#12 Volleyball Opens Regular Season vs. #2 Penn State
8/19/2025 6:00:00 PM | Volleyball
Match to air on FS1
AVCA First Serve
Match #1: #2 Penn State vs. #12 Creighton • Lincoln, Neb. • Saturday, Aug. 23 • 4 p.m.
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | PSU NOTES |
This Weekend
No. 12 Creighton Volleyball opens the Brian Rosen era in Lincoln, Neb., with a match against defending national champion and No. 2 Penn State on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m.Â
  The battle is a rematch of last season's Elite Eight five-set contest won by the Nittany Lions inside Rec Hall on the Penn State campus.
  Saturday's battle will be held inside Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,290).
Broadcast Information
Saturday's match against Penn State will be nationally-televised on FS1, with Connor Onion, Emily Ehman and Anna Connelly on the call.
Live Stats Information
Saturday's match will have free live stats at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.Â
  A link will also be on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting #12 Creighton
Ranked 12th in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll, Creighton returns three starters among 11 letterwinners from last year's team that went 32-3 and reached the Elite Eight.
  Though All-Americans Kendra Wait, Norah Sis, Maddy Bilinovic and Elise Goetzinger have graduated and legendary head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth took a job with LOVB Nebraska, the expectations for the 11-time defending BIG EAST champion Bluejays haven't changed.
  Reigning AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year Brian Rosen was promoted to head coach after three seasons assisting Booth, and he'll rely on senior starters Ava Martin (3.66 kps., .312%, 0.48 spas.) and Kiara Reinhardt (1.48 bps., 1.43 kps., .296%) to lead a talented group.
  Jaya Johnson (1.69 kps., .322%), Sydney Breissinger (2.02 dps., 0.31 saps.), Destiny Ndam-Simpson (1.53 kps.), Sky McCune (0.30 dps.) and Alivia Hausmann (0.22 saps.) have all played on a regular basis in the past and will look to take the next step in 2025.
  Creighton also picked up transfers Eloise Brandewie (Ohio State), Saige Damrow (Wisconsin), Ivy Leuck (Omaha) and Annalea Maeder (California) in addition to adding freshmen Abbey Hayes and Ashlyn Paymal. All but Maeder enrolled in January and practiced with CU in the spring.
   CU averaged 14.39 kills, 1.91 aces, 14.31 digs and 2.69 blocks per set and hit .324 last season.
Scouting #2 Penn State
Penn State went 35-2 last season and won its eighth national title, but first since 2014.
  The Nittany Lions were keyed by First Team All-American Jess Mruzik (4.35 kps.) and National Freshman of the Year Izzy Starck (10.98 aps.), while libero Gillian Grimes (3.92 dps.) was a star defender. While Mruzik is now a pro, Penn State acquired Kennedy Martin (5.57 kps., .362%) via the transfer portal.
  PSU averaged 14.61 kills, 1.50 aces, 14.77 digs and 2.48 blocks per set while hitting .283 last year.Â
  The defending Big Ten and NCAA champion Nittany Lions are picked to finish second in the Big Ten this year and were ranked second nationally in the AVCA's Top 25 preseason poll.
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.
  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.
Series History vs. Penn State
The lone meeting between Creighton and Penn State came in last December's Elite Eight at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa., where the Nittany Lions beat the Bluejays in five sets (25-15, 16-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-7).
  Ava Martin led CU with 17 kills and Norah Sis contributed 12 digs, eight kills and three aces. Jess Mruzik led PSU with 20 kills and Caroline Jurevicius added 11 kills.Â
Last Season Summary
Creighton went 32-3 last season and were ranked sixth in the year-end AVCA poll, with both milestones being program-bests. All three of CU's losses came against eventual Final Four teams, and each were on the road and in five sets.Â
  CU swept South Dakota and Ole Miss at home in the NCAA Tournament to finish 19-0 at D.J. Sokol Arena and reach the Sweet 16, where it then knocked off two-time defending national champion Texas to earn an Elite Eight date with eventual national champ Penn State.
  Kendra Wait repeated as BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Setter of the Year, while becoming the first athlete in CU history to be named both First Team All-American on the court/field and First Team Academic All-American in the same season. Norah Sis picked up her third AVCA All-America accolade and Ava Martin her second, while transfers Maddy Bilinovic and Elise Goetzinger were also recognized as CU led the country with five All-Americans.
  The Jays went 20-0 against BIG EAST foes, dropping just three sets, en route to their 11th consecutive regular-season league title.
  In her final season on The Hilltop, Kirsten Bernthal Booth was named AVCA West Region Coach of the Year and led the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year, which also included 2024 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year Brian Rosen.
Exhibition Recap
Creighton played two scrimmages in preparation for the start of the regular-season.
  In its annual Blue/White scrimmage (Aug. 9), the White team earned a 3-1 win. Sixteen players saw action during at least one set on both the Blue and White sides. Alumni Kiana Schmitt, Norah Sis and Kendra Wait also participated in the match.
  Last Saturday (Aug. 16), Creighton won the first three sets in an exhibition contest against Colorado State before the Rams won the final two games in a contest that was predetermined to go the full five sets.
With A Win...
With a win on Saturday...
- Creighton would improve to 22-10 in season-opening matches since restarting its program in 1994, including six straight wins and a 15-2 mark since 2009.
- Creighton would improve to 3-5 all-time against defending national champions, with its third straight win.
- Creighton would improve to 1-8 all-time against teams ranked first or second nationally.
- Creighton would improve to 3-3 in season-openers against Top 25 teams, including a 3-0 mark on neutral floors.
- Creighton would improve to 31-89 all-time against Top 25 teams, and 12-39 against Top 10 opponents.
- Creighton would defeat a ranked team for the 11th straight season.
- Creighton would win its 18th straight match following a five-set loss.
- Creighton would improve its record in the all-time series against Penn State to 1-1.
- Creighton would be the first team to hand the defending national champion a season-opening loss since Arizona swept 2019 champion Stanford in February of 2021.
- Brian Rosen would become the first Creighton Volleyball head coach to win his debut since Howard Wallace in 1997.
- Brian Rosen would become the first Creighton head coach in any sport to debut with a Top 25 victory since Cathy Klein led the Bluejay women's soccer team to a 1-0 win vs. No. 12 Wisconsin on Sept. 3, 1994.
Hello World!
Four transfers (Eloise Brandewie, Saige Damrow, Abby Leuck and Annalea Maeder) and two Bluejay true freshmen (Abbey Hayes and Ashlyn Paymal), could make their Creighton debuts this weekend.
  Below is the current Creighton players and how they performed in their regular-season collegiate debuts (as well as at previous schools in the cases of Brandewie, Damrow, Leuck and Maeder).
  Records for a Bluejay debut can be found at the bottom of page three. Interestingly, the career leaders or career runner-ups for Creighton Volleyball in digs (Brittany Witt and Kate Elman), aces (Molly Moran), kills (Jaali Winters) and blocks (Kelli Browning) also own the CU record or are second for that same category for a Bluejay debut.Â
Year  Name  SP  K  E  TA  Pct.  A  SA  DIG  TB
2024  Jaya Johnson  3  11  1  19  .526  0  0  5  0
2020  Kiara Reinhardt•  3  7  4  16  .188  0  2  2  4
2023  D. Ndam-Simpson  3  5  2  10  .300  0  0  3  1
2022  Ava Martin  1  3  0  4  .750  0  0  0  1
2023Â Â Eloise Brandewie$Â Â 3Â Â 2Â Â 2Â Â 9Â Â 000Â Â 0Â Â 0Â Â 1Â Â 3
2023  Ava TeStrake  2  0  1  2  -.500  0  0  0  0
2022  Sky McCune•  3  0  0  0  ---  2  0  5  0
2023  Sydney Breissinger  3  0  0  0  ---  1  0  7  0
2024  Alivia Hausmann  1  0  0  0  ---  0  0  0  0
2023Â Â Ivy Leuck%Â Â 3Â Â 0Â Â 1Â Â 1Â Â -1.000Â Â 8Â Â 0Â Â 1Â Â 0
2024  Sophia Wendlick  2  0  1  4  -.250  0  0  0  0
2024  Emersen Strain  2  0  0  0  ---  1  0  0  0
2023Â Â Saige Damrow#Â Â 3Â Â 0Â Â 0Â Â 0Â Â ---Â Â 5Â Â 0Â Â 4Â Â 0
2021  Annalea Maeder!•  2  0  0  2  .000  8  1  0  0
2024  Nora Wurtz•  3  0  0  0  ---  0  0  0  0
#Damrow's stats from debut at Wisconsin in 2023
$Brandewie's stats from debut at Ohio State in 2023
%Leuck's stats from debut at Omaha in 2023
!Maeder's stats from debut at Cal in 2021
Season Opening History
Last season's win vs. NC State improved Creighton to 21-10 in season-opening matches since restarting the program in 1994. That includes a 14-2 mark since 2009 and five straight wins.
  Since restarting its program in 1994, Creighton is 14-2 in season-openers that take place on a neutral floor, 21-10 in its first neutral-site match of a season, and 20-11 in its first match away from home of a season.
Opening Day
Creighton is 2-3 all-time when opening the season against a Top 25 team, but is 2-0 when that match is on a neutral floor.Â
  The Jays beat No. 13 BYU (3-1) in the 2013 opener at Bowling Green, and topped No. 5 Kentucky (3-2) in the 2018 lid-lifter at USC.
  Penn State's No. 2 ranking matches the highest-ranked opponent in a Creighton season-opener, as the Jays fell in Lincoln at No. 2 Nebraska (3-1) to begin the 2019 campaign.
Creighton vs. Top 25 teams in Season Openers
Date  CU Rank  Opp. Rank  Result
09/01/98  --  at #5 Nebraska  L 0-3
08/29/08  --  #16 Minnesota  L 1-3
08/30/13Â Â 25Â Â vs. #13 BYUÂ Â W 3-1
08/24/18  13  vs. #5 Kentucky  W 3-2
08/30/19  18  at #2 Nebraska  L 1-3
08/26/25  12  vs. #2 Penn State  4 p.m.
  Â
Coaching Debuts
Brian Rosen is Creighton Volleyball's fourth head coach since it reinstated the program in 1994 following Ben Guiliano (1994-96), Howard Wallace (1997-2002) and Kirsten Bernthal Booth (2003-24).
  Guiliano swept Chattanooga in his debut on Sept. 2, 1994 at the Tulane Invitational in New Orleans, La.
  Wallace swept Kansas City at the Creighton First Serve Festival in Omaha by a 15-5, 16-14, 15-9 count.
  Most recently, Booth lost a four-set match (30-23, 30-32, 30-26, 30-24) to Iowa State on Aug. 29, 2003 at the Iowa State Heritage Classic in Ames.
Ranked Debuts
Brian Rosen will be the first person in any sport to lead a ranked Creighton team in his head coaching debut on The Hilltop since Elmar Bolowich took over the No. 10 Bluejay men's soccer program in 2011. Bolowich led that squad to the 2011 College Cup and year-end No. 4 ranking.
  Rosen will also be Creighton's first head coach in any sport to debut against a ranked team since men's soccer coach Johnny Torres tied No. 6 North Carolina on Aug. 30, 2019. Rosen will be CU's first coach to start off against a top-five team.
  With a win, Rosen will be CU's second head coach on record to debut with a Top 25 win, joining women's soccer's Cathy Klein who led her team to a 1-0 win against No. 12 Wisconsin on Sept. 3, 1994.
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 12th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 7th. It's 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
140 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked 12th in the preseason AVCA poll, the 140th time in program history it's been ranked. That's 39th-most of all programs in NCAA history.
  All 140 rankings have occurred since 2012.
  The Bluejays are one of 13 schools (along with Baylor, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 63 polls.
Top 10 Wins
Creighton owns 11 Top 10 wins in program history, all of which have taken place in the previous 10 seasons.Â
  All but one of the those Top 10 wins have taken place away from home, including wins over No. 6 Purdue and No. 10 Kansas on back-to-back days last September in Lawrence, Kan.
  Creighton owns four top-five wins in program history, and all of those were away from home.
  The highest-ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten was No. 3 Washington (8/26/17) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/21), but the Jays are 0-2 all-time against No. 2 teams entering Saturday's tussle with the second-ranked Nittany Lions.
Creighton's Top 10 Wins
Date  Opponent  Score
09/05/15Â Â vs. #10 Kentucky (at UNI)Â Â W 3-1
12/02/16  at #4 Kansas  W 3-2
08/26/17  at #3 Washington  W 3-1
09/09/17  at #7 Kansas  W 3-0
08/24/18Â Â vs. #5 Kentucky (at USC)Â Â W 3-2
10/12/19  at #10 Marquette  W 3-2
11/09/19  #9 Marquette  W 3-1
09/04/21  at #3 Kentucky  W 3-0
09/16/23  at #9 Minnesota  W 3-2
09/20/24Â Â vs. #6 Purdue (at Kansas)Â Â W 3-1
09/21/24  at #10 Kansas  W 3-0
Top 25 History
Creighton is 231-48 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 25-28 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, 43 of Creighton's 77 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 314-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 122 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 175 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 25-28)
Home: 10-9Â Â Away: 8-12Â Â Â Neutral: 7-7
Date  Winner  Loser  CU Score
11/19/12  #11 Minnesota  #21 Creighton  1-3
08/30/13  #25 Creighton  #13 BYU  3-1
09/14/13  #11 UCLA  #24 Creighton  1-3
09/16/13  #7 Hawaii  #23 Creighton  2-3
08/30/14  #22 Kansas  #23 Creighton  1-3
09/03/16  #23 Kentucky  #22 Creighton  0-3
12/02/16  #21 Creighton  #4 Kansas  3-2
12/09/16  #21 Creighton  #17 Michigan  3-2
12/10/16  #5 Texas  #21 Creighton  0-3
08/26/17  #9 Creighton  #3 Washington  3-1
09/01/17  #7 Creighton  #13 Kentucky  3-0
09/02/17  #18 USC  #7 Creighton  0-3
09/08/17  #17 Purdue  #9 Creighton  1-3
09/09/17  #9 Creighton  #7 Kansas  3-0
09/16/17  #19 Iowa State  #8 Creighton  2-3
12/12/17  #12 Michigan St.  #15 Creighton  1-3
08/24/18  #13 Creighton  #5 Kentucky  3-2
08/25/18  #10 USC  #13 Creighton  2-3
09/06/18  #7 Nebraska  #14 Creighton  2-3
09/15/18  #8 Illinois  #10 Creighton  1-3
09/23/18  #10 Creighton  #21 Marquette  3-0
10/26/18  #10 Creighton  #18 Marquette  3-1
11/24/18  #9 Creighton  #16 Marquette  3-1
12/01/18  #22 Washington  #9 Creighton  0-3
08/30/19  #2 Nebraska  #18 Creighton  1-3
08/31/19  #20 Baylor  #18 Creighton  0-3
09/06/19  #23 Creighton  #12 Kentucky  3-1
09/07/19  #23 Creighton  #15 USC  3-1
09/14/19  #12 Washington  #17 Creighton  1-3
10/12/19  #13 Creighton  #10 Marquette  3-2
11/22/19  #12 Creighton  #9 Marquette  3-1
12/07/19  #7 Minnesota  #15 Creighton  2-3
02/05/21  #19 Creighton  #25 Marquette  3-2
02/06/21  #25 Marquette  #19 Creighton  0-3
09/08/21  #3 Nebraska  #19 Creighton  0-3
09/02/22  #17 Creighton  #25 USC  3-1
09/03/22  #16 Kentucky  #17 Creighton  1-3
09/07/22  #2 Nebraska  #17 Creighton  2-3
10/14/22  #21 Creighton  #16 Marquette  3-2
11/19/22  #16 Marquette  #11 Creighton  0-3
11/26/22  #15 Creighton  #14 Marquette  3-2
08/26/23  #18 Creighton  #16 Purdue  3-0
09/06/23  #4 Nebraska  #16 Creighton  1-3
09/16/23  #14 Creighton  #9 Minnesota  3-2
11/05/23  #17 Creighton  #25 Marquette  3-0
12/07/23  #7 Louisville  #17 Creighton  2-3
09/05/24  #11 Creighton  #20 USC  3-1
09/10/24  #5 Nebraska  #9 Creighton  2-3
09/15/24  #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 vs. #12 Creighton  4 p.m.
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 previous 10 seasons (2015-24).Â
  Creighton is 30-89 all-time against ranked teams, with all 30 wins coming under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
  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.
  Last year was the eighth 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.
Facing The Champs
Creighton is 2-5 all-time when facing the defending national champion, but on a two-match winning streak.
  Creighton defeated two-time defending champion Texas in four sets in December of 2024, and also had a road sweep of Kentucky in September of 2021. Both of those teams featured All-Americans Madi Skinner and Reagan Rutherford.
Creighton is 3-12 Against Teams That MadeÂ
The Final Four The Previous Year
(Home: 0-4, Away: 2-7, Neutral: 1-1)
Date   Winner   Loser   Previous Year Finish
9/25/01Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 0Â Â NCAA ChampionÂ
9/10/05Â Â Stanford 3Â Â Creighton 0Â Â NCAA Champion
9/24/06Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 1Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
8/31/07Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 0Â Â NCAA Champion
9/1/09Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 0Â Â Final Four
9/17/16Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 1Â Â NCAA Champion
9/8/16Â Â Kansas 3Â Â Creighton 2Â Â Final Four
12/2/16Â Â Creighton 3Â Â Kansas 2Â Â Final Four
12/10/16Â Â Texas 3Â Â Creighton 0Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
9/6/18  Nebraska 3  Creighton 2  NCAA Champion
8/30/19Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 1Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
9/4/21Â Â Creighton 3Â Â Kentucky 0Â Â NCAA Champion
9/7/22Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 2Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
9/10/24Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 2Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
12/13/24Â Â Creighton 3Â Â Texas 1Â Â NCAA Champion
Put It In Neutral
Creighton went 4-0 on neutral floors last season (including wins over #6 Purdue and #13 Texas), continuing a trend of playing well at neutral sites.
  The Bluejays are 20-2 in the previous four seasons on neutral floors, including a 7-0 mark in 2021, a 4-0 record in 2022, a 5-2 record in 2023 and a 4-0 record in 2024.
  Included in that stretch are neutral-site wins over USC (2021), Northern Iowa (2021 and 2024), Iowa State (2022 & 2023), Florida State (2022), Kansas State (2022), Loyola Chicago (2023), High Point (2023), St. John's (2023), Rice (2024), Purdue (2024) and Texas (2024).
Crowded House
With reports that Pinnacle Bank Arena will be at near-capacity (15,290) this weekend, it's time to take a look at some of the largest crowds that Creighton Volleyball has ever played in front of.
  The Bluejays have never played in front of more than 8,924 fans outside of Omaha, and never in front of more than 8,277 fans on a neutral court.
  The Jays ought get familiar in front of the large crowds, as a trip to Madison next weekend could feature more than 10,000 fans, and CU's Sept. 16 home match vs. Nebraska is expected to challenge the NCAA regular-season indoor volleyball -only attendance record of 17,037.
  Let's take a closer look:
Largest Home Crowds
  Att.  Opponent  Date  CU Result  Facility
  15,797  #2 Nebraska  09/07/22  L 2-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  14,022  #7 Nebraska  09/06/18  L 2-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  13,081  #18 Cal Poly  09/02/07  L 0-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  12,112  #1 Nebraska  09/24/06  L 1-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  11,279  #3 Nebraska  09/08/21  L 0-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  10,131  #4 Nebraska  09/15/15  L 0-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  8,037  #2 Nebraska  10/05/08  L 0-3  CHI Health Ctr.
Largest Away/Neutral Crowds
  Att.  Site    Date  CU Result
  8,924  at #5 Nebraska    09/10/24  L 2-3
  8,656  at #4 Nebraska    09.06/23  L 1-3
  8,627  at #5 Nebraska    09/29/02  L 0-3
  8,450  at #2 Nebraska    08/30/19  L 1-3
  8,277  vs. Montana St. (at Neb.)  09/16/16  W 3-0
Some Fab Freshmen To Start
Creighton has started 15 different true freshmen in its season opener since 2009, and 19 such players since 2000.
  Since 2000, the only true freshmen to start CU's season-opener have been Brittany Coleman (2003), Carolyn Decker (2004), Korie Lebeda (2005), Allie Oelke (2007), Brooke Boggs (2009), Heather Thorson (2009), Julianne Mandolfo (2010), Katie Neisler (2011), Michelle Sicner (2011), Melanie Jereb (2012), Ashley Jansen (2012), Jess Bird (2013), Jaali Winters (2015), Naomi Hickman (2017), Emily Bressman (2019), Kiara Reinhardt (2020), Kendra Wait (2021), Norah Sis (2021) and Sky McCune (2022), with Coleman, Lebeda and Wait the only freshmen to start at setter in the season-opener.
  In addition, CU also started redshirt freshmen Lauren Smith (2013) and Brittany Lawrence (2015), as well as transfers Maggie Baumert (2014), Lydia Dimke (2016), Madelyn Cole (2018), Erica Kostelac (2019), Mahina Pua'a (2020), Ellie Bichelmeyer (2023) and Elise Goetzinger (2024) in season-openers.
  Eleven of those women (Martin, Sis, Wait, Reinhardt, Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC or BIG EAST's All-Freshman Team (though the BIG EAST had no such team from 2013-19). Winters was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2015, Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2016, Davis was BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2019, Sis recognized as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2021 and Martin named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2022.
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%)
Beginning With The End
This year marks the first time that Creighton Volleyball will open the fall with the same opponent (Penn State) that the Bluejays ended the previous season against.Â
  Even stranger is that Creighton's next opponents (Texas, next Friday in Madison) was also Creighton's second-to-last opponent a year ago.
Star City Stats
Creighton is 4-14 all-time when playing in Lincoln, but there is some good news, as the Bluejays are 4-1 in neutral-site matches in the capital city.
  Creighton swept Weber State and Saint Mary's in 2011, swept Gonzaga and Montana State in 2016, and lost to No. 20 Baylor in 2019..
  The AVCA First Serve event will mark the initial collegiate volleyball matches ever played inside Pinnacle Bank Arena. but that building has been quite kind to Creighton through the years. Creighton owns a 4-1 men's basketball record in the facility and a 3-3 mark in women's basketball action there.
  No other school has more non-conference victories in the venue in either sport.
It Gets Earlier Every Year
Take away the COVID-affect 2020 season when teams played in the spring, and Creighton has never played a regular-season volleyball match as early as August 23rd.
  The previous earliest start dates had been Aug. 24 in 2007, 2012 and 2018. The Bluejays were 2-2 in those matches, including a season-opening win vs. No. 5 Kentucky in 2018.
  The early start this fall comes after Creighton finished last season on Dec. 15th, its latest day on the calendar for a match ever. Both the Dec. 15, 2024 and Aug. 23, 2025 matches will have been against Penn State.
One Tough Schedule
Of Creighton's 12 non-conference matches, seven are 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.
Defense Or Offense?
While Penn State and Creighton are two of the best all-around programs in the country, both excelled last year on opposite sides of the net.
  Creighton led the nation by holding opponents to a .130 attack percentage, the second time in past four seasons it's done that as it was also first in 2021 (.124).Â
  On the other side of the ball, Penn State ranked second in the nation in kills per set (14.61) and assists per set (13.64) last year, and ranked 12th with a .283 hitting percentage. In the offseason the Nittany Lions picked up Florida star Kennedy Martin, who ranked second nationally with 5.57 kills per set last year, via the transfer portal.
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton's 32 victories last season were fourth-most in the country, trailing only Final Four qualifiers Penn State (35), Pittsburgh (33) and Nebraska (33).
  Creighton's three losses last were tied for the third-fewest in the nation, one more than Penn State and Pittsburgh's two losses.
  When it comes to sets, Creighton's 102 sets won were tied for second-most in the nation (Penn State had 105), while its 15 sets lost were tied for the fewest in the nation (with Pittsburgh).
  In its last 48 matches dating to 2023, Creighton is 44-4 and has won 137-of-156 sets. All four match losses came in five sets.
  In its 35 matches against BIG EAST schools since October 7, 2023, Creighton is 35-0 and has dropped just four sets to league opponents.
Most Matches Won in 2024
Rk.   Matches Won  Team
1.  35  Penn State
2.  33  Pittsburgh
  33  Nebraska
4.  32  Creighton
5.  31  Dayton
Most Sets Won in 2024
Rk.  Sets Won  Team
1.  105  Penn State
2.  102  Creighton
  102  Pittsburgh
  102  Nebraska
Fewest Matches Lost in 2024
Rk.   Matches Lost  Team
1.  2  Pittsburgh
  2  Penn State
3.  3  Creighton
  3  Dayton
  3  Nebraska
  3  Arizona State
  3  Texas-Arlington
  3  South Dakota State
Fewest Sets Lost in 2024
Rk.  Sets Lost  Team
1.  15  Creighton
  15  Pittsburgh
3.  19  Dayton
4.  20  Nebraska
  20  Arizona State
Fewest Sets Lost in 2023
Rk.  Sets Lost  Team
1.  22  Creighton
  22  Nebraska
  22  Dayton
4.  23  Wisconsin
  23  Tennessee
  23  Western Michigan
Avoiding Losing Streaks
One key to Creighton's extended success over the last dozen years has been its ability to bounce back after a loss.
  The Bluejays have won their last 25 contests immediately following a loss and have not dropped consecutive matches since opening the season 0-2 to begin the 2019 campaign with back-to-back losses to No. 2 Nebraska and No. 20 Baylor in Lincoln, Neb.Â
  And if that's not enough, EVERY SINGLE OTHER TEAM in the country (all 347 of them) has had a multi-match losing streak since Creighton's last skid.
  Creighton has also won its last 17 matches after a five-set loss, a streak that dates back to early in the 2016 campaign.
  What's it all mean? Coming off a five-set loss in its final match last season, a couple of streaks will be on the line on Saturday vs. Penn State.
  And while not in jeopardy this weekend, it's still worth bragging about that Creighton has also not lost back-to-back matches against conference foes since a three-match losing streak in November of 2011.
No Losers Here
Creighton has been as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.
  Creighton and Pittsburgh are the nation's only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons.Â
  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.
  There are also 12 schools that have appeared in 14 of the last 15 NCAA Tournaments, a group that includes Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Minnesota, Purdue, Stanford and Washington. Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, and Texas have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since at least 2010.
The Streak At Home
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.
  That extends its program record to 32 straight home wins, surpassing a 15-match home win streak from Sept. 7-Nov. 30, 2018 that had been the standard.Â
  Creighton's 32-match home win streak is the third-longest active streak in the country. In that time, CU has lost just five sets total.
  Creighton has won 89 of its last 91 sets played at D.J. Sokol Arena overall, where it lost just one set in 12 matches against BIG EAST opponents last fall.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins  Dates  Snapped By
  32  Sept. 1, 2023 - Present  TBD
  15  Sept. 7 - Nov. 30, 2018  #22 Washington, 3-0
  13  Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013  California, 3-0
  13  Sept. 9, 2016-Sept. 1, 2017  #18 USC, 3-0
Nation's Longest Active Home Win Streaks
Wins  Team  Next Home Match
  45  Nebraska  Friday vs. #3 Pittsburgh
  35  Pittsburgh  Sept. 1 vs. Arizona State
  32  Creighton  Sept. 12 vs. Louisville
  24  Penn State  Sept. 5 vs. Kentucky
Ava's Awesome
Ava Martin has had 10 or more kills in each of her last 18 matches. Only three women in program history have had a longer streak.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills
  58  Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005
  21  Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015 - Aug. 28, 2016
  19  JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997
  18  Jaela Zimmerman, Nov. 16, 2019 - March 27, 2021
  18  Ava Martin, Oct. 18, 2024 - Present
  15  Norah Sis, Oct. 7 - Dec. 2, 2022
A Great Start
Ava Martin enters her senior season with 1,109 kills in her career. The 1,109 kills is the fifth-most ever by a Bluejay in their first three seasons.
  If Martin can duplicate her 428 kills from last year, she'd finish her career fifth in Bluejay history with 1,537 career putaways.
Most Kills at Creighton, First 3 Seasons
Name  Year 1  Year 2  Year 3  3 Yr Total
Jaali Winters  546  448  398  1,392
Norah Sis  435  489  302  1,226
Melissa Walsh  341  428  435  1,204
Leah Ratzlaff  180  516  479  1,175
Ava Martin  264  417  428  1,109
Kelly Goc  218  345  437  1,000
JoDe Cieloha  271  303  380  954
Milestone Watch
Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones as the 2025 season gets underway.
  Kiara Reinhardt enters Saturday tied for seventh in CU history with 47 solo blocks.
  Reinhardt is also eighth in program history with 372 career block assists. With a strong match against Penn State, Reinhardt could pass Marysa Wilkinson (374), Laurel Sanford (376) and Megan Bober (380).
  Reinhardt's 419 career total blocks are tied for ninth in CU history with Sanford, and is quickly approaching Wilkinson (421) and Bober (422) in that category, too.
  Destiny Ndam-Simpson's next kill will be the 200th of her career, while Jaya Johnson is nine shy of 200.
Four On The Floor
Kiara Reinhardt could make her fourth Opening Day start on Saturday. If that happens, she'd be just the 19th player in CU history to start four season-openers.
Five Opening Day Starts
Name  Years
Naomi Hickman  2017-21
Four Opening Day Starts
Name  Years
JoDe Cieloha  1994-97
Melissa Weisensee  1994-97
Shelley Kapler  1996-99
Erin Swanson  1998-01
Kailey Reyes  1998-01
Melissa Walsh  1998-01
Carolyn Decker  2004-06, 08
Korie Lebeda  2005-08
Jessica Houts  2006-09
Allie Oelke  2007-10
Heather Thorson  2009-12
Megan Bober  2009-12
Jess Bird  2013-16
Lauren Smith  2013-16
Jaali Winters  2015-18
Norah Sis  2021-24
Kendra Wait  2022-24
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.
  Two of the comeback wins came in a season-opener, as CU did it in 2018 vs. No. 5 Kentucky and vs. UTSA in 2011.
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
08/26/11Â Â vs. UTSAÂ Â 12-14, 13-14Â Â 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
Bouncing Back
The Creighton staff is quick to credit athletic performance coach Brad Schmidt for helping the team get stronger during the off-season and maintaining that strength during the season.
  Need evidence of that? Since Aug. 25, 2018, Creighton is 23-2 in the match after a five-setter, and has won 17 straight matches following a five-set loss.
Tournament Tested
Creighton has played in 26 tournaments since the start of the 2021 calendar year, and won 18 of them.Â
  The only events that CU has not won were five NCAA Tournaments, the 2022 Bluejay Invitational (won by Kentucky), the 2022 Rice adidas Invitational (won by Rice) and the 2024 Cardinal Classic (won by Louisville).
  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).
Creighton Tournaments Since Jan. 1, 2021
Year  Event  CU Record (Place)
2021  BIG EAST Tournament  2-0 (1st)
2021  NCAA Tournament  0-1 (T-25th)
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)
2022  NCAA Tournament  0-1 (T-33rd)
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)
Jays Earn Tourney Titles
Creighton has won at least one tournament each of the previous 13 seasons, a streak that dates to 2012.
   During that span, the Bluejays have won 35 tournament titles, not to mention 12 regular-season league crowns.
  Creighton has also now won at least one home tournament each of the previous eight seasons.
Creighton's Tournament Titles Since 2012
Year  Titles Won  Tourney Hosts
2012Â Â 3Â Â USF, UNC, MVC
2013Â Â 1Â Â BGSU
2014Â Â 1Â Â CU, BIG EAST
2015Â Â 1Â Â BIG EAST
2016Â Â 1Â Â BIG EAST
2017Â Â 4Â Â WASH, CU, KU, BIG EAST
2018Â Â 3Â Â SMU, CU, BIG EAST
2019Â Â 2Â Â UNI, CU
2020Â Â 1Â Â BIG EAST
2021Â Â 5Â Â MIZZ, UK, CU, WSU, BIG EAST
2022Â Â 3Â Â WYO, UNO, BIG EAST
2023Â Â 5Â Â Purdue, CU, UNO, MINN, BIG EAST
2024Â Â 4Â Â CU, CU, KU, BIG EAST
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 418-11 (.974) all-time when leading a match 2-0, and 149-1 (.993) all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena when up 2-0 at the break.
  Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that won the first two sets won 94.9 percent of their matches from 2014-23.
  Conversely, the Jays are 17-208 (.076) 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 160-6 in its last 166 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 17-22 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
  Creighton has gone 197-4 (.980) in its last 201 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 167-5 in its last 172 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) and Auburn (Dec. 2, 2022). The Jays have won their last 31 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
1994Â Â 0-4
1995Â Â 0-2
1996Â Â 0-2
1997Â Â 0-3
1998Â Â 0-5
1999Â Â 2-4
2000Â Â 0-4
2001Â Â 1-6
2002Â Â 0-5
2003Â Â 0-3
2004Â Â 2-2
2005Â Â 0-6
2006Â Â 4-6
2007Â Â 4-9
2008Â Â 6-8
2009Â Â 1-11
2010Â Â 4-7
2011Â Â 2-6
2012Â Â 8-3
2013Â Â 6-6
2014Â Â 4-5
2015Â Â 11-5
2016Â Â 10-7
2017Â Â 8-6
2018Â Â 8-5
2019Â Â 5-4
2020Â Â 3-1
2021Â Â 3-1
2022Â Â 5-4
2023Â Â 11-3
2024Â Â 9-3
TOTALÂ Â 115-145
TOTAL Under Booth  113-110
TOTAL Under Rosen  0-0
Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won 12 conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton's 12 crowns were outright titles, whereas WKU has shared five.
  Creighton has also won 11 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2024
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&MÂ Â Â
9 (5) Yale
9 (1) Colorado State  Â
  Â
11 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Regular-season champions from 2014-24, Creighton is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 11 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 five straight regular-season league titles is Kentucky, with eight.
Home Sweet Home
Creighton is starting its 13th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
  Since then, the Bluejays are 112-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (101-3 in the regular-season, 11-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
  Since November of 2014, Creighton is 96-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 86-1 league mark 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 are 32-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 96-7 in sets.
  Creighton has won 46 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.
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 11 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 - 2024
       BIG EAST only  All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)Â Â WÂ Â LÂ Â WÂ Â L
Creighton (12)Â Â 188Â Â 16Â Â 315Â Â 73
Marquette (11)Â Â 169Â Â 32Â Â 284Â Â 93
Xavier  116  86  179  170
St. John's (1)Â Â 104Â Â 100Â Â 222Â Â 161
Butler  103  101  178  176
Villanova (1)Â Â 100Â Â 104Â Â 188Â Â 163
Seton Hall (1)Â Â 86Â Â 117Â Â 167Â Â 186
DePaul  65  139  149  201
Georgetown  44  152  111  221
Connecticut#Â Â 42Â Â 38Â Â 79Â Â 62
Providence*Â Â 30Â Â 158Â Â 112Â Â 209
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 andÂ
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.
#Connecticut rejoined the league in 2020 andÂ
its record from 2013-19 (96-121) is not included above.
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning percentage better than .750 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
  The Bluejays own 209 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 33 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.Â
Opponent  Reg. Season  BE Tourney  Total
Butler  22-1  -  22-1
Connecticut  4-1  1-0  5-1
DePaul  24-0  3-0  27-0
Georgetown  22-0  -  22-0
Marquette  19-5  7-1  26-6
Providence  17-0  -  17-0
Seton Hall  19-3  2-0  21-3
St. John's  20-2  1-1  21-3
Villanova  19-3  3-0  22-3
Xavier  22-1  4-0  26-1
Total  188-16  21-2  209-18
Match #1: #2 Penn State vs. #12 Creighton • Lincoln, Neb. • Saturday, Aug. 23 • 4 p.m.
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | PSU NOTES |
This Weekend
No. 12 Creighton Volleyball opens the Brian Rosen era in Lincoln, Neb., with a match against defending national champion and No. 2 Penn State on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m.Â
  The battle is a rematch of last season's Elite Eight five-set contest won by the Nittany Lions inside Rec Hall on the Penn State campus.
  Saturday's battle will be held inside Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,290).
Broadcast Information
Saturday's match against Penn State will be nationally-televised on FS1, with Connor Onion, Emily Ehman and Anna Connelly on the call.
Live Stats Information
Saturday's match will have free live stats at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.Â
  A link will also be on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.
Scouting #12 Creighton
Ranked 12th in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll, Creighton returns three starters among 11 letterwinners from last year's team that went 32-3 and reached the Elite Eight.
  Though All-Americans Kendra Wait, Norah Sis, Maddy Bilinovic and Elise Goetzinger have graduated and legendary head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth took a job with LOVB Nebraska, the expectations for the 11-time defending BIG EAST champion Bluejays haven't changed.
  Reigning AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year Brian Rosen was promoted to head coach after three seasons assisting Booth, and he'll rely on senior starters Ava Martin (3.66 kps., .312%, 0.48 spas.) and Kiara Reinhardt (1.48 bps., 1.43 kps., .296%) to lead a talented group.
  Jaya Johnson (1.69 kps., .322%), Sydney Breissinger (2.02 dps., 0.31 saps.), Destiny Ndam-Simpson (1.53 kps.), Sky McCune (0.30 dps.) and Alivia Hausmann (0.22 saps.) have all played on a regular basis in the past and will look to take the next step in 2025.
  Creighton also picked up transfers Eloise Brandewie (Ohio State), Saige Damrow (Wisconsin), Ivy Leuck (Omaha) and Annalea Maeder (California) in addition to adding freshmen Abbey Hayes and Ashlyn Paymal. All but Maeder enrolled in January and practiced with CU in the spring.
   CU averaged 14.39 kills, 1.91 aces, 14.31 digs and 2.69 blocks per set and hit .324 last season.
Scouting #2 Penn State
Penn State went 35-2 last season and won its eighth national title, but first since 2014.
  The Nittany Lions were keyed by First Team All-American Jess Mruzik (4.35 kps.) and National Freshman of the Year Izzy Starck (10.98 aps.), while libero Gillian Grimes (3.92 dps.) was a star defender. While Mruzik is now a pro, Penn State acquired Kennedy Martin (5.57 kps., .362%) via the transfer portal.
  PSU averaged 14.61 kills, 1.50 aces, 14.77 digs and 2.48 blocks per set while hitting .283 last year.Â
  The defending Big Ten and NCAA champion Nittany Lions are picked to finish second in the Big Ten this year and were ranked second nationally in the AVCA's Top 25 preseason poll.
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.
  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.
Series History vs. Penn State
The lone meeting between Creighton and Penn State came in last December's Elite Eight at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa., where the Nittany Lions beat the Bluejays in five sets (25-15, 16-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-7).
  Ava Martin led CU with 17 kills and Norah Sis contributed 12 digs, eight kills and three aces. Jess Mruzik led PSU with 20 kills and Caroline Jurevicius added 11 kills.Â
Last Season Summary
Creighton went 32-3 last season and were ranked sixth in the year-end AVCA poll, with both milestones being program-bests. All three of CU's losses came against eventual Final Four teams, and each were on the road and in five sets.Â
  CU swept South Dakota and Ole Miss at home in the NCAA Tournament to finish 19-0 at D.J. Sokol Arena and reach the Sweet 16, where it then knocked off two-time defending national champion Texas to earn an Elite Eight date with eventual national champ Penn State.
  Kendra Wait repeated as BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Setter of the Year, while becoming the first athlete in CU history to be named both First Team All-American on the court/field and First Team Academic All-American in the same season. Norah Sis picked up her third AVCA All-America accolade and Ava Martin her second, while transfers Maddy Bilinovic and Elise Goetzinger were also recognized as CU led the country with five All-Americans.
  The Jays went 20-0 against BIG EAST foes, dropping just three sets, en route to their 11th consecutive regular-season league title.
  In her final season on The Hilltop, Kirsten Bernthal Booth was named AVCA West Region Coach of the Year and led the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year, which also included 2024 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year Brian Rosen.
Exhibition Recap
Creighton played two scrimmages in preparation for the start of the regular-season.
  In its annual Blue/White scrimmage (Aug. 9), the White team earned a 3-1 win. Sixteen players saw action during at least one set on both the Blue and White sides. Alumni Kiana Schmitt, Norah Sis and Kendra Wait also participated in the match.
  Last Saturday (Aug. 16), Creighton won the first three sets in an exhibition contest against Colorado State before the Rams won the final two games in a contest that was predetermined to go the full five sets.
With A Win...
With a win on Saturday...
- Creighton would improve to 22-10 in season-opening matches since restarting its program in 1994, including six straight wins and a 15-2 mark since 2009.
- Creighton would improve to 3-5 all-time against defending national champions, with its third straight win.
- Creighton would improve to 1-8 all-time against teams ranked first or second nationally.
- Creighton would improve to 3-3 in season-openers against Top 25 teams, including a 3-0 mark on neutral floors.
- Creighton would improve to 31-89 all-time against Top 25 teams, and 12-39 against Top 10 opponents.
- Creighton would defeat a ranked team for the 11th straight season.
- Creighton would win its 18th straight match following a five-set loss.
- Creighton would improve its record in the all-time series against Penn State to 1-1.
- Creighton would be the first team to hand the defending national champion a season-opening loss since Arizona swept 2019 champion Stanford in February of 2021.
- Brian Rosen would become the first Creighton Volleyball head coach to win his debut since Howard Wallace in 1997.
- Brian Rosen would become the first Creighton head coach in any sport to debut with a Top 25 victory since Cathy Klein led the Bluejay women's soccer team to a 1-0 win vs. No. 12 Wisconsin on Sept. 3, 1994.
Hello World!
Four transfers (Eloise Brandewie, Saige Damrow, Abby Leuck and Annalea Maeder) and two Bluejay true freshmen (Abbey Hayes and Ashlyn Paymal), could make their Creighton debuts this weekend.
  Below is the current Creighton players and how they performed in their regular-season collegiate debuts (as well as at previous schools in the cases of Brandewie, Damrow, Leuck and Maeder).
  Records for a Bluejay debut can be found at the bottom of page three. Interestingly, the career leaders or career runner-ups for Creighton Volleyball in digs (Brittany Witt and Kate Elman), aces (Molly Moran), kills (Jaali Winters) and blocks (Kelli Browning) also own the CU record or are second for that same category for a Bluejay debut.Â
Year  Name  SP  K  E  TA  Pct.  A  SA  DIG  TB
2024  Jaya Johnson  3  11  1  19  .526  0  0  5  0
2020  Kiara Reinhardt•  3  7  4  16  .188  0  2  2  4
2023  D. Ndam-Simpson  3  5  2  10  .300  0  0  3  1
2022  Ava Martin  1  3  0  4  .750  0  0  0  1
2023Â Â Eloise Brandewie$Â Â 3Â Â 2Â Â 2Â Â 9Â Â 000Â Â 0Â Â 0Â Â 1Â Â 3
2023  Ava TeStrake  2  0  1  2  -.500  0  0  0  0
2022  Sky McCune•  3  0  0  0  ---  2  0  5  0
2023  Sydney Breissinger  3  0  0  0  ---  1  0  7  0
2024  Alivia Hausmann  1  0  0  0  ---  0  0  0  0
2023Â Â Ivy Leuck%Â Â 3Â Â 0Â Â 1Â Â 1Â Â -1.000Â Â 8Â Â 0Â Â 1Â Â 0
2024  Sophia Wendlick  2  0  1  4  -.250  0  0  0  0
2024  Emersen Strain  2  0  0  0  ---  1  0  0  0
2023Â Â Saige Damrow#Â Â 3Â Â 0Â Â 0Â Â 0Â Â ---Â Â 5Â Â 0Â Â 4Â Â 0
2021  Annalea Maeder!•  2  0  0  2  .000  8  1  0  0
2024  Nora Wurtz•  3  0  0  0  ---  0  0  0  0
#Damrow's stats from debut at Wisconsin in 2023
$Brandewie's stats from debut at Ohio State in 2023
%Leuck's stats from debut at Omaha in 2023
!Maeder's stats from debut at Cal in 2021
Season Opening History
Last season's win vs. NC State improved Creighton to 21-10 in season-opening matches since restarting the program in 1994. That includes a 14-2 mark since 2009 and five straight wins.
  Since restarting its program in 1994, Creighton is 14-2 in season-openers that take place on a neutral floor, 21-10 in its first neutral-site match of a season, and 20-11 in its first match away from home of a season.
Opening Day
Creighton is 2-3 all-time when opening the season against a Top 25 team, but is 2-0 when that match is on a neutral floor.Â
  The Jays beat No. 13 BYU (3-1) in the 2013 opener at Bowling Green, and topped No. 5 Kentucky (3-2) in the 2018 lid-lifter at USC.
  Penn State's No. 2 ranking matches the highest-ranked opponent in a Creighton season-opener, as the Jays fell in Lincoln at No. 2 Nebraska (3-1) to begin the 2019 campaign.
Creighton vs. Top 25 teams in Season Openers
Date  CU Rank  Opp. Rank  Result
09/01/98  --  at #5 Nebraska  L 0-3
08/29/08  --  #16 Minnesota  L 1-3
08/30/13Â Â 25Â Â vs. #13 BYUÂ Â W 3-1
08/24/18  13  vs. #5 Kentucky  W 3-2
08/30/19  18  at #2 Nebraska  L 1-3
08/26/25  12  vs. #2 Penn State  4 p.m.
  Â
Coaching Debuts
Brian Rosen is Creighton Volleyball's fourth head coach since it reinstated the program in 1994 following Ben Guiliano (1994-96), Howard Wallace (1997-2002) and Kirsten Bernthal Booth (2003-24).
  Guiliano swept Chattanooga in his debut on Sept. 2, 1994 at the Tulane Invitational in New Orleans, La.
  Wallace swept Kansas City at the Creighton First Serve Festival in Omaha by a 15-5, 16-14, 15-9 count.
  Most recently, Booth lost a four-set match (30-23, 30-32, 30-26, 30-24) to Iowa State on Aug. 29, 2003 at the Iowa State Heritage Classic in Ames.
Ranked Debuts
Brian Rosen will be the first person in any sport to lead a ranked Creighton team in his head coaching debut on The Hilltop since Elmar Bolowich took over the No. 10 Bluejay men's soccer program in 2011. Bolowich led that squad to the 2011 College Cup and year-end No. 4 ranking.
  Rosen will also be Creighton's first head coach in any sport to debut against a ranked team since men's soccer coach Johnny Torres tied No. 6 North Carolina on Aug. 30, 2019. Rosen will be CU's first coach to start off against a top-five team.
  With a win, Rosen will be CU's second head coach on record to debut with a Top 25 win, joining women's soccer's Cathy Klein who led her team to a 1-0 win against No. 12 Wisconsin on Sept. 3, 1994.
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 12th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 7th. It's 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
140 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked 12th in the preseason AVCA poll, the 140th time in program history it's been ranked. That's 39th-most of all programs in NCAA history.
  All 140 rankings have occurred since 2012.
  The Bluejays are one of 13 schools (along with Baylor, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 63 polls.
Top 10 Wins
Creighton owns 11 Top 10 wins in program history, all of which have taken place in the previous 10 seasons.Â
  All but one of the those Top 10 wins have taken place away from home, including wins over No. 6 Purdue and No. 10 Kansas on back-to-back days last September in Lawrence, Kan.
  Creighton owns four top-five wins in program history, and all of those were away from home.
  The highest-ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten was No. 3 Washington (8/26/17) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/21), but the Jays are 0-2 all-time against No. 2 teams entering Saturday's tussle with the second-ranked Nittany Lions.
Creighton's Top 10 Wins
Date  Opponent  Score
09/05/15Â Â vs. #10 Kentucky (at UNI)Â Â W 3-1
12/02/16  at #4 Kansas  W 3-2
08/26/17  at #3 Washington  W 3-1
09/09/17  at #7 Kansas  W 3-0
08/24/18Â Â vs. #5 Kentucky (at USC)Â Â W 3-2
10/12/19  at #10 Marquette  W 3-2
11/09/19  #9 Marquette  W 3-1
09/04/21  at #3 Kentucky  W 3-0
09/16/23  at #9 Minnesota  W 3-2
09/20/24Â Â vs. #6 Purdue (at Kansas)Â Â W 3-1
09/21/24  at #10 Kansas  W 3-0
Top 25 History
Creighton is 231-48 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 25-28 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, 43 of Creighton's 77 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 314-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 122 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 175 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 25-28)
Home: 10-9Â Â Away: 8-12Â Â Â Neutral: 7-7
Date  Winner  Loser  CU Score
11/19/12  #11 Minnesota  #21 Creighton  1-3
08/30/13  #25 Creighton  #13 BYU  3-1
09/14/13  #11 UCLA  #24 Creighton  1-3
09/16/13  #7 Hawaii  #23 Creighton  2-3
08/30/14  #22 Kansas  #23 Creighton  1-3
09/03/16  #23 Kentucky  #22 Creighton  0-3
12/02/16  #21 Creighton  #4 Kansas  3-2
12/09/16  #21 Creighton  #17 Michigan  3-2
12/10/16  #5 Texas  #21 Creighton  0-3
08/26/17  #9 Creighton  #3 Washington  3-1
09/01/17  #7 Creighton  #13 Kentucky  3-0
09/02/17  #18 USC  #7 Creighton  0-3
09/08/17  #17 Purdue  #9 Creighton  1-3
09/09/17  #9 Creighton  #7 Kansas  3-0
09/16/17  #19 Iowa State  #8 Creighton  2-3
12/12/17  #12 Michigan St.  #15 Creighton  1-3
08/24/18  #13 Creighton  #5 Kentucky  3-2
08/25/18  #10 USC  #13 Creighton  2-3
09/06/18  #7 Nebraska  #14 Creighton  2-3
09/15/18  #8 Illinois  #10 Creighton  1-3
09/23/18  #10 Creighton  #21 Marquette  3-0
10/26/18  #10 Creighton  #18 Marquette  3-1
11/24/18  #9 Creighton  #16 Marquette  3-1
12/01/18  #22 Washington  #9 Creighton  0-3
08/30/19  #2 Nebraska  #18 Creighton  1-3
08/31/19  #20 Baylor  #18 Creighton  0-3
09/06/19  #23 Creighton  #12 Kentucky  3-1
09/07/19  #23 Creighton  #15 USC  3-1
09/14/19  #12 Washington  #17 Creighton  1-3
10/12/19  #13 Creighton  #10 Marquette  3-2
11/22/19  #12 Creighton  #9 Marquette  3-1
12/07/19  #7 Minnesota  #15 Creighton  2-3
02/05/21  #19 Creighton  #25 Marquette  3-2
02/06/21  #25 Marquette  #19 Creighton  0-3
09/08/21  #3 Nebraska  #19 Creighton  0-3
09/02/22  #17 Creighton  #25 USC  3-1
09/03/22  #16 Kentucky  #17 Creighton  1-3
09/07/22  #2 Nebraska  #17 Creighton  2-3
10/14/22  #21 Creighton  #16 Marquette  3-2
11/19/22  #16 Marquette  #11 Creighton  0-3
11/26/22  #15 Creighton  #14 Marquette  3-2
08/26/23  #18 Creighton  #16 Purdue  3-0
09/06/23  #4 Nebraska  #16 Creighton  1-3
09/16/23  #14 Creighton  #9 Minnesota  3-2
11/05/23  #17 Creighton  #25 Marquette  3-0
12/07/23  #7 Louisville  #17 Creighton  2-3
09/05/24  #11 Creighton  #20 USC  3-1
09/10/24  #5 Nebraska  #9 Creighton  2-3
09/15/24  #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 vs. #12 Creighton  4 p.m.
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 previous 10 seasons (2015-24).Â
  Creighton is 30-89 all-time against ranked teams, with all 30 wins coming under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
  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.
  Last year was the eighth 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.
Facing The Champs
Creighton is 2-5 all-time when facing the defending national champion, but on a two-match winning streak.
  Creighton defeated two-time defending champion Texas in four sets in December of 2024, and also had a road sweep of Kentucky in September of 2021. Both of those teams featured All-Americans Madi Skinner and Reagan Rutherford.
Creighton is 3-12 Against Teams That MadeÂ
The Final Four The Previous Year
(Home: 0-4, Away: 2-7, Neutral: 1-1)
Date   Winner   Loser   Previous Year Finish
9/25/01Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 0Â Â NCAA ChampionÂ
9/10/05Â Â Stanford 3Â Â Creighton 0Â Â NCAA Champion
9/24/06Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 1Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
8/31/07Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 0Â Â NCAA Champion
9/1/09Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 0Â Â Final Four
9/17/16Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 1Â Â NCAA Champion
9/8/16Â Â Kansas 3Â Â Creighton 2Â Â Final Four
12/2/16Â Â Creighton 3Â Â Kansas 2Â Â Final Four
12/10/16Â Â Texas 3Â Â Creighton 0Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
9/6/18  Nebraska 3  Creighton 2  NCAA Champion
8/30/19Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 1Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
9/4/21Â Â Creighton 3Â Â Kentucky 0Â Â NCAA Champion
9/7/22Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 2Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
9/10/24Â Â Nebraska 3Â Â Creighton 2Â Â NCAA Runner-Up
12/13/24Â Â Creighton 3Â Â Texas 1Â Â NCAA Champion
Put It In Neutral
Creighton went 4-0 on neutral floors last season (including wins over #6 Purdue and #13 Texas), continuing a trend of playing well at neutral sites.
  The Bluejays are 20-2 in the previous four seasons on neutral floors, including a 7-0 mark in 2021, a 4-0 record in 2022, a 5-2 record in 2023 and a 4-0 record in 2024.
  Included in that stretch are neutral-site wins over USC (2021), Northern Iowa (2021 and 2024), Iowa State (2022 & 2023), Florida State (2022), Kansas State (2022), Loyola Chicago (2023), High Point (2023), St. John's (2023), Rice (2024), Purdue (2024) and Texas (2024).
Crowded House
With reports that Pinnacle Bank Arena will be at near-capacity (15,290) this weekend, it's time to take a look at some of the largest crowds that Creighton Volleyball has ever played in front of.
  The Bluejays have never played in front of more than 8,924 fans outside of Omaha, and never in front of more than 8,277 fans on a neutral court.
  The Jays ought get familiar in front of the large crowds, as a trip to Madison next weekend could feature more than 10,000 fans, and CU's Sept. 16 home match vs. Nebraska is expected to challenge the NCAA regular-season indoor volleyball -only attendance record of 17,037.
  Let's take a closer look:
Largest Home Crowds
  Att.  Opponent  Date  CU Result  Facility
  15,797  #2 Nebraska  09/07/22  L 2-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  14,022  #7 Nebraska  09/06/18  L 2-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  13,081  #18 Cal Poly  09/02/07  L 0-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  12,112  #1 Nebraska  09/24/06  L 1-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  11,279  #3 Nebraska  09/08/21  L 0-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  10,131  #4 Nebraska  09/15/15  L 0-3  CHI Health Ctr.
  8,037  #2 Nebraska  10/05/08  L 0-3  CHI Health Ctr.
Largest Away/Neutral Crowds
  Att.  Site    Date  CU Result
  8,924  at #5 Nebraska    09/10/24  L 2-3
  8,656  at #4 Nebraska    09.06/23  L 1-3
  8,627  at #5 Nebraska    09/29/02  L 0-3
  8,450  at #2 Nebraska    08/30/19  L 1-3
  8,277  vs. Montana St. (at Neb.)  09/16/16  W 3-0
Some Fab Freshmen To Start
Creighton has started 15 different true freshmen in its season opener since 2009, and 19 such players since 2000.
  Since 2000, the only true freshmen to start CU's season-opener have been Brittany Coleman (2003), Carolyn Decker (2004), Korie Lebeda (2005), Allie Oelke (2007), Brooke Boggs (2009), Heather Thorson (2009), Julianne Mandolfo (2010), Katie Neisler (2011), Michelle Sicner (2011), Melanie Jereb (2012), Ashley Jansen (2012), Jess Bird (2013), Jaali Winters (2015), Naomi Hickman (2017), Emily Bressman (2019), Kiara Reinhardt (2020), Kendra Wait (2021), Norah Sis (2021) and Sky McCune (2022), with Coleman, Lebeda and Wait the only freshmen to start at setter in the season-opener.
  In addition, CU also started redshirt freshmen Lauren Smith (2013) and Brittany Lawrence (2015), as well as transfers Maggie Baumert (2014), Lydia Dimke (2016), Madelyn Cole (2018), Erica Kostelac (2019), Mahina Pua'a (2020), Ellie Bichelmeyer (2023) and Elise Goetzinger (2024) in season-openers.
  Eleven of those women (Martin, Sis, Wait, Reinhardt, Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC or BIG EAST's All-Freshman Team (though the BIG EAST had no such team from 2013-19). Winters was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2015, Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2016, Davis was BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2019, Sis recognized as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2021 and Martin named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2022.
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%)
Beginning With The End
This year marks the first time that Creighton Volleyball will open the fall with the same opponent (Penn State) that the Bluejays ended the previous season against.Â
  Even stranger is that Creighton's next opponents (Texas, next Friday in Madison) was also Creighton's second-to-last opponent a year ago.
Star City Stats
Creighton is 4-14 all-time when playing in Lincoln, but there is some good news, as the Bluejays are 4-1 in neutral-site matches in the capital city.
  Creighton swept Weber State and Saint Mary's in 2011, swept Gonzaga and Montana State in 2016, and lost to No. 20 Baylor in 2019..
  The AVCA First Serve event will mark the initial collegiate volleyball matches ever played inside Pinnacle Bank Arena. but that building has been quite kind to Creighton through the years. Creighton owns a 4-1 men's basketball record in the facility and a 3-3 mark in women's basketball action there.
  No other school has more non-conference victories in the venue in either sport.
It Gets Earlier Every Year
Take away the COVID-affect 2020 season when teams played in the spring, and Creighton has never played a regular-season volleyball match as early as August 23rd.
  The previous earliest start dates had been Aug. 24 in 2007, 2012 and 2018. The Bluejays were 2-2 in those matches, including a season-opening win vs. No. 5 Kentucky in 2018.
  The early start this fall comes after Creighton finished last season on Dec. 15th, its latest day on the calendar for a match ever. Both the Dec. 15, 2024 and Aug. 23, 2025 matches will have been against Penn State.
One Tough Schedule
Of Creighton's 12 non-conference matches, seven are 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.
Defense Or Offense?
While Penn State and Creighton are two of the best all-around programs in the country, both excelled last year on opposite sides of the net.
  Creighton led the nation by holding opponents to a .130 attack percentage, the second time in past four seasons it's done that as it was also first in 2021 (.124).Â
  On the other side of the ball, Penn State ranked second in the nation in kills per set (14.61) and assists per set (13.64) last year, and ranked 12th with a .283 hitting percentage. In the offseason the Nittany Lions picked up Florida star Kennedy Martin, who ranked second nationally with 5.57 kills per set last year, via the transfer portal.
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton's 32 victories last season were fourth-most in the country, trailing only Final Four qualifiers Penn State (35), Pittsburgh (33) and Nebraska (33).
  Creighton's three losses last were tied for the third-fewest in the nation, one more than Penn State and Pittsburgh's two losses.
  When it comes to sets, Creighton's 102 sets won were tied for second-most in the nation (Penn State had 105), while its 15 sets lost were tied for the fewest in the nation (with Pittsburgh).
  In its last 48 matches dating to 2023, Creighton is 44-4 and has won 137-of-156 sets. All four match losses came in five sets.
  In its 35 matches against BIG EAST schools since October 7, 2023, Creighton is 35-0 and has dropped just four sets to league opponents.
Most Matches Won in 2024
Rk.   Matches Won  Team
1.  35  Penn State
2.  33  Pittsburgh
  33  Nebraska
4.  32  Creighton
5.  31  Dayton
Most Sets Won in 2024
Rk.  Sets Won  Team
1.  105  Penn State
2.  102  Creighton
  102  Pittsburgh
  102  Nebraska
Fewest Matches Lost in 2024
Rk.   Matches Lost  Team
1.  2  Pittsburgh
  2  Penn State
3.  3  Creighton
  3  Dayton
  3  Nebraska
  3  Arizona State
  3  Texas-Arlington
  3  South Dakota State
Fewest Sets Lost in 2024
Rk.  Sets Lost  Team
1.  15  Creighton
  15  Pittsburgh
3.  19  Dayton
4.  20  Nebraska
  20  Arizona State
Fewest Sets Lost in 2023
Rk.  Sets Lost  Team
1.  22  Creighton
  22  Nebraska
  22  Dayton
4.  23  Wisconsin
  23  Tennessee
  23  Western Michigan
Avoiding Losing Streaks
One key to Creighton's extended success over the last dozen years has been its ability to bounce back after a loss.
  The Bluejays have won their last 25 contests immediately following a loss and have not dropped consecutive matches since opening the season 0-2 to begin the 2019 campaign with back-to-back losses to No. 2 Nebraska and No. 20 Baylor in Lincoln, Neb.Â
  And if that's not enough, EVERY SINGLE OTHER TEAM in the country (all 347 of them) has had a multi-match losing streak since Creighton's last skid.
  Creighton has also won its last 17 matches after a five-set loss, a streak that dates back to early in the 2016 campaign.
  What's it all mean? Coming off a five-set loss in its final match last season, a couple of streaks will be on the line on Saturday vs. Penn State.
  And while not in jeopardy this weekend, it's still worth bragging about that Creighton has also not lost back-to-back matches against conference foes since a three-match losing streak in November of 2011.
No Losers Here
Creighton has been as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.
  Creighton and Pittsburgh are the nation's only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons.Â
  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.
  There are also 12 schools that have appeared in 14 of the last 15 NCAA Tournaments, a group that includes Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Minnesota, Purdue, Stanford and Washington. Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, and Texas have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since at least 2010.
The Streak At Home
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.
  That extends its program record to 32 straight home wins, surpassing a 15-match home win streak from Sept. 7-Nov. 30, 2018 that had been the standard.Â
  Creighton's 32-match home win streak is the third-longest active streak in the country. In that time, CU has lost just five sets total.
  Creighton has won 89 of its last 91 sets played at D.J. Sokol Arena overall, where it lost just one set in 12 matches against BIG EAST opponents last fall.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins  Dates  Snapped By
  32  Sept. 1, 2023 - Present  TBD
  15  Sept. 7 - Nov. 30, 2018  #22 Washington, 3-0
  13  Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013  California, 3-0
  13  Sept. 9, 2016-Sept. 1, 2017  #18 USC, 3-0
Nation's Longest Active Home Win Streaks
Wins  Team  Next Home Match
  45  Nebraska  Friday vs. #3 Pittsburgh
  35  Pittsburgh  Sept. 1 vs. Arizona State
  32  Creighton  Sept. 12 vs. Louisville
  24  Penn State  Sept. 5 vs. Kentucky
Ava's Awesome
Ava Martin has had 10 or more kills in each of her last 18 matches. Only three women in program history have had a longer streak.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills
  58  Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005
  21  Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015 - Aug. 28, 2016
  19  JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997
  18  Jaela Zimmerman, Nov. 16, 2019 - March 27, 2021
  18  Ava Martin, Oct. 18, 2024 - Present
  15  Norah Sis, Oct. 7 - Dec. 2, 2022
A Great Start
Ava Martin enters her senior season with 1,109 kills in her career. The 1,109 kills is the fifth-most ever by a Bluejay in their first three seasons.
  If Martin can duplicate her 428 kills from last year, she'd finish her career fifth in Bluejay history with 1,537 career putaways.
Most Kills at Creighton, First 3 Seasons
Name  Year 1  Year 2  Year 3  3 Yr Total
Jaali Winters  546  448  398  1,392
Norah Sis  435  489  302  1,226
Melissa Walsh  341  428  435  1,204
Leah Ratzlaff  180  516  479  1,175
Ava Martin  264  417  428  1,109
Kelly Goc  218  345  437  1,000
JoDe Cieloha  271  303  380  954
Milestone Watch
Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones as the 2025 season gets underway.
  Kiara Reinhardt enters Saturday tied for seventh in CU history with 47 solo blocks.
  Reinhardt is also eighth in program history with 372 career block assists. With a strong match against Penn State, Reinhardt could pass Marysa Wilkinson (374), Laurel Sanford (376) and Megan Bober (380).
  Reinhardt's 419 career total blocks are tied for ninth in CU history with Sanford, and is quickly approaching Wilkinson (421) and Bober (422) in that category, too.
  Destiny Ndam-Simpson's next kill will be the 200th of her career, while Jaya Johnson is nine shy of 200.
Four On The Floor
Kiara Reinhardt could make her fourth Opening Day start on Saturday. If that happens, she'd be just the 19th player in CU history to start four season-openers.
Five Opening Day Starts
Name  Years
Naomi Hickman  2017-21
Four Opening Day Starts
Name  Years
JoDe Cieloha  1994-97
Melissa Weisensee  1994-97
Shelley Kapler  1996-99
Erin Swanson  1998-01
Kailey Reyes  1998-01
Melissa Walsh  1998-01
Carolyn Decker  2004-06, 08
Korie Lebeda  2005-08
Jessica Houts  2006-09
Allie Oelke  2007-10
Heather Thorson  2009-12
Megan Bober  2009-12
Jess Bird  2013-16
Lauren Smith  2013-16
Jaali Winters  2015-18
Norah Sis  2021-24
Kendra Wait  2022-24
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.
  Two of the comeback wins came in a season-opener, as CU did it in 2018 vs. No. 5 Kentucky and vs. UTSA in 2011.
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
08/26/11Â Â vs. UTSAÂ Â 12-14, 13-14Â Â 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
Bouncing Back
The Creighton staff is quick to credit athletic performance coach Brad Schmidt for helping the team get stronger during the off-season and maintaining that strength during the season.
  Need evidence of that? Since Aug. 25, 2018, Creighton is 23-2 in the match after a five-setter, and has won 17 straight matches following a five-set loss.
Tournament Tested
Creighton has played in 26 tournaments since the start of the 2021 calendar year, and won 18 of them.Â
  The only events that CU has not won were five NCAA Tournaments, the 2022 Bluejay Invitational (won by Kentucky), the 2022 Rice adidas Invitational (won by Rice) and the 2024 Cardinal Classic (won by Louisville).
  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).
Creighton Tournaments Since Jan. 1, 2021
Year  Event  CU Record (Place)
2021  BIG EAST Tournament  2-0 (1st)
2021  NCAA Tournament  0-1 (T-25th)
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)
2022  NCAA Tournament  0-1 (T-33rd)
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)
Jays Earn Tourney Titles
Creighton has won at least one tournament each of the previous 13 seasons, a streak that dates to 2012.
   During that span, the Bluejays have won 35 tournament titles, not to mention 12 regular-season league crowns.
  Creighton has also now won at least one home tournament each of the previous eight seasons.
Creighton's Tournament Titles Since 2012
Year  Titles Won  Tourney Hosts
2012Â Â 3Â Â USF, UNC, MVC
2013Â Â 1Â Â BGSU
2014Â Â 1Â Â CU, BIG EAST
2015Â Â 1Â Â BIG EAST
2016Â Â 1Â Â BIG EAST
2017Â Â 4Â Â WASH, CU, KU, BIG EAST
2018Â Â 3Â Â SMU, CU, BIG EAST
2019Â Â 2Â Â UNI, CU
2020Â Â 1Â Â BIG EAST
2021Â Â 5Â Â MIZZ, UK, CU, WSU, BIG EAST
2022Â Â 3Â Â WYO, UNO, BIG EAST
2023Â Â 5Â Â Purdue, CU, UNO, MINN, BIG EAST
2024Â Â 4Â Â CU, CU, KU, BIG EAST
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 418-11 (.974) all-time when leading a match 2-0, and 149-1 (.993) all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena when up 2-0 at the break.
  Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that won the first two sets won 94.9 percent of their matches from 2014-23.
  Conversely, the Jays are 17-208 (.076) 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 160-6 in its last 166 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 17-22 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
  Creighton has gone 197-4 (.980) in its last 201 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 167-5 in its last 172 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) and Auburn (Dec. 2, 2022). The Jays have won their last 31 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
1994Â Â 0-4
1995Â Â 0-2
1996Â Â 0-2
1997Â Â 0-3
1998Â Â 0-5
1999Â Â 2-4
2000Â Â 0-4
2001Â Â 1-6
2002Â Â 0-5
2003Â Â 0-3
2004Â Â 2-2
2005Â Â 0-6
2006Â Â 4-6
2007Â Â 4-9
2008Â Â 6-8
2009Â Â 1-11
2010Â Â 4-7
2011Â Â 2-6
2012Â Â 8-3
2013Â Â 6-6
2014Â Â 4-5
2015Â Â 11-5
2016Â Â 10-7
2017Â Â 8-6
2018Â Â 8-5
2019Â Â 5-4
2020Â Â 3-1
2021Â Â 3-1
2022Â Â 5-4
2023Â Â 11-3
2024Â Â 9-3
TOTALÂ Â 115-145
TOTAL Under Booth  113-110
TOTAL Under Rosen  0-0
Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won 12 conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton's 12 crowns were outright titles, whereas WKU has shared five.
  Creighton has also won 11 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2024
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&MÂ Â Â
9 (5) Yale
9 (1) Colorado State  Â
  Â
11 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Regular-season champions from 2014-24, Creighton is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 11 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 five straight regular-season league titles is Kentucky, with eight.
Home Sweet Home
Creighton is starting its 13th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
  Since then, the Bluejays are 112-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (101-3 in the regular-season, 11-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
  Since November of 2014, Creighton is 96-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 86-1 league mark 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 are 32-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 96-7 in sets.
  Creighton has won 46 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.
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 11 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 - 2024
       BIG EAST only  All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)Â Â WÂ Â LÂ Â WÂ Â L
Creighton (12)Â Â 188Â Â 16Â Â 315Â Â 73
Marquette (11)Â Â 169Â Â 32Â Â 284Â Â 93
Xavier  116  86  179  170
St. John's (1)Â Â 104Â Â 100Â Â 222Â Â 161
Butler  103  101  178  176
Villanova (1)Â Â 100Â Â 104Â Â 188Â Â 163
Seton Hall (1)Â Â 86Â Â 117Â Â 167Â Â 186
DePaul  65  139  149  201
Georgetown  44  152  111  221
Connecticut#Â Â 42Â Â 38Â Â 79Â Â 62
Providence*Â Â 30Â Â 158Â Â 112Â Â 209
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 andÂ
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.
#Connecticut rejoined the league in 2020 andÂ
its record from 2013-19 (96-121) is not included above.
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning percentage better than .750 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
  The Bluejays own 209 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 33 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.Â
Opponent  Reg. Season  BE Tourney  Total
Butler  22-1  -  22-1
Connecticut  4-1  1-0  5-1
DePaul  24-0  3-0  27-0
Georgetown  22-0  -  22-0
Marquette  19-5  7-1  26-6
Providence  17-0  -  17-0
Seton Hall  19-3  2-0  21-3
St. John's  20-2  1-1  21-3
Villanova  19-3  3-0  22-3
Xavier  22-1  4-0  26-1
Total  188-16  21-2  209-18
Players Mentioned
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DS
/ VolleyballCreighton VB Postgame Press Conference vs Butler 9/27/25
Sunday, September 28
Butler at #16 Creighton Volleyball Highlights - 9/27/25
Sunday, September 28
Creighton VB Postgame Presser vs Xavier 9/26/25
Saturday, September 27
#16 Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. Xavier - 9/26/25
Saturday, September 27
