Saturday, September 17
Lincoln, Neb.
8:00 PM
Creighton University
6-6
1
at
3
Nebraska
9-0
1
2
3
4
F
Creighton
25
13
25
18
1
Nebraska
23
25
27
25
3
Brittany Witt had 17 digs on Saturday vs. Nebraska
Photo by: Wesley Winterink
Volleyball Gives #1 Nebraska Toughest Test Yet
9/17/2016 11:12:00 PM | Volleyball
Bluejays snap NU's 24-set win streak in opener of heartbreaking loss
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Creighton Volleyball gave top-ranked Nebraska its toughest test of the season, but the defending national champion Cornhuskers survived three crucial set points in the third frame and escaped with a 3-1 win before 8,249 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday night. The win secured the championship of the Ameritas Players Challenge for NU, which won its 25th straight match and improved to 9-0 this fall.
Scores in favor of NU were 23-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-18.
Lauren Smith led Creighton (6-6) with 12 kills and four blocks on .333 hitting, while Marysa Wilkinson added nine kills and hit .292. Both women were named to the All-Tournament Team after a 2-1 weekend in their hometown.
Nebraska (9-0) was led by 17 kills, 13 digs and nine blocks by Tournament MVP Kadie Rolfzen, a returning All-American from the Omaha suburb of Papillion.
The Cornhuskers and their 209th straight home sellout crowd came in on a roll, having won 24 straight sets since dropping a 27-25 set to open the year against No. 10 Florida on a neutral floor. After an early 5-5 deadlock, Creighton fell behind by one point eight different occasions, and each time NU got a sideout to push the lead to two. Then, after a timeout trailing 21-18, the Jays went to work. Consecutive kills by Jaali Winters preceded an ace by Megan Ballenger to tie the set at 21-all. The Huskers regrouped to move ahead 23-21 before Creighton reeled off four points in a row to stun the host crowd. A kill from Smith, followed by a Rolfzen attack error, knotted the score at 23-all. Winters followed with an ace to give CU a set point, where a Husker blocking error gave CU a 1-0 lead over Nebraska for the second time in the last two meetings at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Wilkinson had four kills in five swings during the first set, as CU out-hit NU .265 to .258.
After Nebraska cruised to a 25-13 win in the second set to tie the match, the Bluejays would once again throw a scare into the hosts. Winters served up a 7-0 run as CU raced to 9-6 lead. CU remained in front until NU tied the score at 14-all. The teams would be tied at 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 before the Jays made their move. Wilkinson and Ballenger stuffed Rolfzen for a 23-22 lead, and CU earned a pair of set points after Briana Holman's attack error. Mikaela Foecke's kill staved off the first set point, and Rolfzen followed with another to tie the score. Smith would give CU a third set point with a kill, only to see the Jays squander the opportunity with one of its 12 service errors on the night. Nebraska took advantage, as Andie Malloy and Amber Rolfzen teamed up for consecutive blocks to give NU the set and a 2-1 lead in the match. Smith had six of CU's 12 kills in the third frame.
The fourth set was closer than the final score indicated, with 13 ties. With the score even at 14-all, officials overturned a Bluejay kill after video review as NU took a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. Though CU regained its composure to steady the score at 17-all, the Cornhuskers ended any drama with a match-ending 8-1 run.
Creighton hit .131 for the match, finishing with 48 kills, 58 digs and six blocks. CU also aced Nebraska five times, an impressive figure considering NU had been aced just 11 times in eight matches entering the contest. It also matches the most allowed by Nebraska at home since Penn State also had five on Oct. 3, 2014. Creighton's 81 points were the most allowed by a Nebraska opponent this fall, and the most by a Husker opponent in Lincoln since NU surrendered 97 to Wisconsin on Oct. 24, 2015, which was also NU's last loss at any site.
Nebraska finished with 56 kills, two aces, 66 digs and 14 blocks while being held to a season-low .245 hitting percentage. Holman, Foecke and Malloy each added 11 kills for the Cornhuskers, which received a match-high 47 assists from Kelly Hunter and 22 digs by libero Justine Wong-Orantes.
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Creighton returns to action on Friday, Sept. 23 when it hosts Marquette (10-2) to open BIG EAST play at 7 pm.
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Scores in favor of NU were 23-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-18.
Lauren Smith led Creighton (6-6) with 12 kills and four blocks on .333 hitting, while Marysa Wilkinson added nine kills and hit .292. Both women were named to the All-Tournament Team after a 2-1 weekend in their hometown.
Nebraska (9-0) was led by 17 kills, 13 digs and nine blocks by Tournament MVP Kadie Rolfzen, a returning All-American from the Omaha suburb of Papillion.
The Cornhuskers and their 209th straight home sellout crowd came in on a roll, having won 24 straight sets since dropping a 27-25 set to open the year against No. 10 Florida on a neutral floor. After an early 5-5 deadlock, Creighton fell behind by one point eight different occasions, and each time NU got a sideout to push the lead to two. Then, after a timeout trailing 21-18, the Jays went to work. Consecutive kills by Jaali Winters preceded an ace by Megan Ballenger to tie the set at 21-all. The Huskers regrouped to move ahead 23-21 before Creighton reeled off four points in a row to stun the host crowd. A kill from Smith, followed by a Rolfzen attack error, knotted the score at 23-all. Winters followed with an ace to give CU a set point, where a Husker blocking error gave CU a 1-0 lead over Nebraska for the second time in the last two meetings at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Wilkinson had four kills in five swings during the first set, as CU out-hit NU .265 to .258.
After Nebraska cruised to a 25-13 win in the second set to tie the match, the Bluejays would once again throw a scare into the hosts. Winters served up a 7-0 run as CU raced to 9-6 lead. CU remained in front until NU tied the score at 14-all. The teams would be tied at 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 before the Jays made their move. Wilkinson and Ballenger stuffed Rolfzen for a 23-22 lead, and CU earned a pair of set points after Briana Holman's attack error. Mikaela Foecke's kill staved off the first set point, and Rolfzen followed with another to tie the score. Smith would give CU a third set point with a kill, only to see the Jays squander the opportunity with one of its 12 service errors on the night. Nebraska took advantage, as Andie Malloy and Amber Rolfzen teamed up for consecutive blocks to give NU the set and a 2-1 lead in the match. Smith had six of CU's 12 kills in the third frame.
The fourth set was closer than the final score indicated, with 13 ties. With the score even at 14-all, officials overturned a Bluejay kill after video review as NU took a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. Though CU regained its composure to steady the score at 17-all, the Cornhuskers ended any drama with a match-ending 8-1 run.
Creighton hit .131 for the match, finishing with 48 kills, 58 digs and six blocks. CU also aced Nebraska five times, an impressive figure considering NU had been aced just 11 times in eight matches entering the contest. It also matches the most allowed by Nebraska at home since Penn State also had five on Oct. 3, 2014. Creighton's 81 points were the most allowed by a Nebraska opponent this fall, and the most by a Husker opponent in Lincoln since NU surrendered 97 to Wisconsin on Oct. 24, 2015, which was also NU's last loss at any site.
Nebraska finished with 56 kills, two aces, 66 digs and 14 blocks while being held to a season-low .245 hitting percentage. Holman, Foecke and Malloy each added 11 kills for the Cornhuskers, which received a match-high 47 assists from Kelly Hunter and 22 digs by libero Justine Wong-Orantes.
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Creighton returns to action on Friday, Sept. 23 when it hosts Marquette (10-2) to open BIG EAST play at 7 pm.
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Team Stats
CU
NEB
Kills
48
56
Errors
27
21
Attempts
160
143
Hitting %
.131
.245
Points
59.0
72.0
Assists
43
53
Aces
5
2
Blocks
6.0
14.0
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
11
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB/RS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH/RS
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