Volleyball Visits Providence For Weekend Matches

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This Weekend
Oct. 27   6 pm CT   #16 Creighton at Providence   Providence, R.I. (Alumni Hall)
Oct. 28   4 pm CT   #16 Creighton at Providence   Providence, R.I. (Alumni Hall)

This Weekend
Back in first place in search of a fourth straight BIG EAST title, No. 16 Creighton (16-5, 9-1 BIG EAST) plays a pair of matches at Providence (15-10, 4-6 BIG EAST) this weekend.
   Creighton meets the Friars at 6 p.m. Central on Friday and 4 p.m. Central on Saturday. Both matches this weekend will take place at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I.

Radio Information
Neither match this weekend will be broadcast on radio.

Video Information
Both matches this weekend will be video webcast at http://www.friars.com/allaccess. A subscription is required. The video feed has audible crowd noise and a score bug but does not have announcers.

Live Stats Information
Both of Creighton's matches this weekend will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Creighton Volleyball schedule page for the exact links.

Scouting #16 Creighton
Creighton is off to a 16-5 this fall and first in the BIG EAST with a 9-1 league mark. The Bluejays have won 37 of their last 38 matches against teams from the BIG EAST and are chasing their fourth straight regular-season and tournament league titles.
   Creighton reached as high as seventh in the AVCA Top 25 poll during a strong non-conference season that featured three wins over ranked teams (then-No. 3 Washington, No. 7 Kansas, No. 13 Kentucky). Eight of the 11 teams on Creighton's non-conference schedule are ranked this week.
   Four Bluejays were named Preseason All-BIG EAST, a group that features libero Brittany Witt (4.18 dps.), Jaali Winters (3.42 kps.), Taryn Kloth (3.03 kps.) and 2016 BIG EAST Player of the Year Lydia Dimke (10.81 aps., 2.53 dps., .385%).
   Marysa Wilkinson (2.99 kps., 1.01 bps., .378%) was snubbed in the preseason voting by league coaches, but you can be sure she'll attract postseason acclaim. The senior is hitting a robust .444 in league play with just 11 attack errors in 10 conference contests.
   The Bluejays average 14.38 kills, 15.92 digs, 2.16 blocks and 1.26 aces per set while hitting .278.

Scouting Providence
Providence is 15-10 on the season, including an 8-3 home mark. The 15 wins tie the program's most victories in a season since 15 wins in 2008.
   The Friars started the campaign 11-0 but have found the going a bit tougher in BIG EAST play, going 4-6 in league action.
   Addison Root (3.72 kps., 2.43 dps.) is one of five Friars players averaging at least 2.15 kills per set, giving setter Allison Barber (10.68 aps., 2.99 dps.) plenty of weapons to choose from.
   McKenzie Lydon (3.23 dps.) tops the club in digs, and Lindsey Schaible (0.77) owns the team lead in blocks.
   The Friars average 13.22 kills, 1.56 aces, 14.20 digs and 1.65 blocks per set on .229 hitting.

The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 307-158 record in her 15th season with the Bluejays. She's led Creighton to back-to-back-to-back BIG EAST titles, and four league crowns in the last five years. She has led the Bluejays to their first two Sweet 16's (2015, 2016) and first Elite Eight (2016) in program history. In 2016 she was recognized as VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Coach of the Year and AVCA East Region Coach of the Year.
   The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only six NCAA Tournament bids in the program's modern history. She's also coached the Jays into the top-25 each of the last six years, another program first.
   Booth came to Creighton after going 112-41 in three years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A native of Lincoln, Neb., Booth played volleyball at Truman State, where she was named conference MVP, an Academic All-American and Missouri's 1997 NCAA Woman of the Year. She ranked third in Division II history with 6,077 assists when she graduated.
   Booth is assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Ryan Meek and Drew Davis.
   Margot Royer-Johnson (Scranton, 1995) owns a 172-377 mark in her 18th year at Providence, which doubles as her career mark. She is assisted by Keith Smith and Barbara Gonzalez.

Series History vs. Providence
Creighton is 6-0 all-time against Providence, winning all 18 sets in a series that began in 2013. Ten of those set victories have been by 10 or more points.
   Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 6-0 all-time against Providence and coach Margot Royer-Johnson.

Last Weekend Recap
Creighton moved into first place in the BIG EAST with wins over St. John's (3-1) and Seton Hall (3-0) last weekend in Omaha.
   Jaali Winters, Taryn Kloth and Megan Ballenger each averaged at least 3.00 kills per set, while Brittany Witt averaged 4.71 digs per set.

Providence x 2?
In a nearly unprecedented scheduling quirk, Creighton is playing Providence twice in a row this weekend.
   The two teams are travel partners in the geographically expansive BIG EAST Conference, but rather than have each team travel halfway across the country on different weekends at great expense, it was agreed to have the teams play consecutively on the same weekend at the same site.
   Last year, Providence played back-to-back matches in Omaha to start the arrangement.
   Since restarting its program in 1994 Creighton has played 710 matches, but only twice has the team played the same foe twice in a row.
   The first time came in 2011 at the Texas A&M Invitational, when CU met the host Aggies on both August 26 and August 27 after a potential fourth team in that event dropped out.
   Last year's two-match meet-up in Omaha against Providence was the second such time.
   In both previous instances, the team to win the first match also won the rematch the following day.

Seeking 200 Sweeps
Creighton owns 198 sweeps in program history since its 1994 reinstatement, nearly half of its 400 all-time wins.
   Creighton is 159-64 all-time under Kirsten Bernthal Booth in three-set matches, compared to a 39-83 mark before her arrival.
   Creighton has played Providence six times in history, and won 3-0 each previous time.

Passing The Halfway Point
Creighton is 9-1 in BIG EAST play and reached the midpoint of the league slate last Friday vs. St. John's with an 8-1 mark.
   Creighton has now started 8-1 or better in league play for the fourth straight season, and fifth time in six seasons.
   Each of the previous four times CU has been 8-1 or better halfway through the league schedule, the Bluejays have won both the regular-season and league tournament titles.
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   1-0 so far   TBD
Total   133-84   123-86   --

Creighton vs. Cancer
Creighton wore its alternate pink jerseys last Sunday as part of the program's annual breast cancer awareness day.
   It was the 11th time that Creighton has had a "Pink Out" at home under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 10-1 in those matches, including 10 straight wins.
Creighton's Home Pink Out History
10/20/07   Northern Iowa, L 0-3
10/17/08   Evansville, W 3-0
10/24/09   Indiana State, W 3-0
10/29/10   Indiana State, W 3-0
10/22/11   Evansville, W 3-0
10/27/12   Southern Illinois, W 3-1
10/20/13   Butler, W 3-1
10/24/14   Marquette, W 3-1
10/09/15   DePaul, W 3-2
10/16/16   Seton Hall, W 3-0
10/22/17   Seton Hall, W 3-0

Wilkinson Wins Third Defensive Honor
Marysa Wilkinson was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. It's the senior's third Defensive Player of the Week honor this fall, joining the recognition she received on Aug. 29 and Oct. 3.
   A middle blocker from Lincoln, Neb., Wilkinson helped Creighton to a 2-0 week by averaging 1.57 blocks per set, in addition to 2.43 kills per set on .341 hitting.
    She started the week with six blocks, including three solo stuffs, in a 3-1 win over St. John's. Wilkinson also contributed 12 kills and two digs on .357 hitting.
    The senior then added five kills and five blocks on .308 hitting in a sweep of third-place Seton Hall on Sunday.

Hall Pass
Including last Sunday, Creighton has now won 20 straight sets against Seton Hall, outscoring The Hall 501-350. The Pirates have scored more than 19 points in just six of those 20 sets.
   Creighton has outblocked SHU 61.5 - 23.5 in those 20 sets, and out-aced the Pirates 32-8.
   As seen in the chart below, the team with more aces in the Creighton/Seton Hall series is 12-0 all-time, while the team with more blocks is 11-0-1 all-time in the series.
Date   Result   Aces   Blocks
11/03/13   CU 3-0   CU 3-1   CU 12.5-8.0
11/16/13   SHU 3-1   SHU 6-2   SHU 16.0-14.0
10/10/14   SHU 3-2   SHU 9-3   SHU 22.0-14.0
11/23/14   SHU 3-0   SHU 2-0   SHU 13.0-7.0
11/29/14   CU 3-1   CU 2-0   CU 18.0-8.0
09/25/15   CU 3-1   CU 5-5   CU 11.0-8.0
10/31/15   CU 3-0   CU 4-2   CU 9.0-6.0
10/16/16   CU 3-0   CU 3-1   CU 13.0-3.0
10/28/16   CU 3-0   CU 5-1   CU 11.0-2.0
11/25/16   CU 3-0   CU 6-0   CU 7.0-4.0
09/29/17   CU 3-0   CU 4-0   CU 7.5-2.5
10/22/17   CU 3-0   CU 6-0   CU 7.0-2.0

2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 259-9 (.966) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 202-3 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU has won 35 straight when up 2-0, and is 129-1 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009.
   Conversely, the Jays are 13-191 (.064) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, but did have three comeback victories in 2015 and another one on Oct. 13, 2017 vs. Butler.
   Those 13 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

Wilkinson Wows 'Em
Marysa Wilkinson is hitting .444 in league matches, committing just 11 attack errors in 216 swings over 10 conference matches thus far.
   Wilkinson owns 56 kills and just four errors in her last five matches, which spans 109 swings (.477).
   What makes it even scarier is that Wilkinson hasn't yet faced a Providence team that she's dominated over the years. Wilkinson has 43 kills, three errors in 71 swings in her career against the Friars, good for a healthy .563 hitting percentage.
   The BIG EAST record for hitting percentage in conference play is .481 by Notre Dame's Ashley Tartutis in 2007.
   No player has finished hitting .435 or better in BIG EAST action since Cincinnati's Jessie Nevitt hit .461 in 2008.

All She Does Is Win
Since her arrival on campus in 2014, Creighton is 96-30 in matches that Marysa Wilkinson has appeared in.
   The 96 victories are fourth-most in program history for one player, and give her a chance to surpass Lauren Smith's school-record of 104 victories by season's end.
Most Wins, Appeared In As A Player
   104   Lauren Smith   2013-16
   102   Melanie Jereb   2012-15
   101   Ashley Jansen   2012-15
   96   Marysa Wilkinson   2014-Pr.
   95   Kate Elman   2012-15

100, 200, 300, 400
Creighton owns a 400-310 record since its 1994 reinstatement, earning its 400th win on Oct. 22 vs. Seton Hall.
   Here's a look at Creighton's record at the time of some of its milestone victories:
W-L   Opponent   Date   1-0   vs. Chattanooga   09/02/94
25-57   Wichita State   11/15/96
50-91   Southern Illinois   09/10/99
75-112   at Evansville   11/04/00
100-160   at Bradley   10/04/03
125-182   vs. UC Riverside   09/02/05
150-197   Drake   09/22/06
175-213   at Indiana State   10/26/07
200-224   Texas Tech   08/28/09
225-239   Bradley   09/25/10
250-263   Wichita State   11/04/11
275-270   Illinois State   11/10/12
300-278   Georgetown   11/22/13
325-287   at St. John's   11/15/14
350-297   Butler   11/15/15
375-304   Xavier   11/06/16
400-310   Seton Hall   10/22/17

Higher And Higher
Creighton set five D.J. Sokol Arena records in its Oct. 13th 3-2 comeback win over Butler.
   Creighton's 84 kills were a facility record, the third-most of any team in the nation this fall, and the most by any BIG EAST team in a league match since Seton Hall had 84 kills at Marquette on Nov. 9, 2007 when sets were played to 30 points. The 84 kills were the most by a CU team since the Bluejays posted 86 at Evansville on Nov. 4, 2000.
   Creighton's 79 assists were a facility record, the third-most of any team in the nation this fall, and the most by any BIG EAST team in a league match since Seton Hall had 79 assists at Marquette on Nov. 9, 2007 when sets were played to 30 points. It was also the most by a CU team since the Jays had 79 assists at Wichita State on Oct. 13, 2006.
   Creighton also established facility records for attack attempts (216), digs (106) and points (96.0).
   Jaali Winters' 28 kills were tied for third-most in Creighton history for one match, equalled her previous high, and were also the most ever by a Bluejay inside D.J. Sokol Arena.
   Lydia Dimke's 65 assists were a career-high the most by any BIG EAST player in a match this season, and the most by a Bluejay since Korie Lebeda had 71 on Nov. 18, 2006 at Evansville.

Home Sweet Home
Creighton went 10-0 at home last season in BIG EAST play, the third time (joining 2012 and 2015) in the previous five years it was unbeaten at home in league play.
   Creighton is 40-2 all-time (.952) in regular-season BIG EAST play at D.J. Sokol Arena, falling once each to St. John's (2013) and Seton Hall (2014).
   Since D.J. Sokol Arena opened in 2009, Creighton is 71-7 (.910) all-time in regular-season conference matches in the facility, including 25 straight victories.
   Creighton has won all nine meetings with St. John's since that 2013 upset, and all eight encounters versus Seton Hall since dropping the home match in 2014.
   The Bluejays have had a winning record in conference home matches each of the last 12 seasons. That streak that dates back to its days at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, a site that was torn down last winter and no longer exists.

BEDN Brings Out The Best In the Bluejays
Creighton has two remaining scheduled appearances this fall on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
   Since the network originated in 2014, Creighton is a perfect 17-0 on BEDN. Five of those victories came in five sets.
   Creighton next returns to BEDN on Nov. 11 at Xavier.

Middles Are All Right
The numbers would suggest that Creighton dominated the middle in its Oct. 6 win at DePaul. CU's four middle blockers and right-side hitters that saw action combined for 27 kills without an attack error in 40 swings. That's good for a .675 hitting percentage.
   Marysa Wilkinson had 10 kills on 12 swings, Megan Ballenger had nine kills on 12 swings, Naomi Hickman had six kills on 11 swings and Kelsey O'Connell added two kills on five swings.

First Set Is Key
The winner in 21 of Creighton's last 22 matches has been the team that won the first set of the match, and the Bluejays have won 34 in a row when going up 1-0 in a match.
   This fall, Creighton is 15-0 when winning the first set and 1-5 when losing the first set. Providence is 12-1 when winning the first set and 3-9 when losing the first set.
   Creighton is 13-2 when winning the second set and 3-3 when dropping the second set. Providence is 11-3 when winning the second set and 4-7 when losing the second set.
   Creighton is 14-1 when winning the third set and 2-4 when losing the third set. Providence is 14-0 when winning the third set and 1-10 when losing the third set.
   Creighton is 5-1 when winning the fourth set and 0-2 when losing the fourth set. Providence is 6-0 when winning the fourth set and 1-4 when losing the fourth set.
   Creighton is 1-1 in five-set matches. Providence is 2-0 in five-set matches.

Best...Set...Ever...
Creighton responded from its first league loss since 2015 with authority, hitting a school-record .818 in the first set of an Oct. 6 win at DePaul.
   CU had 18 kills without an attack error in 22 swings to hit that .818, which surpassed hte previous best mark of .722 in the fifth set of a win at Georgetown on Nov. 20, 2015.
   Creighton's previous best mark in a non-deciding set had been .684 (13-0-19) in the second set vs. Eastern Illinois on Oct. 15, 2000, and Creighton's previous best mark in a set to 25 had been .654 (18-1-26) in the third set vs. Bradley on Sept. 25, 2010.
Best Team Hitting Percentage in a Set
   %   K-E-TA   Opponent (Set #)   Date
   .818   18-0-22   at DePaul (1)   10/06/17
   .722   13-0-18   at Georgetown (5)   11/20/15
   .714   10-0-14   vs. Northern Iowa (5)   09/05/14
   .684   13-0-19   Eastern Illinois (2)   10/15/00
   .682   15-0-22   Tulsa (3)   10/27/95

Among The Best Matches Ever, Too
Creighton didn't let up after hitting .818 in the first set, as the team hit .476 for the entire match against DePaul on Oct. 6.
   The .476 output ranks as the third-best mark in program history for a match, and is the third occasion this fall the team has hit .440 or better. Prior to 2017, Creighton had done that just three times total from 1994-2016.
   Below is the top hitting percentages in a match in Bluejay history:
Best Attack Percentage, Match
   .536   vs. Tulsa (41-4-69)   10-27-95
   .495   vs. Liberty (57-8-99)   9-2-05
   .476   at DePaul (46-6-84)   10-6-17
   .471   vs. Providence (36-4-68)   10-19-14
   .4463   vs. Georgetown (62-8-121)   9-22-17
   .4459   vs. Belmont (38-5-74)   9-8-17
   .419   vs. Seton Hall (51-7-105)   10-22-17
   .418   vs. Evansville (98-21-184)   11-2-96
   .415   vs. Butler (47-8-94)   11-4-16
   .4144   vs. UC-Riverside (57-11-111)   9-2-05
   .4141   vs. Drake (49-8-99)   10-3-08

Dimke Passes 2000
Lydia Dimke owns 2,146 assists in 55 career matches played at Creighton, after passing 2,000 assists in her 52nd career match on Oct. 13 vs. Butler.
   Dimke is the seventh player to reach 2,000 assists at Creighton, and fourth-quickest to get there.
   Creighton's Quickest Players To 2,000 Assists (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Korie Lebeda   43   09/22/06   Drake
Brittany Coleman   45   10/02/04   Southern Illinois
Kailey Reyes   49   09/01/00   at Iowa State
Lydia Dimke   52   10/13/17   Butler
Megan Bober   55   11/05/10   at Wichita State
Melissa Weisensee   66   09/15/96   at UMKC
Michelle Sicner   109   11/23/14   Seton Hall

Dimke Hitting With Accuracy, Too
Lydia Dimke split time between outside hitter and setter while at Purdue, and since transferring to Creighton she's made an impact in both areas.
   Dimke is one of seven players in program history to reach 2,000 career assists at CU.
   As an attacker, Dimke is hitting .385 in all matches and .379 in league play.
   Dimke is on pace to approach the career hitting percentage at Creighton, which requires 250 career kills. Dimke is hitting .331 and owns 239 career kills, which puts her in range of Kelli Browning's mark of .335.
   Below is a list of the top hitting percentages in CU history among those with 250 or more career kills:
Career Attack Percentage (Min. 250 kills)
       Name   K   E   Att.   Pct.   Year
   1.   Kelli Browning   1,104   325   2,327   .335   2011-14
   2.   Lauren Smith   1,160   365   2,460   .323   2013-16
   3.   Marysa Wilkinson   1,061   276   2,514   .312   2014-Pr.
   4.   Megan Ballenger   338   111   757   .300   2015-Pr.
   5.   Kelly Goc   1,414   414   3,374   .296   2004-07
   6.   Ashley Williams   941   279   2,336   .283   2001-04
   7.   Melissa Weisensee   389   122   970   .2753   1994-97
   8.   Kailey Reyes   398   100   1,083   .2752   1998-01
   9.   Laurel Sanford   761   245   1,907   .271   2008-11
   10.   Megan Bober   833   266   2,177   .260   2009-12

Blue October
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton has been a solid 47-25 in September, only to take it up a notch in October. CU is 43-5 in October in that same span, and an even better 39-4 in the month of November.
   Creighton has won 25 straight home matches in the month of October dating to a Oct. 15, 2011 loss to No. 12 Northern Iowa.
   Since the start of the 2014 season, Creighton is a combined 54-4 in the months of October and November.

Champions Clash
Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton and Marquette are the only teams to win any sort of BIG EAST volleyball title.
   Marquette won the regular-season and tournament title in 2013, while Creighton swept both titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
   The 2017 season has seen more of the same, as the teams hold down the top two spots in the standings.
   Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team (through Oct. 26) since the league's reconfiguration in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013 (thru 10/26)
             BIG EAST only   All   matches
Team (NCAA Bids)   W   L   W   L
Creighton (4)   72   8   120   39
Marquette (4)   63   18   110   42
Xavier   54   27   86   65
Butler   47   34   93   57
Seton Hall (1)   47   34   87   66
Villanova (1)   40   40   82   66
St. John's   32   49   81   74
Georgetown   16   64   44   100
DePaul   16   65   56   88
Providence*   8   56   44   79
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 and
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.

Success In The BIG EAST
Creighton is 33-1 in its last 34 matches and 50-2 in its last 52 matches against teams from the BIG EAST.
   The Bluejays have an active winning streak of four or longer against each school in the BIG EAST Conference except Marquette, as seen below.
Team   Series History   Current CU Streak
Butler   CU 8-1   Won Last 8
DePaul   CU 9-1   Won Last 9
Georgetown   CU 9-0   Won Last 9
Marquette   CU 11-4   Lost 1
Providence   CU 6-0   Won Last 6
Seton Hall   CU 9-3   Won Last 8
St. John's   CU 9-1   Won Last 9
Villanova   CU 9-1   Won Last 4
Xavier   CU 12-0   Won Last 12

Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a winning record against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
   The Bluejays enter Friday with 79 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 14 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
   Seton Hall is the only league foe to top the Bluejays three times since 2013.
Opponent   Reg. Season   BE Tourney   Total
Butler   8-1   -   8-1
DePaul   9-0   -   9-0
Georgetown   9-0   -   9-0
Marquette   7-2   1-1   8-3
Providence   6-0   -   6-0
Seton Hall   7-3   2-0   9-3
St. John's   9-1   -   9-1
Villanova   8-1   1-0   9-1
Xavier   9-0   3-0   12-0
Total   72-8   7-1   79-9

Climbing The List
Kirsten Bernthal Booth became Creighton Volleyball's winningest coach in the program's modern history on August 26, 2007, and hasn't let up.
   Booth won her 300th match at CU on Sept. 24 vs. Villanova, and now owns 307 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank sixth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport   Victories
Brent Vigness, Softball   729*
Mary Higgins, Softball   564
Ed Servais, Baseball   483*
Tom Lilly, Men's & Women's Tennis   402*
Dana Altman, Men's Basketball   327
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball   307*
*still active coaching at Creighton

Better And Better and Better...
Senior Marysa Wilkinson owns 218 kills this season, becoming the sixth player in CU history with 200 or more kills in each of her first four seasons on campus.
   Junior Jaali Winters is one of eight players to accomplish the feat in each of her first three seasons with the Bluejays.
200 or More Kills, First 3 Seasons
Name (Years)   Fr.   So.   Jr.   Sr.   Total
Melissa Walsh, 1998-01   341   428   435   392   1,596
Kelly Goc, 2004-07   218   345   437   414   1,414
JoDe Cieloha, 1994-97   271   303   380   421   1,375
Lauren Smith, 2013-16   271   278   331   280   1,160
Marysa Wilkinson, 2014-17   236   286   321   218   1,061
Shelly Kapler, 1996-99   237   283   265   215   1,000
Jess Bird, 2013-16   297   231   350   87       965
Jaali Winters, 2015-Pr.   546   448   250   -   1,244

Spike Town
Jaali Winters enters Friday with 1,244 career kills, good for seventh-most in Creighton history. Winters recently surpassed former teammate Lauren Smith (1,160) to move into seventh place.
   Here's a look at Creighton's top-12 in career kills, which includes teammate Marysa Wilkinson's 1,061 kills that rank 11th.
Most Career Kills, Creighton History
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Leah Ratzlaff   409   1,622   2002-05
   2.   Melissa Walsh   394   1,596   1998-01
   3.   Kelly Goc   394   1,414   2004-07
   4.   Jessica Houts   451   1,385   2005-09
   5.   JoDe Cieloha   398   1,375   1994-97
   6.   Leah McNary   458   1,257   2011-14
   7.   Jaali Winters   331   1,244   2015-Pr.
   8.   Lauren Smith   511   1,160   2013-16
   9.   Allie Oelke   445   1,126   2007-10
   10.   Kelli Browning   424   1,104   2011-14
   11.   Marysa Wilkinson   454   1,061   2014-Pr.
   12.   Amanda Cvejdlik   343   1,029   2005-08

Wilkinson Reaches 1,000 Kills
Marysa Wilkinson reached 1,000 career kills in her 120th career match after reaching the milestone in the third set of a 3-0 win at St. John's on Oct. 30th.
   Earlier this season teammate Jaali Winters needed just 72 career matches to reach 1,000 career kills, becoming the second-fastest player in school history to reach the 1,000 kill milestone. Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer Melissa Walsh reached 1,000 career kills in 70 matches in 2000.
   Wilkinson and Winters join Jessica Houts and Amanda Cvejdlik (in 2008) as the only Bluejay teammates to reach 1,000 career kills in the same season in history.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 1,000 Kills (Career)
Name   MP   Date   Opponent
Melissa Walsh   70   10/15/00   Eastern Illinois
Jaali Winters   72   08/25/17   vs. Saint Mary's
Leah Ratzlaff   76   10/22/04   Missouri State
JoDe Cieloha   83   09/13/97   at Drake
Kelly Goc   87   11/24/06   vs. Northern Iowa
Jessica Houts   90   11/08/08   Illinois State
Leah McNary   96   09/12/14   Pepperdine
Amanda Cvejdlik   99   11/15/08   at Evansville
Shelly Kapler   103   11/18/99   vs. Missouri State
Allie Oelke   107   10/09/10   Wichita State
Kelli Browning   110   10/26/14   DePaul
Lauren Smith   119   10/07/16   at Villanova
Marysa Wilkinson   120   09/30/17   at St. John's

Streak Snapped at 28 Straight
Until an Oct. 5 loss at Marquette, Creighton had won each of its last 28 regular-season matches in BIG EAST play. That ranked as the third-longest volleyball streak in league history.
   Former league member Notre Dame owns each of the two longest marks.
Most Consecutive Regular-Season BIG EAST League Wins
   Wins   School   Dates   Snapped By
   45   Notre Dame   Oct. 1, 1999-Nov. 9, 2002   at Miami (Fla.), 3-2
   35   Notre Dame   Sept. 30, 1995-Oct. 4, 1998   at UConn, 3-2
   28   Creighton   Oct. 31, 2015-Present   at Marquette, 3-0
   24   Louisville   Oct. 1, 2006-Nov. 9, 2007   at Notre Dame, 3-1

Select Company
Creighton and Marquette are two of 21 teams nationally to have appeared in each of the previous five NCAA Tournaments. That group features BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Penn State, San Diego, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and Washington.
   Creighton is one of 10 teams in the country that has been to the Sweet 16 each of the last two seasons, a list that consists of BYU, Creighton, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas, UCLA, Washington and Wisconsin.
   Creighton is also one of just 10 schools nationally who have won 23 matches or more in each of the previous five seasons (2012-16). That group consists of BYU, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, Washington and Western Kentucky.

RPI Stands At 15th
Creighton ranks 15th in the Oct. 23 official NCAA RPI rankings. The mark is the best in the BIG EAST (Marquette is second-best at 34).
   Creighton was eighth in the inaugural NCAA rankings that came out on October 2nd, just shy of the program's best RPI ever of fifth on Oct. 21, 2013.
   Contrary to popular opinion, Creighton's RPI has typically improved in recent years during BIG EAST play.
   In 2016, Creighton was 29th during the initial RPI release on Oct. 3 and improved to 17th by Selection Sunday on Nov. 28th after an 18-0 league record.
   In 2015, Creighton was 20th during the initial RPI release on Oct. 5 and improved to 15th by Selection Sunday on Nov. 30th after a 17-1 league record.
   In 2014, Creighton was 41st during the initial RPI release on Oct. 6 and improved to 24th by Selection Sunday on Dec. 1 after a 16-2 league record.
   In 2013, Creighton was 10th during the initial RPI release on Oct. 7 and dropped to 16th by Selection Sunday on Dec. 2 after a 12-4 league finish.

Wilkinson Named Defensive Player of Week
Marysa Wilkinson was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 3. It was her second such honor this fall, joining the recognition she received on August 29.
   In addition to 3.17 kills per set on .444 hitting, Wilkinson averaged 1.67 blocks per set as Creighton swept matches at both Seton Hall and St. John's. Wilkinson's 10 blocks were twice as many as Creighton's opponents, combined, on the weekend.
   She began her weekend with 13 kills in 20 swings, hitting .600, as Creighton swept Seton Hall. She added two blocks and a pair of digs.
   On Saturday at St. John's, Wilkinson tied her career-high with eight blocks while also providing six kills on .250 hitting. Her sixth kill gave Creighton a 23-17 lead in the third set and made her the 13th Bluejay in school history to reach 1,000 career kills.

Dimke Up For Senior CLASS Award
Lydia Dimke is among 30 student-athletes who excel both on and off the court that were selected today as candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate volleyball. Dimke was the BIG EAST's only representative to make the initial cut.
   To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
   A setter from Ham Lake, Minn., Dimke averages 10.81 assists, 2.53 digs, 1.45 kills and 0.77 blocks per set while hitting .385. She was named 2017 Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year this fall after ending last year with BIG EAST Player of the Year accolades. She was also named a Third Team All-American by the AVCA last season after helping the Bluejays to the Elite Eight.
   A two-time team captain, Dimke has performed more than 25 hours of community service since arriving at Creighton. She's been active with Welcome Week, performed a clinic for children, visits local schools to read, spoke and helped at the Mustang March at Mary Our Queen, and has helped feed the homeless. In the classroom, she earned a spot on Creighton's Dean's List in the Fall of 2016, when she was also leading Creighton to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. She also landed a spot on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team in 2016-17 and was named Academic All-Big Ten in 2015-16 as a student-athlete at Purdue. Dimke is a communication studies major.
   Dimke is the latest in a long line of Creighton Volleyball student-athletes to make the Senior CLASS cut in recent seasons, as Jess Bird and Lauren Smith were candidates in 2016, with Smith ending the fall as a Senior CLASS All-American. Other past volleyball candidates include Melanie Jereb in 2015, Kelli Browning in 2014 and Megan Bober in 2012. Former Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while ex-Creighton men's basketball standout Doug McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.

Any Venue Will Do
Since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton has a .500 record or better at every BIG EAST venue in which it has played.
Site   Creighton W-L
D.J. Sokol Arena (CU)   58-11
Carnesecca Arena (SJU)   5-0
McGrath-Phillips Arena (DPU)   5-0
Hinkle Fieldhouse (BU)   5-1
Al McGuire Center (MU)   5-2
Cintas Center (XU)   4-0
McDonough Arena (GU)   4-0
Alumni Hall (PC)   2-0
Jake Nevin Field House (VU)   3-1
Walsh Gym (SHU)   3-2

Booth Earns 300th Win at Creighton
Kirsten Bernthal Booth enters this weekend with a 307-158 record on the Creighton sideline, having reached the 300 win milestone against Villanova on Sept. 24.
   Booth has beaten 83 different schools while at Creighton.
   Here's a look at Booth's record at the time of some of her milestone victories at Creighton:
W-L   Opponent   Date   1-1   vs. Auburn (in Ames, Iowa)   08/30/03
50-43   Jacksonville State   09/01/06
100-71   at Drake   10/31/08
150-108   Illinois State   09/30/11
200-123   Xavier   10/18/13
250-144   at Xavier   10/17/15
300-157   Villanova   09/24/17

BIG EAST Preseason Poll
For the fifth straight season, Creighton was picked to win the BIG EAST Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches.
   CU was a unanimous choice for the fourth straight season, receiving 81 points after earning all nine possible first-place votes. Butler was picked second, while Marquette was third and earned the remaining first-place vote.
   Creighton also had four women named to the BIG EAST's preseason all-conference team, as Lydia Dimke, Taryn Kloth, Jaali Winters and Brittany Witt were all honored. Dimke was selected as Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year.
   Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them or better in the preseason poll in 12 of the past 14 years, including seven years where it's finished exactly where it was picked.
Year   Preseason Pick   Finish   Move
1994   11th   9th   #2
1995   9th   7th   #2
1996   9th   6th   #3
1997   8th   3rd   #5
1998   6th   8th   i2
1999   T-7th   5th   #2
2000   4th   T-4th   - -
2001   2nd   4th   i2
2002   7th   9th   i2
2003   9th   T-5th   #4
2004   5th   5th   - -
2005   5th   5th   - -
2006   4th   4th   - -
2007   3rd   T-2nd   #1
2008   3rd   2nd   #1
2009   4th   T-4th   - -
2010   4th   3rd   #1
2011   3rd   4th   i1
2012   4th   1st   #3
2013   1st   T-2nd   i1
2014   1st   1st   - -
2015   1st   1st   - -
2016   1st   1st   - -
2017   1st   ???   ???

Home At Home
Creighton has won 27 straight home matches against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) at D.J. Sokol Arena, and is 32-1 in its last 33 matches against all teams at home.
   Below is a look at the program's largest home win streaks in history against all opponents.
Creighton's Longest Home Win Streaks
Wins   Dates   Snapped By
   13   Sept. 1, 2012 - Sept. 7, 2013   California, 3-0
   13   Sept. 9, 2016 - Sept. 1, 2017   #18 USC
   12   Sept. 20 - Nov. 28, 2015   #4 Kansas, 3-2
   9   Sept. 20, 2014-Nov. 21, 2014   Seton Hall, 3-0
   8   Sept. 25-Nov. 20, 2010   Northern Illinois, 3-0

3 Straight BIG EAST Regular-Season Titles
Creighton has won each of the last three BIG EAST regular-season titles.
   St. John's had been the last BIG EAST team to win a share of three straight titles, having done so from 2006-08, while Notre Dame had been the last team to win three or more straight outright BIG EAST regular-season titles, having claimed four in a row from 1999-2002.
   No team has won four straight regular-season titles (including shares) since Notre Dame won seven in a row from 1999-2005.

Sweep City
Creighton swept 14-of-18 BIG EAST matches last fall, with three matches to end 3-1 and one contest that went 3-2. This year's team has won 27-of-35 league sets played this season.
   Creighton has swept 15 of its last 21 regular-season BIG EAST home matches, and won 66 of its last 74 home sets during conference play.
   Creighton is 72-8 in 80 regular-season BIG EAST matches in its five-year history in the league, with 42 sweeps, including 29 of its last 44 matches.
   Since October 31, 2015, Creighton has won 111-of-129 sets against league foes (including conference tournament action).

Crowded House
Creighton's crowd of 2,578 on Sept. 1st vs. No. 13 Kentucky was the second sellout in program history. It was also largest attendance at D.J. Sokol Arena, and the fifth-largest at any home venue.
   In fact, seven home crowds this season have ranked among the top-23 in school history, as seen by the chart below.
   Creighton has averaged 1,727 fans per home match this season, which ranks 25th nationally. No one else in the BIG EAST averages more than 1,000 fans per home match.
Largest Home Crowds, Creighton History
   Att.   Opponent   Date   CU Result   Facility
   13,081   #18 Cal Poly   09/02/07   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   12,112   #1 Nebraska   09/24/06   L 1-3   CenturyLink
   10,131   #4 Nebraska   09/15/15   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   8,037   #2 Nebraska   10/05/08   L 0-3   CenturyLink
   2,578   #13 Kentucky   09/01/17   W 3-0   Sokol
   2,514   #7 Nebraska   08/31/10   L 0-3   Sokol
   2,325   Northern Iowa   10/05/12   W 3-1   Sokol
   2,285   Texas Tech   08/28/09   W 3-0   Sokol
   2,135   Bradley   10/14/11   W 3-1   Sokol
   2,109   Marquette   10/13/13   W 3-0   Sokol
   2,084   #18 USC   09/02/17   L 0-3   Sokol
   2,067   Villanova   11/21/14   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,918   St. John's   10/17/14   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,913   Xavier   11/13/15   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,832   Xavier   10/18/13   W 3-2   Sokol
   1,725   Northern Iowa   09/02/17   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,695   Xavier   10/15/17   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,671   Seton Hall   10/16/16   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,667   Marquette   09/23/16   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,667   Villanova   09/24/17   W 3-1   Sokol
   1,644   Villanova   11/20/16   W 3-2   Sokol
   1,637   Georgetown   09/22/17   W 3-1   Sokol
   1,605   Butler   10/13/17   W 3-2   Sokol
   1,583   Villanova   11/28/15   W 3-0   Sokol
   1,557   Northern Iowa   11/21/08   W 3-0   Civic
   1,544   Wichita State   09/15/12   W 3-1   Sokol
   1,493   Wichita State   11/04/11   W 3-2   Sokol

Challenging Schedule
The NCAA website tracks the nation's toughest schedules played.
   Entering this week, Creighton's opponents this year have gone 256-139 when not facing CU. That .648 winning percentage is the 10th-best mark of any school in the country.
   Last year Creighton's opponents were 432-253, and that .631 winning percentage made it the 11th-toughest nationally.
   In 2015 Creighton faced the nation's eighth-toughest schedule per the NCAA, with foes going 466-260 (.642) overall.
   Just how tough was Creighton's non-conference schedule? When it concluded, eight of CU's 11 foes were nationally ranked. Two of the exceptions were Pitt (2nd round NCAA in 2016) and Belmont (OVC favorite in 2017).
   This is the fifth straight season that Creighton has played at least four non-conference matches against teams ranked in the preseason top-25 poll.
   Nine of Creighton's final 10 non-conference matches this season were against teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the Aug. 28 top-25 poll. The lone exception to that group, Belmont, is a club that was picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference.

Rank & File
Creighton owns three victories over ranked teams this fall, having already toppled No. 3 Washington, No. 13 Kentucky and No. 7 Kansas.
   It marks the first time that Creighton has beaten three ranked teams in the same season.
   Through matches of October 22, the only other teams with more wins over ranked teams are Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Penn State, Florida, Stanford, Texas, Utah, UNI and USC.
   Creighton, Michigan State, Penn State, USC, Nebraska and Minnesota are the only teams with three or more top-13 wins this fall.
   Wins   Team   Top 25 Victims
   7   Nebraska   #2, 3, 7, 11, 11, 14, 16
   7   Minnesota   #5, 7, 9, 11, 16, 20, 22
   5   Stanford   #12, 14, 16, 19, 25
   5   USC   #6, 7, 11, 12, 16
   4   Florida   #1, 5, 16, 19
   4   Kansas   #13, 17, 18, 24
   4   Northern Iowa   #10, 18, 19, 19
   4   Penn State   #1, 4, 10, 17
   4   Texas   #9, 17, 18, 23
   4   Utah   #9, 13, 15, 25
   3   Creighton   #3, 7, 13
   3   BYU   #16, 17, 21
   3   Michigan State   #1, 5, 7
   3   Notre Dame   #21, 23, 24
   3   Oregon   #5, 15, 23
   3   UCLA   #11, 20, 22
   3   Kentucky   #1, 18, 23
   3   Washington   #13, 15, 25
   3   Wisconsin   #4, 11, 20

Top 25 Jays
Creighton is in the top 25 of the AVCA poll for the 16th straight week, a streak that started on Oct. 31, 2016.
   Nationally, that's the 16th-longest active streak, as seen below:
Consecutive Active Weeks in AVCA Top 25
   Streak   Team   Current Rank
   520   Stanford   2
   520   Nebraska   7
   437   Penn State   1
   410   Florida   4
   234   Washington   14
   214   Texas   3
   69   Wisconsin   9
   68   BYU   8
   56   UCLA   13
   40   Kansas   11
   39   Minnesota   6
   25   San Diego   18
   23   Oregon   15
   20   Kentucky   6
   19   Utah   12
   16   Creighton   16

3 Weeks, 3 Titles, 3 Different MVP's
Creighton won a tournament title in each of the first three weekends of the season, with a different MVP each time.
   Marysa Wilkinson was honored as MVP when Creighton won the Husky Invitational on Aug. 25-26.
   Lydia Dimke was honored as MVP when Creighton won the Bluejay Invitational on Sept. 1-2.
   Jaali Winters was honored as MVP when Creighton won the Kansas Invitational on Sept. 8-9.
   In addition to Wilkinson, Dimke and Winters, Taryn Kloth, Megan Ballenger and Brittany Witt have also earned All-Tournament Team honors this fall.

Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play
Creighton finished non-conference play with a 7-4 record, its most wins since 2013 when it opened 9-3.
   Creighton Volleyball went 3-3 against ranked non-conference teams this season. Before this fall, CU had been 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
Non-Conference Records, By Year, Under Booth
Year   Non-Con W-L   vs. Ranked Non-Con   Final W-L
2003   3-8   0-0   12-18
2004   8-2   0-1   18-11
2005   6-5   0-3   16-14
2006   8-3   0-1   21-10
2007   6-5   0-3   21-10
2008   3-5   0-3   18-9
2009   3-8   0-3   14-17
2010   5-5   0-1   21-12
2011   5-7   0-1   17-14
2012   9-2   0-1   29-4
2013   9-3   1-2   23-9
2014   7-6   0-5   25-9
2015   6-7   1-4   27-9
2016   6-6   0-4   29-7
2017   7-4   3-3   TBD

Wilkinson Moving Up Blocks List
Marysa Wilkinson is in the top-10 in Creighton's record book in both total blocks and block assists.
Career Total Blocks
       Name   Sets   BS   BA   Tot.   Years
   1.   Jessica Houts   451   73   536   609   2005-09
   2.   Kelli Browning   424   55   547   602   2011-14
   3.   Lauren Smith   511   61   499   560   2013-16
   4.   Ashley Williams   359   100   347   447   2001-04
   5.   JoDe Cieloha   398   106   331   437   1994-97
   6.   Megan Bober   480   42   380   422   2009-12
   7.   Laurel Sanford   369   43   376   419   2008-11
   8.   Marysa Wilkinson   454   42   342   384   2014-Pr.
   9.   Melissa Walsh   394   46   320   366   1998-01
   10.   Kelly Goc   394   44   310   354   2004-07

Career Block Assists
       Name   Sets   No.   Years
   1.   Kelli Browning   424   547   2011-14
   2.   Jessica Houts   451   536   2005-09
   3.   Lauren Smith   511   499   2013-16
   4.   Megan Bober   480   380   2009-12
   5.   Laurel Sanford   369   376   2008-11
   6.   Ashley Williams   359   347   2001-04
   7.   Marysa Wilkinson   454   342   2014-Pr.
   8.   JoDe Cieloha   398   331   1994-97
   9.   Melissa Walsh   394   320   1998-01
   10.   Heather Thorson   402   313   2009-12

Better To Receive?
Creighton's defense has done its job in the last 16 matches, allowing just 23 aces in 1,102 serves received in that span.
   For the season, Creighton has faced 1,448 serves and allowed just 38 service aces in 73 sets. By comparison, Creighton owns 92 aces in 1,680 serving attempts.
   Creighton's serve receive defense could be tested this weekend when it faces Providence. The Friars lead the BIG EAST with 137 aces this fall and 1.56 aces per set.
   Below is a breakdown of those serve receptions in the last 16 matches:
#   Statistic
1,102   Opponent Serves
712   Creighton sideouts (64.6%)
397   Creighton kill on first rally (36.0%)
23   Opponent aces (2.1%)

Reception Near-Perfection
Creighton has allowed just 38 aces in 73 sets played for a scant 0.52 aces per set average by its opponents.
   The Bluejays have allowed 1.15 aces per set or less in each of the last 13 years, but this year is on pace to be the best mark by far, as seen below:
Fewest Aces Per Set Allowed
   SAPS Against   Year   Team W-L
   0.52   2017   16-5 so far
   0.65   2008   18-9
   0.88   2010   21-12
   0.91   2012   29-4
   0.92   2009   14-17
   0.94   2013   23-9
   0.95   2005   16-14
   0.98   2015   27-9
   0.99   2014   25-9
   1.01   2016   29-7

League Opener Histories
A 3-1 win on Sept. 21 win over Georgetown improved Creighton to a 16-8 record all-time in conference openers, including a 13-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 4-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and four straight wins.
   Each of the last four times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016), the Bluejays went on to win both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, going a combined 68-4 in regular-season league action (and 8-0 in league tournament action) during those years.
   In the 15 previous seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than 9-9 in league play and it owns a combined .719 (194-76) winning percentage in league matches.
    In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Jays have had a losing record five times and it owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
   In conference home openers, (including 2017) Creighton is 19-5 overall and 13-2 under Booth, with seven straight wins.
   In league road openers (including 2017), Creighton is now 15-9 overall and 12-3 under Booth, with four straight wins.

Witt Honored By BIG EAST
Sophomore libero Brittany Witt was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on September 12th after helping Creighton Volleyball to the Kansas Invitational title.
   Witt averaged 3.80 digs and 0.50 aces per set, earning All-Tournament Team honors, as Creighton went 2-1 against a field that featured two ranked opponents as well as preseason OVC favorite Belmont.
   Witt had 14 digs and tied her career high with three aces against No. 17 Purdue to open the weekend. Later that day the Omaha native added eight digs and an ace as CU made quick work of Belmont.
   Witt's best match of the weekend came in a win at #7 Kansas, where she owned 16 digs and an ace while handling the Jayhawks their first home sweep since 2011. Witt had nine scoops and served a pivotal 5-0 run that gave Creighton the lead for good in the first set. It was KU's first loss of the season in 10 contests.
   Overall, Witt led a defensive unit that was aced just once in 10 sets (178 serve receptions) over the weekend.

No Mercy On The Schedule
Nine of Creighton's 11 non-conference opponents were getting top-25 votes at the time of the match, with six of them ranked.
   In addition, all but Belmont (5-4) and Wichita State (7-2) had either 0 or 1 loss at the time of their match against Creighton, and all but an 0-1 Pitt team had a winning record.
   Here's a look at the records at the time of each non-conference match against Creighton this season.
Team   W-L
Saint Mary's   0-0
(RV) Pitt   0-1
#3 Washington   2-0
#13 Kentucky   3-0
#18 USC   3-1
(RV) Northern Iowa   4-1
#17 Purdue   6-0
Belmont   5-4
#7 Kansas   9-0
(RV) Wichita State   7-2
#19 Iowa State   7-1

Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won eight matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent's match point. Three of those comeback wins have come against Wichita State.
   On the other hand, Creighton is 307-2 under Booth when it reaches a match point opportunity, falling only when it wasted two match points on Sept. 4, 2010 to Iowa and two other match points on Nov. 1, 2013 in a loss to St. John's.
Surviving Match Points, Under Booth
Date   Opponent   MP(s) Faced   Final Set 5
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

Home Win Streak vs. Unranked Teams
Creighton has won 32 straight home matches against unranked teams dating to a Sept. 12, 2015 loss to Pacific.

4 x 5 For #1
Lydia Dimke did a little bit of everything in Creighton's 3-0 sweep of Northern Iowa on Sept. 2nd.
   The senior setter had 29 assists, 10 digs, four blocks, four kills and four aces against the Panthers.
   She's just the second player in CU history with four or more assists, digs, blocks, kills and aces in the same match, joining Melissa Weisensee (80 assists, 14 digs, 5 blocks, 5 kills, 4 aces) vs. Evansville on Nov. 2, 1996.

Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 102-93 in the 66 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including a 45-24 mark since the start of 2012. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 82-60 in 51 regular-season tournaments, including 12 titles.
   Creighton had won just two of 16 regular-season tournaments prior to Booth's arrival.
   This year marked the first time since 2004 that Creighton has won back-to-back regular-season tournament titles in the same season, and is also the first time Creighton has won three titles in the same regular-season.

No. 7 Ranking Was Best; Now 16th
Creighton opened the 2017 season ranked ninth in the preseason poll, then moved up to a program-best mark of seventh in the Aug. 28 poll.
   Creighton dropped back to ninth after a 2-1 finish at the Bluejay Invitational, and is currently No. 16.
   Being ranked in the preseason poll is no guarantee of future success, however. In the last nine seasons, only 161-of-225 teams (71.6 percent) would be in both the preseason and postseason AVCA Top 25 polls.
   In that same time frame, all but 22 teams named in the preseason AVCA Top 25 poll would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament (90.2 percent).

Top 25 History
Creighton is 10-70 all-time against teams in the top-25 of the AVCA poll, but 5-4 since the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
   Creighton's season-opening win at No. 3 Washington is the highest-ranked team that the Bluejays has ever beaten, surpassing a win over No. 4 Kansas last December.
   Creighton is 4-27 all-time against top-10 foes (4-20 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth).
   Creighton lost its first 31 true road matches against top-25 foes, but has 'improved' to 4-34 after wins in the last three seasons at No. 23 North Carolina (2015), No. 4 Kansas (2016), No. 3 Washington (2017) and No. 7 Kansas (2017).
   Creighton is 48-15 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 6-9 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That marks improves to 2-0 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
   Creighton's August 26th win over No. 3 Washington was the first match in program history that then-No. 9 Creighton and its opponent were both in the top-10 at the time of the match.
   Since the start of the 2012 season, 24 of Creighton's 43 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 141-19 against unranked teams. Creighton has won 32 straight home matches over unranked teams.

Wilkinson Earns MVP; Honored By BIG EAST
Marysa Wilkinson was named MVP of the Husky Invitational on the opening weekend after averaging 2.90 kills and 1.50 blocks per set while hitting .397.
   Wilkinson had 13 kills and five blocks on .571 hitting in the season-opening win vs. Saint Mary's, and closed the weekend with 11 kills, four blocks and .429 hitting in the win at No. 3 Washington.
   Wilkinson was also honored as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts.

(Now) Streakless In Seattle
Creighton's win at No. 3 Washington on August 26th was historic for a number of reasons.
   It was Washington's first regular-season loss in non-conference play since Sept. 13, 2008, snapping a streak of 81 straight victories.
   It was Washington's first regular-season loss in non-conference play at home since Sept. 1, 2001, snapping a streak of 45 straight victories.
   It was also Washington's first regular-season non-conference loss in fewer than five sets since Sept. 7, 2002, a stretch that covered 143 matches.
   Washington had never lost a home match in the month of August (going 16-0), and had not lost in the month of August since August 31, 2006.
   Creighton had been 0-8 in history against teams ranked in the top-3 nationally, meaning the third-ranked Huskies were the Bluejays highest-ranked victim in program history.

Sweep, Chalk, Jayhawk
Creighton handed Kansas a rare home loss on Sept. 9th, topping the Jayhawks 25-20, 25-16, 29-27.
   It was the first time that Kansas was swept at home since Sept. 28, 2011, a span of 89 home matches.
   Kansas had won 16 straight regular-season non-conference matches before that evening.
   Since October 10, 2014, Kansas is 0-2 at home against Creighton and 40-2 at home against everyone else as of October 23, 2017.

All-Region Picks Return
Creighton had five All-Region picks, tied for third-most nationally, in 2016.
   Creighton's four first-team choices trailed only Nebraska (6) and Florida (5) and were equal to Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin for third-most nationally.
   Creighton is the only team with five All-Region returners for 2017.
School   2016 All-Region   2017 returners
Nebraska   6   3
Minnesota   6   3
Creighton   5   5
Florida   5   4
Kansas   5   4
UCLA   5   2
Wisconsin   5   2
Kentucky   4   4

Some Fab Freshmen
Including Naomi Hickman on August 25th, Creighton has started eight different true freshmen in a season opener in the last eight years, and 14 such players since 2000.
   Since 2000, the only true freshmen to start CU's season-opener have been Brittany Coleman (2003), Carolyn Decker (2004), Korie Lebeda (2005), Allie Oelke (2007), Brooke Boggs (2009), Heather Thorson (2009), Julianne Mandolfo (2010), Katie Neisler (2011), Michelle Sicner (2011), Melanie Jereb (2012), Ashley Jansen (2012), Jess Bird (2013), Jaali Winters (2015) and Naomi Hickman (2017). In addition, CU also started redshirt freshmen Lauren Smith (2013) and Brittany Lawrence (2015), as well as transfers Maggie Baumert (2014) and Lydia Dimke (2016) in season-openers.
   Seven of those women (Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team (the BIG EAST has no such team). Winters was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2015, while Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2016.

Coaching Them Up
Lydia Dimke became Creighton's first setter in six seasons to start the opening match of the season in consecutive seasons.
   Megan Bober was CU's Opening Day setter in 2012 vs. UCF before Michelle Sicner took over in the 2013 lid-lifter vs. BYU. In 2014 Maggie Baumert started the opener at setter against Lipscomb, while Kenzie Crawford got the call versus Miami (Ohio) in 2015. Last year Dimke started against Wichita State in the opener, then repeated at that spot vs. Saint Mary's this fall.
   Bober had owned the distinction of being Creighton's last setter to start consecutive season-openers, having done so all four years from 2009-12.
   The revolving door at setter hasn't hurt the team in that time, as each of those previous five seasons ended in the NCAA Tournament, and four of them saw Creighton win conference titles.

Statistically Speaking
Creighton finished last season ranked first in the nation with 1,868 kills, third nationally with 1,722 assists and fourth with 14.59 kills per set.
   Individually, Lydia Dimke ranked second nationally with 1,454 assists, just 11 behind the 1,465 by Minnesota's Samantha Seliger-Swenson.

Set 1 Result = Match Result
Creighton is 256-28 (.901) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 51-130 (.282) under Booth when it drops the first set.
   Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 77-1 in its last 78 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only on Sept. 12, 2015 to Pacific.
   Last year's team was 24-4 when winning the first set and 5-3 when losing the first set.
   This year's team is 15-0 when winning the first set and 1-5 when dropping the first set.
   Dating back to Sept. 22, 2016, Creighton has won 34 straight matches at all sites when winning the first set.

Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-15 letterwinners to the court from last season, including five starters and libero Brittany Witt.
   From last year's team, only Jess Bird, Mac Conlon, Amanda Foje and Lauren Smith are not back.
   Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Assists   1697 (98.5%)   25 (1.5%)
Digs   1943 (95.0%)   103 (5.0%)
Aces   151 (86.8%)   23 (13.2%)
Kills   1501 (80.4%)   367 (19.6%)
Matches Started   173 (80.1%)   43 (19.9%)
Points   1848.0 (79.9%)   466.0 (20.1%)
Blocks   139 (51.1%)   133 (48.9%)

More Schedule Notes
Creighton played five non-conference matches against teams that were in the top-26 of the preseason AVCA coaches poll. That's tied for the most of any team in the nation.
   The Bluejays meet up with No. 3 Washington, No. 8 Kansas, No. 14 Kentucky, No. 25 Purdue and the top receiving vote-getter, USC.
   Other teams that had five non-conference matches against the preseason top-26 are Loyola Marymount, Northern Iowa, Florida, Marquette, San Diego and Utah.

All-Around Excellence
Last winter Creighton reached the Sweet 16 not only in women's volleyball, but in men's soccer too.
   Creighton joined Stanford, Washington and North Carolina as the only four schools with a Sweet 16 in both sports in 2016.
   In 2015, Creighton and Ohio State were the only teams to reach the Sweet 16 in the same two sports.

Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 49-27 in five-set matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That's impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth sets prior to Booth's arrival.
   Creighton has won nine of its last 12 true road matches to go five sets, including wins in 2012 over league rivals Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State, wins in 2013 at Denver and at Wichita State, wins in 2014 at Butler and at St. John's, a win at Georgetown in 2015, and an NCAA Tournament win at No. 4 Kansas in 2016.
   It's also worth noting that Creighton is 11-3 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
   Below is a list of Creighton's record in five-set matches on a yearly basis:
Year   Set 5 W-L   Total W-L
1994   0-2   5-20
1995   0-2   11-19
1996   2-6   9-19
1997   3-5   15-13
1998   2-3   7-18
1999   3-3   13-15
2000   3-3   16-12
2001   1-1   14-13
2002   1-3   3-23
2003   5-1   12-18
2004   4-0   18-11
2005   3-1   16-14
2006   4-2   21-10
2007   2-0   21-10
2008   2-3   18-9
2009   1-4   14-17
2010   3-3   21-12
2011   5-2   17-14
2012   4-1   29-4
2013   3-2   23-9
2014   3-2   25-9
2015   5-2   27-9
2016   4-3   29-7
2017   1-1   16-5
Total   64-55   400-310

Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Creighton's 2016 club beat 10 teams that appeared in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
   The schedule figures to be just as daunting in 2017, as CU plays 11 matches against 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. CU is 5-5 so far this season against such teams.
   After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival, the Jays are 67-89 since.
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   5-5
TOTAL   70-124
TOTAL Under Booth   67-89

Marian Pipeline
This is the 15th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as junior Kelsey O'Connell and sophomore Brittany Witt return.
   Each of the last six years, Creighton's year-end leader in digs has been a player that attended Marian.
   Interestingly, the Bluejays had never had a volleyball player from Marian between 1994-2002. Here's a look at Creighton's pipeline of players from Marian.
2017: Kelsey O'Connell, Brittany Witt
2016: Kelsey O'Connell, Brittany Witt
2015: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen, Kelsey O'Connell
2014: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2013: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2012: Kate Elman, Ashley Jansen
2011: Julianne Mandolfo
2010: Lisa Greisch, Julianne Mandolfo
2009: Lisa Greisch
2008: Emily Crowley, Korie Lebeda
2007: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2006: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2005: Korie Lebeda, Katie Mehal
2004: Katie Mehal, Emily Greisch
2003: Emily Greisch

Five Straight NCAA's
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons. They are the first Creighton women's team in any sport to make five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

At Home On The Road
Creighton owns five wins away from home in the last two NCAA Tournaments. Nationally, that's the most in the nation, one more than Hawai'i, Nebraska and Stanford, and two more than Florida State.
   Creighton, Florida State, Hawai'i, Texas, Washington and Purdue are the only six schools with at least one road/neutral win in both the 2015 and 2016 NCAA Tournaments.

3 Straight BIG EAST Tourney Titles
Creighton won a third straight BIG EAST Championship title last year, becoming the first to do so since Louisville won three straight titles from 2008-10.
   It was Creighton's fifth straight league tournament title game appearance dating to the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference title.
   No team has won four straight BIG EAST Volleyball Championships since Notre Dame from 1995-98.

20 x 5
Last year's 29-7 mark was the fifth straight year the Bluejays have reached 20 wins, and eighth time overall.
   When Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, Creighton's modern day school record for wins in a season was 16.
   Creighton is one of 19 schools with five straight seasons of 20+ wins (entering 2017). That list features American, BYU, Colorado State, Creighton, Florida, Florida State, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, UTSA, Washington, Western Kentucky, Wichita State.

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Four members of the Creighton Volleyball program gained valuable experience this summer while travelling the world.
   Libero Brittany Witt went to Thailand in May, playing with USA Volleyball's top collegiate team.
   In June, Taryn Kloth was one of 36 women to train with USA Volleyball's at a premier club event in Minneapolis, Minn. Kloth was the only player in the event with 10 or more kills in each match.
   A pair of Bluejays also met up in an unlikely setting in July...Pula, Croatia. Jaali Winters represented USA Volleyball while Jaclyn Taylor played for BP Midwest at the European Global Challenge. Winters' team won the event, while the only two losses by Taylor's team both came to Winters team.
   Creighton will meet the following players in 2017 that at least one Bluejay played with this summer:
Name   Team   CU Teammate
Alyssa Schultejans   Kansas State   Kloth
Stephanie Williams   Pitt   Kloth
Kylee Levers   Pitt   Taylor
Courtney Schwan   Washington   Winters
Kaz Brown   Kentucky   Witt
Olivia Dailey   Kentucky   Kloth
Ashley Evans   Purdue   Kloth
Brooke Peters   Purdue   Kloth
Sherridan Atkinson   Purdue   Kloth
Madison Rigdon   Kansas   Witt
Kelsie Payne   Kansas   Winters
Monique Harris   Iowa State   Kloth
Jenna Rosenthal   Marquette   Winters
Brittany Maxwell   DePaul   Taylor

Bluejays On The Radio
Creighton has two upcoming broadcasts on local radio in 2017 that will air on KZOT 1180 AM. Below is a list of the upcoming broadcast schedule:
Nov. 4   1180 AM KZOT   Marquette
Nov. 5   1180 AM KZOT   DePaul

Automatic Bid x 3
Creighton is one of nine schools nationally to earn an automatic bid into the 2014, 2015 and 2016 NCAA Tournaments. That grouping includes New Hampshire, Dayton, Creighton, Coastal Carolina, Western Kentucky, American, Denver and BYU.
   Of those teams, the only six schools to win a conference tournament in three consecutive campaigns have been American, Coastal Carolina, Creighton, Dayton, Denver and New Hampshire.

Last Year Summary
Creighton went 29-7 last year, tying a program-record for wins, while advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time. The Bluejays started the fall 6-6 before uncorking a school-record 23-match win streak.
   CU became the first volleyball team in BIG EAST Conference history to finish 18-0, then became the first squad in NCAA Tournament history to open the postseason with three consecutive five-set victories.
   Lydia Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and Third Team All-American, while Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth were named All-BIG EAST and Honorable Mention All-Americans. Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth picked up BIG EAST Coach of the Year, AVCA East Region Coach of the Year and VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year accolades.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Megan Ballenger

Jess Bird

Mac Conlon

Kenzie Crawford

Lydia Dimke

Amanda Foje

Naomi Hickman

Taryn Kloth

Brittany Lawrence

Kelsey O'Connell

Lauren Smith

Jaclyn Taylor

Marysa Wilkinson

Jaali Winters

Brittany Witt