#20 Volleyball Visits Top-Ranked Cornhuskers

Wednesday, September 16

Lincoln, NE

6:00 PM

Creighton University

Nebraska

9/14/2026 7:00:00 PM | Volleyball

Creighton Notes (PDF)

By: Rob Anderson

Match #10: #20 Creighton at #1 Nebraska • Lincoln, Neb. • Wednesday, Sept. 16 • 6 p.m.
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES |

Up Next
No. 20 Creighton Volleyball (5-4) visits No. 1 Nebraska (7-0) on Wednesday night in a battle of teams who reached the Elite Eight a year ago.
First serve from Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,290) in Lincoln, Neb., is set for 6 p.m. The match has been sold out for weeks.
The match is the first of three this week for the Bluejays, which also includes a Friday home match against unbeaten Kansas State (6-0) and a Sunday contest in Omaha against defending national champion and No. 15 Texas A&M (4-5).

Broadcast Information
Wednesday's contest will be televised on Big Ten Network, with Larry Punteney and Emily Ehman on the call.
Creighton is 2-1 on television this year against ranked teams, including wins away from home over No. 9 Purdue (Aug. 28 on FOX) and No. 20 USC (Aug. 30 on BTN).
Wednesday's telecast will also be streamed at http://foxsports.com/live/btn.

Live Stats Information
Wednesday's match will have free live stats at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
Links will also be on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.

Scouting #20 Creighton
Creighton is 5-4 on the young season after finishing the Rice Invitational with a 1-2 record. The Bluejays have played another grueling non-conference schedule, going 2-2 against Top 25 competition including wins over No. 9 Purdue and No. 20 USC,
The continued success comes despite the loss of three senior All-Americans from last year's team that finished 28-6 under then first-year head coach Brian Rosen.
Jaya Johnson (1.50 kps.) is the lone All-BIG EAST returner for the Jays, but Abbey Hayes (2.47 kps.), Saige Damrow (4.55 dps.), Sydney Breissinger (1.50 dps.), Eloise Brandewie (1.68 kps., 1.32 bps.) and Nora Wurtz (0.32 saps.) also saw significant action a year ago.
The Bluejays cleaned up in the transfer portal during the offseason, bringing in middle blocker Ayden Ames (2.05 kps., 1.05 bps., .326%), setter Katie Dalton (7.14 aps.) and outside hitter Trinity Shadd-Ceres (3.24 kps.).
CU averages 12.24 kills, 15.29 digs, 2.55 blocks and 1.39 aces per set while hitting .177.
Creighton was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST, with Johnson, Hayes and Ames all earning Preseason All-BIG EAST acclaim.
Last season marked CU's 12th consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title and 11th BIG EAST Tournament crown in the past 12 years.

Scouting #1 Nebraska
Nebraska is 7-0 this season, including wins over nationally-ranked Texas, Baylor and Georgia Tech. The Yellowjackets snapped UNL's 18-set win streak to start the year on Saturday, only to have the Huskers win the last three sets.
Three returning All-Americans headline the Husker lineup, a group that includes Harper Murray (3.00 kps.) three-time Big Ten Setter of the Year Bergen Reilly (11.11 aps., 2.63 dps., .483%) and National Middle Blocker of the Year Andi Jackson (2.21 kps., 1.00 bps., .438%).
Olivia Mauch (3.05 kps.) leads the team in digs and Manaia Ogbechie (1.35 bps.) tops the club in blocking.
The Cornhuskers average 13.64 kills, 11.68 digs, 2.77 blocks and 2.00 aces per set while hitting .330 as a team. NU limits the opposition to 9.55 kills per set and .101 hitting.
Last year Nebraska went 33-1, losing in the national quarterfinals at home to Texas A&M.

Series History vs. Nebraska
Since restarting its volleyball program in 1994, Creighton is 0-22 all-time against Nebraska in the fall. Thirteen of those meetings have come in Lincoln.
Nebraska has been ranked in the top-11 of every meeting, and ranked No. 1 nationally at match time on eight occasions (including 2026).
Creighton has won the first set in meetings in 2006, 2014 and 2016, and in 2018 CU took a 2-0 lead over the Cornhuskers. Three of the last four meetings and four of the past seven matches have gone five sets.
Brian Rosen is 0-1 against Nebraska and Dani Busboom Kelly. Busboom Kelly is 3-0 all-time against Creighton, with the first two of those wins coming when she was the head coach at Louisville in 2023 and 2024. All three wins by Busboom Kelly over Creighton have come in five sets.

Creighton-Nebraska Connections
Creighton assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens was a four-year starter for the Huskers from 1997-2000, including Nebraska's unbeaten NCAA champion team in 2000. Among her teammates was Lindsay (Wischmeier) Peterson, NU's longtime Director of Operations.
Creighton setter Ivy Leuck made her collegiate debut on Aug. 30, 2023 against Nebraska when she played for Nebraska-Omaha. Leuck had eight assists and a dig in that match, which was played at Memorial Stadium in front of 92,003 fans.
Per the 2020 US Census, there are only 141,290 people from Olathe, Kan., but three of them will be on the court on Wednesday. Creighton's Jaya Johnson and Ava TeStrake, as well as Nebraska's Skyler Pierce, all went to high school in the KC suburb, but all three women attended different high schools.
Creighton outside hitter Trinity Shadd-Ceres hails from the same hometown (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) as former Nebraska star Sarah Pavan. Sarah's father, Paul Pavan, was Shadd-Ceres' club coach.
Creighton's Ayden Ames was teammates with Nebraska's Manaia Ogbechie, Keoni Williams, Campbell Flynn on the USA Volleyball U21 Team that won the Pan Am Cup in July.
Ames also was teammates with Flynn, Olivia Mauch and Teraya Sigler on the USA Volleyball U19 Team that won the FIVB World Championships in August of 2023. Skyler Pierce was an alternate on that squad.
Creighton and Nebraska are two of five schools nationally to have played in the Elite Eight each of the past two seasons along with Pittsburgh, Kentucky and Wisconsin.

Creighton Coaches
Brian Rosen is in his second season as Creighton head coach, where his 33-10 record with the Bluejays moves his career mark to 78-27 in five seasons.
Rosen was named the fourth head coach in modern Creighton Volleyball history on April 6, 2025, as he was promoted following the departure of 22-year head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. He became the BIG EAST's first rookie head coach since 2014 to win 20+ matches in his first year in the league, the only rookie head coach in league history to win multiple NCAA Tournament matches, and the first new coach to win 28+ matches in his first season.
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.
Rosen led Creighton to the BIG EAST regular-season and Tournament titles in 2025 and a return to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
The 2008 South Carolina grad went 45-17 as head coach at Division II Nova Southeastern from 2019-21, though the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19 without playing a match.
Rosen is assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Adam Kessenich and Izzy Ashburn.

With A Win...
With a win on Wednesday, Creighton would...
- Earn its first win in 23 tries against Nebraska since restarting its volleyball program in 1994.
- Creighton would improve to 3-2 this season against ranked teams, and 2-1 against top-10 foes. Only Pittsburgh and Louisville (both with 5) own more than three Top 25 wins this fall.
- Creighton would clinch its fifth straight season with three or more Top 25 wins.
- Creighton would post its fifth all-time win over a Top 5 team, all of which would have been away from home. It'd also be the program's 14th Top 10 win, with all but one of those away from home.
- Creighton would improve to 1-7 all-time against top-ranked programs, as it would mark the highest-ranked team the Jays have ever knocked off.
- Creighton would avoid its first single-season three-match losing streak since Sept. 3-8, 2016.

Milestone Watch
Creighton's student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones this week:
Ayden Ames has 377 career kills (78 at Creighton) and is 23 away from 400.
Sydney Breissinger owns 938 career digs and is 62 shy of 1,000.
Saige Damrow owns 582 career digs (455 at Creighton) and is 18 short of 600.
Trinity Shadd-Ceres has 97 career digs (84 at Creighton), putting her three away from 100.

Two Of The Best
Few teams in the country have been as successful in recent years as Creighton and Nebraska.
Since the start of the 2021 season, Nebraska is second with 158 wins while Creighton ranks fourth with 152 victories. When it comes to win percentage since the start of the 2021 season, that top five looks like Pittsburgh (.891), Nebraska (.888), Louisville (.871), Texas (.858) and Creighton (.849).
Last 5+ Seasons (2021-Sept. 13, 2026)
Sorted By Wins Sorted By Win Percentage
1. 163 Pittsburgh 1. .891 Pittsburgh 163-20
2. 158 Nebraska 2. .888 Nebraska 158-20
3 155 Louisville 3. .871 Louisville 155-23
4. 152 Creighton 4. .858 Texas 133-22
5. 147 Wisconsin 5. .849 Creighton 152-27
147 Western Kentucky 6. .845 Wisconsin 147-27
7. 138 Dayton 7. .840 Western Kentucky 147-28

Historically Speaking
Four of the top 23 indoor regular-season volleyball-only crowds have been Creighton home matches against Nebraska, including the record-setting figure of 17,675 that Creighton hosted one year ago to the day inside CHI Health Center Omaha.
Here's a look at the top indoor volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history. Notably, each of the three previous times that Creighton and Nebraska have played in front of 12,200 fans or more, the teams have played five sets.
Top Reg.-Season Indoor Volleyball-Only Crowds in NCAA History
Att. Opponent Date Site
17,675 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/16/25 Omaha, NE
17,037 Wisconsin def. Marquette, 3-1 9/13/23 Milwaukee, WI
16,833 Florida def. Wisconsin, 3-2 9/16/22 Madison, WI
15,797 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/7/22 Omaha, NE
15,734 Florida vs. Pittsburgh, 3-2 8/24/25 Lincoln, NE
15,734 Nebraska def. Stanford, 3-0
15,576 Nebraska def. Pittsburgh, 3-1 8/22/25 Lincoln, NE
15,576 Stanford vs. Florida, 3-1
15,084 Wisconsin def. Marquette, 3-1 9/17/24 Madison, WI
14,876 Wisconsin def. Purdue, 3-0 10/26/24 West Lafayette, IN
14,876 Purdue def. Indiana, 3-0 10/19/24 West Lafayette, IN
14,126 Nebraska def. Louisville, 3-0 9/22/24 Louisville, KY
14,035 Texas def. Wisconsin, 3-1 9/1/24 Milwaukee, WI
14,035 Stanford def. Minnesota, 3-2
14,022 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/6/18 Omaha, NE
13,870 UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-2 9/13/09 Lincoln, NE
13,412 Nebraska def. LSU, 3-0 9/12/08 Lincoln, NE
13,396 Nebraska def. Hawai'i, 3-0 10/21/07 Lincoln, NE
13,081 Cal Poly def. Creighton, 3-0 9/2/07 Omaha, NE
Nebraska def. Penn State, 3-0
13,071 Nebraska def. Maryland, 3-1 11/30/24 College Park, MD
12,760 Louisville def. Kentucky, 3-0 9/13/23 Louisville, KY
12,707 Nebraska def. Michigan, 3-0 10/19/25 Ann Arbor, MI
12,510 Pittsburgh def. Louisville, 3-1 11/27/24 Louisville, KY
12,504 Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0 11/4/00 Lincoln, NE
12,277 Wisconsin def. Florida, 3-1 9/21/25 Madison, WI
12,112 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-1 9/24/06 Omaha, NE

Largest Crowds To See The Jays
More than 15,000 fans are expected for Wednesday's tilt at Pinnacle Bank Arena, which would make it the largest crowd ever for a Bluejay road match.
The current record away from home is 11,678 vs. Kansas in Madison last year, while the biggest crowd for a true road match was 8,924 at Nebraska in 2023.
Below is a list of the largest crowds in Creighton Volleyball history at all sites:
Creighton Volleyball's Largest Crowds (All Sites)
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
17,675 #1 Nebraska 09/16/25 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
15,797 #2 Nebraska 09.07/22 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
14,022 #6 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Ctr.
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Ctr.
11,678 vs. #14 Kansas (@UW) 08/31/25 W 3-2 Kohl Center
11,279 #3 Nebraska 09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,438 vs. #2 Penn St. (@NU) 08/23/25 L 0-3 Pinn. Bank Arena
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Ctr.
10,072 vs. #5 Texas (@UW) 08/29/25 L 0-3 Kohl Center
8,924 at #5 Nebraska 09/06/23 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,656 at #4 Nebraska 09/10/24 L 2-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,627 at #5 Nebraska 09/29/02 L 0-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,450 at #2 Nebraska 08/30/19 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,277 vs. Montana St. (@NU) 09/16/16 W 3-0 Devaney Ctr.
8,249 at #1 Nebraska 09/17/16 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,237 vs. #20 Baylor (@NU) 08/31/19 L 0-3 Devaney Ctr.
8,060 at #9 Nebraska 09/17/14 L 1-3 Devaney Ctr.

Ivy Leuck Draws Big Crowds
In 2023, Ivy Leuck made her college debut in front of 92,003 fans with Omaha inside Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. That figure remains the largest crowd to ever watch a volleyball match.
Last year, Leuck was on the Creighton side for the largest indoor regular-season volleyball-only NCAA Volleyball crowd in history when the Jays hosted 17,675 fans for a match against Nebraska.

The Defense Never Rests
Wednesday promises to feature some great rallies when two of the nation's top defensive programs take the court. Either Creighton or Nebraska has led the nation in opponent's hitting percentage each of the previous five seasons.
Creighton has led the country in opponents hitting percentage in 2021 (.124) and 2024 (.130), while Nebraska was first in 2022 (.128), 2023 (.137) and 2025 (.129).
Nebraska is holding the opposition to .101 hitting this year, which leads the nation.

Assistants Given A Chance
Both Dani Busboom Kelly and Brian Rosen have been named AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year in recent seasons.
Busboom Kelly won the recognition in 2015 as an assistant at Louisville, while Rosen was honored in 2024 as a Creighton assistant.
Additionally, current Creighton associate head coach Angie Oxley Behrens earned the same award in 2019.

Low Five or High Five?
Creighton and Nebraska have played a five-set match in four of the previous seven meetings, with NU winning each of those battles.
The only other team that Creighton's played more than two five-set battles against in the past 10 seasons (2017-Present) are Marquette and Butler. CU is 6-0 in five-setters against Marquette and 3-0 versus Butler in the fifth frame in that span.

Against No. 1
Creighton is 0-7 all-time against No. 1 ranked volleyball programs, with all seven of those games coming against Nebraska.
Creighton vs. Top-Ranked Opponents
Date Opponent CU Score
10/03/00 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
09/25/01 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
10/11/05 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
09/24/06 #1 Nebraska L 1-3
08/31/07 at #1 Nebraska L 0-3
09/17/16 at #1 Nebraska L 1-3
09/16/25 #1 Nebraska L 2-3

Top 10 Wins
Creighton owns 13 Top 10 wins in program history, all of which have taken place since 2015.
All but one of those Top 10 wins have taken place away from home, including a victory over No. 8 Arizona State in last year's Sweet 16 and this year's season-opener over No. 9 Purdue.
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).
Creighton's Top 10 Wins
Date Opponent Score
09/05/15 vs. #10 Kentucky (at UNI) W 3-0
12/02/16 at #4 Kansas W 3-2
08/26/17 at #3 Washington W 3-1
09/09/17 at #7 Kansas W 3-0
08/24/18 vs. #5 Kentucky (at USC) W 3-2
10/12/19 at #10 Marquette W 3-2
11/22/19 #9 Marquette W 3-1
09/04/21 at #3 Kentucky W 3-0
09/16/23 at #9 Minnesota W 3-2
09/20/24 vs. #6 Purdue (at Kansas) W 3-1
09/21/24 at #10 Kansas W 3-0
12/11/25 vs. #8 Arizona State (at Kentucky) W 3-1
08/28/26 vs. #9 Purdue (in Sioux Falls) W 3-2

Cracking The Code
Creighton Volleyball is 0-1 all-time inside Pinnacle Bank Arena (losing to No. 2 Penn State in last year's AVCA First Serve), but Bluejay Athletics has seen success inside "The Vault".
Creighton Men's Basketball is 4-2 inside the facility, while the CU Women's Basketball program is 3-4 there. No other school has more non-conference basketball victories against Nebraska in the venue in either sport.

Everything's Bigger in Texas
Creighton played a 37-35 second set on Sunday at Rice, the second-highest scoring set in its 25-point era (which started in 2008) behind a 38-36 victory at Butler on Nov. 12, 2017. Sunday's set had 24 ties and eight lead changes
The set was reminiscent of Nebraska's 37-35 fourth set in last year's national quarterfinal against Texas A&M where the Cornhuskers converted their ninth set point opportunity to extend the match
Creighton's Highest-Scoring Sets (25-Point Set Era)
Score Opponent Date Set # Match Result
W 38-36 at Butler 11/12/17 2 Won 3-2
L 35-37 at Rice 09/13/26 2 Lost 3-1
L 34-36 Northern Iowa 09/03/23 2 Won 3-1
W 34-32 South Dakota 09/20/14 4 Lost 3-2
W 33-31 Illinois 09/11/21 4 Won 3-1
L 31-33 #14 Marquette 11/26/22 4 Won 3-2
W 33-31 at #5 Nebraska 09/10/24 3 Lost 3-2

Golden Girls
Creighton junior Ayden Ames spent the summer winning a second straight Pan American Cup Gold Medal with USA Volleyball's U21 team and starting three of the team's five matches, including the final. Ames had 18 kills in 35 swings and hit .400 in the four matches she appeared in.
Ames was teammates with Nebraska's Manaia Ogbechie, Keoni Williams, Campbell Flynn.
Ames also was teammates with Flynn, Olivia Mauch and Teraya Sigler on the USA Volleyball U19 Team that won the FIVB World Championships in August of 2023. Skyler Pierce was an alternate on that squad.

Dig Like Damrow
Saige Damrow had 21 digs on Sept. 6 against Tulsa, then owned a career-high 30 vs. UNI last Friday and 25 the next day vs. No. 5 Louisville. She closed her weekend with 23 digs at Rice on Sunday.
That makes Damrow the first player since Julianne Mandolfo in 2011 to have 20+ digs in four straight matches, and the first Bluejay since Kate Elman in 2014 with back-to-back contests of 25+ digs.
Consecutive Matches, 20 or More Digs
7 Nayka Benitez, Nov. 13-Dec. 3, 2010
6 Julianne Mandolfo, Oct. 29-Nov. 19, 2011
5 Bianca Rivera, Sept. 15-29, 2007
4 Julianne Mandolfo, Aug. 27-Sept. 3, 2011
4 Julianne Mandolfo, Sept. 24-Oct. 7, 2011
4 Saige Damrow, Sept. 6, 2026 - Present

Consecutive Matches, 25 or More Digs
3 Janeen Piller, Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2004
3 Bianca Rivera, Nov. 8-15, 2008
` 3 Julianne Mandolfo, Sept. 24-Oct. 1, 2010
3 Nayka Benitez, Nov. 26-Dec. 3, 2010
3 Julianne Mandolfo, Sept. 24-Oct. 1, 2011
3 Julianne Mandolfo, Oct. 29-Nov. 5, 2011
2 Janeen Piller, Nov. 19-20, 2004
2 Katie Mehal, Nov. 17-18, 2006
2 Bianca Rivera, Sept. 20-26, 2008
2 Nayka Benitez, Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2009
2 Julianne Mandolfo, Oct. 8-9, 2010
2 Julianne Mandolfo, Oct. 15-21, 2011
2 Julianne Mandolfo, Nov. 12-19, 2011
2 Kate Elman, Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2012
2 Kate Elman, Nov. 16-17, 2012
2 Kate Elman, Oct. 4-10, 2014
2 Saige Damrow, Sept. 11-12, 2026

Shadd-Ceres Speeds to 100 Kills
Trinity Shadd-Ceres needed just eight matches to record her 100th kill with the Bluejays, tying JoDe Cieloha's program-record for fewest matches needed to reach the century mark.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
JoDe Cieloha 8 09/23/94 at Drake
Trinity Shadd-Ceres 8 09/12/26 vs. #5 Louisville
Jaali Winters 9 09/12/15 Pacific
Norah Sis 9 09/11/21 Illinois
Melissa Walsh 10 09/26/98 at Bradley
Carolyn Decker 10 09/18/04 Illinois State
Keeley Davis 10 09/21/19 Wyoming

Rosen On The Fast Track
Brian Rosen owns a 78-27 record to date when you include his 33-10 mark at Creighton with his 45-17 record at Nova Southeastern.
Among current Division I head coaches with at least four years of head coaching experience, Rosen ranks 17th in the country with a .743 winning percentage.
Best Win Percentage (Through 9/13)
(Min. 4 years, current DI Head Coaches)
Pct. Name, Current School W-L
.853 JJ Van Niel, Arizona State 93-16
.851 Dan Fisher, Pittsburgh 435-76
.844 Dani Busboom Kelly, Nebraska 243-45
.830 Jerritt Elliott, Texas 689-141
.818 Jenny Glenn, American 257-57
.775 Todd Lowery, UTRGV 608-177
.774 Paco Labrador, Navy 568-166
.769 Travis Hudson, WKU 812-244
.767 Kelly Sheffield, Wisconsin 623-189
.763 Sam Erger, SMU 106-33
.762 Dan Meske, Louisville 80-25
.761 Kendra Potts, Grand Canyon 166-52
.759 Craig Skinner, Kentucky 505-160
.759 Matt Botsford, UCF 287-91
.753 Kevin Hambly, Stanford 411-135
.749 Matt Troy, Elon 367-123
.743 Brian Rosen, Creighton 78-27
.742 Keegan Cook, Minnesota 264-92

Return of the Block
Creighton had 18 blocks in its Sept. 6 match vs. Tulsa, its most in any match since posting 22 blocks on Oct. 16, 2022 vs. DePaul. The 18 blocks were tied for 12th-most in CU history.
The Tulsa match was the first of its current streak of four straight games with double-digit stuffs, its longest streak since 2024, and the first time since 2013 the Bluejays have had four straight matches with 12 or more rejections.
The Nov. 1-16, 2013 stretch is also the last time Creighton's had 10 blocks or more in five straight matches, something that's within reach on Wednesday night.
Leading the block brigade has been Eloise Brandewie, who has 34 rejections (12-9-5-8) in the past four matches and has averaged 2.00 blocks per set in those 17 sets. With five or more blocks at Nebraska, she'll become the first Bluejay since Lincoln native Lauren Smith in 2015 to join this list.
Consecutive Matches, 5 or More Blocks
10 Kelli Browning, (Oct. 3 - Nov. 7, 2014)
9 Jessica Houts (Oct. 15-Nov. 19, 2005)
7 Laurel Sanford (Oct. 29-Nov. 24, 2011)
6 Melissa Walsh (Sept. 27-Oct. 16, 1998)
6 Jessica Houts (Sept. 1-10, 2006)
6 Kelli Browning (Sept. 25-Oct. 2, 2012)
5 Ashley Williams (Oct. 3-11, 2003)
5 Laurel Sanford (Oct. 16-30, 2009)
5 Kelli Browning (Dec. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013)
5 Kelli Browning (Sept. 13-22, 2013)
5 Lauren Smith (Sept. 11-18, 2015)
5 Lauren Smith (Nov. 7-27, 2015)

Most Improved?
Abbey Hayes had five matches her entire freshman season with 10 or more kills.
Now a sophomore, the Preseason All-BIG EAST pick has double-digit kills in 7-of-9 matches thus far, including CU's past five contests.

A Closer Look
Though Creighton is 5-4 this season, keep in mind that every team on its non-conference schedule finished with a top 45 RPI last season, and the Jays already have beaten three teams that closed last fall in the Top 25.
It's also worth noting that last year's team started 5-4, lost its 10th match to top-ranked Nebraska, and then reeled off 23 straight victories en route to a second straight Elite Eight.
RPI Opponent 2026 Result
1 Nebraska Wednesday
4 Texas A&M Sunday
10 Purdue Creighton 3-2
12 Louisville Louisville, 3-1
13 Minnesota Minnesota, 3-0
15 USC Creighton, 3-1
24 Northern Iowa Creighton, 3-1
28 Rice Rice, 3-1
31 Kansas State Friday
37 Tulsa Tulsa, 3-2
38 Arizona Creighton, 3-2
44 Pepperdine Creighton, 3-1

Pack A Snack
Creighton has played three matches to go five sets in its first nine contests of the year, and in just one three-set match.
This year's team is playing 4.22 sets per match, well above the previous program high of 3.89 sets per match done in both 1996 and 1997. By comparison, from 1994-2025, the Bluejays played 3,532 sets in 973 matches, an average of 3.63 sets per match.
Creighton had 111 sweeps from 2021-25 (and was swept just seven times), but has yet to win a 3-0 match this fall.
Most Sets Per Creighton Match
Sets/Match Year Sets Match W-L
4.22 2026 38 9 5-5
3.89 1996 109 28 9-19
3.89 1997 109 28 15-13
3.88 2020 62 16 12-4*
3.83 2003 115 30 12-18
3.79 1999 106 28 13-15
3.79 2000 106 28 16-12
3.78 2013 121 32 23-9*
3.77 2011 117 31 17-14
3.76 2014 128 34 25-9*
*made NCAA Tournament

Jays Work In The Middle
In the seven meetings against Nebraska since 2018, the Bluejays have done most of their work in the middle sets.
Nebraska is 6-1 in set 1, but Creighton is 3-4 in set 2, 3-4 in set 3 and 3-3 in set 4 versus the Huskers. All four fifth sets between the teams have been won by NU.

Rare Air
Creighton enters Wednesday after losing back-to-back matches at the Rice Invitational over the weekend to No. 5 Louisville and host Rice.
That means Creighton takes the floor on Wednesday looking to avoid a three-match losing streak in the same season since all the way back in September of 2016.
That 2016 team started the season 2-4 only to regroup and finish 29-7 and reach the program's first Elite Eight.

Top 25 Wins
Thanks to victories over No. 9 Purdue and No. 20 USC, Creighton is one of 13 teams nationally that enters this week with multiple ranked wins.
A win on Wednesday would make the Bluejays tied for third in the country with three Top 25 wins.
Top 25 Wins (through 9/13)
5 Louisville
5 Pittsburgh
3 Arizona State
3 Kentucky
3 SMU
3 Texas
3 Wisconsin
2 Creighton
2 Florida
2 Nebraska
2 Purdue
2 Stanford
2 TCU
1 Colorado
1 Florida State
1 Indiana
1 Minnesota
1 Penn State
1 Rice
1 Tennessee
1 Texas A&M
1 Tulsa
1 UC Davis
1 USC
1 Vanderbilt

All-Tournament Team Duo
Creighton had a pair of women named to the Rice Invitational II All-Tournament Team, as Ayden Ames and Saige Damrow were both recognized.
Ames averaged 2.50 kills and 1.58 blocks per set while hitting .426. She posted or tied career-highs in points (22.0), kills (15), blocks (8), digs (5) and aces (2) on Sunday vs. Rice.
Damrow averaged 6.50 digs per set, including 25 vs. UNI, a career-high 30 against No. 5 Louisville and 23 more versus Rice.

29 Kills For Shadd-Ceres
Trinity Shadd-Ceres became the sixth different player in Creighton Volleyball history with 29 or more kills in a match when she did it on Sept. 4 against Arizona. Of those women, Shadd-Ceres' .420 hitting percentage was the second-best mark.
Shadd-Ceres' 29 kills tied a Bluejay Invitational single-match record and were one shy of the D.J. Sokol Arena record.
Creighton Players With 29+ Kills
K Pct. D Player, Opponent (Sets) Date
32 .406 10 Michelle Prorock, Evansville (4) 11/02/96
31 .390 7 Keeley Davis, Marquette (5) 10/12/19
30 .404 22 Melissa Walsh, Indiana St. (5) 10/16/98
30 .273 13 Norah Sis, Auburn (5) 12/02/22
30 .464 10 Ava Martin, Marquette (5) 11/01/25
30 .369 8 Ava Martin, No. Colorado (5) 12/04/26
29 .420 10 Trinity Shadd-Ceres, Arizona (5) 09/04/26

Brandewie's Big Block
Eloise Brandewie had a career-high 12 blocks in the Sept. 6 match vs. Tulsa. Her dozen rejections were tied for seventh-most in a match in Bluejay history, and the most by any CU player since Kiana Schmitt had 13 on Oct. 16, 2022 vs. DePaul.
Most Blocks in a Match
17 Ashley Williams (3-14) vs. Wichita State (5s) 10-10-03
16 Ashley Williams (4-12) vs. Southern Illinois (5s) 9-19-03
15 Kelli Browning (0-15) vs. Tulsa (4s) 9-8-12
14 Jessica Houts (0-14) vs. Lipscomb (4s) 9-4-09
13 Laurel Sanford (1-12) vs. Southern Illinois (5s) 10-21-11
13 Kiana Schmitt (1-12) vs. DePaul (5s) 10-16-22
12 JoDe Cieloha (1-11) at Bradley (3s) 9-9-95
12 JoDe Cieloha (2-10) at Western Illinois (5s) 11-10-96
12 Ashley Williams (3-9) vs. Bradley (5s) 10-31-03
12 Laurel Sanford (1-11) at Southern Illinois (4s) 10-17-09
12 Jessica Houts (2-10) vs. Indiana State (3s) 10-24-09
12 Jessica Houts (1-11) vs. Evansville (4s) 11-14-09
12 Kelli Browning (2-10) at Missouri State (5s) 11-17-12
12 Lauren Smith (1-11) at Georgetown (4s) 11-9-13
12 Eloise Brandewie (1-11) vs. Tulsa (5s) 9-6-26

Hey, Hey, Hayes
Abbey Hayes had a career-high 18 kills in the Sept. 6 match vs. Tulsa, five more than her previous best.
Hayes' 18 kills were the most by a Creighton sophomore since Ava Martin had 18 kills at St. John's on Nov. 11, 2023.
Hayes joins some pretty good company as one of five Creighton sophomores with 18+ kills in a match over the past 10 seasons (2017-Present). And of those sophomores, only Norah Sis (4x), Keeley Davis and Ava Martin had a match with at least 18 kills and 13 digs.
Most Kills by a CU Sophomore, Last 10 Seasons
K D Name, Opponent (sets) Date
30 13 Norah Sis vs. Auburn (5s) 12/2/22
28 19 Norah Sis vs. Florida State (5s) 9/9/22
27 11 Norah Sis at UConn (5s) 10/7/22
23 14 Norah Sis vs. #14 Marquette (5s) 11/26/22
22 5 Norah Sis at Wyoming (4s) 8/2722
22 8 Norah Sis vs. DePaul (5s) 10/16/22
22 6 Ava Martin vs. Northern Iowa (4s) 9/3/23
22 11 Ava Martin at #9 Minnesota (5s) 9/16/23
21 13 Norah Sis vs. Omaha (5s) 9/10/22
21 11 Norah Sis vs. #16 Marquette (5s) 10/14/22
21 16 Ava Martin at Xavier (5s) 9/23/23
20 17 Keeley Davis at South Dakota (5s) 1/31/21
20 4 Norah Sis at St. John's (3s) 10/30/22
20 8 Ava Martin vs. Duke (5s) 8/27/23
18 10 Jaela Zimmerman vs. Marquette (4s) 11/22/19
18 7 Norah Sis vs. UConn (3s) 11/6/22
18 6 Ava Martin at St. John's (4s) 11/11/23
18 13 Abbey Hayes vs. Tulsa (5s) 9/6/26

Dalton Goes 40/20 in Home Debut
Katie Dalton made an immediate impact in her first match as a Creighton Bluejay inside D.J. Sokol Arena, turning in 46 assists and a career-high 21 digs.
Dalton is just the ninth different Bluejay with at least 20 assists and 20 digs in the same match. It's happened 29 times overall among those women.
20 Assists, 20 Digs In A Match
A D Name Opp. Date
47 22 Melissa Weisensee Bradley (4s) 9/9/94
51 21 Melissa Weisensee at Wichita State (5s) 9/14/96
53 24 Melissa Weisensee at Indiana State (5s) 10/18/96
40 23 Melissa Weisensee at Drake (5s) 9/13/97
46 38 Melissa Weisensee Evansville (4s) 10/10/97
46 21 Melissa Weisensee Missouri State (4s) 10/31/97
65 22 Melissa Weisensee at Evansville (5s) 11/8/97
55 28 Kailey Reyes Evansville (5s) 9/11/99
65 24 Kailey Reyes Illinois State (4s) 9/24/99
40 21 Kailey Reyes Missouri State (4s) 11/6/99
49 28 Kailey Reyes at Illinois State (4s) 10/13/00
44 23 Kailey Reyes Bradley (4s) 10/28/00
64 23 Kailey Reyes at Evansville (5s) 11/4/00
45 20 Kailey Reyes vs. Evansville (4g) 11/24/00
54 22 Brittany Coleman at Illinois State (4s) 10/18/03
62 21 Brittany Coleman at Southern Illinois (4s) 10/29/04
71 20 Korie Lebeda at Evansville (5s) 11/18/06
27 20 Michelle Sicner Illinois State (4s) 9/30/11
44 21 Michelle Sicner Xavier (4s) 11/29/13
41 20 Lydia Dimke vs. Wichita State (5s) 8/27/16
40 21 Kendra Wait at Marquette (4s) 10/29/21
59 36 Kendra Wait vs. Florida State (5s) 9/9/22
56 24 Kendra Wait at Rice (5s) 9/18/22
60 20 Kendra Wait #14 Marquette (5s) 11/26/22
43 22 Kendra Wait Northern Iowa (4s) 9/3/23
42 22 Kendra Wait at #9 Minnesota (5s) 9/16/23
45 26 Kendra Wait at Xavier (5s) 9/23/23
53 21 Annalea Maeder Northern Colorado (5s) 12/4/25
46 21 Katie Dalton Arizona (5s) 9/4/26

159 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton was ranked 20th in the Sept. 14 AVCA poll, the 159th time in program history it's been ranked. That's tied for 36th-most of all programs in NCAA history. All of those rankings have occurred since 2012.
Thirty-seven of those rankings have seen the Bluejays climb into the Top 10.
The Bluejays are one of 10 schools (along with Baylor, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 82 polls.
Creighton's 82 weeks in a row being ranked dates began on Sept. 6, 2021 and sets a program-record, breaking the previous-high of 64 from Oct. 31, 2016 to March 15, 2021.
Creighton is one of eight schools (Creighton, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Stanford, Wisconsin) to be in the Top 10 of the year-end poll in both 2024 and 2025.

Top 25 History
Creighton is 264-58 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 30-36 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, 51 of Creighton's 87 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 342-36 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but four of its past 138 home matches over unranked teams and all but 15 of its last 205 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 30-36)
Home: 11-11 Away: 8-14 Neutral: 11-11
Date Winner Loser CU Score
11/19/12 #11 Minnesota #21 Creighton 1-3
08/30/13 #25 Creighton #13 BYU 3-1
09/14/13 #11 UCLA #24 Creighton 1-3
09/16/13 #7 Hawaii #23 Creighton 2-3
08/30/14 #22 Kansas #23 Creighton 1-3
09/03/16 #23 Kentucky #22 Creighton 0-3
12/02/16 #21 Creighton #4 Kansas 3-2
12/09/16 #21 Creighton #17 Michigan 3-2
12/10/16 #5 Texas #21 Creighton 0-3
08/26/17 #9 Creighton #3 Washington 3-1
09/01/17 #7 Creighton #13 Kentucky 3-0
09/02/17 #18 USC #7 Creighton 0-3
09/08/17 #17 Purdue #9 Creighton 1-3
09/09/17 #9 Creighton #7 Kansas 3-0
09/16/17 #19 Iowa State #8 Creighton 2-3
12/12/17 #12 Michigan St. #15 Creighton 1-3
08/24/18 #13 Creighton #5 Kentucky 3-2
08/25/18 #10 USC #13 Creighton 2-3
09/06/18 #7 Nebraska #14 Creighton 2-3
09/15/18 #8 Illinois #10 Creighton 1-3
09/23/18 #10 Creighton #21 Marquette 3-0
10/26/18 #10 Creighton #18 Marquette 3-1
11/24/18 #9 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-1
12/01/18 #22 Washington #9 Creighton 0-3
08/30/19 #2 Nebraska #18 Creighton 1-3
08/31/19 #20 Baylor #18 Creighton 0-3
09/06/19 #23 Creighton #12 Kentucky 3-1
09/07/19 #23 Creighton #15 USC 3-1
09/14/19 #12 Washington #17 Creighton 1-3
10/12/19 #13 Creighton #10 Marquette 3-2
11/22/19 #12 Creighton #9 Marquette 3-1
12/07/19 #7 Minnesota #15 Creighton 2-3
02/05/21 #19 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-2
02/06/21 #25 Marquette #19 Creighton 0-3
09/08/21 #3 Nebraska #19 Creighton 0-3
09/02/22 #17 Creighton #25 USC 3-1
09/03/22 #16 Kentucky #17 Creighton 1-3
09/07/22 #2 Nebraska #17 Creighton 2-3
10/14/22 #21 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-2
11/19/22 #16 Marquette #11 Creighton 0-3
11/26/22 #15 Creighton #14 Marquette 3-2
08/26/23 #18 Creighton #16 Purdue 3-0
09/06/23 #4 Nebraska #16 Creighton 1-3
09/16/23 #14 Creighton #9 Minnesota 3-2
11/05/23 #17 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-0
12/07/23 #7 Louisville #17 Creighton 2-3
09/05/24 #11 Creighton #20 USC 3-1
09/10/24 #5 Nebraska #9 Creighton 2-3
09/15/24 #4 Louisville #9 Creighton 2-3
09/20/24 #9 Creighton #6 Purdue 3-1
09/21/24 #9 Creighton #10 Kansas 3-0
12/13/24 #6 Creighton #13 Texas 3-1
12/15/24 #2 Penn State #6 Creighton 2-3
08/23/25 #2 Penn State #12 Creighton L 0-3
08/29/25 #5 Texas #12 Creighton L 0-3
08/31/25 #12 Creighton #14 Kansas W 3-2
09/07/25 #22 USC #13 Creighton L 0-3
09/12/25 #4 Louisville #13 Creighton L 1-3
09/16/25 #1 Nebraska #18 Creighton L 2-3
09/21/25 #18 Creighton #17 Kansas W 3-0
12/11/25 #11 Creighton #8 Arizona State W 3-1
12/13/25 #2 Kentucky #11 Creighton L 0-3
08/28/26 #13 Creighton #9 Purdue W 3-2
08/29/26 #14 Minnesota #13 Creighton L 0-3
08/30/26 #13 Creighton #20 USC W 3-1
09/12/26 #5 Louisville #15 Creighton L 1-3
09/16/26 #20 Creighton at #1 Nebraska 6 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 last 12 seasons (2015-26).
Creighton is 35-97 all-time against ranked teams, and 5-8 under Brian Rosen.
Creighton is also 13-45 all-time against Top 10 teams, including a 2-6 record under Rosen.
The highest-ranked team CU has defeated under Rosen was No. 8 Arizona State (W 3-1) on Dec. 11, 2025 in Lexington, Ky., in the Sweet 16.
The highest ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten at any site were No. 3 Washington (8/26/17 in Seattle) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/21 in Lexington).
CU's highest-ranked opponent it has defeated at home was a 3-1 win over then-No. 9 Marquette on Nov. 22, 2019.
This year is the 10th season that CU owned multiple Top-25 victories, and last year was the fourth in a row with three Top 25 wins or more. The Jays beat three Top 25 teams in 2017, 2022, 2023 and 2025, and a record four in 2018, 2019 and 2024.

Defense Did Its Job
Creighton lost on Sept. 6 to Tulsa despite holding the Golden Hurricane to .128 hitting.
It was Creighton's first loss when holding a foe to .128 hitting or lower since Oct. 30, 2009, when Missouri State hit .118 in a 3-0 sweep over the Jays.
CU had been 185-0 since then when foes hit .128 or worse.

Christianson Aces Opening Weekend
Setter Rayna Christianson made an impact with four service aces in Creighton's Aug. 30 win over No. 20 USC.
The four aces were the most by a Bluejay freshman on the opening weekend of a season since Allie Oelke in 2007.
Oelke, who like Christianson is also from the Twin Cities metro area, went on to be named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2007.

Last Season Summary
Creighton went 28-6 last season in Brian Rosen's first season at the helm, dropping just four sets while going 18-0 against conference foes en route to BIG EAST regular-season and BIG EAST Tournament titles.
The Jays defeated Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa and No. 8 Arizona State in the NCAA Tournament to reach its second straight Elite Eight, where it was eliminated by eventual runner-up Kentucky.
BIG EAST Player of the Year Ava Martin (4.48 kps., 0.40 saps.) and Kiara Reinhardt (2.53 kps., 1.03 bps., .447%) were both named Second Team All-Americans and became the first teammates ever selected in the first round of the same Major League Volleyball Draft, while BIG EAST Setter of the Year Annalea Maeder (10.75 aps., 0.40 saps.) was chosen as a Third Team All-American.

Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 13th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 10th. It's the 12th time in the past 14 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason, and fifth season in a row.
The No. 13 slotting is tied for the fourth-best preseason mark in program history.
Creighton is one of 15 schools to be ranked in every preseason Top 25 poll since 2022, a list featuring Baylor, BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, USC, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin. Of note, Creighton is the nation's only program that was nationally-ranked in the preseason polls in 2023, 2024 and 2025 and improved its position in the year-end poll.
Over the previous 18 seasons from 2008-25, 333-of-450 teams (74.0 percent) have been in both the preseason and final polls. From 2008-25, all but 42 teams (of 450) named in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament (90.7 percent).
This year marks the 15th 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 28-6 10th
2026 13th TBD TBD

Ames Makes BIG EAST History in First Week
Ayden Ames was named BIG EAST Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 31 after helping the Bluejays to a pair of Top 25 wins to open the season. Ames is the first player in BIG EAST history, as well as Creighton Volleyball history, to be named both the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week in the same week by the league office.
Ames hit .305 and averaged 1.92 kills, 1.17 blocks and 0.25 digs during her initial week as a Bluejay.
The junior from Prosper, Texas, had seven kills and set a Creighton record for most blocks in a debut with seven stuffs in Friday's 3-2 win vs. No. 9 Purdue.
The Preseason All-BIG EAST pick then led the Bluejays with eight kills, three blocks and .333 hitting in Saturday's contest vs. No. 14 Minnesota before closing her weekend with eight kills, four blocks and .400 hitting in a 3-1 triumph over No. 20 USC.
Ames' only previously weekly conference award came on Dec. 2, 2024, when she shared Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week recognition while enrolled at Texas.

New Kid On The Block
Ayden Ames made Bluejay history when she had seven blocks in her Creighton debut vs. No. 9 Purdue on Aug. 28th.
Ames surpassed Kelli Browning's six in 2011 vs. UTSA. Browning is already in the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame and still owns the top three single-season blocking totals in CU history.
Most Blocks, First Match Played at Creighton
BLK Name Opponent Date
7 Ayden Ames vs. #9 Purdue 8/28/26
6 Kelli Browning vs. UTSA 8/26/11
5 Elise Goetzinger NC State 8/30//24
4 Lauren Bloemke Jacksonville State 8/25/06
4 Lauren Smith vs. #13 BYU 8/30/13
4 Kelsey O'Connell vs. Miami (Ohio) 8/28/15
4 Jaali Winters vs. Miami (Ohio) 8/28/15
4 Kiara Reinhardt Nebraska-Omaha 1/22/21
4 Norah Sis vs. Kansas City 8/27/21

One Tough Schedule
Of Creighton's 12 non-conference matches, six are against ranked teams and four others against programs that received votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll.
All 12 non-conference teams on Creighton's schedule finished the 2025 campaign with a top-44 RPI, and 11 reached the NCAA Tournament. That should come as no surprise, as Creighton faced the second-most difficult schedule (all matches) last season.
The teams on Creighton's non-conference schedule entered this week with a 66-30 mark to date, including two more unbeaten foes (7-0 Nebraska and 6-0 Kansas State) this week.

The Gauntlet
Creighton played the nation's second-toughest schedule, and also ranked among the national leaders in Top 50 wins and matches vs. Top 50 opponents in 2025.
Creighton was 18-0 (including the league tournament) against the BIG EAST Conference (the nation's #5 league).
Most RPI Top 50 Wins in 2025
Top 50 W's School
18 Nebraska
17 Arizona State
15 Creighton, Pittsburgh
14 Wisconsin

Most RPI Top 50 Matches in 2025
Top 50 MP's School
21 Creighton, Arizona State, Kansas
20 Pittsburgh
19 Nebraska, Wisconsin, TCU, Utah

Production Returns
Creighton returns 9-of-17 letterwinners to the court from last season, including three starters.
From last year's team, Ava Martin, Kiara Reinhardt, Annalea Maeder, Sky McCune, Alivia Hausmann, Sophia Wendlick, Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Emersen Strain are not back.
All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 316.2 of a possible 700% back (45.2 percent), the third-smallest amount returning in the past 25 seasons behind only 2009 and 2025.
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Digs 993 (61.3%) 628 (38.7%)
Aces 142 (56.6%) 109 (43.4%)
Blocks 144 (55.2%) 117 (44.8%)
Matches Started 92 (45.1%) 112 (54.9%)
Points 964 (44.5%) 1201 (55.5%)
Kills 678 (41.0%) 975 (59.0%)
Assists 192 (12.5%) 1340 (87.5%)

Advance In The Dance
Creighton is one of nine schools to appear in the Sweet 16 in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments (2023-25), joining Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin.
Creighton is one of five schools to be in the Elite Eight in both 2024 and 2025, a list that features Creighton, Kentucky, Nebraska, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin.
Creighton has won a First Round match in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons (2023-25). Nationally, only 20 schools have done that: Arizona State, Baylor, Creighton, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette, Miami (Fla.), Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, SMU, Stanford, TCU, Texas, USC and Wisconsin.

How Sweet It Is
Creighton has made five Sweet 16s, all of which have come in the 11 seasons from 2015-25. Creighton is one of 46 schools to have made a Sweet 16 since 2015, but only 16 of those teams have been there five times or more in that span.
Most Sweet 16s, Last 11 Seasons (2015-25)
Sweet 16s School
11 Nebraska
11 Texas
11 Wisconsin
9 Minnesota
9 Penn State
8 Florida
8 Kentucky
8 Stanford
7 Louisville
6 BYU
6 Pittsburgh
6 Purdue
6 Washington
5 Creighton
5 Ohio State
5 Oregon

Replacing Three AVCA All-Americans
Creighton Volleyball had three seniors earn All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association last season, as Ava Martin and Kiara Reinhardt picked up Second Team honors, and Annalea Maeder was a Third Team choice.
Creighton's three honorees were tied for fifth-most in the nation, trailing only the four women chosen from Kentucky, Nebraska, SMU and Texas A&M.
Last year marked the 14th straight season that Creighton has had at least one All-American, with multiple All-Americans in 10 of the previous 11 campaigns. The only schools with multiple All-Americans each of the past five years are now Creighton, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Stanford and Wisconsin.
Both Martin and Reinhardt were selected in the Major League Volleyball Draft on Nov. 24, 2025. Martin was the second overall section by the Atlanta Vibe, while Reinhardt was selected No. 8 overall in the first round by the Omaha Supernovas. The selections made Creighton the first school in league history to have two picks in the First Round of the same draft.
This is the second straight season the Jays have had to replace three or more All-Americans, as the 2025 Creighton squad that reached the Elite Eight had to replace Kendra Wait, Norah Sis, Maddy Bilinovic and Elise Goetzinger from its 2024 team that also made the Elite Eight.

Golden Girl
Creighton junior Ayden Ames spent the summer winning a second straight Pan American Cup Gold Medal with USA Volleyball's U21 team and starting three of the team's five matches, including the final. Ames had 18 kills in 35 swings and hit .400 in the four matches she appeared in.

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 to lose six times or less in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Creighton is also the only school nationally who have won 25 matches or more in every season between 2014-25 (not counting the 2020 COVID-19 year, when CU only played 16 times).
Creighton is one three schools to win 27 matches or more each of the last five seasons (2021-25), joining Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky.

Winners Win
Creighton owned 268 wins over the previous 10 seasons from 2016-25.
That ranks fourth-most nationally, and among some of the most storied programs in all the land. CU is also fifth in win percentage in the last decade.
Previous 10 Seasons (2016-25)
Sorted By Wins Sorted By Win Percentage
1. 287 Nebraska 1. .874 Texas 256-37
2. 283 Pittsburgh 2. .872 Nebraska 287-42
3. 278 Western Kentucky 3. .8634 Western Kentucky 278-44
4. 268 Creighton 4. .8628 Pittsburgh 283-45
5. 261 Wisconsin 5. .838 Creighton 268-52
6. 256 Texas 6. .8312 Wisconsin 261-53
7. 255 Stanford 7. .8311 BYU 251-51
8. 253 Stephen F. Austin 8. .825 Stanford 255-54
9. 251 BYU 9. .813 Kentucky 248-57
10. 248 Kentucky 10. .797 Dayton 244-62

Nothing Mid-Major About It
There's nothing mid-major about the Creighton Volleyball program.
From 2012-25, Creighton ranked fourth nationally with 372 victories. The only teams with more wins in those 14 seasons were Western Kentucky (400), Nebraska (394) and Penn State (375). Just behind CU is Texas (370) and Stanford (368).
In that time, Creighton has made five Sweet 16's and three Elite Eights while leading the country with both 13 regular-season conference titles and 12 league tournament titles,
Creighton is the only Volleyball program in BIG EAST history to ever reach the Elite Eight, and has now done it three times (2016, 2024 and 2025).

14 Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 14 seasons. They are the first women's team in any sport at Creighton to make 14 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 14 NCAA Tournaments (2012-25). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.

How Elite Are We?
Creighton and UCLA are the nation's only schools to reach the Elite Eight in women's volleyball (2024 and 2025), women's basketball (2021), men's basketball (2022) and men's soccer (2022) since the start of the 2021-22 academic year.
Creighton, UCLA and Kentucky are the nation's only schools to reach the Sweet 16 in those same sports since the start of the 2021-22 academic year.

Survival of the Fittest
Since the move to rally scoring in 2001, Creighton has won 10 matches when surviving a match point and lost four contests when holding a match point of its own.
Surviving Match Points Since 2001
Date Opponent MP(s) Faced Final Set 5
09/27/02 Evansville 13-14, 14-15 19-17
08/30/03 vs. McNeese State 13-14, 15-16 18-16
10/10/03 Wichita State 13-14 16-14
10/13/06 at Wichita State 12-14, 13-14, 14-15 17-15
09/11/07 at Drake 13-14, 14-15 17-15
08/26/11 vs. UTSA 12-14, 13-14 16-14
11/16/12 at Wichita State 13-14 16-14
09/20/15 Kansas State 23-24 (4th set) 15-13
11/20/15 at Georgetown 23-24, 26-27 (4th set) 15-7
08/24/18 vs. #5 Kentucky 16-15, 19-18 22-20

2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 441-11 (.976) all-time when leading a match 2-0, and 161-1 (.994) all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena when up 2-0 at the break.
Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that won the first two sets won 94.9 percent of their matches from 2014-23.
Creighton has won 128 matches in a row when taking a 2-0 lead.
Conversely, the Jays are 17-214 (.074) 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 191-7 in its last 198 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 20-30 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 222-5 (.978) in its last 227 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 183-7 in its last 190 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only to Pacific (Sept. 12, 2015), No. 7 Nebraska (Sept. 6, 2018), South Dakota (Jan. 29, 2021), No. 16 Kentucky (Sept. 3, 2022), Auburn (Dec. 2, 2022), No. 4 Louisville (Sept. 12, 2025) and Tulsa (Sept. 6, 2026).
The Jays have won their last 47 of their last 49 home matches following a first set victory.

Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, and Western Kentucky are the nation's only schools to have won 13 or more conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton's 12 crowns were outright titles, whereas WKU has shared six championships.
Creighton has also won 12 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2025
Regular-Season League Tournament
13 (3 shared) Creighton 12 Creighton
13 (6) Western Kentucky 11 Western Kentucky
12 (1) Fairfield 10 Fairfield
11 (1) Texas

12 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Creighton (2014-25) is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 12 straight regular-season titles. The previous record had been seven by Notre Dame from 1999-2005.
The Bluejay volleyball team is also the first Creighton program in any sport to win more than five straight league titles, more than doubling the previous high of five in a row by the men's soccer program (1992-96) in the MVC.
The only other volleyball team nationally with an active streak of more than six straight regular-season league titles is Kentucky, which won its ninth consecutive SEC crown last year.
Creighton's 12 straight regular-season titles rank third-longest in NCAA history, trailing only Florida's 18 straight SEC titles from 1991-2008 and Hawaii's 16 consecutive WAC crowns from 1996-2011.

Home Sweet Home
Creighton is entering its 14th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
Since then, the Bluejays are 120-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (109-3 in the regular-season, 11-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since the start of the 2015 season, Creighton is 104-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 94-1 mark in league play and a 10-0 mark in the conference tournament. The only setback (on Feb. 6, 2021 vs. Marquette) was played as a non-conference match, only to be flipped to a league contest 19 days later. Creighton has won 54 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.
Put another way, since enrolling at Creighton in the fall of 2023, fourth-year Bluejay seniors Sydney Breissinger, Jaya Johnson and Ava TeStrake are 32-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 96-10 in sets.
Since the start of the 2023 season, Creighton has won 84-of-88 sets at home against BIG EAST teams, dropping only the third set on Oct. 1, 2024 to Marquette, the second and third sets to Marquette on Nov. 1, 2025, and the second set to Villanova on Nov. 7, 2025.

BIG EAST'S Best
Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton, Marquette and St. John's are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
Creighton owns 12 regular-season titles (3 shared) in that time, while Marquette owns four regular-season (3 shared) crowns.
As it relates to BIG EAST Tournament titles, Creighton has won 11, 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 - Sept. 13, 2026
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (13) 204 16 348 83
Marquette (12) 180 37 305 108
Xavier (1) 130 88 211 178
Villanova (1) 111 109 213 174
St. John's (1) 110 110 240 182
Butler 108 112 196 196
Seton Hall (1) 86 133 179 210
DePaul 72 148 169 218
Georgetown 51 161 131 239
Connecticut# 50 46 103 76
Providence* 33 171 132 227
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 and
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.
#Connecticut rejoined the league in 2020 and
its record from 2013-19 (96-121) is not included above.

Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning percentage better than .800 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 227 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 40 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
CU still has not lost to three league foes (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence) since joining the BIG EAST, and Marquette (6), Villanova (3), Seton Hall (3) and St. John's (3) are the only BIG EAST programs to top the Bluejays multiple times since 2013.
Opponent Reg. Season BE Tourney Total
Butler 23-1 - 23-1
Connecticut 5-1 1-0 6-1
DePaul 26-0 3-0 29-0
Georgetown 24-0 - 24-0
Marquette 21-5 8-1 29-6
Providence 18-0 - 18-0
Seton Hall 21-3 2-0 23-3
St. John's 22-2 1-1 23-3
Villanova 21-3 3-0 24-3
Xavier 23-1 5-0 28-1
TOTAL 204-16 23-2 227-18

Rosen Sets More History
Last year Brian Rosen was the first volleyball head coach to go unbeaten in BIG EAST play in their first season as head coach at a school since Pitt's Cindy Alvear went 7-0 in 1993.
Rosen was the first volleyball head coach to win a BIG EAST regular-season title in their first season as head coach at a school since Louisville's Anne Kordes in 2011.
Rosen was the first volleyball head coach to win 20+ matches in their first year as a head coach at a BIG EAST school since Ryan Theis won 24 matches at Marquette in 2014.
Rosen's 28 victories were the most ever by a head coach in his/her first season in the BIG EAST.
Rosen became the first volleyball head coach to win a BIG EAST Tournament title in their first season as head coach at a school since Georgetown's Li Liu in 1999.
Rosen became the first male head coach to win a BIG EAST Tournament title since Marquette's Bond Shymansky in 2013.
Rosen became the first volleyball head coach to win an NCAA Tournament match in their first year as a head coach at a BIG EAST school since Louisville's Anne Kordes in 2011, and the only rookie BIG EAST Volleyball coach to win multiple NCAA Tournament matches in the same season.

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
This year's team has at least 15 matches against teams that made the 2025 NCAA Tournament with contests against Marquette (2x), Xavier (2x), Purdue, Minnesota, USC, Arizona, Tulsa, Northern Iowa, Louisville, Rice, Nebraska, Kansas State and Texas A&M.
Year W-L vs. Previous Season NCAA Teams
1994 0-4
1995 0-2
1996 0-2
1997 0-3
1998 0-5
1999 2-4
2000 0-4
2001 1-6
2002 0-5
2003 0-3
2004 2-2
2005 0-6
2006 4-6
2007 4-9
2008 6-8
2009 1-11
2010 4-7
2011 2-6
2012 8-3
2013 6-6
2014 4-5
2015 11-5
2016 10-7
2017 8-6
2018 8-5
2019 5-4
2020 3-1
2021 3-1
2022 5-4
2023 11-3
2024 9-3
2025 9-6
2026 4-4 so far
TOTAL 130-156
TOTAL Before Booth 3-35
TOTAL Under Booth 114-111
TOTAL Under Rosen 13-10