Connect with us
https://yoursportsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/call-to-1.png

Sports

No. 4 Seeded ‘U’ Set for Sweet 16 at No. 1 Seeded Pitt

Published

on


PITTSBURGH. Pa. — The No. 4 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers (24-9, 12-8 B1G) are getting set to play the No. 1 seeded Pittsburgh Panthers (28-4, 18-2 ACC) in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The match is set for 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Anne Marie Anderson, Gophers alumnae Nicole Branagh and Shelby Coppedge will be on the call. Tanner Hoops will be on play-by-play for Gopher Sports Radio.

The two teams are meeting for the fourth time in the history of the two programs and for the first time since the spring 2021 season. In that season, unseeded Pitt took down the No. 1 seeded Golden Gophers in five sets in the NCAA Tournament in Omaha, Neb.

MATCH INFORMATION

No. 4 Minnesota at No. 1 Pittsburgh

Thursday, Dec. 11

7 p.m. CT/6 p.m. CT

Petersen Events Center

Pittsburgh, Pa.

TV: ESPN2 – Anne Marie Anderson (Play-By-Play), Nicole Branagh (Analyst) and Shelby Coppedge (Sideline Reporter)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

HEADING INTO THE MATCH

Minnesota Trails Pittsburgh, 2-1

First Meeting: 1990

Last Meeting: 2021

NOTES TO KNOW

1,033 — Career kills for Julia Hanson.

260 — Keegan Cook won his 260th career match as a head coach on Dec. 6 vs. Iowa State.

59 — Minnesota is 59th nationally and sixth in the Big Ten with 1.69 aces per set.

44 — The Gophers are 44th nationally (4th B1G) with 196 aces.

30 — This year is Minnesota’s 30th ever NCAA Tournament appearance. That is the 11th most of any program in the country.

26 — Julia Hanson has 26 matches with 10+ kills this year in 30 chances (missed Loyola Chicago match).

24 — Minnesota ranks 24th nationally (3rd B1G) with 2.63 blocks per set.

21 — Minnesota will be playing in its 21st regional semifinal on Thursday. The Gophers are 10-10 in regional semifinal matches.

16 — Sweeps in 33 matches for the Golden Gophers. They’ve won seven matches in four sets (1-2 in five).

15 — Minnesota ranks 15th nationally (4th B1G) in hitting % (.286).

14 — Times this season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team. They’re 11-3 when going for 10-or-more blocks (losses at Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin).

14 — Minnesota is 14-4 at home this season. Only losses were to UCLA, USC, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

11 — 2025 is Minnesota’s 11th straight NCAA Tournament. They’ve made 26 of the last 27 (missed 2014).

8 — Gophers head coach Keegan Cook is 8-26 against AVCA Top-25 ranked opponents in three seasons. (Wins vs. No. 15 Baylor, No. 5 Oregon, No. 1 Texas, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 11 Purdue, No. 23 Iowa State, No. 23 Indiana and No. 24 Penn St.). They’ve made three Final Fours, four Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight since 2015.

6 — Jordan Taylor ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 1.24 blocks per set, a team-best. That mark leads all Big Ten freshmen.

6 — Minnesota ranked 6th in average attendance at 4,488 per match (avg.). They ranked fourth overall (80,779 total fans).

5 — Minnesota ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 183 service aces.

5 — During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranked fifth in the league in kills per set with 4.02.

5 — 20+ kill matches for Julia Hanson in 2025. She last had 20+ on Saturday vs. Iowa St. (23).

5 — Julia Hanson is fifth in the B1G with 4.69 points per set.

5 — Gophers were named to the AVCA All-Northwest Region Team (Hanson – Player of the Year, Gilk, Swenson, Myers and Taylor). Coach Cook was named Region Coach of the Year.

4 — Julia Hanson is fourth in the Big Ten with 4.13 kills per set.

4 — Minnesota is 4-6 against its 10 ranked opponents this season.

4 — Minnesota lost four starters to season-ending injuries in OH Alex Acevedo and Mckenna Wucherer, MB Calissa Minatee and L Zeynep Palabiyik.

4 — 4-2 NCAA Tournament record at Minnesota for head coach Keegan Cook, now in his third year.

3 — Gophers earned All-B1G honors in 2025. Julia Hanson (1st), Stella Swenson (2nd, Freshmen) and Carly Gilk (All-Freshmen). Swenson and Gilk are the first Gophers to make All-Freshmen since 2022.

3 — Straight 20+ kill matches for Julia Hanson in the Illinois, USC and Wisconsin matches. She’s the first Gopher to do so since Stephanie Samedy (’21). She’s hit 10+ in 11 of the last 13 matches.

2 — The Gophers rank second in the B1G in total blocks with 305.5. That figure is 20th nationally. 

2 — During B1G play, the Gophers ranked second with 1.77 aces per set. They had 129 aces (2nd in B1G).

LAST TIME OUT

• The then No. 17 Minnesota volleyball team went 2-0 at home against Fairfield (25-12, 25-7, 15-13) and No. 23 Iowa State (25-22, 25-21, 25-14) to advance to the Sweet 16. Julia Hanson had 13 kills vs. Fairfield as the team hit a school-record .582 for the match. Minnesota also posted 11.5 blocks as a team. On Saturday vs. ISU, Hanson took her game to a new level, going for 23 kills on .488 to lead the Gophers to a sweep. Stella Swenson had 35 assists and eight digs as Minnesota made its first Sweet 16 since 2022.

GOPHERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• The 2025 season marked the 30th year the Gophers advanced to the NCAA tournament. With an at-large bid, the Gophers advanced to the tournament for the 11th straight season and 26th in the last 27 seasons.

• In the first round of NCAA Tournaments, Minnesota is 29-1 all-time. In round two, Minnesota is 22-7.

• The Gophers all-time record in NCAA Tournaments is 64-29. Minnesota has made the Final Four six times (2003, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019), and the national title game once (2004).

• The program has had 31 straight winning seasons, dating back to 1995. The ‘U’ has won 10-or-more Big Ten games in every season except for one dating back to 1999. The program has finished in the top six of the B1G standings every year since 2015.

GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS

• The ‘U’ entered the 2025 season with a No. 11 ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll (finished 18th in 2024).

• At the end of regular season, the ‘U’ moved up to No. 17, going up one spot from the previous week.

COACH COOK IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT  

Keegan Cook is 21-10 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament. He led his Washington teams to one Final Four, three Elite Eights and two Sweet 16s. Both of his first two years at Minnesota, the ‘U’ went to the Round of 32. This is his first Sweet 16 appearance as a Gopher.

STRONG SCHEDULE PREPS ‘U’ FOR POSTSEASON

• The Gophers have gone 4-6 vs. ranked opponents in 2025. Minnesota was one of nine Big Ten teams to make the 2025 NCAA tournament. Of the Gophers 11 non-conference opponents, seven made the NCAA Tournament. Six of Minnesota’s opponents will play in the Sweet 16, including Cal Poly, Indiana, Nebraska, Purdue, Texas A&M and Wisconsin. Minnesota went 3-4 against those teams.

• The ‘U’ entered the postseason with a top-15 RPI and earned the No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• In all, the Gophers faced 15 teams that make up the field of 64. Against teams that made the postseason, Minnesota posted a 9-8 record this season.

SCOUTING PITTSBURGH

• Pittsburgh (28-4, 18-2 ACC) is led by 13th-year head coach Dan Fisher. Under his guidance the Panthers have made four straight Final Fours since the 2021 season. Prior to that, Pitt made a regional final in 2020-21 and four straight second rounds of the NCAA Tournament before that.

• The Panthers lost their first two matches of the season vs. No. 1 Nebraska and then No. 16 Florida, but have won 28 of their last 30 since, only falling at No. 18 Miami and at No. 5 Stanford.

• Pitt is led by 2024 National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock, a three-time All-ACC First Team player and the ACC Player of the Year. She averages 5.06 kills per set on .329 hitting. Bre Kelly paces the defense with 1.49 blocks per set while setter Brooke Mosher leads the offense with 9.86 assists per set.

MINNESOTA’S HISTORY VS. PITTSBURGH

• Minnesota is 1-2 all-time vs. Pittsburgh, including 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers took down Minnesota in the Spring 2021 NCAA Tournament, also in the Sweet 16. It was a five-set thriller (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 21-25, 11-15). Stephanie Samedy had 23 kills to lead the ‘U’ during the match.

• They also played in 1990 in Minneapolis, a 3-0 sweep for Pitt, and in 1999 in Hawai’i, a 3-0 win for Minnesota.

STREAKS TO WATCH

Julia Hanson has tallied 10+ kills in 26 of her 32 matches this year, including 13 of 15 with 10+.

McKenna Garr has totaled 10+ digs in 23 of her 32 matches, including 21 of 28 as starting libero.

• Lourdes Myers has multiple blocks in 29 of her 33 matches, including 17 matches with four-or-more.

Stella Swenson has hit 30+ assists in 22 of 33 matches on the year. She also has eight double-doubles after tallying a career-best 58 assists and 10 digs at Iowa on Nov 16.

FIVE GOPHERS EARN AVCA ALL-REGION HONORS, COOK, HANSON WIN COACH AND PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Senior outside Julia Hanson was named AVCA Northwest Region Player of the Year while head coach Keegan Cook was named region Coach of the Year. It was Hanson’s first region player of the year and Cook’s fourth region coach of the year (first at Minnesota).

• Joining Hanson on the AVCA All-Northwest Region First Team were freshman opposite Carly Gilk and redshirt freshman setter Stella Swenson. Redshirt senior middle blocker Lourdes Myers and freshman middle blocker Jordan Taylor both earned All-Region Honorable Mention. 

LAST TIME A NO. 4 SEED OR LOWER BEAT A NO. 1 SEED

• The spring 2021 NCAA Tournament, when unseeded Pittsburgh defeated No. 1 seed Minnesota (No. 3 seed overall) in the Sweet 16. The match was played in Omaha and went five sets.

• The 2019 NCAA Tournament, when unseeded Louisville defeated No. 1 seed (No. 2 overall seed) Texas in the Sweet 16 in Austin. Before that, it was when No. 4 seed Oregon (No. 15 overall) beat No. 1 seed Minnesota (No. 2 overall) in the 2018 Sweet 16 in Minneapolis.

YOUNGEST TEAM IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

• Of all 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota is by far the youngest group. Of the seven starters, five are freshmen and two are seniors. Only Indiana (4) starts three-or-more freshman of the Sweet 16 teams. Pitt, SMU, Louisville, Stanford and Texas all start two freshmen.

UP NEXT

If they are victorious, Minnesota will take on the winner of No. 2 SMU and No. 3 Purdue on Saturday, Dec. 13. The match time and channel are TBD.  



Link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Purdue volleyball proves it can win in NIL era of college athletics

Published

on


Dec. 14, 2025, 1:08 a.m. ET



Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Creighton volleyball falls to Kentucky in Elite Eight

Published

on


Creighton volleyball faced Kentucky in an Elite Eight match on Saturday afternoon.The energy was electric as the Jays prepared to take on the Wildcats.Creighton got on the board first.Norah Wurtz broke Molly Morgan’s single-season Creighton ace record that was set in 2000.The Bluejays fell 25-19 in set 1.Kentucky got on the board first in the second set, going on a 4-0 run.The Wildcats were outhitting the Bluejays in set 2 as Kentucky led 10-3.Creighton fell in set 2, 25-13.The Bluejays got on the board first in set 3.An incredible rally ended with a Creighton point thanks to Kiara Reinhardt.Things were close with multiple ties in set 3.A kill from Brooklyn DeLeye gave Kentucky the sweep, ending Creighton’s season. Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

Creighton volleyball faced Kentucky in an Elite Eight match on Saturday afternoon.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

The energy was electric as the Jays prepared to take on the Wildcats.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Creighton got on the board first.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Norah Wurtz broke Molly Morgan’s single-season Creighton ace record that was set in 2000.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

The Bluejays fell 25-19 in set 1.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Kentucky got on the board first in the second set, going on a 4-0 run.

The Wildcats were outhitting the Bluejays in set 2 as Kentucky led 10-3.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Creighton fell in set 2, 25-13.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

The Bluejays got on the board first in set 3.

An incredible rally ended with a Creighton point thanks to Kiara Reinhardt.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Things were close with multiple ties in set 3.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

A kill from Brooklyn DeLeye gave Kentucky the sweep, ending Creighton’s season.

Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.

NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |





Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Nebraska Volleyball ready for NCAA Regional Final versus Texas A&M

Published

on


LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Athletics) – The top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team hosts an NCAA Regional Final for the third straight year at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday. No. 1 Nebraska will face No. 6 Texas A&M at 2 p.m. on ABC.

ABOUT THE HUSKERS

• Nebraska (33-0) finished the regular season unbeaten for the third time in school history (1994 and 2000), dropping only seven sets overall and one in Big Ten play.

• Nebraska’s 33 straight wins is the second-longest win streak in school history in the NCAA era. The Huskers have won at least 33 matches in three straight seasons.

• The Huskers also hold a nation-leading home court win streak of 63 matches, tied for the second-longest home win streak in program history. Nebraska has won 29 consecutive NCAA Tournament matches played in the Devaney Center, a school record.

• The Huskers won their third straight Big Ten title with a perfect 20-0 record in conference play. It was the Huskers’ first unbeaten conference season since 2004 in the Big 12.

• Nebraska has now won 37 conference titles all-time, including six in the Big Ten (2011, 2016, 2017, 2023, 2024, 2025).

• The Huskers have won three straight conference titles for the first time since 2004-08.

• Dani Busboom Kelly became the first volleyball coach in Big Ten history to win the conference title in their first year as head coach at the school. John Cook won a Big Ten title at Nebraska in his first year in the conference in 2011, but it was his 12th season as head coach at Nebraska at the time.

• Nebraska has hit over .400 nine times this season, a school record in the rally-scoring era.

• Nebraska is 95-0 this season in sets when reaching the red zone (20 points) first.

• The Huskers have won 48 consecutive sets at home, tied for the second-longest streak in school history, trailing only the 52 consecutive home sets won spanning the 2001-02 seasons.

• NU’s offense ranks first nationally with a .355 hitting percentage. The Huskers haven’t hit better than .300 in a season since 2007 (.327). The school record for hitting percentage in a season is .331 in 1986.

• The Huskers rank first nationally in opponent hitting percentage at .121. NU led the nation in opponent hitting percentage in 2022 and 2023 and was sixth in 2024.

• The gap between Nebraska’s hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage is .234, by far the best in the nation. The next closest are American (.149), Pittsburgh (.145) and Wisconsin (.144).

• Nebraska ranks fourth nationally in kills per set at 14.69.

• The Huskers are seventh nationally in assists per set at 13.47.

• Nebraska ranks 16th nationally with 2.74 blocks per set.

• Over the last five seasons (2021-25), Dani Busboom Kelly has a 153-15 record for a .911 winning percentage, which is the best by any Division I head coach in that span.

• Nebraska is 13-0 against ranked opponents this season. The 13 victories against ranked opponents are tied for second in school history, one shy of the school record (14 in 1998).

• Nebraska played 24 sets in the month of October and went 24-0. In only two sets did an opponent reach 20 points (at Purdue – 23 in set one, and at Michigan State – 20 in set three).

• Nebraska swept 15 matches in a row and won 48 sets in a row from late September through mid-November. Both were the longest such streaks since the 2007 team swept 17 matches in a row and won 53 sets in a row.

Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.



Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Pitt Advances to Fifth-Straight NCAA Volleyball Semifinal

Published

on


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – No. 1-seeded Pitt defeated Purdue in four sets on Saturday night to advance to its fifth straight NCAA Volleyball Championship Semifinal.
 
ACC Player of the Year Olivia Babcock was named the Pittsburgh Regional Tournament MVP for the third straight season after recording 42 kills, 12 digs and five blocks in wins over Minnesota and the Boilermakers.
 
Babcock joined teammates Marina Pezelj and Brooke Mosher on the 2025 Pittsburgh Regional All-Tournament team. In tonight’s win, Pezelj registered a double-double with a career-high 14 kills and 12 digs, while Mosher totaled 47 assists, four kills and four blocks.
 

The Panthers will take on the winner of Nebraska and Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 18, at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
 
NCAA Volleyball Championship Results
NCAA Tournament – First and Second Rounds

Thursday, December 4

#8 UCLA 3, Georgia Tech 2
#5 Miami 3, Tulsa 1
North Carolina 3, #6 UTEP 1
 

Friday, December 5

#1 Pitt 3, UMBC 0
#2 Louisville 3, Loyola Chicago 0
#4 Kansas 3, #5 Miami 1
#2 SMU 3, Central Arkansas 0
#3 Wisconsin 3, North Carolina 0
#2 Stanford 3, Utah Valley 1

Saturday, December 6

#2 Louisville 3, Marquette 2

#1 Pitt 3, Michigan 0

#2 SMU 3, Florida 0

#2 Stanford 3, Arizona 1

Thursday, December 11 – Regional

#1 Pitt 3, #4 Minnesota 0

#3 Purdue 3, #2 SMU 1

Friday, December 12 – Regional

#3 Wisconsin 3, #2 Stanford 1

#3 Texas A&M 3, #2 Louisville 2

Saturday, December 13 – Regional Final

#1 Pitt 3, #3 Purdue 1





Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Volleyball Ends Season With Elite Eight Loss

Published

on


LEXINGTON, Ky. — Creighton Volleyball’s first Final Four appearance will have to wait, as the No. 11 Bluejays fell in three sets at the Regional Final for a second straight season at No. 2 Kentucky on Saturday evening in Lexington, Ky.  Scores of the match in favor of UK were 25-19, 25-13, 25-18.

With its 26th consecutive win, Kentucky (29-2) will play the winner of tomorrow evening’s winner between No. 3 Texas and No. 10 Wisconsin in Austin, Texas. That national semifinal will take place on Thursday night in Kansas City, Mo. Creighton ends Brian Rosen‘s first season at the helm with a 28-6 record after tasting defeat for the first time since Sept. 16

Creighton and Kentucky were tied at 14-all in the first set before Kentucky pulled away with a 5-0 run and ended up taking a 25-19 decision. UK All-Americans Brooklyn DeLeye and Eva Hudson both had six kills as UK had 17 kills to CU’s nine. Nora Wurtz had three aces in the frame, setting CU’s single-season school record of 59 set by Molly Moran in 2000.

The second set was all UK, as the hosts raced to leads of 7-1 and 12-4 and never trailed in a 25-13 victory to move in front 2-0. DeLeye had seven kills and the Wildcats hit .289 while holding CU to .000 hitting in 43 swings.

The third set featured seven ties and three lead changes before UK closed out the sweep with a 25-18 win.

DeLeye paced the Wildcats with 18 kills and added 12 digs, while Hudson had a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs. The Wildcats had 47 kills, 62 digs, eight blcoks and two aces on .263 hitting.

Martin and Johnson led Creighton with eight kills and Annalea Maeder had her fourth straight double-double with 26 assists and 13 digs. Creighton hit .066 and had 29 kills, 47 digs, nine blocks and three aces.

The match marked the final contest for Bluejay seniors Ava Martin, Kiara Reinhardt, Annalea Maeder and Sky McCune.

NOTES: Creighton’s Ava Martin and Sydney Breissinger were named to the Lexington Regional All-Tournament Team … Creighton had its 23-match win streak snapped, which was tied for the second-longest in program history … Kentucky has won 22 straight matches at home … Creighton’s nine-match win streak in true road matches was snapped, which tied a school-record … Creighton fell to 0-14 all-time against teams ranked first or second … Creighton is now 20-15 all-time in 15 NCAA Tournament appearances … Creighton had been trying to become the first school without football to make the Volleyball Final Four since Santa Clara in 2005 … Five of Creighton’s losses this season came to teams ranked in the top-five at the time of the match (#1 Nebraska, #2 Penn State, #2 Kentucky, #4 Louisville, #5 Texas). … Ava Martin tied Jaali Winters (595.5 in 2015) for most points in a single-season in Creighton history … Each of Creighton’s last 27 matches have been won by the team to win the first set.

Below is the NCAA VB Lexington Regional All-Tournament Team as voted by media present at the event. 

Brooklyn DeLeye – Kentucky* (*Most Outstanding Player)

Ava Martin – Creighton 

Sydney Breissinger – Creighton 


Molly Tuozzo – Kentucky

Lizzie Carr – Kentucky

Eva Hudson – Kentucky 

Noemie Glover – Arizona State

Kentucky Postgame Quotes

Kentucky Head Coach Craig Skinner

Opening Statement…

“I’m just really proud of our team and the performance that they had this weekend was impressive, and we asked our team to be relentless and we were relentless all evening and you can’t thank our players for giving themselves to this team and this program enough. They have done it all year long and can’t thank our administration enough for giving us the resources to build a special program. So, it takes a collective effort, a lot of people to get to this point and want our players to build and experience a Final Four, which we’ve got that chance to do. It’s awesome. But our job isn’t finished and we’ve got to get ready to play some good volleyball in Kansas City, so magical season needs to continue.”

 

On what it means to coach in Memorial Coliseum for the tournament…

“A lot, magical stuff. It’s just it’s hard to do. It takes a collective effort and administrators, coaches, people, players, staff, managers, all of that. I’ve been there before, done it, and obviously I can’t wait to do it again, but I just want our players to be able to feel what it’s like to be at that level, because it’s a really cool experience, and I don’t worry about the effort we’re going to give on Thursday night, so I just I want to make sure we can enjoy the opportunity and anything happens in the Final Four.”

 

On the crowd …

“It’s a dream to do that, and it’s hard to convince people by just saying it and talking about it and I just felt like I had to do something that would get the attention to people that don’t pay attention to volleyball. And so now that they’ve come, they’re hooked, and they’re gonna be hooked for a while, it just is an exciting brand of sports and, you know, a rising tide lifts all boats, and the more we can do for the University of Kentucky, and the other teams in this department, it makes us all better. We can’t do that without the help of administration to see the value in volleyball.”

 

On the effort the entire team puts into defense…

“One hundred percent. To hold a team like that to .066 is a lot to do with your defense, and you know, it’s a mentality. We have to establish a defensive mentality in practice.  We hammer balls at them all the time, they’re flying all over the gym, making plays. We have a couple rules, we’ll reason why you don’t go for the ball; that would be out of bounds, hear the whistle, or some sort of danger is in the way. Outside of that, you better go for the ball. But it’s just, you have to set that in practice, and we’ve spent a lot of time this year, just hammering that into our team, and it’s, man, it’s fun to watch, too.”

 

On what Eva Hudson has contributed to the team this year…

“Yeah, I just thank Eva for giving Kentucky a chance the third time, twice striking out to get her here and I think she saw something in this program that could bring something out of her. But I think everybody in the stand sees the level of competitor that she is, and there is zero that will fear her in the eyes of competition. It’s fun to be a part of people like that, and when you have people like these two at the table and others that are just competitors every single day, they’re going to win in life and Eva is, there’s no doubt about that. She’s going to win in life because she’s relentless in what she does, and I think people want to watch her play all the time.”

 

Kentucky Student-Athletes

#7 Eva Hudson, OH

On her last game in HMC …

“I mean it was absolutely magical. Every time they exceed expectations our whole team has for them. There was a time there at the end when I just looked around when it got really chaotic and it was a really cool experience and I just can’t thank them enough for an amazing year.”

 

On the team’s defense …

“Craig asked us to be relentless all evening. That sort of defense is so frustrating, one of your best shots and it being dug up. That was our mindset every time.”

 

On flipping the switch to another level in the second half …

“In the first, especially the first few points of the first set it was hard to find the rhythm with a game with so much pressure and a lot of high expectations, but I think in the second and third, we really found groove, our flow state, and we just capitalized on it.”

 

#17 Brooklyn DeLeye

On the team’s defense …

“Also props to the staff, I mean they really had a good game plan going into the match and I think we just executed that at a high level. Even if Creighton was making changes throughout the match, they were still telling us every single time we were at the net what to do.”

 

On Trinity’s play …

“You know she’s just one of the hardest workers out there, and I know when she got her shot to come in to serve she was going to make the most out of it. So, I mean, just props to her and just the person she is, because she was just a huge momentum shift whether that was her serving or just her presence out there, she will be your biggest hype man.”

 

Creighton Postgame Quotes

Creighton Head Coach Brian Rosen

On Kentucky’s serving…

“I thought our service did a nice shot. We had them under a 2 for most of the match. So I thought we did a decent job there. They shot well, their outsides were obviously really good, and even when we defended some of the balls, we just couldn’t find a way to win some of those long rallies. I just thought their defense tonight was the difference. They were an arm and ball back up. We ended up with nine blocks. I thought we could have had 18 tonight. They covered so well, just kept plays alive long enough for their outsides to terminate eventually. And so again, I just I give them a lot of credit for that. We fought as long as we could and just couldn’t find those stretches late in the first and the third when I thought we had chances.”

 

On Ava and Kiara …

“They’re like the two people that I knew the most and met when I took this job as an assistant a long time ago. Ava played on the same club team as a player I had just committed at a previous stop. I was the head coach at Nova Southeastern University before I got here, and committed a kid named Taylor Stockman to that program, and Ava was on the same team. And so I knew her really well when I came here, and then Kiara was the only athlete that I met when I was on my visit. They are just two really special individuals, getting Kiara to come back for the sixth year, allowed us to have the run that we had, her play is really, really good, and I think she’s one of the best middles in the country. But what she does beyond that is so much more important to our program. She’s the best leader, and the best teammate and does everything the right way, and then she jokes about being the team mom, and she really is. Even in her six years, making sure everyone has the right jerseys and spandex and all those kinds of things, but also brings so much joy. And Ava, the way she plays and competes is a pleasure to watch. I mean, sometimes in practices and film, the amount of times like my mouth drops watching her play is just remarkable. This is her last college game. I’m excited that she was able to go on this run, excited to watch her play at the next level. She’s earned this opportunity to play in the pro leagues and have a great career. She’s just special good and always shows up in the big moments and the two of them, the mark that they’ve left on our program, I know Kiara will be the winningest player to ever play at Creighton and it’s going to be hard for anyone to beat that. Ava, I believe, like just set the postseason record for kills. She’ll finish top three in her career and maybe cement herself as the best player to ever play at Creighton, and we have a pretty good list of players so it says a lot about who she is.”

 

On crowd atmosphere…

“I think volleyball has been booming for years now. It started with the woman behind you. I see Kathy DeBoer back there, putting volleyball on her back and trying to grow it as much as she could. When I was at Nova, she called me to start a beach team once. It’s grown and grown and grown since I started getting into it and starting watching it, and so I love that moments like this are now on ESPN. We got to get the first and second rounds on ESPN too. So I love that it’s on TV more. I know tonight there was a Kentucky men’s basketball game I heard down the street and still sold this place out tonight, which says a lot about a place that I know at one point was a basketball school. Maybe they’re a volleyball school now. We like to joke that we’re volleyball school too. And so I think so many fans and communities are seeing like how special this sport is. I think it’s the most spectator friendly sport there is. It’s so fast paced, it’s so athletic, it’s physical, it’s gritty, it’s fun. And so I’m just so grateful that all these fans are getting to see this in person, and people are able to see it at home, and I hope even though it didn’t go the way we wanted, I hope the match was fun for viewers to see, and they come back and watch more next time.”

 

On the message to the team in the locker room after the loss…

“I love them. I said that before but just that I love them. I’m so grateful to them. Again, back in April, when Coach Booth stepped down, every single one of them could have left. You know, even (Ava) Martin could have got a lot of money to go to a lot of places and chose to stay here and fight and wear that Creighton blue. And Kiara could have said, you know, never mind on the sixth year, but all of them stayed committed to represent Creighton, to play for me and for this staff. And so the biggest thing I told them was that I love them and how grateful I am to them for not just sticking with me, but showing up every day and fighting like crazy, not just for me, but for the people next to them. And, you know, the two things that I talked about in my first press conference was I’m gonna fight to keep the culture, and we’re gonna keep the same goals of going to a final four. These two and everyone else in that locker room are our culture. And they did everything they could to protect it this season. And obviously, we fell a few sets short of going to a final four this year, but I’m so proud of the fight they had. I don’t know how many people anywhere put us in an elite eight this season with losing 4 all Americans and all the things we did. But I know they did. And so just grateful for them and for all they did this season for our Creighton community.”

 

Creighton Student-Athletes

#8 Ava Martin, OH

On making adjustments…

“It’s always frustrating when things aren’t going your way. Their swings, I feel like they would just have little things that nothing really seemed to go our way. It happens, and I think it stinks and obviously we’re trying to make adjustments throughout the game, but our main goal was just to keep going for it.”

 

On playing for Creighton’s and what it means to her…

“I just have so much love for Creighton volleyball. Oh, I mean, even with Booth leaving I think all of us had it down our mind that we would stay just because of what we have here, and culture is so special and so amazing, and even the people that transfer in, they really let us know how lucky we are to have what we do. And our big thing is playing with joy, and I really hope other people can do that because we just have so much fun out there playing together, and that’s what we really want to show. We’ve had a good time and we love each other, and we want other people be able to see that as well. I think that’s just what makes us so hard is because we just love each other so much and we love the sport and volleyball and we’re just happy to be out there playing. Obviously we have big goals, final four and all those things, so that stinks, but I think one of the main things is just, you know, our time, together being done. It’s just really hard. And I’m just so thankful for Creighton. It’s just had very special place.”

 

On the program moving forward…

“It’s something we talk about every year. Obviously, it stings, and I wish we had another chance to get it back. The team next year is going to want to keep working for that too. I think it’s just an expectation here at Creighton now, to keep building off that and keep getting better. And yeah, obviously this hurts, but they’re going to get back in the gym this offseason and they’re going to continue to keep working toward that goal.”

 

#5 Kiara Reinhardt, MB

On Creighton’s play tonight… 

“I mean I thought our serve receive was pretty strong all throughout the match. We were in system a lot and our defense, especially in the third set, we were scrapping, unfortunately, offensively. I think we weren’t where we wanted to be tonight. Again, cuddos to Kentucky’s defense they did great. I think defense and serve receive we were really good at tonight. I think there were, especially those small hard tough rallies that were just kind of a lot of junk kind of being thrown around. I mean, we were in a lot of those, and there were so many of them tonight, I feel like. So, I hope those showed a little bit of good tonight.”

 

On going through the last postseason run and showing the new players the ropes…

“It’s been a joy. I’ll remember you all, especially since you’re seniors just below me. I’m so thankful for the time I got to spend here. A lot of people said, ‘Wow, you really got them all, you’re so lucky,’ and it truly has been an honor and a privilege. They’ve kept me young and they’ve kept me laughing, and honestly, I got a lot more out of this than I expected by coming back for another year. It was really special to be able to connect with some of the younger girls I hadn’t spent much time with before, and to get to know them better. They’re such a sweet and special group, and I’m really so grateful.”

 



Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Time, TV for Nebraska volleyball vs. Texas A&M in Elite Eight

Published

on







Link

Continue Reading

Most Viewed Posts

Trending