#5 Volleyball Renews Rivalry With Marquette in BIG EAST Tournament Final

2024 BIG EAST Championship - Presented by JEEP
Match #31: Marquette (23-7) at #5 Creighton (28-2)
Omaha, Neb. • Saturday, Nov. 30 • 5:00 p.m.
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES |

• Top-seeded and fifth-ranked Creighton (28-2) seeks its fifth consecutive BIG EAST Tournament title on Saturday at 5 p.m. when it faces second-seeded Marquette (23-7) inside D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb.
    The contest will be televised on FS2 and streamed at http://FoxSports.com/live, with Jon Schriner and Anna Connelly on the call.
    Live stats can be found at https://creighton.statbroadcast.com.
    The winner of Saturday's match earns itself an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will start on Thursday or Friday at 16 campus sites nationwide.

• Creighton owns nine BIG EAST Tournament titles in program history (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) and plays for its 10th crown on Saturday. The only teams with more than Creighton's nine tourney titles are Pittsburgh (11), while Notre Dame also has nine.
    With a win on Saturday, Kirsten Bernthal Booth can pass former Notre Dame coach Debbie Brown for most BIG EAST Volleyball Tournament titles in history. No other coach owns more than five.

• Creighton is appearing in its 11th BIG EAST Tournament title game in 12 years as a member of the BIG EAST, going 9-1 in the first 10 such contests with nine consecutive wins. With a win, CU can match its five straight titles from 2014-18.
    Creighton also won the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in its final season in the MVC.

• Creighton and Marquette are meeting in the BIG EAST Tournament for the eighth time in the last 12 years, with seven of those contests coming in the final.
    Creighton lost to Marquette in the 2013 final, but has beaten Marquette in the 2015 semifinal as well as the final in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

• Creighton is 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 when you include the 2012 MVC Tourney.

• History could be made if Saturday's final is a sweep.
    Since the league's reinstatement, the only teams to post back-to-back 3-0 wins in the semifinals and finals of the same tournament are Creighton in 2016, 2021 and 2023. Both Creighton and Marquette advanced to the 2024 final via a 3-0 semifinal win.
    Creighton owns a pair of sweeps over every BIG EAST team it has played multiple times this year except Marquette, whom it beat twice 3-1.

• Creighton is 25-0 this season when winning the first set and 27-0 when winning the second set.
    Marquette is 21-0 when winning the second set and 5-0 when winning the fourth set this year.
    Marquette is also 3-0 in the fifth set this year, while Creighton is 0-2 in the fifth set this year.
    However, in head-to-head meetings to go five sets, Creighton is 7-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles, including league tournament victories in 2015 (semifinal), 2017 (final) and 2022 (final).

• Since Nov. 1, 2014, Creighton is 70-4 in the month of November, including a 9-0 record this year. CU has won 43 consecutive home matches in November (since Nov. 23, 2014). Incredibly, Creighton is 129-10 in sets in those home November contests.
    Creighton is 9-0 this November. The team owns only three months in program history with 10 or more wins (last 11 wins in September 2021), but have never won more than nine times in the penultimate month on the calendar.

• A win on Saturday would improve Creighton to 29-2, tied for its second-most wins in program history in one season. Creighton went 31-4 in 2021 and also had 29 wins in 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2023.
    The 29 wins would be tied for the NCAA lead.

• Creighton is 20-2 all-time in 12 BIG EAST Championship appearances, including nine titles (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).
    The Bluejays improved to 11-1 in the semifinals with Friday's win over DePaul, and are 9-1 all-time in the finals (losing only to Marquette in 2013).

• Creighton is seeking its fifth consecutive BIG EAST Tournament title, which would be the first time that's happened since Creighton won five straight from 2014-18.

• Teams to win the first set in the BIG EAST Tournament final have won just three of the previous seven finals, an incredible trend considering that the first set winner won the match every year from 2007-2016 and are 33-9 all-time in the finals. All four times in the previous seven years that a team lost the first set but came back to victory, it was Creighton overcoming a first set win by Marquette (2017, 2018, 2020, 2022).
    Only two teams in league tournament history have lost the first two sets and come back to win, Louisville in 2006 (over Notre Dame) and Pittsburgh in 1993 (over Seton Hall).
    Creighton is 15-0 all-time when winning the first set of a BIG EAST Tournament match, but still a healthy 5-2 when losing the opener.

• Not a single player on the Creighton sideline has ever played in a BIG EAST Tournament loss.
    Only six players in Creighton history have played in eight BIG EAST Tournament victories and four title match victories (Marysa Wilkinson, Jaali Winters, Taryn Kloth, Jaela Zimmerman and Naomi Hickman). With a win on Saturday, Kiara Reinhardt, Norah Sis and Kendra Wait can join them. Reinhardt also redshirted in the fall of 2021 when CU won a title that year.

• Creighton is 10-1 all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena at the BIG EAST Championships, including titles in 2015, 2018, 2020 (in spring 2021) and 2022.

• Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 20-2 all-time in BIG EAST Championship action with nine titles. By comparison, the league's 10 other active coaches have a combined mark of 23-41 in the BIG EAST Championship with two titles, and none of the other 10 have a winning record in the event.

• 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

• 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). Sis was 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 has been recognized each of the past two years.

• 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.
    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 previous 11 years, and the No. 1 seed has also gone 21-2 in its last 23 league tourney contests.

• Creighton set a single-season program record on Friday with its 16th home win of the season, and extended another with it 29th consecutive home victory. CU will tie another program record on Saturday with its 17th home match of the season, something also done in 2015

• Creighton has played 19 home matches against BIG EAST foes since the start of last season, and dropped just one set in those contests (the third set to Marquette this fall).

• Yesterday was Creighton's 41st straight win over an unranked team and 34th consecutive victory over a BIG EAST school.

• Creighton's 21 straight victories are tied for its second-longest win streak in program history, trailing only a 23-match streak by CU's 2016 Elite Eight team.
    The only team in the nation with a longer active win streak is Western Kentucky (24).
    WKU (101) also owns the longest active win streak over conference teams, just ahead of Northern Iowa (42) and Creighton (34).

• Creighton has won three tournaments this year (Bluejay Invitational, Creighton Classic, Jayhawk Classic), and seeks a fourth on Saturday. CU has won at least one tournament every season since 2012 (13 years in a row), and at least one home tournament each of the last eight seasons.
    Since 2012, Creighton has won 34 tournament titles, not to mention 10 regular-season league crowns.

• Creighton is 115-16 in the last four seasons, the nation's third-most wins in that time. The 115 wins are the most in any four-year span in school history.
    Creighton is 39-0 at home against BIG EAST teams during that stretch, losing just nine sets.

• Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones.
    Ava Martin's 499 career digs also put her one shy of 500.
    Sydney Breissinger owns 490 career digs and is 10 shy of 500.
    Norah Sis owns 196 career blocks and is four away from 200.
    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 395 career blocks and is five shy of 400.
    Kendra Wait has played in 115 victories since arriving at Creighton and can tie Naomi Hickman (2017-21) for the most by any Bluejay with a win on Saturday.

• Creighton has not trailed in 30-of-60 sets played against BIG EAST foes this fall, and 30 of the 36 BIG EAST sets when it scored the first point of a set.
    Creighton has trailed for just a single point in four of its last eight 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.
    CU hasn't trailed by more than five points in any of its last 92 sets played against BIG EAST competition.

• Creighton has won 10 league tournament titles since 2012, tied with Western Kentucky for the most nationally (including WKU's title last week). CU's 12 regular-season titles in that span are also tied for the most nationally with WKU in that span.

• Kiara Reinhardt broke Creighton's BIG EAST Tournament career records for total blocks (37) and block assists (31) on Friday, while also extending her block solo record to six.
    Reinhardt, who is no longer part of CU's typical serving rotation, also owns seven career aces at the BIG EAST Tournament share CU's record in that category as well.
    During Creighton's 21-match win streak, Reinhardt had 99 blocks (1.57 bps.), while CU's opponents own a total of 66.5 blocks (0.99 bps.).

• Creighton's .442 hitting percentage yesterday was its best mark ever in BIG EAST Tournament play, surpassing the previous high of .410 vs. Xavier in 2016.
    It's the eighth time in Creighton's last 20 matches it has hit .400 or better.
    During its 21-match win streak, Creighton has hit .274 or better in every contest, hit .370 overall, and had 10 attack errors or less 12 times.

• Norah Sis tied a Creighton record for kills in a three-set BIG EAST Tournament match with 18 yesterday. Sis owns 106 career BIG EAST Tournament kills, 11 shy of tying Jaali Winters (2015-18) for the most in program history.

• Creighton and Marquette ought to be quite familiar with each other by this point.
    Saturday will mark the 14th meeting between the schools since February 4, 2021, and that doesn't include two other matches that were cancelled due to COVID protocols. Creighton has won 10 of those 13 recent contests.
    Saturday will also be the 22nd meeting since Oct. 17, 2017 between the BIG EAST behemoths. CU is 17-4 in the last 21 encounters.

• Creighton is 28-7 all-time against Marquette, and are 24-4 since the start of the 2014 season against MU. That includes a pair of nationally-televised 3-1 wins this season over MU.
    CU defeated MU in the 2015 semifinal (3-2), the 2017 final (3-2), the 2018 final (3-1), the 2020 final (3-1) the 2021 final (3-0) and the 2022 final (3-2), but lost (3-1) in the 2013 final.
    Teams to win the first set are 28-7 in the history of the series, and Creighton has won all seven match-ups to go five sets.
    Creighton is 28-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles when winning at least one set, including the last 24 such matches since a setback in the 2013 BIG EAST Tournament final.
    Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 28-7 against Marquette and 24-4 against Ryan Theis. Her 28 victories against the Golden Eagles are the most of any of the 100 teams she's beaten as a CU coach.

• Including league tournament action, Creighton is 72-5 against conference teams since the fall of 2021 began, losing once each to Xavier, St. John's and UConn and twice to Marquette.
    Meanwhile, Marquette is 64-10, with eight losses coming against the Bluejays compared to a 59-2 mark against everyone else, with the other two losses coming at St. John's.

• The last Creighton/Marquette final came in 2022 (in Omaha) and saw Norah Sis (23) and Ava Martin (22) combine for 45 of Creighton's 74 kills in a 3-2 win. Kiana Schmitt had 10 blocks and Kendra Wait added 60 assists and 20 digs for the Bluejays.

• No matter how you slice it, Creighton and Marquette have dominated BIG EAST Volleyball since 2013. Here's how they compare, heading into Saturday's final.
Stat    CU    MU    Everyone Else
BIG EAST Reg-Season W-L    188-16    169-32    775-1084
BIG EAST Play Win Percentage    .922    .841    .417
BIG EAST Reg.-Season Titles#    11    4    0
BIG EAST Tourney Titles    9    1    1
BIG EAST Player of the Year    5    5    3
BIG EAST Libero of the Year    2    0    10
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year    4    3    7#
BIG EAST Coach of the Year    5#    2    6#
AVCA All-Americans*    7    2    0
AVCA H.M. All-Americans    17    8    14
AVCA Region Freshman of Year    3    1    2
AVCA Region Coach of Year    4    0    3
CSC Academic All-Americans    8    3    0
# includes ties
*First/Second/Third Teams only

• With a win on Saturday, Kirsten Bernthal Booth will clinch her 14th NCAA Tournament bid as a Bluejay head coach, the most in Creighton Athletics history in any sport.

• With an unofficial RPI of 6 as of Friday night, it's all but a certainty that Creighton hear its name called on Selection Sunday when the Field of 64 is announced.
    It will be Creighton's 14th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, and 13th consecutive. The only seven schools to appear in each of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments (prior to this year) are BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.
    If Creighton is selected to host, it would mark the sixth time since 2017 that has happened, and fourth straight season.

• Regardless of Saturday's result, Creighton will host a Selection Show viewing party that is open to fans and media at the D.J.'s Dugout downtown location (1003 Capitol Ave.) in Omaha. The selections will be announced beginning at 5 p.m. Central on Sunday on ESPN.

#5 Volleyball Renews Rivalry With Marquette in BIG EAST Tournament Final

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Breissinger

Ava Martin

Destiny Ndam-Simpson

Kiara Reinhardt

Kiana Schmitt

Norah Sis

Kendra Wait