HONOLULU – The Hawai’i track and field team announced its schedule for the 2026 indoor season Friday, starting with a trio of meets in Seattle and ending with the MPSF and NCAA Championships in March.
 
UH begins the season at the UW Preview, Jan. 16-17 in Seattle before returning to the Pacific Northwest for the UW Invite, Jan. 30-31. The Rainbow Wahine then have a split-squad weekend, Feb. 13-14, sending athletes to both the Husky Classic in Seattle and the Battle Born Classic in Reno, Nev.
 
Hawai’i then begins postseason action with the MPSF Championships, Mar. 1-2 before sending any qualifiers to the NCAA Championships, Mar. 13-14 in Fayettevile, Ark.
 
The Rainbow Wahine are coming off of a fourth-place finish at last year’s MPSF Championships, and return a pair of individual conference champions from a year ago in Lilian Turban (high jump) and Tara Wyllie (triple jump).
 
The ‘Bows also welcome back last season’s pentathlon bronze medalist Catherine Touchette, who also sits in third all-time at UH in the event. Lucy Milliner also returns for her sophomore season after setting the school indoor mile record and moving into second in school history in the indoor 800m.
 

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – The Wright State volleyball team fell to Purdue in three sets on Thursday night inside Holloway Gymnasium in the opening round of the NCAA Championship. The postseason loss ends Wright State’s season at 21-11 with the Raiders’ fifth trip to the NCAA Championship in the last seven seasons.
 
Wright State dropped the opening set 25-13 before a pair of tight sets, falling 25-21 in set two and 25-19 in the final set to wrap up the season.
 
Mya Ayro finished with 11 kills to lead Wright State, who also got double-digit kills from Reilly Zegunis with 10. Taylor Bransfield added four kills and a block in her final collegiate match, with three kills from Katie Sowko and two from senior Elena Dubuc. Lauren Yacobucci passed out 27 of Wright State’s 28 assists, while defensively Ella Gaona notched nine digs, Sowko collected eight digs and Taygan Corstange added six digs.
 
Wright State grabbed five overall honors on Nov. 20 when the 2025 Horizon League Volleyball Awards were announced, led by first team recognition from Lauren Yacobucci and Reilly Zegunis. Mya Ayro and Katie Sowko each earned second team honors and Elena Dubuc was a Sportsmanship Award finalist. This marked the second-straight first team honors for Yacobucci and Zegunis, while Sowko adds the second team recognition to her All-Freshman nod from a season ago. Dubuc has been a Sportsmanship Award finalist the last two seasons.
 
 
 

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – The Valley City State Vikings men’s and women’s Track and Field teams will open then 2025-2026 indoor season on Saturday, December 6^th at the Mike Thorson Invite in at the University of Mary Fieldhouse in Bismarck.

Coming into the season, the Vikings have 18 men and nine women returning.

Leading the way on the men’s side is four-time All-Conference selection Cameron Champagnie. In 2024-2025, he won conference titles in the triple jump and in the long jump. Zeke Barnick took second in the high jump last season to earn All-Conference status. Jordan Mount won the conference title in the 400-meter, and he was third in the 200-meter. Tayshaun Robinson was second in the 60-meter hurdles to earn All-Conference.

For the women, Emma Muggli was third in the long jump to earn All-Conference honors for the third time in her career and first time in the long jump.

The Vikings have eight indoor meets scheduled leading up to then Frontier Conference indoor championships in Brookings, South Dakota February 14^th and 15^th.

The outdoor season will begin March 21^st also in Bismarck at the Marauders Outdoor Opener at the University of Mary.

 

 

 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The 24th-ranked and fifth-seeded Colorado volleyball team (23-8, 12-6 Big 12) defeated American (24-5, 15-1 Patriot League) in three sets (25-16, 25-19, 25-16) at Wilkinson Hall on Thursday, Dec. 4, in the NCAA First Round.
 
The Buffaloes started their run in the NCAA tournament with a first-round sweep of the Eagles. The Buffs established early leads in each set, going up by as many as 11 in the third. Although American went on a couple of late runs, the Black and Gold held off the Eagles and advanced to the second round for just the 12th time in program history.
 
“That’s a really good team, and [American] played well,” head coach Jesse Mahoney said. “I’m really proud of our team for playing that match at the level that we can play. We prepped well – we knew American was going to challenge us, and I’m happy for how we responded.”
 
The Buffaloes had more kills (44-31), assists (41-29), digs (43-40), blocks (11-5) and aces (6-2) than American. Colorado held the Eagles to .111 hitting in the match, and to .088 in the third set.
 
KEY PLAYERS:

• Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan led the match in kills with 15, hitting .500 (2e, 26att). She also had five digs, three blocks, including two solo blocks to match her career-high, two aces and one assist.
• So. MB Maria Splawska tallied eight kills, hitting .667 (0e, 12att), six blocks, two of which were solo, and three digs.
• Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton led the match with 16 digs. She also had four assists.
• Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic saw nine kills, five digs, two blocks, two aces and one assist.
• Sr. S Rian Finley led the match in assists with 33. She also had seven digs
• Jr. MB Cayla Payne recorded six kills and three blocks, including one solo.
• Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell had six kills, hitting .455 (1e, 11att), three blocks and one dig.
• Fr. PIN Inés Losada tallied two aces, one dig and one assist.
• Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal had five digs, and So. DS/L/S Katie Salonga saw one assist.
• For the Eagles, Salme Adeele Hollas recorded 10 kills, and Bella Marrero had 13 digs.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Buffaloes opened the first set with a 3-0 run, seeing kills from Burilovic and Splawska, as well as a Splawska-Dwinell block (3-0, CU). Another run saw the Buffs ahead by as many as five from Payne, Dwinell and Burilovic kills (7-2, CU). After a Payne-Jordan block and errors from American, the Eagles called their first timeout (10-3, CU). A kill from Jordan and an ace from Losada increased the Colorado lead to eight (12-4, CU). The Eagles tried to go on a run, but a kill from Jordan ended their momentum (13-6, CU). Ahead by nine from Dwinell and Burilovic kills, as well as a Jordan ace, the Buffaloes forced American to call its second timeout (17-8, CU). A kill from Jordan put the Buffs ahead by 10 as kills from Burilovic and Dwinell continued the momentum for Colorado (24-14, CU). With a final kill from Jordan, assisted by Salonga, Colorado took the first set (25-16, CU).
• The Black and Gold carried the energy into the second set to start with kills from Splawska and Burilovic, as well as a solo block from Payne (3-1, CU). The Eagles took their only lead of the match after four unanswered points (5-3, AU). Colorado responded with a 4-0 run of their own from two Jordan solo blocks, and an ace and kill from Burilovic to send American into a timeout (7-5, CU). The Eagles called their second timeout amidst a five-point run from a Losada ace and a kill from Jordan (12-6, CU). American ended the run, but Colorado went on a 6-0 run, led by Jordan’s four consecutive kills, a solo block from Splawska and a kill from Dwinell (18-7, CU). The Buffs and the Eagles traded points from Splawska and Dwinell kills (21-11, CU). American went on two runs near the end of the set, but Jordan, Payne, Splawska and Burilovic continued to score, ending the second set (25-19, CU).
• American was forced to call an early timeout after a 6-0 run from the Buffaloes, including an ace from Jordan, as well as blocks and kills from Burilovic, Dwinell and Splawska (6-0, CU). After a short trade of points from Splawska and Payne kills, the Buffs went on a 3-0 run, including a pair of kills from Payne and Jordan, and a Burilovic ace (12-4, CU). The Eagles called a timeout and returned to score twice, but Colorado extended their lead to nine from three Jordan kills (15-6, CU). Three points from American were returned with three from the Buffs, with a Splawska-Dwinell block and a Jordan kill putting Colorado at double the points of the Eagles (18-9, CU). A solo block and kill from Splawska extended the lead to 11 (21-10, CU). The Black and Gold called a timeout after three American points, but two kills from Payne, assisted by Finley, ended the third set, 25-16, CU).

 
UP NEXT

• No. 24 Colorado will take on 15th-ranked fourth-seeded host Indiana tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 5, at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington, Ind., at 4 p.m. MT (6 p.m. ET). The match will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.
• This is the 12th second-round appearance for the Buffs all-time. Colorado is 4-7 all-time in the NCAA Second Round.
• CU is 2-2 when playing matches on Dec. 5.

 
MATCH NOTES:

• The Buffs move to 3-0 versus the Eagles and Patriot League opponents all-time.
• In its first postseason tournament appearance since 2022 and the 22nd tournament appearance in program history, Colorado dominated in a 3-0 victory.
• CU is 4-0 when playing on Dec. 4.
• In program history, the Buffs move to 14-21 in the NCAA tournament and 10-10 in first-round matches.
• The Buffs are now 8-9 in three-set NCAA matches.
• The Buffaloes got their 11th 3-0 win of the season and are 11-3 in three-set matches.

 
For more information on the Colorado women’s volleyball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsVB.
 

Saturday’s Meet
Visit Winston Salem College Kick Off
December 6, 2025 | 9:30 am – 4:25 pm
JDL Fast Track | Winston-Salem, N.C.
 
Live Results: Click Here
 
Event Preview:
The USC Upstate men’s and women’s track and field teams begin the indoor season Saturday with the Visit Winston Salem College Kick Off for the eighth consecutive season. In the 2025-2026 Big South Indoor Track and Field Preseason Polls, the men were ranked third and the women ranked sixth.

Jeremiah Harris is an athlete to watch this season for the Spartans. At this meet last season, Harris placed second in the 200m and set personal bests in both the 200m and the 60m.  Elias Harrison broke the school record for the 600m this time last season, and looks to kick-off a strong track season with the Spartans. 

Laurin Hannibal had an outstanding performance at the meet last season in the women’s triple jump, finishing fourth in the event. Jenelda Aristhil is another athlete to watch. Last season at JDL Fast Track, Arishtil set a personal best in the weight throw.

 

Schedule of Events:

 

Time	Event	Athlete
9:30 AM	M Shot Put	Mosley, Sterling, Ketch, Bruce
9:30 AM	W Shot Put	Aristhil, Joyner
10:00 AM	W 60m Hurdles	Redding, Franklin, Harper, Perez
10:00 AM	M Long Jump	Bilderback, Clark, Moody, Means
10:00 AM	W Long Jump	Handy, Hannibal, Perez
10:15 AM	M 60m Hurdles	Isley, Bryan
10:30 AM	W 60m	Yates, Benson, Singletary, Brown, Jackson
10:50 AM	M 60m	James, Bui-Hayes, Rice, Daniels, Dixon, Grant
12:50 PM	W 400m (Unseeded)	Bell, Brown, Osterkamp, Chisholm
1:05 PM	M 400m (Unseeded)	Hendrix
1:25 PM	W 400m (Seeded)	Glover
1:30 PM	W High Jump	Cook, Perez
1:30 PM	M Weight Throw	Sterling, Mosley, Ketch
1:35 PM	M 400m (Seeded)	Ruff, Krishnaraj, Hunter
1:45 PM	W 800m	Kutilek
2:05 PM	M 800m	Harrison, Barron
2:20 PM	W 200m (Unseeded)	Allen, Benson, Yates, Cornelius, Jackson
2:35 PM	M 200m (Unseeded)	Johnson, Daniels, McKinney, Walston
2:45 PM	M Triple Jump	Moody, T. Pressley, J. Pressley
2:45 PM	W Triple Jump	Handy, Hannibal
3:05 PM	M 200m (Seeded)	Harris
3:30 PM	M High Jump	Means, Kenny
4:00 PM	W Weight Throw	Aristhil
4:00 PM	W 4x400m	A: Osterkamp, Brown, Glover, Bell; B: Perez, Allen, Chisholm, Harper
4:25 PM	M 4x400m	A: Hunter, Krishnaraj, Ruff, Walston; B: McKinney, Bryan, Bui-Hayes, Harris

 
 
UP Next for the Spartans
The Spartans resume the season January 16-17 at the two-day Tryon International Classic.
 
Connect with the Spartans     
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics     
Twitter | @UpstateXCTrack @UpstateSpartans     
Instagram | @UpstateXCTrack @UpstateSpartans     
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans 
 
 

2025 NCAA Tournament – Second Round

Match #32:  Northern Iowa Panthers (26-5) at #11 Creighton Bluejays (26-5)

Omaha, Neb. • Friday, Dec. 5 • 6:30 p.m.

| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | UNI NOTES | PROGRAM |

• Eleventh-ranked and No. 10 seed Creighton (26-5) seeks its fifth trip to the Regional Semifinals when it hosts Northern Iowa (26-5) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. inside D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb.

• The match will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Jon Schriner and Shannon Smolinski on the call. Live stats for the general public can be found at https://www.ncaa.com/game/6500701 and for the media via http://creighton.statbroadcast.com.

• With a win on Friday, Creighton would…

– Improve to 27-5 with its 22nd straight win. It would be Creighton’s third-longest win streak in program history, with the only two teams with longer streaks each having them snapped in the Elite Eight (25 in 2024, 23 in 2016). Entering Friday, the only schools with longer active win streaks are Nebraska (30), Kentucky (23), Northern Iowa (22) and Utah State (22).

– Win its 12th straight home match, the nation’s ninth-longest active home winning streak.

– Win its 69th straight match against an unranked team.

– Win its 57th straight non-televised match.

– Improve to 19-14 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 5-7 mark in the Second Round.

– Improve to 9-4 in home matches in the NCAA Tournament with its sixth straight win.

– Improve to 18-42 against Northern Iowa with its ninth straight win over the Panthers.

– Win 27 or more matches for the ninth time, and fifth year in a row.

– Earn itself a Regional Semifinal match against either Arizona State or Utah State. A site, time and opponent will be finalized on Saturday night or Sunday by the NCAA.

– Brian Rosen can become the BIG EAST’s first rookie volleyball coach to win multiple NCAA Tournament matches.

• Northern Iowa leads the all-time series against Creighton, 42-17, including an 18-7 mark in Omaha.

    After winning just three of the first 43 meetings, Creighton has won 14 of the last 16 match-ups in the series, including eight in a row. CU’s 14 wins are the most against the Panthers since 2012, three more than UNI’s 11 losses to Illinois State.

    Six of CU’s 17 wins against the Panthers have come in five sets.  Creighton’s last 12 victories over Northern Iowa have come in six different states (five times in Nebraska, three times in Kentucky, and once each in Iowa, California, Kansas and Illinois).

    Brian Rosen is 1-0 against UNI and Bobbi Petersen as a head coach. Petersen is 30-17 all-time against Creighton.

    Northern Iowa is 14-0 all-time when ranked and facing Creighton. Creighton is 11-1 all-time when ranked when facing UNI. Oddly, the teams have never met when both were ranked.

• Friday’s match-up with Northern Iowa will be Creighton’s 60th against the Panthers since the program’s restart in 1994, the most of any opponent.

    The only other teams that Creighton has played more than 40 times are Wichita State (50) and Illinois State (43).

    UNI is the only opponent to defeat Creighton more than 30 times, something the Panthers have done 42 times.

    Creighton and Northern Iowa have played all but one season (2013) since the Bluejays restarted volleyball in 1994.

    The teams were Missouri Valley Conference rivals who played twice annually from 1994-2012, plus six more MVC Tournament meetings.

    Creighton is 12-2 against Northern Iowa since leaving the MVC, compared to a 5-40 mark when the two were Valley rivals.

• There are a ton of connections between Creighton and Northern Iowa.

    Northern Iowa sophomore Reese Booth (6.23 aps., 2.31 dps.) is the daughter of former Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and an Omaha native who attended Elkhorn North High School.

    Creighton men’s basketball coach Greg McDermott played (1984-88) at and served as a head coach (2001-06) at Northern Iowa.

    Former Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen is a 1971 graduate of Northern Iowa. He had been at Creighton since 1980, ascending to the Athletic Director  position in 1994, before retiring in August of 2021.

    Northern Iowa women’s basketball head coach Tanya Warren played at Creighton and has spent two stints as an assistant coach with the Bluejays. Warren played for Rasmussen and is one of two Bluejay women’s basketball players with her name in the rafters inside D.J. Sokol Arena.

• It’s quite possible that next weekend’s Sweet 16 could feature Kentucky, USC and either Creighton or UNI (as well as the Arizona State/Utah State winner). From 2014-22 (except 2020, when COVID cancelled most tournaments), USC, Kentucky, Creighton and UNI played in the same tournament that rotated sites over back-to-back four-year spans.

    Creighton went 5-3 against Kentucky with wins in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, while UNI was 1-7 vs. Kentucky (winning in 2016).

    Creighton was 3-5 against USC with wins in 2019, 2021 and 2022, while UNI went 1-7 with a victory in 2017 over the Women of Troy.

• Creighton is seeking its fifth trip to the Sweet 16 in program history, having been there in 2015, 2016, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 and 2024 teams also won in the Regional Semifinals to make the program’s lone Elite Eight appearances to date.

• Creighton is one of 11 schools to appear in the Regional Semifinals each of the previous two NCAA Tournaments, joining Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin.

    Kentucky, Purdue and Wisconsin all won on Thursday, while Oregon was not selected to the 2025 NCAA Tournament field. Louisville, Nebraska, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Stanford open NCAA Tournament play later tonight.

• Creighton is one seven schools to win 26 matches or more each of the last five seasons (2021-25), joining Nebraska, Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky. Louisville (24 wins entering Friday) and Wisconsin (25 wins entering Friday) can join them with successful weekends.

    With a win tonight, the list of teams with 27 wins or more each of the last five seasons narrows down to just Creighton, Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky. Louisville, with 24 wins entering Friday, can get there with a return to the Elite Eight this year.

• Ava Martin had 30 kills on Friday, one of her most dominating performances in a career full of them. Considering the following about the sensational senior…

    Martin’s 30 kills tied her career-high, also done vs. Marquette on Nov. 1, 2025.

    It made Martin the only player in CU history with multiple matches of 30+ kills.

    It tied the D.J. Sokol Arena record that she did vs. Marquette on Nov. 1, 2025 and first accomplished by Norah Sis vs. Auburn in a 2022 NCAA Tournament match.

    It tied Sis’ match vs. Auburn in the 2022 NCAA Tournament for the most by any Bluejay in an NCAA Tournament contest.

    Martin’s 34.5 points in the match were the most by a Bluejay ever in any match since 2001, when points were first tracked nationally. It was also a D.J. Sokol Arena record.

    It was Martin’s 25th straight match with 10 or more kills, and 108th in a row with five or more kills.

    It was the 24th straight contest that Martin has led or tied for the Creighton lead in kills.

• Ava Martin had eight kills in 14 swings during the fifth set last night. In five matches this season to go five sets, Martin has averaged 23.4 kills per match on .323 hitting.

    In the fifth set alone this fall, Martin has 18 kills (3.60 kills per set) and just one error in 42 swings, good for a .405 hitting percentage.

    As a team, Creighton has hit .400 in the fifth set this year, owning 47 kills and just five errors in 105 swings. CU has not had an attack error in three of those five matches (UCSB, Marquette, Northern Colorado).

• Ava Martin’s three aces on Thursday also helped her move up the record books.

    Martin now owns 127 career aces, as she moved into third in program history.

    Martin now owns 66 career aces inside D.J. Sokol Arena, tying Keeley Davis’ facility record.

• While Ava Martin improved her status in several ace-related categories, you can be sure she won’t mind that teammate Nora Wurtz tied her in a few categories on Thursday.

    Wurtz had one ace, moving into a tie with Martin (from 2024) with 56 this season, the second-most in CU history. Only Molly Moran (59 in 2000) has had more.

    Wurtz also tied Martin’s single-season record from 2024 with her 35th ace inside D.J. Sokol Arena this fall.

• There’s also all sorts of D.J. Sokol Arena records within reach on Friday.

    Ava Martin (256.0) is 13.5 points shy of Jaali Winters’ (269.5 in 2015) single-season D.J. Sokol Arena points record.

    Ava Martin (765) is 14 kills shy of tying Jaali Winters’ (779 from 2015-18) for the D.J. Sokol Arena career kills record.

    Ava Martin (230) is 19 kills shy of tying Jaali Winters’ (249 in 2015) single-season D.J. Sokol Arena kills record.

    Ava Martin (66) has tied Keeley Davis (from 2019-22) for most career aces inside D.J. Sokol Arena and is one away from sole possession of the record.

    Nora Wurtz (35) has tied Ava Martin (in 2024) for the most single-season aces in one season inside D.J. Sokol Arena and is one away from sole possession of the record.

    Kiara Reinhardt (8) has tied Elise Goetzinger (in 2024) for the most single-season solo blocks at D.J. Sokol Arena.

    Kiara Reinhardt (247) is two blocks shy of Naomi Hickman (249 from 2017-21) for most career blocks in history inside D.J. Sokol Area.

    Kiara Reinhardt is expected to add to her D.J. Sokol Arena career records for sets played (currently 225), matches played (currently 68) and matches started (currently 65) on Friday.

• Creighton and Northern Iowa have played two common opponents this season, both in Omaha at the Bluejay Invitational.

    During those matches from Sept. 12-14 at D.J. Sokol Arena, both teams swept Rice and lost to Louisville in four sets. Creighton swept UNI to end the event.

• Creighton and Northern Iowa already met once earlier this year inside D.J. Sokol Arena, a 3-0 Bluejay win (25-13, 25-20, 25-17) on Sept. 14th as part of the Bluejay Invitational. Since that meeting, UNI is 22-0, while Creighton is 20-1 with the only loss being a five-setter against No. 1 Nebraska.

    Cassidy Hartman led UNI with 13 kills that day while Lily Dykstra added nine kills.

    Creighton was paced by 10 kills on .625 hitting from Ava Martin. CU had nine aces to UNI’s one and had advantages in kills (39-36), digs (39-37), blocks (6-3) and hitting percentage (.330 to .175).

• Thursday saw Creighton improve to 3-2 on the season in matches in which it has trailed 2-1, having also beaten Marquette and UC Santa Barbara.

    Creighton had not won an NCAA Tournament match when down 2-1 since doing it in a Regional Semifinal victory over Michigan on Dec. 9, 2016 in Austin, Texas.

• Creighton has won the first set in every match during its 21-match win streak.

• Last night’s victory marked Brian Rosen‘s NCAA Tournament debut as a head coach, and it resulted in a 3-2 win over Northern Colorado.

    Rosen’s predecessor, Kirsten Bernthal Booth, won her NCAA Tournament debut as a head coach with a 3-2 win over Iowa State on Dec. 3, 2010.

• Creighton’s victory last night was its first NCAA Tournament victory in a five-set match since a 3-2 win over Michigan on Dec. 9, 2016 in Austin, Texas. That year Creighton made history as the first team to ever open an NCAA Tournament run with three straight five-set victories. The streak started with a 3-2 win in Lawrence, Kan., over Northern Iowa (25-16, 25-20, 24-26, 14-25, 15-12).

• Creighton attracted 2,527 fans on Thursday, just above the listed D.J. Sokol Arena capacity of 2,500.

    Nationally, that ranked fourth-most among the eight sites that competed yesterday. Leading the way was Wisconsin (4,465), Kentucky (3,572) and Arizona State (2,951). CU finished ahead of Purdue (2,415), USC (1,830), Indiana (1,815) and Kansas (1,607).

    Creighton has now attracted 50,162 fans at home this season and are averaging 3,344 fans per home match. Both will be school records.

• Nobody has dominated their respective conferences in recent years more than Creighton and Northern Iowa. UNI has won 60 straight matches over Missouri Valley Conference foes to lead the  country, while Creighton’s 53 consecutive conquests over BIG EAST opposition is second-most.

• Creighton and Northern Iowa were two of eight teams nationally to finish conference play unbeaten this fall. Of those eight, all but Dayton made the NCAA Tournament.

    Teams that went unbeaten in league play this year went 4-0 on Thursday to open the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky won 3-0, while Creighton, Northern Iowa and Utah State all won in five sets.

• After winning just 13 of its first 26 home sets in NCAA Tournament play, Creighton enters tonight having won 15 of its last 17 home sets in NCAA Tournament action.

• Annalea Maeder’s finished her NCAA Tournament debut with 53 assists and 21 digs.

    The 21 digs were a career-high and the most by any Bluejay all season.

    She became the eighth player in CU history to attain at least 20 assists and 20 digs in the same match, but the first to do it in an NCAA Tournament match.

    It was Maeder’s team-leading 13th double-double this fall.

• The opening day of the 2025 NCAA Tournament featured 16 matches, six of which went five sets.

    The site at D.J. Sokol Arena was the nation’s only venue to see a pair of five-set matches.

    It’s reminiscent of 2022, when all three matches in the Creighton sub-Regional went all five sets.

• No. 1 seeds in each quadrant went 8-0 last night, but No. 2 seeds were just 5-3.

    At least 10 of the 16 top seeds in each quadrant have advanced to the Regional Semifinal round in each of the past 24 seasons.

    On average in that span, 12.83 of the 16 seeded teams (80.2 percent) make the Sweet 16.