Play
    W-L    Sets Lost    School    Year
    18-0    3    Creighton    2024
    18-0    6    Creighton    2018
    18-0    5    Creighton    2016
    14-0    8    Notre Dame    2009
    14-0    4    Louisville    2006
    12-0    3    Notre Dame    2001
    11-0    4    Notre Dame    2000
    11-0    4    Notre Dame    1999
    11-0    2    Notre Dame    1997
    11-0    2    Notre Dame    1996
    11-0    1    Notre Dame    1995
    7-0    6    Pittsburgh    1993
    7-0    1    Pittsburgh    1991
    7-0    2    Pittsburgh    1990

What's The Difference?
While this is Creighton's third team to go 18-0 in BIG EAST play, the domination this season has been especially noteworthy, as seen in the chart below:
Year    Sets Lost    5 Setters    Pts For-Against    % of Pts.
2016    5    1    1,457-1,088    57.2
2018    6    2    1,474-1,092    57.4
2024    3    0    1,418-884    61.6

Weekly Recognition For Martin & Reinhardt
Two members of the Creighton Volleyball team earned Player of the Week recognition on Monday as the BIG EAST handed out its final weekly honors of the season. Ava Martin was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, while Kiara Reinhardt brought home BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
    A junior from Overland Park, Kan., Martin averaged 4.71 kills, 2.00 digs, 0.29 blocks and 0.14 aces per set while hitting .429 as Creighton finished off an unbeaten league record with road wins at DePaul (3-1) and Xavier (3-0). Martin's 4.71 kills per set ranked second in the league, her .429 hitting percentage was third-best leaguewide and she was also fourth with 5.07 points per set.
    Martin surpassed 1,000 career kills while putting down a season-best 20 kills to go with six digs in Friday's 3-1 victory at DePaul that clinched the program's first outright title since 2020. Her ace against the Blue Demons gave her 37 in league play, tying a conference record. She followed that up with 13 kills and eight digs on .478 hitting on Sunday at Xavier.
    This is Martin's second BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week plaudit of the season, as she was also recognized on Nov. 4th.
    Reinhardt helped Creighton hold foes to a league-low .097 hitting last week as she averaged a league-leading 2.00 blocks per set. Reinhardt also contributed eight kills and five assists while hitting .211.
    Reinhardt had a season-best 11 blocks in Friday's 3-1 win at DePaul, also contributing two kills and two assists as CU clinched an outright BIG EAST title. On Sunday, the fifth-year senior had six kills, three assists and three blocks on .500 hitting as CU completed just the third 18-0 mark in BIG EAST history.
    Reinhardt was previously named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 23 and Nov. 4 this season, and once each in the spring of 2021 and the fall of 2023.

Taking Away Their Weapons
One reason for Creighton's success is that it has consistently shut down its opponents offensive threats.
    An opposing attacker has had 10 or more kills in just CU's 18 BIG EAST matches, with Marquette (on Nov. 10) the only team to have two women do it in the same match.
    Only two players had 10 kills and hit .300 or better, and Xavier's Emma Grace was the only BIG EAST foe to post a kills/digs double-double against CU this fall.
    By comparison, Creighton had 32 performances when a player had 10+ kills in a BIG EAST match, 13 matches with multiple players with 10+ kills, 26 players with 10+ kills on .300 hitting, and six kill/dig double-doubles.
League Opponents With 10+ Kills vs. CU
Name, School    Kills    Hit. Pct.    Digs
Erin Jones, SJU    13    .259    4
Emma Grace, XU    10    .189    12
Audrey Klemp, DPU    11    .368    0
Aubrey Hamilton, MU    13    .175    6
Hattie Bray, MU    12    .500    7
Jill Pressly, DPU    15    ,096    6

Volleyball Duo Taken in PVF Draft
Two seniors within the Creighton Volleyball program were selected in the Pro Volleyball Federation Draft on Monday. Norah Sis was the third overall section by the Orlando Valkyries, while Kendra Wait was chosen 37th overall by the defending league champion Omaha Supernovas.
    Creighton was one of nine schools with multiple women selected in the 40-player draft.
    Sis is a three-time All-American outside hitter from Papillion, Neb. She was named Volleyball Magazine's National Freshman of the Year in 2021 and BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2022. She's a three-time Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year selection and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Tournament in 2021 and 2022. She ranks fourth in Bluejay history with 1,592 kills and also owns 1,022 digs and 104 service aces. She currently ranks second in the BIG EAST in kills per set and points per set, third in aces per set and ninth in hitting percentage.
    Sis was the third pick in the first round, as only Nebraska's Merritt Beason (Atlanta Vibe) and Louisville's Anna DeBeer (Indy Ignite) were selected before her.
    Wait is leading the BIG EAST in assists for a fourth straight season and is one of 14 semifinalists for the AVCA National Player of the Year Award. She ranks 11th in the country in assists per set and is also fourth in the BIG EAST in blocks per set in conference play. The reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Setter of the Year, Wait was also named a College Sports Communicators First Team Academic All-American in 2023. The Gardner, Kan., native ranks second in CU history with 4,742 career assists, third with 1,410 career digs and owns a Bluejay record 71 double-doubles.
    Wait was the fifth pick of the fifth and find round, going No. 37 overall.

Didn't Have To Wait Long
Creighton senior Kendra Wait owns 1,055 assists this season, reaching her 1,000th helper on Nov. 22 vs. DePaul.
    Wait joined Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer Korie Lebeda (2005-08) as the second player in program history to reach 1,000 assists four times.
Single-Season Matches to 1,000 Assists
    Name    MP    Opponent    Year
Korie Lebeda    21    at Drake    2006
Brittany Coleman    22    at Southern Illinois    2004
Korie Lebeda    23    Missouri State    2005
Brittany Coleman    23    Northern Iowa    2003
Kailey Reyes    23    at Southern Illinois    1999
Melissa Weisensee    23    at Evansville    1996
Kailey Reyes    24    at Wichita State    2000
Melissa Weisensee    24    at Evansville    1997
Kendra Wait    24    Providence    2022
Kailey Reyes    25    Wichita State    2001
Korie Lebeda    25    Southern Illinois    2007
Korie Lebeda    26    Bradley    2008
Lydia Dimke    26    Xavier    2016
Madelyn Cole    26    at Seton Hall    2018
Megan Bober    27    Evansville    2010
Lydia Dimke    27    Georgetown    2017
Madelyn Cole    27    #9 Marquette    2019
Megan Bober    28    at Northern Iowa    2009
Megan Bober    28    at Wichita State    2012
Michelle Sicner    28    Xavier    2013
Kendra Wait    28    at DePaul    2024
Kendra Wait    29    at Villanova    2021
Kendra Wait    29    Butler    2023
Maggie Baumert    32    vs. Seton Hall    2014

They Hit What?
Creighton hit a program-record .548 in its Nov. 17 sweep against Georgetown, finishing the match with 46 kills and six attack errors in 73 swings while demolishing the Hoyas by a 25-14, 25-11, 25-11 score.
    CU hit .640 (18-2-25) in the first set and .600 (13-1-20) in the third set.
    Creighton's .548 hitting percentage was the best by any BIG EAST team in a league contest in at least 20 seasons.
Attack Percentage
    .548    vs. Georgetown (46-6-73) (3s)    11-17-24
    .536    vs. Tulsa (41-4-69) (3s)    10-27-95
    .495    vs. Liberty (57-8-99) (3s)    9-2-05
    .493    at Villanova (41-5-73) (3s)    10-27-23
    .488    vs. Georgetown (45-5-82) (3s)    10-13-23

Aces Wild!
Creighton served up 15 aces in its Nov. 15 sweep over Seton Hall to tie a program record done twice previously (both in 1995).
    The Bluejays two aces in the first set, eight aces in the second set and five more service winners in the final frame.
    Creighton's 15 aces came against just four service errors and in a total of 73 serve attempts overall.
Service Aces
    15    vs. Northeastern Illinois (3s)    9-23-95
    15    vs. UMKC (4s)    11-12-95
    15    vs. Seton Hall (3s)    11-15-24
    14    vs. Butler (3s)    10--20-18
    14    at UMKC (4s)    10-30-94
    14    vs. UNC-Greensboro (4s)    9-2-00
    14    vs. DePaul (4s)    11-24-19
    14    vs. UMKC    9-28-04

Martin Serves Up A Record
Ava Martin tied a program-record with eight aces on Nov. 15 vs. Seton Hall, matching the mark first set by Carolyn Decker at New Mexico on Sept. 4, 2004.
    Martin had five of her aces in the third set alone.
    Martin's eight aces were the most by any BIG EAST player since 2018, and tied the most in any three-set conference match in the last 20 years.
Service Aces
    8    Carolyn Decker at New Mexico (3s)    9-4-04
    8    Ava Martin vs. Seton Hall (3s)    11-15-24
    7    Molly Moran vs. Drake (3s)    9-22-00
    7    Michelle Sicner vs. McNeese State (3s)    9-17-11
    7    Madelyn Cole at Georgetown (3s)    11-9-19
    7    Kelli Koochi at Indiana State (4s)    10-19-01
    7    Nayka Benitez vs. Bradley (4s)    9-25-10

League Tourney Head-To-Head in 2024
It hasn't quite been chalk throughout, but here's how the teams in this week's BIG EAST Tournament have fared against each other:
Team    CU    MU    UConn    DPU    SJU    VU
Creighton (9-0)    --    2-0    1-0    2-0    2-0    2-0
Marquette (7-2)    0-2    --    1-0    2-0    2-0    2-0
UConn (2-6)    0-1    0-1    --    0-2    1-1    1-1
DePaul (4-6)    0-2    0-2    2-0    --    1-1    1-1
St. John's (4-6)    0-2    0-2    1-1    1-1    --    2-0
Villanova (2-8)    0-2    0-2    1-1    1-1    0-2    --

Reinhardt Announces Return
Prior to Creighton's Senior Day vs. Georgetown on Nov. 17, fifth-year senior Kiara Reinhardt surprised much of the crowd with an announcement of her own.
    Reinhardt announced that she'd be returning in 2025 for a sixth year.
    Reinhardt played in the spring of 2021 which earned her a COVID season. She then redshirted in the fall of 2021 after off-season surgery, and has played the past three years.
    In BIG EAST play, Reinhardt leads the conference with 1.53 blocks per set and is also eighth with a .330 hitting percentage.
    Each of Creighton's other seven seniors on the roster will exhaust their eligibility this fall and cannot return.

Exorcise The Demons
Creighton has won 26 straight matches against DePaul, its longest win streak ever against another foe. CU had been 23-0 all-time against Xavier before losing the first meeting last fall.
Most Consecutive Match Wins Over One Team
    Wins    Opponent    Dates
    26    DePaul    2013-Present
    23    Xavier    2013-22
    22    Butler    2013-Present
    21    Georgetown    2013-Present
    19    Southern Illinois    2003-11
    19    Seton Hall    2014-Present
    17    Providence    2014-Present
    16    Indiana State    2005-Present

Take Me To Your Leader
Creighton has a number of players that won the league statistical title in conference-only play.
    Kendra Wait led the league with 11.05 assists per set, just ahead of Xavier's Logan Flaugh (10.56). It's the fourth straight year she's led the conference in assists per set in conference play. Other Bluejays to have done that include Madelyn Cole (2018 & 2019), Lydia Dimke (2016) and Maggie Baumert (2015).
    Ava Martin topped everyone with 0.65 aces per set, edging out teammate Norah Sis (0.54). CU's only other players to lead the league in that category have been Keeley Davis (2022) and Megan Ballenger (2016). Martin's 0.65 aces is the most by any player in BIG EAST play since Villanova's Kim Maroon (0.70) in 2010, and her 37 service aces tied the conference record since rally scoring began.
    Kiara Reinhardt owned a commanding lead with 1.53 blocks per set, putting her well ahead of Seton Hall's Asil Subasili's 1.13. CU's only other players to top the BIG EAST in conference matches have been Naomi Hickman (2020) and Lauren Smith (2014).
    When it comes to team categories, Creighton established three records since the BIG EAST's 2013 realignment.
    CU topped the previous bests with a .371 hitting percentage, smashing the old mark of .319 by Marquette in 2018.
    CU held foes to .101 hitting, breaking the mark of .115 done by Creighton last year.
    Lastly, CU's 2.32 aces per set surpassed the previous best of 2.13 by Creighton in 2018.

Senior Class A Special One
Creighton's senior class already ranks as one of the winningest groups in program history. Consider the following...
    It's a group that has women that include a First Team Academic All-American, a pair of AVCA Third Team All-Americans, a BIG EAST Setter of the Year, a BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, a National Freshman of the Year, two BIG EAST Players of the Year, a two-time BIG EAST Tournament MVP and a national champion.
    The current group that arrived in the fall of 2021 is a combined 114-16, the nation's third-most wins in the last four years.
    The 114 wins are the most in any four-year span in school history.
    They're 38-0 at home against BIG EAST teams, losing just nine sets.
    They've spent 59 straight weeks in the AVCA Top 25, and the last 11 weeks in the Top 10.
    They've extended Creighton's NCAA Tournament streak to 12 years in a row, with a 13th appearance just over a week away from becoming official.
    They've extended CU's streak of BIG EAST Tournament titles to four in a row.
    They've extended Creighton's record streak of BIG EAST regular-season titles to 11 in a row.

A Bunch Of Winners
Kendra Wait has played in 114 victories is the 11th student-athlete in program history to appear in 100 or more victories. Of those 11 women, Wait's .884 win percentage in matches appeared trails only teammate Norah Sis (.889).
    Sis joined the century club on at Marquette on Nov. 10 and is now 104-13 in the matches she's appeared in. She's also missed 13 matches (10 wins) in her career.
    Creighton honored its senior class on Nov. 17 after sweeping Georgetown.
Most Wins, Four-Year Span
    W-L    Years
    114-16    2021-Pres.
    111-28    2015-18
    109-25    2016-19
    107-32    2014-17
    104-31    2012-15
    104-34    2013-16
    99-18    2020-23

Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
    W-L    Pct.    Name    Years
    116-26    .817    Naomi Hickman    2017-21
    114-15    .884    Kendra Wait    2021-Pres.
    111-28    .799    Jaali Winters    2015-18
    110-16    .873    Kiana Schmitt    2019-23
    109-24    .820    Taryn Kloth    2015-18
    109-25    .813    Brittany Witt    2016-19
    107-25    .811    Megan Ballenger    2016-19
    106-32    .768    Marysa Wilkinson    2014-17
    104-13    .889    Norah Sis    2021-Pres.
    104-34    .754    Lauren Smith    2013-16
    102-31    .767    Melanie Jereb    2012-15
    101-31    .765    Ashley Jansen    2012-15

All Is Right When It's Outright
This year marked Creighton's eighth outright BIG EAST title since 2014.
    Creighton's seven titles from 2014-20 were all outright titles, while it shared the crown in 2021, 2022 and 2023 with Marquette before this year's undisputed crown.
    Creighton also won an outright title in 2012 during its final season in the Missouri Valley Conference.

11 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Regular-season champions from 2014-23, Creighton is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 11 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.
    The only other teams nationally with an active streak of more than four straight regular-season league titles entering 2024 were Texas and Kentucky, both with seven.
    With one week to go in the regular season, Kentucky is in first with a 13-2 record while Texas is 11-3 and tied with Florida for second.

Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky entered 2024 as 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

Fun With Numbers
- Creighton did not trail in 29-of-57 sets played against BIG EAST foes this fall, and 29 of the 34 BIG EAST sets when it scored the first point of a set.
- Creighton trailed for a total of 190 points this season in 18 league matches, a number that would drop to 88 points in the 14 matches not against St. John's nor Marquette.
    Creighton has trailed for just a single point in four of its last seven matches, and six different conference contests overall.
    Creighton played 12 BIG EAST matches this fall in which it didn't trail in at least two sets.
- Creighton has not trailed by more than five points in any of its last 89 sets played against BIG EAST competition dating to a 17-10 deficit in the second set at Providence on Oct. 21, 2023 (Creighton won that set, 25-21).
- During Creighton's 33-match win streak over BIG EAST foes, the Bluejays have owned a hitting percentage advantage over its opponent of .098 or more in each match.
- Through matches of Sunday, Nov. 24, Creighton's 11 non-conference opponents were a combined 149-41 (.784) in league play. Two of the 11 teams (Nebraska and Northern Iowa) are still unbeaten in league play, and all 11 are .500 or better in conference action.

Dozen Years Of Dominance
A dozen years in the BIG EAST gives Creighton a pretty good set of data to compare its yearly performance in league matches.
    Here's how the 2024 campaign compares to previous seasons:
Creighton's Year-By-Year BIG EAST Stats
Year    W-L    KPS    HIT%    SAPS    DPS    BPS
2013    12-4    13.75    .213    1.00    16.20    3.13
2014#    16-2    14.89    .242    1.30    17.09    2.86
2015#    17-1    15.02    .271    1.33    16.97    2.47
2016#    18-0    15.37    .317    1.69    16.08    2.41
2017#    16-2    14.81    .302    1.31    16.62    2.05
2018#    18-0    14.45    .294    2.13    15.67    2.38
2019#    17-1    14.61    .269    2.07    15.80    2.25
2020#    7-1    12.93    .249    1.30    14.17    2.75
2021#    16-2    13.95    .242    1.82    18.02    2.86
2022#    17-1    14.80    .299    1.85    16.10    2.33
2023#    16-2    14.40    .313    1.89    15.91    2.30
2024#    18-0    14.79    .371    2.32    14.18    2.75
#won league's regular-season title

BIG EAST'S Best
Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton, Marquette and St. John's are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
    Creighton owns 11 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 - November 26, 2024
             BIG EAST only    All     matches
Team (NCAA Bids)    W    L    W    L
Creighton (11)    188    16    310    72
Marquette (10)    169    32    281    91
Xavier    116    86    179    170
St. John's (1)    104    100    219    159
Butler    103    101    178    176
Villanova (1)    100    104    187    162
Seton Hall (1)    86    117    167    186
DePaul    65    139    146    199
Georgetown    44    152    111    221
Connecticut#    42    38    77    60
Providence*    30    158    112    209
*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.

Another 25 Wins
Creighton has once again reached 25 victories this season.
    The Bluejays have now won 25 matches or more 11 times, including each of the last 10 non-COVID campaigns (including 2024).
    The only other school with an active streak of nine straight non-COVID seasons of 25 wins or more is BYU, which is currently 16-8 and would have to win the national title match to have get to 25 victories this fall.
    The Bluejay program record for wins in a season is 31, done in 2021.
Matches Won, Season
        Year    MP    W    L    Pct.
    1.    2021    35    31    4    .886
    2.    2012    33    29    4    .879
        2023    34    29    5    .853
        2018    34    29    5    .853
        2016    36    29    7    .806
    6.    2024    29    27    2    .931
        2022    32    27    5    .844
        2015    36    27    9    .750
    9.    2017    33    26    7    .788
    10.    2014    34    25    9    .735
        2019    31    25    6    .806

Staying Focused
Creighton has played the nation's 18th-toughest overall schedule and the second-toughest non-conference schedule, but it's stayed focused along the way.
    The Bluejays are 6-2 against teams in the Top 25 of the RPI, going 22-10 in sets. Creighton has outscored foes 738-638 in those matches and hits .275 while averaging 2.69 blocks per set.
    In 21 matches against teams with an RPI worse than 25, the Bluejays are 21-0 and 63-1 in sets. Creighton has hit .357 and averaged 2.77 blocks and 2.22 aces per set in those contests while holding foes to .090 hitting. The Jays have outscored the opposition 1,599-990 and allowed only two teams to score more than 21 points in a set.

High Five
Creighton is ranked fifth in this week's AVCA poll, tying its best mark ever. This is the program's 32nd Top 10 ranking ever.
Date    Rank
November 4, 2024    5th
November 11, 2024    5th
November 18, 2024    5th
November 25, 2024    5th
September 23, 2024    6th
September 30, 2024    6th
October 7, 2024    6th
October 14, 2024    6th
October 21, 2024    6th
October 28, 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

137 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked fifth in this week's AVCA poll, the 137th time in program history it's been ranked. That's 39th-most of all programs in NCAA history.
    This week is Creighton's 12th straight week this fall, tying a program record and the 33rd week all-time as a Top 10 team.
    The No. 5 ranking matches the best ranking in program history, surpassing the previous best of No. 6 in the six previous weeks from Sept. 23-Oct. 28, 2024.
    All 137 rankings have been since 2012 and under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
    The Bluejays are one of 14 schools (along with Baylor, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 59 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.    132*    Florida
        132*    Kentucky
        132*    Texas
    4.    123    Nebraska
        123    Penn State
        123    Purdue
        123    Wisconsin
    9.    122*    Baylor
        122    BYU
    10.    117    Creighton
    11.    116*    Pittsburgh
    12.    115    Stanford
        115    Minnesota
    14.    108    Oregon
    15.    96*    Louisville
    16.    94    Washington
* includes 9 weeks in Fall of 2020 when most schools didn't play

Report Card
Creighton is 188-16 all-time in regular-season BIG EAST matches.
    Here's a report card of how CU has done in 50 match segments in the BIG EAST.
    Matches    W-L
    1-50    43-7
    51-100    48-2
    101-150    46-4
    151-200    47-3
    201-202    4-0

Ava's Awesome
Ava Martin has had 10 or more kills in each of her last 12 matches. Not only that, she's hit .350 or better during each match of that streak. She's the only player in CU history to hit .350 or better with 10 or more kills in 10 consecutive matches or more.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills
    58    Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005
    21    Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015 - Aug. 28, 2016
    19    JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997
    18    Jaela Zimmerman, Nov. 16, 2019 - March 27, 2021
    15    Norah Sis, Oct. 7 - Dec. 2, 2022
    14    Kelly Goc, Sept. 8-Oct. 19, 2007
    13    JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 7-Oct. 18, 1996
    13    Jaali Winters, Nov. 12, 2016-Sept. 1, 2017
    12    Amanda Cvejdlik, Aug. 25-Sept. 19, 2006
    12    Ava Martin, Oct. 18, 2024 - Present

Doubling Up
Kendra Wait has had a double-double in 18 matches this season, and finished one dig shy in five other contests. Her 18 double-doubles ties her personal best, something done each of the previous two seasons, and that's six behind the program record set by Megan Bober in 2012.
    Wait's 71 double-doubles (in 129 matches played) are the most in program history, passing Melissa Weisensee's 65 from 1994-97.
    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.
    What makes Wait's accomplishment even more impressive is that she's needed so little time to do it. Since Wait enrolled, Creighton has played in just 39 matches that weren't sweeps (and Wait missed one of those). Here's a look at how long the matches have been for CU's four players with 60 or more career double-doubles:
Career Matches With a Double-Double, Career
    D-D    Name    Years
    71    Kendra Wait    2021-Present
    65    Melissa Weisensee    1994-97
    64    Kailey Reyes    1998-01
    60    Melissa Walsh    1998-01

Matches With a Double-Double, Season
    D-D    Name    Year
    24    Megan Bober    2012
    21    Korie Lebeda    2006
    20    Melissa Weisensee    1997
    19    Melissa Walsh    1998
    19    Megan Bober    2011
    18    Melissa Walsh    1999
    18    Korie Lebeda    2008
    18    Kendra Wait    2022
    18    Kendra Wait    2023
    18    Kendra Wait    2024

Name    D-D in 3-Set Matches    4-Set    5-Set
Kendra Wait    38 of 91    17 of 21    16 of 18
Melissa Weisensee    20 of 50    28 of 38    17 of 20
Kailey Reyes    16 of 54    31 of 35    17 of 19
Melissa Walsh    17 of 54    27 of 35    16 of 19
*based on team matches played

Sis Chasing Milestones
Norah Sis enters this weekend with 1,592 kills, 1,022 digs and 104 aces in her career.
    In program history, Sis is just the third Bluejay have had at least 1,500 kills and 1,000 digs. Of that duo, Sis and Jaali Winters are the only two women with 100+ aces, as well.
Creighton Players With 1,000+ Kills
Name    KILLS    DIGS    ACES
Jaali Winters    1,843    1,386    101
Leah Ratzlaff    1,622    721    77
Melissa Walsh    1,596    1,240    71
Norah Sis    1,592    1,022    104
Taryn Kloth    1,427    426    64
Kelly Goc    1,414    275    59
Jessica Houts    1,385    468    54
JoDe Cieloha    1,375    821    113
Leah McNary    1,257    225    0
Marysa Wilkinson    1,183    165    5
Lauren Smith    1,160    209    12
Allie Oelke    1,126    1,382    86
Kelli Browning    1,104    165    44
Amanda Cvejdlik    1,029    208    46
Shelly Kapler    1,000    922    104
Jaela Zimmerman    1,000    796    77

Reinhardt Rejects
Kiara Reinhardt is leading the BIG EAST with 1.48 blocks per set, good enough to rank 10th nationally.
    CU has not had a player lead the league in that category for an entire season since Lauren Smith averaged 1.27 blocks per set in 2015. Kelli Browning also paced the BIG EAST with 1.53 blocks per set in 2013.

All They Do Is Win
Creighton won its final 13 regular-season BIG EAST matches last season and went 18-0 this fall. That ties the program's longest streak of league wins in team history.
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
    31    Oct. 7, 2023 - Present    ? ? ?    BIG EAST
    28    Oct. 31, 2015 - Sept. 30, 2017    at Marquette, 3-0    BIG EAST
    28    Oct. 17, 2021- Nov. 18, 2022    at #16 Marquette, 3-0      BIG EAST
    14    Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012    Never (left MVC)    MVC

Streaking In League Play
Creighton has won 33 straight matches against conference teams, including conference tournament action. Though impressive, there's still four teams with longer active streaks through Nov. 25.
    Wins    Team    Current League
    101    Western Kentucky    Conference-USA
    41    Northern Iowa    Missouri Valley
    33    Creighton    BIG EAST
    20    Florida A&M    Southwestern Athletic
    19    Nebraska    Big Ten
    19    UT Arlington    Western Athletic

Road Dubs
Creighton has won nine consecutive true road matches, a streak that started on Sept. 21 with a 3-0 win over No. 10 Kansas.
    That's tied for the longest streak in program history. The last time it happened came in 2016, when No. 5 Texas snapped CU's streak in the Elite Eight.
Creighton's Longest Road Win Streaks
Wins    Dates    Snapped By
    9    Sept. 30-Dec. 2, 2016    at #5 Texas, 3-0
    9    Sept. 21, 2024 - Present    TBD
    8    Sept. 29 - Nov. 30, 2012    at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
    8    Sept. 28 - Nov. 3, 2018    at #2 Nebraska, 3-1
    8    Oct. 2, 2021-Sept. 10, 2022    at Rice, 3-2

Going Streaking
Creighton has won 20 consecutive matches, tied for the nation's sixth-longest active streak through contests of Nov. 18. The 18-match win streak is the third-longest win streak in program history, and tied for the nation's third-longest active streak.
Nation's Longest Active Win Streaks (11/25)
    Rk.    Streak    Team
    1.    25    Nebraska
    2.    24    Western Kentucky
    3.    20    Creighton
        20    UT Arlington
    5.    19    Northern Iowa

    Most Consecutive Wins, Creighton History
        Wins    Dates    Snapped By
        23    Sept. 23-Dec. 9, 2016    at #5 Texas, 3-0
        21    Sept. 21 - Nov. 30, 2018    #22 Washington, 3-0
        20    Sept. 20, 2024 - Present    TBD
        17    Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012    at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
        17    Sept. 23-Nov. 18, 2022    at #16 Marquette, 3-0
        17    Oct. 7-Dec. 2, 2023    vs. #7 Louisville, 3-2
        14    Sept. 19-Nov. 3, 2019    at Villanova, 3-0
        14    Oct. 17-Dec. 2, 2021    Kansas, 3-1

20 Wins, Again
Creighton picked up its 20th win of the season on Nov. 1 when it swept St. John's to improve to 20-2.
    Creighton has won 20 or more matches in four straight years, 12 of the last 13 years (CU only played 16 times in the spring of 2021, going 12-4), and now has 15 20-win campaigns to its ledger all-time.
    This fall marked the 15th straight time that after Creighton won its 19th match, it won its next match as well to reach the 20-victory milestone.
Year    MP to 20 W    Date of 20th Win
2006    29    11/18
2007    29    11/16
2010    30    11/26
2012    23    10/27
2013    27    11/22
2014    27    11/08
2015    28    11/07
2016    26    11/06
2017    25    11/05
2018    24    10/27
2019    24    11/09
2021    23    10/24
2022    23    10/30
2023    24    11/03
2024    22    11/01

Hall Mark
Creighton has swept Seton Hall each of the last 18 meetings, and won each of the last 56 sets against the Pirates. The 56 straight set victories over the Pirates is easily the longest in program history over one opponent.
    The Bluejays also own a 28-set win streak over Georgetown, its third-longest ever over another foe.
Most Consecutive Set Wins Over One Team
    Wins    Opponent    Dates
    56    Seton Hall    2015-Present
    32    Providence    2017-Present
    28    Georgetown    2019-Present
    25    Indiana State    2005-09
    24    Xavier    2015-18
    24    Villanova    2021-Present
    23    Indiana State    2009-Present
    19    Providence    2014-17
    19    Butler    2018-21

Clean Sweeps
Creighton's school-record streak of 31 straight set victories between Oct. 1 - Nov. 8 was snapped when the Bluejays lost the opening set of an eventual 3-1 triumph at Marquette on Nov. 10.
Consecutive Sets Won
    Set Wins    Dates    Snapped By
    31    Oct.1 - Nov. 8, 2024    at Marquette
    30    Oct.7 - Nov. 10, 2023    at St. John's
    29    Oct. 16-Nov. 18, 2022    at #16 Marquette
    25    Oct. 22-Nov. 20, 2016    Villanova
    25    Oct. 26-Nov. 23, 2018    #16 Marquette
    22    Nov. 7-Dec. 2, 2021    Kansas
    21    Nov. 11 - Dec. 2, 2023    vs. #7 Louisville
    19    Oct. 12-Nov. 3, 2019    at Villanova
    15    Oct. 7-21, 2016    at Marquette
    15    Sept. 28-Oct. 13, 2018    at Villanova
    15    Sept. 11-24, 2021    at Butler

How Many Sets In A Row?
In its 31-set win streak from Oct. 1-Nov. 8, Creighton allowed as many as 20 points just four times.
- It outscored foes 775-475 in all sets (an average of 25.0-15.3), 250-142 in the second set (an average of 25.0-14.2) and 250-148 in the third set (an average of 25.0-14.8) during that span.
- Creighton owned a 72-18 advantage in aces, even though it had nearly the same number of service errors (CU 65, Opponents 62). In that time, Ava Martin and Norah Sis both had 18 aces.
- Creighton hit .374 (456-101-950).
- Elise Goetzinger hit .505 (61-8-105), Ava Martin hit .434 (121-15-244) and Norah Sis hit .312 (111-34-247).
- Kiara Reinhardt (49) had more blocks than CU's opponents (31.5), with Kendra Wait (29), Jaya Johnson (26) and Elise Goetzinger (29) not far behind.

The Best Overall Starts
Creighton's 27-2 record is the program's best mark ever after 29 matches. Its 2021 team opened 17-2, but lost its 20th contest of the year.
Creighton's Most Wins, 2 Losses Or Less
    Wins    Year    3rd Loss
    27 so far    2024    TBD
    17    2021    10/16 at UConn
    12    2012    9/28 at Southern Illinois
    11    2006    9/24 vs. #1 Nebraska
    10    2023    9/23 at Xavier

NCAA Reveal Had Creighton Sixth
The NCAA DI women's volleyball committee announced its in-season top-16 rankings during on Oct. 20th, and had Creighton tabbed sixth.
    The reveal is based on the criteria used to select and seed the 64 teams for the volleyball championship. It includes strength of schedule, Rating Percentage Index, head-to-head competition, results versus common opponents, significant wins and losses and locations of contests. Input is also provided by the regional advisory committees for consideration by the Division I women's volleyball committee.
1. Nebraska    9. Wisconsin
2. Pitt    10. Oregon
3. Penn State    11. Kansas
4. Louisville    12. Purdue
5. Stanford    13. Utah
6. Creighton    14. TCU
7. SMU    15. USC
8. Texas    16. Minnesota

Halfway Home
Creighton was 9-0 in league play at the midway point of the BIG EAST season, making the Bluejays unbeaten at the halfway mark of league play for the sixth time (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024).
    The Bluejays have suffered one league loss or fewer in the second half of conference play during each of the previous 10 seasons.
League Record by Year
Year    1st Half    2nd Half    Place
1994    2-8    1-9    T-9th MVC
1995    3-7    3-7    T-7th MVC
1996    2-7    3-6    T-6th MVC
1997    6-3    4-5    T-3rd MVC
1998    2-7    3-6    8th MVC
1999    5-4    4-5    5th MVC
2000    5-4    5-4    T-4th MVC
2001    7-2    5-4    4th MVC
2002    1-8    1-8    T-9th MVC
2003    5-4    4-5    T-5th MVC
2004    5-4    5-4    5th MVC
2005    4-5    6-3    5th MVC
2006    7-2    5-4    4th MVC
2007    7-2    7-2    T-2nd MVC
2008    7-2    8-1    2nd MVC
2009    4-5    6-3    T-4th MVC
2010    7-2    6-3    3rd MVC
2011    6-3    6-3    4th MVC
2012    8-1    9-0    1st MVC
2013    6-2    6-2    T-2nd BIG EAST
2014    8-1    8-1    1st BIG EAST
2015    9-0    8-1    1st BIG EAST
2016    9-0    9-0    1st BIG EAST
2017    8-1    8-1    1st BIG EAST
2018    9-0    9-0    1st BIG EAST
2019    9-0    8-1    1st BIG EAST
2020    3-1    4-0    1st BIG EAST (Midwest)
2021    7-2    9-0    T-1st BIG EAST
2022    9-0    8-1    T-1st BIG EAST
2023    7-2     9-0     T-1st BIG EAST
2024    9-0    9-0    1st
Total    186-89    186-89    --

So Clean
Creighton Volleyball is hitting an absurd .371 in BIG EAST play.
    How good is that?
    Across the BIG EAST, among players with three attempts per set, only two non-Creighton player even hit better than .337.
    Creighton has hit .357 or better in at least one set during each of its last 26 matches against league foes.
    Creighton has averaged just 10.30 attack errors in its last 30 matches against BIG EAST Conference matches, finishing with 10 or less total attack errors in 17 of those.
    Looking at just the 57 BIG EAST sets played this season, Creighton has never had more than eight attack errors in any set, and its worst attack percentage in a set was .184. On the other hand, its opponents own 7+ attack errors in 24-of-57 sets and have managed only 12 sets of better than .170.
    Creighton has owned a better hitting percentage than the opposition in 54-of-57 league sets this season...all but set one at Villanova on Oct. 11th, set one at Marquette on Nov. 10 and set one at DePaul on Nov. 22.

Aced That Test
Creighton has had more service aces than service errors in eight of its last 13 matches, a good trend since CU has won 25 contests in a row when owning more aces than errors. In those 13 matches (41 sets), CU has accumulated 100 aces against just 89 serving miscues.
    Norah Sis, who had three aces on Nov. 3 vs. Villanova during a 14-0 serving spree, has already established a personal-best with 43 service aces this fall compared to just 33 errors.
    Per Evollve.net, Creighton is second nationally (trailing only Pitt's 53.2 percent) by winning 52.4 percent of the points when it serves. The median team (#173 of 346) wins just 43.1 percent of the points when it serves.
    Creighton's team reception percentage is .949. All four primary passers receive at .946 or better, as Creighton has been aced just 70 times in 29 matches this fall. Creighton has won 67.8 percent of the points when in serve receive this year, which ranks third-best in the country per Evollve.net, compared to the median team at 57.2 percent.

Putting The 0 In October And November
Creighton is 81-6 in the 10th month of the year since Oct. 1, 2016, including 15 straight wins, and victories in 29 of its past 30 such matches.
    Creighton's been awfully good in the month of November too. Since Nov. 1, 2014, CU is 69-4 in the 11th month of the year.
    Creighton has won 43 straight October home matches (since 10/15/11) and 42 consecutive home matches in November (since 11/23/14). Incredibly, Creighton is 126-10 in sets in those home November contests.

Defense Wins Championships
Creighton ranks fifth nationally with 14.49 kills per set, second with a .327 hitting percentage and is also sixth with 13.47 assists per set.
    But where it has dominated has been on the defensive side of the net, where it ranks 14th in blocks per set (2.74) and second in opponents hitting percentage (.123).
    CU ranked third last year in opponent's hitting percentage (.144) and led the country in 2021 (.124) in that category.
    Last season was the fifth straight non-COVID year that Creighton's led the BIG EAST in opponent's hitting percentage.
    In league play this year, Creighton hit .371 and held foes to .101 hitting.

Sis Is Killing It
Norah Sis ranks fourth in Creighton history with 1,592 career kills after passing Olympian Taryn Kloth in October during a win at Villanova.
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.    Norah Sis    401    1,592    2021-Pr.
    5.    Taryn Kloth    462    1,427    2015-18

4,500 And Counting
Kendra Wait surpassed the 4,000 assist mark in the Sept. 15 match at No. 4 Louisville and starts this weekend with 4,742 in her career. That's good for second in CU history, trailing only Athletics Hall of Famer Korie Lebeda's 5,281.
Career Assists
        Name    Sets    No.    Years
    1.    Korie Lebeda    428    5,281    2005-08
    2.    Kendra Wait    442    4,742    2021-Pr.
    3.    Megan Bober    480    4,359    2009-12

League Opener Histories
Including this year'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 last 12 times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 195-13 in regular-season league action. Creighton also won 10 conference tournament titles during those years, going 20-1 (entering 2024) at the league tournament in those seasons.
    In the 23 seasons (including 2024) that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .790 (324-86) winning percentage (including 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 22-9 overall and 19-3 under Booth, with 11 straight wins (including 2024).
    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.

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 110-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (101-3 in the regular-season, 9-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
    Since November of 2014, Creighton is 94-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 86-1 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, fourth-year Bluejay seniors Abbey Milner, Kendra Wait and Norah Sis are 38-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 114-9 in sets.
    Creighton has won 44 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.

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    1st    - -

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.

Stepping Up
Creighton has played five ranked teams this fall, 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 3.85 digs per set versus unranked foes.
    Sydney Breissinger averages 2.43 digs per set against Top 25 competition compared to 2.00 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 0.76 aces against unranked foes (57 aces in 75 sets).

Dominance Against The Unranked
Creighton is 72-3 in sets this year against unranked teams and 120-4 in sets dating to Oct. 7, 2023 against unranked opposition.        Creighton has outscored unranked opponents 1,868-1,195 this year, winning an incredible 60.99 percent of those points.
    Creighton has allowed 20 or more points in just 15 of the 75 sets against unranked foes this year.
    The Bluejays are hitting .352 against unranked teams this year, while holding those foes to .102 hitting. CU also owns decisive advantages in kills (1107-693), aces (163-57), digs (1,089-865) and blocks (209.5-73.5) in those matches.

The Incredible Third Sets
Creighton is 28-1 in the third set this season, outscoring foes in points 731-462 to win an incredible 61.3 percent of the points.
    In its late-September run of three straight Top 10 foes, the Bluejays outscored those teams by an incredible 75-43 margin in the third.
    Creighton is hitting .348 in the third set this year, its best of any frame. That figure is .342 in the third set against ranked teams this fall, and .368 against league foes.
    Creighton is also hitting .388 in the second set and .368 in the fourth set of its BIG EAST matches, and has held all but one (DePaul had 21) of the 18 league foes to 19 points or less in the second set.

Hidden Stats
The only teams to finish a match with more aces than Creighton this season are Connecticut (8-6) and St. John's (3-0).
    The only teams to finish a match with more blocks than Creighton are USC (10.5-7.0) and Louisville (13-11).
    The only team to finish a match with more digs than Creighton has been Nebraska (81-80).

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.    301    9    .971
When Hitting .250+    218    6    .973
When Hitting .300+    124    0    1.000
When Serving 10+ Aces    19    2    .905
When Owning More Kills    290    21    .932
When Owning More Aces    220    21    .913
When Owning More Digs    252    21    .923
When Owning More Blocks    233    17    .932

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, but BYU would need to win the NCAA title match to extend their streak.

Nationwide Success
With a 194-13 record against BIG EAST teams since 2014, it's safe to say the 11-time defending BIG EAST champion Creighton Volleyball program has proven itself over the last decade-plus 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
    18-0 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.
    In its last 42 matches dating to last season, Creighton is 39-3 and has won 120-of-135 sets. All three match losses came in five sets.
    In its 33 matches against BIG EAST schools since October 7, 2023, Creighton has dropped just four sets to league opponents.
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 (through 11/24)
Rk.    Sets Lost    Team
1.    7    Pittsburgh
2.    11    Creighton
3.    12    Nebraska
4.    13    Dayton

Set-tle Down
Since the start of the 2021 season, Creighton is 88-3 in three-set matches, 17-4 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 15 more wins this season, the Bluejays have extended their program record to 28 straight home wins, surpassing a 15-match home win streak from Sept. 7-Nov. 30, 2018 that had been the standard.
    Creighton's 28-match home win streak is the third-longest active streak in the country.
    Creighton has won 77 of its last 79 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
    28    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 (11/24)
Wins    Team    Next Home Match
    41    Nebraska    11/23 vs. #7 Wisconsin
    30    Pittsburgh    11/30 vs. #19 Georgia Tech
    28    Creighton    11/29 vs. DPU/SJU in BIG EAST Tourney
    19    Penn State    11/29 v. #2 Nebraska

Top 25 History
Creighton is 226-47 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 310-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 118 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 171 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

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

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 18th-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 seven times this year so far, including a school-record .548 vs. Georgetown on Nov. 17th.
    Creighton is 318-9 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when hitting .250 or better and as a program has won 185 straight matches when hitting .300 or better, a streak that dates to October of 1996.

Birds Of A Feather
Creighton has showcased a three new sets of 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's teams are a perfect 23-0 in matches played in Omaha in her career, though she did not play in two of those matches due to injury.
    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 23 wins, Goetzinger owns 142 kills and 73 blocks while hitting .387 in 68 sets played.

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 2,318 fans per home match (29th-best nationally), including a crowd of 2,570 on Oct. 20 vs. DePaul 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
    2,570    DePaul    10/20/24    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

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 played from that list were met 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

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

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.

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 497-3 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    27-2 so far
Total    85-69    588-343

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 414-11 (.974) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 357-5 mark (.986) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 278-3 (.989) when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 145-1 (.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 424-36 (.922) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 73-155 (.320) 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 163-5 in its last 168 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 156-6 in its last 162 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 16-21 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
    Creighton has gone 193-4 (.980) in its last 197 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 111-109 since, including a 7-2 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    7-2 so far
TOTAL    113-144
TOTAL Under Booth    111-109

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 497 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports through Nov. 24th.
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    497*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball    429*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis    347
Greg McDermott, Men's Basketball    329*
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 207 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 32 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    22-1    -    22-1
Connecticut    4-1    1-0    5-1
DePaul    24-0    2-0    26-0
Georgetown    22-0    -    22-0
Marquette    19-5    6-1    25-6
Providence    17-0    -    17-0
Seton Hall    19-3    2-0    21-3
St. John's    20-2    1-1    21-3
Villanova    19-3    3-0    22-3
Xavier    22-1    4-0    26-1
Total    188-16    19-2    207-18

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ellie Bichelmeyer

Maddy Bilinovic

Ellie Bolton

Sydney Breissinger

Morgan Colangelo

Elise Goetzinger

Jaya Johnson

Ava Martin

Abbey Milner

Destiny Ndam-Simpson

Kiara Reinhardt

Ann Marie Remmes

Kiana Schmitt

Norah Sis

Kendra Wait