Saturday, November 22
Milwaukee, Wis.
12:00 PM
Creighton University
at
Marquette
#12 Volleyball Renews Rivalry With Marquette at BIG EAST Tourney on Saturday
11/18/2025 4:25:00 PM | Volleyball
2025 BIG EAST Championship - Presented by JEEP
Match #29: #12 Creighton at Marquette • Milwaukee, Wis. • Saturday, Nov. 22 • 12:00 p.m.
| LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | MU NOTES |
Next Up
No. 12 Creighton Volleyball heads to Milwaukee, Wis., this weekend to compete in the BIG EAST Championship Presented by JEEP.
The Bluejays (23-5, 16-0 BIG EAST) quest for a sixth straight Tournament title opens on Saturday, Nov. 22, with a 12 p.m. match against fourth-seeded and tournament host Marquette (17-9, 11-5 BIG EAST).
The second semifinal pits second-seeded Xavier (25-3, 14-2 BIG EAST) against third-seeded Villanova (20-7, 11-5 BIG EAST) at 2:30 p.m.
Sunday's title match will start at 2 p.m.
All the action will be hosted inside Al McGuire Center on the Marquette campus.
Broadcast Information
Saturday's semifinals will be video webcast on ESPN+ at http://watchESPN.com. A subscription is required to view the match. Bob Brainerd and Michelle Wenzel will call the action.
Live Stats Information
All BIG EAST Tournament matches will have live stats at http://Marquette.StatBroadcast.com.
Scouting #12 Creighton
Creighton enters the BIG EAST Tournament with a 23-5 record thanks to 18 straight victories. The Bluejays went 16-0 in BIG EAST play, dropping just four sets in league action, en route to a 12th consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title.
Seniors Ava Martin (4.28 kps., 0.45 saps., .318%), Kiara Reinhardt (2.49 kps., .431%, 1.00 bps.) and Annalea Maeder (10.39 aps., 0.45 saps.) are playing at an All-American level to lead the Bluejays.
Saige Damrow (2.74 dps.) and Sydney Breissinger (2.79 dps., 0.40 saps.) have both seen time at libero and along with Nora Wurtz (0.68 saps.) have helped the Bluejays take over the NCAA lead with 2.35 aces per set as a team.
CU averages 13.84 kills, 13.29 digs and 2.17 blocks per set while hitting .287.
Scouting Marquette
Marquette is 17-9 on the season and finished 11-5 in league play after winning its final four matches to tie for third in the BIG EAST standings. MU is 10-5 at home, and 1-3 against Top 25 foes.
The Golden Eagles own impressive 3-0 sweeps over Western Kentucky and Florida, but are 2-5 in five-set matches.
Natalie Ring (4.53 kps., .269%) leads the BIG EAST in kills per set and owns 34.6 percent of MU's kills, far ahead of Hattie Bray (2.69 kps., 1.22 bps.) and Elena Radeff (1.94 kps.). Ring has 10 or more kills in every match this fall.
Isabela Haggard (9.15 aps.) leads the Golden Eagles in assists per set, and Adriana Studer (3.74 dps.) tops the club in digs.
As a team, Marquette averages 13.06 kills, 13.09 digs, 2.36 blocks and 1.55 aces per set while hitting .250 as a team.
Series History vs. Marquette
Creighton is 31-7 all-time against Marquette, and are 27-4 since the start of the 2014 season against MU. Creighton is also 7-1 all-time against Marquette at the BIG EAST Tournament, including seven consecutive tournament victories in the past decade.
Creighton is 31-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles when winning at least one set, including the last 27 such matches since a setback in the 2013 BIG EAST Tournament final. Creighton has also won all eight match-ups to go five sets.
Brian Rosen is 2-0 against both Marquette, and Tom Mendoza. Mendoza is 0-2 against Creighton.
This Year vs. Marquette
Creighton swept the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee on Oct. 2nd (25-16, 25-19, 25-18), as Ava Martin had 20 kills on .514 hitting to lead a Bluejay attack that hit .410 as a team.
Creighton won the rematch in Omaha on Nov. 1 in five sets (25-11, 20-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-10) as Martin tied a D.J. Sokol Arena record with 30 kills and Annalea Maeder owned a season-high 59 assists. Creighton had 72 kills in 154 swings, and its .370 hitting percentage was its best mark ever in a five-set match.
In the two meetings vs. Marquette this year, Martin has averaged 6.25 kills per set while hitting .484, and Jaya Johnson has contributed 2.75 kills per set on .422 htting.
Creighton Coaches
Brian Rosen was named the fourth head coach in modern Creighton Volleyball history on April 6, 2025, as he was promoted following the departure of 22-year head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. He is 23-5 as Creighton head coach, defeating No. 14 Kansas on Aug. 31 for his first win on the Bluejay sideline, and becoming the BIG EAST's first rookie head coach since 2014 to win 20+ matches in his first year in the league.
Named the 2024 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year, Rosen served as a Creighton assistant from 2022-24, during which time CU went 88-13, swept the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament tiles each fall, and defeated 10 Top 25 opponents.
The 2008 South Carolina grad went 45-17 as head coach at Division II Nova Southeastern from 2019-21, though the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19 without playing a match.
Rosen is assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Adam Kessenich and Izzy Ashburn.
With A Win...
With a win on Friday at Marquette, Creighton would...
- Win its 54th in a row against BIG EAST teams.
- Win its 66th straight match against an unranked team.
- Win its 55th straight non-televised match.
- Improve to 226-18 against BIG EAST opponents since joining the league in 2013.
- Stretch its season-high win streak to 19, the fourth-longest win streak in program history.
- Extend its November win streak to 26.
- Creighton will tie a program with its ninth straight true road win.
- Advance to its 13th conference tournament title match in the past 14 seasons, a stretch that started with the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament final.
- Creighton will improve to 32-7 all-time against Marquette with its seventh straight win over the Golden Eagles.
- Beat Marquette for a 32nd time, more than any other opponent in program history.
- Go 3-0 against Marquette in the same season for the fifth time (2015, 2018, 2021, 2024, 2025).
- Creighton would move to 12-4 all-time in road matches at Marquette, and 3-0 in the BIG EAST Tournament.
- Creighton would eliminate Marquette from the BIG EAST Tournament for the eighth time in the past 11 seasons.
- Creighton would improve to 22-2 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship, and 12-1 all-time in the semifinals.
- Improve to 19-1 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament play as the No. 1 seed, and 21-1 in all conference tournaments as a No. 1 seed.
- Creighton would improve to 17-0 this season against teams from the BIG EAST.
- Assuming she plays, Kiara Reinhardt would set a school record by playing in her 120th career victory, as well as in her ninth career BIG EAST Tournament triumph.
Milestone Watch
Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones heading into the week...
- Kiara Reinhardt is one win shy of playing in her 120th career victory, as well as in her ninth career BIG EAST Tournament triumph. Both would break school records.
- Ava Martin owns 124 career aces, one behind Melissa Weisensee for third place in CU history.
- Eloise Brandewie owns 294 career blocks and is six shy of 300. She's also nine kills shy of 450.
- Nora Wurtz owns 54 aces. She can pass Ava Martin (56 in 2024) and Molly Moran (59 in 2000) to set the CU single-season record.
- Destiny Ndam-Simpson is one kill shy of 250.
12 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Creighton (2014-25) is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 12 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 more than five straight league titles, more than doubling the previous high of five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96) in the MVC.
The only other volleyball team nationally with an active streak of more than six straight regular-season league titles is Kentucky, which won its ninth consecutive SEC crown this year.
Champions Among Champions
Entering 2025 (since some leagues aren't done yet)
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won 12 or more conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton's 12 crowns were outright titles, whereas WKU has shared five. Texas has won 11 titles in that time.
Creighton has also won 11 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2024
DOES NOT INCLUDE 2025
Regular-Season League Tournament
12 (3 shared) Creighton 11 Creighton
12 (5) Western Kentucky 10 Western Kentucky
11 (1) Texas 9 Dayton
11 (1) Fairfield 9 Fairfield
9 (8) Florida A&M
9 (5) Yale
9 (1) Colorado State
Looking For More
Creighton Volleyball is seeking the school's 14th different BIG EAST Tournament title won by the school since joining the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013. All but three of those titles have been won by the volleyball program.
Creighton's BIG EAST Tournament Titles (13)
Volleyball (10): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Baseball (2): 2019, 2025
Men's Soccer (1): 2022
BIG EAST Championship History
Creighton is 21-2 all-time in 11 previous BIG EAST Championship appearances, including 10 titles (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).
Creighton is 11-1 in the semifinal round and 10-1 in the finals, with 10 straight wins in the title tilt.
CU is 7-1 against Marquette at the BIG EAST Championship, including seven straight wins. Creighton won the lone semifinal match-up in 2015 (3-2 in Omaha), as seven of previous eight conference tournament meetings took place in the final.
Twelve of Creighton's last 13 teams have reached the conference tournament title match, a stretch that started in 2012 when the Bluejays were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Creighton is 8-1 all-time at Al McGuire Center at the BIG EAST Championships, including titles in 2014, 2017, 2021 and 2023, but did lose in the semifinals in 2019.
At 21-2, Creighton is the only team in this weekend's BIG EAST Championship with a winning record in the event all-time. Marquette is 14-16, Xavier is 3-7 and Villanova is 22-35. The only other current BIG EAST members with a winning record at the league championship are Georgetown (29-19) and Providence (24-16), though neither have played a BIG EAST Tournament match since 2001.
As The Top Seed
Creighton is the No. 1 seed for a conference tournament for 12th time in the last 14 years, and 11th time in 13 BIG EAST seasons.
The Bluejays were the No. 1 seed in the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, where it defeated Illinois State (3-1) and Wichita State (3-0) to win its first league tournament in program history.
In BIG EAST Tournament action, Creighton has been the No. 1 seed 10 previous times (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024), going 18-1 in those contests. CU went 2-0 to win the title in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024. In 2019, it was upset in the semifinals by St. John's.
The BIG EAST Championship has been won by the top seed in 10 of the last 12 years, and the No. 1 seed has also gone 22-2 in its last 24 league tourney contests.
Winners Win
Through matches of Nov. 17th, Creighton owns 263 wins over the past 10 seasons, which coincides with the start of the 2016 season.
That ranks fourth-most nationally, and among some of the most storied programs in all the land. CU is also fifth in win percentage in the last decade.
Last 10 Seasons (2016 - Nov. 17, 2025)
Sorted By Wins Sorted By Win Percentage
1. 280 Nebraska 1. .878 Texas 251-35
2. 275 Pittsburgh 2. .872 Nebraska 280-41
275 Western Kentucky 3. .865 Western Kentucky 275-43
4. 263 Creighton 4. .862 Pittsburgh 275-44
5. 253 Wisconsin 5. .838 Creighton 263-51
6. 251 Texas 6. .832 BYU 247-50
7. 250 Stephen F. Austin 7. .830 Wisconsin 253-52
8. 249 Stanford 8. .825 Stanford 249-53
What's The Difference?
While this is Creighton's fourth team to go unbeaten in BIG EAST play, the domination this season has been especially noteworthy, as seen in the chart below:
Year Sets Lost 5 Setters Pts For-Against % of Pts.
2016 5 1 1,457-1,088 57.2
2018 6 2 1,474-1,092 57.4
2024 3 0 1,418-884 61.6
2025 4 1 1,281-883 59.2
Others Seeking Unbeaten Seasons
Through Nov. 17th, Creighton was one of eight teams in the country that has yet to lose a regular-season conference match this fal, though four of those schools still have matches to play.
Of those teams, Creighton's four league sets lost trails only Nebraska.
Set W-L Team League
48-1* Nebraska Big Ten
48-4 Creighton BIG EAST
48-8 Northern Iowa Missouri Valley
45-9 Kentucky Southeastern
54-10 Dayton Atlantic 10
42-11* San Diego West Coast
45-12* South Dakota State Summit
48-12* Utah State Mountain West
*regular-season league matches remaining
League Tourney Head-To-Head in 2025
Here's how the teams in this week's BIG EAST Tournament have fared against each other:
Team CU XU VU MU
Creighton (5-0) -- 1-0 2-0 2-0
Xavier (3-2) 0-1 -- 2-0 1-1
Villanova (1-4) 0-2 0-2 -- 1-0
Marquette (1-4) 0-2 1-1 0-1 --
Road Dubs
Creighton has won eight consecutive true road matches, a streak that started on October 2nd. with a 3-0 win at Marquette.
Both of CU's teams to win nine straight road matches went on to reach the Elite Eight.
Creighton's Longest Road Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
9 Sept. 30-Dec. 2, 2016 at #5 Texas, 3-0
9 Sept. 21-Nov. 24, 2024 at #2 Penn State, 3-2
8 Sept. 29 - Nov. 30, 2012 at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
8 Sept. 28 - Nov. 3, 2018 at #2 Nebraska, 3-1
8 Oct. 2, 2021-Sept. 10, 2022 at Rice, 3-2
8 Oct. 2, 2025 - Present ? ? ?
Nation's Longest Active Road Win Streaks (11/19)
Wins Team Next Road Match
12 Nebraska 11/22 at Indiana
10 Kentucky TBD (NCAA's?)
10 Purdue 11/20 at Wisconsin
10 San Diego 11/22 at Santa Clara
10 Utah State Possible Conference Tourney
10 Ball State Possible Conference Tourney
9 Stanford 11/23 at California
9 Northern Iowa TBD (NCAA's?)
9 Dayton Possible Conference Tourney
8 Creighton 11/22 at Marquette
8 Louisville 11/21 at Georgia Tech
8 Stephen F. Austin 11/21 at East Texas A&M
8 Texas A&M TBD (NCAA's?)
8 American TBD (NCAA's?)
8 Western Kentucky Possible Conference Tourney
8 South Dakota State TBD (NCAA's?)
8 Rice Possible Conference Tourney
No Losers Here
Not a single player on the Creighton sideline has ever played in a BIG EAST Tournament loss.
Only nine players in Creighton history have played in eight BIG EAST Tournament victories and four title match victories (Marysa Wilkinson, Jaali Winters, Taryn Kloth, Jaela Zimmerman, Naomi Hickman, Kiara Reinhardt, Norah Sis and Kendra Wait).
With a win on Saturday, Reinhardt can play in her ninth victory. Reinhardt also redshirted in the fall of 2021 when CU won a title that year.
Noteworthy Stats
Creighton is 16-0 all-time when winning the first set of a BIG EAST Tournament match, but sitll a healthy 5-2 when losing the opener.
Creighton is seeking its sixth consecutive BIG EAST Tournament title, which would be the first time that's happened since Pittsburgh won seven in a row from 1988-94.
Creighton owns 10 BIG EAST Tournament titles in program history (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). The only team with more than Creighton's 10 tourney titles is Pittsburgh (11).
Creighton and Marquette are meeting in the BIG EAST Tournament for the ninth time in the last 13 years, but seven of those contests took place in the final.
Creighton lost to Marquette in the 2013 final, but has beaten Marquette in the 2015 semifinal as well as the final in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Since losing the fourth set of a 2015 match vs. Marquette in Omaha, Creighton has won 13 straight sets at the BIG EAST Tournament. That's the longest streak by any program since Creighton's 13-set win streak spanning the 2015-17 tournaments, a streak that started after a fourth set home loss to Marquette. The only longer BIG EAST Tournament win streaks in league history were streaks by Pittsburgh of 25 (1990-93), 21 (1982-83) and 15 (1988-89).
Biggest Competitors
Including league tournament action, Creighton is 89-5 against conference teams since the fall of 2021 began, losing once each to Xavier, St. John's and UConn and twice to Marquette.
Meanwhile, Marquette is 75-16, with 11 losses coming against the Bluejays compared to a 70-5 mark against everyone else. The other losses have been to St. John's (2), Xavier (1), Georgetown (1) and Villanova (1).
The Dominators
No matter how you slice it, Creighton and Marquette have dominated BIG EAST Volleyball since 2013. Here's how they compare, heading into the BIG EAST Tournament. It does NOT include the 2025 awards being doled out after these notes were published.
Stat CU MU Everyone Else
BIG EAST Reg-Season W-L 204-16 180-37 749-1080
BIG EAST Play Win Percentage .927 .829 .410
BIG EAST Reg.-Season Titles 12# 4# 0
BIG EAST Tourney Titles 10 1 1
BIG EAST Player of the Year 5 5 3
BIG EAST Libero of the Year 2 0 10
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year 4 3 7#
BIG EAST Coach of the Year 5# 2 6#
AVCA All-Americans* 10 2 0
AVCA H.M. All-Americans 19 9 14
AVCA Region Freshman of Year 3 1 2
AVCA Region Coach of Year 5 0 3
CSC Academic All-Americans 10 3 0
# includes ties
*First/Second/Third Teams only
You Again?
Creighton and Marquette ought to be quite familiar with each other by this point.
Saturday will mark the 17th meeting between the schools since February 4, 2021, and that doesn't include two other matches that were cancelled due to COVID protocols. Creighton has won 13 of those 16 recent contests.
Saturday will also be the 25th meeting since Oct. 17, 2017 between the BIG EAST behemoths. CU is 20-4 in the last 24 encounters.
Ava Seeks History
If Ava Martin is named All-BIG EAST (as widely expected), she'd join some rare air in Creighton Athletics history.
The only other five student-athletes in school history in any sport to be named First Team All-Conference four times have been Tara Oltman (Softball), Doug McDermott (Men's Basketball), Jaali Winters (Volleyball), Kendra Wait (Volleyball) and Norah Sis (Volleyball).
Back For More (Awards)
Ava Martin has been named to the All-Tournament Team at the BIG EAST Championships each of the previous three seasons.
The only Creighton player in program history to be named a four-time All-BIG EAST Tournament honoree is Kendra Wait (2021-24). Wait earned Tournament MVP accolades as a senior last fall.
Going along with the note above, Martin could join Kendra Wait to be the only Bluejays in any sport to be a four-time first team all-conference pick also named to the conference all-tournament team four times as well.
CU's BIG EAST All-Tournament Team Picks
Maggie Baumert - 2015
Jess Bird - 2015 (MVP)
Kelli Browning - 2013
Lydia Dimke - 2016
Kate Elman - 2015
Naomi Hickman - 2018, '20 (MVP)
Taryn Kloth - 2017 (MVP), '18
Ava Martin - 2022, '23, '24
Leah McNary - 2014
Kiara Reinhardt - 2020
Kiana Schmitt - 2023 (MVP)
Norah Sis - 2021 (MVP), '22 (MVP), '24
Lauren Smith - 2013, '14 (MVP), '16
Kendra Wait - 2021, '22, '23, '24 (MVP)
Annika Welty - 2020
Marysa Wilkinson - 2014, '17
Jaali Winters - 2016 (MVP), '18 (MVP)
Brittany Witt - 2017, '19
Jaela Zimmerman - 2021
Streakin'
Ava Martin owns 10 or more kills in each of Creighton's last 22 matches, the second-longest streak in program history. She already owns a 19-match streak that was snapped earlier this season. Martin is the only player in Bluejay history with multiple streaks 10-kill streaks of 14 or longer.
Martin has led or tied for the Creighton in kills in each of the last 21 matches.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills
58 Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005
22 Ava Martin, Sept. 12, 2025 - Present
21 Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015 - Aug. 28, 2016
19 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997
19 Ava Martin, Oct. 18, 2024-Aug. 23, 2025
18 Jaela Zimmerman, Nov. 16, 2019 - March 27, 2021
15 Norah Sis, Oct. 7 - Dec. 2, 2022
14 Kelly Goc, Sept. 8-Oct. 19, 2007
13 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 7-Oct. 18, 1996
13 Jaali Winters, Nov. 12, 2016-Sept. 1, 2017
The Amazing Ava
Ava Martin had a career-high 30 kill in Creighton's five-set win over Marquette on Nov. 1st.
Martin owns 11 matches with 20+ kills in her career, including each of her past three matches against Marquette, and four times overall against the Golden Eagles.
With 20 or more kills on Saturday, Martin would join Kelly Goc as the second Bluejay to post 20+ kills against the same opponent three times in the same season. Goc did it vs. Illinois State in 2006.
Just how good has Martin been against Marquette? A whopping 150 of her 1,520 career kills (9.9 percent) have come against the Golden Eagles, even though only 10 of her 128 career matches have been against MU.
Ava Martin's 20-Kill Matches
Kills Pct. Opponent Date
30 .464 Marquette 11/01/25
24 .286 vs. UC Santa Barbara 09/06/25
23 .286 Villanova 11/07/25
22 .333 #14 Marquette 11/26/22
22 .396 Northern Iowa 09/03/23
22 .180 at #9 Minnesota 09/16/23
21 .230 at Xavier 09/23/23
20 .400 at DePaul 11/22/24
20 .405 vs. Duke 08/27/23
20 .472 Rice 09/13/25
20 .514 at Marquette 10/02/25
30 Kills For Martin
Ava Martin became the fifth different player in Creighton Volleyball history with 30 or more kills in a match when she did it on Nov. 1, 2025 vs. Marquette.
Of those women, Martin's .464 hitting percentage was the best mark. She was also the fourth Bluejay with a double-double in a match with 30+ kills.
Martin's 30 kills also tied the D.J. Sokol Arena record, which opened in 2009.
Creighton Players With 30+ Kills
K Pct. D Player, Opponent (Sets) Date
32 .406 10 Michelle Prorock, Evansville (4) 11/02/96
31 .390 7 Keeley Davis, Marquette (5) 10/12/19
30 .404 22 Melissa Walsh, Indiana St. (5) 10/16/98
30 .273 13 Norah Sis, Auburn (5) 12/02/22
30 .464 10 Ava Martin, Marquette (5) 11/01/25
Most Kills, D.J. Sokol Arena History
K Player, Opponent Date
30 Wichita St.'s Emily Stockman vs. Missouri St. 11/27/09
30 Creighton's Norah Sis vs. Auburn 12/02/22
30 Creighton's Ava Martin vs. Marquette 11/01/25
29 USD's Kendall Kritenbrink vs. Creghton 09/20/14
29 UConn's Hanna Tylska vs. Villanova 11/27/24
The 400 Club
Ava Martin is the fourth player in CU history with three different seasons of 400 kills or more, and has joined Leah Ratzlaff as just the second woman to do it in three consecutive campaigns.
It's not a coincidence that Jaali Winters (1,843), Norah Sis (1,664) and Ratzlaff (1,622) own the top three spots on Creighton's career kills list. Melissa Walsh (1,596) is fourth, with Martin (1,520) currently fifth.
Most 400-Kill Seasons, Creighton History
Name Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Jaali Winters (3x) 546 448 398 451
Norah Sis (3x) 435 489 302 438
Leah Ratzlaff (3x) 180 516 479 447
Ava Martin (3x) 264 417 428 411
Miss Consistent
Ava Martin has produced 10 or more kills in each of her last 32 matches against BIG EAST competition. Even more impressively, she's hit .250 or better in each of those contests, as well.
Martin led the BIG EAST with 4.52 kills per set and was fourth with a .376 hitting percentage in league play this fall.
Last year Martin was second with 3.88 kills per set and second with a .408 hitting percentage in league action.
In 70 career regular-season BIG EAST matches, Martin averaged 3.61 kills per set and hit .348 to help her team go 67-3.
Hitting With A Purpose
Creighton started its Nov. 15 match at Seton Hall with 31 kills in 48 swings before its first attack error on the fourth point of the third set.
It was just the second time in program history that CU went back-to-back sets in the same match without an attack error, joining the second and third sets at Bradley on Sept. 29, 2000.
Creighton finished the afternoon hitting a program-record .551 against the Pirates.
Best Attack Percentage, CU History
Hit. % Opponent (K-E-TA), sets Date
.551 at Seton Hall (41-3-69), 3 sets 11-15-25
.548 vs. Georgetown (46-6-73), 3 sets 11-17-24
.536 vs. Tulsa (41-4-69), 3 sets 10-27-95
.495 vs. Liberty (57-8-99), 3 sets 9-2-05
.493 at Villanova (41-5-73), 3 sets 10-27-23
The .400 Club
Creighton had hit .400 or better in each of its past three matches, hitting .418 vs. Georgetown, .417 against St. John's and .551 versus Seton Hall. Combined, that's good for a .455 hitting percentage. It's also the first time since the program's 1994 reinstatement that it's hit .400 or better in three straight contests.
Creighton has now hit .400 or better in six of its last 14 matches, and 16 different times against BIG EAST opponents during its current 53-match win streak over league foes.
Creighton hit .410 in the first meeting this season against Marquette, the best its ever hit in any meeting against the Golden Eagles.
Crowd Watch
Though Al McGuire Center might not sell out on Saturday, don't be surprised if it's a large crowd, as BIG EAST powers Creighton and Marquette own the two largest indoor volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history.
Creighton's record of 15,797 from Sept. 7, 2022 lasted nine days before it was broken nine days later by Wisconsin. Marquette then set the record against Wisconsin on Sept. 13, 2023 when 17,037 fans packed into Fiserv Forum. That record was smashed on Sept. 16, 2025, when Creighton hosted 17,675 fans at CHI Health Center Omaha for a match vs. Nebraska.
Top Reg.-Season Indoor Volleyball-Only Crowds in NCAA History
Att. Opponent Date Site
17,675 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/16/25 Omaha, NE
17,037 Wisconsin def. Marquette, 3-1 9/13/23 Milwaukee, WI
16,833 Florida def. Wisconsin, 3-2 9/16/22 Madison, WI
15,797 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/7/22 Omaha, NE
The Booth Tree
Both Brian Rosen and Tom Mendoza are disciples of the Kirsten Bernthal Booth coaching tree as both men are former Creighton assistant coaches.
Rosen served as a Bluejay assistant coach from 2022-24, a span that saw the Bluejays go 88-13. Creighton won the BIG EAST regular-seasona and Tournament titles, as well as made the NCAA Tournament, all three seasons.
Mendoza was an assistant at CU from 2010-15, during which time the Bluejays went 142-57 and made five NCAA Tournaments (2010, '12, '13, '14, '15). Creighton won the regular-season and conference tournament titles in 2012 in the Missouri Valley Conference and in 2014 and 2015 in the BIG EAST Conference.
Wurtz & Maeder Recognized By BIG EAST
Nora Wurtz was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, while Annalea Maeder earned her seventh BIG EAST Setter of the Week accolade on Monday, Nov. 17.
Wurtz averaged 2.17 kills, 1.67 blocks, 0.50 aces and 0.50 digs per set while hitting .722 to help Creighton finish off an unbeaten BIG EAST season. The redshirt freshman hit .667 and tied her career-highs with six kills and five blocks in Friday's win at St. John's, adding three aces to tie the league record for aces in conference play entering 2025. She followed that with five more blocks and upped her season-high to seven kills on .778 hitting in Saturday's victory at Seton Hall. Wurtz led the BIG EAST in hitting percentage and was second in blocks per set last week.
This is Wurtz's first career weekly recognition from the BIG EAST.
Maeder did her part to help Creighton secure a 12th straight BIG EAST regular-season title as she averaged 10.33 assists, 1.17 kills, 1.00 digs, 0.83 aces and 0.33 blocks per set while also hitting .778.
The Ried, Switzerland native had 37 assists, five digs, three kills and two blocks in Friday's 3-0 win at St. John's that saw the Bluejays set a league record with their 46th straight regular-season BIG EAST victory. She then had 25 assists, five aces and had four kills in as many swings during a 3-0 win at Seton Hall as the Jays finished off a second straight unbeaten league season. Creighton had 31 kills in the match before making its first attack error and hit a program-record .551 in the contest.
Maeder led all BIG EAST players in assists per set and was tied for third in aces per set last week. As a team, Creighton hit a league-leading .477and shared the BIG EAST lead with 14.00 kills per set.
Wurtz Serves Up A Record
Two days after serving up five aces in the first set of a Nov. 7 win over Villanova, Nora Wurtz once again dealt five aces during 12-0 serving run to end the first set vs. Georgetown. Wurtz remained behind the serving line to start the second set, opening with back-to-back aces, and eventually broke the school-record with nine aces in the match.
Most Aces, Creighton Match
9 Nora Wurtz vs. Georgetown (3s) 11-09-25
8 Carolyn Decker at New Mexico (3s) 09-04-04
8 Ava Martin vs. Seton Hall (3s) 11-15-24
7 Molly Moran vs. Drake (3s) 09-22-00
7 Kelli Koochi at Indiana State (4s) 10-19-01
7 Nayka Benitez vs. Bradley (4s) 09-25-10
7 Michelle Sicner vs. McNeese State (3s) 09-17-11
7 Madelyn Cole at Georgetown (3s) 11-09-19
Best of Wurtz
Nora Wurtz's nine aces are tied for the most in the nation this season in any three-set match.
Wurtz served 31 times in the Nov. 9 match vs. Georgetown, with Creighton winning the point 27 times. By comparison, Georgetown's entire team served 34 times and won just seven of those points.
Wurtz (at 6-foot-4) is the nation's only player middle blocker, as well as the only player 6-foot-2 or taller, to average more than 0.50 aces per set.
Wurtz has aced every BIG EAST team she's faced this fall except Marquette and Connecticut, both of whom she's only faced once.
Who Else Has Been Unbeaten?
At 16-0, Creighton is the 15th team to finish BIG EAST play unbeaten and just the fourth unbeaten team with 16 or more league wins.
Twelve of the first 14 unbeaten teams went on to win the BIG EAST Tournament.
Finishing Unbeaten in BIG EAST Play
W-L Sets Lost School Year
18-0 3 Creighton* 2024
18-0 6 Creighton* 2018
18-0 5 Creighton* 2016
16-0 4 Creighton 2025
14-0 8 Notre Dame 2009
14-0 4 Louisville* 2006
12-0 3 Notre Dame* 2001
11-0 4 Notre Dame* 2000
11-0 4 Notre Dame 1999
11-0 2 Notre Dame* 1997
11-0 2 Notre Dame* 1996
11-0 1 Notre Dame* 1995
7-0 6 Pittsburgh* 1993
7-0 1 Pittsburgh* 1991
7-0 2 Pittsburgh* 1990
*also won league tournament
Best League Starts
Creighton has started 16-0 in conference play for the fifth time in the last 10 seasons. The Bluejays, who only play 16 league contests this fall, went 18-0 in 2016, 2018 and 2024.
Most Wins Before First League Loss
Wins Year (League) First League Loss
18-0 2018 (BIG EAST) None
18-0 2016 (BIG EAST) None
18-0 2024 (BIG EAST) None
17 2022 (BIG EAST) 11/19 at #16 Marquette
16 2025 (BIG EAST) None
12 2019 (BIG EAST) 11/8 at Villanova
11 2015 (BIG EAST) 10/30 at Villanova
All They Do Is Win
Creighton has won its last 47 BIG EAST regular-season matches to establish a program and league record.
It breaks the record for the longest streak in BIG EAST history, surpassing the 45 in a row done from Oct. 1, 1999 to Nov. 15, 2002 by Notre Dame.
Creighton's Most Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins
Wins Dates Snapped By League
47 Oct. 7, 2023 - Present ? ? ? BIG EAST
31 Nov. 18, 2017 - Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0 BIG EAST
28 Oct. 31, 2015 - Sept. 30, 2017 at Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
28 Oct. 17, 2021- Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
14 Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012 Never (left MVC) MVC
BIG EAST'S Best
Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton, Marquette and St. John's are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
Creighton owns 12 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 10, Marquette one and St. John's one since 2013.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings, 2013 - Nov. 20, 2025
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (12) 204 16 338 78
Marquette (11) 180 37 301 102
Xavier 130 88 204 173
Villanova (1) 111 109 208 170
St. John's (1) 110 110 232 180
Butler 108 112 190 193
Seton Hall (1) 86 133 173 207
DePaul 72 148 163 214
Georgetown 51 161 125 236
Connecticut# 50 46 98 71
Providence* 33 171 124 226
*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.
Getting Better and Better
It's scary to see the numbers for Creighton's first 10 matches compared to its last 18 matches. The Bluejay numbers are up across the board on the offensive end.
First 10 Matches vs. Last 18 Matches
When W-L KPS HIT% SAPS DPS BPS
First 10 5-5 12.84 .215 1.63 14.26 2.17
Last 18 18-0 14.50 .338 2.83 12.66 2.17
All They Do Is Win
Creighton has won 18 straight matches, its 13th double-digit win streak in program history and one of the nation's longest active win streaks.
Consecutive Creighton Wins, Program History
Wins Dates Snapped By
25 Sept. 20-Dec. 13, 2024 at #2 Penn State, 3-2
23 Sept. 23-Dec. 9, 2016 at #5 Texas, 3-0
21 Sept. 21 - Nov. 30, 2018 #22 Washington, 3-0
18 Sept. 19, 2025 - Present TBD
17 Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012 at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
17 Sept. 23-Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0
17 Oct. 7-Dec. 2, 2023 vs. #7 Louisville, 3-2
14 Sept. 19-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0
14 Oct. 17-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas, 3-1
12 Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015 at Villanova, 3-2
11 Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014 Seton Hall, 3-0
11 Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017 at Villanova, 3-0
10 Oct. 31-Dec. 5, 2015 vs. #2 USC, 3-1
NCAA's Longest Active Winning Streaks
Wins School Next Match
26 Nebraska 11/20 vs. Iowa
19 Kentucky 11/23 at SEC Tourney
19 Northern Iowa 11/22 at MVC Tourney
18 Creighton 11/22 at Marquette
18 Dayton 11/22 at A-10 Tourney
17 Utah State 11/20 vs. Air Force
There Weren't Many
Georgetown managed just 15 kills in Creighton's 3-0 win over the Hoyas on Nov. 9th. That was tied for the second-fewest by a Bluejay opponent in program history.
Fewest Kills by a Creighton Opponent, Match
14 Villanova 11/21/14
15 Drake 9/22/06
15 Montana State 8/25/07
15 Georgetown 11/09/25
16 Seton Hall 11/19/21
17 Providence 10/19/14
17 South Dakota 12/5/24
17 Providence 9/27/24
What's Your 20?
Creighton has clinched its fifth straight 20-win season.
Including 2025, Creighton has won 20 or more matches in 13 of the last 14 years (CU only played 16 times in the spring of 2021, going 12-4), and has 16 different 20-win campaigns to its ledger all-time.
Brian Rosen is the first volleyball head coach to win 20+ matches in their first year as a head coach at a BIG EAST school since Ryan Theis won 24 matches at Marquette in 2014.
All 16 times that Creighton has won its 19th match, it won its next match as well to reach the 20-victory milestone.
Year MP to 20 W Date of 20th Win
2006 29 11/18
2007 29 11/16
2010 30 11/26
2012 23 10/27
2013 27 11/22
2014 27 11/08
2015 28 11/07
2016 26 11/06
2017 25 11/05
2018 24 10/27
2019 24 11/09
2021 23 10/24
2022 23 10/30
2023 24 11/03
2024 22 11/01
2025 25 11/07
Special Group of Seniors
Creighton recognized Annalea Maeder, Ava Martin, Sky McCune and Kiara Reinhardt after its Nov. 9 win over Georgetown.
Maeder is in her first season at Creighton, but fifth overall in college after four years at Cal. In her lone season with the Bluejays, Maeder has been a seven-time BIG EAST Setter of the Week and leads the league with 10.35 assists per set. Maeder also ranks third in the BIG EAST witih 0.45 aces per set and directs a Bluejay offense that hits a league-best .277.
Martin is the BIG EAST's only player on the AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List, and in position to live up to the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year hype she was annoited by league coaches before the fall. Martin finished in the top 10 in the BIG EAST in league play in points per set (5.16), kills per set (4.52), aces per set (0.50) and hitting percentage (.376). In her career, she's fifth in CU history with 1,520 kills and fourth with 124 aces.
McCune owns 452 career digs and 44 aces as a Bluejay. The Gretna product has appeared in 89 matches as a defensive specialist or libero and had a career-high 22 digs vs. No. 2 Nebraska as a freshman in 2022.
Reinhardt is a sixth-year senior who is on pace to become the winningest player in program history and also set a CU single-season record for hitting percentage. She owns 764 career kills, is fifth in program history with 513 blocks and sixth with a .327 hitting percentage.
Chasing History
Brian Rosen is the first volleyball head coach to go unbeaten in BIG EAST play in their first season as head coach at a school since Pitt's Cindy Alvear went 7-0 in 1993.
Rosen is the first volleyball head coach to win a BIG EAST regular-season title in their first season as head coach at a school since Louisville's Anne Kordes in 2011.
Rosen has already become the first volleyball head coach to win 20+ matches in their first year as a head coach at a BIG EAST school since Ryan Theis won 24 matches at Marquette in 2014.
Rosen is looking to become the first volleyball head coach to win a BIG EAST Tournament title in their first season as head coach at a school since Georgetown's Li Liu in 1999.
Rosen is looking to become the first male head coach to win a BIG EAST Tournament title since Marquette's Bond Shymansky in 2013.
Rosen is looking to become the first volleyball head coach to be named BIG EAST Coach of the Year in his first season as head coach at a school since Villanova's Josh Steinbach in 2007.
Rosen is seeking to become the first volleyball head coach to win an NCAA Touranment match in their first year as a head coach at a BIG EAST school since Louisville's Anne Kordes in 2011. No rookie BIG EAST Volleyball coach has ever won multiple NCAA Tournament matches in the same season.
Coming Up Clutch
Creighton hit .370 in its Nov. 1 win over Marquette, easily its best hitting percentage ever in a five-set match.
CU hit .571 (12-0-21) in the fifth set against the Golden Eagles and .473 in the final two frames (29-3-55) after falling behind 2-1 in the match.
Best Creighton Hitting Percentage, Five Set Match
Pct. Opponent (K-E-TA) Date
.370 Marquette (72-15-154) 11-01-25
.333 at Evansville (69-18-153) 10-04-96
.322 vs. DePaul ((69-21-149) 10-09-15
.308 at Georgetown (67-18-159) 11-18-17
.294 at Bradley (77-22-187) 10-15-04
A Perfect Set
Creighton's offense clicked on all cylinders in the third set of its Oct. 25 win at Connecticut, as the Bluejays were credited with 15 kills on 15 swings to hit a perfect 1,000. That means UConn didn't own a single dig or block during the set.
Jaya Johnson had five kills, Abbey Hayes, Ava Martin and Annalea Maeder each had three kills and Kiara Reinhardt had one kill in the frame.
It's the best hitting percentage in program history that Creighton has hit better than .818 in any set. Per @Evollve on Twitter, Creighton was the nation's first team to hit 1.000 in a set since Florida A&M did against Mississippi Valley State went 10-for-10 in the first set of a 2022 meeting.
Best Creighton Team Hitting Percentage in a Set
% K-E-TA Opponent (Set #) Date
1.000 15-0-15 at Connecticut (3) 10/25/25
.818 18-0-22 at DePaul (1) 10/6/17
.737 14-0-19 at Providence (1) 10/21/23
.722 13-0-18 at Georgetown (5) 11/20/15
.714 10-0-14 vs. Northern Iowa (5) 9/5/14
.714 15-0-21 at DePaul (3) 10/11/19
Setting Them Straight
Creighton's streak of 24 straight set wins was snapped on Nov. 1 by Marquette. The streak was the sixth-longest in program history, all of which have come in the past decade.
Consecutive Sets Won
Set Wins Dates Snapped By
31 Oct. 1 - Nov. 8, 2024 at Marquette
30 Oct. 7 - Nov. 10, 2023 at St. John's
29 Oct. 16-Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette
25 Oct. 22-Nov. 20, 2016 Villanova
25 Oct. 26-Nov. 23, 2018 #16 Marquette
24 Oct. 4, 2025 - Nov. 1, 2025 Marquette
22 Nov. 7-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas
21 Nov. 10 - Dec. 2, 2023 vs. #7 Louisville
19 Oct. 12-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova
18 Nov. 22-Dec. 6, 2024 vs. #13 Texas
16 Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 2025 at DePaul
15 Oct. 7-21, 2016 at Marquette
15 Sept. 28-Oct. 13, 2018 at Villanova
15 Sept. 11-24, 2021 at Butler
League Leaders
Not only did Creighton finish alone atop the BIG EAST standings, but the Bluejays also dominated many of the team and individual statistical categories in league play, as well.
Individually, Kiara Reinhardt led the BIG EAST with a .438 hitting percentage. Annalea Maeder was tops with 10.79 assists per set, Nora Wurtz was first with 0.88 aces per set and Ava Martin was first with 4.52 kills per set and 5.22 points per set.
As a team, Creighton was first in hitting percentage (.349), opponent hitting percentage (.150), assists per set (13.19), kills per set (14.56) and aces per set (2.90).
The .500 Club
Senior Kiara Reinhardt is hitting .431 this fall, a figure that ranks 10th in the nation, and she's hit .500 or better in 12-of-28 matches this fall.
Not only has she hit a robust .369 against Top 25 foes, but she's hitting an insane .456 (175-40-296) against unranked foes.
Reinhardt's Matches Hitting .500+ This Season
Pct. K E TA Opponent CU Result
.833 5 0 6 at Seton Hall W 3-0
.789 15 0 19 vs. San Diego W 3-1
.750 10 1 12 at Villanova W 3-0
.722 14 1 18 at DePaul W 3-1
.700 7 0 10 RIce W 3-0
.667 10 0 15 Seton Hall W 3-0
.636 8 1 11 at Georgetown W 3-0
.571 5 1 7 at St. John's W 3-0
.560 16 2 25 #4 Louisville L 1-3
.529 9 0 17 vs. #5 Texas L 0-3
.526 11 1 19 #1 Nebraska L 2-3
.500 6 1 10 at Marquette W 3-0
Reinhardt's Peers
Kiara Reinhardt's .431 hitting percentage ranks 10th-best nationally, and is on pace to shatter the Creighton single-season record in that category.
2025 NCAA Leaders in Attack Pct. (min. 3.33 attacks per set)
Name, School K E Att. Pct.
1. Haley Yount, Jacksonville 191 31 347 .461
2. Andi Jackson, Nebraska 220 43 384 .461
3. Lucie Blazkova, Washington St. 253 39 469 .456
4. Julieta Sandez, UIC 212 33 405 .442
5. Ifenna Cos-Akpalla, Texas A&M 184 35 338 .441
6. Lizzy Andrew, Stanford 237 40 447 .441
7. Yasmeen Muhammad, LIU 208 35 393 .440
8. Rebekah Allick, Nebraska 191 42 340 .438
9. Mackenzie Parsons, Cornell 232 42 440 .434
10. Kiara Reinhardt, Creighton 234 54 418 .431
Single-Season Creighton Records
Individual Attack Percentage (Min. 200 kills)
Name K E Att. Pct. Year
1. Kiara Reinhardt 234 54 418 .431 2025
2. Kiana Schmitt 307 75 612 .379 2023
3. Elise Goetzinger 266 73 513 .376 2024
4. Kelli Browning 350 87 710 .370 2012
5. Marysa Wilkinson 340 74 720 .369 2017
Creighton Career Records
Individual Attack Percentage (Min. 250 kills)
Name K E Att. Pct. Years
1. Elise Goetzinger 266 73 513 .376 2024
2. Kendra Wait 511 78 1,194 .363 2021-24
3. Kelli Browning 1,104 325 2,327 .335 2011-14
4. Lydia Dimke 297 77 659 .334 2016-17
5. Kiana Schmitt 806 237 1,726 .330 2019-23
6. Kiara Reinhardt 764 229 1,635 .327 2020-Pr.
7. Lauren Smith 1,160 365 2,460 .323 2013-16
8. Marysa Wilkinson 1,183 307 2,771 .316 2014-17
9. Megan Ballenger 965 317 2,176 .298 2016-19
10. Kelly Goc 1,414 414 3,374 .296 2004-07
Ava Elevates Up The Chart
Ava Martin enters this weekend with 1,520 career kills, good for fifth in program history.
Career Kills, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Jaali Winters 494 1,843 2015-18
2. Norah Sis 422 1,664 2021-24
3. Leah Ratzlaff 409 1,622 2002-05
4. Melissa Walsh 394 1,596 1998-01
5. Ava Martin 435 1,520 2022-Pr.
6. Taryn Kloth 462 1,427 2015-18
7. Kelly Goc 394 1,414 2004-07
8. Jessica Houts 451 1,385 2005-09
9. JoDe Cieloha 398 1,375 1994-97
10. Leah McNary 458 1,257 2011-14
The Reveal
The NCAA Volleyball Selection Committee revealed its Top 16 as of Oct. 19th. The in-season reveal offers fans an early look at potential NCAA tournament seedings ahead of Selection Sunday on Nov. 30. Creighton was 10th in that listing.
Last year Creighton was sixth in the early reveal, and would enter the NCAA Tournament sixth as well.
1. Nebraska 9. TCU
2. Texas 10. Creighton
3. Pittsburgh 11. Stanford
4. Kentucky 12. Wisconsin
5. SMU 13. Texas A&M
6. Louisville 14. Indiana
7. Arizona State 15. Penn State
8. Purdue 16. Minnesota
Syd The Kid
Sydney Breissinger first wore the libero jersey this fall in the fourth set against Nebraska on Sept. 16th. She put it back on to begin the Sept. 21 win over No. 17 Kansas, and hasn't relinquished it in 17 matches since. That means Creighton is 52-5 in sets and outscored teams 1,392-986 when she dons the alternate jersey.
When Breissinger was a freshman in 2023, she played libero in the final 13 matches of the season. Creighton went 12-1 in those contests, winning 38-of-42 sets and outscoring teams 1,031-738.
Add it all up and Creighton is 29-2 all-time in matches Breissinger serves as libero at any point, losing only to No. 7 Louisville (2023 Regional Semifinal) and to No. 1 Nebraska (2025). CU has won 90-of-99 sets when she's donned the alternate jersey and outscored foes 2,423-1,724 in points, a whopping 58.4 percent of the points played.
Top 50 Wins
Creighton owns 11 Top 50 victories this season, which is tied for fifth-most in the country.
Most Volleyball Top 50 wins in 2025 (11/9)
Top 50 W's School
17 Nebraska
13 Arizona State, Purdue
12 Wisconsin
11 Creighton, Texas
10 Pittsburgh, Kansas
More Than a Decade of Dominance
Thirteen years in the BIG EAST gives Creighton a pretty good set of data to compare its yearly performance in league matches.
Here's how the 2025 campaign compares to previous seasons:
Creighton's Year-By-Year BIG EAST Stats
Year W-L KPS HIT% SAPS DPS BPS
2013 12-4 13.75 .213 1.00 16.20 3.13
2014# 16-2 14.89 .242 1.30 17.09 2.86
2015# 17-1 15.02 .271 1.33 16.97 2.47
2016# 18-0 15.37 .317 1.69 16.08 2.41
2017# 16-2 14.81 .302 1.31 16.62 2.05
2018# 18-0 14.45 .294 2.13 15.67 2.38
2019# 17-1 14.61 .269 2.07 15.80 2.25
2020# 7-1 12.93 .249 1.30 14.17 2.75
2021# 16-2 13.95 .242 1.82 18.02 2.86
2022# 17-1 14.80 .299 1.85 16.10 2.33
2023# 16-2 14.40 .313 1.89 15.91 2.30
2024# 18-0 14.79 .371 2.32 14.18 2.75
2025 16-0 14.56 .349 2.90 12.42 2.13
#won league's regular-season title
Down The Stretch They Come
Creighton reached the midpoint of league play with an 8-0 record, and finished 16-0. The Bluejays were unbeaten at the halfway mark of league play for the seventh time since 2015 (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025).
The Bluejays have suffered one league loss or fewer in the second half of conference play during each of the last 12 seasons (including 2025).
League Record by Year
Year 1st Half 2nd Half Place
1994 2-8 1-9 T-9th MVC
1995 3-7 3-7 T-7th MVC
1996 2-7 3-6 T-6th MVC
1997 6-3 4-5 T-3rd MVC
1998 2-7 3-6 8th MVC
1999 5-4 4-5 5th MVC
2000 5-4 5-4 T-4th MVC
2001 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2002 1-8 1-8 T-9th MVC
2003 5-4 4-5 T-5th MVC
2004 5-4 5-4 5th MVC
2005 4-5 6-3 5th MVC
2006 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2007 7-2 7-2 T-2nd MVC
2008 7-2 8-1 2nd MVC
2009 4-5 6-3 T-4th MVC
2010 7-2 6-3 3rd MVC
2011 6-3 6-3 4th MVC
2012 8-1 9-0 1st MVC
2013 6-2 6-2 T-2nd BIG EAST
2014 8-1 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2015 9-0 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2016 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2017 8-1 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2018 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2019 9-0 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2020 3-1 4-0 1st BIG EAST (Midwest)
2021 7-2 9-0 T-1st BIG EAST
2022 9-0 8-1 T-1st BIG EAST
2023 7-2 9-0 T-1st BIG EAST
2024 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2025 8-0 8-0 1st BIG EAST
Total 194-89 194-89 --
Reinhardt & Martin Pass Century Mark
Kiara Reinhardt is 119-22 (.844) all-time in matches that she's appeared in. Her 119 victories are tied with Kendra Wait for most in program history, and her winning percentage is fifth-best.
Ava Martin is 110-18 (.859) all-time when appearing in a match, making her tied for fitth in wins and fourth in win percentage.
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
119 Kendra Wait 2021-24
119 Kiara Reinhardt 2020-Pres.
116 Naomi Hickman 2017-21
111 Jaali Winters 2015-18
110 Kiana Schmitt 2019-23
110 Ava Martin 2022-Pres.
109 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
109 Brittany Witt 2016-19
109 Norah Sis 2021-24
107 Megan Ballenger 2016-19
106 Marysa Wilkinson 2014-17
104 Lauren Smith 2013-16
102 Melanie Jereb 2012-15
101 Ashley Jansen 2012-15
98 Jaela Zimmerman 2018-22
Best Win Pct. in Matches Appeared In As A Player (min. 100 wins)
W-L Pct. Name Years
109-14 .886 Norah Sis 2021-24
119-16 .881 Kendra Wait 2021-24
110-16 .873 Kiana Schmitt 2019-23
110-18 .859 Ava Martin 2022-Pres.
119-22 .844 Kiara Reinhardt 2020-Pres.
109-24 .820 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
116-26 .817 Naomi Hickman 2017-21
109-25 .813 Brittany Witt 2016-19
107-25 .811 Megan Ballenger 2016-19
111-28 .799 Jaali Winters 2015-18
106-32 .768 Marysa Wilkinson 2014-17
102-31 .767 Melanie Jereb 2012-15
101-31 .765 Ashley Jansen 2012-15
104-34 .754 Lauren Smith 2013-16
Most Wins, Four-Year Span
W-L Years
119-17 2021-24
111-18 2022-Pres.
111-28 2015-18
109-25 2016-19
107-32 2014-17
104-31 2012-15
104-34 2013-16
99-18 2020-23
97-19 2018-21
95-19 2019-22
Nice Work, Ace
Creighton tied a program-record with 15 service aces on Oct. 4 vs. DePaul, with Ava Martin (6), Alivia Hausmann (3), Jaya Johnson (3), Sydney Breissinger (2) and Annalea Maeder (1) all getting in the act.
It was the fourth time in program history that CU has recorded 15 aces or more, and first time it's done so in a true road match.
Creighton set a school-record with 224 aces in 35 matches last season (6.40 per match) and averaged a league-record 2.32 aces per set in league play. This year's team has a school-record 226 aces in 28 matches (8.07 per match) and averaged 2.90 aces per set in league action.
Creighton's 2.35 aces per set leads the nation.
Most Creighton Service Aces, Match
15 vs. Northeastern Illinois (3s) 09-23-95
15 vs. UMKC (4s) 11-12-95
15 vs. Seton Hall (3s) 11-15-24
15 at DePaul (4s) 10-04-25
14 at UMKC (4s) 10-30-94
14 vs. UNC-Greensboro (4s) 09-02-00
14 vs. Butler (3s) 10-20-18
14 vs. DePaul (4s) 11-24-19
14 vs. UMKC (5s) 09-28-04
14 at Seton Hall (3s) 11-15-25
A Smashing Success
Kiara Reinhardt had 14 kills and one error in 18 swings on Oct. 4 at DePaul, the second-best mark in program history for a four-set match.
The only performance that's been better was Reinhardt's .789 hitting (15-0-19) vs. San Diego earlier this year on Sept. 5, 2025.
Best Hitting Percentage, Four Sets (min. 12 kills)
.789 Kiara Reinhardt (15-0-19) vs. San Diego 09-05-25
.722 Kiara Reinhardt (14-1-18) at DePaul 10-04-25
.684 Kelli Browning (14-1-19) vs. Southern Illinois 10-27-12
.640 Naomi Hickman (17-1-25) vs. Kentucky 09-06-19
.636 Megan Bober (14-0-22) vs. Bradley 10-06-12
.625 Kelly Goc (26-1-40) vs. Drake 11-16-07
.615 Alicia Runge (17-1-26) vs. Bradley 09-25-10
.600 Kelli Browning (16-1-25) vs. Wisconsin 08-25-12
Jaya Does It All
Since moving into a role that has her playing all six rotations on Sept. 20 vs. South Florida, sophomore Jaya Johnson has played like a star.
Johnson has averaged 2.59 kills, 1.36 digs, 0.79 blocks and 0.10 aces per set while hitting .298. Creighton is 18-0 in that time, dropping just four sets.
Before the move, Johnson averaged 1.84 kills, 0.74 digs, 0.92 blocks and 0.00 aces per set while hitting .191. Creighton was 5-5 in those matches (18-18 in sets), though six of them came against top-25 foes.
Johnson is the only player in the BIG EAST (min. 50% of sets played) to average at least 0.80 blocks and 0.80 digs per set this season.
RPI Update
The seventh NCAA Volleyball RPI of the fall was released on November 17th and Creighton came in at No. 6, a season-best mark that is easily the best rank in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays are one of five BIG EAST teams in the top 67, joining Xavier (28), Villanova (36), Marquette (33) and Connecticut (67).
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning percentage better than .800 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 223 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 38 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 23-1 - 23-1
Connecticut 5-1 1-0 6-1
DePaul 26-0 3-0 29-0
Georgetown 24-0 - 24-0
Marquette 21-5 7-1 28-6
Providence 18-0 - 18-0
Seton Hall 21-3 2-0 23-3
St. John's 22-2 1-1 23-3
Villanova 21-3 3-0 24-3
Xavier 23-1 4-0 27-1
TOTAL 204-16 21-2 225-18
Putting The 0 In October And November
Creighton is 89-6 in the 10th month of the year since Oct. 1, 2016, including 23 straight wins, and victories in 37 of its past 38 such matches.
Creighton's been awfully good in the month of November too. Since Nov. 1, 2014, CU is 77-4 in the 11th month of the year with 26 straight victories.
Creighton has won 45 straight October home matches (since 10/15/11) and 48 consecutive home matches in November (since 11/23/14). Incredibly, Creighton is 141-13 in sets in those home November contests.
Streaking In League Play
Add in conference tournament play and Creighton has won 51 straight matches against BIG EAST teams since October 7, 2023, dropping just eight sets to league opponents.
The only team with a longer active win streak against league competition is Northern Iowa (56 through Nov. 21).
Best Starts With A New Coach
Brian Rosen is the first coach since Creighton brought back volleyball in 1994 to win at least 23 of his first 28 matches.
Rosen is 23-5, well ahead of Howard Wallace (14-14), Kirsten Bernthal Booth (11-17) and Ben Guiliano (6-22).
Rosen is also the only coach in program history to win his or her first four (or more) conference matches. He's currently 16-0.
Pink Out Raises $21,496.50
The Creighton Volleyball team hosted its 18th Annual Pink Out match on Oct. 19, using the competition as an opportunity to benefit the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge Nebraska.
Last year's Pink Out Jersey auction raised $9,106.23, plus an additional $10,017 on matchday via donations. This year's auction brought in $10,239.50, as well as $11,257 in donations.
The winning bidders get the opportunity to honor a friend or family member who has battled cancer or is currently battling cancer. The warm-up shirt to be worn could be personalized by the winning bidder.
Shortly after the match, the family members of the winning bidders had the opportunity to meet the student-athletes of the jersey they bid on.
The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Nebraska provides a free home away from home for cancer patients and their caregivers who must travel to Omaha to receive their lifesaving treatment.
Below is the final numbers for each jersey/item in the auction this year.
#1 $405 #2 $910 #3 $405
#5 $355 #6 $525 #7 $570
#8 $1,167 #9 $350 #10 $365
#11 $405 #12 $200 #13 $365
#17 $395 #18 $345 #19 $710
#22 $455 #24 $800
Courtside Seats $237.50 Autographed Balls $435, $840
Sokol Milestone Unlocked
Creighton owns a 207-34 record (.859) all-time inside D.J. Sokol Arena, as CU picked up its 200th home win in the facility on Sept. 26.
Creighton started 50-17 (.746) in the facility, which means it is 157-17 (.902) since then in its on-campus home.
Milestone Wins at D.J. Sokol Arena
W-L Opponent Date
1-0 Texas Tech (W 3-0) 8/28/09
50-17 Villanova (W 3-0) 11/24/13
100-25 DePaul (W 3-0) 11/5/17
150-31 #25 USC (W 3-1) 9/2/22
200-34 Xavier (W 3-0) 9/26/25
Home Sweet Home
Creighton is in its 13th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
Since then, the Bluejays are 120-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (109-3 in the regular-season, 11-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since the start of the 2015 season, Creighton is 104-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 94-1 mark in league play and a 10-0 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 2022, fourth-year Bluejay seniors Ava Martin and Sky McCune went 40-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 120-10 in sets.
Creighton has won 54 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.
Since the start of the 2023 season, Creighton has won 84-of-88 sets at home against BIG EAST teams, dropping only the third set on Oct. 1, 2024 to Marquette, the second and third sets to Marquette on Nov. 1, 2025, and the second set to Villanova on Nov. 7, 2025.
League Opener Histories
Creighton's 3-0 win vs. Xavier on Sept. 26 improved the Jays to 24-8 all-time in conference openers, and 1-0 under Brian Rosen. That includes an 12-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, with 12 straight wins.
Including 2025, each of the last 13 times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 211-13 (including 2025) in regular-season league action. Creighton also won 11 conference tournament titles during those years (entering 2025), going 22-1 at the league tournament in those seasons.
In the 23 seasons (including 2025) that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .798 (340-86) winning percentage (including 2025) in league matches.
In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Bluejays have had a losing record on five occasions and owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
In conference home openers, Creighton is 27-5 overall with 15 straight wins.
In league road openers, Creighton is 23-9 overall with 12 straight wins after this year's 3-0 win at Marquette.
The last team to win a BIG EAST regular-season or tournament title without winning its regular-season opener in conference play was Cincinnati in the fall of 2008, which will continue beyond 2025.
Wurtz On A Run
Standing at 6-foot-4, Nora Wurtz isn't your typical serving specialist, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been a tremendous weapon behind the service line.
Wurtz recently had a streak of 11 straight matches with an ace, tied for the ffith-longest streak in program history. Wurtz's streak tied Julianne Mandolfo's 11 straight matches with an ace in 2010 for the longest ever by a Bluejay freshman.
Teammate Annalea Maeder also had an 11-match streak with an ace that ended in November.
Consecutive Matches With An Ace
15 Amanda Cvejdlik, Sept. 29-Nov. 18, 2006
12 Madelyn Cole - Oct. 27, 2018-Aug. 30, 2019
12 Madelyn Cole, Sept. 14-Oct. 25, 2019
12 Ellie Bolton, Aug. 26-Sept. 23, 2023
11 Kim Whitman, Sept. 5-Oct. 4, 1998
11 Molly Moran, Oct. 7-Nov. 10, 2000
11 Julianne Mandolfo, Oct. 2-Nov. 13, 2010
11 Nora Wurtz, Sept. 5-27, 2025
11 Annalea Maeder, Sept. 27 - Nov. 3, 2025
9 Melissa Weisensee, Sept. 1-20, 1995
9 Madelyn Cole, Aug. 31 - Sept. 21, 2018
9 Norah Sis, Sept. 17-Oct. 14, 2022
Don't Fret
The combination of losing four All-Americans off a 32-3 team, plus a grueling schedule featuring seven top-25 opponents in its 12 non-conference matches, helped Creighton start "just" 7-5 through 12 matches.
Each of the two previous times that Creighton has lost at least five of its first 12 matches, the Bluejays rebounded quite nicely.
In 2016 Creighton ended non-conference play with a 6-6 mark. That squad rebounded to win its next 23 matches and finished 29-7, reaching the Elite Eight for the first time.
The year before in 2015 Creighton finished the non-conference slate 5-7. That team won 22 of its next 23 matches, including a 17-1 mark in BIG EAST play, and qualified for the program's first Sweet 16 berth.
Attendance Update
Creighton ranks ninth nationally in total home attendance (47,635) and 14th in average fans per home match (3,402).
Creighton has led the BIG EAST in average home attendance in all but one non-COVID year since joining the league.
Creighton's 47,635 home fans this fall are a program record.
The 3,402 fans per home match so far put CU on pace to shatter a program record.
Most Home Fans, Season
Rk. Fans Dates Year
1. 47,635 14 2025
2. 47,632 17 2018
3. 44,518 19 2024
4. 41,805 17 2022
5. 30,211 14 2021
Highest Home Attendance Average, Season
Average Rk. Fans Dates Year
1. 3,402 47,635 14 2025
2. 2,802 47,632 17 2018
3. 2,459 41,805 17 2022
4. 2,343 44,518 19 2024
5. 2,161 28,089 13 2023
Overwhelming The Unranked
Creighton is 21-0 this season against unranked teams, and the serve and pass game has been a major reason why.
In those 21 matches (70 sets), CU has served 193 aces (2.76 saps.) compared to 179 service errors. Its opponents have just 51 aces (0.73 saps.) but made 150 serving miscues.
Report Card
Creighton is 204-16 all-time in regular-season BIG EAST matches.
Here's a report card of how CU has done in 50 match segments in the BIG EAST, which includes a 165-9 mark (.948) in its last 174 matches.
Matches W-L
1-50 43-7
51-100 48-2
101-150 46-4
151-200 47-3
201-220 20-0
Watch This!
Eleven of Creighton's 28 matches this fall have aired on television (four on FS1, three on BTN, three on Nebraska Public Media, one on SNY).
Creighton has also won 54 straight non-televised matches, since an Oct. 6, 2023 loss at Marquette.
Historically Speaking
Here's a look at the top indoor volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history after Creighton smashed a record on Sept. 16th at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Top Reg.-Season Indoor Volleyball-Only Crowds in NCAA History
Att. Opponent Date Site
17,675 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/16/25 Omaha, NE
17,037 Wisconsin def. Marquette, 3-1 9/13/23 Milwaukee, WI
16,833 Florida def. Wisconsin, 3-2 9/16/22 Madison, WI
15,797 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/7/22 Omaha, NE
15,734 Florida vs. Pittsburgh, 3-2 8/24/25 Lincoln, NE
15,734 Nebraska def. Stanford, 3-0
15,576 Nebraska def. Pittsburgh, 3-1 8/22/25 Lincoln, NE
15,576 Stanford vs. Florida, 3-1
15,084 Wisconsin def. Marquette, 3-1 9/17/24 Madison, WI
14,876 Wisconsin def. Purdue, 3-0 10/26/24 West Lafayette, IN
14,876 Purdue def. Indiana, 3-0 10/19/24 West Lafayette, IN
14,126 Nebraska def. Louisville, 3-0 9/22/24 Louisville, KY
14,035 Texas def. Wisconsin, 3-1 9/1/24 Milwaukee, WI
14,035 Stanford def. Minnesota, 3-2
14,022 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/6/18 Omaha, NE
13,870 UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-2 9/13/09 Lincoln, NE
13,412 Nebraska def. LSU, 3-0 9/12/08 Lincoln, NE
13,396 Nebraska def. Hawai'i, 3-0 10/21/07 Lincoln, NE
13,081 Cal Poly def. Creighton, 3-0 9/2/07 Omaha, NE
Nebraska def. Penn State, 3-0
13,071 Nebraska def. Maryland, 3-1 11/30/24 College Park, MD
12,760 Louisville def. Kentucky, 3-0 9/13/23 Louisville, KY
12,707 Nebraska def. Michigan, 3-0 10/19/25 Ann Arbor, MI
12,510 Pittsburgh def. Louisville, 3-1 11/27/24 Louisville, KY
12,504 Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0 11/4/00 Lincoln, NE
12,277 Wisconsin def. Florida, 3-1 9/21/25 Madison, WI
12,112 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-1 9/24/06 Omaha, NE
Largest Crowds To See The Jays
Sept. 16th marked the fourth time in eight matches at CHI Health Center Omaha that Creighton broke an all-time NCAA attendance record.
In 2007 CU played in front of 13,081 in a match against Cal Poly that was part of a doubleheader. In 2018 CU met Nebraska before 14,022 fans. In 2022, CU welcomed 15,797 fans against Nebraska. And on Sept. 16 the crowd was 17,675.
Below is a list of the largest crowds (and home crowds) in Creighton Volleyball history, which includes four crowds of 10,000 or more this fall.
Creighton's Largest Home Crowds All-Time
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
17,675 #1 Nebraska 09/16/25 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
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.
2,665 Ole Miss 12/06/24 W 3-0 Sokol
2,658 #4 Louisville 09/12/25 L 1-3 Sokol
2,653 Auburn 12/02/22 L 2-3 Sokol
Creighton Volleyball's Largest Crowds (All Sites)
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
17,675 #1 Nebraska 09/16/25 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
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.
11,678 vs. #14 Kansas 08/31/25 W 3-2 Kohl Center
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,438 vs. #2 Penn St. 08/23/25 L 0-3 Pinn Bank Arena
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,072 vs. #5 Texas 08/29/25 L 0-3 Kohl Center
8,924 at #5 Nebraska 09/06/23 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,656 at #4 Nebraska 09/10/24 L 2-3 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. 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.
The Friendly Confines
Creighton had its first unbeaten home season in program history in 2023, going a perfect 13-0 in matches and 39-3 in sets.
Last year CU did even better, going 19-0 and losing just two sets at home.
Though its 32-match win streak was snapped on Sept. 12 against No. 4 Louisville, that still means the Bluejays are 44-1 in its last 45 contests at D.J. Sokol Arena.
All told, Creighton has won 126 of its last 134 home sets at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
32 Sept. 1, 2023 - Dec. 6, 2024 #4 Louisville, 3-1
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
Creighton Introduces New Taraflex Court
Creighton Volleyball introduced a new Taraflex® court at its 2025 regular-season home debut on Sept. 12 against Louisville.
The court was designed by GLGR out of Portland, Ore., in working with Specialty Floors out of Parkville, Mo., representatives of Taraflex Sports.
The new court features a royal blue outline with a feather pattern similar to what is on the Creighton men's basketball court that was unveiled last October at CHI Health Center Omaha. More than 6/10ths of a mile of stencils were used to create the blue feather border that features more than a dozen "Easter eggs" hidden throughout.
The words Creighton and Bluejays flank the end lines in white lettering. The East sideline features the words D.J. Sokol Arena on one side of the court and a BIG EAST Conference logo on the other, both shaded in light blue. The Northeast side of the court, where the team runs in and out when returning to or from the locker room, features the words "Fly Together", while Creighton's popular C-Bird logo adorns the Northwest and Southeast corners of the court
The West sideline features 14 smaller Bluejay bird outlines, seven on each side of the court. Inside those logo decals are years to designate NCAA Tournament appearances, with different colors used to highlight the program's previous trips to the first weekend, Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. Room to add future postseason appearances is available, if necessary.
The middle of the court features a gray outline of a Bluejay bird head. The hue of the two-tone court helps put the focus on the action and will make the players in uniform stand out, in addition to making it easier for officials to discern in/out calls along the sidelines. The matte finish on the court adds to the sharpness.
The perimeter of the court features no less than 14 hidden messages within the design, ranging from Heritage logos to honor Creighton's history, a map of the state of Nebraska, the year Creighton University was founded (1878), the year the Creighton Volleyball program was restarted (1994), and donor acknowledgements.
The court is a FIVB-certified playing surface and is up to the same high standards that it used in international competitions such as the Olympics. The design process for one of the most unique and complex designed courts in the world began in January, with the full painting process taking a little over a month in application and curing.
Against Ranked Foes
After a total of three top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton has earned at least one top-25 win each of the last 11 seasons (2015-25).
Creighton is 32-94 all-time against ranked teams, with 30 wins coming under Kirsten Bernthal Booth and two under Brian Rosen.
The highest ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten at any site were No. 3 Washington (8/26/17 in Seattle) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/21 in Lexington). CU's highest-ranked opponent it has defeated at home was a 3-1 win over then-No. 9 Marquette on Nov. 22, 2019.
This year is the ninth season that CU owned multiple Top-25 victories. The Jays beat three Top 25 teams in 2017, 2022 and 2023, and a record four in 2018, 2019 and 2024.
Top 25 Sweeps
Creighton owns 32 top 25 victories in its history, but its Sept. 21 sweep of Kansas was just its ninth sweep of a ranked foe.
Three of those wins have come against Kansas, another three against Kentucky, two vs. Marquette and one at Purdue.
Creighton's 3-0 Wins vs. Top 25 Teams
Opponent Date
vs. #10 Kentucky 09/05/15
#13 Kentucky 09/01/17
at #7 Kansas 09/09/17
#21 Marquette 09/23/18
at #3 Kentucky 09/04/21
at #16 Purdue 08/26/23
#25 Marquette 11/05/23
at #10 Kansas 09/21/24
#17 Kansas 09/21/25
Top 25 History
Creighton is 256-53 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 27-33 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That mark is 4-4 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
Since the start of the 2012 season, 48 of Creighton's 82 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 335-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 133 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 196 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 27-33)
Home: 11-11 Away: 8-13 Neutral: 8-9
Date Winner Loser CU Score
11/19/12 #11 Minnesota #21 Creighton 1-3
08/30/13 #25 Creighton #13 BYU 3-1
09/14/13 #11 UCLA #24 Creighton 1-3
09/16/13 #7 Hawaii #23 Creighton 2-3
08/30/14 #22 Kansas #23 Creighton 1-3
09/03/16 #23 Kentucky #22 Creighton 0-3
12/02/16 #21 Creighton #4 Kansas 3-2
12/09/16 #21 Creighton #17 Michigan 3-2
12/10/16 #5 Texas #21 Creighton 0-3
08/26/17 #9 Creighton #3 Washington 3-1
09/01/17 #7 Creighton #13 Kentucky 3-0
09/02/17 #18 USC #7 Creighton 0-3
09/08/17 #17 Purdue #9 Creighton 1-3
09/09/17 #9 Creighton #7 Kansas 3-0
09/16/17 #19 Iowa State #8 Creighton 2-3
12/12/17 #12 Michigan St. #15 Creighton 1-3
08/24/18 #13 Creighton #5 Kentucky 3-2
08/25/18 #10 USC #13 Creighton 2-3
09/06/18 #7 Nebraska #14 Creighton 2-3
09/15/18 #8 Illinois #10 Creighton 1-3
09/23/18 #10 Creighton #21 Marquette 3-0
10/26/18 #10 Creighton #18 Marquette 3-1
11/24/18 #9 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-1
12/01/18 #22 Washington #9 Creighton 0-3
08/30/19 #2 Nebraska #18 Creighton 1-3
08/31/19 #20 Baylor #18 Creighton 0-3
09/06/19 #23 Creighton #12 Kentucky 3-1
09/07/19 #23 Creighton #15 USC 3-1
09/14/19 #12 Washington #17 Creighton 1-3
10/12/19 #13 Creighton #10 Marquette 3-2
11/22/19 #12 Creighton #9 Marquette 3-1
12/07/19 #7 Minnesota #15 Creighton 2-3
02/05/21 #19 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-2
02/06/21 #25 Marquette #19 Creighton 0-3
09/08/21 #3 Nebraska #19 Creighton 0-3
09/02/22 #17 Creighton #25 USC 3-1
09/03/22 #16 Kentucky #17 Creighton 1-3
09/07/22 #2 Nebraska #17 Creighton 2-3
10/14/22 #21 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-2
11/19/22 #16 Marquette #11 Creighton 0-3
11/26/22 #15 Creighton #14 Marquette 3-2
08/26/23 #18 Creighton #16 Purdue 3-0
09/06/23 #4 Nebraska #16 Creighton 1-3
09/16/23 #14 Creighton #9 Minnesota 3-2
11/05/23 #17 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-0
12/07/23 #7 Louisville #17 Creighton 2-3
09/05/24 #11 Creighton #20 USC 3-1
09/10/24 #5 Nebraska #9 Creighton 2-3
09/15/24 #4 Louisville #9 Creighton 2-3
09/20/24 #9 Creighton #6 Purdue 3-1
09/21/24 #9 Creighton #10 Kansas 3-0
12/13/24 #6 Creighton #13 Texas 3-1
12/15/24 #2 Penn State #6 Creighton 2-3
08/23/25 #2 Penn State #12 Creighton 0-3
08/29/25 #5 Texas #12 Creighton 0-3
08/31/25 #12 Creighton #14 Kansas 3-2
09/07/25 #22 USC #13 Creighton 0-3
09/12/25 #4 Louisville #18 Creighton 1-3
09/16/25 #1 Nebraska #18 Creighton 2-3
09/21/25 #18 Creighton #17 Kansas 3-0
The Defense Never Rests
Creighton has led the country in opponents hitting percentage in two of the last four seasons, doing so in both 2021 (.124) and 2024 (.130).
Creighton is holding foes to .174 this year, a figure that plummets to .151 in league action.
High FIve
Brian Rosen is Creighton's first volleyball coach since the program's 1994 reinstatement to pick up his first victory in a five set match, as Ben Guiliano, Howard Wallace and Kirsten Bernthal Booth's first wins all came in 3-0 sweeps.
Record in 5-Set Matches
Coach Years Set 5 W-L
Ben Guiliano 1994-1996 2-10
Howard Wallace 1997-2002 13-18
Kirsten Bernthal Booth 2003-2024 70-42
Brian Rosen 2025-Pres. 3-1
Twice For Breissinger
Junior defensive specialist Sydney Breissinger helped Creighton erase a 3-0 deficit in the fifth set on Aug. 31 vs. Kansas, serving up a 9-0 run that helped the Bluejays take the lead for good. She also served a 9-0 run in the fourth set vs. San Diego on Sept. 5.
Breissinger's heroics were eerily similar to the 9-0 serving run she had in the fifth set on Sept. 16, 2023 in a win over No. 9 Minnesota. That win over the Gophers had been CU's last previous five-set win.
Since enrolling at Creighton in 2023, Breissinger owns 50 service runs of five or longer, 20 more than the next-closest Bluejay (Norah Sis, who graduated in 2024). Next-most among her active teammates is the 23 by Ava Martin.
152 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked 12th in the Nov. 17th edition of the AVCA poll, the 152nd time in program history it's been ranked. That's 37th-most of all programs in NCAA history.
All 152 rankings have occurred since 2012.
The Bluejays are one of 11 schools (along with Baylor, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 75 polls.
Creighton's 75 weeks in a row being ranked dates began on Sept. 6, 2021 and sets a program-record, breaking the previous-high of 64 from Oct. 31, 2016 to March 15, 2021.
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 12th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 7th. It was the 11th time in the past 13 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason, and fourth year in a row.
The No. 12 slotting tied last year's team for the second-best preseason ranking in program history, trailing only the 2017 team that was ranked ninth.
Over the previous 17 seasons, 315-of-425 teams (74.1 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and in the 17 seasons from 2008-2024, 385-of-425 teams (90.6 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament, as all but preseason No. 19 Arkansas and No. 25 Georgia reached the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
This year marks the 14th 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 32-3 5th
2025 12th TBD TBD
Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-19 letterwinners to the court from last season, including three starters.
From last year's team, Norah Sis, Elise Goetzinger, Kendra Wait, Abbey Milner, Maddy Bilinovic, Audrey Clark, Katie Maser and Emma Ziegler are not back.
All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 294.5 of a possible 700% back (42.1 percent), the smallest amount returning since it headed into Howard Wallace's final season in 2002.
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 119 (7.6%) 1,450 (92.4%)
Aces 115 (51.3%) 109 (48.7%)
Digs 598 (35.7%) 1,076 (64.3%)
Points 1,115.5 (50.2%) 1,107.0 (49.8%)
Kills 843 (50.1%) 841 (49.9%)
Matches Started 104 (49.5%) 106 (50.5%)
Blocks 157.5 (50.1%) 157.0 (49.9%)
One Tough Schedule
Of Creighton's 12 non-conference matches, seven were against ranked teams and three others against programs that received votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll.
Creighton is the only team in the preseason Top 25 with 10 or more non-conference matches against teams getting votes, as Texas and TCU are next-closest with eight each.
No Losers Here
Creighton has been as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.
Creighton and Pittsburgh are the nation's only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 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, 2023 and 2024 seasons are also Creighton and Pittsburgh.
Creighton is also the only school nationally who have won 25 matches or more in every season between 2014-24 (not counting the 2020 COVID-19 year, when CU only played 16 times).
13 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 13 seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make 13 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make even 10 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 13 NCAA Tournaments (2012-24). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.
Survival of the Fittest
Since the move to rally scoring in 2001, Creighton has won 10 matches when surviving a match point and lost four contests when holding a match point of its own.
Surviving Match Points Since 2001
Date Opponent MP(s) Faced Final Set 5
09/27/02 Evansville 13-14, 14-15 19-17
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
Tournament Tested
Creighton has played multiple matches in 29 tournaments since the start of the 2021 calendar year, and won 19 of them.
Keep in mind that when Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton had been 17-33 in 15 regular-season tournaments all-time, with just one tournament title (the 2000 Iowa State Heritage Classic).
CU's Multi-Match Tournaments Since Jan. 1, 2021
Year Event CU Record (Place)
2021 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2021 Mizzou Invitational 3-0 (1st)
2021 Bluegrass Battle 3-0 (1st)
2021 Bluejay Invitational 3-0 (1st)
2021 Shocker Volleyball Classic 3-0 (1st)
2021 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2021 NCAA Tournament 1-1 (T-17th)
2022 Rumble in the Rockies 3-0 (1st)
2022 Bluejay Invitational 2-1 (2nd)
2022 Omaha Invitational 2-0 (1st)
2022 Rice adidas Invitational 1-1 (2nd)
2022 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2023 Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier 2-1 (1st)
2023 Bluejay Invitational 3-0 (1st)
2023 MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge 2-0 (1st)
2023 Diet Coke Challenge 2-0 (1st)
2023 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2023 NCAA Tournament 2-1 (T-9th)
2024 Bluejay Invitational 3-0 (1st)
2024 Creighton Classic 2-0 (1st)
2024 Cardinal Classic 2-1 (2nd)
2024 Jayhawk Classic 2-0 (1st)
2024 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2024 NCAA Tournament 3-1 (T-5th)
2025 Opening Spike Classic 1-1 (T-2nd)
2025 Trojan Invitational 2-1 (2nd)
2025 Bluejay Invitational 2-1 (2nd)
2025 Creighton Classic 2-0 (1st)
Jays Earn Tourney Titles
Creighton has won at least one tournament each of the last 14 seasons, a streak that dates to 2012.
During that span, the Bluejays have won 36 tournament titles, not to mention 12 regular-season league crowns.
Creighton has also now won at least one home tournament each of the last nine seasons.
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 4 CU, CU, KU, BIG EAST
2025 1 CU
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 438-11 (.976) all-time when leading a match 2-0, and 161-1 (.994) 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.
Creighton has won 125 matches in a row when taking a 2-0 lead.
Conversely, the Jays are 17-211 (.075) all-time when trailing a match 0-2. 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 has gone 183-6 in its last 189 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 18-26 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 215-4 (.982) in its last 219 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening 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 179-6 in its last 185 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only to Pacific (Sept. 12, 2015), No. 7 Nebraska (Sept. 6, 2018), South Dakota (Jan. 29, 2021), No. 16 Kentucky (Sept. 3, 2022), Auburn (Dec. 2, 2022) and No. 4 Louisville (Sept. 12, 2025).
The Jays have won their last 43 of their last 44 home matches following a first set victory.
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
This year's team will play 10 matches against teams that made the 2024 NCAA Tournament with contests against Marquette (2x), Nebraska, Kansas (2x), Louisville, Northern Iowa, USC, Texas and Penn State.
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 9-3
2025 5-5 so far
TOTAL 121-150
TOTAL Before Booth 3-35
TOTAL Under Booth 113-110
TOTAL Under Rosen 5-5
Match #29: #12 Creighton at Marquette • Milwaukee, Wis. • Saturday, Nov. 22 • 12:00 p.m.
| LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | MU NOTES |
Next Up
No. 12 Creighton Volleyball heads to Milwaukee, Wis., this weekend to compete in the BIG EAST Championship Presented by JEEP.
The Bluejays (23-5, 16-0 BIG EAST) quest for a sixth straight Tournament title opens on Saturday, Nov. 22, with a 12 p.m. match against fourth-seeded and tournament host Marquette (17-9, 11-5 BIG EAST).
The second semifinal pits second-seeded Xavier (25-3, 14-2 BIG EAST) against third-seeded Villanova (20-7, 11-5 BIG EAST) at 2:30 p.m.
Sunday's title match will start at 2 p.m.
All the action will be hosted inside Al McGuire Center on the Marquette campus.
Broadcast Information
Saturday's semifinals will be video webcast on ESPN+ at http://watchESPN.com. A subscription is required to view the match. Bob Brainerd and Michelle Wenzel will call the action.
Live Stats Information
All BIG EAST Tournament matches will have live stats at http://Marquette.StatBroadcast.com.
Scouting #12 Creighton
Creighton enters the BIG EAST Tournament with a 23-5 record thanks to 18 straight victories. The Bluejays went 16-0 in BIG EAST play, dropping just four sets in league action, en route to a 12th consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title.
Seniors Ava Martin (4.28 kps., 0.45 saps., .318%), Kiara Reinhardt (2.49 kps., .431%, 1.00 bps.) and Annalea Maeder (10.39 aps., 0.45 saps.) are playing at an All-American level to lead the Bluejays.
Saige Damrow (2.74 dps.) and Sydney Breissinger (2.79 dps., 0.40 saps.) have both seen time at libero and along with Nora Wurtz (0.68 saps.) have helped the Bluejays take over the NCAA lead with 2.35 aces per set as a team.
CU averages 13.84 kills, 13.29 digs and 2.17 blocks per set while hitting .287.
Scouting Marquette
Marquette is 17-9 on the season and finished 11-5 in league play after winning its final four matches to tie for third in the BIG EAST standings. MU is 10-5 at home, and 1-3 against Top 25 foes.
The Golden Eagles own impressive 3-0 sweeps over Western Kentucky and Florida, but are 2-5 in five-set matches.
Natalie Ring (4.53 kps., .269%) leads the BIG EAST in kills per set and owns 34.6 percent of MU's kills, far ahead of Hattie Bray (2.69 kps., 1.22 bps.) and Elena Radeff (1.94 kps.). Ring has 10 or more kills in every match this fall.
Isabela Haggard (9.15 aps.) leads the Golden Eagles in assists per set, and Adriana Studer (3.74 dps.) tops the club in digs.
As a team, Marquette averages 13.06 kills, 13.09 digs, 2.36 blocks and 1.55 aces per set while hitting .250 as a team.
Series History vs. Marquette
Creighton is 31-7 all-time against Marquette, and are 27-4 since the start of the 2014 season against MU. Creighton is also 7-1 all-time against Marquette at the BIG EAST Tournament, including seven consecutive tournament victories in the past decade.
Creighton is 31-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles when winning at least one set, including the last 27 such matches since a setback in the 2013 BIG EAST Tournament final. Creighton has also won all eight match-ups to go five sets.
Brian Rosen is 2-0 against both Marquette, and Tom Mendoza. Mendoza is 0-2 against Creighton.
This Year vs. Marquette
Creighton swept the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee on Oct. 2nd (25-16, 25-19, 25-18), as Ava Martin had 20 kills on .514 hitting to lead a Bluejay attack that hit .410 as a team.
Creighton won the rematch in Omaha on Nov. 1 in five sets (25-11, 20-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-10) as Martin tied a D.J. Sokol Arena record with 30 kills and Annalea Maeder owned a season-high 59 assists. Creighton had 72 kills in 154 swings, and its .370 hitting percentage was its best mark ever in a five-set match.
In the two meetings vs. Marquette this year, Martin has averaged 6.25 kills per set while hitting .484, and Jaya Johnson has contributed 2.75 kills per set on .422 htting.
Creighton Coaches
Brian Rosen was named the fourth head coach in modern Creighton Volleyball history on April 6, 2025, as he was promoted following the departure of 22-year head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. He is 23-5 as Creighton head coach, defeating No. 14 Kansas on Aug. 31 for his first win on the Bluejay sideline, and becoming the BIG EAST's first rookie head coach since 2014 to win 20+ matches in his first year in the league.
Named the 2024 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year, Rosen served as a Creighton assistant from 2022-24, during which time CU went 88-13, swept the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament tiles each fall, and defeated 10 Top 25 opponents.
The 2008 South Carolina grad went 45-17 as head coach at Division II Nova Southeastern from 2019-21, though the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19 without playing a match.
Rosen is assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Adam Kessenich and Izzy Ashburn.
With A Win...
With a win on Friday at Marquette, Creighton would...
- Win its 54th in a row against BIG EAST teams.
- Win its 66th straight match against an unranked team.
- Win its 55th straight non-televised match.
- Improve to 226-18 against BIG EAST opponents since joining the league in 2013.
- Stretch its season-high win streak to 19, the fourth-longest win streak in program history.
- Extend its November win streak to 26.
- Creighton will tie a program with its ninth straight true road win.
- Advance to its 13th conference tournament title match in the past 14 seasons, a stretch that started with the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament final.
- Creighton will improve to 32-7 all-time against Marquette with its seventh straight win over the Golden Eagles.
- Beat Marquette for a 32nd time, more than any other opponent in program history.
- Go 3-0 against Marquette in the same season for the fifth time (2015, 2018, 2021, 2024, 2025).
- Creighton would move to 12-4 all-time in road matches at Marquette, and 3-0 in the BIG EAST Tournament.
- Creighton would eliminate Marquette from the BIG EAST Tournament for the eighth time in the past 11 seasons.
- Creighton would improve to 22-2 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship, and 12-1 all-time in the semifinals.
- Improve to 19-1 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament play as the No. 1 seed, and 21-1 in all conference tournaments as a No. 1 seed.
- Creighton would improve to 17-0 this season against teams from the BIG EAST.
- Assuming she plays, Kiara Reinhardt would set a school record by playing in her 120th career victory, as well as in her ninth career BIG EAST Tournament triumph.
Milestone Watch
Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones heading into the week...
- Kiara Reinhardt is one win shy of playing in her 120th career victory, as well as in her ninth career BIG EAST Tournament triumph. Both would break school records.
- Ava Martin owns 124 career aces, one behind Melissa Weisensee for third place in CU history.
- Eloise Brandewie owns 294 career blocks and is six shy of 300. She's also nine kills shy of 450.
- Nora Wurtz owns 54 aces. She can pass Ava Martin (56 in 2024) and Molly Moran (59 in 2000) to set the CU single-season record.
- Destiny Ndam-Simpson is one kill shy of 250.
12 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Creighton (2014-25) is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 12 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 more than five straight league titles, more than doubling the previous high of five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96) in the MVC.
The only other volleyball team nationally with an active streak of more than six straight regular-season league titles is Kentucky, which won its ninth consecutive SEC crown this year.
Champions Among Champions
Entering 2025 (since some leagues aren't done yet)
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won 12 or more conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton's 12 crowns were outright titles, whereas WKU has shared five. Texas has won 11 titles in that time.
Creighton has also won 11 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2024
DOES NOT INCLUDE 2025
Regular-Season League Tournament
12 (3 shared) Creighton 11 Creighton
12 (5) Western Kentucky 10 Western Kentucky
11 (1) Texas 9 Dayton
11 (1) Fairfield 9 Fairfield
9 (8) Florida A&M
9 (5) Yale
9 (1) Colorado State
Looking For More
Creighton Volleyball is seeking the school's 14th different BIG EAST Tournament title won by the school since joining the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013. All but three of those titles have been won by the volleyball program.
Creighton's BIG EAST Tournament Titles (13)
Volleyball (10): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Baseball (2): 2019, 2025
Men's Soccer (1): 2022
BIG EAST Championship History
Creighton is 21-2 all-time in 11 previous BIG EAST Championship appearances, including 10 titles (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).
Creighton is 11-1 in the semifinal round and 10-1 in the finals, with 10 straight wins in the title tilt.
CU is 7-1 against Marquette at the BIG EAST Championship, including seven straight wins. Creighton won the lone semifinal match-up in 2015 (3-2 in Omaha), as seven of previous eight conference tournament meetings took place in the final.
Twelve of Creighton's last 13 teams have reached the conference tournament title match, a stretch that started in 2012 when the Bluejays were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Creighton is 8-1 all-time at Al McGuire Center at the BIG EAST Championships, including titles in 2014, 2017, 2021 and 2023, but did lose in the semifinals in 2019.
At 21-2, Creighton is the only team in this weekend's BIG EAST Championship with a winning record in the event all-time. Marquette is 14-16, Xavier is 3-7 and Villanova is 22-35. The only other current BIG EAST members with a winning record at the league championship are Georgetown (29-19) and Providence (24-16), though neither have played a BIG EAST Tournament match since 2001.
As The Top Seed
Creighton is the No. 1 seed for a conference tournament for 12th time in the last 14 years, and 11th time in 13 BIG EAST seasons.
The Bluejays were the No. 1 seed in the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, where it defeated Illinois State (3-1) and Wichita State (3-0) to win its first league tournament in program history.
In BIG EAST Tournament action, Creighton has been the No. 1 seed 10 previous times (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024), going 18-1 in those contests. CU went 2-0 to win the title in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024. In 2019, it was upset in the semifinals by St. John's.
The BIG EAST Championship has been won by the top seed in 10 of the last 12 years, and the No. 1 seed has also gone 22-2 in its last 24 league tourney contests.
Winners Win
Through matches of Nov. 17th, Creighton owns 263 wins over the past 10 seasons, which coincides with the start of the 2016 season.
That ranks fourth-most nationally, and among some of the most storied programs in all the land. CU is also fifth in win percentage in the last decade.
Last 10 Seasons (2016 - Nov. 17, 2025)
Sorted By Wins Sorted By Win Percentage
1. 280 Nebraska 1. .878 Texas 251-35
2. 275 Pittsburgh 2. .872 Nebraska 280-41
275 Western Kentucky 3. .865 Western Kentucky 275-43
4. 263 Creighton 4. .862 Pittsburgh 275-44
5. 253 Wisconsin 5. .838 Creighton 263-51
6. 251 Texas 6. .832 BYU 247-50
7. 250 Stephen F. Austin 7. .830 Wisconsin 253-52
8. 249 Stanford 8. .825 Stanford 249-53
What's The Difference?
While this is Creighton's fourth team to go unbeaten in BIG EAST play, the domination this season has been especially noteworthy, as seen in the chart below:
Year Sets Lost 5 Setters Pts For-Against % of Pts.
2016 5 1 1,457-1,088 57.2
2018 6 2 1,474-1,092 57.4
2024 3 0 1,418-884 61.6
2025 4 1 1,281-883 59.2
Others Seeking Unbeaten Seasons
Through Nov. 17th, Creighton was one of eight teams in the country that has yet to lose a regular-season conference match this fal, though four of those schools still have matches to play.
Of those teams, Creighton's four league sets lost trails only Nebraska.
Set W-L Team League
48-1* Nebraska Big Ten
48-4 Creighton BIG EAST
48-8 Northern Iowa Missouri Valley
45-9 Kentucky Southeastern
54-10 Dayton Atlantic 10
42-11* San Diego West Coast
45-12* South Dakota State Summit
48-12* Utah State Mountain West
*regular-season league matches remaining
League Tourney Head-To-Head in 2025
Here's how the teams in this week's BIG EAST Tournament have fared against each other:
Team CU XU VU MU
Creighton (5-0) -- 1-0 2-0 2-0
Xavier (3-2) 0-1 -- 2-0 1-1
Villanova (1-4) 0-2 0-2 -- 1-0
Marquette (1-4) 0-2 1-1 0-1 --
Road Dubs
Creighton has won eight consecutive true road matches, a streak that started on October 2nd. with a 3-0 win at Marquette.
Both of CU's teams to win nine straight road matches went on to reach the Elite Eight.
Creighton's Longest Road Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
9 Sept. 30-Dec. 2, 2016 at #5 Texas, 3-0
9 Sept. 21-Nov. 24, 2024 at #2 Penn State, 3-2
8 Sept. 29 - Nov. 30, 2012 at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
8 Sept. 28 - Nov. 3, 2018 at #2 Nebraska, 3-1
8 Oct. 2, 2021-Sept. 10, 2022 at Rice, 3-2
8 Oct. 2, 2025 - Present ? ? ?
Nation's Longest Active Road Win Streaks (11/19)
Wins Team Next Road Match
12 Nebraska 11/22 at Indiana
10 Kentucky TBD (NCAA's?)
10 Purdue 11/20 at Wisconsin
10 San Diego 11/22 at Santa Clara
10 Utah State Possible Conference Tourney
10 Ball State Possible Conference Tourney
9 Stanford 11/23 at California
9 Northern Iowa TBD (NCAA's?)
9 Dayton Possible Conference Tourney
8 Creighton 11/22 at Marquette
8 Louisville 11/21 at Georgia Tech
8 Stephen F. Austin 11/21 at East Texas A&M
8 Texas A&M TBD (NCAA's?)
8 American TBD (NCAA's?)
8 Western Kentucky Possible Conference Tourney
8 South Dakota State TBD (NCAA's?)
8 Rice Possible Conference Tourney
No Losers Here
Not a single player on the Creighton sideline has ever played in a BIG EAST Tournament loss.
Only nine players in Creighton history have played in eight BIG EAST Tournament victories and four title match victories (Marysa Wilkinson, Jaali Winters, Taryn Kloth, Jaela Zimmerman, Naomi Hickman, Kiara Reinhardt, Norah Sis and Kendra Wait).
With a win on Saturday, Reinhardt can play in her ninth victory. Reinhardt also redshirted in the fall of 2021 when CU won a title that year.
Noteworthy Stats
Creighton is 16-0 all-time when winning the first set of a BIG EAST Tournament match, but sitll a healthy 5-2 when losing the opener.
Creighton is seeking its sixth consecutive BIG EAST Tournament title, which would be the first time that's happened since Pittsburgh won seven in a row from 1988-94.
Creighton owns 10 BIG EAST Tournament titles in program history (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). The only team with more than Creighton's 10 tourney titles is Pittsburgh (11).
Creighton and Marquette are meeting in the BIG EAST Tournament for the ninth time in the last 13 years, but seven of those contests took place in the final.
Creighton lost to Marquette in the 2013 final, but has beaten Marquette in the 2015 semifinal as well as the final in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Since losing the fourth set of a 2015 match vs. Marquette in Omaha, Creighton has won 13 straight sets at the BIG EAST Tournament. That's the longest streak by any program since Creighton's 13-set win streak spanning the 2015-17 tournaments, a streak that started after a fourth set home loss to Marquette. The only longer BIG EAST Tournament win streaks in league history were streaks by Pittsburgh of 25 (1990-93), 21 (1982-83) and 15 (1988-89).
Biggest Competitors
Including league tournament action, Creighton is 89-5 against conference teams since the fall of 2021 began, losing once each to Xavier, St. John's and UConn and twice to Marquette.
Meanwhile, Marquette is 75-16, with 11 losses coming against the Bluejays compared to a 70-5 mark against everyone else. The other losses have been to St. John's (2), Xavier (1), Georgetown (1) and Villanova (1).
The Dominators
No matter how you slice it, Creighton and Marquette have dominated BIG EAST Volleyball since 2013. Here's how they compare, heading into the BIG EAST Tournament. It does NOT include the 2025 awards being doled out after these notes were published.
Stat CU MU Everyone Else
BIG EAST Reg-Season W-L 204-16 180-37 749-1080
BIG EAST Play Win Percentage .927 .829 .410
BIG EAST Reg.-Season Titles 12# 4# 0
BIG EAST Tourney Titles 10 1 1
BIG EAST Player of the Year 5 5 3
BIG EAST Libero of the Year 2 0 10
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year 4 3 7#
BIG EAST Coach of the Year 5# 2 6#
AVCA All-Americans* 10 2 0
AVCA H.M. All-Americans 19 9 14
AVCA Region Freshman of Year 3 1 2
AVCA Region Coach of Year 5 0 3
CSC Academic All-Americans 10 3 0
# includes ties
*First/Second/Third Teams only
You Again?
Creighton and Marquette ought to be quite familiar with each other by this point.
Saturday will mark the 17th meeting between the schools since February 4, 2021, and that doesn't include two other matches that were cancelled due to COVID protocols. Creighton has won 13 of those 16 recent contests.
Saturday will also be the 25th meeting since Oct. 17, 2017 between the BIG EAST behemoths. CU is 20-4 in the last 24 encounters.
Ava Seeks History
If Ava Martin is named All-BIG EAST (as widely expected), she'd join some rare air in Creighton Athletics history.
The only other five student-athletes in school history in any sport to be named First Team All-Conference four times have been Tara Oltman (Softball), Doug McDermott (Men's Basketball), Jaali Winters (Volleyball), Kendra Wait (Volleyball) and Norah Sis (Volleyball).
Back For More (Awards)
Ava Martin has been named to the All-Tournament Team at the BIG EAST Championships each of the previous three seasons.
The only Creighton player in program history to be named a four-time All-BIG EAST Tournament honoree is Kendra Wait (2021-24). Wait earned Tournament MVP accolades as a senior last fall.
Going along with the note above, Martin could join Kendra Wait to be the only Bluejays in any sport to be a four-time first team all-conference pick also named to the conference all-tournament team four times as well.
CU's BIG EAST All-Tournament Team Picks
Maggie Baumert - 2015
Jess Bird - 2015 (MVP)
Kelli Browning - 2013
Lydia Dimke - 2016
Kate Elman - 2015
Naomi Hickman - 2018, '20 (MVP)
Taryn Kloth - 2017 (MVP), '18
Ava Martin - 2022, '23, '24
Leah McNary - 2014
Kiara Reinhardt - 2020
Kiana Schmitt - 2023 (MVP)
Norah Sis - 2021 (MVP), '22 (MVP), '24
Lauren Smith - 2013, '14 (MVP), '16
Kendra Wait - 2021, '22, '23, '24 (MVP)
Annika Welty - 2020
Marysa Wilkinson - 2014, '17
Jaali Winters - 2016 (MVP), '18 (MVP)
Brittany Witt - 2017, '19
Jaela Zimmerman - 2021
Streakin'
Ava Martin owns 10 or more kills in each of Creighton's last 22 matches, the second-longest streak in program history. She already owns a 19-match streak that was snapped earlier this season. Martin is the only player in Bluejay history with multiple streaks 10-kill streaks of 14 or longer.
Martin has led or tied for the Creighton in kills in each of the last 21 matches.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills
58 Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005
22 Ava Martin, Sept. 12, 2025 - Present
21 Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015 - Aug. 28, 2016
19 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997
19 Ava Martin, Oct. 18, 2024-Aug. 23, 2025
18 Jaela Zimmerman, Nov. 16, 2019 - March 27, 2021
15 Norah Sis, Oct. 7 - Dec. 2, 2022
14 Kelly Goc, Sept. 8-Oct. 19, 2007
13 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 7-Oct. 18, 1996
13 Jaali Winters, Nov. 12, 2016-Sept. 1, 2017
The Amazing Ava
Ava Martin had a career-high 30 kill in Creighton's five-set win over Marquette on Nov. 1st.
Martin owns 11 matches with 20+ kills in her career, including each of her past three matches against Marquette, and four times overall against the Golden Eagles.
With 20 or more kills on Saturday, Martin would join Kelly Goc as the second Bluejay to post 20+ kills against the same opponent three times in the same season. Goc did it vs. Illinois State in 2006.
Just how good has Martin been against Marquette? A whopping 150 of her 1,520 career kills (9.9 percent) have come against the Golden Eagles, even though only 10 of her 128 career matches have been against MU.
Ava Martin's 20-Kill Matches
Kills Pct. Opponent Date
30 .464 Marquette 11/01/25
24 .286 vs. UC Santa Barbara 09/06/25
23 .286 Villanova 11/07/25
22 .333 #14 Marquette 11/26/22
22 .396 Northern Iowa 09/03/23
22 .180 at #9 Minnesota 09/16/23
21 .230 at Xavier 09/23/23
20 .400 at DePaul 11/22/24
20 .405 vs. Duke 08/27/23
20 .472 Rice 09/13/25
20 .514 at Marquette 10/02/25
30 Kills For Martin
Ava Martin became the fifth different player in Creighton Volleyball history with 30 or more kills in a match when she did it on Nov. 1, 2025 vs. Marquette.
Of those women, Martin's .464 hitting percentage was the best mark. She was also the fourth Bluejay with a double-double in a match with 30+ kills.
Martin's 30 kills also tied the D.J. Sokol Arena record, which opened in 2009.
Creighton Players With 30+ Kills
K Pct. D Player, Opponent (Sets) Date
32 .406 10 Michelle Prorock, Evansville (4) 11/02/96
31 .390 7 Keeley Davis, Marquette (5) 10/12/19
30 .404 22 Melissa Walsh, Indiana St. (5) 10/16/98
30 .273 13 Norah Sis, Auburn (5) 12/02/22
30 .464 10 Ava Martin, Marquette (5) 11/01/25
Most Kills, D.J. Sokol Arena History
K Player, Opponent Date
30 Wichita St.'s Emily Stockman vs. Missouri St. 11/27/09
30 Creighton's Norah Sis vs. Auburn 12/02/22
30 Creighton's Ava Martin vs. Marquette 11/01/25
29 USD's Kendall Kritenbrink vs. Creghton 09/20/14
29 UConn's Hanna Tylska vs. Villanova 11/27/24
The 400 Club
Ava Martin is the fourth player in CU history with three different seasons of 400 kills or more, and has joined Leah Ratzlaff as just the second woman to do it in three consecutive campaigns.
It's not a coincidence that Jaali Winters (1,843), Norah Sis (1,664) and Ratzlaff (1,622) own the top three spots on Creighton's career kills list. Melissa Walsh (1,596) is fourth, with Martin (1,520) currently fifth.
Most 400-Kill Seasons, Creighton History
Name Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Jaali Winters (3x) 546 448 398 451
Norah Sis (3x) 435 489 302 438
Leah Ratzlaff (3x) 180 516 479 447
Ava Martin (3x) 264 417 428 411
Miss Consistent
Ava Martin has produced 10 or more kills in each of her last 32 matches against BIG EAST competition. Even more impressively, she's hit .250 or better in each of those contests, as well.
Martin led the BIG EAST with 4.52 kills per set and was fourth with a .376 hitting percentage in league play this fall.
Last year Martin was second with 3.88 kills per set and second with a .408 hitting percentage in league action.
In 70 career regular-season BIG EAST matches, Martin averaged 3.61 kills per set and hit .348 to help her team go 67-3.
Hitting With A Purpose
Creighton started its Nov. 15 match at Seton Hall with 31 kills in 48 swings before its first attack error on the fourth point of the third set.
It was just the second time in program history that CU went back-to-back sets in the same match without an attack error, joining the second and third sets at Bradley on Sept. 29, 2000.
Creighton finished the afternoon hitting a program-record .551 against the Pirates.
Best Attack Percentage, CU History
Hit. % Opponent (K-E-TA), sets Date
.551 at Seton Hall (41-3-69), 3 sets 11-15-25
.548 vs. Georgetown (46-6-73), 3 sets 11-17-24
.536 vs. Tulsa (41-4-69), 3 sets 10-27-95
.495 vs. Liberty (57-8-99), 3 sets 9-2-05
.493 at Villanova (41-5-73), 3 sets 10-27-23
The .400 Club
Creighton had hit .400 or better in each of its past three matches, hitting .418 vs. Georgetown, .417 against St. John's and .551 versus Seton Hall. Combined, that's good for a .455 hitting percentage. It's also the first time since the program's 1994 reinstatement that it's hit .400 or better in three straight contests.
Creighton has now hit .400 or better in six of its last 14 matches, and 16 different times against BIG EAST opponents during its current 53-match win streak over league foes.
Creighton hit .410 in the first meeting this season against Marquette, the best its ever hit in any meeting against the Golden Eagles.
Crowd Watch
Though Al McGuire Center might not sell out on Saturday, don't be surprised if it's a large crowd, as BIG EAST powers Creighton and Marquette own the two largest indoor volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history.
Creighton's record of 15,797 from Sept. 7, 2022 lasted nine days before it was broken nine days later by Wisconsin. Marquette then set the record against Wisconsin on Sept. 13, 2023 when 17,037 fans packed into Fiserv Forum. That record was smashed on Sept. 16, 2025, when Creighton hosted 17,675 fans at CHI Health Center Omaha for a match vs. Nebraska.
Top Reg.-Season Indoor Volleyball-Only Crowds in NCAA History
Att. Opponent Date Site
17,675 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/16/25 Omaha, NE
17,037 Wisconsin def. Marquette, 3-1 9/13/23 Milwaukee, WI
16,833 Florida def. Wisconsin, 3-2 9/16/22 Madison, WI
15,797 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/7/22 Omaha, NE
The Booth Tree
Both Brian Rosen and Tom Mendoza are disciples of the Kirsten Bernthal Booth coaching tree as both men are former Creighton assistant coaches.
Rosen served as a Bluejay assistant coach from 2022-24, a span that saw the Bluejays go 88-13. Creighton won the BIG EAST regular-seasona and Tournament titles, as well as made the NCAA Tournament, all three seasons.
Mendoza was an assistant at CU from 2010-15, during which time the Bluejays went 142-57 and made five NCAA Tournaments (2010, '12, '13, '14, '15). Creighton won the regular-season and conference tournament titles in 2012 in the Missouri Valley Conference and in 2014 and 2015 in the BIG EAST Conference.
Wurtz & Maeder Recognized By BIG EAST
Nora Wurtz was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, while Annalea Maeder earned her seventh BIG EAST Setter of the Week accolade on Monday, Nov. 17.
Wurtz averaged 2.17 kills, 1.67 blocks, 0.50 aces and 0.50 digs per set while hitting .722 to help Creighton finish off an unbeaten BIG EAST season. The redshirt freshman hit .667 and tied her career-highs with six kills and five blocks in Friday's win at St. John's, adding three aces to tie the league record for aces in conference play entering 2025. She followed that with five more blocks and upped her season-high to seven kills on .778 hitting in Saturday's victory at Seton Hall. Wurtz led the BIG EAST in hitting percentage and was second in blocks per set last week.
This is Wurtz's first career weekly recognition from the BIG EAST.
Maeder did her part to help Creighton secure a 12th straight BIG EAST regular-season title as she averaged 10.33 assists, 1.17 kills, 1.00 digs, 0.83 aces and 0.33 blocks per set while also hitting .778.
The Ried, Switzerland native had 37 assists, five digs, three kills and two blocks in Friday's 3-0 win at St. John's that saw the Bluejays set a league record with their 46th straight regular-season BIG EAST victory. She then had 25 assists, five aces and had four kills in as many swings during a 3-0 win at Seton Hall as the Jays finished off a second straight unbeaten league season. Creighton had 31 kills in the match before making its first attack error and hit a program-record .551 in the contest.
Maeder led all BIG EAST players in assists per set and was tied for third in aces per set last week. As a team, Creighton hit a league-leading .477and shared the BIG EAST lead with 14.00 kills per set.
Wurtz Serves Up A Record
Two days after serving up five aces in the first set of a Nov. 7 win over Villanova, Nora Wurtz once again dealt five aces during 12-0 serving run to end the first set vs. Georgetown. Wurtz remained behind the serving line to start the second set, opening with back-to-back aces, and eventually broke the school-record with nine aces in the match.
Most Aces, Creighton Match
9 Nora Wurtz vs. Georgetown (3s) 11-09-25
8 Carolyn Decker at New Mexico (3s) 09-04-04
8 Ava Martin vs. Seton Hall (3s) 11-15-24
7 Molly Moran vs. Drake (3s) 09-22-00
7 Kelli Koochi at Indiana State (4s) 10-19-01
7 Nayka Benitez vs. Bradley (4s) 09-25-10
7 Michelle Sicner vs. McNeese State (3s) 09-17-11
7 Madelyn Cole at Georgetown (3s) 11-09-19
Best of Wurtz
Nora Wurtz's nine aces are tied for the most in the nation this season in any three-set match.
Wurtz served 31 times in the Nov. 9 match vs. Georgetown, with Creighton winning the point 27 times. By comparison, Georgetown's entire team served 34 times and won just seven of those points.
Wurtz (at 6-foot-4) is the nation's only player middle blocker, as well as the only player 6-foot-2 or taller, to average more than 0.50 aces per set.
Wurtz has aced every BIG EAST team she's faced this fall except Marquette and Connecticut, both of whom she's only faced once.
Who Else Has Been Unbeaten?
At 16-0, Creighton is the 15th team to finish BIG EAST play unbeaten and just the fourth unbeaten team with 16 or more league wins.
Twelve of the first 14 unbeaten teams went on to win the BIG EAST Tournament.
Finishing Unbeaten in BIG EAST Play
W-L Sets Lost School Year
18-0 3 Creighton* 2024
18-0 6 Creighton* 2018
18-0 5 Creighton* 2016
16-0 4 Creighton 2025
14-0 8 Notre Dame 2009
14-0 4 Louisville* 2006
12-0 3 Notre Dame* 2001
11-0 4 Notre Dame* 2000
11-0 4 Notre Dame 1999
11-0 2 Notre Dame* 1997
11-0 2 Notre Dame* 1996
11-0 1 Notre Dame* 1995
7-0 6 Pittsburgh* 1993
7-0 1 Pittsburgh* 1991
7-0 2 Pittsburgh* 1990
*also won league tournament
Best League Starts
Creighton has started 16-0 in conference play for the fifth time in the last 10 seasons. The Bluejays, who only play 16 league contests this fall, went 18-0 in 2016, 2018 and 2024.
Most Wins Before First League Loss
Wins Year (League) First League Loss
18-0 2018 (BIG EAST) None
18-0 2016 (BIG EAST) None
18-0 2024 (BIG EAST) None
17 2022 (BIG EAST) 11/19 at #16 Marquette
16 2025 (BIG EAST) None
12 2019 (BIG EAST) 11/8 at Villanova
11 2015 (BIG EAST) 10/30 at Villanova
All They Do Is Win
Creighton has won its last 47 BIG EAST regular-season matches to establish a program and league record.
It breaks the record for the longest streak in BIG EAST history, surpassing the 45 in a row done from Oct. 1, 1999 to Nov. 15, 2002 by Notre Dame.
Creighton's Most Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins
Wins Dates Snapped By League
47 Oct. 7, 2023 - Present ? ? ? BIG EAST
31 Nov. 18, 2017 - Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0 BIG EAST
28 Oct. 31, 2015 - Sept. 30, 2017 at Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
28 Oct. 17, 2021- Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
14 Sept. 29, 2012 - End of 2012 Never (left MVC) MVC
BIG EAST'S Best
Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton, Marquette and St. John's are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
Creighton owns 12 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 10, Marquette one and St. John's one since 2013.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings, 2013 - Nov. 20, 2025
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (12) 204 16 338 78
Marquette (11) 180 37 301 102
Xavier 130 88 204 173
Villanova (1) 111 109 208 170
St. John's (1) 110 110 232 180
Butler 108 112 190 193
Seton Hall (1) 86 133 173 207
DePaul 72 148 163 214
Georgetown 51 161 125 236
Connecticut# 50 46 98 71
Providence* 33 171 124 226
*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.
Getting Better and Better
It's scary to see the numbers for Creighton's first 10 matches compared to its last 18 matches. The Bluejay numbers are up across the board on the offensive end.
First 10 Matches vs. Last 18 Matches
When W-L KPS HIT% SAPS DPS BPS
First 10 5-5 12.84 .215 1.63 14.26 2.17
Last 18 18-0 14.50 .338 2.83 12.66 2.17
All They Do Is Win
Creighton has won 18 straight matches, its 13th double-digit win streak in program history and one of the nation's longest active win streaks.
Consecutive Creighton Wins, Program History
Wins Dates Snapped By
25 Sept. 20-Dec. 13, 2024 at #2 Penn State, 3-2
23 Sept. 23-Dec. 9, 2016 at #5 Texas, 3-0
21 Sept. 21 - Nov. 30, 2018 #22 Washington, 3-0
18 Sept. 19, 2025 - Present TBD
17 Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012 at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
17 Sept. 23-Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0
17 Oct. 7-Dec. 2, 2023 vs. #7 Louisville, 3-2
14 Sept. 19-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0
14 Oct. 17-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas, 3-1
12 Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015 at Villanova, 3-2
11 Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014 Seton Hall, 3-0
11 Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017 at Villanova, 3-0
10 Oct. 31-Dec. 5, 2015 vs. #2 USC, 3-1
NCAA's Longest Active Winning Streaks
Wins School Next Match
26 Nebraska 11/20 vs. Iowa
19 Kentucky 11/23 at SEC Tourney
19 Northern Iowa 11/22 at MVC Tourney
18 Creighton 11/22 at Marquette
18 Dayton 11/22 at A-10 Tourney
17 Utah State 11/20 vs. Air Force
There Weren't Many
Georgetown managed just 15 kills in Creighton's 3-0 win over the Hoyas on Nov. 9th. That was tied for the second-fewest by a Bluejay opponent in program history.
Fewest Kills by a Creighton Opponent, Match
14 Villanova 11/21/14
15 Drake 9/22/06
15 Montana State 8/25/07
15 Georgetown 11/09/25
16 Seton Hall 11/19/21
17 Providence 10/19/14
17 South Dakota 12/5/24
17 Providence 9/27/24
What's Your 20?
Creighton has clinched its fifth straight 20-win season.
Including 2025, Creighton has won 20 or more matches in 13 of the last 14 years (CU only played 16 times in the spring of 2021, going 12-4), and has 16 different 20-win campaigns to its ledger all-time.
Brian Rosen is the first volleyball head coach to win 20+ matches in their first year as a head coach at a BIG EAST school since Ryan Theis won 24 matches at Marquette in 2014.
All 16 times that Creighton has won its 19th match, it won its next match as well to reach the 20-victory milestone.
Year MP to 20 W Date of 20th Win
2006 29 11/18
2007 29 11/16
2010 30 11/26
2012 23 10/27
2013 27 11/22
2014 27 11/08
2015 28 11/07
2016 26 11/06
2017 25 11/05
2018 24 10/27
2019 24 11/09
2021 23 10/24
2022 23 10/30
2023 24 11/03
2024 22 11/01
2025 25 11/07
Special Group of Seniors
Creighton recognized Annalea Maeder, Ava Martin, Sky McCune and Kiara Reinhardt after its Nov. 9 win over Georgetown.
Maeder is in her first season at Creighton, but fifth overall in college after four years at Cal. In her lone season with the Bluejays, Maeder has been a seven-time BIG EAST Setter of the Week and leads the league with 10.35 assists per set. Maeder also ranks third in the BIG EAST witih 0.45 aces per set and directs a Bluejay offense that hits a league-best .277.
Martin is the BIG EAST's only player on the AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List, and in position to live up to the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year hype she was annoited by league coaches before the fall. Martin finished in the top 10 in the BIG EAST in league play in points per set (5.16), kills per set (4.52), aces per set (0.50) and hitting percentage (.376). In her career, she's fifth in CU history with 1,520 kills and fourth with 124 aces.
McCune owns 452 career digs and 44 aces as a Bluejay. The Gretna product has appeared in 89 matches as a defensive specialist or libero and had a career-high 22 digs vs. No. 2 Nebraska as a freshman in 2022.
Reinhardt is a sixth-year senior who is on pace to become the winningest player in program history and also set a CU single-season record for hitting percentage. She owns 764 career kills, is fifth in program history with 513 blocks and sixth with a .327 hitting percentage.
Chasing History
Brian Rosen is the first volleyball head coach to go unbeaten in BIG EAST play in their first season as head coach at a school since Pitt's Cindy Alvear went 7-0 in 1993.
Rosen is the first volleyball head coach to win a BIG EAST regular-season title in their first season as head coach at a school since Louisville's Anne Kordes in 2011.
Rosen has already become the first volleyball head coach to win 20+ matches in their first year as a head coach at a BIG EAST school since Ryan Theis won 24 matches at Marquette in 2014.
Rosen is looking to become the first volleyball head coach to win a BIG EAST Tournament title in their first season as head coach at a school since Georgetown's Li Liu in 1999.
Rosen is looking to become the first male head coach to win a BIG EAST Tournament title since Marquette's Bond Shymansky in 2013.
Rosen is looking to become the first volleyball head coach to be named BIG EAST Coach of the Year in his first season as head coach at a school since Villanova's Josh Steinbach in 2007.
Rosen is seeking to become the first volleyball head coach to win an NCAA Touranment match in their first year as a head coach at a BIG EAST school since Louisville's Anne Kordes in 2011. No rookie BIG EAST Volleyball coach has ever won multiple NCAA Tournament matches in the same season.
Coming Up Clutch
Creighton hit .370 in its Nov. 1 win over Marquette, easily its best hitting percentage ever in a five-set match.
CU hit .571 (12-0-21) in the fifth set against the Golden Eagles and .473 in the final two frames (29-3-55) after falling behind 2-1 in the match.
Best Creighton Hitting Percentage, Five Set Match
Pct. Opponent (K-E-TA) Date
.370 Marquette (72-15-154) 11-01-25
.333 at Evansville (69-18-153) 10-04-96
.322 vs. DePaul ((69-21-149) 10-09-15
.308 at Georgetown (67-18-159) 11-18-17
.294 at Bradley (77-22-187) 10-15-04
A Perfect Set
Creighton's offense clicked on all cylinders in the third set of its Oct. 25 win at Connecticut, as the Bluejays were credited with 15 kills on 15 swings to hit a perfect 1,000. That means UConn didn't own a single dig or block during the set.
Jaya Johnson had five kills, Abbey Hayes, Ava Martin and Annalea Maeder each had three kills and Kiara Reinhardt had one kill in the frame.
It's the best hitting percentage in program history that Creighton has hit better than .818 in any set. Per @Evollve on Twitter, Creighton was the nation's first team to hit 1.000 in a set since Florida A&M did against Mississippi Valley State went 10-for-10 in the first set of a 2022 meeting.
Best Creighton Team Hitting Percentage in a Set
% K-E-TA Opponent (Set #) Date
1.000 15-0-15 at Connecticut (3) 10/25/25
.818 18-0-22 at DePaul (1) 10/6/17
.737 14-0-19 at Providence (1) 10/21/23
.722 13-0-18 at Georgetown (5) 11/20/15
.714 10-0-14 vs. Northern Iowa (5) 9/5/14
.714 15-0-21 at DePaul (3) 10/11/19
Setting Them Straight
Creighton's streak of 24 straight set wins was snapped on Nov. 1 by Marquette. The streak was the sixth-longest in program history, all of which have come in the past decade.
Consecutive Sets Won
Set Wins Dates Snapped By
31 Oct. 1 - Nov. 8, 2024 at Marquette
30 Oct. 7 - Nov. 10, 2023 at St. John's
29 Oct. 16-Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette
25 Oct. 22-Nov. 20, 2016 Villanova
25 Oct. 26-Nov. 23, 2018 #16 Marquette
24 Oct. 4, 2025 - Nov. 1, 2025 Marquette
22 Nov. 7-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas
21 Nov. 10 - Dec. 2, 2023 vs. #7 Louisville
19 Oct. 12-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova
18 Nov. 22-Dec. 6, 2024 vs. #13 Texas
16 Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 2025 at DePaul
15 Oct. 7-21, 2016 at Marquette
15 Sept. 28-Oct. 13, 2018 at Villanova
15 Sept. 11-24, 2021 at Butler
League Leaders
Not only did Creighton finish alone atop the BIG EAST standings, but the Bluejays also dominated many of the team and individual statistical categories in league play, as well.
Individually, Kiara Reinhardt led the BIG EAST with a .438 hitting percentage. Annalea Maeder was tops with 10.79 assists per set, Nora Wurtz was first with 0.88 aces per set and Ava Martin was first with 4.52 kills per set and 5.22 points per set.
As a team, Creighton was first in hitting percentage (.349), opponent hitting percentage (.150), assists per set (13.19), kills per set (14.56) and aces per set (2.90).
The .500 Club
Senior Kiara Reinhardt is hitting .431 this fall, a figure that ranks 10th in the nation, and she's hit .500 or better in 12-of-28 matches this fall.
Not only has she hit a robust .369 against Top 25 foes, but she's hitting an insane .456 (175-40-296) against unranked foes.
Reinhardt's Matches Hitting .500+ This Season
Pct. K E TA Opponent CU Result
.833 5 0 6 at Seton Hall W 3-0
.789 15 0 19 vs. San Diego W 3-1
.750 10 1 12 at Villanova W 3-0
.722 14 1 18 at DePaul W 3-1
.700 7 0 10 RIce W 3-0
.667 10 0 15 Seton Hall W 3-0
.636 8 1 11 at Georgetown W 3-0
.571 5 1 7 at St. John's W 3-0
.560 16 2 25 #4 Louisville L 1-3
.529 9 0 17 vs. #5 Texas L 0-3
.526 11 1 19 #1 Nebraska L 2-3
.500 6 1 10 at Marquette W 3-0
Reinhardt's Peers
Kiara Reinhardt's .431 hitting percentage ranks 10th-best nationally, and is on pace to shatter the Creighton single-season record in that category.
2025 NCAA Leaders in Attack Pct. (min. 3.33 attacks per set)
Name, School K E Att. Pct.
1. Haley Yount, Jacksonville 191 31 347 .461
2. Andi Jackson, Nebraska 220 43 384 .461
3. Lucie Blazkova, Washington St. 253 39 469 .456
4. Julieta Sandez, UIC 212 33 405 .442
5. Ifenna Cos-Akpalla, Texas A&M 184 35 338 .441
6. Lizzy Andrew, Stanford 237 40 447 .441
7. Yasmeen Muhammad, LIU 208 35 393 .440
8. Rebekah Allick, Nebraska 191 42 340 .438
9. Mackenzie Parsons, Cornell 232 42 440 .434
10. Kiara Reinhardt, Creighton 234 54 418 .431
Single-Season Creighton Records
Individual Attack Percentage (Min. 200 kills)
Name K E Att. Pct. Year
1. Kiara Reinhardt 234 54 418 .431 2025
2. Kiana Schmitt 307 75 612 .379 2023
3. Elise Goetzinger 266 73 513 .376 2024
4. Kelli Browning 350 87 710 .370 2012
5. Marysa Wilkinson 340 74 720 .369 2017
Creighton Career Records
Individual Attack Percentage (Min. 250 kills)
Name K E Att. Pct. Years
1. Elise Goetzinger 266 73 513 .376 2024
2. Kendra Wait 511 78 1,194 .363 2021-24
3. Kelli Browning 1,104 325 2,327 .335 2011-14
4. Lydia Dimke 297 77 659 .334 2016-17
5. Kiana Schmitt 806 237 1,726 .330 2019-23
6. Kiara Reinhardt 764 229 1,635 .327 2020-Pr.
7. Lauren Smith 1,160 365 2,460 .323 2013-16
8. Marysa Wilkinson 1,183 307 2,771 .316 2014-17
9. Megan Ballenger 965 317 2,176 .298 2016-19
10. Kelly Goc 1,414 414 3,374 .296 2004-07
Ava Elevates Up The Chart
Ava Martin enters this weekend with 1,520 career kills, good for fifth in program history.
Career Kills, Creighton History
Name Sets No. Years
1. Jaali Winters 494 1,843 2015-18
2. Norah Sis 422 1,664 2021-24
3. Leah Ratzlaff 409 1,622 2002-05
4. Melissa Walsh 394 1,596 1998-01
5. Ava Martin 435 1,520 2022-Pr.
6. Taryn Kloth 462 1,427 2015-18
7. Kelly Goc 394 1,414 2004-07
8. Jessica Houts 451 1,385 2005-09
9. JoDe Cieloha 398 1,375 1994-97
10. Leah McNary 458 1,257 2011-14
The Reveal
The NCAA Volleyball Selection Committee revealed its Top 16 as of Oct. 19th. The in-season reveal offers fans an early look at potential NCAA tournament seedings ahead of Selection Sunday on Nov. 30. Creighton was 10th in that listing.
Last year Creighton was sixth in the early reveal, and would enter the NCAA Tournament sixth as well.
1. Nebraska 9. TCU
2. Texas 10. Creighton
3. Pittsburgh 11. Stanford
4. Kentucky 12. Wisconsin
5. SMU 13. Texas A&M
6. Louisville 14. Indiana
7. Arizona State 15. Penn State
8. Purdue 16. Minnesota
Syd The Kid
Sydney Breissinger first wore the libero jersey this fall in the fourth set against Nebraska on Sept. 16th. She put it back on to begin the Sept. 21 win over No. 17 Kansas, and hasn't relinquished it in 17 matches since. That means Creighton is 52-5 in sets and outscored teams 1,392-986 when she dons the alternate jersey.
When Breissinger was a freshman in 2023, she played libero in the final 13 matches of the season. Creighton went 12-1 in those contests, winning 38-of-42 sets and outscoring teams 1,031-738.
Add it all up and Creighton is 29-2 all-time in matches Breissinger serves as libero at any point, losing only to No. 7 Louisville (2023 Regional Semifinal) and to No. 1 Nebraska (2025). CU has won 90-of-99 sets when she's donned the alternate jersey and outscored foes 2,423-1,724 in points, a whopping 58.4 percent of the points played.
Top 50 Wins
Creighton owns 11 Top 50 victories this season, which is tied for fifth-most in the country.
Most Volleyball Top 50 wins in 2025 (11/9)
Top 50 W's School
17 Nebraska
13 Arizona State, Purdue
12 Wisconsin
11 Creighton, Texas
10 Pittsburgh, Kansas
More Than a Decade of Dominance
Thirteen years in the BIG EAST gives Creighton a pretty good set of data to compare its yearly performance in league matches.
Here's how the 2025 campaign compares to previous seasons:
Creighton's Year-By-Year BIG EAST Stats
Year W-L KPS HIT% SAPS DPS BPS
2013 12-4 13.75 .213 1.00 16.20 3.13
2014# 16-2 14.89 .242 1.30 17.09 2.86
2015# 17-1 15.02 .271 1.33 16.97 2.47
2016# 18-0 15.37 .317 1.69 16.08 2.41
2017# 16-2 14.81 .302 1.31 16.62 2.05
2018# 18-0 14.45 .294 2.13 15.67 2.38
2019# 17-1 14.61 .269 2.07 15.80 2.25
2020# 7-1 12.93 .249 1.30 14.17 2.75
2021# 16-2 13.95 .242 1.82 18.02 2.86
2022# 17-1 14.80 .299 1.85 16.10 2.33
2023# 16-2 14.40 .313 1.89 15.91 2.30
2024# 18-0 14.79 .371 2.32 14.18 2.75
2025 16-0 14.56 .349 2.90 12.42 2.13
#won league's regular-season title
Down The Stretch They Come
Creighton reached the midpoint of league play with an 8-0 record, and finished 16-0. The Bluejays were unbeaten at the halfway mark of league play for the seventh time since 2015 (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025).
The Bluejays have suffered one league loss or fewer in the second half of conference play during each of the last 12 seasons (including 2025).
League Record by Year
Year 1st Half 2nd Half Place
1994 2-8 1-9 T-9th MVC
1995 3-7 3-7 T-7th MVC
1996 2-7 3-6 T-6th MVC
1997 6-3 4-5 T-3rd MVC
1998 2-7 3-6 8th MVC
1999 5-4 4-5 5th MVC
2000 5-4 5-4 T-4th MVC
2001 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2002 1-8 1-8 T-9th MVC
2003 5-4 4-5 T-5th MVC
2004 5-4 5-4 5th MVC
2005 4-5 6-3 5th MVC
2006 7-2 5-4 4th MVC
2007 7-2 7-2 T-2nd MVC
2008 7-2 8-1 2nd MVC
2009 4-5 6-3 T-4th MVC
2010 7-2 6-3 3rd MVC
2011 6-3 6-3 4th MVC
2012 8-1 9-0 1st MVC
2013 6-2 6-2 T-2nd BIG EAST
2014 8-1 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2015 9-0 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2016 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2017 8-1 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2018 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2019 9-0 8-1 1st BIG EAST
2020 3-1 4-0 1st BIG EAST (Midwest)
2021 7-2 9-0 T-1st BIG EAST
2022 9-0 8-1 T-1st BIG EAST
2023 7-2 9-0 T-1st BIG EAST
2024 9-0 9-0 1st BIG EAST
2025 8-0 8-0 1st BIG EAST
Total 194-89 194-89 --
Reinhardt & Martin Pass Century Mark
Kiara Reinhardt is 119-22 (.844) all-time in matches that she's appeared in. Her 119 victories are tied with Kendra Wait for most in program history, and her winning percentage is fifth-best.
Ava Martin is 110-18 (.859) all-time when appearing in a match, making her tied for fitth in wins and fourth in win percentage.
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
119 Kendra Wait 2021-24
119 Kiara Reinhardt 2020-Pres.
116 Naomi Hickman 2017-21
111 Jaali Winters 2015-18
110 Kiana Schmitt 2019-23
110 Ava Martin 2022-Pres.
109 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
109 Brittany Witt 2016-19
109 Norah Sis 2021-24
107 Megan Ballenger 2016-19
106 Marysa Wilkinson 2014-17
104 Lauren Smith 2013-16
102 Melanie Jereb 2012-15
101 Ashley Jansen 2012-15
98 Jaela Zimmerman 2018-22
Best Win Pct. in Matches Appeared In As A Player (min. 100 wins)
W-L Pct. Name Years
109-14 .886 Norah Sis 2021-24
119-16 .881 Kendra Wait 2021-24
110-16 .873 Kiana Schmitt 2019-23
110-18 .859 Ava Martin 2022-Pres.
119-22 .844 Kiara Reinhardt 2020-Pres.
109-24 .820 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
116-26 .817 Naomi Hickman 2017-21
109-25 .813 Brittany Witt 2016-19
107-25 .811 Megan Ballenger 2016-19
111-28 .799 Jaali Winters 2015-18
106-32 .768 Marysa Wilkinson 2014-17
102-31 .767 Melanie Jereb 2012-15
101-31 .765 Ashley Jansen 2012-15
104-34 .754 Lauren Smith 2013-16
Most Wins, Four-Year Span
W-L Years
119-17 2021-24
111-18 2022-Pres.
111-28 2015-18
109-25 2016-19
107-32 2014-17
104-31 2012-15
104-34 2013-16
99-18 2020-23
97-19 2018-21
95-19 2019-22
Nice Work, Ace
Creighton tied a program-record with 15 service aces on Oct. 4 vs. DePaul, with Ava Martin (6), Alivia Hausmann (3), Jaya Johnson (3), Sydney Breissinger (2) and Annalea Maeder (1) all getting in the act.
It was the fourth time in program history that CU has recorded 15 aces or more, and first time it's done so in a true road match.
Creighton set a school-record with 224 aces in 35 matches last season (6.40 per match) and averaged a league-record 2.32 aces per set in league play. This year's team has a school-record 226 aces in 28 matches (8.07 per match) and averaged 2.90 aces per set in league action.
Creighton's 2.35 aces per set leads the nation.
Most Creighton Service Aces, Match
15 vs. Northeastern Illinois (3s) 09-23-95
15 vs. UMKC (4s) 11-12-95
15 vs. Seton Hall (3s) 11-15-24
15 at DePaul (4s) 10-04-25
14 at UMKC (4s) 10-30-94
14 vs. UNC-Greensboro (4s) 09-02-00
14 vs. Butler (3s) 10-20-18
14 vs. DePaul (4s) 11-24-19
14 vs. UMKC (5s) 09-28-04
14 at Seton Hall (3s) 11-15-25
A Smashing Success
Kiara Reinhardt had 14 kills and one error in 18 swings on Oct. 4 at DePaul, the second-best mark in program history for a four-set match.
The only performance that's been better was Reinhardt's .789 hitting (15-0-19) vs. San Diego earlier this year on Sept. 5, 2025.
Best Hitting Percentage, Four Sets (min. 12 kills)
.789 Kiara Reinhardt (15-0-19) vs. San Diego 09-05-25
.722 Kiara Reinhardt (14-1-18) at DePaul 10-04-25
.684 Kelli Browning (14-1-19) vs. Southern Illinois 10-27-12
.640 Naomi Hickman (17-1-25) vs. Kentucky 09-06-19
.636 Megan Bober (14-0-22) vs. Bradley 10-06-12
.625 Kelly Goc (26-1-40) vs. Drake 11-16-07
.615 Alicia Runge (17-1-26) vs. Bradley 09-25-10
.600 Kelli Browning (16-1-25) vs. Wisconsin 08-25-12
Jaya Does It All
Since moving into a role that has her playing all six rotations on Sept. 20 vs. South Florida, sophomore Jaya Johnson has played like a star.
Johnson has averaged 2.59 kills, 1.36 digs, 0.79 blocks and 0.10 aces per set while hitting .298. Creighton is 18-0 in that time, dropping just four sets.
Before the move, Johnson averaged 1.84 kills, 0.74 digs, 0.92 blocks and 0.00 aces per set while hitting .191. Creighton was 5-5 in those matches (18-18 in sets), though six of them came against top-25 foes.
Johnson is the only player in the BIG EAST (min. 50% of sets played) to average at least 0.80 blocks and 0.80 digs per set this season.
RPI Update
The seventh NCAA Volleyball RPI of the fall was released on November 17th and Creighton came in at No. 6, a season-best mark that is easily the best rank in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays are one of five BIG EAST teams in the top 67, joining Xavier (28), Villanova (36), Marquette (33) and Connecticut (67).
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning percentage better than .800 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 223 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 38 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 23-1 - 23-1
Connecticut 5-1 1-0 6-1
DePaul 26-0 3-0 29-0
Georgetown 24-0 - 24-0
Marquette 21-5 7-1 28-6
Providence 18-0 - 18-0
Seton Hall 21-3 2-0 23-3
St. John's 22-2 1-1 23-3
Villanova 21-3 3-0 24-3
Xavier 23-1 4-0 27-1
TOTAL 204-16 21-2 225-18
Putting The 0 In October And November
Creighton is 89-6 in the 10th month of the year since Oct. 1, 2016, including 23 straight wins, and victories in 37 of its past 38 such matches.
Creighton's been awfully good in the month of November too. Since Nov. 1, 2014, CU is 77-4 in the 11th month of the year with 26 straight victories.
Creighton has won 45 straight October home matches (since 10/15/11) and 48 consecutive home matches in November (since 11/23/14). Incredibly, Creighton is 141-13 in sets in those home November contests.
Streaking In League Play
Add in conference tournament play and Creighton has won 51 straight matches against BIG EAST teams since October 7, 2023, dropping just eight sets to league opponents.
The only team with a longer active win streak against league competition is Northern Iowa (56 through Nov. 21).
Best Starts With A New Coach
Brian Rosen is the first coach since Creighton brought back volleyball in 1994 to win at least 23 of his first 28 matches.
Rosen is 23-5, well ahead of Howard Wallace (14-14), Kirsten Bernthal Booth (11-17) and Ben Guiliano (6-22).
Rosen is also the only coach in program history to win his or her first four (or more) conference matches. He's currently 16-0.
Pink Out Raises $21,496.50
The Creighton Volleyball team hosted its 18th Annual Pink Out match on Oct. 19, using the competition as an opportunity to benefit the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge Nebraska.
Last year's Pink Out Jersey auction raised $9,106.23, plus an additional $10,017 on matchday via donations. This year's auction brought in $10,239.50, as well as $11,257 in donations.
The winning bidders get the opportunity to honor a friend or family member who has battled cancer or is currently battling cancer. The warm-up shirt to be worn could be personalized by the winning bidder.
Shortly after the match, the family members of the winning bidders had the opportunity to meet the student-athletes of the jersey they bid on.
The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Nebraska provides a free home away from home for cancer patients and their caregivers who must travel to Omaha to receive their lifesaving treatment.
Below is the final numbers for each jersey/item in the auction this year.
#1 $405 #2 $910 #3 $405
#5 $355 #6 $525 #7 $570
#8 $1,167 #9 $350 #10 $365
#11 $405 #12 $200 #13 $365
#17 $395 #18 $345 #19 $710
#22 $455 #24 $800
Courtside Seats $237.50 Autographed Balls $435, $840
Sokol Milestone Unlocked
Creighton owns a 207-34 record (.859) all-time inside D.J. Sokol Arena, as CU picked up its 200th home win in the facility on Sept. 26.
Creighton started 50-17 (.746) in the facility, which means it is 157-17 (.902) since then in its on-campus home.
Milestone Wins at D.J. Sokol Arena
W-L Opponent Date
1-0 Texas Tech (W 3-0) 8/28/09
50-17 Villanova (W 3-0) 11/24/13
100-25 DePaul (W 3-0) 11/5/17
150-31 #25 USC (W 3-1) 9/2/22
200-34 Xavier (W 3-0) 9/26/25
Home Sweet Home
Creighton is in its 13th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
Since then, the Bluejays are 120-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (109-3 in the regular-season, 11-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since the start of the 2015 season, Creighton is 104-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 94-1 mark in league play and a 10-0 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 2022, fourth-year Bluejay seniors Ava Martin and Sky McCune went 40-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 120-10 in sets.
Creighton has won 54 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.
Since the start of the 2023 season, Creighton has won 84-of-88 sets at home against BIG EAST teams, dropping only the third set on Oct. 1, 2024 to Marquette, the second and third sets to Marquette on Nov. 1, 2025, and the second set to Villanova on Nov. 7, 2025.
League Opener Histories
Creighton's 3-0 win vs. Xavier on Sept. 26 improved the Jays to 24-8 all-time in conference openers, and 1-0 under Brian Rosen. That includes an 12-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, with 12 straight wins.
Including 2025, each of the last 13 times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 211-13 (including 2025) in regular-season league action. Creighton also won 11 conference tournament titles during those years (entering 2025), going 22-1 at the league tournament in those seasons.
In the 23 seasons (including 2025) that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .798 (340-86) winning percentage (including 2025) in league matches.
In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Bluejays have had a losing record on five occasions and owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
In conference home openers, Creighton is 27-5 overall with 15 straight wins.
In league road openers, Creighton is 23-9 overall with 12 straight wins after this year's 3-0 win at Marquette.
The last team to win a BIG EAST regular-season or tournament title without winning its regular-season opener in conference play was Cincinnati in the fall of 2008, which will continue beyond 2025.
Wurtz On A Run
Standing at 6-foot-4, Nora Wurtz isn't your typical serving specialist, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been a tremendous weapon behind the service line.
Wurtz recently had a streak of 11 straight matches with an ace, tied for the ffith-longest streak in program history. Wurtz's streak tied Julianne Mandolfo's 11 straight matches with an ace in 2010 for the longest ever by a Bluejay freshman.
Teammate Annalea Maeder also had an 11-match streak with an ace that ended in November.
Consecutive Matches With An Ace
15 Amanda Cvejdlik, Sept. 29-Nov. 18, 2006
12 Madelyn Cole - Oct. 27, 2018-Aug. 30, 2019
12 Madelyn Cole, Sept. 14-Oct. 25, 2019
12 Ellie Bolton, Aug. 26-Sept. 23, 2023
11 Kim Whitman, Sept. 5-Oct. 4, 1998
11 Molly Moran, Oct. 7-Nov. 10, 2000
11 Julianne Mandolfo, Oct. 2-Nov. 13, 2010
11 Nora Wurtz, Sept. 5-27, 2025
11 Annalea Maeder, Sept. 27 - Nov. 3, 2025
9 Melissa Weisensee, Sept. 1-20, 1995
9 Madelyn Cole, Aug. 31 - Sept. 21, 2018
9 Norah Sis, Sept. 17-Oct. 14, 2022
Don't Fret
The combination of losing four All-Americans off a 32-3 team, plus a grueling schedule featuring seven top-25 opponents in its 12 non-conference matches, helped Creighton start "just" 7-5 through 12 matches.
Each of the two previous times that Creighton has lost at least five of its first 12 matches, the Bluejays rebounded quite nicely.
In 2016 Creighton ended non-conference play with a 6-6 mark. That squad rebounded to win its next 23 matches and finished 29-7, reaching the Elite Eight for the first time.
The year before in 2015 Creighton finished the non-conference slate 5-7. That team won 22 of its next 23 matches, including a 17-1 mark in BIG EAST play, and qualified for the program's first Sweet 16 berth.
Attendance Update
Creighton ranks ninth nationally in total home attendance (47,635) and 14th in average fans per home match (3,402).
Creighton has led the BIG EAST in average home attendance in all but one non-COVID year since joining the league.
Creighton's 47,635 home fans this fall are a program record.
The 3,402 fans per home match so far put CU on pace to shatter a program record.
Most Home Fans, Season
Rk. Fans Dates Year
1. 47,635 14 2025
2. 47,632 17 2018
3. 44,518 19 2024
4. 41,805 17 2022
5. 30,211 14 2021
Highest Home Attendance Average, Season
Average Rk. Fans Dates Year
1. 3,402 47,635 14 2025
2. 2,802 47,632 17 2018
3. 2,459 41,805 17 2022
4. 2,343 44,518 19 2024
5. 2,161 28,089 13 2023
Overwhelming The Unranked
Creighton is 21-0 this season against unranked teams, and the serve and pass game has been a major reason why.
In those 21 matches (70 sets), CU has served 193 aces (2.76 saps.) compared to 179 service errors. Its opponents have just 51 aces (0.73 saps.) but made 150 serving miscues.
Report Card
Creighton is 204-16 all-time in regular-season BIG EAST matches.
Here's a report card of how CU has done in 50 match segments in the BIG EAST, which includes a 165-9 mark (.948) in its last 174 matches.
Matches W-L
1-50 43-7
51-100 48-2
101-150 46-4
151-200 47-3
201-220 20-0
Watch This!
Eleven of Creighton's 28 matches this fall have aired on television (four on FS1, three on BTN, three on Nebraska Public Media, one on SNY).
Creighton has also won 54 straight non-televised matches, since an Oct. 6, 2023 loss at Marquette.
Historically Speaking
Here's a look at the top indoor volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history after Creighton smashed a record on Sept. 16th at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Top Reg.-Season Indoor Volleyball-Only Crowds in NCAA History
Att. Opponent Date Site
17,675 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/16/25 Omaha, NE
17,037 Wisconsin def. Marquette, 3-1 9/13/23 Milwaukee, WI
16,833 Florida def. Wisconsin, 3-2 9/16/22 Madison, WI
15,797 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/7/22 Omaha, NE
15,734 Florida vs. Pittsburgh, 3-2 8/24/25 Lincoln, NE
15,734 Nebraska def. Stanford, 3-0
15,576 Nebraska def. Pittsburgh, 3-1 8/22/25 Lincoln, NE
15,576 Stanford vs. Florida, 3-1
15,084 Wisconsin def. Marquette, 3-1 9/17/24 Madison, WI
14,876 Wisconsin def. Purdue, 3-0 10/26/24 West Lafayette, IN
14,876 Purdue def. Indiana, 3-0 10/19/24 West Lafayette, IN
14,126 Nebraska def. Louisville, 3-0 9/22/24 Louisville, KY
14,035 Texas def. Wisconsin, 3-1 9/1/24 Milwaukee, WI
14,035 Stanford def. Minnesota, 3-2
14,022 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/6/18 Omaha, NE
13,870 UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-2 9/13/09 Lincoln, NE
13,412 Nebraska def. LSU, 3-0 9/12/08 Lincoln, NE
13,396 Nebraska def. Hawai'i, 3-0 10/21/07 Lincoln, NE
13,081 Cal Poly def. Creighton, 3-0 9/2/07 Omaha, NE
Nebraska def. Penn State, 3-0
13,071 Nebraska def. Maryland, 3-1 11/30/24 College Park, MD
12,760 Louisville def. Kentucky, 3-0 9/13/23 Louisville, KY
12,707 Nebraska def. Michigan, 3-0 10/19/25 Ann Arbor, MI
12,510 Pittsburgh def. Louisville, 3-1 11/27/24 Louisville, KY
12,504 Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0 11/4/00 Lincoln, NE
12,277 Wisconsin def. Florida, 3-1 9/21/25 Madison, WI
12,112 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-1 9/24/06 Omaha, NE
Largest Crowds To See The Jays
Sept. 16th marked the fourth time in eight matches at CHI Health Center Omaha that Creighton broke an all-time NCAA attendance record.
In 2007 CU played in front of 13,081 in a match against Cal Poly that was part of a doubleheader. In 2018 CU met Nebraska before 14,022 fans. In 2022, CU welcomed 15,797 fans against Nebraska. And on Sept. 16 the crowd was 17,675.
Below is a list of the largest crowds (and home crowds) in Creighton Volleyball history, which includes four crowds of 10,000 or more this fall.
Creighton's Largest Home Crowds All-Time
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
17,675 #1 Nebraska 09/16/25 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
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.
2,665 Ole Miss 12/06/24 W 3-0 Sokol
2,658 #4 Louisville 09/12/25 L 1-3 Sokol
2,653 Auburn 12/02/22 L 2-3 Sokol
Creighton Volleyball's Largest Crowds (All Sites)
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
17,675 #1 Nebraska 09/16/25 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
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.
11,678 vs. #14 Kansas 08/31/25 W 3-2 Kohl Center
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,438 vs. #2 Penn St. 08/23/25 L 0-3 Pinn Bank Arena
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,072 vs. #5 Texas 08/29/25 L 0-3 Kohl Center
8,924 at #5 Nebraska 09/06/23 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,656 at #4 Nebraska 09/10/24 L 2-3 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. 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.
The Friendly Confines
Creighton had its first unbeaten home season in program history in 2023, going a perfect 13-0 in matches and 39-3 in sets.
Last year CU did even better, going 19-0 and losing just two sets at home.
Though its 32-match win streak was snapped on Sept. 12 against No. 4 Louisville, that still means the Bluejays are 44-1 in its last 45 contests at D.J. Sokol Arena.
All told, Creighton has won 126 of its last 134 home sets at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins Dates Snapped By
32 Sept. 1, 2023 - Dec. 6, 2024 #4 Louisville, 3-1
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
Creighton Introduces New Taraflex Court
Creighton Volleyball introduced a new Taraflex® court at its 2025 regular-season home debut on Sept. 12 against Louisville.
The court was designed by GLGR out of Portland, Ore., in working with Specialty Floors out of Parkville, Mo., representatives of Taraflex Sports.
The new court features a royal blue outline with a feather pattern similar to what is on the Creighton men's basketball court that was unveiled last October at CHI Health Center Omaha. More than 6/10ths of a mile of stencils were used to create the blue feather border that features more than a dozen "Easter eggs" hidden throughout.
The words Creighton and Bluejays flank the end lines in white lettering. The East sideline features the words D.J. Sokol Arena on one side of the court and a BIG EAST Conference logo on the other, both shaded in light blue. The Northeast side of the court, where the team runs in and out when returning to or from the locker room, features the words "Fly Together", while Creighton's popular C-Bird logo adorns the Northwest and Southeast corners of the court
The West sideline features 14 smaller Bluejay bird outlines, seven on each side of the court. Inside those logo decals are years to designate NCAA Tournament appearances, with different colors used to highlight the program's previous trips to the first weekend, Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. Room to add future postseason appearances is available, if necessary.
The middle of the court features a gray outline of a Bluejay bird head. The hue of the two-tone court helps put the focus on the action and will make the players in uniform stand out, in addition to making it easier for officials to discern in/out calls along the sidelines. The matte finish on the court adds to the sharpness.
The perimeter of the court features no less than 14 hidden messages within the design, ranging from Heritage logos to honor Creighton's history, a map of the state of Nebraska, the year Creighton University was founded (1878), the year the Creighton Volleyball program was restarted (1994), and donor acknowledgements.
The court is a FIVB-certified playing surface and is up to the same high standards that it used in international competitions such as the Olympics. The design process for one of the most unique and complex designed courts in the world began in January, with the full painting process taking a little over a month in application and curing.
Against Ranked Foes
After a total of three top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton has earned at least one top-25 win each of the last 11 seasons (2015-25).
Creighton is 32-94 all-time against ranked teams, with 30 wins coming under Kirsten Bernthal Booth and two under Brian Rosen.
The highest ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten at any site were No. 3 Washington (8/26/17 in Seattle) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/21 in Lexington). CU's highest-ranked opponent it has defeated at home was a 3-1 win over then-No. 9 Marquette on Nov. 22, 2019.
This year is the ninth season that CU owned multiple Top-25 victories. The Jays beat three Top 25 teams in 2017, 2022 and 2023, and a record four in 2018, 2019 and 2024.
Top 25 Sweeps
Creighton owns 32 top 25 victories in its history, but its Sept. 21 sweep of Kansas was just its ninth sweep of a ranked foe.
Three of those wins have come against Kansas, another three against Kentucky, two vs. Marquette and one at Purdue.
Creighton's 3-0 Wins vs. Top 25 Teams
Opponent Date
vs. #10 Kentucky 09/05/15
#13 Kentucky 09/01/17
at #7 Kansas 09/09/17
#21 Marquette 09/23/18
at #3 Kentucky 09/04/21
at #16 Purdue 08/26/23
#25 Marquette 11/05/23
at #10 Kansas 09/21/24
#17 Kansas 09/21/25
Top 25 History
Creighton is 256-53 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 27-33 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That mark is 4-4 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
Since the start of the 2012 season, 48 of Creighton's 82 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 335-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 133 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 196 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 27-33)
Home: 11-11 Away: 8-13 Neutral: 8-9
Date Winner Loser CU Score
11/19/12 #11 Minnesota #21 Creighton 1-3
08/30/13 #25 Creighton #13 BYU 3-1
09/14/13 #11 UCLA #24 Creighton 1-3
09/16/13 #7 Hawaii #23 Creighton 2-3
08/30/14 #22 Kansas #23 Creighton 1-3
09/03/16 #23 Kentucky #22 Creighton 0-3
12/02/16 #21 Creighton #4 Kansas 3-2
12/09/16 #21 Creighton #17 Michigan 3-2
12/10/16 #5 Texas #21 Creighton 0-3
08/26/17 #9 Creighton #3 Washington 3-1
09/01/17 #7 Creighton #13 Kentucky 3-0
09/02/17 #18 USC #7 Creighton 0-3
09/08/17 #17 Purdue #9 Creighton 1-3
09/09/17 #9 Creighton #7 Kansas 3-0
09/16/17 #19 Iowa State #8 Creighton 2-3
12/12/17 #12 Michigan St. #15 Creighton 1-3
08/24/18 #13 Creighton #5 Kentucky 3-2
08/25/18 #10 USC #13 Creighton 2-3
09/06/18 #7 Nebraska #14 Creighton 2-3
09/15/18 #8 Illinois #10 Creighton 1-3
09/23/18 #10 Creighton #21 Marquette 3-0
10/26/18 #10 Creighton #18 Marquette 3-1
11/24/18 #9 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-1
12/01/18 #22 Washington #9 Creighton 0-3
08/30/19 #2 Nebraska #18 Creighton 1-3
08/31/19 #20 Baylor #18 Creighton 0-3
09/06/19 #23 Creighton #12 Kentucky 3-1
09/07/19 #23 Creighton #15 USC 3-1
09/14/19 #12 Washington #17 Creighton 1-3
10/12/19 #13 Creighton #10 Marquette 3-2
11/22/19 #12 Creighton #9 Marquette 3-1
12/07/19 #7 Minnesota #15 Creighton 2-3
02/05/21 #19 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-2
02/06/21 #25 Marquette #19 Creighton 0-3
09/08/21 #3 Nebraska #19 Creighton 0-3
09/02/22 #17 Creighton #25 USC 3-1
09/03/22 #16 Kentucky #17 Creighton 1-3
09/07/22 #2 Nebraska #17 Creighton 2-3
10/14/22 #21 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-2
11/19/22 #16 Marquette #11 Creighton 0-3
11/26/22 #15 Creighton #14 Marquette 3-2
08/26/23 #18 Creighton #16 Purdue 3-0
09/06/23 #4 Nebraska #16 Creighton 1-3
09/16/23 #14 Creighton #9 Minnesota 3-2
11/05/23 #17 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-0
12/07/23 #7 Louisville #17 Creighton 2-3
09/05/24 #11 Creighton #20 USC 3-1
09/10/24 #5 Nebraska #9 Creighton 2-3
09/15/24 #4 Louisville #9 Creighton 2-3
09/20/24 #9 Creighton #6 Purdue 3-1
09/21/24 #9 Creighton #10 Kansas 3-0
12/13/24 #6 Creighton #13 Texas 3-1
12/15/24 #2 Penn State #6 Creighton 2-3
08/23/25 #2 Penn State #12 Creighton 0-3
08/29/25 #5 Texas #12 Creighton 0-3
08/31/25 #12 Creighton #14 Kansas 3-2
09/07/25 #22 USC #13 Creighton 0-3
09/12/25 #4 Louisville #18 Creighton 1-3
09/16/25 #1 Nebraska #18 Creighton 2-3
09/21/25 #18 Creighton #17 Kansas 3-0
The Defense Never Rests
Creighton has led the country in opponents hitting percentage in two of the last four seasons, doing so in both 2021 (.124) and 2024 (.130).
Creighton is holding foes to .174 this year, a figure that plummets to .151 in league action.
High FIve
Brian Rosen is Creighton's first volleyball coach since the program's 1994 reinstatement to pick up his first victory in a five set match, as Ben Guiliano, Howard Wallace and Kirsten Bernthal Booth's first wins all came in 3-0 sweeps.
Record in 5-Set Matches
Coach Years Set 5 W-L
Ben Guiliano 1994-1996 2-10
Howard Wallace 1997-2002 13-18
Kirsten Bernthal Booth 2003-2024 70-42
Brian Rosen 2025-Pres. 3-1
Twice For Breissinger
Junior defensive specialist Sydney Breissinger helped Creighton erase a 3-0 deficit in the fifth set on Aug. 31 vs. Kansas, serving up a 9-0 run that helped the Bluejays take the lead for good. She also served a 9-0 run in the fourth set vs. San Diego on Sept. 5.
Breissinger's heroics were eerily similar to the 9-0 serving run she had in the fifth set on Sept. 16, 2023 in a win over No. 9 Minnesota. That win over the Gophers had been CU's last previous five-set win.
Since enrolling at Creighton in 2023, Breissinger owns 50 service runs of five or longer, 20 more than the next-closest Bluejay (Norah Sis, who graduated in 2024). Next-most among her active teammates is the 23 by Ava Martin.
152 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked 12th in the Nov. 17th edition of the AVCA poll, the 152nd time in program history it's been ranked. That's 37th-most of all programs in NCAA history.
All 152 rankings have occurred since 2012.
The Bluejays are one of 11 schools (along with Baylor, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 75 polls.
Creighton's 75 weeks in a row being ranked dates began on Sept. 6, 2021 and sets a program-record, breaking the previous-high of 64 from Oct. 31, 2016 to March 15, 2021.
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 12th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 7th. It was the 11th time in the past 13 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason, and fourth year in a row.
The No. 12 slotting tied last year's team for the second-best preseason ranking in program history, trailing only the 2017 team that was ranked ninth.
Over the previous 17 seasons, 315-of-425 teams (74.1 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and in the 17 seasons from 2008-2024, 385-of-425 teams (90.6 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament, as all but preseason No. 19 Arkansas and No. 25 Georgia reached the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
This year marks the 14th 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 32-3 5th
2025 12th TBD TBD
Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-19 letterwinners to the court from last season, including three starters.
From last year's team, Norah Sis, Elise Goetzinger, Kendra Wait, Abbey Milner, Maddy Bilinovic, Audrey Clark, Katie Maser and Emma Ziegler are not back.
All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 294.5 of a possible 700% back (42.1 percent), the smallest amount returning since it headed into Howard Wallace's final season in 2002.
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 119 (7.6%) 1,450 (92.4%)
Aces 115 (51.3%) 109 (48.7%)
Digs 598 (35.7%) 1,076 (64.3%)
Points 1,115.5 (50.2%) 1,107.0 (49.8%)
Kills 843 (50.1%) 841 (49.9%)
Matches Started 104 (49.5%) 106 (50.5%)
Blocks 157.5 (50.1%) 157.0 (49.9%)
One Tough Schedule
Of Creighton's 12 non-conference matches, seven were against ranked teams and three others against programs that received votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll.
Creighton is the only team in the preseason Top 25 with 10 or more non-conference matches against teams getting votes, as Texas and TCU are next-closest with eight each.
No Losers Here
Creighton has been as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.
Creighton and Pittsburgh are the nation's only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 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, 2023 and 2024 seasons are also Creighton and Pittsburgh.
Creighton is also the only school nationally who have won 25 matches or more in every season between 2014-24 (not counting the 2020 COVID-19 year, when CU only played 16 times).
13 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 13 seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make 13 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make even 10 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 13 NCAA Tournaments (2012-24). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.
Survival of the Fittest
Since the move to rally scoring in 2001, Creighton has won 10 matches when surviving a match point and lost four contests when holding a match point of its own.
Surviving Match Points Since 2001
Date Opponent MP(s) Faced Final Set 5
09/27/02 Evansville 13-14, 14-15 19-17
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
Tournament Tested
Creighton has played multiple matches in 29 tournaments since the start of the 2021 calendar year, and won 19 of them.
Keep in mind that when Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton had been 17-33 in 15 regular-season tournaments all-time, with just one tournament title (the 2000 Iowa State Heritage Classic).
CU's Multi-Match Tournaments Since Jan. 1, 2021
Year Event CU Record (Place)
2021 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2021 Mizzou Invitational 3-0 (1st)
2021 Bluegrass Battle 3-0 (1st)
2021 Bluejay Invitational 3-0 (1st)
2021 Shocker Volleyball Classic 3-0 (1st)
2021 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2021 NCAA Tournament 1-1 (T-17th)
2022 Rumble in the Rockies 3-0 (1st)
2022 Bluejay Invitational 2-1 (2nd)
2022 Omaha Invitational 2-0 (1st)
2022 Rice adidas Invitational 1-1 (2nd)
2022 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2023 Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier 2-1 (1st)
2023 Bluejay Invitational 3-0 (1st)
2023 MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge 2-0 (1st)
2023 Diet Coke Challenge 2-0 (1st)
2023 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2023 NCAA Tournament 2-1 (T-9th)
2024 Bluejay Invitational 3-0 (1st)
2024 Creighton Classic 2-0 (1st)
2024 Cardinal Classic 2-1 (2nd)
2024 Jayhawk Classic 2-0 (1st)
2024 BIG EAST Tournament 2-0 (1st)
2024 NCAA Tournament 3-1 (T-5th)
2025 Opening Spike Classic 1-1 (T-2nd)
2025 Trojan Invitational 2-1 (2nd)
2025 Bluejay Invitational 2-1 (2nd)
2025 Creighton Classic 2-0 (1st)
Jays Earn Tourney Titles
Creighton has won at least one tournament each of the last 14 seasons, a streak that dates to 2012.
During that span, the Bluejays have won 36 tournament titles, not to mention 12 regular-season league crowns.
Creighton has also now won at least one home tournament each of the last nine seasons.
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 4 CU, CU, KU, BIG EAST
2025 1 CU
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 438-11 (.976) all-time when leading a match 2-0, and 161-1 (.994) 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.
Creighton has won 125 matches in a row when taking a 2-0 lead.
Conversely, the Jays are 17-211 (.075) all-time when trailing a match 0-2. 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 has gone 183-6 in its last 189 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 18-26 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 215-4 (.982) in its last 219 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening 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 179-6 in its last 185 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only to Pacific (Sept. 12, 2015), No. 7 Nebraska (Sept. 6, 2018), South Dakota (Jan. 29, 2021), No. 16 Kentucky (Sept. 3, 2022), Auburn (Dec. 2, 2022) and No. 4 Louisville (Sept. 12, 2025).
The Jays have won their last 43 of their last 44 home matches following a first set victory.
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
This year's team will play 10 matches against teams that made the 2024 NCAA Tournament with contests against Marquette (2x), Nebraska, Kansas (2x), Louisville, Northern Iowa, USC, Texas and Penn State.
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 9-3
2025 5-5 so far
TOTAL 121-150
TOTAL Before Booth 3-35
TOTAL Under Booth 113-110
TOTAL Under Rosen 5-5
Players Mentioned
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/ VolleyballCreighton Volleyball vs Nebraska Postgame Press Conference Spring Match
Saturday, April 18
Nebraska Volleyball vs Creighton Postgame Press Conference Spring Match
Saturday, April 18
Creighton Volleyball Media Availability - 4/15/26
Wednesday, April 15
Creighton vs. Kentucky Volleyball Press Conference - 12/13/25
Sunday, December 14
