Volleyball Closes Non-Conference Slate With K-State; #15 Texas A&M

Friday, September 18

Omaha, Neb.

7:00 PM

Creighton University

Kansas State

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Volleyball Closes Non-Conference Slate With K-State; #15 Texas A&M

9/17/2026 7:10:00 PM | Volleyball

Creighton Notes (PDF)

By: Rob Anderson

This Weekend
No. 20 Creighton Volleyball (5-5) closes non-conference play with a pair of nationally-televised home matches this weekend.
On Friday, the Bluejays entertain unbeaten Kansas State (6-0) in a 7 p.m. tussle.
On Sunday, Creighton welcomes No. 15 Texas A&M (5-5) in for a 4 p.m. match.
Both contests are sold out and will be held in Omaha, Neb., inside D.J. Sokol Arena (2,500).

Upcoming Promotions
Friday's match is a powder blue out, with Creighton fans encouraged to wear powder blue. Fans arriving early will receive a light-up baton upon entry. A PS5 is also being given away to students who sign in via Birdcage Rewards at the match.
On Sunday, Creighton fans are encouraged to wear royal blue. Fans will receive blue pom-poms upon arrival to help turn D.J. Sokol Arena into a sea of blue! Representatives from the Omaha Supernovas and LOVB Nebraska will also be stationed in the concourse on Sunday.

Broadcast Information
Friday's match vs. Kansas State will be televised on ESPN2, with Jon Schriner and Shannon Smolinski on the call. Production for that match will be handled internally out of the broadcast suite on the second floor of CU's home facility, the first time that's happened for a CU contest to air on ESPN2. The contest will be video webcast at http://watchESPN.com.
Sunday's contest will be televised on FS1, with Larry Punteney and Emily Ehman on the call. Sunday's broadcast will also be streamed at http://foxsports.com/live.

Live Stats Information
Both matches this weekend 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 5-5 on the young season and seeking to end its first same-season three-match skid since 2016. The Bluejays have played another grueling non-conference schedule, going 2-3 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 (1.44 kps.) is the lone All-BIG EAST returner for the Jays, but Abbey Hayes (2.32 kps.), Saige Damrow (4.34 dps.), Sydney Breissinger (1.56 dps.), Eloise Brandewie (1.59 kps., 1.34 bps.) and Nora Wurtz (0.30 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 (2.00 kps., 1.07 bps., .315), setter Katie Dalton (6.77 aps.) and outside hitter Trinity Shadd-Ceres (3.10 kps.).
CU averages 11.76 kills, 14.68 digs, 2.59 blocks and 1.32 aces per set while hitting .164.
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 Kansas State
Kansas State is 6-0 on the season, dropping just three sets en route to its best start since beginning the 2013 season 7-0.
Freshmen Addison Massey (4.00 kps., .277) and Skylar Brady (2.75 kps.) lead the K-State offense, which is set by Emerson Van Lannen (6.24 aps., 0.71 saps.) and Camdyn Stucky (4.56 aps.).
Van Lannen leads the team with 15 aces, and Reese Resmer owns a program-high 1.27 blocks per set.
The Wildcats, who were predicted to finish 11th in the Big 12, average 14.24 kills, 13.33 digs, 2.67 blocks and 1.86 aces per set while hitting .268 as a team.

Series History vs. Kansas State
Kansas State leads the series since 1994 with Creighton by an 8-3 count, but Creighton owns a 2-1 lead in Omaha. K-State's records also include three 2-0 victories by CU from the 1970's.
K-State won the first six meetings (since 1994) before Creighton broke through with a five-set win in 2015 in Omaha. After losses in Manhattan in 2016 and 2021, the Bluejays have defeated the Wildcats in Houston (3-1 in 2022) and Omaha (3-0 in 2024) the past two match-ups.
Brian Rosen has never faced K-State nor coach Jason Mansfield. Rosen has also never faced Texas A&M, nor coach Jamie Morrison.

Creighton–Kansas State Connections
Creighton's Ava TeStrake and Jaya Johnson, along with Kansas State's Alex Klukvin, all hail from Olathe, Kan. TeStrake (West), Johnson (South) and Klukvin (Northwest) all attended different high schools.
Former Kansas State coach Suzie Fritz was the inaugural coach for LOVB Nebraska in its 2025 and 2026 seasons, where she worked with former Creighton head coach and LOVB Nebraska President Kirsten Bernthal Booth.

Familiar Faces With Kansas State
Creighton's Katie Dalton is no stranger to Kansas State, having played the Wildcats eight times in the previous four seasons as a member of the Kansas Volleyball team. Dalton's Jayhawk squad went 7-1 against K-State, as she contributed 85 assists, 43 digs, six blocks and six kills.
Ivy Leuck also faced Kansas State while a member of the Omaha Volleyball program in 2023. Leuck finished with 11 assists, seven digs and the first ace of her collegiate career.

Scouting #15 Texas A&M
Texas A&M is 5-5 this season and has alternated wins and losses in its last four matches after a 3-0 sweep of Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday. The defending national champion Aggies have played a rigorous schedule, with all five losses coming to Top 25 foes, and do boast impressive wins over Stanford and Cal Poly.
Final Four MVP Kyndal Stowers (3.95 kps.) and Marquette transfer Natalie Ring (3.09 kps.) lead a balanced offense, which is set by Kirra Musgrove (8.16 aps.).
Eliza Sharp (2.27 kps., 1.49 bps.) ranks among the nation's top blockers, while Gabi Rodriguez (3.51 dps.) is a top libero.
The Aggies average 13.46 kills, 12.32 digs, 2.58 blocks and 1.30 aces per game while hitting .244.

Series History vs. Texas A&M
Texas A&M is 3-1 all-time against Creighton, with the lone Bluejay win coming in 2008 in the only previous meeting in Omaha.
The teams have not played since Creighton opened the 2011 season with back-to-back matches against the Aggies in College Station.

Creighton Coaches
Brian Rosen is in his second season as Creighton head coach, where his 33-11 record with the Bluejays moves his career mark to 78-28 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 titles 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.

Familiar Faces With Texas A&M
Ayden Ames is the only current Creighton player to have previously faced Texas A&M, going 2-2 the previous two seasons while a member of the Texas Volleyball program.
One Aggie who ought to be familiar to Bluejay fans is Natalie Ring, a former standout at Marquette the previous four seasons. Creighton went 9-2 in those years against MU (6-0 when Ring played) and knocked the Golden Eagles out of the BIG EAST Tournament in 2022, 2024 and 2025. Ring had 64 kills (2.91 kps.), 11 digs and four blocks in 22 sets, hitting .177 in 192 swings.

With a Win on Friday, Creighton Would...
Knock Kansas State from the ranks of the unbeaten. The Wildcats entered Thursday one of nine remaining unbeaten programs nationwide.
Avoid its first single-season four-match losing streak since Aug. 29-Sept. 5, 2015.
Avoid losing back-to-back matches at D.J. Sokol Arena for the first time since 2014.

Milestone Watch
Ayden Ames has 381 career kills (82 at Creighton) and is 19 away from 400.
Sydney Breissinger owns 945 career digs and is 55 shy of 1,000.
Saige Damrow owns 587 career digs (460 at Creighton) and is 13 short of 600.
Trinity Shadd-Ceres has 98 career digs (85 at Creighton), putting her two away from 100.

Early Losses Have Rewards
Creighton is 5-5 on the young season, but past history has shown that's actually a great sign for future success.
Last year's team started 5-5, including a loss to No. 1 Nebraska in the 10th match, before closing out non-conference play with two home matches, including a nationally-ranked foe on Sunday (No. 17 Kansas). That team went from 5-5 to 28-6 thanks to a 23-match win streak that eventually saw CU return to the Elite Eight.
Before last fall, the last previous time that Creighton lost five or more non-conference matches was in 2016, when the Jays were 6-6 before winning 23 matches in a row en route to an Elite Eight trip. In 2015, Creighton started 5-7 in non-conference play before winning 22 of its next 23 matches. That season ended with CU's first trip to the Sweet 16.

Top 25 Teams
Creighton is one of six schools with a Top 25 team in both men's soccer and women's volleyball this week, and the only one of that group that doesn't sponsor football. (Volleyball / Men's Soccer ranks):
Creighton 20/14
Indiana 21/2
Louisville 3/15
SMU 5/5
Stanford 8/1
Wisconsin 6/7

Against The Champs
Creighton is 2-6 all-time against the defending national champion, with a 2025 win over 2024 champ Texas and a 2021 victory over 2020 champ Kentucky. In matches played in Omaha, Creighton is 0-1 against the defending champion, losing in five sets to 2017 champ Nebraska in 2018.
This year marks the third season in a row that Creighton has squared off against the defending titlist, having played Penn State in 2025 and Texas in 2024.
All told, Creighton is 3-15 against teams that made the Final Four the previous season, and 0-6 at home. Ten of the 15 losses have been against Nebraska.

The CU Defense Stays Strong
Creighton's defense limited Nebraska to just .202 hitting on Wednesday, far worse than NU's previous season-low of .267. The Cornhuskers entered Wednesday hitting .330 on the season.
One week earlier, Creighton held Louisville to .256 hitting, snapping a six-match streak that had seen the Cardinals hit .300 or better in each contest and .356 overall. Creighton also held Northern Iowa to .000 hitting, the lowest hitting percentage by the Panthers since at least 2006.