Saturday, September 14
Louisville, Ky.
10 AM
Creighton University
vs
Rice
Photo by: Justin Kreutzian
#9 Volleyball Heads to Louisville For Cardinal Classic
9/11/2024 9:35:00 PM | Volleyball
Bluejays meet UNI, Rice and #4 Louisville at site of 2024 Final Four
Cardinal Classic • Louisville, Ky. • KFC Yum! Center
Match #7: #9 Creighton vs. Northern Iowa • Friday, Sept. 13 • 12 p.m. Central | LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS | UNI AUDIO | CU NOTES | UNI NOTES |
Match #8: #9 Creighton vs. Rice • Saturday, Sept. 14 • 10 a.m. Central | LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | RICE NOTES |
Match #9: #9 Creighton at #4 Louisville • Sunday, Sept. 15 • 12 p.m. Central | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES |
This Week
No. 9 Creighton Volleyball continues its non-conference gauntlet with two matches against conference favorites before a true road match against the nation's fourth-ranked team.
The slate begins on Friday, Sept. 13 at 12 p.m. Central when Creighton (5-1) meets Northern Iowa (4-2).
The schedule continues on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. Central when the Bluejays square off against Rice (4-1).
The weekend wraps up on Sunday, Sept. 15, with a nationally-televised contest against No .4 Louisville (5-1) that begins at Noon Central.
All three matches will take place inside KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., home of the 2024 Women's Volleyball Final Four.
Broadcast Information
Creighton's matches on Friday (vs. UNI) and Saturday (vs. Rice) will be broadcast on ESPN+, which is a subscription-based platform found at http://watchespn.com. Jeff Milby and Stephanie Marsh will call both matches.
Sunday's contest at Louisville will be nationally-televised on ESPN, with Sam Gore and Jennifer Hoffman sharing announcing duties. That match can also be watch by cable subscribers on http://watchespn.com.
Live Stats Information
All three matches will have free live stats at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
Links will also be on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting #9 Creighton
Creighton is off to a 5-1 start after winning the Bluejay Invitational and Creighton Classic over the past two weekends, then dropping a five-set match at No. 5 Nebraska on Tuesday night.
The 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year Kendra Wait (10.76 aps., 2.95 dps., 0.95 kps., 0.71 bps., .348%) opened her senior campaign by collecting MVP honors at the Bluejay Invitational, while 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis (4.00 kps., .318%) was named MVP of the Creighton Classic.
Junior Ava Martin (3.24 kps.) was named Preseason All-BIG EAST, and transfers Maddy Bilinovic (3.81 dps.) and Elise Goetzinger (2.57 kps., 1.10 bps., .324%) have made an immediate impact.
CU returns four starters from last season's 29-5 squad that reached a 12th straight NCAA Tournament and saw the Bluejays win a 10th straight BIG EAST regular-season title and its ninth BIG EAST Tournament crown in the past decade. CU was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST by league coaches in 2024.
CU averages 14.19 kills, 1.19 aces, 15.24 digs and 2.62 blocks per set and has hit .284.
Scouting Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa is off to a 4-2 start, with wins over FIU, SIU Edwardsville, North Dakota and West Virginia to go with losses at Dayton to on a neutral floor to Ohio State.
Kira Fallert (3.78 kps.) and Cassidy Hartman (3.52 kps.) pace the Panthers offensively.
Sydney Golden (6.57 aps.) and Reese Booth (4.62 aps.) run UNI's 6-2 offense. Booth is the daughter of Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Erin Powers (4.65 dps.) continues UNI's tradition of top-notch liberos, and Kacie Rewerts (1.04 bps.) is the top blocker.
UNI averages 14.35 kills, 15.00 digs, 1.70 blocks and 1.57 aces per set while hitting .250 as a team.
Scouting Rice
Rice is 4-1 this season, picking up wins over Houston Christian (3-2), Texas State (3-0), South Alabama (3-0) and UNLV (3-1) and suffering a loss to Baylor (3-0).
Cindy Tchouangwa (3.61 kps.) and Samarah Hill (2.94 kps.) lead the offense, which is set by Savannah Skopal (10.72 aps.).
Libero Nia McCardell (5.28 dps.), daugher of former NFL receiver Keenan McCardell, has led the AAC in digs the past two seasons and directs the defense.
Rice averages 13.94 kills, 17.33 digs, 2.06 blocks and 1.61 aces per set while hitting .246 a a squad.
Scouting #4 Louisville
Louisville is 5-1 this season, including wins over nationally-ranked Wisconsin and Tennessee, and have only lost to Penn State.
The Cardinals, coming off an Elite Eight trip, are led by Charitie Luper (2.89 kps., .365%), Sofia Maldonado Diaz (2.30 kps., .358%) and reigining ACC Player of the Year Anna DeBeer (2.37 kps.,).
Nayelis Cabello (5.45 aps.) and Wahoo, Neb., native Elle Glock (5.20 aps.) share setting duties, and Elena Scott (4.00 dps.) is one of the country's top liberos.
The Cardinals average 13.40 kills, 13.25 digs, 2.80 blocks and 1.40 aces per set while hitting .286 as a team.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 475-190 record in her 22nd season with the Bluejays.
She's led Creighton to 10 straight BIG EAST regular-season titles (2014-23), and 11 league crowns in the previous 12 years. Booth guided the Bluejays to their first three Sweet 16's (2015, 2016, 2023) and first Elite Eight (2016) in program history. In 2016 she was recognized as VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Coach of the Year and AVCA East Region Coach of the Year. Booth was tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the fourth time in 2023.
The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only 13 NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last 13 seasons (including 2024), another program first.
She is also 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.
Series History vs. Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa owns a 42-15 record all-time against Creighton. The teams have split 10 neutral site meetings, but CU has won both matches played in the Commonwealth (both in Lexington).
After winning just three of the first 43 meetings, Creighton has won 12 of the last 14 match-ups in the series, including six in a row. CU's 12 wins are the most against the Panthers since 2012, one more than UNI's 11 losses to Illinois State.
Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 15-23 vs. Northern Iowa and 15-23 vs. Bobbi Petersen. Petersen is 30-15 overall against Creighton.
Six of CU's 15 wins against the Panthers have come in five sets. In 57 all-time meetings, Creighton has swept the Panthers just seven times.
Creighton's last 10 victories over Northern Iowa have come in six different states (four times in Nebraska, twice in Kentucky, and once each in Iowa, California, Kansas and Illinois).
Northern Iowa is 14-0 all-time when ranked and facing Creighton. Creighton is 9-1 all-time when ranked when facing UNI. Oddly, the teams have never met when both were ranked.
Series History vs. Rice
Creighton is 0-2 all-time against Rice, losing to the Owls in four sets (7-15, 15-7, 15-6, 15-9) in 1995 in Manhattan, Kan., at the Kansas State Invitational and in five sets at the Rice Adidas Invitational II in Houston on Sept. 18, 2022 (25-22, 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 16-14).
In the first meeting Michelle Prorock led CU with 15 kills and Melissa Weisensee picked up a double-double with 33 assists and 14 digs. Both Sonny Carrethers and Sammy Waldrun owned 19 kills for Rice.
Two years ago Jazz Schmidt had 17 kills, Kiara Reinhardt owned a career-high 15 kills and Kendra Wait notched 56 assists, 24 digs and eight kills for CU. Rice was paced by 23 kills from Anota Adekunle and Nia McCardell had 32 digs.
Creighton had also been scheduled to meet Rice in 2008 at the Ladyjack Invitational in Nacogdoches, Texas, but that tournament was canceled due to Hurricane Ike.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 0-1 against Rice and Owls coach Genny Volpe.
Series History vs. Louisville
Louisville has won both previous meetings against Creighton in five sets.
The first victory came on Aug. 29, 2015 at the Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill. by a 25-18, 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11 margin. In that match Jaali Winters had 18 kills and 15 digs while Kenzie Crawford recorded her first career triple-double with 51 assists, 11 digs and 10 kills. Louisville was paced by 21 kills from Erin Fairs.
More recently, Louisville defeated Creighton on Dec. 7, 2023 in Pittsburgh in the NCAA Regional Semifinal round by a 25-21, 14-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-8 score. Norah Sis led CU with 22 kills while Kendra Wait finished with 44 assists and 16 digs. Charitie Luper topped the Cardinals with 20 kills and 10 digs and Anna DeBeer contributed 19 kills and 13 digs.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 0-2 all-time against Louisville and 0-1 against Dani Busboom Kelly.
With A Win on Friday...
With a win on Friday vs. UNI, Creighton would...
- Improve to 207-46 in 253 matches all-time when playing as a ranked team.
- Defeat Northern Iowa for the seventh straight meeting, quite a feat considering CU was 9-42 against the Panthers all-time when the streak started.
- Improve to 2-0 this season against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.
- Extend its win streak to 16 in the match following a five-set loss.
- Improve to 22-2 in its last 24 matches following a five-set match.
- Win its 24th straight match since 2019 when following a loss, extending the nation's longest active stretch without back-to-back losses (2019).
With A Win On Saturday...
- Kirsten Bernthal Booth would earn a victory over a 99th different school.
- Improve to 1-2 all-time against Rice.
- Improve to 3-0 this season on Saturday's while winning its 10th straight match on that day of the week.
With A Win On Sunday...
- Improve to 1-2 all-time against Louisville.
- Earn multiple Top 25 wins for the third straight season, improving to 2-1 against the Top 25 this fall.
- Improve to 23-26 when ranked and playing against another ranked foe, and 3-2 in battles between Top 10 teams.
- Earn its ninth Top 10 win ever (in 43 tries), with eight of those coming away from home.
- Earn its fifth Top 5 win ever (in 24 tries), with all five of those coming away from home.
- Kirsten Bernthal Booth would earn a victory over a 99th different school (could be 100th if CU also defeats Rice on Saturday first).
Family Ties
One of the unique connections with this week's Cardinal Classic involves not only the coaches, but also their daughters.
Northern Iowa freshman Reese Booth (4.62 aps., 1.71 dps.) is the daughter of Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Louisville freshman Payton Petersen (1.80 kps., 1.00 dps.) is the daughter of Northern Iowa head coach Bobbi Petersen.
A quick check through the records found five different Creighton head coaches who have coached their son/daughter at Creighton in the last 20 years, but none that ever faced their son or daughter at a different school. The five:
Head Coaches That Coached Son/Daughter at CU Since 2001
Sport Coach Son/Daughter Years
Women's Golf Debbie Conry Betsy Conry 2006-10
Baseball Ed Servais Joe Servais 2008
Men's Basketball Greg McDermott Doug McDermott 2010-14
Men's Soccer Elmar Bolowich Alex Bolowich 2011-14
Women's Soccer Ross Paule Emma Paule 2019
Staying Alive
Creighton survived four match points in the third set to avoid a sweep on Tuesday in Lincoln before ultimately winning a 33-31 set.
In the 25-point set era (which started in 2008), the set was Creighton's highest-scoring set it has ever played against Nebraska, and the highest third set score in program history.
Creighton's highest-scoring set ever was a 38-36 win at Butler on Nov. 12, 2017, and last year CU lost a 36-34 set to Northern Iowa.
Creighton's Highest-Scoring Sets (25-Point Set Era)
Score Opponent Date Set # Match Result
W 38-36 at Butler 11/12/17 2 Won 3-2
L 34-36 Northern Iowa 09/03/23 2 Won 3-1
W 34-32 South Dakota 09/20/14 4 Lost 3-2
W 33-31 Illinois 09/11/21 4 Won 3-1
L 33-31 #14 Marquette 11/26/22 4 Won 3-2
W 33-31 at #5 Nebraska 09/10/24 3 Lost 3-2
Marathon Match
Creighton's match on Tuesday lasted 2:49 in length, making it the fourth-longest match by time in program history.
The record length 3:05 was from Creighton's 2022 match against Nebraska.
Third on that list was Creighton's most recent match against Rice, also in the 2022 season, as the teams played for 3:02.
Creighton's Longest Matches (By Length)
Time Opponent, Date Result
3:05 #2 Nebraska, 9/7/22 NU, 3-2
3:04 at #10 USC, 8/25/18 USC 3-2
3:02 at Rice, 9/18/22 Rice, 3-2
2:49 at #5 Nebraska, 9/10/24 NU, 3-2
2:45 at Indiana State, 10/14/00 CU 3-2
2:45 at Evansville, 11/4/00 CU 3-2
The Little Things
Creighton's 25-16 win in the fourth set on Tuesday was its largest margin of victory ever in a set against Nebraska, eclipsing a 25-17 triumph in the fourth set in 2022.
That fourth set was also the fourth time that Creighton did not trail in a set against the Cornhuskers, joining 2018 (2nd set), 2019 (2nd set) and 2022 (4th set).
It Works 100% Of The Time; 97.6% Of The Time
Though it didn't defeat Nebraska in the fifth set on Tuesday, it's hard to fault the offense. Creighton had nine kills in 32 errorless swings in the fifth frame.
It was the 41st set that Creighton has played since 1994 without an attack error, but first such time that the Bluejays lost such a set.
A few other long streaks were snapped on Tuesday. Creighton had won 24 straight matches when winning the third set as well as the second set in 23 consecutive contests.
Milestone Watch
Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones..
Kiara Reinhardt owns 397 career kills, just three away from 400. She also has 280 career blocks.
Kendra Wait owns 1,187 career digs, only 13 shy of 1,200. Her 3,913 assists are also 87 short of 4,000, and her 278 career blocks put her within shouting distance of 300.
Maddy Bilinovic owns 199 career assists and 870 career digs entering the weekend.
Ava Martin owns 48 straight matches with five or more kills and can reach 50 straight should she accomplish the feat on both Friday and Saturday.
Old MVC Rivals Get Reacquainted
Friday's match-up with Northern Iowa will be Creighton's 58th against the Panthers since the program's restart in 1994, the most of any opponent.
The only other teams that Creighton has played more than 40 times are Wichita State (50) and Illinois State (43).
UNI is the only opponent to defeat Creighton more than 30 times, something the Panthers have done 42 times.
Creighton and Northern Iowa have played all but one season (2013) since the Bluejays restarted volleyball in 1994.
The teams were Missouri Valley Conference rivals who played twice annually from 1994-2012, plus six more MVC Tournament meetings.
Creighton is 10-2 against Northern Iowa since leaving the MVC, compared to a 5-40 mark when the two were Valley rivals.
Connections To UNI And The State of Iowa
Creighton and UNI have numerous connections
between the two schools and states.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth grew up during part of her childhood in the Cedar Falls suburb of Waterloo, and attended grad school at the University of Iowa. She got her first college head coaching job at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Booth's daughter, Reese Booth, is a freshman setter at Northern Iowa.
Creighton men's basketball coach Greg McDermott played (1984-88) and served as a head coach (2001-06) at Northern Iowa.
Former Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen is a 1971 graduate of Northern Iowa. He had been at Creighton since 1980, ascending to the Athletic Director position in 1994, before retiring in August of 2021. Northern Iowa women's basketball head coach Tanya Warren played at Creighton and has spent two stints as an assistant coach with the Bluejays. One of two players in program history with a retired number, Warren played for Rasmussen.
Northern Iowa women's soccer head coach Bruce Erickson served as Creighton's head women's soccer coach from 1999-2014, where he won a program-record 163 games and led the Jays to five NCAA Tournaments. He is also the winningest soccer coach in UNI history.
Creighton Sports Information Director and volleyball contact Rob Anderson worked as Northern Iowa's Volleyball SID in 2000 and 2001.
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 23 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 had a multi-match losing streak last season alone.
Creighton has also won its last 15 matches after a five-set loss, a streak that dates back to early in the 2016 campaign.
With the Bluejays coming off a 3-2 loss on Tuesday at No. 5 Nebraska, both streaks are on the line on Friday vs. UNI.
And while not in jeopardy on Friday, it's still worth bragging about that Creighton has also not lost back-to-back matches against conference foes since a three-match losing streak in November of 2011.
No Losers Here
Creighton has been as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.
Creighton, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Texas, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin are the nation's only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
If you go back two years more, the nation's only teams to lose six times or less in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons are Creighton, Pittsburgh and Texas.
Creighton is one of just two schools nationally who have won 25 matches or more in every season between 2014-23 (not counting the 2020 COVID-19 year). That group consists of BYU and Creighton.
Hunting The Top 10
Creighton is 8-35 all-time against top-10 teams, including an 8-28 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Seven of the eight victories came away from home, including three 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.
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
Largest Crowds To See The Jays
Below is a list of the largest crowds in Creighton Volleyball history. The top six have been set in Omaha, but the next eight were all held in Lincoln.
Creighton had owned two of the top three biggest regular-season volleyball-only crowds in history before Nebraska broke the NCAA record inside Memorial Stadium last year.
Louisville is averaging 8,426 fans per home match this year, including crowds of 9,280 vs. Wisconsin and 7,571 vs. Tennessee.
Creighton's Largest Crowds (All Sites)
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
15,797 #2 Nebraska 09.07/22 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
14,022 #6 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.
8,924 #5 Nebraska 09/10/24 L 2-3 Deavney Ctr.
8,656 #4 Nebraska 09/06/23 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,627 at #5 Nebraska 09/29/02 L 0-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,450 at #2 Nebraska 08/30/19 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,277 vs. Montana St. (@NU) 09/16/16 W 3-0 Devaney Ctr.
8,249 at #1 Nebraska 09/17/16 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,237 vs. #20 Baylor (@NU) 08/31/19 L 0-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,060 at #9 Nebraska 09/17/14 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
Best Starts
Creighton had started 5-0 for the third time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth before Tuesday's loss.
CU started 6-0 in 2021 before losing to No. 3 Nebraska, and was also 5-0 in 2006 before taking a loss against Iowa.
Two Of The Best
Few teams in the country have been as successful in recent years as Creighton and Louisville.
Since the start of the 2014 season, Creighton ranks seventh with 265 victories. Western Kentucky owns a nation-leading 285 wins in that span.
If you base success only by win percentage since 2014, Creighton is ninth by winning at an .810 clip. Texas (269-34) leads the way with a .904 win percentage in that era.
Narrow the window to the start of the 2021 campaign and it's even closer. Creighton is third with 92 wins, three behind Louisville's nation-leading 95.
When it comes to win percentage since the start of the 2021 season, Creighton is sixth (.860), with Louisville (95-10) tops with a .905 winning percentage.
I'm Nationwide
With a 176-13 record against BIG EAST teams since 2014, it's safe to say the 10-time defending BIG EAST champion Creighton Volleyball program has proven itself over the last decade in league play.
This year, it's going national. The Bluejays have beaten a team from each of the other "Power Four" conferences, as well as a team from its former league, the MVC. The Bluejays are...
1-0 vs. Atlantic Coast Conference teams
1-0 vs. Big 12 Conference teams
1-1 vs. Big Ten Conference teams
1-0 vs. Missouri Valley Conference teams
1-0 vs. Southeastern Conference teams
All-Tourney Trio
Creighton had three women earn All-Tournament Team honors for the second straight weekend.
Norah Sis was named Tournament MVP of the Creighton Classic after averaging 4.14 kills and 2.57 digs per set while hitting .338 last week.
Joining her on the All-Tournament Team were Ava Martin (3.43 kps., 1.43 dps., 0.29 saps. last week) and Kendra Wait (10.71 aps., 3.43 dps., 1.14 kps., 0.86 bps. last week).
Wait was named MVP of the season-opening Bluejay Invitational and joined on the All-Tournament Team by Sis and Elise Goetzinger.
Wait has now been named to 13 All-Tournament Teams in her career, including two MVP honors. Sis owns eight All-Tournament Team accolades with five MVP nods to her credit. Martin is a six-time All-Tournament selection with one MVP plaudit.
Wait has been named BIG EAST Setter of the Week both weeks this season (Sept. 2 & Sept. 9), while Sis was tabbed BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 9.
Schedule Ramps Up
Creighton had little trouble in its five matches so far this season, even though all five opponents owned Top 61 RPI's a year ago.
The schedule ramps up this week and next as Creighton visited No. 5 Nebraska and Tuesday and looks ahead to true road matches against No. 4 Louisville and No. 11 Kansas, not to mention neutral-site battles with No. 7 Purdue as well as perennial winners Northern Iowa and Rice.
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton's 29 victories last season were tied for sixth-most in the nation and its .853 win percentage was tied for ninth-best.
Additionally, Creighton's 87 victories in the previous three seasons (2020-22) are tied for fourth in the country (behind only Louisville, Pitt and Wisconsin) and its 312 wins in the previous 12 campaigns is sixth-most (behind only WKU, Nebraska, Texas, Penn State and BYU).
Creighton also ranked tied for first nationally in fewest sets lost (22) last year with Nebraska and Dayton. Creighton has won 55-of-63 sets in its past 19 matches dating to midway through last season.
Fewest Sets Lost in 2023
Rk. Sets Lost Team
1. 22 Creighton
22 Nebraska
22 Dayton
4. 23 Wisconsin
23 Tennessee
23 Western Michigan
Set-tle Down
Tuesday's loss in Lincoln was just Creighton's 15th loss in 107 matches since the start of the 2021 season.
Since the start of the 2021 season, Creighton is 70-3 in three-set matches, 13-4 in four-set matches and 9-8 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 five more wins this season, the Bluejays have set a program record with 18 straight home wins, surpassing a 15-match home win streak from Sept. 7-Nov. 30, 2018 that had been the standard.
Creighton's 18-match home win streak is tied for thee fourth-longest active streak in the country.
Creighton has won 47 of its last 48 sets played at D.J. Sokol Arena overall.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
18 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 (9/9)
Wins Team Next Home Match
29 Stephen F. Austin 9/19 vs. Boise State
28 Nebraska 9/13 vs. #16 Arizona State
24 Yale 9/13 vs. Villanova
18 Creighton 9/27 vs. Providence
18 Wisconsin 9/17 vs. Marquette
17 Pittsburgh 9/18 vs. Penn State
Birds Of A Feather
Creighton has showcased a pair of new jerseys this season, as Nike designed some custom-made uniforms.
Both the white and navy ("Midnight Jays") jerseys are sleeveless in a drastic change from past years.
The uniforms also feature several different colors of "Hyper-Elite" arm sleeves, which the players wear on their arms and can be mix & matched for a number of uniform combinations.
If you look closely, the arms sleeves also have a feather design pattern, a nod to Creighton's Bluejay nickname.
Defense Wins Championships
Creighton ranks 17th nationally with 14.19 kills per set, 19th with a .282 hitting percentage and 22nd with 13.14 assists per set.
Creighton hasn't been too shabby defensively itself. CU ranked third last year in opponents hitting percentage (.144) and led the country in 2021 (.124) in that category. This year's Bluejay squad is 55th in the nation, holding foes to .162 hitting. Last season was the fifth straight non-COVID year that Creighton's led the BIG EAST in opponent's hitting percentage.
Top 25 History
Creighton is 206-46 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 22-26 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That mark improves to 2-2 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
Since the start of the 2012 season, 41 of Creighton's 75 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 292-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 110 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 154 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 22-26)
Home: 10-9 Away: 7-10 Neutral: 5-7
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 #9 Creighton at #4 Louisville 12 p.m.
126 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked ninth in this week's AVCA poll, the 126th time in program history it's been ranked. That's 41st-most of all programs in NCAA history.
This week is Creighton's 22nd as a Top 10 team, and first time since 2019.
The No. 9 ranking matches the program's top mark since 2019, when it was No. 9 on Nov. 4, 2019. CU's best ranking ever was No. 7 on Aug. 28, 2017.
All 126 rankings have occurred since 2012 and under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
The Bluejays are one of 15 schools (along with Baylor, BYU, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 49 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. 121* Florida
121* Kentucky
121* Texas
4. 112 Nebraska
112 Penn State
112 BYU
112 Purdue
112 Wisconsin
9. 110* Baylor
10. 106 Creighton
11. 105* Pittsburgh
12. 104 Stanford
104 Minnesota
14. 97 Oregon
15. 91 Washington
16. 85* Louisville
* includes 9 weeks in Fall of 2020 when most schools didn't play
Her Kind Of City
Kentucky transfer Elise Goetzinger is a perfect 13-0 in matches played in Omaha in her career.
Goetzinger started all five of UK's matches en route to the 2020 national title (in the spring of 2021), which were played in CHI Health Center Omaha's convention center and arena. The Wildcats beat UNLV, No. 18 Western Kentucky, No. 9 Purdue, No. 7 Washington and No. 5 Texas en route to the championship.
In 2022 Goetzinger was named to the All-Tournament Team while helping the Wildcats to the Bluejay Invitational title with wins over UNI, No. 17 Creighton and No. 25 USC.
During those 13 wins, Goetzinger owns 86 kills and 46 blocks while hitting .425 in 43 sets played.
Jays Earn Tourney Titles
Creighton's Bluejay Invitational title on the opening weekend of the fall season marked the 13th straight season that Creighton has won at least one tournament, a streak that dates to 2012. The Jays added to their haul last weekend with the Creighton Classic crown.
During that span, the Bluejays have won 33 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 each of the seven 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 2 CU, CU
Packed House
Creighton announced in July that it had sold out of season tickets, and fans have shown up in a big way this fall.
The Bluejays are averaging 2,346 fans per home match (18th-best nationally), including a crowd of 2,569 on Aug. 30 vs. NC State that was the third-largest volleyball crowd ever inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton Volleyball's Largest Home Crowds
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
15,797 #2 Nebraska 09/07/22 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
14,022 #7 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Ctr.
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
2,653 Auburn 12/02/22 L 2-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,578 #13 Kentucky 09/01/17 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,569 NC State 08/30/24 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,568 Minnesota 12/02/23 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,563 Colgate 12/01/23 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,552 South Dakota 11/30/18 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,517 Coastal Carolina 12/01/17 W 3-1 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,514 #7 Nebraska 08/31/10 L 0-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,509 #22 Washington 12/01/18 L 0-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,504 #9 Marquette 11/22/19 W 3-1 D.J. Sokol Arena
Any Stat Will Do
Since joining the BIG EAST a dozen years ago, Creighton has been dominant when it wins just about any stat category, as seen below:
Statistic W L Pct.
With Better Hitting Pct. 279 8 .972
When Hitting .250+ 197 6 .970
When Hitting .300+ 108 0 1.000
When Serving 10+ Aces 17 2 .895
When Owning More Kills 268 21 .927
When Owning More Aces 200 20 .909
When Owning More Digs 231 20 .920
When Owning More Blocks 211 17 .920
Olympians Made Here
Taryn Kloth made history earlier this summer when the 2018 graduate became the first former Creighton student-athlete to compete in the Olympics.
The South Dakota native paired with Kristen Nuss to tie for ninth place in Beach Volleyball, winning their first three matches before losing to a team from Canada that went on to win the silver medal.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and associate head coach Angie Oxley Behrens both made the trip to Paris to watch three of Kloth's matches.
Kloth was a First Team All-BIG EAST choice in 2016 and 2018 and named BIG EAST Tournament MVP in 2017. She ranks fourth in CU history with 1,427 career kills and won four BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles.
61*
Creighton Volleyball traditionally owns one of the nation's top non-conference schedules, but head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth might have outdone herself this year.
All 11 of Creighton's non-conference matches are against teams with a Top 61 RPI last year.
Each of the top four teams that Creighton plays from that list will be faced outside of Omaha.
2023 RPI School 2024 CU Result
1 at Nebraska L 2-3
6 at Louisville
13 vs. Purdue
15 at Kansas
30 USC W 3-1
34 Missouri W 3-0
35 vs. Northern Iowa
43 NC State W 3-0
52 Drake W 3-0
60 vs. Rice
61 Kansas State W 3-0
12 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous 12 seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men's soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.
Creighton is one of seven teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments (2012-23). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.
There are also 13 schools that have appeared in 13 of the last 14 NCAA Tournaments, a group that includes Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Minnesota, Purdue, San Diego, Stanford and Washington. Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, and Texas have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since at least 2010.
Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play
Despite annually facing one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules, Creighton has continued to excel against elite competition.
Creighton is 11-14 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 5-1 1-1 TBD
Starting At Home?
Creighton started the season with the Bluejay Invitational, the first time since the COVID-affected 2020 season (in the spring of 2021) that the Jays began at home.
Take away that most unusual campaign and you'll find that Creighton hadn't started a fall season at home since 2010.
This year marked the first time ever that Creighton has started a season with five straight home matches.
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 12th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 19th. It's the 10th time in the past 12 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason, and third year in a row.
The No. 12 slotting was the second-best preseason ranking in program history.
Over the last 16 seasons, 295-of-400 teams (73.8 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and since 2008 362-of-400 teams (90.5 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament, as all but preseason No. 13 San Diego, No. 14 Ohio State and No. 23 Rice reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
This year marks the 13th straight season that CU has been ranked at least one week, extending a program record.
Year Preseason Rank Final W-L Final Rank
2013 25th 23-9 NR
2014 23rd 25-9 NR
2016 18th 27-9 9th
2017 9th 26-7 16th
2018 13th 29-5 13th
2019 18th 25-6 16th
2020 16th 12-4 NR
2022 18th 27-5 21st
2023 18th 29-5 15th
2024 12th TBD TBD
Sis Is Killing It
Norah Sis enters Friday ranked eighth in Creighton history with 1,310 career kills.
She has a chance to move into the top four by early October.
Career Kills
Name Sets No. Years
1. Jaali Winters 494 1,843 2015-18
2. Leah Ratzlaff 409 1,622 2002-05
3. Melissa Walsh 394 1,596 1998-01
4. Taryn Kloth 462 1,427 2015-18
5. Kelly Goc 394 1,414 2004-07
6. Jessica Houts 451 1,385 2005-09
7. JoDe Cieloha 398 1,375 1994-97
8. Norah Sis 327 1,310 2021-Pr.
9. Leah McNary 458 1,257 2011-14
10. Marysa Wilkinson 499 1,183 2014-17
A Great Start
Ava Martin entered her junior season with 681 kills in her career. The 681 kills was the sixth-most ever by a Bluejay in their first two seasons.
Martin is second on the team with 68 kills this season.
Most Kills, After 2 Seasons at Creighton
Kills Yr1 Yr2 Name Year
994 546 448 Jaali Winters 2015 & 2016
924 435 489 Norah Sis 2021 & 2022
769 341 428 Melissa Walsh 1998 & 1999
733 270 463 Alicia Runge 2009 & 2010 (Jr. & Sr.)
696 180 516 Leah Ratzlaff 2002 & 2003
681 264 417 Ava Martin 2022 & 2023
653 267 386 Jessica Houts 2005 & 2006
640 225 415 Amanda Cvejdlik 2005 & 2006
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 475-3 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 70-40 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 28 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 0-1 5-1 so far
Total 85-68 568-342
Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won 11 conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton's 11 crowns were outright titles, whereas Texas shared one title and WKU shared five.
Creighton has also won 10 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2023
Regular-Season League Tournament
11 (3 shared) Creighton 10 Creighton
11 (1) Texas 9 Dayton
11 (5) Western Kentucky 9 Western Kentucky
10 (1) Fairfield 8 Fairfield
8 (8) Florida A&M 7 LIU
8 (4) Yale
8 (2) BYU
8 (1) Colorado State
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 ??? ???
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 21-2 in the match following a five-setter.
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 100-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (91-3 in the regular-season, 9-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since November of 2014, Creighton is 84-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 76-1 league mark and a 8-0 mark in the conference tournament. The only setback (on Feb. 6, 2021 vs. Marquette) was played as a non-conference match, only to be flipped to a league contest 19 days later.
Put another way, since enrolling at Creighton in the fall of 2020, Bluejay seniors Abbey Milner, Kendra Wait and Norah Sis are 28-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 84-8 in sets.
Creighton has won 34 straight regular-season sets against BIG EAST opponents inside D.J. Sokol Arena, as well as 34 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.
BIG EAST'S Best
Since the reconfigufration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton, Marquette and St. John's are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
Creighton owns 10 regular-season titles (3 shared) in that time, while Marquette owns four regular-season (3 shared) crowns.
As it relates to BIG EAST Tournament titles, Creighton has won nine, Marquette one and St. John's one.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings, 2013 - Sept. 10, 2024
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (11) 170 16 288 71
Marquette (10) 153 30 260 87
Xavier 108 76 170 157
Butler 98 88 173 157
St. John's (1) 94 92 203 150
Villanova (1) 91 95 174 152
Seton Hall (1) 80 105 158 172
DePaul 55 131 133 188
Georgetown 40 138 104 204
Connecticut# 30 32 59 54
Providence* 29 141 106 191
*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.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 394-11 (.973) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 337-5 mark (.985) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 260-3 (.989) when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 135-1 (.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 17-207 (.076) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 15-108 (.122) 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 404-36 (.918) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 71-154 (.316) 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 153-5 in its last 158 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 136-6 in its last 142 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 14-20 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 175-4 in its last 179 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 107-109 since, including a 2-1 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 2-1 so far
TOTAL 110-144
TOTAL Under Booth 107-109
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
10 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Regular-season champions from 2014-23, Creighton is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 10 straight regular-season titles. The previous record had been seven by Notre Dame from 1999-2005.
The Bluejay volleyball team is also the first Creighton program in any sport to win 10 or more straight league titles, doubling the five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96) in the MVC.
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 475 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport Victories
Brent Vigness, Softball 819
Ed Servais, Baseball 678*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 542*#
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 475*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 427*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis 347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball 327
*still active coaching at Creighton
#currently just the women's tennis coach
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning percentage better than .750 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 189 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 30 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
CU still has not lost to three league foes (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence) since joining the BIG EAST, and Marquette (6), Villanova (3), Seton Hall (3) and St. John's (3) are the only BIG EAST programs to top the Bluejays multiple times since 2013.
Opponent Reg. Season BE Tourney Total
Butler 20-1 - 20-1
Connecticut 3-1 1-0 4-1
DePaul 22-0 2-0 24-0
Georgetown 20-0 - 20-0
Marquette 17-5 6-1 23-6
Providence 16-0 - 16-0
Seton Hall 17-3 2-0 19-3
St. John's 18-2 1-1 19-3
Villanova 17-3 3-0 20-3
Xavier 20-1 4-0 24-1
Total 170-16 19-2 189-18
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.
Match #7: #9 Creighton vs. Northern Iowa • Friday, Sept. 13 • 12 p.m. Central | LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS | UNI AUDIO | CU NOTES | UNI NOTES |
Match #8: #9 Creighton vs. Rice • Saturday, Sept. 14 • 10 a.m. Central | LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | RICE NOTES |
Match #9: #9 Creighton at #4 Louisville • Sunday, Sept. 15 • 12 p.m. Central | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES |
This Week
No. 9 Creighton Volleyball continues its non-conference gauntlet with two matches against conference favorites before a true road match against the nation's fourth-ranked team.
The slate begins on Friday, Sept. 13 at 12 p.m. Central when Creighton (5-1) meets Northern Iowa (4-2).
The schedule continues on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. Central when the Bluejays square off against Rice (4-1).
The weekend wraps up on Sunday, Sept. 15, with a nationally-televised contest against No .4 Louisville (5-1) that begins at Noon Central.
All three matches will take place inside KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., home of the 2024 Women's Volleyball Final Four.
Broadcast Information
Creighton's matches on Friday (vs. UNI) and Saturday (vs. Rice) will be broadcast on ESPN+, which is a subscription-based platform found at http://watchespn.com. Jeff Milby and Stephanie Marsh will call both matches.
Sunday's contest at Louisville will be nationally-televised on ESPN, with Sam Gore and Jennifer Hoffman sharing announcing duties. That match can also be watch by cable subscribers on http://watchespn.com.
Live Stats Information
All three matches will have free live stats at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
Links will also be on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting #9 Creighton
Creighton is off to a 5-1 start after winning the Bluejay Invitational and Creighton Classic over the past two weekends, then dropping a five-set match at No. 5 Nebraska on Tuesday night.
The 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year Kendra Wait (10.76 aps., 2.95 dps., 0.95 kps., 0.71 bps., .348%) opened her senior campaign by collecting MVP honors at the Bluejay Invitational, while 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis (4.00 kps., .318%) was named MVP of the Creighton Classic.
Junior Ava Martin (3.24 kps.) was named Preseason All-BIG EAST, and transfers Maddy Bilinovic (3.81 dps.) and Elise Goetzinger (2.57 kps., 1.10 bps., .324%) have made an immediate impact.
CU returns four starters from last season's 29-5 squad that reached a 12th straight NCAA Tournament and saw the Bluejays win a 10th straight BIG EAST regular-season title and its ninth BIG EAST Tournament crown in the past decade. CU was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST by league coaches in 2024.
CU averages 14.19 kills, 1.19 aces, 15.24 digs and 2.62 blocks per set and has hit .284.
Scouting Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa is off to a 4-2 start, with wins over FIU, SIU Edwardsville, North Dakota and West Virginia to go with losses at Dayton to on a neutral floor to Ohio State.
Kira Fallert (3.78 kps.) and Cassidy Hartman (3.52 kps.) pace the Panthers offensively.
Sydney Golden (6.57 aps.) and Reese Booth (4.62 aps.) run UNI's 6-2 offense. Booth is the daughter of Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Erin Powers (4.65 dps.) continues UNI's tradition of top-notch liberos, and Kacie Rewerts (1.04 bps.) is the top blocker.
UNI averages 14.35 kills, 15.00 digs, 1.70 blocks and 1.57 aces per set while hitting .250 as a team.
Scouting Rice
Rice is 4-1 this season, picking up wins over Houston Christian (3-2), Texas State (3-0), South Alabama (3-0) and UNLV (3-1) and suffering a loss to Baylor (3-0).
Cindy Tchouangwa (3.61 kps.) and Samarah Hill (2.94 kps.) lead the offense, which is set by Savannah Skopal (10.72 aps.).
Libero Nia McCardell (5.28 dps.), daugher of former NFL receiver Keenan McCardell, has led the AAC in digs the past two seasons and directs the defense.
Rice averages 13.94 kills, 17.33 digs, 2.06 blocks and 1.61 aces per set while hitting .246 a a squad.
Scouting #4 Louisville
Louisville is 5-1 this season, including wins over nationally-ranked Wisconsin and Tennessee, and have only lost to Penn State.
The Cardinals, coming off an Elite Eight trip, are led by Charitie Luper (2.89 kps., .365%), Sofia Maldonado Diaz (2.30 kps., .358%) and reigining ACC Player of the Year Anna DeBeer (2.37 kps.,).
Nayelis Cabello (5.45 aps.) and Wahoo, Neb., native Elle Glock (5.20 aps.) share setting duties, and Elena Scott (4.00 dps.) is one of the country's top liberos.
The Cardinals average 13.40 kills, 13.25 digs, 2.80 blocks and 1.40 aces per set while hitting .286 as a team.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 475-190 record in her 22nd season with the Bluejays.
She's led Creighton to 10 straight BIG EAST regular-season titles (2014-23), and 11 league crowns in the previous 12 years. Booth guided the Bluejays to their first three Sweet 16's (2015, 2016, 2023) and first Elite Eight (2016) in program history. In 2016 she was recognized as VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Coach of the Year and AVCA East Region Coach of the Year. Booth was tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the fourth time in 2023.
The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only 13 NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last 13 seasons (including 2024), another program first.
She is also 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.
Series History vs. Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa owns a 42-15 record all-time against Creighton. The teams have split 10 neutral site meetings, but CU has won both matches played in the Commonwealth (both in Lexington).
After winning just three of the first 43 meetings, Creighton has won 12 of the last 14 match-ups in the series, including six in a row. CU's 12 wins are the most against the Panthers since 2012, one more than UNI's 11 losses to Illinois State.
Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 15-23 vs. Northern Iowa and 15-23 vs. Bobbi Petersen. Petersen is 30-15 overall against Creighton.
Six of CU's 15 wins against the Panthers have come in five sets. In 57 all-time meetings, Creighton has swept the Panthers just seven times.
Creighton's last 10 victories over Northern Iowa have come in six different states (four times in Nebraska, twice in Kentucky, and once each in Iowa, California, Kansas and Illinois).
Northern Iowa is 14-0 all-time when ranked and facing Creighton. Creighton is 9-1 all-time when ranked when facing UNI. Oddly, the teams have never met when both were ranked.
Series History vs. Rice
Creighton is 0-2 all-time against Rice, losing to the Owls in four sets (7-15, 15-7, 15-6, 15-9) in 1995 in Manhattan, Kan., at the Kansas State Invitational and in five sets at the Rice Adidas Invitational II in Houston on Sept. 18, 2022 (25-22, 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 16-14).
In the first meeting Michelle Prorock led CU with 15 kills and Melissa Weisensee picked up a double-double with 33 assists and 14 digs. Both Sonny Carrethers and Sammy Waldrun owned 19 kills for Rice.
Two years ago Jazz Schmidt had 17 kills, Kiara Reinhardt owned a career-high 15 kills and Kendra Wait notched 56 assists, 24 digs and eight kills for CU. Rice was paced by 23 kills from Anota Adekunle and Nia McCardell had 32 digs.
Creighton had also been scheduled to meet Rice in 2008 at the Ladyjack Invitational in Nacogdoches, Texas, but that tournament was canceled due to Hurricane Ike.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 0-1 against Rice and Owls coach Genny Volpe.
Series History vs. Louisville
Louisville has won both previous meetings against Creighton in five sets.
The first victory came on Aug. 29, 2015 at the Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill. by a 25-18, 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11 margin. In that match Jaali Winters had 18 kills and 15 digs while Kenzie Crawford recorded her first career triple-double with 51 assists, 11 digs and 10 kills. Louisville was paced by 21 kills from Erin Fairs.
More recently, Louisville defeated Creighton on Dec. 7, 2023 in Pittsburgh in the NCAA Regional Semifinal round by a 25-21, 14-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-8 score. Norah Sis led CU with 22 kills while Kendra Wait finished with 44 assists and 16 digs. Charitie Luper topped the Cardinals with 20 kills and 10 digs and Anna DeBeer contributed 19 kills and 13 digs.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 0-2 all-time against Louisville and 0-1 against Dani Busboom Kelly.
With A Win on Friday...
With a win on Friday vs. UNI, Creighton would...
- Improve to 207-46 in 253 matches all-time when playing as a ranked team.
- Defeat Northern Iowa for the seventh straight meeting, quite a feat considering CU was 9-42 against the Panthers all-time when the streak started.
- Improve to 2-0 this season against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.
- Extend its win streak to 16 in the match following a five-set loss.
- Improve to 22-2 in its last 24 matches following a five-set match.
- Win its 24th straight match since 2019 when following a loss, extending the nation's longest active stretch without back-to-back losses (2019).
With A Win On Saturday...
- Kirsten Bernthal Booth would earn a victory over a 99th different school.
- Improve to 1-2 all-time against Rice.
- Improve to 3-0 this season on Saturday's while winning its 10th straight match on that day of the week.
With A Win On Sunday...
- Improve to 1-2 all-time against Louisville.
- Earn multiple Top 25 wins for the third straight season, improving to 2-1 against the Top 25 this fall.
- Improve to 23-26 when ranked and playing against another ranked foe, and 3-2 in battles between Top 10 teams.
- Earn its ninth Top 10 win ever (in 43 tries), with eight of those coming away from home.
- Earn its fifth Top 5 win ever (in 24 tries), with all five of those coming away from home.
- Kirsten Bernthal Booth would earn a victory over a 99th different school (could be 100th if CU also defeats Rice on Saturday first).
Family Ties
One of the unique connections with this week's Cardinal Classic involves not only the coaches, but also their daughters.
Northern Iowa freshman Reese Booth (4.62 aps., 1.71 dps.) is the daughter of Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Louisville freshman Payton Petersen (1.80 kps., 1.00 dps.) is the daughter of Northern Iowa head coach Bobbi Petersen.
A quick check through the records found five different Creighton head coaches who have coached their son/daughter at Creighton in the last 20 years, but none that ever faced their son or daughter at a different school. The five:
Head Coaches That Coached Son/Daughter at CU Since 2001
Sport Coach Son/Daughter Years
Women's Golf Debbie Conry Betsy Conry 2006-10
Baseball Ed Servais Joe Servais 2008
Men's Basketball Greg McDermott Doug McDermott 2010-14
Men's Soccer Elmar Bolowich Alex Bolowich 2011-14
Women's Soccer Ross Paule Emma Paule 2019
Staying Alive
Creighton survived four match points in the third set to avoid a sweep on Tuesday in Lincoln before ultimately winning a 33-31 set.
In the 25-point set era (which started in 2008), the set was Creighton's highest-scoring set it has ever played against Nebraska, and the highest third set score in program history.
Creighton's highest-scoring set ever was a 38-36 win at Butler on Nov. 12, 2017, and last year CU lost a 36-34 set to Northern Iowa.
Creighton's Highest-Scoring Sets (25-Point Set Era)
Score Opponent Date Set # Match Result
W 38-36 at Butler 11/12/17 2 Won 3-2
L 34-36 Northern Iowa 09/03/23 2 Won 3-1
W 34-32 South Dakota 09/20/14 4 Lost 3-2
W 33-31 Illinois 09/11/21 4 Won 3-1
L 33-31 #14 Marquette 11/26/22 4 Won 3-2
W 33-31 at #5 Nebraska 09/10/24 3 Lost 3-2
Marathon Match
Creighton's match on Tuesday lasted 2:49 in length, making it the fourth-longest match by time in program history.
The record length 3:05 was from Creighton's 2022 match against Nebraska.
Third on that list was Creighton's most recent match against Rice, also in the 2022 season, as the teams played for 3:02.
Creighton's Longest Matches (By Length)
Time Opponent, Date Result
3:05 #2 Nebraska, 9/7/22 NU, 3-2
3:04 at #10 USC, 8/25/18 USC 3-2
3:02 at Rice, 9/18/22 Rice, 3-2
2:49 at #5 Nebraska, 9/10/24 NU, 3-2
2:45 at Indiana State, 10/14/00 CU 3-2
2:45 at Evansville, 11/4/00 CU 3-2
The Little Things
Creighton's 25-16 win in the fourth set on Tuesday was its largest margin of victory ever in a set against Nebraska, eclipsing a 25-17 triumph in the fourth set in 2022.
That fourth set was also the fourth time that Creighton did not trail in a set against the Cornhuskers, joining 2018 (2nd set), 2019 (2nd set) and 2022 (4th set).
It Works 100% Of The Time; 97.6% Of The Time
Though it didn't defeat Nebraska in the fifth set on Tuesday, it's hard to fault the offense. Creighton had nine kills in 32 errorless swings in the fifth frame.
It was the 41st set that Creighton has played since 1994 without an attack error, but first such time that the Bluejays lost such a set.
A few other long streaks were snapped on Tuesday. Creighton had won 24 straight matches when winning the third set as well as the second set in 23 consecutive contests.
Milestone Watch
Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones..
Kiara Reinhardt owns 397 career kills, just three away from 400. She also has 280 career blocks.
Kendra Wait owns 1,187 career digs, only 13 shy of 1,200. Her 3,913 assists are also 87 short of 4,000, and her 278 career blocks put her within shouting distance of 300.
Maddy Bilinovic owns 199 career assists and 870 career digs entering the weekend.
Ava Martin owns 48 straight matches with five or more kills and can reach 50 straight should she accomplish the feat on both Friday and Saturday.
Old MVC Rivals Get Reacquainted
Friday's match-up with Northern Iowa will be Creighton's 58th against the Panthers since the program's restart in 1994, the most of any opponent.
The only other teams that Creighton has played more than 40 times are Wichita State (50) and Illinois State (43).
UNI is the only opponent to defeat Creighton more than 30 times, something the Panthers have done 42 times.
Creighton and Northern Iowa have played all but one season (2013) since the Bluejays restarted volleyball in 1994.
The teams were Missouri Valley Conference rivals who played twice annually from 1994-2012, plus six more MVC Tournament meetings.
Creighton is 10-2 against Northern Iowa since leaving the MVC, compared to a 5-40 mark when the two were Valley rivals.
Connections To UNI And The State of Iowa
Creighton and UNI have numerous connections
between the two schools and states.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth grew up during part of her childhood in the Cedar Falls suburb of Waterloo, and attended grad school at the University of Iowa. She got her first college head coaching job at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Booth's daughter, Reese Booth, is a freshman setter at Northern Iowa.
Creighton men's basketball coach Greg McDermott played (1984-88) and served as a head coach (2001-06) at Northern Iowa.
Former Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen is a 1971 graduate of Northern Iowa. He had been at Creighton since 1980, ascending to the Athletic Director position in 1994, before retiring in August of 2021. Northern Iowa women's basketball head coach Tanya Warren played at Creighton and has spent two stints as an assistant coach with the Bluejays. One of two players in program history with a retired number, Warren played for Rasmussen.
Northern Iowa women's soccer head coach Bruce Erickson served as Creighton's head women's soccer coach from 1999-2014, where he won a program-record 163 games and led the Jays to five NCAA Tournaments. He is also the winningest soccer coach in UNI history.
Creighton Sports Information Director and volleyball contact Rob Anderson worked as Northern Iowa's Volleyball SID in 2000 and 2001.
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 23 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 had a multi-match losing streak last season alone.
Creighton has also won its last 15 matches after a five-set loss, a streak that dates back to early in the 2016 campaign.
With the Bluejays coming off a 3-2 loss on Tuesday at No. 5 Nebraska, both streaks are on the line on Friday vs. UNI.
And while not in jeopardy on Friday, it's still worth bragging about that Creighton has also not lost back-to-back matches against conference foes since a three-match losing streak in November of 2011.
No Losers Here
Creighton has been as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.
Creighton, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Texas, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin are the nation's only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
If you go back two years more, the nation's only teams to lose six times or less in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons are Creighton, Pittsburgh and Texas.
Creighton is one of just two schools nationally who have won 25 matches or more in every season between 2014-23 (not counting the 2020 COVID-19 year). That group consists of BYU and Creighton.
Hunting The Top 10
Creighton is 8-35 all-time against top-10 teams, including an 8-28 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Seven of the eight victories came away from home, including three 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.
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
Largest Crowds To See The Jays
Below is a list of the largest crowds in Creighton Volleyball history. The top six have been set in Omaha, but the next eight were all held in Lincoln.
Creighton had owned two of the top three biggest regular-season volleyball-only crowds in history before Nebraska broke the NCAA record inside Memorial Stadium last year.
Louisville is averaging 8,426 fans per home match this year, including crowds of 9,280 vs. Wisconsin and 7,571 vs. Tennessee.
Creighton's Largest Crowds (All Sites)
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
15,797 #2 Nebraska 09.07/22 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
14,022 #6 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.
8,924 #5 Nebraska 09/10/24 L 2-3 Deavney Ctr.
8,656 #4 Nebraska 09/06/23 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,627 at #5 Nebraska 09/29/02 L 0-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,450 at #2 Nebraska 08/30/19 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,277 vs. Montana St. (@NU) 09/16/16 W 3-0 Devaney Ctr.
8,249 at #1 Nebraska 09/17/16 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,237 vs. #20 Baylor (@NU) 08/31/19 L 0-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,060 at #9 Nebraska 09/17/14 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
Best Starts
Creighton had started 5-0 for the third time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth before Tuesday's loss.
CU started 6-0 in 2021 before losing to No. 3 Nebraska, and was also 5-0 in 2006 before taking a loss against Iowa.
Two Of The Best
Few teams in the country have been as successful in recent years as Creighton and Louisville.
Since the start of the 2014 season, Creighton ranks seventh with 265 victories. Western Kentucky owns a nation-leading 285 wins in that span.
If you base success only by win percentage since 2014, Creighton is ninth by winning at an .810 clip. Texas (269-34) leads the way with a .904 win percentage in that era.
Narrow the window to the start of the 2021 campaign and it's even closer. Creighton is third with 92 wins, three behind Louisville's nation-leading 95.
When it comes to win percentage since the start of the 2021 season, Creighton is sixth (.860), with Louisville (95-10) tops with a .905 winning percentage.
I'm Nationwide
With a 176-13 record against BIG EAST teams since 2014, it's safe to say the 10-time defending BIG EAST champion Creighton Volleyball program has proven itself over the last decade in league play.
This year, it's going national. The Bluejays have beaten a team from each of the other "Power Four" conferences, as well as a team from its former league, the MVC. The Bluejays are...
1-0 vs. Atlantic Coast Conference teams
1-0 vs. Big 12 Conference teams
1-1 vs. Big Ten Conference teams
1-0 vs. Missouri Valley Conference teams
1-0 vs. Southeastern Conference teams
All-Tourney Trio
Creighton had three women earn All-Tournament Team honors for the second straight weekend.
Norah Sis was named Tournament MVP of the Creighton Classic after averaging 4.14 kills and 2.57 digs per set while hitting .338 last week.
Joining her on the All-Tournament Team were Ava Martin (3.43 kps., 1.43 dps., 0.29 saps. last week) and Kendra Wait (10.71 aps., 3.43 dps., 1.14 kps., 0.86 bps. last week).
Wait was named MVP of the season-opening Bluejay Invitational and joined on the All-Tournament Team by Sis and Elise Goetzinger.
Wait has now been named to 13 All-Tournament Teams in her career, including two MVP honors. Sis owns eight All-Tournament Team accolades with five MVP nods to her credit. Martin is a six-time All-Tournament selection with one MVP plaudit.
Wait has been named BIG EAST Setter of the Week both weeks this season (Sept. 2 & Sept. 9), while Sis was tabbed BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 9.
Schedule Ramps Up
Creighton had little trouble in its five matches so far this season, even though all five opponents owned Top 61 RPI's a year ago.
The schedule ramps up this week and next as Creighton visited No. 5 Nebraska and Tuesday and looks ahead to true road matches against No. 4 Louisville and No. 11 Kansas, not to mention neutral-site battles with No. 7 Purdue as well as perennial winners Northern Iowa and Rice.
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton's 29 victories last season were tied for sixth-most in the nation and its .853 win percentage was tied for ninth-best.
Additionally, Creighton's 87 victories in the previous three seasons (2020-22) are tied for fourth in the country (behind only Louisville, Pitt and Wisconsin) and its 312 wins in the previous 12 campaigns is sixth-most (behind only WKU, Nebraska, Texas, Penn State and BYU).
Creighton also ranked tied for first nationally in fewest sets lost (22) last year with Nebraska and Dayton. Creighton has won 55-of-63 sets in its past 19 matches dating to midway through last season.
Fewest Sets Lost in 2023
Rk. Sets Lost Team
1. 22 Creighton
22 Nebraska
22 Dayton
4. 23 Wisconsin
23 Tennessee
23 Western Michigan
Set-tle Down
Tuesday's loss in Lincoln was just Creighton's 15th loss in 107 matches since the start of the 2021 season.
Since the start of the 2021 season, Creighton is 70-3 in three-set matches, 13-4 in four-set matches and 9-8 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 five more wins this season, the Bluejays have set a program record with 18 straight home wins, surpassing a 15-match home win streak from Sept. 7-Nov. 30, 2018 that had been the standard.
Creighton's 18-match home win streak is tied for thee fourth-longest active streak in the country.
Creighton has won 47 of its last 48 sets played at D.J. Sokol Arena overall.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
18 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 (9/9)
Wins Team Next Home Match
29 Stephen F. Austin 9/19 vs. Boise State
28 Nebraska 9/13 vs. #16 Arizona State
24 Yale 9/13 vs. Villanova
18 Creighton 9/27 vs. Providence
18 Wisconsin 9/17 vs. Marquette
17 Pittsburgh 9/18 vs. Penn State
Birds Of A Feather
Creighton has showcased a pair of new jerseys this season, as Nike designed some custom-made uniforms.
Both the white and navy ("Midnight Jays") jerseys are sleeveless in a drastic change from past years.
The uniforms also feature several different colors of "Hyper-Elite" arm sleeves, which the players wear on their arms and can be mix & matched for a number of uniform combinations.
If you look closely, the arms sleeves also have a feather design pattern, a nod to Creighton's Bluejay nickname.
Defense Wins Championships
Creighton ranks 17th nationally with 14.19 kills per set, 19th with a .282 hitting percentage and 22nd with 13.14 assists per set.
Creighton hasn't been too shabby defensively itself. CU ranked third last year in opponents hitting percentage (.144) and led the country in 2021 (.124) in that category. This year's Bluejay squad is 55th in the nation, holding foes to .162 hitting. Last season was the fifth straight non-COVID year that Creighton's led the BIG EAST in opponent's hitting percentage.
Top 25 History
Creighton is 206-46 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 22-26 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That mark improves to 2-2 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
Since the start of the 2012 season, 41 of Creighton's 75 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 292-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 110 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 154 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 22-26)
Home: 10-9 Away: 7-10 Neutral: 5-7
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 #9 Creighton at #4 Louisville 12 p.m.
126 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked ninth in this week's AVCA poll, the 126th time in program history it's been ranked. That's 41st-most of all programs in NCAA history.
This week is Creighton's 22nd as a Top 10 team, and first time since 2019.
The No. 9 ranking matches the program's top mark since 2019, when it was No. 9 on Nov. 4, 2019. CU's best ranking ever was No. 7 on Aug. 28, 2017.
All 126 rankings have occurred since 2012 and under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
The Bluejays are one of 15 schools (along with Baylor, BYU, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 49 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. 121* Florida
121* Kentucky
121* Texas
4. 112 Nebraska
112 Penn State
112 BYU
112 Purdue
112 Wisconsin
9. 110* Baylor
10. 106 Creighton
11. 105* Pittsburgh
12. 104 Stanford
104 Minnesota
14. 97 Oregon
15. 91 Washington
16. 85* Louisville
* includes 9 weeks in Fall of 2020 when most schools didn't play
Her Kind Of City
Kentucky transfer Elise Goetzinger is a perfect 13-0 in matches played in Omaha in her career.
Goetzinger started all five of UK's matches en route to the 2020 national title (in the spring of 2021), which were played in CHI Health Center Omaha's convention center and arena. The Wildcats beat UNLV, No. 18 Western Kentucky, No. 9 Purdue, No. 7 Washington and No. 5 Texas en route to the championship.
In 2022 Goetzinger was named to the All-Tournament Team while helping the Wildcats to the Bluejay Invitational title with wins over UNI, No. 17 Creighton and No. 25 USC.
During those 13 wins, Goetzinger owns 86 kills and 46 blocks while hitting .425 in 43 sets played.
Jays Earn Tourney Titles
Creighton's Bluejay Invitational title on the opening weekend of the fall season marked the 13th straight season that Creighton has won at least one tournament, a streak that dates to 2012. The Jays added to their haul last weekend with the Creighton Classic crown.
During that span, the Bluejays have won 33 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 each of the seven 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 2 CU, CU
Packed House
Creighton announced in July that it had sold out of season tickets, and fans have shown up in a big way this fall.
The Bluejays are averaging 2,346 fans per home match (18th-best nationally), including a crowd of 2,569 on Aug. 30 vs. NC State that was the third-largest volleyball crowd ever inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton Volleyball's Largest Home Crowds
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
15,797 #2 Nebraska 09/07/22 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
14,022 #7 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Ctr.
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
2,653 Auburn 12/02/22 L 2-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,578 #13 Kentucky 09/01/17 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,569 NC State 08/30/24 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,568 Minnesota 12/02/23 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,563 Colgate 12/01/23 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,552 South Dakota 11/30/18 W 3-0 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,517 Coastal Carolina 12/01/17 W 3-1 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,514 #7 Nebraska 08/31/10 L 0-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,509 #22 Washington 12/01/18 L 0-3 D.J. Sokol Arena
2,504 #9 Marquette 11/22/19 W 3-1 D.J. Sokol Arena
Any Stat Will Do
Since joining the BIG EAST a dozen years ago, Creighton has been dominant when it wins just about any stat category, as seen below:
Statistic W L Pct.
With Better Hitting Pct. 279 8 .972
When Hitting .250+ 197 6 .970
When Hitting .300+ 108 0 1.000
When Serving 10+ Aces 17 2 .895
When Owning More Kills 268 21 .927
When Owning More Aces 200 20 .909
When Owning More Digs 231 20 .920
When Owning More Blocks 211 17 .920
Olympians Made Here
Taryn Kloth made history earlier this summer when the 2018 graduate became the first former Creighton student-athlete to compete in the Olympics.
The South Dakota native paired with Kristen Nuss to tie for ninth place in Beach Volleyball, winning their first three matches before losing to a team from Canada that went on to win the silver medal.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and associate head coach Angie Oxley Behrens both made the trip to Paris to watch three of Kloth's matches.
Kloth was a First Team All-BIG EAST choice in 2016 and 2018 and named BIG EAST Tournament MVP in 2017. She ranks fourth in CU history with 1,427 career kills and won four BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles.
61*
Creighton Volleyball traditionally owns one of the nation's top non-conference schedules, but head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth might have outdone herself this year.
All 11 of Creighton's non-conference matches are against teams with a Top 61 RPI last year.
Each of the top four teams that Creighton plays from that list will be faced outside of Omaha.
2023 RPI School 2024 CU Result
1 at Nebraska L 2-3
6 at Louisville
13 vs. Purdue
15 at Kansas
30 USC W 3-1
34 Missouri W 3-0
35 vs. Northern Iowa
43 NC State W 3-0
52 Drake W 3-0
60 vs. Rice
61 Kansas State W 3-0
12 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous 12 seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men's soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.
Creighton is one of seven teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments (2012-23). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.
There are also 13 schools that have appeared in 13 of the last 14 NCAA Tournaments, a group that includes Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Minnesota, Purdue, San Diego, Stanford and Washington. Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, and Texas have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since at least 2010.
Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play
Despite annually facing one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules, Creighton has continued to excel against elite competition.
Creighton is 11-14 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 5-1 1-1 TBD
Starting At Home?
Creighton started the season with the Bluejay Invitational, the first time since the COVID-affected 2020 season (in the spring of 2021) that the Jays began at home.
Take away that most unusual campaign and you'll find that Creighton hadn't started a fall season at home since 2010.
This year marked the first time ever that Creighton has started a season with five straight home matches.
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 12th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 19th. It's the 10th time in the past 12 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason, and third year in a row.
The No. 12 slotting was the second-best preseason ranking in program history.
Over the last 16 seasons, 295-of-400 teams (73.8 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and since 2008 362-of-400 teams (90.5 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament, as all but preseason No. 13 San Diego, No. 14 Ohio State and No. 23 Rice reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
This year marks the 13th straight season that CU has been ranked at least one week, extending a program record.
Year Preseason Rank Final W-L Final Rank
2013 25th 23-9 NR
2014 23rd 25-9 NR
2016 18th 27-9 9th
2017 9th 26-7 16th
2018 13th 29-5 13th
2019 18th 25-6 16th
2020 16th 12-4 NR
2022 18th 27-5 21st
2023 18th 29-5 15th
2024 12th TBD TBD
Sis Is Killing It
Norah Sis enters Friday ranked eighth in Creighton history with 1,310 career kills.
She has a chance to move into the top four by early October.
Career Kills
Name Sets No. Years
1. Jaali Winters 494 1,843 2015-18
2. Leah Ratzlaff 409 1,622 2002-05
3. Melissa Walsh 394 1,596 1998-01
4. Taryn Kloth 462 1,427 2015-18
5. Kelly Goc 394 1,414 2004-07
6. Jessica Houts 451 1,385 2005-09
7. JoDe Cieloha 398 1,375 1994-97
8. Norah Sis 327 1,310 2021-Pr.
9. Leah McNary 458 1,257 2011-14
10. Marysa Wilkinson 499 1,183 2014-17
A Great Start
Ava Martin entered her junior season with 681 kills in her career. The 681 kills was the sixth-most ever by a Bluejay in their first two seasons.
Martin is second on the team with 68 kills this season.
Most Kills, After 2 Seasons at Creighton
Kills Yr1 Yr2 Name Year
994 546 448 Jaali Winters 2015 & 2016
924 435 489 Norah Sis 2021 & 2022
769 341 428 Melissa Walsh 1998 & 1999
733 270 463 Alicia Runge 2009 & 2010 (Jr. & Sr.)
696 180 516 Leah Ratzlaff 2002 & 2003
681 264 417 Ava Martin 2022 & 2023
653 267 386 Jessica Houts 2005 & 2006
640 225 415 Amanda Cvejdlik 2005 & 2006
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 475-3 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 70-40 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 28 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 0-1 5-1 so far
Total 85-68 568-342
Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won 11 conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton's 11 crowns were outright titles, whereas Texas shared one title and WKU shared five.
Creighton has also won 10 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2023
Regular-Season League Tournament
11 (3 shared) Creighton 10 Creighton
11 (1) Texas 9 Dayton
11 (5) Western Kentucky 9 Western Kentucky
10 (1) Fairfield 8 Fairfield
8 (8) Florida A&M 7 LIU
8 (4) Yale
8 (2) BYU
8 (1) Colorado State
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 ??? ???
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 21-2 in the match following a five-setter.
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 100-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (91-3 in the regular-season, 9-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since November of 2014, Creighton is 84-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 76-1 league mark and a 8-0 mark in the conference tournament. The only setback (on Feb. 6, 2021 vs. Marquette) was played as a non-conference match, only to be flipped to a league contest 19 days later.
Put another way, since enrolling at Creighton in the fall of 2020, Bluejay seniors Abbey Milner, Kendra Wait and Norah Sis are 28-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 84-8 in sets.
Creighton has won 34 straight regular-season sets against BIG EAST opponents inside D.J. Sokol Arena, as well as 34 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.
BIG EAST'S Best
Since the reconfigufration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton, Marquette and St. John's are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
Creighton owns 10 regular-season titles (3 shared) in that time, while Marquette owns four regular-season (3 shared) crowns.
As it relates to BIG EAST Tournament titles, Creighton has won nine, Marquette one and St. John's one.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings, 2013 - Sept. 10, 2024
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (11) 170 16 288 71
Marquette (10) 153 30 260 87
Xavier 108 76 170 157
Butler 98 88 173 157
St. John's (1) 94 92 203 150
Villanova (1) 91 95 174 152
Seton Hall (1) 80 105 158 172
DePaul 55 131 133 188
Georgetown 40 138 104 204
Connecticut# 30 32 59 54
Providence* 29 141 106 191
*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.
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 394-11 (.973) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 337-5 mark (.985) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 260-3 (.989) when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 135-1 (.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 17-207 (.076) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 15-108 (.122) 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 404-36 (.918) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 71-154 (.316) 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 153-5 in its last 158 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 136-6 in its last 142 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 14-20 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 175-4 in its last 179 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 107-109 since, including a 2-1 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 2-1 so far
TOTAL 110-144
TOTAL Under Booth 107-109
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
10 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Regular-season champions from 2014-23, Creighton is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 10 straight regular-season titles. The previous record had been seven by Notre Dame from 1999-2005.
The Bluejay volleyball team is also the first Creighton program in any sport to win 10 or more straight league titles, doubling the five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96) in the MVC.
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 475 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport Victories
Brent Vigness, Softball 819
Ed Servais, Baseball 678*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis 542*#
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 475*
Jim Flanery, Women's Basketball 427*
Ed Hubbs, Men's & Women's Tennis 347
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball 327
*still active coaching at Creighton
#currently just the women's tennis coach
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning percentage better than .750 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 189 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 30 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
CU still has not lost to three league foes (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence) since joining the BIG EAST, and Marquette (6), Villanova (3), Seton Hall (3) and St. John's (3) are the only BIG EAST programs to top the Bluejays multiple times since 2013.
Opponent Reg. Season BE Tourney Total
Butler 20-1 - 20-1
Connecticut 3-1 1-0 4-1
DePaul 22-0 2-0 24-0
Georgetown 20-0 - 20-0
Marquette 17-5 6-1 23-6
Providence 16-0 - 16-0
Seton Hall 17-3 2-0 19-3
St. John's 18-2 1-1 19-3
Villanova 17-3 3-0 20-3
Xavier 20-1 4-0 24-1
Total 170-16 19-2 189-18
Production Returns
Creighton returns 13-of-18 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters.
From last year's team, only Kiana Schmitt, Ellie Bichelmeyer, Ann Marie Remmes, Ellie Bolton and Morgan Colangelo are not back.
All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 516.2 of a possible 700% back (73.7 percent).
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 1,457 (93.3%) 105 (6.7%)
Aces 155 (87.1%) 23 (12.9%)
Digs 1486 (79.4%) 385 (20.6%)
Points 1434.0 (67.5%) 691.5 (32.5%)
Kills 1,134 (67.3%) 552 (32.7%)
Matches Started 135 (66.2%) 69 (33.8%)
Blocks 145.0 (55.4%) 116.5 (44.6%)
President Booth
Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is the current President of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, having started her service on January 1, 2024.
She is also part of the 17-member AVCA Board of Directors, which includes elected representatives, appointed voting members for Diversity Development and Legislation, and non-voting members for Education and Awards.
She will finish out her term as Past President in 2026.
Players Mentioned
RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballCreighton Volleyball vs Nebraska Postgame Press Conference Spring Match
Saturday, April 18
Nebraska Volleyball vs Creighton Postgame Press Conference Spring Match
Saturday, April 18
Creighton Volleyball Media Availability - 4/15/26
Wednesday, April 15
Creighton vs. Kentucky Volleyball Press Conference - 12/13/25
Sunday, December 14
