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#12 Volleyball Hosts DePaul & Marquette This Weekend

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Match #23: DePaul at #12 Creighton  • Omaha, Neb. • Friday, Oct. 31 • 11:30 a.m. 

| LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | PROGRAM |

Match #24:  Marquette at #12 Creighton • Omaha, Neb. • Saturday, Nov. 1 • 7:00 p.m. 

| LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | PROGRAM |

Next Up

No. 12 Creighton Volleyball starts the final month of the regular-season with a pair of home contests with postseason tournament implications.

    Creighton (17-5, 10-0 BIG EAST) hosts DePaul  (12-9, 5-5 BIG EAST before Wednesday’s home match vs. Marquette) on Friday, Oct. 31, for an 11:30 a.m. match.

    The Bluejays then renew their rivalry against Marquette (12-8, 6-4 BIG EAST before Wednesday’s match at DePaul) on Saturday at 7 p.m.

    D.J. Sokol Arena (2,500) in Omaha, Neb., will host the action.

Promotions Planned

Friday is Creighton’s Halloween Kid’s Day Game.  Hundreds of local students will be in attendance to get their first taste of Division I Volleyball. Kids are encouraged to take part in our Halloween costume contest for prizes. Face painters will also be on hand in the concourse.

    Saturday will be a Stripe Out, as fans are asked to wear the color that matches their section. A map is at http://gocreighton.com/25vbstripe

    A limited quantity of blue and white t-shirts will be available for fans upon entry.

Broadcast Information

Friday’s match vs. DePaul will air on ESPN+. A subscription is required to view the match on http://watchESPN.com. Nicholas Badders and Jaclyn Taylor will call Friday’s action.

    Saturday’s match against Marquette will be televised statewide on Nebraska Public Media, with Larry Punteney and Kathi Wieskamp on the call. A free stream can be viewed at 

https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/static/stream/live.html.

Live Stats Information

Both of this weekend’s matches will have live stats at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com. 

Scouting #12 Creighton

Creighton is 17-5 this season and 10-0 in the BIG EAST after dropping just one set in league play thus far. The Bluejays played seven matches against ranked foes in non-conference action, winning two of them, and are 15-0 against unranked foes.

    Creighton has won 14 of its last 15 matches, with a five-set loss to No. 1 Nebraska the only setback in that time, to climb to No. 12 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll.

    Ava Martin (4.12 kps., 0.48 saps., .297%) was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, while fellow senior Kiara Reinhardt (2.55 kps., .439%, 1.11 bps.) is also playing at an All-American level.

    Annalea Maeder (10.33 aps.) has taken the reigns as CU setter, while Saige Damrow (3.06 dps.) and Sydney Breissinger (2.55 dps., 0.40 saps.) have both seen time at libero.

     CU averages 13.79 kills, 2.23 aces, 13.47 digs and 2.30 blocks per set while hitting .266.

Scouting DePaul

DePaul was 12-9 this season, including a 7-3 road record and a 5-5 mark in BIG EAST action, heading into Wednesday’s home match vs. Marquette.

    The graduation of Jill Pressly has led to a more balanced offensive attack, as Kendall Timme (3.40 kps.) and Morgan Stewart (2.76 kps.) carry much of the load for setters Amanda Saeger (8.80 aps.) and Arden Billingsley (4.06 aps.).

    Eva Hurrle (4.49 dps.) is the libero and Jade Epps (1.08 bps.) tops the Blue Demons in blocks.

    DePaul averages 13.06 kills, 14.72 digs, 2.32 blocks and 1.69 aces per set while hitting .203 as a team.

Series History vs. DePaul

Creighton has won 28 of 29 previous meetings with DePaul, and is 28-0 vs. the Blue Demons since the two schools became BIG EAST rivals.

    DePaul swept the first meeting in 2001 in DeKalb, Ill., before Creighton’s recent run, which has included three five-set wins (in Omaha in 2015, spring 2021 and 2022), eight different four-set wins and 17 sweeps. 

    Creighton has swept 16 of the last 21 meetings at all sites, and has won 65 of its past 72 sets played against the Blue Demons.

    Creighton’s active 28-match win streak over DePaul is the program’s longest ever against another foe.

    Brian Rosen is 1-0 against DePaul and Marie Zidek. Zidek is 0-18 against Creighton.

    Creighton won the first meeting on Oct. 4th in the Windy City by scores of 25-8, 27-29, 25-12, 25-17.

Scouting Marquette

Marquette entered Wednesday’s match at DePaul with a 12-8 record this season and are 6-4 in the BIG EAST after suffering back-to-back league losses in the same season for the first time since 2011 last weekend. 

    The Golden Eagles own impressive 3-0 sweeps over Western Kentucky and Florida but are 4-5 in matches to go at least four sets..

    Natalie Ring (4.57 kp., .288%) leads the BIG EAST in kills per set and owns 34.4 percent of MU’s kills, far ahead of Hattie Bray (2.65 kps.) and Elena Radeff (1.99 kps.). Ring has 10 or more kills in every match this fall, including three straight contests of 24 or more in August.

    Isabela Haggard (9.32 aps.) leads the Golden Eagles in assists per set, and Adriana Studer (3.61 dps.) tops the club in digs.

    As a team, Marquette averages 13.31 kills, 13.07 digs, 2.29 blocks and 1.48 aces per set while hitting .246 as a team.

Series History vs. Marquette

Creighton is 30-7 all-time against Marquette, and are 26-4 since the start of the 2014 season against MU. That includes four different nationally-televised victories since the start of last season over MU.

    Creighton is 30-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles when winning at least one set, including the last 26 such matches since a setback in the 2013 BIG EAST Tournament final. Creighton has also won all seven match-ups to go five sets.

    Brian Rosen is 1-0 against both Marquette, and Tom Mendoza. Mendoza is 0-1 against Creighton.

    Creighton swept the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee on Oct. 2nd (25-16, 25-19, 25-18), as Ava Martin had 20 kills on .514 hitting to lead a Bluejay attack that hit .410 as a team.

Creighton Coaches

Brian Rosen was named the fourth head coach in modern Creighton Volleyball history on April 6, 2025, as he was promoted following the departure of 22-year head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. He is 17-5 as Creighton head coach, defeating No. 14 Kansas on Aug. 31 for his first win on the Bluejay sideline.

    Named the 2024 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year, Rosen served as a Creighton assistant from 2022-24, during which time CU went 88-13, swept the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament tiles each fall, and defeated 10 Top 25 opponents.

    The 2008 South Carolina grad went 45-17 as head coach at Division II Nova Southeastern from 2019-21, though the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19 without playing a match.

    Rosen is assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Adam Kessenich and Izzy Ashburn.

With A Win…

With a win on Friday vs. DePaul, Creighton would…

– Extend program records by winning its 42nd consecutive regular-season conference match, and 46th in a row against BIG EAST teams.

– Win its 60th straight match against an unranked team.

– Win its 51st straight non-televised match.

– Improve to 29-1 all-time vs. DePaul, and win its 29th in a row against the Blue Demons.

– Improve to 199-16 all-time in regular-season BIG EAST matches.

– Improve to 220-18 against BIG EAST opponents since joining the league in 2013.

– Extend its season-high win streak to 13, and its October win streak to 24.

– Win its 46th straight home match in the month of October.

– Win its 45th straight regular-season BIG EAST home match and 51st in a row at home against BIG EAST competition including the postseason.

Milestone Watch

Creighton’s student-athletes are approaching all sorts of milestones heading into the week…

Destiny Ndam-Simpson is one kill shy of 250.

Sydney Breissinger is three aces shy of 100.

Annalea Maeder owns 999 career digs and is one shy of 1,000 in her career.

Ava Martin owns 1,418 career kills, just 10 away from passing Olympian Taryn Kloth (1,427) for fifth-most in CU history.

Ava Martin has had five or more kills in 99 straight matches and can make it 100 in a row on Friday. Her last match with less than five kills was more than three years ago when she had four at St. John’s on Oct. 30, 2022.

A Perfect Set

Creighton’s offense clicked on all cylinders in the  third set of its Oct. 25 win at Connecticut, as the Bluejays were credited with 15 kills on 15 swings to hit a perfect 1,000. That means UConn didn’t own a single dig or block during the set.

    Jaya Johnson had five kills, Abbey Hayes, Ava Martin and Annalea Maeder each had three kills and Kiara Reinhardt had one kill in the frame.

    It’s the best hitting percentage in program history that Creighton has hit better than .818 in any set. Per @Evollve on Twitter, Creighton was the nation’s first team to hit 1.000 in a set since Florida A&M did against Mississippi Valley State went 10-for-10 in the first set of a 2022 meeting.

Best Creighton Team Hitting Percentage in a Set

    %    K-E-TA    Opponent (Set #)    Date

    1.000    15-0-15    at Connecticut (3)    10/25/25

    .818    18-0-22    at DePaul (1)    10/6/17

    .737    14-0-19    at Providence (1)    10/21/23

.722    13-0-18    at Georgetown (5)    11/20/15

    .714    10-0-14    vs. Northern Iowa (5)    9/5/14

    .714    15-0-21    at DePaul (3)    10/11/19

A Touch of Gold

DePaul coach Marie Zidek should know better than most how good Creighton senior Ava Martin is.

    Zidek coached Martin (as well as former Bluejay Norah Sis) as part of USA Volleyball’s 2025 Women’s U23 NORCECA Pan American Cup roster in July and August.

    Martin served match point of the Gold Medal match, a 3-0 victory over Canada.

The Booth Tree

Both Brian Rosen and Tom Mendoza are disciples of the Kirsten Bernthal Booth coaching tree as both men are former Creighton assistant coaches.

    Rosen served as a Bluejay assistant coach from 2022-24, a span that saw the Bluejays go 88-13. Creighton won the BIG EAST regular-seasona and Tournament titles, as well as made the NCAA Tournament, all three seasons.

    Mendoza was an assistant at CU from 2010-15, during which time the Bluejays went 142-57 and made five NCAA Tournaments (2010, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15). Creighton won the regular-season and conference tournament titles in 2012 in the Missouri Valley Conference and in 2014 and 2015 in the BIG EAST Conference.

Biggest Competitors

Including league tournament action, Creighton is 83-5 against conference teams since the fall of 2021 began, losing once each to Xavier, St. John’s and UConn and twice to Marquette. 

    Meanwhile, Marquette is 70-15, with 10 losses coming against the Bluejays compared to a 65-5 mark against everyone else. The other losses have been to St. John’s (2), Xavier (1), Georgetown (1) and Villanova (1).

The Dominators

No matter how you slice it, Creighton and Marquette have dominated BIG EAST Volleyball since 2013. Here’s how they compare, heading into Wednesday’s DePaul-Marquette match..

Stat    CU    MU    Everyone Else

BIG EAST Reg-Season W-L    198-16    175-36    727-1048

BIG EAST Play Win Percentage    .925    .829    .410

BIG EAST Reg.-Season Titles    11#    4#    0

BIG EAST Tourney Titles    10    1    1

BIG EAST Player of the Year    5    5    3

BIG EAST Libero of the Year    2    0    10

BIG EAST Freshman of the Year    4    3    7#

BIG EAST Coach of the Year    5#    2    6#

AVCA All-Americans*    10    2    0

AVCA H.M. All-Americans    19    9    14

AVCA Region Freshman of Year    3    1    2

AVCA Region Coach of Year    5    0    3

CSC Academic All-Americans    10    3    0

# includes ties

*First/Second/Third Teams only

You Again?

Creighton and Marquette ought to be quite familiar with each other by this point. 

    Saturday will mark the 16th meeting between the schools since February 4, 2021, and that doesn’t include two other matches that were cancelled due to COVID protocols. Creighton has won 12 of those 15 recent contests.

    Saturday will also be the 24th meeting since Oct. 17, 2017 between the BIG EAST behemoths. CU is 19-4 in the last 23 encounters.

Demons Feeling Blue

Creighton has won 28 straight matches against DePaul, its longest win streak ever against another foe.

Most Consecutive Match Wins Over One Team

    Wins    Opponent    Dates

    28    DePaul    2013-Present

    23    Xavier    2013-22

    23    Butler    2013-Present

    23    Georgetown    2013-Present

    20    Seton Hall    2014-Present

    19    Southern Illinois    2003-11

    18    Providence    2014-Present

    16    Indiana State    2005-Present

Twenty Straight

Creighton has won 20 sets in a row, a streak that started after a second set loss at DePaul on October 4th. The streak is the eighth-longest in program history, all of which have come in the past decade.

    A sweep on Friday would move Creighton to 23 straight (sixth-longest ever) while sweeps on both Friday and Saturday would make a 26-set win streak fourth-longest in program history.

Consecutive Sets Won

    Set Wins    Dates    Snapped By

    31    Oct. 1 – Nov. 8, 2024    at Marquette

    30    Oct. 7 – Nov. 10, 2023    at St. John’s

    29    Oct. 16-Nov. 18, 2022    at #16 Marquette

    25    Oct. 22-Nov. 20, 2016    Villanova

    25    Oct. 26-Nov. 23, 2018    #16 Marquette

    22    Nov. 7-Dec. 2, 2021    Kansas

    21    Nov. 10 – Dec. 2, 2023    vs. #7 Louisville

    20    Oct. 4, 2025 – Present    ? ? ?

    19    Oct. 12-Nov. 3, 2019    at Villanova

    18    Nov. 22-Dec. 6, 2024    vs. #13 Texas

    16    Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 2025    at DePaul

    15    Oct. 7-21, 2016    at Marquette

    15    Sept. 28-Oct. 13, 2018    at Villanova

    15    Sept. 11-24, 2021    at Butler

League Leaders

Not only is Creighton alone atop the BIG EAST standings, but the Bluejays are also dominating many of the team and individual statistical categories in league play, as well.

    Individually, Kiara Reinhardt leads the BIG EAST with 1.35 blocks per set and a .462 hitting percentage. Annalea Maeder is tops with 10.97 assists per set.

    As a team, Creighton is first in hitting percentage (.338), opponent hitting percentage (.141), assists per set (13.42), kills per set (14.90) and aces per set (2.97).

The .500 Club

Senior Kiara Reinhardt is hitting .439 this fall, a figure that ranks sixth in the nation, and she’s hit .500 or better in 10-of-22 matches this fall.

    Not only has she hit a robust .369 against Top 25 foes, but she’s hitting an insane .479 (132-29-215) with 1.18 blocks per set against unranked foes.

Reinhardt’s Matches Hitting .500+ This Season

    Pct.    K    E    TA    Opponent    CU Result

    .789    15    0    19    vs. San Diego    W 3-1

    .750    10    1    12    at Villanova    W 3-0

    .722    14    1    18    at DePaul    W 3-1

    .700    7    0    10    RIce    W 3-0

    .667    10    0    15    Seton Hall    W 3-0

    .636    8    1    11    at Georgetown    W 3-0

    .560    16    2    25    #4 Louisville    L 1-3

    .529    9    0    17    vs. #5 Texas    L 0-3

    .526    11    1    19    #1 Nebraska    L 2-3

    .500    6    1    10    at Marquette    W 3-0

Reinhardt’s Peers

Kiara Reinhardt’s .439 hitting percentage ranks sixth-best nationally, and is on pace to shatter the Creighton single-season record in that category should she get to 200 kills (she has 191).

2025 NCAA Leaders in Attack Pct. (min. 3.33 attacks per set) 

        Name, School    K    E    Att.    Pct.

    1.    Julieta Sandez, UIC    168    24    306    .471

    2.    Lucia Scalamandre, Princeton    174    32    311    .457

    3.    Haley Yount, Jacksonville    147    24    271    .454

    4.    Ashlynn Archer, Sacramento St.    219    40    403    .444

    5.    KJ Burgess, Oklahoma    145    26    268    .444

    6.    Kiara Reinhardt, Creighton    191    43    337    .439

    7.    Rachel Grier, New Hampshire    197    29    383    .439

Single-Season Creighton Records

Individual Attack Percentage (Min. 200 kills)

        Name    K    E    Att.    Pct.    Year

    1.    Kiana Schmitt    307    75    612    .379    2023

    2.    Elise Goetzinger    266    73    513    .376    2024

    3.    Kelli Browning    350    87    710    .370    2012

    4.    Marysa Wilkinson    340    74    720    .369    2017

    6.    Kelly Goc    414    86    892    .368    2007

    7.    Lauren Smith    280    76    592    .345    2016

    7.    Lauren Smith    331    96    686    .343    2015

    8.    Kelli Browning    403    120    836    .339    2014

    9.    Marysa Wilkinson    321    80    715    .337    2016

    10.    Lauren Smith    278    89    578    .327    2014

Creighton Career Records

Individual Attack Percentage (Min. 250 kills)

        Name    K    E    Att.    Pct.    Years

    1.    Elise Goetzinger    266    73    513    .376    2024

    2.    Kendra Wait    511    78    1,194    .363    2021-24

    3.    Kelli Browning    1,104    325    2,327    .335    2011-14

    4.    Lydia Dimke    297    77    659    .334    2016-17

    5.    Kiana Schmitt    806    237    1,726    .330    2019-23

    6.    Kiara Reinhardt    721    218    1,554    .324    2020-Pr.

    7.    Lauren Smith    1,160    365    2,460    .323    2013-16

    8.    Marysa Wilkinson    1,183    307    2,771    .316    2014-17

    9.    Megan Ballenger    965    317    2,176    .298    2016-19

    10.    Kelly Goc    1,414    414    3,374    .296    2004-07

Ava Elevates Up The Chart

Ava Martin enters this weekend with 1,418 career kills, good for sixth in program history. after passing Kelly Goc (1,414)  last Saturday.

    She’s also not far off the top five, as Taryn Kloth (1,427) is next up on CU’s all-time kills list.

Career Kills, Creighton History

        Name    Sets    No.    Years

    1.    Jaali Winters    494    1,843    2015-18

    2.    Norah Sis    422    1,664    2021-24

    3.    Leah Ratzlaff    409    1,622    2002-05

    4.    Melissa Walsh    394    1,596    1998-01

    5.    Taryn Kloth    462    1,427    2015-18

    6.    Ava Martin    414    1,418    2022-Pr.

    7.    Kelly Goc    394    1,414    2004-07

    8.    Jessica Houts    451    1,385    2005-09

    9.    JoDe Cieloha    398    1,375    1994-97

    10.    Leah McNary    458    1,257    2011-14

Streakin’

Ava Martin owns 10 or more kills in each of Creighton’s last 16 matches, the sixth-longest streak in program history. She already owns a 19-match streak that was snapped earlier this season.

    Martin is the only player in Bluejay history with multiple streaks 10-kill streaks of 14 or longer.

Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills

    58    Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005

    21    Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015 – Aug. 28, 2016

    19    JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997

    19    Ava Martin, Oct. 18, 2024-Aug. 23, 2025

    18    Jaela Zimmerman, Nov. 16, 2019 – March 27, 2021

    16    Ava Martin, Sept. 12, 2025 – Present

    15    Norah Sis, Oct. 7 – Dec. 2, 2022

    14    Kelly Goc, Sept. 8-Oct. 19, 2007

    13    JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 7-Oct. 18, 1996

    13    Jaali Winters, Nov. 12, 2016-Sept. 1, 2017

Getting Better and Better

It’s scary to see the numbers for Creighton’s first 10 matches compared to its last 12 matches. The Bluejay numbers are up across the board, with the exception of digs per set, a key reason for its increased success.

First 10 Matches vs. Last 12 Matches

When    W-L    KPS    HIT%    SAPS    DPS    BPS

First 10    5-5    12.84    .215    1.63    14.26    2.17

Last 12     12-0    14.76    .323    2.84    12.65    2.43

All They Do Is Win

Creighton has won 12 straight matches, its 13th double-digit win streak in program history and one of the nation’s longest active win streaks.

    Consecutive Creighton Wins, Program History

    Wins    Dates    Snapped By

    25    Sept. 20-Dec. 13, 2024    at #2 Penn State, 3-2

    23    Sept. 23-Dec. 9, 2016    at #5 Texas, 3-0

    21    Sept. 21 – Nov. 30, 2018    #22 Washington, 3-0

    17    Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012    at #11 Minnesota, 3-1

    17    Sept. 23-Nov. 18, 2022    at #16 Marquette, 3-0

    17    Oct. 7-Dec. 2, 2023    vs. #7 Louisville, 3-2

    14    Sept. 19-Nov. 3, 2019    at Villanova, 3-0

    14    Oct. 17-Dec. 2, 2021    Kansas, 3-1

    12    Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015    at Villanova, 3-2

    12    Sept. 19, 2025 – Present    TBD

    11    Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014    Seton Hall, 3-0

    11    Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017    at Villanova, 3-0

    10    Oct. 31-Dec. 5, 2015    vs. #2 USC, 3-1

NCAA’s Longest Active Winning Streaks

    Wins    School    Next Match

    20    Nebraska    10/31 at #11 Wisconsin

    18    Texas    10/31 at #9 Texas A&M

    13    Kentucky    10/31, Vanderbilt

    13    Northern Iowa    10/30, Belmont

    13    East Tennessee State    10/31, Samford

    12    Creighton    10/31 vs. DePaul

    12    Dayton    10/31, at Loyola (Chicago)

An Eye On Milwaukee

With two wins this weekend, Creighton can clinch a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament, which will be held Nov. 22 & 23 in Milwaukee on the campus of Marquette University.

    Creighton has won five straight BIG EAST Tournament titles and 10 of the past 11.

    The competition for this year’s tournament is fierce, with the field being cut from six to four teams.

Hall Pass

Creighton has won 59 straight sets over Seton Hall, the longest set win streak over another opponent in program history. Second-longest on that list is an active streak of 35 straight set wins over Providence.

Most Consecutive Set Wins Over One Team

    Wins    Opponent    Dates

    59    Seton Hall    2015-Present

    35    Providence    2017-Present

    31    Georgetown    2019-Present

    27    Villanova    2021-Present

    25    Indiana State    2005-09

    24    Xavier    2015-18

    23    Indiana State    2009-Present

    19    Providence    2014-17

    19    Butler    2018-21

    19    Butler    2021-Present

The Reveal

The NCAA Volleyball Selection Committee revealed its Top 16 as of Oct. 19th. The in-season reveal offers fans an early look at potential NCAA tournament seedings ahead of Selection Sunday on Nov. 30.  Creighton was 10th in that listing.

    Last year Creighton was sixth in the early reveal, and would enter the NCAA Tournament sixth as well.

1. Nebraska    9. TCU

2. Texas    10. Creighton

3. Pittsburgh    11. Stanford

4. Kentucky    12. Wisconsin

5. SMU    13. Texas A&M

6. Louisville    14. Indiana

7. Arizona State    15. Penn State

8. Purdue    16. Minnesota

Syd The Kid

Sydney Breissinger first wore the libero jersey this fall in the fourth set against Nebraska on Sept. 16th. She put it back on to begin the Sept. 21 win over No. 17 Kansas, and hasn’t relinquished it in 11 matches since. That means Creighton is 34-2 in sets and outscored teams 895-539 when she dons the alternate jersey.

    When Breissinger was a freshman in 2023, she played libero in the final 13 matches of the season. Creighton went 12-1 in those contests, winning 38-of-42 sets and outscoring teams 1,031-850.

    Add it all up and Creighton is 23-2 all-time in matches Breissinger serves as libero at any point, losing only to No. 7 Louisville (2023 Regional Semifinal) and to No. 1 Nebraska (2025). CU has won 72-of-78 sets when she’s donned the alternate jersey and outscored foes 1,906-1,382 in points.

    

Top 50 Wins

Creighton owns nine Top 50 victories this season, which is tied for fourth-most in the country.

Most Volleyball Top 50 wins in 2025 (10/26)

    Top 50 W’s    School

    11    Nebraska

    10    Texas, Purdue

    9    Creighton, TCU

    8     Pitt, Arizona St., SMU, Louisville, Wisconsin

250 Wins as a Ranked Team

Creighton is 250-53 all-time as a ranked team, as last Saturday’s win at Connecticut was its 250th such match.

    When playing as a ranked team, Creighton is 120-15 all-time at home, 86-25 on the road and 44-13 in neutral-site matches.

More Than a Decade of Dominance

Thirteen years in the BIG EAST gives Creighton a pretty good set of data to compare its yearly performance in league matches. 

    Here’s how the 2025 campaign compares to previous seasons:

Creighton’s Year-By-Year BIG EAST Stats

Year    W-L    KPS    HIT%    SAPS    DPS    BPS

2013    12-4    13.75    .213    1.00    16.20    3.13

2014#    16-2    14.89    .242    1.30    17.09    2.86

2015#    17-1    15.02    .271    1.33    16.97    2.47

2016#    18-0    15.37    .317    1.69    16.08    2.41

2017#    16-2    14.81    .302    1.31    16.62    2.05

2018#    18-0    14.45    .294    2.13    15.67    2.38

2019#    17-1    14.61    .269    2.07    15.80    2.25

2020#    7-1    12.93    .249    1.30    14.17    2.75

2021#    16-2    13.95    .242    1.82    18.02    2.86

2022#    17-1    14.80    .299    1.85    16.10    2.33

2023#    16-2    14.40    .313    1.89    15.91    2.30

2024#    18-0    14.79    .371    2.32    14.18    2.75

2025    10-0    14.90    .338    2.97    12.26    2.42

#won league’s regular-season title

Best League Starts

Creighton has started 10-0 in conference play for the seventh time in 13 seasons in the BIG EAST. 

    The Bluejays have started 11-0 or better in league action six times in the previous 10 years and went 18-0 in 2016, 2018 and 2024.

Most Wins Before First League Loss

    Wins    Year (League)    First League Loss

    18-0    2018 (BIG EAST)    None

    18-0    2016 (BIG EAST)    None

    18-0    2024 (BIG EAST)    None

    17    2022 (BIG EAST)    11/19 at #16 Marquette

    12    2019 (BIG EAST)    11/8 at Villanova

    11    2015 (BIG EAST)    10/30 at Villanova

    10    2025 (BIG EAST)    TBD

    7    2007 (MVC)    10/12 vs. Wichita State

    5    2014 (BIG EAST)    10/10 at Seton Hall

    5    2011 (MVC)    10/7 at Missouri State

    5    2006 (MVC)    10/6 vs. Northern Iowa

    4    2017 (BIG EAST)    10/5 at Marquette

Halfway Home

Creighton reached the midpoint of league play with an 8-0 record, and are now 10-0. The Bluejays are unbeaten at the halfway mark of league play for the seventh time since 2025 (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025).

    The Bluejays have suffered one league loss or fewer in the second half of conference play during each of the previous 11 seasons.

League Record by Year

Year    1st Half    2nd Half    Place

1994    2-8    1-9    T-9th MVC

1995    3-7    3-7    T-7th MVC

1996    2-7    3-6    T-6th MVC

1997    6-3    4-5    T-3rd MVC

1998    2-7    3-6    8th MVC

1999    5-4    4-5    5th MVC

2000    5-4    5-4    T-4th MVC

2001    7-2    5-4    4th MVC

2002    1-8    1-8    T-9th MVC

2003    5-4    4-5    T-5th MVC

2004    5-4    5-4    5th MVC

2005    4-5    6-3    5th MVC

2006    7-2    5-4    4th MVC

2007    7-2    7-2    T-2nd MVC

2008    7-2    8-1    2nd MVC

2009    4-5    6-3    T-4th MVC

2010    7-2    6-3    3rd MVC

2011    6-3    6-3    4th MVC

2012    8-1    9-0    1st MVC

2013    6-2    6-2    T-2nd BIG EAST

2014    8-1    8-1    1st BIG EAST

2015    9-0    8-1    1st BIG EAST

2016    9-0    9-0    1st BIG EAST

2017    8-1    8-1    1st BIG EAST

2018    9-0    9-0    1st BIG EAST

2019    9-0    8-1    1st BIG EAST

2020    3-1    4-0    1st BIG EAST (Midwest)

2021    7-2    9-0    T-1st BIG EAST

2022    9-0    8-1    T-1st BIG EAST

2023    7-2     9-0     T-1st BIG EAST

2024    9-0    9-0    1st BIG EAST

2025    8-0    2-0 so far    TBD

Total    194-89    188-89    —

Reinhardt & Martin Pass Century Mark

Kiara Reinhardt is 113-22 (.837) all-time in matches that she’s appeared in, which means she’s third in CU history in wins and fifth in winning percentage.

    Ava Martin is 104-18 (.852) all-time when appearing in a match, making her 11th in wins and fourth in win percentage.

Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player

    119    Kendra Wait    2021-24

    116    Naomi Hickman    2017-21

    113    Kiara Reinhardt    2020-Pres.

    111    Jaali Winters    2015-18

    110    Kiana Schmitt    2019-23

    109    Taryn Kloth    2015-18

    109    Brittany Witt    2016-19

    109    Norah Sis    2021-24

    107    Megan Ballenger    2016-19

    106    Marysa Wilkinson    2014-17

    104    Lauren Smith    2013-16

    104    Ava Martin    2022-Pres.

    102    Melanie Jereb    2012-15

    101    Ashley Jansen    2012-15

    98    Jaela Zimmerman    2018-22

Best Win Pct. in Matches Appeared In As A Player (min. 100 wins)

    W-L    Pct.    Name    Years

    109-14    .886    Norah Sis    2021-24

    119-16    .881    Kendra Wait    2021-24

    110-16    .873    Kiana Schmitt    2019-23

    104-18    .852    Ava Martin    2022-Pres.

    113-22    .837    Kiara Reinhardt    2020-Pres.

    109-24    .820    Taryn Kloth    2015-18

    116-26    .817    Naomi Hickman    2017-21

    109-25    .813    Brittany Witt    2016-19

    107-25    .811    Megan Ballenger    2016-19

    111-28    .799    Jaali Winters    2015-18

    106-32    .768    Marysa Wilkinson    2014-17

    102-31    .767    Melanie Jereb    2012-15

    101-31    .765    Ashley Jansen    2012-15

    104-34    .754    Lauren Smith    2013-16

Most Wins, Four-Year Span

    W-L    Years

    119-17    2021-24

    111-28    2015-18

    109-25    2016-19

    107-32    2014-17

    105-18    2022-Pres.

    104-31    2012-15

    104-34    2013-16

    99-18    2020-23

    97-19    2018-21

    95-19    2019-22

Nice Work, Ace

Creighton tied a program-record with 15 service aces on Oct. 4 vs. DePaul, with Ava Martin (6), Alivia Hausmann (3), Jaya Johnson (3), Sydney Breissinger (2) and Annalea Maeder (1) all getting in the act.

    It was the fourth time in program history that CU has recorded 15 aces or more, and first time it’s done so in a true road match.

    Creighton set a school-record with 224 aces in 35 matches last season (6.40 per match) and averaged a league-record 2.32 aces per set in league play. This year’s team has 167 aces in 22 matches (7.59 per match) and is averaging 2.97 aces per set in league action.

    Creighton’s 2.23 aces per set ranks third nationally, trailing only American (2.34) and Connecticut (2.32).

Most Creighton Service Aces, Match

    15    vs. Northeastern Illinois (3s)    09-23-95

    15    vs. UMKC (4s)    11-12-95

    15    vs. Seton Hall (3s)    11-15-24

    15    at DePaul (4s)    10-04-25

    14    at UMKC (4s)    10-30-94

    14    vs. UNC-Greensboro (4s)    09-02-00

    14    vs. Butler (3s)    10-20-18

    14    vs. DePaul (4s)    11-24-19

    14    vs. UMKC (5s)    09-28-04

A Smashing Success

Kiara Reinhardt had 14 kills and one error in 18 swings on Oct. 4 at DePaul, the second-best mark in program history for a four-set match.

    The only performance that’s been better was Reinhardt’s .789 hitting (15-0-19) vs. San Diego earlier this year on Sept. 5, 2025.

Best Hitting Percentage, Four Sets (min. 12 kills)

    .789    Kiara Reinhardt (15-0-19) vs. San Diego    09-05-25

    .722    Kiara Reinhardt (14-1-18) at DePaul    10-04-25

    .684    Kelli Browning (14-1-19) vs. Southern Illinois    10-27-12

    .640    Naomi Hickman (17-1-25) vs. Kentucky    09-06-19

    .636    Megan Bober (14-0-22) vs. Bradley    10-06-12

    .625    Kelly Goc (26-1-40) vs. Drake    11-16-07

    .615    Alicia Runge (17-1-26) vs. Bradley    09-25-10

    .600    Kelli Browning (16-1-25) vs. Wisconsin    08-25-12

Jaya Does It All

Since moving into a role that has her playing all six rotations on Sept. 20 vs. South Florida, sophomore Jaya Johnson has played like a star.

    Johnson has averaged 2.68 kills, 1.89 digs, 0.92 blocks and 0.16 aces per set while hitting .274. Creighton is 12-0 in that time, dropping just one set.

    Before the move, Johnson averaged 1.84 kills, 0.74 digs, 0.92 blocks and 0.00 aces per set while hitting .191. Creighton was 5-5 in those matches (18-18 in sets), though six of them came against top-25 foes.

    Johnson is the only player in the BIG EAST to average at least 0.90 blocks and 0.90 digs per set this season.

Opening RPI

The fourth NCAA Volleyball RPI of the fall was released on October 27th and Creighton came in at No. 10, easily the best mark in the BIG EAST.

    The Bluejays are one of five BIG EAST teams in the top 55, joining Xavier (31), Villanova (48), Marquette (49) and Connecticut (60).

    Of CU’s foes this weekend, DePaul is 151st while Marquette comes in at 49th.

BIG EAST’S Best

Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the  summer of 2013, Creighton, Marquette and St. John’s are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.

    Creighton owns 11 regular-season titles (3 shared) in that time, while Marquette owns four regular-season (3 shared) crowns.

    As it relates to BIG EAST Tournament titles, Creighton has won 10, Marquette one and St. John’s one since 2013.

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

BIG EAST VB Standings, 2013 – Oct. 28, 2025

             BIG EAST only    All     matches

Team (NCAA Bids)    W    L    W    L

Creighton (12)    198    16    332    78

Marquette (11)    175    36    296    101

Xavier    125    87    199    172

St. John’s (1)    106    108    228    178

Villanova (1)    107    107    204    168

Butler    107    107    189    188

Seton Hall (1)    86    127    173    201

DePaul    70    144    161    210

Georgetown    50    156    124    231

Connecticut#    47    43    95    68

Providence*    31    167    122    222

*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 219 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 37 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    25-0    3-0    28-0

Georgetown    23-0    –    23-0

Marquette    20-5    7-1    27-6

Providence    18-0    –    18-0

Seton Hall    20-3    2-0    22-3

St. John’s    21-2    1-1    22-3

Villanova    20-3    3-0    23-3

Xavier    23-1    4-0    27-1

TOTAL    198-16    21-2    219-18

Putting The 0 In October And November

Creighton is 89-6 in the 10th month of the year since Oct. 1, 2016, including 23 straight wins, and victories in 37 of its past 38 such matches.

    Creighton’s been awfully good in the month of November too. Since Nov. 1, 2014, CU is 71-4 in the 11th month of the year with 20 straight victories.

    Creighton has won 45 straight October home matches (since 10/15/11) and 44 consecutive home matches in November (since 11/23/14). Incredibly, Creighton is 132-10 in sets in those home November contests.

All They Do Is Win

Creighton has won its last 41 BIG EAST regular-season matches to establish a program record.

    The 41 straight regular-season league wins is the second-longest streak in BIG EAST history, and trails only the 45 in a row from Oct. 1, 1999 to Nov. 15, 2002 by the Irish.

Creighton’s Most Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins

    Wins    Dates    Snapped By    League

    41    Oct. 7, 2023 – Present    ? ? ?    BIG EAST

    31    Nov. 18, 2017 – Nov. 3, 2019     at Villanova, 3-0    BIG EAST

    28    Oct. 31, 2015 – Sept. 30, 2017    at Marquette, 3-0    BIG EAST

    28    Oct. 17, 2021- Nov. 18, 2022    at #16 Marquette, 3-0      BIG EAST

    14    Sept. 29, 2012 – End of 2012    Never (left MVC)    MVC

Streaking In League Play

Add in conference tournament play and Creighton has won 45 straight matches against BIG EAST teams. In its 45 matches against BIG EAST schools since October 7, 2023, Creighton is 45-0 and has dropped just five sets to league opponents.

    Though impressive, there’s still one team with a longer active streak against league foes (through Oct. 28).

    Wins    Team    Current League

    50    Northern Iowa    Missouri Valley    

    45    Creighton    BIG EAST

    22    Arizona State    Big 12

11 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles

Regular-season champions from 2014-24, Creighton is the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win 11 straight regular-season titles.        The previous record had been seven by Notre Dame from 1999-2005.

    The Bluejay volleyball team is also the first Creighton program in any sport to win more than five straight league titles, more than doubling the previous high of five in a row by the men’s soccer program (1992-96) in the MVC.

    The only other volleyball team nationally with an active streak of more than five straight regular-season league titles is Kentucky, with eight.

Champions Among Champions

Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, and Western Kentucky are the nation’s only schools to have won 12 conference regular-season titles. All but three of Creighton’s 12 crowns were outright titles, whereas WKU has shared five. Texas has won 11 titles in that time.

    Creighton has also won 11 conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.

Most Conference Titles 2012-2024

Regular-Season    League Tournament

12 (3 shared) Creighton    11 Creighton

12 (5) Western Kentucky    10 Western Kentucky

11 (1) Texas    9 Dayton

11 (1) Fairfield    9 Fairfield

9 (8) Florida A&M    

9 (5) Yale

9 (1) Colorado State    

    

Kiara Got Her Block Back

Kiara Reinhardt led the BIG EAST and ranked 10th nationally with 1.48 blocks per set last season, a figure that climbed to 1.58 blocks per set against BIG EAST foes.

    Reinhardt averages 1.35 blocks per set in league play this year, above the next-closest player (MU’s Hattie Bray, 1.27 bps.).

    Reinhardt’s 502 career blocks rank fourth-most in CU history.

Best Starts With A New Coach

Brian Rosen is the first coach since Creighton brought back volleyball in 1994 to win at least 17 of his first 22 matches.

    Rosen is 17-5, just ahead of Howard Wallace (12-10), Kirsten Bernthal Booth (10-12) and Ben Guiliano (5-17).

    Rosen is also the only coach in program history to win his or her first four (or more) conference matches. He’s currently 10-0.

Pink Out Raises $21,496.50

The Creighton Volleyball team hosted its 18th Annual Pink Out match on Oct. 19, using the competition as an opportunity to benefit the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge Nebraska.

    Last year’s Pink Out Jersey auction raised $9,106.23, plus an additional $10,017 on matchday via donations. This year’s auction brought in $10,239.50, as well as $11,257 in donations.

    The winning bidders get the opportunity to honor a friend or family member who has battled cancer or is currently battling cancer. The warm-up shirt to be worn could be personalized by the winning bidder.

    Shortly after the match, the family members of the winning bidders had the opportunity to meet the student-athletes of the jersey they bid on.

    The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Nebraska provides a free home away from home for cancer patients and their caregivers who must travel to Omaha to receive their lifesaving treatment.

    Below is the final numbers for each jersey/item in the auction this year.

#1    $405    #2    $910    #3    $405

#5    $355    #6    $525    #7    $570

#8    $1,167    #9    $350    #10    $365

#11    $405    #12    $200    #13    $365

#17    $395    #18    $345    #19    $710

#22    $455    #24    $800      

Courtside Seats  $237.50    Autographed Balls $435, $840

Sokol Milestone Unlocked

Creighton owns a 203-34 record all-time inside D.J. Sokol Arena, as CU picked up its 200th home win in the facility on Sept. 26.

    Creighton started 50-17 (.746) in the facility, which means it is 153-17 (.900) since then in its on-campus home.

Milestone Wins at D.J. Sokol Arena

    W-L    Opponent    Date

    1-0    Texas Tech (W 3-0)    8/28/09

    50-17    Villanova (W 3-0)    11/24/13

    100-25    DePaul (W 3-0)    11/5/17

    150-31    #25 USC (W 3-1)    9/2/22

    200-34    Xavier (W 3-0)    9/26/25

Home Sweet Home

Creighton is in its 13th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.

    Since then, the Bluejays are 116-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (105-3 in the regular-season, 11-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).

    Since November of 2014, Creighton is 100-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 90-1 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.

    Put another way, since enrolling at Creighton in the fall of 2022, fourth-year Bluejay seniors Ava Martin and Sky McCune are 36-0 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 108-7 in sets.

    Creighton has won 50 straight matches against BIG EAST opposition at home.

    Since the start of the 2023 season, Creighton  has won 72-of-73 sets at home against BIG EAST teams, dropping only the third set on Oct. 1, 2024 to Marquette. The Bluejays have won 40 straight sets at home over BIG EAST competition since then.

League Opener Histories

Creighton’s 3-0 win vs. Xavier on Sept. 26 improved the Jays to 24-8 all-time in conference openers, and 1-0 under Brian Rosen. That includes an 12-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, with 12 straight wins.

    Entering 2025, each of the previous 12 times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 195-13 (entering 2025) in regular-season league action. Creighton also won 11 conference tournament titles during those years, going 22-1 at the league tournament in those seasons.

    In the 23 seasons (entering 2025) that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owned a combined .790 (324-86) winning percentage (entering 2025) in league matches.

    In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Bluejays have had a losing record on five occasions and owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.

    In conference home openers, Creighton is 27-5 overall with 15 straight wins.

    In league road openers, Creighton is 23-9 overall with 12 straight wins after this year’s 3-0 win at Marquette.

    The last team to win a BIG EAST regular-season or tournament title without winning its regular-season opener in conference play was Cincinnati in the fall of 2008, which would seem to limit this year’s league champion hopefuls to Creighton, Marquette, Xavier, Georgetown, DePaul and Villanova. 

Wurtz On A Run

Standing at 6-foot-4, Nora Wurtz isn’t your typical serving specialist, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been a tremendous weapon behind the service line.

    Wurtz recently had a streak of 11 straight matches with an ace, tied for the ffith-longest streak in program history. 

    Wurtz’s streak tied Julianne Mandolfo’s 11 straight matches with an ace in 2010 for the longest ever by a Bluejay freshman.

Consecutive Matches With An Ace

    15    Amanda Cvejdlik, Sept. 29-Nov. 18, 2006

    12    Madelyn Cole – Oct. 27, 2018-Aug. 30, 2019

    12    Madelyn Cole, Sept. 14-Oct. 25, 2019

    12    Ellie Bolton, Aug. 26-Sept. 23, 2023

    11    Kim Whitman, Sept. 5-Oct. 4, 1998

    11    Molly Moran, Oct. 7-Nov. 10, 2000

    11    Julianne Mandolfo, Oct. 2-Nov. 13, 2010

    11    Nora Wurtz, Sept. 5-27, 2025

    9    Melissa Weisensee, Sept. 1-20, 1995

    9    Madelyn Cole, Aug. 31 – Sept. 21, 2018

    9    Norah Sis, Sept. 17-Oct. 14, 2022

Don’t Fret

The combination of losing four All-Americans off a 32-3 team, plus a grueling schedule featuring seven top-25 opponents in its 12 non-conference matches, helped Creighton start “just” 7-5 through 12 matches.

    Each of the two previous times that Creighton has lost at least five of its first 12 matches, the Bluejays rebounded quite nicely.

    In 2016 Creighton ended non-conference play with a 6-6 mark. That squad rebounded to win its next 23 matches and finished 29-7, reaching the Elite Eight for the first time. 

    The year before in 2015 Creighton finished the non-conference slate 5-7. That team won 22 of its next 23 matches, including a 17-1 mark in BIG EAST play, and qualified for the program’s first Sweet 16 berth.

Attendance Update

Creighton ranks ninth nationally in total home attendance (38,323) and ninth in average fans per home match (3,832).

    Creighton has led the BIG EAST in average home attendance in all but one non-COVID year since joining the league.

    Creighton’s 38,323 home fans this fall already rank fourth-most in program history, and there’s still four home matches left on the docket. 

    The 3,832 fans per home match so far put CU on pace to shatter a program record.

Most Home Fans, Season

    Rk.    Fans    Dates    Year

    1.    47,632    17    2018

    2.    44,518    19    2024

    3.    41,805    17    2022

    4.    38,323    10    2025

    5.    30,211    14    2021

Highest Home Attendance Average, Season

    Average Rk.    Fans    Dates    Year

    1.    3,832    38,323    10    2025

    2.    2,802    47,632    17    2018

    3.    2,459    41,805    17    2022

    4.    2,343    44,518    19    2024

    5.    2,161    28,089    13    2023

Overwhelming The Unranked

Creighton is 15-0 this season against unranked teams, and the serve and pass game has been a major reason why.

    In those 15 matches (49 sets), CU has served 134 aces (2.73 saps.) compared to 131 service errors. Its opponents have just 34 aces (0.69 saps.) but made 108 serving miscues.

Fun With Numbers

– Creighton has not trailed by more than five points in any of its last 126 sets played against BIG EAST competition dating to a 17-10 deficit in the second set at Providence on Oct. 21, 2023 (Creighton won that set, 25-21).

– Creighton has won the second set in 44 of its last 45 matches against BIG EAST opponents.

Report Card

Creighton is 198-16 all-time in regular-season BIG EAST matches.

    Here’s a report card of how CU has done in 50 match segments in the BIG EAST, which includes a 159-9 mark in its last 168 matches.

    Matches    W-L    

    1-50    43-7

    51-100    48-2

    101-150    46-4

    151-200    47-3

    201-214    14-0

Watch This!

Nine of Creighton’s 22 matches this fall have aired on television (four on FS1, three on BTN, two on Nebraska Public Media). 

    Creighton has also won 50 straight non-televised matches, since an Oct. 6, 2023 loss at Marquette.

Historically Speaking

Here’s a look at the top indoor volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history after Creighton smashed a record on Sept. 16th at CHI Health Center Omaha.

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

    12,510    Pittsburgh def. Louisville, 3-1    11/27/24    Louisville, KY

    12,504    Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0    11/4/00    Lincoln, NE

    12,277    Wisocnsin 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

Sept. 16th marked the fourth time in eight matches at CHI Health Center Omaha that Creighton broke an all-time NCAA attendance record.

    In 2007 CU played in front of 13,081 in a match against Cal Poly that was part of a doubleheader. In 2018 CU met Nebraska before 14,022 fans. In 2022, CU welcomed 15,797 fans against Nebraska. And on Sept. 16 the crowd was 17,675.

    Below is a list of the largest crowds (and home crowds) in Creighton Volleyball history, which includes four crowds of 10,000 or more this fall.

Creighton’s Largest Home Crowds All-Time

    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    #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.

    2,665    Ole Miss    12/06/24    W 3-0    Sokol

    2,658    #4 Louisville    09/12/25    L 1-3    Sokol

    2,653    Auburn    12/02/22    L 2-3    Sokol

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    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.    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    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.    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.

The Friendly Confines

Creighton had its first unbeaten home season in program history in 2023, going a perfect 13-0 in matches and 39-3 in sets.

    Last year CU did even better, going 19-0 and losing just two sets at home.

    Though its 32-match win streak was snapped on Sept. 12 against No. 4 Louisville, that still means the Bluejays are 40-1 in its last 41 contests at D.J. Sokol Arena.

    All told, Creighton has won 114 of its last 119 home sets at D.J. Sokol Arena.

Creighton’s Longest Home Win Streaks

Wins    Dates    Snapped By

    32    Sept. 1, 2023 – Dec. 6, 2024    #4 Louisville, 3-1

    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

Creighton Introduces New Taraflex Court

Creighton Volleyball introduced a new Taraflex® court at its 2025 regular-season home debut on Sept. 12 against Louisville.

    The court was designed by GLGR out of Portland, Ore., in working with Specialty Floors out of Parkville, Mo., representatives of Taraflex Sports.

    The new court features a royal blue outline with a feather pattern similar to what is on the Creighton men’s basketball court that was unveiled last October at CHI Health Center Omaha. More than 6/10ths of a mile of stencils were used to create the blue feather border that features more than a dozen “Easter eggs” hidden throughout.

    The words Creighton and Bluejays flank the end lines in white lettering. The East sideline features the words D.J. Sokol Arena on one side of the court and a BIG EAST Conference logo on the other, both shaded in light blue. The Northeast side of the court, where the team runs in and out when returning to or from the locker room, features the words “Fly Together”, while Creighton’s popular C-Bird logo adorns the Northwest and Southeast corners of the court

    The West sideline features 14 smaller Bluejay bird outlines, seven on each side of the court. Inside those logo decals are years to designate NCAA Tournament appearances, with different colors used to highlight the program’s previous trips to the first weekend, Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. Room to add future postseason appearances is available, if necessary.

    The middle of the court features a gray outline of a Bluejay bird head. The hue of the two-tone court helps put the focus on the action and will make the players in uniform stand out, in addition to making it easier for officials to discern in/out calls along the sidelines.  The matte finish on the court adds to the sharpness.

    The perimeter of the court features no less than 14 hidden messages within the design, ranging from Heritage logos to honor Creighton’s history, a map of the state of Nebraska, the year Creighton University was founded (1878), the year the Creighton Volleyball program was restarted (1994), and donor acknowledgements.

    The court is a FIVB-certified playing surface and is up to the same high standards that it used in international competitions such as the Olympics. The design process for one of the most unique and complex designed courts in the world began in January, with the full painting process taking a little over a month in application and curing.

The Amazing Ava

Ava Martin had a career-high 24 kills vs. UC Santa Barbara, then added 20 on Sept. 13 vs. Rice in just three sets.

    Martin now owns nine matches with 20+ kills in her career, and she’s done it against some impressive competition.

Ava Martin’s 20-Kill Matches

    Kills    Pct.    Opponent    Date

    24    .286    vs. UC Santa Barbara    09/06/25

    22    .333    #14 Marquette    11/26/22

    22    .396    Northern Iowa    09/03/23

    22    .180    at #9 Minnesota    09/16/23

    21    .230    at Xavier    09/23/23

    20    .400    at DePaul    11/22/24

    20    .405    vs. Duke    08/27/23

    20    .472    Rice    09/13/25

    20    .514    at Marquette    10/02/25

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 11 seasons (2015-25). 

    Creighton is 32-94 all-time against ranked teams, with 30 wins coming under Kirsten Bernthal Booth and two under Brian Rosen.

    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 ninth season that CU owned multiple Top-25 victories. The Jays beat three Top 25 teams in 2017, 2022 and 2023, and a record four in 2018, 2019 and 2024.

Top 25 Sweeps

Creighton owns 32 top 25 victories in its history, but its Sept. 21 sweep of Kansas was just its ninth sweep of a ranked foe.

    Three of those wins have come against Kansas, another three against Kentucky, two vs. Marquette and one at Purdue.

Creighton’s 3-0 Wins vs. Top 25 Teams

Opponent    Date

vs. #10 Kentucky    09/05/15

#13 Kentucky    09/01/17

at #7 Kansas    09/09/17

#21 Marquette    09/23/18

at #3 Kentucky    09/04/21

at #16 Purdue    08/26/23

#25 Marquette    11/05/23

at #10 Kansas    09/21/24

#17 Kansas    09/21/25

Top 25 History

Creighton is 250-53 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 27-33 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, 48 of Creighton’s 82 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 329-34 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 129 home matches over unranked teams and all but 13 of its last 190 matches at all sites against unranked teams.

Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 27-33)

Home: 11-11    Away: 8-13    Neutral: 8-9

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    0-3

08/29/25    #5 Texas    #12 Creighton    0-3

08/31/25    #12 Creighton    #14 Kansas    3-2

09/07/25    #22 USC    #13 Creighton    0-3

09/12/25    #4 Louisville    #18 Creighton    1-3

09/16/25    #1 Nebraska    #18 Creighton    2-3

09/21/25    #18 Creighton    #17 Kansas    3-0

The Defense Never Rests

Creighton has led the country in opponents hitting percentage in two of the last four seasons, doing so in both 2021 (.124) and 2024 (.130).

    Creighton is holding foes to .177 this year, a figure that plummets to .143 in league action.

High FIve

Brian Rosen is Creighton’s first volleyball coach since the program’s 1994 reinstatement to pick up his first victory in a five set match, as Ben Guiliano, Howard Wallace and Kirsten Bernthal Booth’s first wins all came in 3-0 sweeps.

Record in 5-Set Matches

Coach    Years    Set 5 W-L

Ben Guiliano    1994-1996    2-10

Howard Wallace    1997-2002    13-18

Kirsten Bernthal Booth    2003-2024    70-42

Brian Rosen    2025-Pres.    2-1

Twice For Breissinger

Junior defensive specialist Sydney Breissinger helped Creighton erase a 3-0 deficit in the fifth set on Aug. 31 vs. Kansas, serving up a 9-0 run that helped the Bluejays take the lead for good. She also served a 9-0 run in the fourth set vs. San Diego on Sept. 5.

    Breissinger’s heroics were eerily similar to the 9-0 serving run she had in the fifth set on Sept. 16, 2023 in a win over No. 9 Minnesota. That win over the Gophers had been CU’s last previous five-set win.

    Since enrolling at Creighton in 2023, Breissinger owns 45 service runs of five or longer, 16 more than the next-closest Bluejay (Norah Sis, who graduated in 2024). Next-most among her active teammates is the 22 by Ava Martin.

149 Weeks As A Ranked Team

Creighton is ranked 12th in the Oct. 27 edition of the AVCA poll, the 149th time in program history it’s been ranked. That’s 37th-most of all programs in NCAA history.

    All 149 rankings have occurred since 2012.

    The Bluejays are one of 11 schools (along with Baylor, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin) to have been ranked each of the last 72 polls.

    Creighton’s 72 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. 

Preseason Ranking

Creighton was ranked 12th in the AVCA preseason poll on Aug. 7th. It was the 11th time in the past 13 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason, and fourth year in a row.

    The No. 12 slotting tied last year’s team for the second-best preseason ranking in program history, trailing only the 2017 team that was ranked ninth.

    Over the previous 17 seasons, 315-of-425 teams (74.1 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and in the 17 seasons from 2008-2024, 385-of-425 teams (90.6 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament, as all but preseason No. 19 Arkansas and No. 25 Georgia reached the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

    This year marks the 14th straight season that CU has been ranked at least one week, extending a program record.

    Year    Preseason Rank    Final W-L    Final Rank

    2013    25th    23-9    NR

    2014    23rd    25-9    NR

    2016    18th    27-9    9th

    2017    9th    26-7    16th

    2018    13th    29-5    13th

    2019    18th    25-6    16th

    2020    16th    12-4    NR

    2022    18th    27-5    21st

    2023    18th    29-5    15th

    2024    12th    32-3    5th

    2025    12th    TBD    TBD

Production Returns

Creighton returns 11-of-19 letterwinners to the court from last season, including three starters.

    From last year’s team, Norah Sis, Elise Goetzinger, Kendra Wait, Abbey Milner, Maddy Bilinovic, Audrey Clark, Katie Maser and Emma Ziegler are not back.

    All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 294.5 of a possible 700% back (42.1 percent), the smallest amount returning since it headed into Howard Wallace’s final season in 2002.

    Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:

Stat    Returners    Departures

Assists    119 (7.6%)    1,450 (92.4%)

Aces    115 (51.3%)    109 (48.7%)

Digs    598 (35.7%)    1,076 (64.3%)

Points    1,115.5 (50.2%)    1,107.0 (49.8%)

Kills    843 (50.1%)    841 (49.9%)

Matches Started    104 (49.5%)    106 (50.5%)

Blocks    157.5 (50.1%)    157.0 (49.9%)

One Tough Schedule

Of Creighton’s 12 non-conference matches, seven were against ranked teams and three others against programs that received votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll.

    Creighton is the only team in the preseason Top 25 with 10 or more non-conference matches against teams getting votes, as Texas and TCU are next-closest with eight each.

No Losers Here

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

    Creighton and Pittsburgh are the nation’s only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons. 

    If you go back two years more, the nation’s only teams to lose six times or less in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons are also Creighton and Pittsburgh.

    Creighton is also the only school nationally who have won 25 matches or more in every season between 2014-24 (not counting the 2020 COVID-19 year, when CU only played 16 times).

13 Straight NCAA’s

Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 13 seasons. They are the first women’s team in any sport at Creighton to make 13 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

    The only other sport in Creighton history to make even 10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men’s soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.

     Creighton is one of seven teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last 13 NCAA Tournaments (2012-24). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas.

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

Tournament Tested

Creighton has played multiple matches in 29  tournaments since the start of the 2021 calendar year, and won 19 of them. 

    Keep in mind that when Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton had been 17-33 in 15 regular-season tournaments all-time, with just one tournament title (the 2000 Iowa State Heritage Classic).

CU’s Multi-Match Tournaments Since Jan. 1, 2021

Year    Event    CU Record (Place)

2021    BIG EAST Tournament    2-0 (1st)

2021    Mizzou Invitational    3-0 (1st)

2021    Bluegrass Battle    3-0 (1st)

2021    Bluejay Invitational    3-0 (1st)

2021    Shocker Volleyball Classic    3-0 (1st)

2021    BIG EAST Tournament    2-0 (1st)

2021    NCAA Tournament    1-1 (T-17th)

2022    Rumble in the Rockies    3-0 (1st)

2022    Bluejay Invitational    2-1 (2nd)

2022    Omaha Invitational    2-0 (1st)

2022    Rice adidas Invitational    1-1 (2nd)

2022    BIG EAST Tournament    2-0 (1st)

2023    Reamer Club Xtra Special Premier    2-1 (1st)

2023    Bluejay Invitational    3-0 (1st)

2023    MN Hospitality Omaha Challenge    2-0 (1st)

2023    Diet Coke Challenge    2-0 (1st)

2023    BIG EAST Tournament    2-0 (1st)

2023    NCAA Tournament    2-1 (T-9th)

2024    Bluejay Invitational    3-0 (1st)

2024    Creighton Classic    2-0 (1st)

2024    Cardinal Classic    2-1 (2nd)

2024    Jayhawk Classic    2-0 (1st)

2024    BIG EAST Tournament    2-0 (1st)

2024    NCAA Tournament    3-1 (T-5th)

2025    Opening Spike Classic    1-1 (T-2nd)

2025    Trojan Invitational    2-1 (2nd)

2025    Bluejay Invitational    2-1 (2nd)

2025    Creighton Classic    2-0 (1st)

Jays Earn Tourney Titles

Creighton has won at least one tournament each of the last 14 seasons, a streak that dates to 2012.

     During that span, the Bluejays have won 36 tournament titles, not to mention 12 regular-season league crowns.

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

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    4    CU, CU, KU, BIG EAST

2025    1    CU

2-0 Better Than 0-2

Creighton is 434-11 (.975) all-time when leading a match 2-0, and 157-1 (.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 121 matches in a row when taking a 2-0 lead.

    Conversely, the Jays are 17-211 (.075) 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 177-6 in its last 183 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to a 18-26 record in that same span when dropping the opener.

    Creighton has gone 209-4 (.981) in its last 213matches 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 175-6 in its last 181 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) and No. 4 Louisville (Sept. 12, 2025). 

    The Jays have won their last 39 of their last 40 home matches following a first set victory.

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers

This year’s team will play 10 matches against teams that made the 2024 NCAA Tournament with contests against Marquette (2x), Nebraska, Kansas (2x), Louisville, Northern Iowa, USC, Texas and Penn State.

Year    W-L vs. Previous Season NCAA Teams

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    4-5 so far

TOTAL    120-150

TOTAL Before Booth    3-35

TOTAL Under Booth    113-110

TOTAL Under Rosen    4-5



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No. 1 seed Kentucky volleyball advances to National Championship after beating No. 3 seed Wisconsin in 5-set thriller – Kentucky Kernel

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No. 1 seed Kentucky volleyball (30-2, 15-0 SEC) advances to the 2025 National Championship with a 3-2 win over No. 3 seed Wisconsin (28-5, 17-3 Big Ten) in the Final Four.

This will be Kentucky’s second National Championship appearance in program history, with the first coming in the 2020-21 season when Kentucky took home the title.

Kentucky Wildcats outside hitter Eva Hudson celebrates after scoring a point during the Final Four volleyball match against Wisconsin on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. Photo by Will Luckett | Photo Manager

Wisconsin dominated the first set from start to finish, taking a 1-0 match lead with a 25-12 win in set one. Kentucky used a 6-0 run late in set two to pull ahead and even the match with a 25-22 set two victory. The Badgers attack simply overpowered Kentucky again in set three, allowing Wisconsin to win the set 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead in the match. Kentucky fended off a late comeback attempt by Wisconsin in set four, taking the set 26-24 to even the match at 2-2 and force set five. Kentucky got out to a 8-2 lead early in set five before taking the set 15-13, winning the match.

AVCA All-American First Team member Mimi Colyer was the driving force behind a Badger attack that kept the pressure on all night. She led the match with 32 kills and had a .348% hitting percentage.

Behind Colyer, Wisconsin totaled 77 kills and hit .375% in the match.

The Wildcats powerful outside hitter duo of Eva Hudson and Brooklyn DeLeye were the engine of Kentucky’s attack. Hudson had a team leading 29  kills for a new season high and hit .455%. DeLeye added 15 kills of her own and led the team in blocks with five and digs with 14.

The Wildcats totaled 65 kills with a .254% hitting percentage.

Set One

Wisconsin began the match with a 3-0 run, with back-to-back kills from Colyer.

The Badgers extended this lead to 8-2 with a 3-0 run, this forced Kentucky to take its first timeout early in the first set.

Wisconsin had seven kills with a perfect 1.000% hitting percentage at this point, the Badgers were overwhelming the Cats defense early.

The Badgers perfect hitting continued through 10 attempts, pushing Wisconsin ahead 15-6. This forced Kentucky to take its second timeout of the set.

The Wildcats defense has been a strength this season, but Wisconsin’s attack tore it up in the first half of set one.

Wisconsin continued to extend its lead following UK’s timeout, pulling ahead 21-9 with a 5-1 run.

The Badgers dominated set one, taking a 1-0 lead with a 25-12 set win.

Wisconsin recorded 15 kills in the first set with a .682% hitting percentage, the Badgers made zero attack errors.

Kentucky recorded just nine kills with a .056% hitting percentage, thanks largely to seven attack errors.

Wisconsin’s Colyer and Carter Booth both recorded seven kills in set one.

The Wildcats seemed to lack any answers for Wisconsin’s attack in the set, and couldn’t get their own going.

Set Two

Kentucky pulled out to a 3-1 in the second set, thanks to a kill and block assist from DeLeye.

This lead was extended to 6-3 after a 3-1 run by Kentucky.

Wisconsin mounted 6-2 run to take a 10-9 lead.

Wisconsin took a 15-14 lead into the media timeout after the set was tied at 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 13-13 and 14-14.

a 3-0 Wildcat run allowed Kentucky to pull ahead 21-20, forcing Wisconsin to take its second timeout of the set.

Kentucky continued its run through the timeout, with another 3-0 run to force set point at 24-20.

Wisconsin stayed alive with a 2-0 run that shortened Kentucky’s lead to two points. Kentucky called its first timeout of the set as a result.

Hudson recorded her sixth kill of the set after the timeout, allowing Kentucky to win set two 25-22 and even the match at 1-1.

The Badgers attack cooled off in the second set, while Kentucky’s began to find its rhythm.

Wisconsin had 14 kills in set two with a hitting percentage of .229%. The Badgers had six attack errors after having none in the first set. The Badgers also recorded six service errors.

Kentucky had 13 kills with a .258% hitting percentage.

Hudson not only led UK in kills in the set, she also recorded two blocks and four digs.

Booth had five kills in the set, bringing her total to 12 kills at a .786% hitting percentage through two sets.

Set Three

Colyer recorded four straight kills as Wisconsin got out to a 4-2 lead in set two.

Another 4-2 run by the Badgers gave them a 8-5 lead, with Colyer accounting for five of those points.

An injury forced Wisconsin to call its first timeout of the set with an early lead.

Wisconsin mounted a 4-1 run after its timeout to pull ahead 12-7, this forced Kentucky’s first timeout of the set.

The Wildcats mounted a 4-1 run that shortened the Badgers lead to 15-13.

A 3-0 run by Kentucky allowed the Wildcats to pull within one, Wisconsin called its second timeout of the set with a 21-20 lead.

Wisconsin forced set point at 24-21, leading to the Wildcats second timeout of the set.

The Badgers won the first rally out of the timeout to win set three 25-21, taking a 2-1 match lead.

Colyer had 12 kills in set three, leading the Badgers oppressive attack. Wisconsin had 21 kills total and hit .386% in the set.

The Wildcats had their best attacking set of the match with 16 kills and a .326% hitting percentage, but they were unable to keep up with Wisconsin.

DeLeye and Hudson each had five kills in the set.

Kassie O’Brien assisted on 15 of the Cats 16 kills in the set, nearly doubling her match total.

Set Four

Kentucky got out to a 3-1 lead in set four, Wisconsin responded with a 4-1 run that put the Badgers ahead 6-4.

The Wildcats mounted a 3-0 run, taking a 7-6 lead with a service ace from Molly Tuozzo.

Wisconsin responded with a 3-0 run of its own to pull ahead 9-7.

Kentucky went into the media timeout on a 5-1 run, allowing the Cats to hold a 15-13 lead. Hudson was responsible for 3 of these points, with two kills and a service ace.

A 3-1 Wildcat run allowed Kentucky to extend its lead to 19-16.

Wisconsin took a timeout after Kentucky pulled ahead 20-17.

The Badgers pulled within one point twice but called another timeout when UK pulled ahead 23-21.

The Wildcats forced set point at 24-21, but the Badgers pulled back to within one and forced a Kentucky timeout.

Wisconsin evened the set at 24-24, but Kentucky scored on two consecutive rallies to win the set 26-24. This evened the match at 2-2, forcing a shortened fifth set.

Set Five

A service ace by Trinity Ward gave UK a 2-1 lead in set five, a solo block by Lizzie Carr brought the lead to 3-1. Hudson’s kill turned this into a 4-0 run that forced a Wisconsin timeout.

The Wildcats continued through the timeout, an error by Wisconsin and kill from DeLeye put UK ahead 6-1.

O’Brien recorded a kill then assisted Hudson to put Kentucky ahead 8-2 at the side switch.

Wisconsin came out of the side switch with a 4-1 run to shrink UK’s lead to 9-6.

DeLeye’s third kill of the set put Kentucky ahead 11-7, forcing Wisconsin to call a timeout.

Wisconsin mounted a 2-0 run out of the timeout, coming within two points.

A kill by Hudson forced match point at 14-11, but Wisconsin responded with a 2-0 run to cut the Wildcats lead to 14-13. This forced a timeout from Kentucky.

Kentucky came out of the timeout and forced a block error to win the match with a 15-13 victory in set five.

The Wildcats will take on No. 3 seed Texas A&M in the 2025 National Championship at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 5 p.m. ET.

It will be the first time in NCAA history that two SEC teams will face off in the National Championship. The Wildcats are the only team to win the National Championship as a member of the SEC.

The Wildcats went on the road to defeat Texas A&M in four sets on Oct. 8, 2025, en route to Kentucky’s undefeated SEC run and ninth consecutive SEC regular season title.



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Jackson, Reilly Take Home AVCA Positional Awards – University of Nebraska

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Nebraska volleyball’s Andi Jackson and Bergen Reilly received top positional awards at the AVCA Awards Banquet at the Kansas City Convention Center on Friday. 

Jackson was named the Middle Blocker of the Year, while Reilly was named the Setter of the Year. The AVCA positional awards are new this season.

Pitt junior Olivia Babock was named the AVCA Player of the Year for the second straight season, as well as Opposite of the Year. Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer took home Outside Hitter of the Year, and Iowa State libero Rachel Van Gorp was Libero of the Year. 

Reilly set the Huskers to a school-record .351 hitting percentage, as the Big Red concluded their season with a 33-1 overall record and 20-0 mark in Big Ten play en route to a third straight conference title. Reilly averaged 10.47 assists per set and 2.70 digs per set. She also totaled 73 kills, 67 blocks and 19 aces. 

Reilly was named a first-team AVCA All-American, Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Setter of the Year, AVCA Region Player of the Year and All-Big Ten First Team. NU’s .351 hitting percentage ranks first nationally and is the best hitting percentage by a Big Ten team since 2009 Penn State.

A junior from Sioux Falls, S.D., Reilly set Nebraska to a .400 or better hitting percentage nine times this season, a school record in the rally-scoring era. Reilly had double-doubles in all six of the Husker matches that went longer than three sets, and she had four double-doubles in sweeps.

A three-time AVCA All-American and one of four finalists for AVCA Player of the Year, Reilly ranks No. 3 in school history in career assists in the rally-scoring era with 3,723. Her career assists per set average of 10.70 ranks No. 4 among active Division I players and No. 2 in school history in the rally-scoring era.

Jackson was chosen to the AVCA All-America First Team for the second straight year, as well as the All-Big Ten First Team. She was also an AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist and AVCA All-Region Team for the third straight year. 

The junior middle blocker from Brighton, Colo., averaged 2.74 kills per set on .467 hitting with 1.12 blocks per set and 16 aces. Her .467 hitting percentage led the nation and was the No. 3 hitting percentage in school history for a single season. 

In conference-only matches, Jackson hit .559 to break the Big Ten record for hitting percentage in conference-only matches in a season, which was .541 by Arielle Wilson from Penn State in 2008. Jackson ended her junior season with a career hitting percentage of .437, which is the No. 1 mark in school history and the No. 1 mark among active Division I players. 



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YSU Collegiate Invitational Presented by Southwoods Health Meet Information

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2026 Youngstown State University Indoor Track & Field 14th Annual Collegiate Invitational Meet Presented by Southwoods Health will start at 1 pm | Friday, Jan. 16

Entry Registration Opens up on Direct Athletics :

Friday, December 19 at 5pm

Time Schedule of Events

Running Events start at 1pm

All Field Events start at 1pm

Running Events — Rolling Schedule Women first, Men to Follow

1pm Women 5000M 

Men’s 60M Hurdles Qualifying Round

Women’s 60M Hurdles  Qualifying Round

Women’s 60M Dash  Qualifying Round

Men’s 60M Dash  Qualifying Round

Men’s 5000M

Men’s 60M Hurdles PRELIMS

Women’s 60M Hurdles PRELIMS

Women’s 60M Dash PRELIMS

Men’s 60M Dash PRELIMS

Women’s Mile Run 

Men’s Mile Run

Women’s 400M

Men’s 400M

Women’s 60M Hurdles FINALS

Men’s 60M Hurdles FINALS

Women’s 60M Dash FINALS

Men’s 60M Dash FINALS

Women’s 500M Dash FINALS

Men’s 500M Dash FINALS

Women’s 800m

Men’s 800m

Women’s 200M Dash

Men’s 200M Dash

Women’s 3000M Run 

Men’s 3000M Run

Women’s 1600M Relay

Men’s 1600M Relay

Field Events Start at 12noon

Seeded Women’s Pole Vault

Seeded Men’s Pole Vault

Unseeded Women’s Pole Vault

Unseeded Men’s Pole Vault

Women’s High Jump–Men’s High Jump to follow

Women’s Weight Throw–Men’s Weight Throw to follow

Men’s Shot Put–Women’s Shot Put to follow

Men (West Pit) and Women (East Pit)

Long Jump–Triple Jump follow 20 minutes upon completion of Long Jump

**Finals in field events will consist of the top Nine marks from the qualifying rounds.**

Meet : Open NCAA sanctioned Indoor Track & Field Competition.

Timing: Fully automatic FinishLynx system

Location: The Watson and Tressel Training Site (WATTS) on the YSU campus. The WATTS features a full-length Shaw Sportexe Power Blade HP+ synthetic turf system football field, a 300-meter state-of-the-art mondo track surface, two long-jump pits, a high-jump pit, four batting cages, protective netting, training room and locker rooms.

GPS address: 651 Elm St. | Youngstown, OH 44555

Entries: Entries are due by Tuesday, January 13 by 7pm on Direct Athletics, consisting of event entries with best marks from the previous year or realistic projected marks. All entries will be done on-line at www.directathletics.com.

Please visit the Direct Athletics website at your earliest convenience in order to familiarize yourself with how the entry process works.

Also, please limit FIVE athletes per event. If you have an event with more than five quality athletes, please text Brian Gorby at (330) 519-7591 and we’ll help to get more entry’s added, if needed.

We always try to help accommodate additional team /individual additional Entry’s.

**Note: Please check YSUsports.com after the entry deadline for changes or adjustments to the meet time schedule!

Internet Entry Lists: Final entry lists will be posted on our website, YSUsports.com on Thursday, January 15. Please check to make sure your athletes are entered correctly. If there are mistakes or scratches, please email bdgorby@ysu.edu & ysutrackmeets@gmail.com .

Entry Fees: $ 500 per each team, men &  women genders are separate, consisting of 10 or more individuals in unlimited events are paid online, when you complete Entry’s on Direct Athletics or $ 25 per individual event entry & paid online at Direct Athletics.

ENTRY FEES

$ 25 per ENTRY (i.e. 2 events entered would be $ 50 )  Entry fees must be paid in advance online when you enter on DirectAthletics (all major credit and debit cards accepted).

Relay only Entry’s $ 7 per runner for a total of $ 28 per relay team. 

REFUND POLICY

Outside of meet cancellation, there is a strict NO REFUND policy on entry fees.

Absolutely no refunds will be processed due to scratches, change of plans, inability to travel, illness, injuries, etc.

Spikes: ONLY 1/4 inch or shorter pyramid spikes will be allowed and all spikes will be checked prior to events. NO pin or needle spikes, spike elements, or any other type of spike will be allowed.

High Jump: All high jump competitions will be conducted on the Mondo surface.

Sections/Heats/Flights: Flights will be seeded by distance with best marks in the latest sections/flights.

Finals in field events will consist of the top nine marks from the qualifying rounds.

There will be prelims and finals in the 60 and 60h. All other races will be run as sections against time with the fastest heats being run first.

Implement Weigh-In: 30 minutes prior to event at the Throws area.



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Texas A&M volleyball advances to national championship with sweep of Pitt

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KBTX) – Texas A&M head coach Jamie Morrison and his squad have fought through the postseason for the ability to practice together one more time, he said.

This edition of Aggies will get the maximum number of practices a team can hold.

Thursday, third-seeded A&M swept No. 1 seed Pitt (29-27, 25-21, 25-20) to punch its first-ever ticket to the NCAA Tournament national title game inside Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center.

The Aggies will face Southeastern Conference-mate Kentucky Sunday at 2:30 p.m. for a shot to hoist a national championship trophy.

“This is crazy,” middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla said. “This is an absolute crazy experience. We have had faith in ourselves all year, from the first game of the season. We knew that we were capable of this, but now living it, like, ‘Wow.’ This is insane. It’s really cool.”

Outside hitter Kyndal Stowers paced the Aggies with 16 kills, followed by Logan Lednicky’s 14. Pitt’s Olivia Babcock was the match’s leading attacker with 22 kills.

A&M dominated the service line through the match, which included six service aces.

The Aggies went hit-for-hit with Pitt through an opening set that saw 17 ties and eight lead changes. Pitt weathered four Aggie set points, and had two of their own, before A&M finally put Set 1 away with a kill from Stowers.

Pitt put together an 8-0 run through the middle of the second set to take a 15-11 lead, but the Aggies immediately countered with their own 9-2 run to pull the match back in their favor. A 4-0 run ultimately put the set on ice, giving the Aggies a 2-0 lead.

A&M has built upon the experiences of the season and this set is was no different. In the Aggies’ Elite Eight win over Nebraska, the Cornhuskers put together an 8-1 run through the middle of the marathon fourth set that the Aggies ultimately dropped. Thursday, they cut off the skid before it cost them a set.

“We were like, ‘Hey, we’re not doing that again,’” Stowers said. “’They’re going on a run right now. We’re going to recognize that, props to them for what they’re doing, but we are going to go respond and we’re not going to let that keep happening.”

A&M closed out the third set on a 5-1 run to claim the match.

The Aggies hit .382 to Pitt’s .344 in the match.

“I’m proud of our team just because we talk a lot about staying present and enjoying moments and I thought, in all of those moments, we enjoyed every single second of it,” Morrison said. “Every single time we were pushed, we talked a lot about responses, and we had a response and that’s all you can ask for in these moments.”

The Aggies will be out for revenge Sunday, as Kentucky is the only squad that downed the Aggies in SEC play this season in a 3-1 Wildcat win in Reed Arena. It will be the first time in the history of the tournament two SEC teams will face each other in the championship game.

“Y’all keep hearing, ‘Why not us?’” Lednicky said. “Like, literally, ‘Why not us?’ I think we are considered the underdog in a lot of moments, just because we haven’t been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces so, ‘Why not us?’”

KBTX reporter Dylan Chryst Watkiss contributed to this report from Kansas City, Mo.



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Two Rams Named to the CSC Academic All-District Team

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The 2025-26 Academic All-District® Women’s Volleyball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
The CSC Academic All-District® teams include the student-athletes listed at the links above.

Academic All-District® honorees were considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot.

For WSSU, Aria Caldwell and Zoe Chesson were named to the team.

Student-athletes selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists are denoted with an asterisk and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced Jan. 13, 2026.

The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.



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Olivia Babcock Named Back-To-Back AVCA National Player of the Year

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KANSAS CITY – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) named Olivia Babcock the 2025 AVCA National Player of the Year on Friday. Babcock becomes just the fifth player in the award’s history to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons. Additionally, she was honored as the inaugural AVCA Rightside Hitter of the Year, an award introduced this season.

Babcock once again swept the sport’s top individual accolades in 2025, earning AVCA National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year and AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year honors. She is the only player in Pitt history to be named a three-time AVCA First Team All-American and was recently selected as the Pittsburgh Regional Most Outstanding Player after leading the Panthers to their fifth consecutive National Semifinal.

Earlier this season, Babcock set the program’s single-match kills record with 45 against North Carolina. She is the only player in NCAA volleyball this year to reach that mark and the first since Cincinnati’s Jordan Thompson recorded 50 kills against UConn on Nov. 3, 2019.

Anchoring the Pitt offense, Babcock averaged personal-best marks of 5.17 kills per set and 2.09 digs per set. She earned AVCA National Player of the Week honors earlier this season and was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week five times during the 2025 campaign.



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