By: Rob Anderson

Match #6: #9 Creighton at #5 Nebraska • Tuesday, Sept. 10 • 7 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | NU AUDIO | CU NOTES | NU NOTES |

This Week

No. 9 Creighton (5-0) hits the road for the first time this regular-season to face in-state rival and No. 5 Nebraska (5-1). It’s the first time the teams have met when both were in the Top 10.

    First serve at Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb., is set for 7 p.m. The match is sold out.

Broadcast Information

Tuesday’s match in Lincoln will be nationally televised on BTN, with Larry Punteney and Emily Ehman on the call.

    The match will be streamed online for BTN subscribers at FoxSports.com/live.

Live Stats Information

Tuesday’s match will have free live stats at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.

    Links will also be on the GoCreighton.com volleyball schedule page.

Scouting #9 Creighton

Creighton is off to a 5-0 start after winning the Bluejay Invitational and Creighton Classic over the past two weekends and dropping just a single set in the process.

    The 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year Kendra Wait (11.00 aps., 3.25 dps., 1.12 kps., 0.88 bps., .389%) opened her senior campaign by collecting MVP honors at the Bluejay Invitational, while the 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis (3.75 kps., .333%) was named MVP of the Creighton Classic..

    Junior Ava Martin (3.19 kps.) was named Preseason All-BIG EAST, and transfers Maddy Bilinovic (3.88 dps.) and Elise Goetzinger (2.69 kps., 1.19 bps., .358%) have made an immediate impact.

    CU returns four starters from last season’s 29-5 squad that reached a 12th straight NCAA Tournament and saw the Bluejays win a 10th straight BIG EAST regular-season title and its ninth BIG EAST Tournament crown in the past decade. CU was a unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST by league coaches in 2024.

     CU averaged 14.69 kills, 1.31 aces, 15.00 digs and 2.62 blocks per set and hit .308 last week.

Scouting #5 Nebraska

Last year’s national runner-up, Nebraska is ranked fifth nationally after starting the season 5-1. The Huskers own wins over No. 9 Kentucky, and TCU, among others, with the lone loss coming last Tuesday to unranked SMU.

    Harper Murray (3.11 kps.) leads a group of seven women who average multiple kills per set as Bergen Reilly (11.10 aps., 3.05 dps.) directs the Husker offense.

    Rebekah Allick (1.63 bps., 2.25 kps., .373%) is the team’s top blocker, and libero Lexi Rodriguez (3.80 dps.) tops what has traditionally been one of the nation’s top defensive units.

    Nebraska averages 13.80 kills, 13.85 digs, 2.95 blocks and 1.70 aces per set while hitting .295 as a team.

Creighton Coaches

Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 475-189 record in her 22nd season with the Bluejays.

    She’s led Creighton to 10 straight BIG EAST  regular-season titles (2014-23), and 11 league crowns in the previous 12 years. Booth guided the Bluejays to their first three Sweet 16’s (2015, 2016, 2023) and first Elite Eight  (2016) in program history. In 2016  she was recognized as VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Coach of the Year and AVCA East Region Coach of the Year. Booth was tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the fourth time in 2023.

    The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only 13 NCAA Tournament bids in the program’s modern history. She’s also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last 13 seasons (including 2024), another program first.

    She is also currently serving as President of the AVCA.

    Booth came to Creighton after going 112-41 in three years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A native of Lincoln, Neb., Booth played volleyball at Truman State, where she was named conference MVP, an Academic All-American and Missouri’s 1997 NCAA Woman of the Year. She ranked third in Division II history with 6,077 assists when she graduated.

    Booth is assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Brian Rosen and Adam Kessenich.

Series History vs. Nebraska

Since restarting its volleyball program in 1994, Creighton is 0-20 all-time against Nebraska in the fall. Twelve of those 20 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 six occasions.

    Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 0-16 all-time against the Huskers, and 0-16 against John Cook. Cook is 19-0 against Creighton.

    Creighton has won the first set in meetings in 2006, 2014 and 2016, while in 2018 CU took a 2-0 lead over the Cornhuskers. In 2022 CU nearly pulled off a reverse sweep, winning sets three and four, only to lose the fifth set in a match that featured 31 ties and 12 lead changes.

    Creighton did defeat Nebraska on April 12, 2013 (25-17, 22-25, 27-25, 20-25, 15-13) in a spring contest that was the final scheduled match at the NU Coliseum. Leah McNary had 15 kills to pace CU, while Katie Neisler had 13 kills in 48 swings to lead CU.

With A Win…

With a win on Tuesday at Nebraska, Creighton would…

– Earn its first win in 21 tries against Nebraska since restarting its volleyball program in 1994.

– Earn multiple Top 25 wins for the third straight season, improving to 2-0 against the Top 25.

– Start the season 6-0 for the second time in program history, joining 2021.

– Snap Nebraska’s 27-match home winning streak that is the nation’s second-longest active streak.

– Improve to 207-45 in 252 matches all-time when playing as a ranked team, including a 23-25 mark against another ranked foe and 3-1 in battles between Top 10 teams.

– Earn its ninth Top 10 win ever (in 43 tries), with eight of those coming away from home.

– Earn its fifth Top 5 win ever (in 24 tries), with all five of those coming away from home.

Hunting The Top 10

Creighton is 8-34 all-time against top-10 teams, including an 8-27 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.

    Seven of the eight victories came away from home, including three sweeps. All four top-five triumphs were also away from home.

    The highest-ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten are No. 3 Washington (8/26/2017) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/2021), both on the road.

Date    Opponent    Score

09/05/15    vs. #10 Kentucky (Cedar Falls, Iowa)    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 (Los Angeles, Calif.)    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

Largest Crowds To See The Jays

Below is a list of the largest crowds in Creighton Volleyball history. The top six have been set in Omaha, but the next seven were all held in Lincoln.

    Creighton had owned two of the top three biggest regular-season volleyball-only crowds in history before Nebraska broke the NCAA record inside Memorial Stadium last year.

Creighton’s Largest Crowds (All Sites)

    Att.    Opponent    Date    CU Result    Facility

    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.

    11,279    #3 Nebraska    09/08/21    L 0-3    CHI Health Ctr.

    10,131    #4 Nebraska    09/15/15    L 0-3    CHI Health Ctr.

    8,656    #4 Nebraska    09/06/23    L 1-3    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.

Connections To Lincoln/Nebraska

Two members of Creighton’s staff have ties to Lincoln or the University of Nebraska.

    Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth went to high school in Lincoln and is a member of the Lincoln East High School Hall of Fame.

    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 that was coached by John Cook. Among her teammates was Lindsay (Wischmeier) Peterson, NU’s current Director of Operations.

Best Starts

Creighton has started 5-0 for the third time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth

    CU started 6-0 in 2021 before losing to No. 3 Nebraska, and was also 5-0 in 2006 before taking a loss against Iowa.

    The Bluejays are one of 30 teams nationally that were unbeaten through matches of Sunday.

U21 National Team Reunion

Tuesday will be a reunion of sorts for the U.S. Women’s Volleyball U21 National Team that won a Gold Medal at the Pan American Cup in the summer of 2022 in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

    Creighton’s Norah Sis started every match for that team (which went 5-0) and was joined on the roster by current Cornhuskers Lexi Rodriguez, Rebekah Allick and Merritt Beason.

Seniors Could Steal The Show

Tuesday’s match features two of the nation’s best seniors in Creighton outside hitter Norah Sis and Nebraska libero Lexi Rodriguez.

    Sis was named 2021 National Freshman of the Year by VolleyballMag.com, while Rodriguez earned  the same honor from the American Volleyball Coaches Association that season.

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 2014 season, Nebraska ranks second nationally with 281 wins while Creighton is seventh with 265 victories. Western Kentucky owns a nation-leading 285 wins in that span.

    If you base success only by win percentage since 2014, Nebraska is fourth with an .841 win percentage since 2012, while Creighton is eighth by winning at an .813 clip. Texas (269-34) leads the way with a .904 win percentage in that era.

    Narrow the window to the start of the 2021 campaign and it’s even closer. Creighton is third with 92 wins (Louisville leads the way with 95) and Nebraska is sixth with 90 victories.

    When it comes to win percentage since the start of the 2021 season, Creighton is fifth (.868) and Nebraska seventh (.841), with Louisville (95-10) tops with a .905 winning percentage.

Closer And Closer

After winning just two sets in 14 meetings against Nebraska from 1994-2015, the Bluejays continue to draw closer and closer to picking up their first regular-season win over the Cornhuskers.

    In 2018 Creighton led 2-0, only to lose in five sets. In 2022, Creighton won the third and fourth sets but lost the match in five. Both of those contests came in front of record crowds at CHI Health Center Omaha.

    Creighton has won at least one set each of its last four trips to Lincoln, with three of those tied at intermission. CU won the first set in 2014 and 2016 and overcame a set one loss to win set two in 2019. Last year CU won the third set in a 3-1 loss.

    Since the start of the 2020 season, Creighton  is 77-4 in three-set matches, 14-5 in four-set matches and 13-9 in five set contests.

    Need another potential omen? In the last week alone, Creighton defeated former Husker Ally Batenhorst (now with USC), while former Bluejay Ellie Bolton (now with SMU) defeated Nebraska.

I’m Nationwide

With a 176-13 record against BIG EAST teams since 2014, it’s safe to say the 10-time defending BIG EAST champion Creighton Volleyball program has proven itself over the last decade in league play.

    This year, it’s going national. The Bluejays have beaten a team from each of the other “Power Four” conferences, as well as a team from its former league, the MVC. The Bluejays are…

    1-0 vs. Atlantic Coast Conference teams

    1-0 vs. Big 12 Conference teams

    1-0 vs. Big Ten Conference teams

    1-0 vs. Missouri Valley Conference teams

    1-0 vs. Southeastern Conference teams

Four On The Floor

Four current Bluejays played in a state tournament final at Bob Devaney Sports Center.

    Katie Maser lost the Class C1 final in 2017 but won a Class C2 title as a senior in 2019 with Grand Island Central Catholic.

    Sky McCune lost in the 2019 Class A final with Gretna.

    Destiny Ndam-Simpson lost in the 2022 Class A final with Omaha Westside.

    Alivia Hausmann lost in the state tournament final in 2021 and 2023 with Norris High School in Class B.

All-Tourney Trio

Creighton had three women earn All-Tournament Team honors for the second straight weekend.

    Norah Sis was named Tournament MVP of the Creighton Classic after averaging 4.14 kills and 2.57 digs per set while hitting .338 last week.

    Joining her on the All-Tournament Team were Ava Martin (3.43 kps., 1.43 dps., 0.29 saps. last week) and Kendra Wait (10.71 aps., 3.43 dps., 1.14 kps., 0.86 bps. last week).

    Wait was named MVP of the season-opening Bluejay Invitational and joined on the All-Tournament Team by Sis and Elise Goetzinger.

    Wait has now been named to 13 All-Tournament Teams in her career, including two MVP honors. Sis owns eight All-Tournament Team accolades with five MVP nods to her credit. Martin is a six-time All-Tournament selection with one MVP plaudit.

    Wait has been named BIG EAST Setter of the Week both weeks this season (Sept. 2 & Sept. 9), while Sis was tabbed BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 9.

Schedule Ramps Up

Creighton has had little trouble in its five matches so far this season, even though all five opponents owned Top 61 RPI’s a year ago.

    The schedule ramps up a few levels in the next 11 days, as Creighton will visit No. 5 Nebraska, No. 4 Louisville and No. 11 Kansas, not to mention neutral-site battles with No. 7 Purdue as well as perennial winners Northern Iowa and Rice.    

Set Up For Success

Creighton has lost just one set all season, a first game loss (25-23) to No. 20 USC last Thursday.

    The lone set loss ranks tied for second-fewest nationally, as Pitt is the only team that hasn’t yet dropped a set.

    Creighton has won 53-of-58 sets in its past 18 matches dating to midway through last season.

Fewest Sets Lost in 2024

School    Set W-L    Set Loss

Pitt    9-0    —

Creighton    15-1    #20 USC

Texas A&M    12-1    McNeese State

A Bunch of Winners

Creighton’s 29 victories last season were tied for sixth-most in the nation and its .853 win percentage was tied for ninth-best.

    Additionally, Creighton’s 87 victories in the previous three seasons (2020-22) are tied for fourth in the country (behind only Louisville, Pitt and Wisconsin) and its 312 wins in the previous 12 campaigns is sixth-most (behind only WKU, Nebraska, Texas, Penn State and BYU).

    Creighton also ranked tied for first nationally in fewest sets lost (22) last year with Nebraska and Dayton. Here’s that list:

Fewest Sets Lost in 2023

Rk.    Sets Lost    Team

1.    22    Creighton

    22    Nebraska

    22    Dayton

4.    23    Wisconsin

    23    Tennessee

    23    Western Michigan

The Streak At Home

Creighton had its first unbeaten home season in program history last year, going a perfect 13-0 in matches and 39-3 in sets.

    With five more wins this season, the Bluejays have set a program record with 18 straight home wins, surpassing a 15-match home win streak from Sept. 7-Nov. 30, 2018 that had been the standard.

    Creighton’s 18-match home win streak is the fourth-longest active streak in the country entering this week. Nebraska’s won 27 home matches in a row, the second-longest active streak.

    Creighton has won 47 of its last 48 sets played at D.J. Sokol Arena overall.

Creighton’s Longest Home Win Streaks

Wins    Dates    Snapped By

    18    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 (9/9)

Wins    Team    Next Home Match

    29    Stephen F. Austin    9/19 vs. Boise State

    27    Nebraska    9/10 vs. Creighton

    24    Yale    9/13 vs. Villanova

    18    Creighton    9/27 vs. Providence

    17    Wisconsin    9/10 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee

    17    Pittsburgh    9/18 vs. Penn State

Birds Of A Feather

Creighton has showcased a pair of new jerseys this season, as Nike designed some custom-made unfiroms.

    Both the white and navy (“Midnight Jays”) jerseys are sleeveless in a drastic change from past years.

    The uniforms also feature several different colors of “Hyper-Elite” arm sleeves, which the players wear on their arms and can be mix & matched for a number of uniform combinations.

    If you look closely, the arms sleeves also have a feather design pattern, a nod to Creighton’s Bluejay nickname.

Defense Wins Championships

Creighton ranks fourth nationally with 14.69 kills per set, eighth with a .308 hitting percentage and ninth with 13.50 assists per set.

    Nebraska has led the nation in opponents hitting percentage each of the previous two seasons, limiting foes to .137 last year and .128 in 2022. The Huskers rank 61st in the country this year as foes have hit .163 through six contests.

    Creighton hasn’t been too shabby defensively itself. CU ranked third last year in opponents hitting percentage (.144) and led the country in 2021 (.124) in that category. This year’s Bluejay squad is 24th in the nation, holding foes to .138 hitting. Last season was the fifth straight non-COVID year that Creighton’s led the BIG EAST in opponent’s hitting percentage.

Top 25 History

Creighton is 206-45 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 22-25 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That mark improves to 2-1 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.

    Since the start of the 2012 season, 40 of Creighton’s 74 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 292-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 110 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 154 matches at all sites against unranked teams.

Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 22-25)

Home: 10-9    Away: 7-9     Neutral: 5-7

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    #9 Creighton at #5 Nebraska    7 p.m.

126 Weeks As A Ranked Team

Creighton is ranked ninth in this week’s AVCA poll, the 126th time in program history it’s been ranked. That’s 41st-most of all programs in NCAA history.

    This week is Creighton’s 22nd as a Top 10 team, and first time since 2019.

    The No. 9 ranking matches the program’s top mark since 2019, when it was No. 9 on Nov. 4, 2019. CU’s best ranking ever was No. 7 on Aug. 28, 2017.

    All 126 rankings have occurred since 2012 and under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.

    The Bluejays are one of 15 schools (along with Baylor, BYU, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 48 polls.

    Since the start of the 2017 season, here’s which teams have been ranked the most weeks:

Most Weeks Ranked Since 2017

    Rk.    Weeks    Team

    1.    121*    Florida

        121*    Kentucky

        121*    Texas

    4.    112    Nebraska

        112    Penn State

        112    BYU

        112    Purdue

        112    Wisconsin

    9.    110*    Baylor

    10.    106    Creighton

    11.    105*    Pittsburgh

    12.    104    Stanford

        104    Minnesota

    14.    97    Oregon

    15.    91    Washington

    16.    85*    Louisville

* includes 9 weeks in Fall of 2020 when most schools didn’t play

Her Kind Of City

Kentucky transfer Elise Goetzinger is a perfect 13-0 in matches played in Omaha in her career.

    Goetzinger started all five of UK’s matches en route to the 2020 national title (in the spring of 2021), which were played in CHI Health Center Omaha’s convention center and arena. The Wildcats beat UNLV, No. 18 Western Kentucky, No. 9 Purdue, No. 7 Washington and No. 5 Texas en route to the championship.

    In 2022 Goetzinger was named to the All-Tournament Team while helping the Wildcats to the Bluejay Invitational title with wins over UNI, No. 17 Creighton and No. 25 USC.

    During those 13 wins, Goetzinger owns 86 kills and 46 blocks while hitting .425 in 43 sets played.

    Goetzinger faced Nebraska twice while with Kentucky, recording 14 kills and four blocks in four sets in Lincoln last fall.

Jays Earn Tourney Titles

Creighton’s Bluejay Invitational title on the opening weekend of the fall season marked the 13th straight season that Creighton has won at least one tournament, a streak that dates to 2012. The Jays added to their haul last weekend with the Creighton Classic crown.

     During that span, the Bluejays have won 33 tournament titles, not to mention 10 regular-season league crowns.

    Creighton has also now won at least one home tournament each of the last eight seasons.

    Creighton won five different tournaments last season, tying a program record, and outside of the NCAA Tournament has now won each of the  seven tournaments it has played in.

Creighton’s Tournament Titles Since 2012

Year    Titles Won    Tourney Hosts

2012    3    USF, UNC, MVC

2013    1    BGSU

2014    1    CU, BIG EAST

2015    1    BIG EAST

2016    1    BIG EAST

2017    4    WASH, CU, KU, BIG EAST

2018    3    SMU, CU, BIG EAST

2019    2    UNI, CU

2020    1    BIG EAST

2021    5    MIZZ, UK, CU, WSU, BIG EAST

2022    3    WYO, UNO, BIG EAST

2023    5    Purdue, CU, UNO, MINN, BIG EAST

2024    2    CU, CU

Packed House

Creighton announced in July that it had sold out of season tickets, and fans have shown up in a big way this fall.

    The Bluejays are averaging 2,346 fans per home match (15th-best nationally), including a crowd of 2,569 on Aug. 30 vs. NC State that was the third-largest  volleyball crowd ever inside D.J. Sokol Arena.

Creighton Volleyball’s 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.

    2,653    Auburn    12/02/22    L 2-3    D.J. Sokol Arena

    2,578    #13 Kentucky    09/01/17    W 3-0    D.J. Sokol Arena

    2,569    NC State    08/30/24    W 3-0    D.J. Sokol Arena

    2,568    Minnesota    12/02/23    W 3-0    D.J. Sokol Arena

    2,563    Colgate    12/01/23    W 3-0    D.J. Sokol Arena

    2,552    South Dakota    11/30/18    W 3-0    D.J. Sokol Arena

    2,517    Coastal Carolina    12/01/17    W 3-1    D.J. Sokol Arena

    2,514    #7 Nebraska    08/31/10    L 0-3    D.J. Sokol Arena

    2,509    #22 Washington    12/01/18    L 0-3    D.J. Sokol Arena

    2,504    #9 Marquette    11/22/19    W 3-1    D.J. Sokol Arena

Any Stat Will Do

Since joining the BIG EAST a dozen years ago, Creighton has been dominant when it wins just about any stat category, as seen below:

Statistic    W    L    Pct.

With Better Hitting Pct.    279    8    .972

When Hitting .250+    197    6    .970

When Hitting .300+    108    0    1.000

When Serving 10+ Aces    17    2    .895

When Owning More Kills    268    21    .927

When Owning More Aces    200    19    .913

When Owning More Digs    231    20    .920

When Owning More Blocks    211    16    .930

Olympians Made Here

Taryn Kloth made history earlier this summer when the 2018 graduate became the first former Creighton student-athlete to compete in the Olympics.

    The South Dakota native paired with Kristen Nuss to tie for ninth place in Beach Volleyball, winning their first three matches before losing to a team from Canada that went on to win the silver medal.

    Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and associate head coach Angie Oxley Behrens both made the trip to Paris to watch three of Kloth’s matches.

    Kloth was a First Team All-BIG EAST choice in 2016 and 2018 and named BIG EAST Tournament MVP in 2017. She ranks fourth in CU history with 1,427 career kills and won four BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles.

    She attended the same high school in Sioux Falls, S.D., as Nebraska setter Bergen Reilly.

61*

Creighton Volleyball traditionally owns one of the nation’s top non-conference schedules, but head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth might have outdone herself this year.

    All 11 of Creighton’s non-conference matches are against teams with a Top 61 RPI last year.

    Each of the top four teams that Creighton plays from that list will be faced outside of Omaha.

2023 RPI    School    2024 CU Result

 1    at Nebraska

 6    at Louisville

13    vs. Purdue

15    at Kansas

30    USC    W 3-1

34    Missouri    W 3-0

35    vs. Northern Iowa

43    NC State    W 3-0

52    Drake    W 3-0

60    vs. Rice

61    Kansas State    W 3-0

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 23 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.

    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 not lost back-to-back matches against conference teams since a three-match losing streak in November of 2011.

    By comparison, every other team in the BIG EAST had a multi-match losing streak last season alone.

    Creighton has also won its last 15 matches after a five-set loss, a streak that dates back to early in the 2016 campaign.

No Losers Here

Creighton has been as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.

    Creighton, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Texas, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin are the nation’s only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.

    If you go back two years more, the nation’s only teams to lose six times or less in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons are Creighton, Pittsburgh and Texas.

    Creighton is one of just two schools nationally who have won 25 matches or more in every season between 2014-23 (not counting the 2020 COVID-19 year). That group consists of BYU and Creighton.

12 Straight NCAA’s

Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous 12 seasons. They are the first women’s team in any sport at Creighton to make 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

    The only other sport in Creighton history to make 12 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 12 NCAA Tournaments (2012-23). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.

    There are also 13 schools that have appeared in 13 of the last 14 NCAA Tournaments, a group that includes Creighton, Florida State, Hawai’i, Minnesota, Purdue, San Diego, Stanford and Washington. Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, and Texas have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since at least 2010.

Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play

Despite annually facing one of the nation’s toughest non-conference schedules, Creighton has continued to excel against elite competition.

    Creighton is 11-13 against ranked non-conference foes over the previous seven seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.

Non-Conference Records, By Year, Under Booth

Year    Non-Con W-L    vs. Ranked Non-Con    Final W-L

2003    3-8    0-0    12-18

2004    8-2    0-1    18-11

2005    6-5    0-3    16-14

2006    8-3    0-1    21-10

2007    6-5    0-3    21-10

2008    3-5    0-3    18-9

2009    3-8    0-3    14-17

2010    5-5    0-1    21-12

2011    5-7    0-1    17-14

2012    9-2    0-1    29-4

2013    9-3    1-2    23-9

2014    7-6    0-5    25-9

2015    6-7    1-4    27-9

2016    6-6    0-4    29-7

2017    7-4    3-3    26-7

2018    8-4    1-3    29-5

2019    7-3    2-3    25-6

2020    3-2    0-0    12-4

2021    12-1    1-1    31-4

2022    8-3    1-2    27-5

2023    9-2    2-1    29-5

2024    5-0    1-0    TBD

Starting At Home?

Creighton started the season with the Bluejay Invitational, the first time since the COVID-affected 2020 season (in the spring of 2021) that the Jays began at home.

    Take away that most unusual campaign and you’ll find that Creighton hadn’t started a fall season at home since 2010.

    This year marked the first time ever that Creighton has started a season with five straight home matches.

Milestone Watch

Creighton’s student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones..

    Kiara Reinhardt owns 392 career kills, just eight away from 400.

    Norah Sis owns 1,286 career kills, just 14 shy of 1,300.

    Kendra Wait owns 1,177 career digs, only 23 shy of 1,200. Her 3,863 assists are also 137 short of 4,000.

Preseason Ranking

Creighton was ranked 12th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 19th. It’s the 10th time in the past 12 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason, and third year in a row.

    The No. 12 slotting was the second-best preseason ranking in program history.

    Over the last 16 seasons, 295-of-400 teams (73.8 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and since 2008 362-of-400 teams (90.5 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament, as all but preseason No. 13 San Diego, No. 14 Ohio State and No. 23 Rice reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

    This year marks the 13th 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    TBD    TBD

Sis Is Killing It

Norah Sis enters Tuesday ranked eighth in Creighton history with 1,286 career kills.

    She has a chance to move into the top four by early October.

Career Kills

        Name    Sets    No.    Years

    1.    Jaali Winters    494    1,843    2015-18

    2.    Leah Ratzlaff    409    1,622    2002-05

    3.    Melissa Walsh    394    1,596    1998-01

    4.    Taryn Kloth    462    1,427    2015-18

    5.    Kelly Goc    394    1,414    2004-07

    6.    Jessica Houts    451    1,385    2005-09

    7.    JoDe Cieloha    398    1,375    1994-97

    8.    Norah Sis    322    1,286    2021-Pr.

    9.    Leah McNary    458    1,257    2011-14

    10.    Marysa Wilkinson    499    1,183    2014-17

A Great Start

Ava Martin entered her junior season with 681 kills in her career. The 681 kills was the sixth-most ever by a Bluejay in their first two seasons.

    Martin added 27 more kills last weekend.

Most Kills, After 2 Seasons at Creighton

    Kills    Yr1    Yr2    Name    Year

    994    546    448    Jaali Winters    2015 & 2016

    924    435    489    Norah Sis    2021 & 2022

    769    341    428    Melissa Walsh    1998 & 1999

    733    270    463    Alicia Runge    2009 & 2010 (Jr. & Sr.)

    696    180    516    Leah Ratzlaff    2002 & 2003

    681    264    417    Ava Martin    2022 & 2023

    653    267    386    Jessica Houts    2005 & 2006

    640    225    415    Amanda Cvejdlik    2005 & 2006

Survival of the Fittest

Creighton has won nine matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent’s match point, including season-opening wins over No. 5 Kentucky in 2018 and vs. UTSA in 2011. Three of those other comeback wins have come against Wichita State.

    On the other hand, Creighton is 475-3 under Booth when it reaches a match point opportunity, falling only when it wasted two match points on Sept. 4, 2010 to Iowa, two match points on Nov. 1, 2013 in a loss to St. John’s, and two match points on Dec. 7, 2019 in an NCAA Tournament loss at No. 7 Minnesota.

Surviving Match Points, Under Booth

Date    Opponent    MP(s) Faced    Final Set 5

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

Taking The Fifth

Creighton is 70-39 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That’s impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth sets prior to Booth’s arrival.

    Creighton has won 19 of its last 27 true road matches to go five sets, including wins in 2012 over league rivals Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State, wins in 2013 at Denver and at Wichita State, wins in 2014 at Butler and at St. John’s, a win at Georgetown in 2015, an NCAA Tournament win at No. 4 Kansas in 2016,  2017 victories at Butler, Georgetown and Marquette, a 2018 win at Butler, wins at UNI and No. 10 Marquette in 2019, at South Dakota in the 2020 campaign, at Omaha and UConn in 2022 and at No. 9 Minnesota in 2023.

    It’s also worth noting that Creighton is 19-5 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.

    Creighton’s six victories in five-set matches in 2022 broke the program record of five previously done in 2003, 2011 and 2015. The nine five-set matches in 2022 was also a record.

    Below is a list of Creighton’s record in five-set matches on a yearly basis:

Year    Set 5 W-L    Total W-L

1994    0-2    5-20

1995    0-2    11-19

1996    2-6    9-19

1997    3-5    15-13

1998    2-3    7-18

1999    3-3    13-15

2000    3-3    16-12

2001    1-1    14-13

2002    1-3    3-23

2003    5-1    12-18

2004    4-0    18-11

2005    3-1    16-14

2006    4-2    21-10

2007    2-0    21-10

2008    2-3    18-9

2009    1-4    14-17

2010    3-3    21-12

2011    5-2    17-14

2012    4-1    29-4

2013    3-2    23-9

2014    3-2    25-9

2015    5-2    27-9

2016    4-3    29-7

2017    4-1    26-7

2018    3-2    29-5

2019    2-1    25-6

2020    4-2    12-4

2021    1-1    31-4

2022    6-3    27-5

2023    2-3    29-5

2024    0-0    5-0 so far

Total    85-67    568-341

Champions Among Champions

Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky are the nation’s only schools to have won 11 conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton’s 11 crowns were outright titles, whereas Texas shared one title and WKU shared five.

    Creighton has also won 10 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.

Most Conference Titles 2012-2023

Regular-Season    League Tournament

11 (3 shared) Creighton    10 Creighton

11 (1) Texas    9 Dayton

11 (5) Western Kentucky    9 Western Kentucky

10 (1) Fairfield    8 Fairfield

8 (8) Florida A&M    7 LIU

8 (4) Yale

8 (2) BYU    

8 (1) Colorado State    

BIG EAST Preseason Poll

Creighton Volleyball was the unanimous pick to win the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of league coaches.

    Creighton earned 10 first place votes to earn the maximum 100 points. Marquette earned Creighton’s first place vote (coaches can’t vote for their own teams) as well as nine other second-place votes to finish second in the poll with 91 points.

    St. John’s (80) was picked third, just ahead of DePaul (74) and Butler (58). Rounding out the bottom half of the poll were Xavier (49), Seton Hall (40), Villanova (39), Connecticut (33), Georgetown (27) and Providence (14).

    Creighton also had three women among the 12 members on the BIG EAST’s preseason all-conference team in Ava Martin as well as unanimous selections Kendra Wait and Norah Sis. Sis was also tabbed the BIG EAST’s Preseason Player of the Year for the third straight fall.

    Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 19 of 21 years under Kirsten Bernthal Booth, including 10 years where it’s finished exactly where it was picked.

Year    Preseason Pick    Finish    Move

1994    11th    9th    #2

1995    9th    7th    #2

1996    9th    6th    #3

1997    8th    3rd    #5

1998    6th    8th    i2

1999    T-7th    5th    #2

2000    4th    T-4th    – –

2001    2nd    4th    i2

2002    7th    9th    i2

2003    9th    T-5th    #4

2004    5th    5th    – –

2005    5th    5th    – –

2006    4th    4th    – –

2007    3rd    T-2nd    #1

2008    3rd    2nd    #1

2009    4th    T-4th    – –

2010    4th    3rd    #1

2011    3rd    4th    i1

2012    4th    1st    #3

2013    1st    T-2nd    i1

2014    1st    1st    – –

2015    1st    1st    – –

2016    1st    1st    – –

2017    1st    1st    – –

2018    2nd    1st    #1

2019    2nd    1st    #1

2020    1st (MW)    1st (MW)    – –

2021    1st    T-1st    – –

2022    1st    T-1st    – –

2023    2nd    T-1st    #1

2024    1st    ???    ???

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 21-2 in the match following a five-setter.

Home Sweet Home

Creighton is in its 12th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.

    Since then, the Bluejays are 100-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (91-3 in the regular-season, 9-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).

    Since November of 2014, Creighton is 84-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 76-1 league mark and a 8-0 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 2020, Bluejay seniors Abbey Milner, Kendra Wait and Norah Sis are 28-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 84-8 in sets.

    Creighton has won 34 straight regular-season sets against BIG EAST opponents inside D.J. Sokol Arena, as well as 34 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.

BIG EAST’S Best

Since the reconfigufration 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 10 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 nine, Marquette one and St. John’s one.

    Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:

BIG EAST VB Standings, 2013 – Sept. 8, 2024

             BIG EAST only    All     matches

Team (NCAA Bids)    W    L    W    L

Creighton (11)    170    16    288    70

Marquette (10)    153    30    260    87

Xavier    108    76    170    157

Butler    98    88    173    157

St. John’s (1)    94    92    202    150

Villanova (1)    91    95    174    152

Seton Hall (1)    80    105    158    172

DePaul    55    131    133    188

Georgetown    40    138    104    204

Connecticut#    30    32    59    54

Providence*    29    141    106    191

*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.

2-0 Better Than 0-2

Creighton is 394-11 (.973) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 337-5 mark (.985) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 260-3 (.989) when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 135-1 (.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 17-206 (.076) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 15-107 (.123) under Booth. 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 is 404-36 (.918) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 71-153 (.317) under Booth when it drops the first 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 153-5 in its last 158 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only on Sept. 12, 2015 to Pacific, on Sept. 6, 2018 to No. 7 Nebraska and on Jan. 29, 2021 to South Dakota, on Sept. 3, 2022 to No. 16 Kentucky and on Dec. 2, 2022 to Auburn.

    Creighton has gone 136-6 in its last 142 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 14-19 record in that same span when dropping the opener.

    Creighton has gone 175-4 in its last 179 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers

This year’s team has nine matches scheduled against teams that made the 2023 NCAA Tournament with contests scheduled against Marquette (2x), Nebraska, Kansas, Purdue, Louisville, Northern Iowa, USC and Missouri.

    After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth‘s arrival, the Jays are 107-108  since, including a 2-0 record this year.

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    2-0 so far

TOTAL    110-143

TOTAL Under Booth    107-108

Lucky 13

Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her team to 13 NCAA Tournaments. That’s more than any other coach in Creighton history.

Name    Sport    NCAA’s @CU

Kirsten Bernthal Booth    Volleyball    13

Bob Warming    Men’s Soccer    11

Greg McDermott    Men’s Basketball    9

Dana Altman    Men’s Basketball    7

Brent Vigness    Softball    7

Jim Flanery    Women’s Basketball    7

Elmar Bolowich    Men’s Soccer    6

10 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles

Regular-season champions from 2014-23, Creighton is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 10 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 10 or more straight league titles, doubling the five in a row by the men’s soccer program (1992-96) in the MVC.

Climbing The List

Kirsten Bernthal Booth became Creighton Volleyball’s winningest coach in the program’s modern history on August 26, 2007, and hasn’t let up. Booth owns 475 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.

Coach, Sport    Victories

Brent Vigness, Softball    819

Ed Servais, Baseball    678*

Mary Higgins, Softball    564

Tom Lilly, Men’s & Women’s Tennis    542*#

Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball    475*

Jim Flanery, Women’s Basketball    427*

Ed Hubbs, Men’s & Women’s Tennis    347

Dana Altman, Men’s Basketball    327

*still active coaching at Creighton

#currently just the women’s tennis coach

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 189 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 30 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    20-1    –    20-1

Connecticut    3-1    1-0    4-1

DePaul    22-0    2-0    24-0

Georgetown    20-0    –    20-0

Marquette    17-5    6-1    23-6

Providence    16-0    –    16-0

Seton Hall    17-3    2-0    19-3

St. John’s    18-2    1-1    19-3

Villanova    17-3    3-0    20-3

Xavier    20-1    4-0    24-1

Total    170-16    19-2    189-18

Production Returns

Creighton returns 13-of-18 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters.

    From last year’s team, only Kiana Schmitt, Ellie Bichelmeyer, Ann Marie Remmes, Ellie Bolton and Morgan Colangelo are not back.

    All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 516.2 of a possible 700% back (73.7 percent).

    Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:

Stat    Returners    Departures

Assists    1,457 (93.3%)    105 (6.7%)

Aces    155 (87.1%)    23 (12.9%)

Digs    1486 (79.4%)    385 (20.6%)

Points    1434.0 (67.5%)    691.5 (32.5%)

Kills    1,134 (67.3%)    552 (32.7%)

Matches Started    135 (66.2%)    69 (33.8%)

Blocks    145.0 (55.4%)    116.5 (44.6%)

President Booth

Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is the current President of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, having started her service on January 1, 2024.

    She is also part of the 17-member AVCA Board of Directors, which includes elected representatives, appointed voting members for Diversity Development and Legislation, and non-voting members for Education and Awards.

     She will finish out her term as Past President in 2026.