Volleyball Announces 2017 Schedule
6/22/2017 10:31:00 AM | Volleyball
Creighton's 2017 gauntlet features 11 matches against NCAA qualifiers from a year ago.
2017 Volleyball Schedule PDF (as of June 22, 2017)
OMAHA, Neb. -- Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth has never been shy about putting her Creighton Volleyball team to the test, and the 2017 schedule announced on Thursday figures to be among the toughest in recent memory.
The 2017 gauntlet features 11 matches against 2016 NCAA Tournament participants as well as 12 contests versus teams that won 20 or more matches a year ago. Nine of the 11 non-conference opponents played in NCAA's a year ago, including tournaments at perennial powers Washington, Wichita State and Kansas.
The Bluejay Invitational will also have its strongest field since the event began in 2005, as Creighton will host Kentucky, Northern Iowa and Southern California in the final year of a four-year round-robin tournament that has previously been played in Lexington, Cedar Falls and Los Angeles.
The Bluejays will have a chance to avenge four losses from last year's team that finished 29-7 and reached the Elite Eight for the first time.
"I'm really excited about our schedule," said Booth. "As in the past we've scheduled some of the toughest teams in the country, just like we think we are. It will be a great opportunity to test where we are at the beginning of the season and give us a chance to work on the things we need to get better at so we're peaking in November and December.
The season begins in early August when CU hosts its annual Blue-White exhibition match on August 11th. A week later, Creighton takes advantage of a new rule that allows for a Division I exhibition match, as the Jays travel to Manhattan, Kan., to face a Kansas State program that was the No. 14 overall seed in last year's NCAA Tournament.
The regular-season gets underway on August 25 in Seattle, Wash., with matches against Saint Mary's, Pitt and Washington. The host Huskies went 29-5 last year and return all but one reserve from a team that won the Pac-12 title and reached the Elite Eight.
Creighton hosts the Bluejay Invitational on Sept. 1-2, looking to extend its 12-match home win streak. Northern Iowa has won 20 or more matches in 15 of the last 17 seasons and has more wins against CU (41) than any other program. Kentucky has made 12 straight NCAA Tournaments, while USC has 26 consecutive NCAA bids.
The Bluejays trek to Lawrence, Kan., on the third weekend of the season from Sept. 8-9, for the Kansas Invitational, where CU meets Purdue, Belmont and host Kansas. CU and KU split a pair of five-set matches last season, with the visiting team winning each time. The Bluejays stunned the fourth-ranked Jayhawks in Lawrence, 20-18 in the fifth set, to clinch a Sweet 16 bid a year ago.
CU wraps up non-conference play on Sept. 15-16 at the Shocker Volleyball Classic, where it resumes rivalries with Iowa State and host Wichita State in Wichita, Kan. The three teams opened the 2016 against each other in Ames, Iowa, for the Iowa State Challenge, with each program starting the season 1-1.
League play begins on September 22 & 24 with home matches against Georgetown and Villanova. Creighton will face all nine BIG EAST competitors both home and away as part of a double round-robin schedule, with the exception of Providence. In a scheduling twist, Creighton will visit the Friars on consecutive nights in October after hosting PC twice last November.
The 2017 BIG EAST Championships will once again be four teams, and be contested in Milwaukee, Wis., with Marquette serving as host. The Golden Eagles hosted the 2014 league volleyball championship, the first BIG EAST Tournament title in Creighton Athletics history.
Creighton is three-time defending BIG EAST regular-season and tournament champion, last year becoming the first volleyball team in conference history to go 18-0. The Bluejays have won 28 straight contests against league competition and will return All-Americans Lydia Dimke, Taryn Kloth and Jaali Winters among five starters and 11 letterwinners.
For ticket information for all Creighton sports, contact the Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
2017 Creighton Volleyball Schedule
Day   Date   Opponent   Site   Time
Fri.   Aug. 11   BLUE-WHITE SCRIMMAGE (Ex.)   D.J. Sokol Arena   5 pm
Fri.   Aug. 18   at Kansas State (Ex.)   Manhattan, Kan.   7 pm
University of Washington Tournament
Fri.   Aug. 25   vs. Saint Mary's   Seattle, Wash.   6:30 pm
Sat.   Aug. 26   vs. Pitt   Seattle, Wash.   12 pm
Sat.   Aug. 26   at Washington (PAC-12 Network)   Seattle, Wash.   9 pm
Bluejay Invitational
Fri.   Sept. 1   USC vs. Northern Iowa   D.J. Sokol Arena   4:30 pm
Fri.   Sept. 1   KENTUCKY   D.J. Sokol Arena   7 pm
Sat.   Sept. 2   Northern Iowa vs. Kentucky   D.J. Sokol Arena   10 am
Sat.   Sept. 2   USC   D.J. Sokol Arena   12:30 pm
Sat.   Sept. 2   USC vs. Kentucky   D.J. Sokol Arena   6 pm
Sat.   Sept. 2   NORTHERN IOWA   D.J. Sokol Arena   8 pm
Kansas Invitational
Fri.   Sept. 8   vs. Purdue   Lawrence, Kan.   10 am
Fri.   Sept. 8   vs. Belmont   Lawrence, Kan.   5 pm
Sat.   Sept. 9   at Kansas   Lawrence, Kan.   7:30 pm
Shocker Volleyball Classic
Fri.   Sept. 15   at Wichita State   Wichita, Kan.   7 pm
Sat.   Sept. 16   vs. Iowa State   Wichita, Kan.   4:30 pm
Fri.   Sept. 22   GEORGETOWN*   D.J. Sokol Arena   7 pm
Sun.   Sept. 24   VILLANOVA*   D.J. Sokol Arena   1 pm
Fri.   Sept. 29   at Seton Hall*   South Orange, N.J.   6 pm
Sat.   Sept.30   at St. John's*   Queens, N.Y.   4 pm
Thurs.   Oct. 5   at Marquette*   Milwaukee, Wis.   7 pm
Fri.   Oct. 6   at DePaul*   Chicago, Ill.   6 pm
Fri.   Oct. 13   BUTLER*   D.J. Sokol Arena   7 pm
Sun.   Oct. 15   XAVIER*   D.J. Sokol Arena   1 pm
Fri.   Oct. 20   ST. JOHN'S*   D.J. Sokol Arena   12 pm
Sun.   Oct. 22   SETON HALL*   D.J. Sokol Arena   1 pm
Fri.   Oct. 27   at Providence*   Providence, R.I.   6 pm
Sat.   Oct. 28   at Providence*   Providence, R.I.   4 pm
Sat.   Nov. 4   MARQUETTE*   D.J. Sokol Arena   1 pm
Sun.   Nov. 5   DEPAUL*   D.J. Sokol Arena   1 pm
Sat.   Nov. 11   at Xavier*   Cincinnati, Ohio   11:30 am
Sun.   Nov. 12   at Butler*   Indianapolis, Ind.   12 pm
Fri.   Nov. 17   at Villanova*   Villanova, Pa.   6 pm
Sat.   Nov. 18   at Georgetown*   Washington, D.C.   5 pm
BIG EAST Championship
Fri.   Nov. 24   vs. TBD (BIG EAST Championship Semifinals)   Milwaukee, Wis.   TBA
Sat.   Nov. 25   vs. TBD (BIG EAST Championship Finals)   Milwaukee, Wis.   TBA
NCAA Tournament
   Dec. 1-2   NCAA First/Second Rounds   Sites TBD   TBA
   Dec. 8-9   NCAA Regionals   Sites TBD   TBA
   Dec. 14-16   NCAA Volleyball Championships   Kansas City, Mo.   TBA
*Denotes BIG EAST Conference matches
Home matches in BOLD CAPS
All times Central and subject to change
Last updated June 22, 2017
