Saturday, August 26
Seattle, Wash.
12:00 PM
Creighton University
2-0
3
vs
0
Pitt
0-2
1
2
3
F
Creighton
25
25
25
3
Pitt
19
22
17
0
Jaali Winters had her10th kill on match point to help Creighton defeat Pitt on Saturday, August 26th.
Photo by: Jamie Mitchell
Volleyball Tops Pitt To Start 2-0; Showdown At #3 Washington Next
8/26/2017 1:36:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton starts season with two straight sweeps for first time since 2006
SEATTLE, Wash. -- The ninth-ranked Creighton Volleyball team improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 3-0 sweep of Pitt on Saturday morning at the Husky Invitational in Seattle, Wash. Scores of the match were 25-19, 25-22, 25-17.
The victory sets up a showdown with third-ranked Washington tonight at 9 pm in the nation's only opening weekend match-up of top-10 teams. That contest will air live on the Pac-12 Network.
"I thought we blocked really well today and made some adjustments as they did different things, so that was good," said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "Overall we served pretty well. Our defense was better today but our offense wasn't as refined. I thought our offense just didn't click the way that it needs to click, but I think Pitt will be a top-25 team and that's going to be a big win for us. We're thrilled to get out in three."
Creighton pulled away down the stretch to take the first set, winning 25-19. Creighton saw its 14-8 lead erased when Pitt answered with a 6-0 run. The Jays regrouped from there and ended the set on an 11-5 run. CU recorded six blocks in the set, including four block assists each by Lydia Dimke and Marysa Wilkinson, to help limit Pitt's high-powered offense to .143 hitting.
The Bluejays escaped in the second set to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. Creighton trailed 22-20, only to score the final five points of the fame after using its last timeout. Megan Ballenger was at the service line for the late heroics.
Creighton used an 8-0 run with Taryn Kloth at the service line in the third set to build a 16-7 lead and cruise to the victory. CU hit .300 in the third game compared to Pitt's .097 as the Bluejays once again had six blocks in the set.
Kloth and fellow junior Jaali Winters each had 10 kills in the contest to lead CU's offense, while 12 digs from Brittany Witt paced the defense. Dimke added three aces and tied her career-high with six blocks.
Kayla Lund had a match-high 13 kills to pace Pitt, while Kamalani Akeo dug 12 balls and added 24 assists.
Creighton finished with 13.5 blocks in the match and also had 35 kills, seven aces and 42 digs on .212 hitting. Pitt had 38 kills, one ace, 52 digs and 5.5 blocks on .134 hitting.
NOTES: Creighton has opened the season with consecutive sweeps for the second time ever, joining the 2006 team that won its first 10 sets ... Jaali Winters notched her 10th kill on match point, extending her streak of matches with 10 or more kills to 11 consecutive contests. That's tied for the seventh-longest streak in program history ... This was Creighton's first volleyball meeting ever against Pitt ... Pitt returned five starters from a team that went 25-9 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Penn State last season ... Naomi Hickman recorded the first ace of her career ... Creighton has won six straight matches on neutral floors, including three sweeps ... Creighton has won 25 of its last 26 matches dating to last season.
The victory sets up a showdown with third-ranked Washington tonight at 9 pm in the nation's only opening weekend match-up of top-10 teams. That contest will air live on the Pac-12 Network.
"I thought we blocked really well today and made some adjustments as they did different things, so that was good," said Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "Overall we served pretty well. Our defense was better today but our offense wasn't as refined. I thought our offense just didn't click the way that it needs to click, but I think Pitt will be a top-25 team and that's going to be a big win for us. We're thrilled to get out in three."
Creighton pulled away down the stretch to take the first set, winning 25-19. Creighton saw its 14-8 lead erased when Pitt answered with a 6-0 run. The Jays regrouped from there and ended the set on an 11-5 run. CU recorded six blocks in the set, including four block assists each by Lydia Dimke and Marysa Wilkinson, to help limit Pitt's high-powered offense to .143 hitting.
The Bluejays escaped in the second set to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. Creighton trailed 22-20, only to score the final five points of the fame after using its last timeout. Megan Ballenger was at the service line for the late heroics.
Creighton used an 8-0 run with Taryn Kloth at the service line in the third set to build a 16-7 lead and cruise to the victory. CU hit .300 in the third game compared to Pitt's .097 as the Bluejays once again had six blocks in the set.
Kloth and fellow junior Jaali Winters each had 10 kills in the contest to lead CU's offense, while 12 digs from Brittany Witt paced the defense. Dimke added three aces and tied her career-high with six blocks.
Kayla Lund had a match-high 13 kills to pace Pitt, while Kamalani Akeo dug 12 balls and added 24 assists.
Creighton finished with 13.5 blocks in the match and also had 35 kills, seven aces and 42 digs on .212 hitting. Pitt had 38 kills, one ace, 52 digs and 5.5 blocks on .134 hitting.
NOTES: Creighton has opened the season with consecutive sweeps for the second time ever, joining the 2006 team that won its first 10 sets ... Jaali Winters notched her 10th kill on match point, extending her streak of matches with 10 or more kills to 11 consecutive contests. That's tied for the seventh-longest streak in program history ... This was Creighton's first volleyball meeting ever against Pitt ... Pitt returned five starters from a team that went 25-9 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Penn State last season ... Naomi Hickman recorded the first ace of her career ... Creighton has won six straight matches on neutral floors, including three sweeps ... Creighton has won 25 of its last 26 matches dating to last season.
Team Stats
CU
PITT
Kills
35
38
Errors
13
23
Attempts
104
112
Hitting %
.212
.134
Points
55.5
44.5
Assists
32
31
Aces
7
1
Blocks
13.5
5.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
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