Johnson & Wait Take Home Weekly BIG EAST Volleyball Honors
9/2/2024 1:00:00 PM | Volleyball
Jaya Johnson named Freshman of the Week; Kendra Wait named Setter of the Week
OMAHA, Neb. -- Jaya Johnson and Kendra Wait from the Creighton Volleyball program were recognized by the BIG EAST Conference on Monday. Johnson was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week while Wait landed BIG EAST Setter of the Week accolades.
Johnson's long-awaited debut saw the redshirt freshman average 2.22 kills, 1.33 digs and 0.78 blocks per set on .273 hitting to help Creighton to three sweeps over Top 52 RPI foes to win the Bluejay Invitational.
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The Olathe, Kan., product had a team-high 11 kills while hitting .526 in her debut, a 3-0 win over NC State that also included five digs. It made her the first player in program history to debut with 11 or more kills while hitting .500 or better. One night later Johnson had four kills and contributed five blocks and three digs against a powerful Missouri team. She closed the weekend with five kills, four digs and two blocks in a 3-0 win vs. Drake to secure an unbeaten tournament.
Wait averaged 11.22 assists, 3.11 digs, 1.11 kills and 0.89 blocks per set while hitting .421 to lead Creighton to a 3-0 start. Â The performance led to Wait being voted MVP of the Bluejay Invitational.
Wait opened her week with 39 assists, nine digs, three blocks and three kills on .750 hitting as CU hit a robust .385 against NC State. The Gardner, Kan., native followed that up with 36 assists, 10 digs, three kills and two digs on .500 hitting in a win vs. Missouri. It was the senior's 23rd career double-double inside D.J. Sokol Arena, a facility record. She closed her weekend with 26 assists, nine digs, four kills and three blocks in a 3-0 romp over Drake.
It marked the second Tournament MVP distinction of Wait's career, her 12th career All-Tournament Team recognition, and her fourth consecutive All-Tournament Team honor at the Bluejay Invitational. While the Setter of the Week award is new this year, Wait is no stranger to league recognition. The 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year and 2023 BIG EAST Setter of the Year is a three-time All-BIG EAST choice. She'd previously been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week five times, BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week four times and BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week once.
Bluejay teammates Elise Goetzinger and Kiara Reinhardt were also named to the BIG EAST's Honor Roll for their performances on the weekend. DePaul's Jill Pressly brought home BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week plaudits and teammate Rachel Krasowski secured the league's Defensive Player of the Week award.
No. 12 Creighton (3-0) returns to action when it hosts the Creighton Classic, facing No. 21 USC (2-0) on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. in a nationally-televised match on FS1. The Bluejays will then battle Kansas State (1-2) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Johnson's long-awaited debut saw the redshirt freshman average 2.22 kills, 1.33 digs and 0.78 blocks per set on .273 hitting to help Creighton to three sweeps over Top 52 RPI foes to win the Bluejay Invitational.
Â
The Olathe, Kan., product had a team-high 11 kills while hitting .526 in her debut, a 3-0 win over NC State that also included five digs. It made her the first player in program history to debut with 11 or more kills while hitting .500 or better. One night later Johnson had four kills and contributed five blocks and three digs against a powerful Missouri team. She closed the weekend with five kills, four digs and two blocks in a 3-0 win vs. Drake to secure an unbeaten tournament.
Wait averaged 11.22 assists, 3.11 digs, 1.11 kills and 0.89 blocks per set while hitting .421 to lead Creighton to a 3-0 start. Â The performance led to Wait being voted MVP of the Bluejay Invitational.
Wait opened her week with 39 assists, nine digs, three blocks and three kills on .750 hitting as CU hit a robust .385 against NC State. The Gardner, Kan., native followed that up with 36 assists, 10 digs, three kills and two digs on .500 hitting in a win vs. Missouri. It was the senior's 23rd career double-double inside D.J. Sokol Arena, a facility record. She closed her weekend with 26 assists, nine digs, four kills and three blocks in a 3-0 romp over Drake.
It marked the second Tournament MVP distinction of Wait's career, her 12th career All-Tournament Team recognition, and her fourth consecutive All-Tournament Team honor at the Bluejay Invitational. While the Setter of the Week award is new this year, Wait is no stranger to league recognition. The 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year and 2023 BIG EAST Setter of the Year is a three-time All-BIG EAST choice. She'd previously been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week five times, BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week four times and BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week once.
Bluejay teammates Elise Goetzinger and Kiara Reinhardt were also named to the BIG EAST's Honor Roll for their performances on the weekend. DePaul's Jill Pressly brought home BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week plaudits and teammate Rachel Krasowski secured the league's Defensive Player of the Week award.
No. 12 Creighton (3-0) returns to action when it hosts the Creighton Classic, facing No. 21 USC (2-0) on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. in a nationally-televised match on FS1. The Bluejays will then battle Kansas State (1-2) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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