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#13 Volleyball Visits Providence & UConn This Weekend

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Match #21: #13 Creighton at Providence  • Providence, R.I. • Friday, Oct. 24 • 4:00 p.m. CT

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

Match #22:  #13  Creighton at Connecticut • Storrs, Conn. • Saturday, Oct. 25 • 3:00 p.m.  CT

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

Next Up

No. 13 Creighton Volleyball starts the second half of conference play with a return to the East Coast for a pair of matches.

    Creighton (15-5, 8-0 BIG EAST) visits Providence (10-11, 1-7 BIG EAST) on Friday at 4 p.m. Central inside Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I.

    On Saturday the Bluejays take on Connecticut (15-5, 4-4 BIG EAST) at 3 p.m. Central at UConn Volleyball Center in Storrrs, Conn.

Broadcast Information

Both of Creighton’s matches this weekend will air on ESPN+. A subscription is required to view the matches on http://watchESPN.com.

Live Stats Information

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

Scouting #13 Creighton

Creighton is 15-5 this season and 8-0 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 13-0 against unranked foes.

    Creighton has won 12 of its last 13 matches, with a five-set loss to No. 1 Nebraska the only setback in that time, to climb to No. 13 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll.

    Ava Martin (4.09 kps., 0.42 saps., .294%) was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, while fellow senior Kiara Reinhardt (2.52 kps., .452%, 1.16 bps.) is also playing at an All-American level.

    Annalea Maeder (10.32 aps.) has taken the reigns as CU setter, while Saige Damrow (3.24 dps.) and Sydney Breissinger (2.52 dps.) have both seen time at libero.

     CU averages 13.68 kills, 2.13 aces, 13.74 digs and 2.38 blocks per set while hitting .262.

Scouting Providence

Providence is 10-11 this season and 1-7 in BIG EAST action.

    Sophia Adkins (3.68 kps.) is the top offensive option and Lyric Berry (1.33 bps.) leads the BIG EAST in blocks per set.

    Miller McDonald (5.18 aps., 0.39 saps.) and Audrey Kocon (4.39 aps., 0.52 saps.) share setting duties and have combined for 66 aces against just 25 service errors.

    The Friars average 12.51 kills, 2.01 aces, 14.83 digs and 2.53 blocks per set on .204 hitting.

Scouting Providence

Creighton is 17-0 all-time against Providence, winning 51-of-52 sets in a series that began in 2014. Twenty-five of those set victories have been by 10 or more points.

    CU has also won its last 32 sets against the Friars.

    Five of the last seven meetings have taken place in Rhode Island.

    Brian Rosen has never faced Providence nor Friars coach Margot Royer-Johnson. Royer-Johnson is 0-17 against Creighton all-time.

Scouting Connecticut

Connecticut is 15-5 overall and 4-4 in BIG EAST play after suffering its first home defeat of the season last Saturday against Villanova.

    Emma Werkmeister leads the offense with 3.73 kills per set and paces the BIG EAST with 0.62 aces per set.

    McKenna Brand (3.69 dps.) leads the way in digs and Doga Kutlu (9.39 aps., 2.58 dps.) sets an offense that hits .268.

    The Huskies average 13.23 kills, 12.70 digs, 2.09 blocks and 2.27 aces per set.

Series History vs.Connecticut

Creighton is 5-2 all-time against Connecticut, with three of those meetings going five sets.

    Creighton has swept each of the past three meetings and 12 straight sets overall against the Huskies.

    Brian Rosen has never faced Connecticut, nor Ellen Herman-Kimball. Herman-Kimball is 1-5 against Creighton.

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 15-5 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 at Providence, Creighton would…

– Extend a program record by winning its 40th consecutive regular-season conference match, and 44th in a row against BIG EAST teams.

– Win its 58th straight match against an unranked team.

– Win its 49th straight non-televised match.

– Creighton would improve to 18-0 all-time against Providence.

– Creighton would improve to 197-16 all-time in regular-season BIG EAST matches.

– Creighton would improve to 218-18 against BIG EAST opponents since joining the league in 2013.

– Extend its season-high win streak to 11, and its October win streak to 22.

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 four aces shy of 100 and 11 digs short of 700.

Annalea Maeder owns 985 career digs and is 15 shy of 1,000 in her career.

Annalea Maeder is two aces short of 150 in her career. She’s also 29 assists away from 3,500.

Kiara Reinhardt is one block short of 500 in her career.

Ava Martin owns 1,391 career kills, just nine away from 1,400. Martin is 37 kills shy of passing Taryn Kloth (1,427) for fifth in CU history.

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 1.56 blocks per set and a .504 hitting percentage. Annalea Maeder is tops with 11.12 assists per set, Sydney Breissinger heads the league with 0.76 aces per set and Ava Martin is first with 4.24 kills per set.

    As a team, Creighton is first in hitting percentage (.344), opponent hitting percentage (.129), assists per set (13.56), kills per set (14.88), blocks per set (2.68) and aces per set (2.88).

The .500 Club

Senior Kiara Reinhardt is hitting .452 this fall, a figure that ranks fifth in the nation, and she’s hit .500 or better in 10-of-20 matches this fall.

    Not only has she hit a robust .369 against Top 25 foes, but she’s hitting an insane .508 (115-22-183) with 1.28 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 .452 hitting percentage ranks fifth-best nationally, and is on pace to shatter the Creighton single-season record in that category should she get to 200 kills (she has 174).

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

        Name, School    K    E    Att.    Pct.

    1.    Haley Yount, Jacksonville    132    17    239    .481

    2.    Julieta Sandez, UIC    149    23    271    .465

    3.    Lucia Scalamandre, Princeton    165    30    293    .461

    4.    KJ Burgess, Oklahoma    131    21    240    .458

    5.    Kiara Reinhardt, Creighton    174    36    305    .452

    6.    Layanna Green, UCSB    165    32    296    .449

    7.    Lizzy Andrew, Stanford    168    27    317    .445

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    704    211    1,522    .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 1,391 career kills, good for seventh in program history. after passing JoDe Cieloha (1,375) and Jessica Houts (1,385) last weekend.

    She’s also not far off the top five, as Taryn Kloth (1,427) and Kelly Goc (1,414) are 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.    Kelly Goc    394    1,414    2004-07

    7.    Ava Martin    408    1,391    2022-Pr.

    8.    Jessica Houts    451    1,385    2005-09

    9.    JoDe Cieloha    398    1,375    1994-97

    10.    Leah McNary    458    1,257    2011-14

Getting Better and Better

It’s scary to see the numbers for Creighton’s first 10 matches compared to its last 10 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 10 Matches

When    W-L    KPS    HIT%    SAPS    DPS    BPS

First 10    5-5    12.84    .215    1.63    14.26    2.17

Last 10    10-0    14.71    .324    2.74    13.10    2.65

All They Do Is Win

Creighton has won 10 straight matches, its 13th double-digit win streak in program history and one of the nation’s longest active win streaks.

NCAA’s Longest Active Winning Streaks

    Wins    School    Next Match

    18    Nebraska    10/24, Northwestern

    16    Texas    10/24 at Ole Miss

    12    East Tennessee State    10/23 at Chatanooga

    11    Kentucky    10/24 at Mississippi State

    11    Northern Iowa    10/24, Illinois State

    10    Creighton    10/24 vs. Providence

    10    Arizona State    10/25 at Arizona

    10    Fairfield    10/24 at Quinnipiac

    10    LIU    10/29, New Haven

    

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

    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

    10    Sept. 19, 2025 – Present    TBD

    8    Oct. 25-Nov. 22, 2008    vs. Northern Iowa, 3-2

    8    Sept. 10-25, 2021    at St. John’s, 3-1

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 32 straight set wins over Friday’s foe, Providence.

Most Consecutive Set Wins Over One Team

    Wins    Opponent    Dates

    59    Seton Hall    2015-Present

    32    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

Easy PC

Creighton has won 17 straight matches against Providence, its seventh-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

    17    Providence    2014-Present

    16    Indiana State    2005-Present

So Far, So Good

Creighton is 17-0 all-time against Providence, its second-most meetings against any foe without a loss. Here’s those leaders since CU resumed volleyball in 1994:

Most Meetings Without a Creighton Loss

    W-L    Opponent    Sets Lost by CU

    23    Georgetown    7

    17    Providence    1

    5    Omaha    2

    5    Tulsa    2

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

2. Texas

3. Pittsburgh

4. Kentucky

5. SMU

6. Louisville

7. Arizona State

8. Purdue

9. TCU

10. Creighton

11. Stanford

12. Wisconsin

13. Texas A&M

14. Indiana

15. Penn State

16. Minnesota

Streakin’

Ava Martin owns 10 or more kills in each of Creighton’s last 14 matches, tied for the seventh-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

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

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

    14    Ava Martin, Sept. 12, 2025 – Present

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

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

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 being the Sept. 21 win over No. 17 Kansas, and hasn’t relinquished it in nine matches since. That means Creighton is 28-2 in sets and outscored teams 743-539 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 1,031-738.

    Add it all up and Creighton is 21-2 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 66-of-72 sets when she’s donned the alternate jersey and outscored foes 1,754-1,277 in points.

    

Top 50 Wins

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

Most Volleyball Top 50 wins in 2025

    Top 50 W’s    School

    11    Nebraska

    10    Texas

    9    Creighton, Purdue

    8     Pittsburgh, SMU, TCU

Maeder Repeats as Setter of the Week

Senior Annalea Maeder has been named BIG EAST Setter of the Week for the second straight week and fourth time this season.

    Maeder averaged 11.67 assists, 2.17 digs, 1.33 kills and 0.67 blocks per set as Creighton swept St. John’s and Seton Hall and hit a league-best .316 last week.

    The Ried, Switzerland native had 31 assists, seven digs, six kills and two blocks against the Red Storm, then owned 39 assists, two aces, two blocks and two kills in a romp over Seton Hall.

    Maeder’s 11.67 assists per set led the BIG EAST last week and helped improve her league-leading 10.30 assists per set average, which ranks 22nd nationally.

    Maeder was also honored on Sept. 15, Sept. 29 and Oct. 13 before this week’s recognition. 

300+ Matches as a Ranked Team

Creighton is 248-53 all-time as a ranked team, as last Friday’s win over St. John’s was its 300th such match.

    When playing as a ranked team, Creighton is 120-15 all-time at home, 84-25 on the road and 44-13 in neutral-site matches.

    Here’s how Creighton has done in some of its milestone matches while ranked:

    W-L    CU Rank    Opponent    Result    Date

    1-0    25    Indiana State    W 3-0    11.09/12

    38-12    9    vs. Belmont    W 3-0    09/08/17

    79-21    9    at St. John’s    W 3-0    11/02/18

    120-30    23    at Butler    W 3-0    03/13/21

    162-38    18    at Villanova    W 3-0    10/21/22

    205-45    11    #20 USC    W 3-1    09/05/24

    247-53    13    St. John’s    W 3-0    10/17/25

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    8-0    14.88    .344    2.88    12.72    2.68

#won league’s regular-season title

Best League Starts

Creighton has started 8-0 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

    8    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 has reached the midpoint of league play with an 8-0 record. 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    —    TBD

Total    194-89    186-89    —

Reinhardt & Martin Pass Century Mark

Kiara Reinhardt is 111-22 (.835) all-time in matches that she’s appeared in, which means she’s tied for third in CU history in wins and fifth in winning percentage.

    Ava Martin is 102-18 (.850) all-time when appearing in a match, making her 12th in wins and fourth in win percentage.

Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player

    119    Kendra Wait    2021-24

    116    Naomi Hickman    2017-21

    111    Jaali Winters    2015-18

    111    Kiara Reinhardt    2020-Pres.

    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

    102    Melanie Jereb    2012-15

    102    Ava Martin    2022-Pres.

    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

    102-18    .850    Aav Martin    2022-Pres.

    111-22    .835    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

    104-31    2012-15

    104-34    2013-16

    103-18    2022-Pres.

    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 whopping 2.32 aces per set in league play. This year’s team has 147 aces in 20 matches (7.35 per match) and is averaging 2.88 aces per set in league action.

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 2.61 kills, 2.16 digs, 1.06 blocks and 0.19 aces per set while hitting .253. Creighton is 10-0 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 0.99 blocks and 0.99 digs per set this season.

Opening RPI

The third NCAA Volleyball RPI of the fall was released on October 20th 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 (28), Marquette (37), Villanova (46) and Connecticut (55).

    Of CU’s foes this weekend, Providence is 239th while Connecticut comes in at 55th.

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. 22, 2025

             BIG EAST only    All     matches

Team (NCAA Bids)    W    L    W    L

Creighton (12)    196    16    330    78

Marquette (11)    175    34    296    99

Xavier    123    87    197    172

St. John’s (1)    106    106    228    176

Villanova (1)    106    106    203    167

Butler    105    107    187    188

Seton Hall (1)    86    125    173    199

DePaul    69    143    160    209

Georgetown    48    156    122    231

Connecticut#    46    42    94    67

Providence*    31    165    122    220

*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 217 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 35 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    4-1    1-0    5-1

DePaul    25-0    3-0    28-0

Georgetown    23-0    –    23-0

Marquette    20-5    7-1    27-6

Providence    17-0    –    17-0

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    196-16    21-2    217-18

Putting The 0 In October And November

Creighton is 87-6 in the 10th month of the year since Oct. 1, 2016, including 21 straight wins, and victories in 35 of its past 36 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 39 BIG EAST regular-season matches to establish a program record.

    The 39 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

    39    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 43 straight matches against BIG EAST teams. In its 43 matches against BIG EAST schools since October 7, 2023, Creighton is 43-0 and has dropped just five sets to league opponents.

    Though impressive, there’s still two teams with longer active streaks against league foes (through Oct. 21).

    Wins    Team    Current League

    48    Northern Iowa    Missouri Valley    

    46    Western Kentucky    Conference-USA    

    43    Creighton    BIG EAST

    21    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 1.56 blocks per set in league play this year, far above the next-closest player (MU’s Hattie Bray, 1.46 bps.).

    Reinhardt’s 499 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 15 of his first 20 matches.

    Rosen is 15-5, just ahead of Howard Wallace (12-8), Kirsten Bernthal Booth (8-12) and Ben Guiliano (5-15).

    Rosen is also the only coach in program history to win his or her first four conference matches. He’s currently 8-0.

Pink Out Jersey Auction Raises $10,239.50

The Creighton Volleyball team hosted its 18th Annual Pink Out match last Sunday, 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 eighth 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 13-0 this season against unranked teams, and the serve and pass game has been a major reason why.

    In those 13 matches (43 sets), CU has served 114 aces (2.65 saps.) compared to 113 service errors. Its opponents have just 31 aces (0.72 saps.) but made 94 serving miscues.

Fun With Numbers

– Creighton has not trailed by more than five points in any of its last 120 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).

– During Creighton’s 43-match win streak over BIG EAST foes, the Bluejays have owned a hitting percentage advantage over its opponent of .098 or more in each match.

– Creighton has won the second set in 42 of its last 43 matches against BIG EAST opponents.

Report Card

Creighton is 196-16 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 157-9 mark in its last 166 matches.

    Matches    W-L    

    1-50    43-7

    51-100    48-2

    101-150    46-4

    151-200    47-3

    201-210    10-0

Watch This!

Nine of Creighton’s first 20 matches this fall have aired on television (four on FS1, three on BTN, two on Nebraska Public Media). 

    Creighton has also won 48 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’s 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 248-53 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 327-34 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 188 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 .175 this year, a figure that plummets to .130 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 43 service runs of five or longer, 14 more than the next-closest Bluejay (Norah Sis, who graduated in 2024). Next-most among her active teammates is the 22 by Ava Martin.

148 Weeks As A Ranked Team

Creighton is ranked 13th in the Oct. 20 edition of the AVCA poll, the 148th time in program history it’s been ranked. That’s 38th-most of all programs in NCAA history.

    All 148 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 71 polls.

    Creighton’s 71 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 432-11 (.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 119 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 175-6 in its last 181 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 207-4 (.981) in its last 211 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.

    Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that lost the first set won just 20.3 percent of their matches from 2014-23.

    Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 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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Sports

Volleyball adds five transfers to 2026 roster

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TEMPE – After graduating six in 2025, the 2026 Sun Devil Volleyball roster has reloaded by signing five transfers, including two pin hitters, two middle blockers and a setter.

The pin hitters joining the team are Aniya Clinton (graduate from Kansas State) and Una Vajagic (junior from Wisconsin). The middle blockers are Aurora Papac (sophomore from Kansas) and Tosia Serafinowska (redshirt sophomore from Wisconsin). Lastly, the newest setter on the team is Isabella Costantini (senior from UTRGV). All five will join the team for the spring semester.

“We feel like we were able to address all of our needs with these roster additions, creating more depth than we’ve ever had,” said head coach JJ Van Niel. “Throughout the recruiting process, it became apparent that each of them will truly be committed to the Sun Devil Volleyball way, and for that, we are grateful and excited. When you couple exceptional athleticism and skill with passion, great things can happen, and we feel these five will continue to help us achieve our lofty program goals!”

There are also four incoming freshmen that will join the roster who all signed in November. Paige Lehman and Elle Mottola joining this month and Ella Hope and Grace Martin joining in the summer.

Aniya Clinton
Graduate | 6-2 | Outside Hitter | Midland, Texas | Kansas State

  • Spent four seasons at Kansas State, redshirting her freshman year. In 2025, she helped them get to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
  • Played in all but two matches in 2025 and was second on the team in kills with 351. She had 18 matches with double-digit kills, including three with 20 or more, and notched nine double-doubles this season also.
  • Her career high in kills is 25, which she has reached three times (twice in 2025, once in 2024).
  • In 2024, she played in 23 of 27 matches, collecting double-digit kills eight times, ending the season with a streak of five matches in a row. 
  • Named to the All-Big 12 Rookie Team in 2023. That season, she had 13 matches where she reached double figures in kills.
  • Before college, she played club for Texas Advantage and attended Midland High School in Midland, Texas
  • A four-year starter for Midland, she earned the 2020 District 2-6A Outstanding Hitter Award in addition to her selection to the 2020 Texas 6A Girls Coaches Association’s All-State Team
  • In her senior season, she helped Midland reach the Texas 6A bi-district playoffs with a 19-17 record. She led the Lady Bulldogs with 396 kills in 2021 while ranking second on her team with 274 digs.
  • Played club volleyball under head coach and 1984 Chinese Olympian Ping Cao, finishing third in the national tournament in 2021.
  • Her parents are Calonski and Kaelie, and she has one older sister Camryn.
  • Her dad played basketball at Southwestern Oklahoma State, and her mom played basketball at Tarleton State.

Isabella Costantini
Senior | 5-10 | Setter | Curitiba, Brazil | UTRGV

  • Played for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for the last two seasons (2024-25). In 2023, she played for Tyler Junior College.
  • Two-time Southland Conference Setter of the Year and First Team All-Conference (2025 and 2024).
  • Her career high in assists is 66, which she earned in 2024. She has 25 matches in her DI career with 40 or more assists and 13 with 50 or more, including three matches of 60 or more. She also has 23 double-doubles in her DI career. 
  • Helped the Vaqueros win the 2025 Southland Conference Championship. She was named to the SLC Volleyball All-Tournament Team. She had three SLC Setter of the Week honors this season. She had 10 double-doubles, 10 matches with 40-plus assists and five with 50-plus assists in 2025. 
  • 2024 Newcomer of the Year. Was also the SLC Setter of the Week five times this season. She set the single-season program record for assists per set with 11.34. She had 13 double-doubles and 15 matches with 40 or more assists. In eight matches, she had 50 or more assists, two of which were 60 or more, with her career high of 66 coming this season.
  • At Tyler Junior College in 2023, she had 72 aces, which was T-10th most in NJCAA Div. I. She was named to the All-Region XIV Second Team.
  • Named to the 2025 CSC Academic All-District Team.

Aurora Papac
Sophomore | 6-4 | Middle Blocker | Požega, Croatia | Kansas

  • In her freshman season at Kansas in 2025, she played in 78 out of 131 sets and made an impact. She was third on the team in blocks with 107.
  • Her career high in blocks was 11 against South Florida in 2-25.
  • Prior to college, she was experienced on the international circuit, having competed for Croatia in the U19 World Championships in 2023, European Championships in 2019, 2022 and 2024 and the U20 MEVZA Qualification in 2024.
  • Chosen as the best middle blocker at MEVZA and at the U19 World Championships in 2023.
  • Attended Sport Gymnasium Zagreb.
  • Her parents are Ivan and Martina Papac and she has two younger brothers, Vito and Donat.

Tosia Serafinowska 
Redshirt Sophomore | 6-4 | Middle Blocker | Kiekrz, Poland | Wisconsin

  • Spent her first two seasons at Wisconsin and is a member of the Polish National Team.
  • In 2025, she appeared in five matches, making her collegiate debut against Chicago State. 
  • She did not play in 2024.
  • Prior to college, she played for GKS Wiezyca 2011 Stezyca.
  • She is a three-time gold medal winner in the U17, U18 and U19 Polish Championships. She is a three-time tournament MVP and three-time Best Middle Blocker award winner.
  • Earned a silver medal at the 2021 U16 EEVZA and 2021 EEVZA U17.
  • Awarded leader in blocker ranking in all phases and the best middle blocker statistics at 2021 CEV U16.
  • Full name is Antonina.
  • Her parents are Monika and Tomasz and she has two siblings Zofia and Wojciech. Her sister plays volleyball at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. Her father played basketball for the First Division of Poland men’s basketball team

Una Vajagic
Junior | 6-0 | Outside Hitter | Novi Sad, Serbia | Wisconsin

  • Spent her first two seasons at Wisconsin and has been with the Serbian National Team since 2020.
  • She started all matches in 2025 at outside hitter, helping her team reach the national semifinals, and ended the season with 10 double-doubles. She was second on the team in total kills with 307 and in digs with 275. She had 18 matches with double-digit kills, including the last seven in a row
  • Did not play in 2024 due to injury.
  • Prior to college, she played with Jedinstvo Stara Pazova, one of the top-tier professional volleyball programs in Serbia.
  • Helped Serbia take first place at the World School Volleyball Championship in Brazil.
  • Helped her U19 team to victory in The Serbian Cup, Serbian SuperCup and the Serbian Superleague during the 2023-24 season. She was voted MVP in both the Serbian Cup and Serbian SuperCup.
  • At the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship, Vajagic earned best scorer and attacker with 16.0 kills and 17.12 points per match.
  • She is a three-time Balkan Championships Gold Medal winner and in 2023 was named Best Outside Hitter.
  • Earned a Silver and Bronze medal at the 2022 and 2020 European Championships.
  • Her parents are Milana and Borislav Vajagic and she has one sister Nadja.



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Saint Francis Men’s Volleyball Falls To BYU During Night One

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Men’s Volleyball | 1/9/2026 10:41:00 PM

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

>> Sam Lane led the Red Flash with six kills and a .667 kill percentage. 

>> Nicholas Lynch protected the net with three blocks.  

>> Saint Francis fell to BYU (25-22, 25-20, 25-18).

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME

After a media timeout, the Red Flash was down 15-8 halfway through the first set. However, BYU made back-to-back errors that gave Saint Francis an opening to go on a 7-1 run. Brady Stump collected three aces in a row to force a timeout call by the Cougars. Kyle Charles ended the run with a clean kill assisted by middle blocker Lane. Although, BYU continued to strike the ball to win all three sets. 

FLASH MOMENTS 

Saint Francis started the second set with a 3-1 lead. Charles assisted both Lane and Cole Dorn for a kill each. The Red Flash went on a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 13-8. BYU created four errors to increase the score gap. Nathan Zini and Lane both threw down kills that were passed up by Charles.  

Lane claimed the first kill of the set thanks to an assist from Charles for the Red Flash. They quickly went on a 5-1 stretch with help from a kill by Dorn and service ace from Lane. BYU continued to make errors as they had another three alone in the run.  

FLASH NUGGETS

Stump finished the late night with five kills and three aces. 

Lane collected six kills, a hitting percentage of .556, and a kill percentage of .667. 

Dorn registered five kills and two assisted blocks. 

Lynch recorded three blocks and two kills. 

Richard Kaminski had a team high five digs. 

Charles tossed in 18 assists during the match. 

NEXT ON TAP

The Red Flash will continue round two against the Cougars tomorrow in Utah at 9 PM.



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Washington and Lee Announces 2025 Fall Term Scholar-Athlete Awards

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LEXINGTON, Va. – Jan Hathorn, Washington and Lee University’s Michael F. Walsh Director of Athletics, announced that 427 student-athletes earned the W&L Scholar-Athlete Award for achieving a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher during the recently completed fall term in December.

The university’s 603 student-athletes combined for an outstanding 3.643 GPA while completing 9,813 credit hours, with 31 student-athletes studying abroad during the fall term.

In the department, 98 Generals earned a perfect 4.0 GPA for the semester.  A table featuring these individuals is included below, alphabetized by sport first then last name.

To view a complete listing of the 2025 Fall Term Scholar Athlete award winners, click this link.






































































































Last Name First Name Sport Grad Year
Cimballa  John Baseball 29
Lagges  Nick Baseball 26
Teague  Camdyn Baseball 28
Turner  John Baseball 26
Brickner  Amanda Field Hockey 26
Dreany  Charlotte Field Hockey 28
McDonald  Julia Field Hockey 26
Zoota  Lauren Field Hockey 28
Bodnar  Cip Football 29
Cigelske  Burke Football 26
Johnson  Henry Football 29
Shallcross  Carter Football / Lacrosse 28
Hobson  Ari Men’s Basketball 28
Ransom  Jackson Men’s Basketball 28
Amare  Davis Men’s Cross Country / Track & Field 28
Benjamin  Wyatt Men’s Cross Country / Track & Field 27
Cooper  Robert Men’s Cross Country / Track & Field 27
Kodenski  Jackson Men’s Cross Country / Track & Field 27
Mehendale  Raja Men’s Cross Country / Track & Field 28
Rush  Keaton Men’s Cross Country / Track & Field 26
Blanton  Matt Men’s Lacrosse 28
Bryant  Jack Men’s Lacrosse 28
Kallen  Gray Men’s Lacrosse 29
Lehman  Andrew Men’s Lacrosse 26
Reiter  Gabe Men’s Lacrosse 28
Smink  Eli Men’s Lacrosse 29
Cordova  Aaron Men’s Soccer 27
Furman  Miles Men’s Soccer 28
Furman  Spencer Men’s Soccer 27
Hall  Willy Men’s Soccer 26
Jenkins  Matthew Men’s Soccer 27
Joseph  Will Men’s Soccer 26
Ordway  Christopher Men’s Soccer 29
Peterson  Trey Men’s Soccer 28
Gray  Aiden Men’s Swimming 27
Murphy  Patrick Men’s Swimming 26
Pharr  Rhodes Men’s Swimming 26
Ramos  John Men’s Swimming 27
Tinsley  Cooper Men’s Swimming 28
Imorde  Henry Men’s Tennis 29
Rao  Sanjheev Men’s Tennis 27
Clark  Schuyler Men’s Track & Field 26
Heinze  Luke Men’s Track & Field 29
Jakubowski-Lewis  Danny Men’s Track & Field 26
Capuzzi  Brooke Riding 27
Condrell  Jade Riding 26
Csatlos  Sophie Riding 29
Ghostine  Sarah Riding 29
Hammer  Kate Riding 29
Martin  Kate Riding 26
McClure  Henry Riding 28
Miranda  Kaycie Riding 29
Sinclair  Ryon Riding 29
Debiec  Riley Volleyball 26
Mitchener  Grace Volleyball 27
Natwick  Caroline Volleyball 26
Pierre-Louis  Diane Volleyball 26
Trainor  Turi Volleyball 27
Lawson  Katie Women’s Basketball 26
McGuinness  Quinn Women’s Basketball 26
Prechel  Elka Women’s Basketball 26
Adams  Hannah Women’s Cross Country / Track & Field 27
Brown  Reese Women’s Cross Country / Track & Field 27
Engle  Josie Women’s Cross Country / Track & Field 29
Harvey  Lydia Women’s Cross Country / Track & Field 27
King  Sally Women’s Cross Country / Track & Field 29
Nastopoulos  Lily Women’s Cross Country / Track & Field 29
Bhatt  Toral Women’s Golf 29
Wong  Ella Women’s Golf 27
Taylor  Carleigh Women’s Lacrosse 28
Andrews  Calla Women’s Soccer 27
Bowman  Shay Women’s Soccer 27
Espinosa  Julia Women’s Soccer 29
Gabriel  Chrysoula Women’s Soccer 29
Green  Mary Parrish Women’s Soccer 29
Hecker  Ava Women’s Soccer 26
McEnroe  Katherine Women’s Soccer 28
Mellides  Maura Women’s Soccer 29
Watson  Abigail Women’s Soccer 27
Attar  Clara Women’s Swimming 26
Brame-Goldthwaite  Sophia Women’s Swimming 29
Bredehoeft  Celia Women’s Swimming 28
Fenton  Frances Women’s Swimming 29
Hackman  Dani Women’s Swimming 26
Jellig  Maria Women’s Swimming 26
Lathrop  Virginia Women’s Swimming 29
McBoyle  Paige Women’s Swimming 26
Donnelly  Sarah Women’s Tennis 28
Kach  Jordan Women’s Tennis 26
Long  Lauren Women’s Tennis 26
Cholewa  Abigail Women’s Track & Field 27
Morante  Mackenzie Women’s Track & Field 27
Sawicki  Elizabeth Women’s Track & Field 29
Wood  Katie Women’s Track & Field 28
Rubin  Ben Wrestling 28
Santowski  John Wrestling 26
Svetanant  Tharun Wrestling 27
Wright  Jacob Wrestling 27

 


Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.



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Track and Field Begins 2026 Strong at TCNJ Lions Invitational

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NEW YORK – Columbia track & field opened the 2026 indoor season with multiple podium finishes, personal bests, and program marks at the TCNJ Lions Invitational on Friday inside the Armory.


FIELD EVENTS

Columbia turned in a strong showing across the field events. In the women’s pole vault, Jessica Thompson led the Lions with a third-place finish after clearing a personal best mark of 3.80m and is currently at the 64th spot in the nation. Seraiah Bruno and Lucy Markow each cleared 3.50m, with Bruno recording a season best.

On the men’s side of the pole vault, Liam Wright delivered a runner-up finish with a clearance of 4.55m, while Gavin Holcombe placed fifth at 4.40m.

In the high jump, Collin Moore led Columbia with a third-place finish in the men’s competition after clearing 1.95m. On the women’s side, Norina Khanzada and Fiona McKenna each cleared 1.50m, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

Zayna Flynn represented Columbia in the women’s shot put, placing ninth with a mark of 8.17m. In the men’s shot put, Adam Jaros finished 10th with a throw of 10.27m.


RUNNING EVENTS

Columbia delivered a strong performance on the track. In the men’s sprints, Matthew Mazero captured the 200m title with a time of 21.85, earning the 84th spot in the nation while Zach Willen followed closely in second at 21.98. The duo returned to the track in the 60m finals, where Mazero placed third with a time of 7.02, and Willen added a personal best with a 7.12 race effort.

The men’s 40 relay quartet of Evan Singleton, Caden Cutchall, Zach Willen, and Matthew Mazero sped past the competition, finishing second with a time of 3:20.79. Cutchall also impressed in the 500m, placing third in the 50 competition with a personal-best 1:04.99, while Haydn Brotschi posted a personal best time of 33.98 to finish second in the 300m.

On the women’s side, Columbia placed third in the 4×400 relay, crossing the line in 4:10.82 behind a strong effort from Kylie Castillo, Jayla Johnson, Olivia Dada, and Roya Amirhamzeh. Castillo also added a fifth-place finish in the 200m with a time of 26.16, while Olivia Sterling finished sixth in the 60m finals at 8.00.

In the middle-distance events, Roya Amirhamzeh clocked 1:21.85 in the 500m, while the Lions continued to post solid depth performances in the 300m, led by Kylie Castillo, who ran 41.23.


UP NEXT

The Lions are heading to Yale for an Ivy competition against Yale and Dartmouth on Saturday, January 17, with field events scheduled at 11 am and running events scheduled at 2:30 pm

Stay up to date on all things Columbia track & field by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsXCTF), Instagram (@culionsxctf) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).



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Buffs Building Towards Opener – University of Colorado Athletics

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BOULDER — Head coach Ann Elliott Whidden and her Colorado lacrosse team returned to the field inside the Ford Practice Facility on Thursday, officially marking the start of the 2026 season.

The Buffaloes enter their 13th season in 2026, all under the direction of Whidden, who has compiled a 130-75 record.

“It is great to be back with this team,” Whidden expressed. “This group is highly focused and motivated to get to work and we have had a great start to our spring practices. The intensity and competitiveness they bring everyday has been great to see.”

Colorado played seven fall warm-up games, including a pair against the team’s season-opening opponent, Northwestern. The Buffs also played exhibition games against Canada’s U20 National Team, Marquette, Denver, and Stanford before their annual scrimmage against CU alums.

The 2025 Buffs finished 8-8 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play, earning the No. 2 seed in the inaugural Big 12 Tournament. Returning defender Jess Peluso scored Nike Lacrosse Media All-America honorable mention honors last season and was the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Sophomore goaltender Elena Oh won four Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week awards last year and was selected to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. She led the Big 12 and ranked 18th in the NCAA with a 9.81 goals-against average in her freshman season. Oh was also third in the conference with a .399 save% and made 5.93 saves per game (5th Big 12).

Also returning in 2026 are All-Conference selections Maddie Shoup and Lily Assini. The offensive duo finished second and third on the team in points last season, respectively. Shoup totaled career-highs in goals (30) and assists (13) for 43 total points. Assini totaled 16 goals and a career-high 23 assists for a career-best 39 points.

Colorado scored 178 total goals in 2025 and returns 57% of its scoring from a year ago.

“We are so excited for the spring and the challenges we have on our schedule,” Whidden added. “We are looking forward to taking the next few weeks to lock in on ourselves and just focus on getting better everyday so we are prepared for those opportunities. This is a great group and I’m just really looking forwarding to seeing what we can do this season!”

Nine true freshmen will look to compete for some key roles this spring. Whidden added newcomers Rowan Edson, Georgia Rios and Sophia Yeskulsky to the attack, Charlotte Yeskulsky, Alison Stevens, Julia Etu and Parker Lemm to the middles and Hailie Abrams and Ryann McLeod to the defensive corps. Jillian Kane joins the goalie depth chart, having played her first two seasons at Colby College.

The season gets underway with a trip to Evanston, Ill., to play national runner-up Northwestern on Feb. 9. The Buffs’ first home game is set for Feb. 15 against Cornell.

For more information on Colorado Lacrosse, please visit cubuffs.com/wlax. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffswlax on Instagram, X, TikTok, and Facebook.



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Jenkins Adds Marinkovic to 2026 Transfer Class

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CHARLOTTE – Charlotte Volleyball Head Coach Benavia Jenkins has announced the signing of NC State transfer outside hitter Sara Marinkovic.

A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Marinkovic joins the 49ers from NC State where she spent her freshman season, appearing in one match and tallying one kill.  Before college, she attended Gimnazija “Branko Radičević” Stara Pazova where she earned first team All-Region honors. Academically, she earned a diploma for excellent achievement. The outside hitter finished first in all pioneer, cadet and junior competitions while playing club.

“I really loved the energy I felt watching the games,” said Marinkovic. “I’ve heard great things about how kind and supportive the coaches, staff, and players are, and how hard everyone works. It also means a lot to me to have my former teammate, Jovana, going through this process with me.”

During the 2020-21 club season, she placed third in the Serbian Prva Liga with OK Omladinac and went on to finish first the following year. At the 2024-25 Servia SuperCup, she placed second with Jedinstvo Stara Pazova.

 



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