OMAHA, Neb. -- A pair of former Creighton Volleyball players will be playing professionally in the coming months. Korie Lebeda and Bianca Rivera, both standouts on the 2008 Bluejay team, will join 2007 teammate Kelly Goc in the professional ranks.
“I think it’s a dream for a lot of college athletes to have a chance to play professionally,” said CU head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. “We’re thrilled that three of our recent alums are getting that opportunity and hopefully it’s the beginning of many, many more.”
Lebeda received a call last Wednesday (Nov. 11), and is headed to Spain today (Nov. 17) in a whirlwind courtship. Lebeda’s services were needed when the setter for the Voley Murcia team in Murcia, Spain, she is headed to was injured, creating an immediate need. The regular-season for Voley Murcia lasts until February, with the postseason concluding in late March.
Lebeda was a three-time all-Missouri Valley Conference selection and record-breaking setter at Creighton from 2005-08, where she started all 119 matches of her career. Lebeda earned her Creighton degree last May and has been working locally at The Volleyball Academy. She also just finished the year as a volleyball assistant coach at Papillion-La Vista (Neb.) High School.
Rivera will return to her home country of Puerto Rico to play in the Puerto Rico Super League. She was the first selection of Las Vaqueras de Bayamon (Bayamon Cowgirls) in the league’s recent draft, which is located just minutes away from where she grew up in San Juan. Among the players on Bayamon’s roster last season was former Nebraska All-American Jordan Larson, who was also named the league’s 2009 MVP. Rivera’s season will begin in February and end in May.
Rivera played for Creighton from 2007-08, where she set school records for digs in a season and digs per set. She is currently enrolled at Creighton, working towards her degree in Finance.
Goc has been playing in Albania since August for Marin Barleti in Tirana, Albania, where she plays for coach Kreshnik Tartari. A Ralston, Neb., product, Goc played at Creighton from 2004-07 and was an honorable-mention All-American as a senior.
The 2009 Creighton team (12-15) returns to action on Friday with a 7 pm match at No. 21 Northern Iowa.
“I think it’s a dream for a lot of college athletes to have a chance to play professionally,” said CU head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. “We’re thrilled that three of our recent alums are getting that opportunity and hopefully it’s the beginning of many, many more.”
Lebeda received a call last Wednesday (Nov. 11), and is headed to Spain today (Nov. 17) in a whirlwind courtship. Lebeda’s services were needed when the setter for the Voley Murcia team in Murcia, Spain, she is headed to was injured, creating an immediate need. The regular-season for Voley Murcia lasts until February, with the postseason concluding in late March.
Lebeda was a three-time all-Missouri Valley Conference selection and record-breaking setter at Creighton from 2005-08, where she started all 119 matches of her career. Lebeda earned her Creighton degree last May and has been working locally at The Volleyball Academy. She also just finished the year as a volleyball assistant coach at Papillion-La Vista (Neb.) High School.
Rivera will return to her home country of Puerto Rico to play in the Puerto Rico Super League. She was the first selection of Las Vaqueras de Bayamon (Bayamon Cowgirls) in the league’s recent draft, which is located just minutes away from where she grew up in San Juan. Among the players on Bayamon’s roster last season was former Nebraska All-American Jordan Larson, who was also named the league’s 2009 MVP. Rivera’s season will begin in February and end in May.
Rivera played for Creighton from 2007-08, where she set school records for digs in a season and digs per set. She is currently enrolled at Creighton, working towards her degree in Finance.
Goc has been playing in Albania since August for Marin Barleti in Tirana, Albania, where she plays for coach Kreshnik Tartari. A Ralston, Neb., product, Goc played at Creighton from 2004-07 and was an honorable-mention All-American as a senior.
The 2009 Creighton team (12-15) returns to action on Friday with a 7 pm match at No. 21 Northern Iowa.
