Marquette went all out for the season-ending rematch with Creighton. The Golden Eagles entered Sunday one game behind the Bluejays in the Big East standings with five games to play, pulling every available rope they could find. White out? Bill. $2 dollar beer? Bill. Free Qdoba burritos for students? Bill.

The Dynamic Duo of Ava Martin and Norah Sis soothed the Milwaukee crowd on Sunday afternoon (Spomer/WBR)

The promotions drew more than 2,300 fans to the Al McGuire Center on a rainy afternoon in Milwaukee. For the first half hour they were loud, rowdy and involved. However, in the last 90 minutes, only about 150 of them were still enjoying the show. That, of course, was the Creighton fans – consisting mainly of family and friends of Wisconsin natives Kiara Reinhardt, Elise Goetzinger and Sophia Wendlick – who watched as the Jays dropped set one and then let out the final three to the tune with Marquette . from a 21-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-13 victory in four sets to improve to a perfect 14-0 in Big East and 23-2 overall for the season.

“We like it when the crowd is against us, to be honest,” senior outside hitter Norah Sis said. “We haven’t played in front of such a big crowd against us since the non-con, so that was fun. We got off to a little slow start, but we just stepped up our game and used that first set as a little chip on our shoulders to go out and be a lot more aggressive.

The All-American Papillion native had a match-high 23 kills on .429 hitting. Junior outside hitter Ava Martin hit .424 with 16 kills and 11 digs. And senior setter Kendra Wait finished with 44 assists, 13 digs and five blocks to help CU beat Marquette from .423 to .087 in the second, third and fourth sets, delivering another impressively dominant performance in a season full of these sets.

“After the first set I said to them: ‘This is so good for us, how are we going to respond now,’” said Kirsten Bernthal Booth. “A fast start was going to be important, and we did that in the second set. thought we really came out and set the tone early. Sydney (Breissinger) led off with an ace, and I think that early start was good to let Marquette know we weren’t going to fold and that we were ready to compete. ”

The Golden Eagles took control of the first set about halfway through after Creighton took a 12-10 lead. They won six of the next seven rallies, but used a 3-0 scoreline shortly afterwards to open a 20-15 lead late. The Bluejays regained their composure and rallied to within a point at 22-21, but a clutch kill and solo block from junior outside hitter Natalie Ring ended any hopes of a comeback that would silence the crowd.

At least as far as the first set is concerned.

Creighton never gave them a chance to get loud in the second set, as they went two-on-one on the first eleven rallies and stormed out to an 8-3 lead, forcing Marquette head coach Ryan Theis to call a timeout early to burn out. Martin had four kills on her first four swings of the set, extending the lead to 11-4. She finished game two a perfect 6-for-6.

The Golden Eagles got a glimmer of hope after a kill from star pin hitter Aubrey Hamilton, who burned the Bluejays with five kills in the first set, got another to cut the deficit to 14-10. That ended when senior libero Maddy Bilinovic got through an improbable full dig that Sis turned into a point with an equally improbable one-handed joust against two Marquette blockers. Theis’ final timeout only delayed the oncoming surge as Bilinovic served an ace from the break to make it 18-10. CU won 11 of the last 13 rallies after Hamilton’s kill and went into the locker tied at one set apiece.

The third set was tighter than the second, but every time Marquette made a run, Sis and Martin had a response that gave Creighton a cushion. The superstar duo combined for 12 kills in the third, after 11 in the second.

“Both Ava and Norah were fantastic today,” Booth said. “I thought Norah also succeeded a lot better today. Friday night was such an anomaly for Norah. That’s what I think our coaches are talking about is both of our outside edges are really consistently good every night. Friday wasn’t her best match, but the great thing about Norah is that she is resilient enough to say: it’s done, let’s go on Sunday. And she did.”

Marquette won three of the first four rallies in a must-have fourth set, but two more kills from Sis, accompanied by another ace from Bilinovic, sparked a 7-0 run that put the Bluejays back in control. They never let go of the rope.

Maddy Bilinovic’s defense was on display Sunday afternoon (Spomer/WBR)

Bilinovic finished with a match-high 15 digs, along with five assists and the timely aces. With one game against the Golden Eagles already under her belt, Creighton’s coaching staff let her loose a bit on Sunday, allowing the defensive anchor to play instinctively more often.

“It’s nice when you play against a team twice because we were able to have a lot of conversations about the first time we played against them,” Bilinovic said. “Their outside edges are very talented, so on the field it’s not so much my job to stand here or lead this defense. I had to use my reading skills a little more in this game. And our block was able to turn it around in set two, and they continued that in the third and fourth sets, so I was able to play on them right away to make those measurements and get the ball.

Creighton finished the match with 12 ace blocks to Marquette’s three. They also finished with eight aces to just one for the Golden Eagles, who fell to 18-7 overall and 12-2 in Big East play – two full games behind the Bluejays in the standings, now with two weekends left to go.

Booth said it was very important for her team to score from behind the line on Sunday, but it also helped make Marquette’s offense more predictable, making it easier on the blockers and passers defensively.

“After losing the first set, we didn’t think we were serving that aggressively,” Booth said. “They were in the system. They passed a 2.3 in the first set, and I have to assume it dropped significantly after that, I didn’t get any numbers. But one of the things we said after the first set is that we have to stay aggressive with serving because they’re just too good at system, and I thought we did a good job of that.

There’s usually always something at stake when Creighton and Marquette face off, especially in November. But today he may have had a little more weight than most. The Bluejays have won 10 consecutive Big East regular-season titles, but they have shared the previous three with the Golden Eagles. With just four games remaining before postseason play begins, Sunday’s performance puts them squarely in the driver’s seat for the outright title. Additionally, Penn State also made a trip to Wisconsin State this weekend and was swept in resounding fashion in Madison.

With the race for the final regional host seemingly coming down to the 23-2 Nittany Lions and 23-2 Bluejays, any resume-boosting setbacks and/or wins will likely be magnified in the committee’s eyes. While most coaches would normally view that conversation as a no-fly zone within the walls of the locker room or practice facility, Booth and her staff are taking a different approach.

“We started working on it right away,” she said. “I want them to feel some pressure. I want them to know the consequences. They will feel pressure in the postseason, so I guess I have to tell them what these games mean from a seeding standpoint and where we fall. Sometimes I think the more information the better. Maybe not during a timeout or during a game (laughs), but maybe a few days earlier so they understand the landscape. I’m not afraid to tell this team. I think they are quite mature.”

Sunday’s game was also broadcast nationally on Fox Sports 1 instead of hiding behind the FloSports paywall. It also took place in the backyard of two members of the selection committee, including this year’s chairwoman Danielle Josetti, who is also the Executive Associate Athletic Director at Marquette.

All of these variables make for fun debates and perhaps a touch more internal motivation, but they don’t seem to impact the day-to-day task of Creighton’s players.

“I honestly think our mentality is always that we can only control what we can control,” Bilinovic said. “As cliché as it sounds, it’s true. We have no control over what the committee will decide. This team loses, this team wins, whatever. All we can do is just go out there and win games.”