#11 Volleyball Meets UNI For Regional Semifinal Spot

2025 NCAA Tournament - Second Round
Match #32: Northern Iowa Panthers (26-5) at #11 Creighton Bluejays (26-5)
Omaha, Neb. • Friday, Dec. 5 • 6:30 p.m.
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | UNI NOTES | PROGRAM |

• Eleventh-ranked and No. 10 seed Creighton (26-5) seeks its fifth trip to the Regional Semifinals when it hosts Northern Iowa (26-5) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. inside D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb.

• The match will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Jon Schriner and Shannon Smolinski on the call. Live stats for the general public can be found at https://www.ncaa.com/game/6500701 and for the media via http://creighton.statbroadcast.com.

• With a win on Friday, Creighton would...
- Improve to 27-5 with its 22nd straight win. It would be Creighton's third-longest win streak in program history, with the only two teams with longer streaks each having them snapped in the Elite Eight (25 in 2024, 23 in 2016). Entering Friday, the only schools with longer active win streaks are Nebraska (30), Kentucky (23), Northern Iowa (22) and Utah State (22).
- Win its 12th straight home match, the nation's ninth-longest active home winning streak.
- Win its 69th straight match against an unranked team.
- Win its 57th straight non-televised match.
- Improve to 19-14 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 5-7 mark in the Second Round.
- Improve to 9-4 in home matches in the NCAA Tournament with its sixth straight win.
- Improve to 18-42 against Northern Iowa with its ninth straight win over the Panthers.
- Win 27 or more matches for the ninth time, and fifth year in a row.
- Earn itself a Regional Semifinal match against either Arizona State or Utah State. A site, time and opponent will be finalized on Saturday night or Sunday by the NCAA.
- Brian Rosen can become the BIG EAST's first rookie volleyball coach to win multiple NCAA Tournament matches.

• Northern Iowa leads the all-time series against Creighton, 42-17, including an 18-7 mark in Omaha.
After winning just three of the first 43 meetings, Creighton has won 14 of the last 16 match-ups in the series, including eight in a row. CU's 14 wins are the most against the Panthers since 2012, three more than UNI's 11 losses to Illinois State.
Six of CU's 17 wins against the Panthers have come in five sets. Creighton's last 12 victories over Northern Iowa have come in six different states (five times in Nebraska, three times in Kentucky, and once each in Iowa, California, Kansas and Illinois).
Brian Rosen is 1-0 against UNI and Bobbi Petersen as a head coach. Petersen is 30-17 all-time against Creighton.
Northern Iowa is 14-0 all-time when ranked and facing Creighton. Creighton is 11-1 all-time when ranked when facing UNI. Oddly, the teams have never met when both were ranked.

• Friday's match-up with Northern Iowa will be Creighton's 60th against the Panthers since the program's restart in 1994, the most of any opponent.
The only other teams that Creighton has played more than 40 times are Wichita State (50) and Illinois State (43).
UNI is the only opponent to defeat Creighton more than 30 times, something the Panthers have done 42 times.
Creighton and Northern Iowa have played all but one season (2013) since the Bluejays restarted volleyball in 1994.
The teams were Missouri Valley Conference rivals who played twice annually from 1994-2012, plus six more MVC Tournament meetings.
Creighton is 12-2 against Northern Iowa since leaving the MVC, compared to a 5-40 mark when the two were Valley rivals.

• There are a ton of connections between Creighton and Northern Iowa.
Northern Iowa sophomore Reese Booth (6.23 aps., 2.31 dps.) is the daughter of former Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and an Omaha native who attended Elkhorn North High School.
Creighton men's basketball coach Greg McDermott played (1984-88) at and served as a head coach (2001-06) at Northern Iowa.
Former Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen is a 1971 graduate of Northern Iowa. He had been at Creighton since 1980, ascending to the Athletic Director position in 1994, before retiring in August of 2021.
Northern Iowa women's basketball head coach Tanya Warren played at Creighton and has spent two stints as an assistant coach with the Bluejays. Warren played for Rasmussen and is one of two Bluejay women's basketball players with her name in the rafters inside D.J. Sokol Arena.

• It's quite possible that next weekend's Sweet 16 could feature Kentucky, USC and either Creighton or UNI (as well as the Arizona State/Utah State winner). From 2014-22 (except 2020, when COVID cancelled most tournaments), USC, Kentucky, Creighton and UNI played in the same tournament that rotated sites over back-to-back four-year spans.
Creighton went 5-3 against Kentucky with wins in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, while UNI was 1-7 vs. Kentucky (winning in 2016).
Creighton was 3-5 against USC with wins in 2019, 2021 and 2022, while UNI went 1-7 with a victory in 2017 over the Women of Troy.

• Creighton is seeking its fifth trip to the Sweet 16 in program history, having been there in 2015, 2016, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 and 2024 teams also won in the Regional Semifinals to make the program's lone Elite Eight appearances to date.

• Creighton is one of 11 schools to appear in the Regional Semifinals each of the previous two NCAA Tournaments, joining Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin.
Kentucky, Purdue and Wisconsin all won on Thursday, while Oregon was not selected to the 2025 NCAA Tournament field. Louisville, Nebraska, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Stanford open NCAA Tournament play later tonight.

• Creighton is one seven schools to win 26 matches or more each of the last five seasons (2021-25), joining Nebraska, Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky. Louisville (24 wins entering Friday) and Wisconsin (25 wins entering Friday) can join them with successful weekends.
With a win tonight, the list of teams with 27 wins or more each of the last five seasons narrows down to just Creighton, Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky. Louisville, with 24 wins entering Friday, can get there with a return to the Elite Eight this year.

• Ava Martin had 30 kills on Friday, one of her most dominating performances in a career full of them. Considering the following about the sensational senior...
Martin's 30 kills tied her career-high, also done vs. Marquette on Nov. 1, 2025.
It made Martin the only player in CU history with multiple matches of 30+ kills.
It tied the D.J. Sokol Arena record that she did vs. Marquette on Nov. 1, 2025 and first accomplished by Norah Sis vs. Auburn in a 2022 NCAA Tournament match.
It tied Sis' match vs. Auburn in the 2022 NCAA Tournament for the most by any Bluejay in an NCAA Tournament contest.
Martin's 34.5 points in the match were the most by a Bluejay ever in any match since 2001, when points were first tracked nationally. It was also a D.J. Sokol Arena record.
It was Martin's 25th straight match with 10 or more kills, and 108th in a row with five or more kills.
It was the 24th straight contest that Martin has led or tied for the Creighton lead in kills.

• Ava Martin had eight kills in 14 swings during the fifth set last night. In five matches this season to go five sets, Martin has averaged 23.4 kills per match on .323 hitting.
In the fifth set alone this fall, Martin has 18 kills (3.60 kills per set) and just one error in 42 swings, good for a .405 hitting percentage.
As a team, Creighton has hit .400 in the fifth set this year, owning 47 kills and just five errors in 105 swings. CU has not had an attack error in three of those five matches (UCSB, Marquette, Northern Colorado).

• Ava Martin's three aces on Thursday also helped her move up the record books.
Martin now owns 127 career aces, as she moved into third in program history.
Martin now owns 66 career aces inside D.J. Sokol Arena, tying Keeley Davis' facility record.

• While Ava Martin improved her status in several ace-related categories, you can be sure she won't mind that teammate Nora Wurtz tied her in a few categories on Thursday.
Wurtz had one ace, moving into a tie with Martin (from 2024) with 56 this season, the second-most in CU history. Only Molly Moran (59 in 2000) has had more.
Wurtz also tied Martin's single-season record from 2024 with her 35th ace inside D.J. Sokol Arena this fall.

• There's also all sorts of D.J. Sokol Arena records within reach on Friday.
Ava Martin (256.0) is 13.5 points shy of Jaali Winters' (269.5 in 2015) single-season D.J. Sokol Arena points record.
Ava Martin (765) is 14 kills shy of tying Jaali Winters' (779 from 2015-18) for the D.J. Sokol Arena career kills record.
Ava Martin (230) is 19 kills shy of tying Jaali Winters' (249 in 2015) single-season D.J. Sokol Arena kills record.
Ava Martin (66) has tied Keeley Davis (from 2019-22) for most career aces inside D.J. Sokol Arena and is one away from sole possession of the record.
Nora Wurtz (35) has tied Ava Martin (in 2024) for the most single-season aces in one season inside D.J. Sokol Arena and is one away from sole possession of the record.
Kiara Reinhardt (8) has tied Elise Goetzinger (in 2024) for the most single-season solo blocks at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Kiara Reinhardt (247) is two blocks shy of Naomi Hickman (249 from 2017-21) for most career blocks in history inside D.J. Sokol Area.
Kiara Reinhardt is expected to add to her D.J. Sokol Arena career records for sets played (currently 225), matches played (currently 68) and matches started (currently 65) on Friday.

• Creighton and Northern Iowa have played two common opponents this season, both in Omaha at the Bluejay Invitational.
During those matches from Sept. 12-14 at D.J. Sokol Arena, both teams swept Rice and lost to Louisville in four sets. Creighton swept UNI to end the event.

• Creighton and Northern Iowa already met once earlier this year inside D.J. Sokol Arena, a 3-0 Bluejay win (25-13, 25-20, 25-17) on Sept. 14th as part of the Bluejay Invitational. Since that meeting, UNI is 22-0, while Creighton is 20-1 with the only loss being a five-setter against No. 1 Nebraska.
Cassidy Hartman led UNI with 13 kills that day while Lily Dykstra added nine kills.
Creighton was paced by 10 kills on .625 hitting from Ava Martin. CU had nine aces to UNI's one and had advantages in kills (39-36), digs (39-37), blocks (6-3) and hitting percentage (.330 to .175).

• Thursday saw Creighton improve to 3-2 on the season in matches in which it has trailed 2-1, having also beaten Marquette and UC Santa Barbara.
Creighton had not won an NCAA Tournament match when down 2-1 since doing it in a Regional Semifinal victory over Michigan on Dec. 9, 2016 in Austin, Texas.

• Creighton has won the first set in every match during its 21-match win streak.

• Last night's victory marked Brian Rosen's NCAA Tournament debut as a head coach, and it resulted in a 3-2 win over Northern Colorado.
Rosen's predecessor, Kirsten Bernthal Booth, won her NCAA Tournament debut as a head coach with a 3-2 win over Iowa State on Dec. 3, 2010.

• Creighton's victory last night was its first NCAA Tournament victory in a five-set match since a 3-2 win over Michigan on Dec. 9, 2016 in Austin, Texas. That year Creighton made history as the first team to ever open an NCAA Tournament run with three straight five-set victories. The streak started with a 3-2 win in Lawrence, Kan., over Northern Iowa (25-16, 25-20, 24-26, 14-25, 15-12).

• Creighton attracted 2,527 fans on Thursday, just above the listed D.J. Sokol Arena capacity of 2,500.
Nationally, that ranked fourth-most among the eight sites that competed yesterday. Leading the way was Wisconsin (4,465), Kentucky (3,572) and Arizona State (2,951). CU finished ahead of Purdue (2,415), USC (1,830), Indiana (1,815) and Kansas (1,607).
Creighton has now attracted 50,162 fans at home this season and are averaging 3,344 fans per home match. Both will be school records.

• Nobody has dominated their respective conferences in recent years more than Creighton and Northern Iowa. UNI has won 60 straight matches over Missouri Valley Conference foes to lead the country, while Creighton's 53 consecutive conquests over BIG EAST opposition is second-most.

• Creighton and Northern Iowa were two of eight teams nationally to finish conference play unbeaten this fall. Of those eight, all but Dayton made the NCAA Tournament.
Teams that went unbeaten in league play this year went 4-0 on Thursday to open the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky won 3-0, while Creighton, Northern Iowa and Utah State all won in five sets.

• After winning just 13 of its first 26 home sets in NCAA Tournament play, Creighton enters tonight having won 15 of its last 17 home sets in NCAA Tournament action.

• Annalea Maeder's finished her NCAA Tournament debut with 53 assists and 21 digs.
The 21 digs were a career-high and the most by any Bluejay all season.
She became the eighth player in CU history to attain at least 20 assists and 20 digs in the same match, but the first to do it in an NCAA Tournament match.
It was Maeder's team-leading 13th double-double this fall.

• The opening day of the 2025 NCAA Tournament featured 16 matches, six of which went five sets.
The site at D.J. Sokol Arena was the nation's only venue to see a pair of five-set matches.
It's reminiscent of 2022, when all three matches in the Creighton sub-Regional went all five sets.

• No. 1 seeds in each quadrant went 8-0 last night, but No. 2 seeds were just 5-3.
At least 10 of the 16 top seeds in each quadrant have advanced to the Regional Semifinal round in each of the past 24 seasons.
On average in that span, 12.83 of the 16 seeded teams (80.2 percent) make the Sweet 16.

#11 Volleyball Meets UNI For Regional Semifinal Spot

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Players Mentioned

Elise Goetzinger

Annalea Maeder

Ava Martin

Kiara Reinhardt

Norah Sis

Nora Wurtz