2022 Creighton Volleyball Recap
Download Recap as a PDF
A ninth consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title and 11th straight NCAA Tournament bid highlighted the 2022 season for Creighton Volleyball. The Bluejays finished 27-5 overall and saw Norah Sis named BIG EAST Player of the Year, Ava Martin tabbed BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and Kendra Wait recognized as an Academic All-American. Sis and Wait were also named Honorable Mention All-Americans by the AVCA.
On the heels of a 31-4 season and sweep of BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles, the Bluejays entered the fall ranked 18th nationally and garnered 9-of-11 first place votes in the preseason poll of league coaches.
CU opened the season with wins over Iowa State, Wichita State and Wyoming at the Rumble in the Rockies Tournament in Laramie, Wyo., with Sis bringing home MVP honors.
The Bluejays returned home to host the Bluejay Invitational, kicking off its season in D.J. Sokol Arena with a 3-1 win over No. 25 USC. A 3-1 setback against then-No. 16 Kentucky preceded a sweep of eventual Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa.
Creighton then moved a mile down the street for its annual match-up against 2021 NCAA runner-up Nebraska. In front of a then-record NCAA regular-season volleyball-only crowd of 15,797, the Bluejays and Cornhuskers battled five sets in front of a nationally-televised audience on FS1 before NU ultimately prevailed.
Days later CU played its first matches at Baxter Arena for the Omaha Invitational, outlasting both Florida State and host Omaha in five sets for its second tourney title of the fall.
Creighton closed out non-conference play with a trip to Houston, Texas. CU knocked off longtime nemesis Kansas State before falling to host Rice in five sets to drop its record to 8-3.
The Bluejays opened league play with four straight sweeps for the first time before overcoming an 0-2 deficit at UConn to post its third 3-2 win of the fall. During that stretch of 3-0 wins Jaela Zimmerman returned to the court in a limited role after the All-American had suffered an ACL injury last December. One week later after taking down UConn, CU would once again have to rally from an 0-2 hole to defeat No. 16 Marquette. The Jays picked up a 3-2 win vs. DePaul two days later, improving to 16-3 overall and 8-0 in BIG EAST action.
The scares only seemed to push CU to greater heights, as CU would sweep its next nine opponents to compile a school-record 29-set win streak. CU’s eighth win in that streak was a memorable Senior Day for seven women that saw senior Keeley Davis set the CU career record for aces and classmate Zimmerman reach the 1,000-kill milestone in a 3-0 win vs. Seton Hall.
Creighton’s bid for a perfect 18-0 league record fell short with a loss at No. 16 Marquette to end the regular-season, dropping CU to the No. 2 seed after both programs finished with identical 17-1 conference records. Nonetheless, it was still CU’s unprecedented ninth consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title.
Creighton hosted an expanded BIG EAST Championship over Thanksgiving week. CU swept third-seeded Xavier in the semifinals before yet another epic 3-2 win over No. 14 Marquette. Sis was named MVP of the BIG EAST Tournament, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by both Martin and Wait.
The league tournament title, CU’s eighth in the past 10 years, also clinched an 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. Creighton once again earned a hosting role and sold out D.J. Sokol Arena, only to be upset by a freshman-laden Auburn team with Wait sidelined due to injury in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Creighton finished the season with a 27-5 mark and ranked 21st in the year-end AVCA poll.
Creighton Coaches
Creighton was coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 441-184 record after her 20th season with the Bluejays. She’s led Creighton to nine straight BIG EAST titles (2014-21), and 10 league crowns in the last 11 years. Booth 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. Booth was tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the third time in 2019.
The winningest coach in school history, Booth has taken Creighton to its only 12 NCAA Tournament bids in the program’s modern history (including 2022). She’s also coached CU into the top-25 each of the last 11 seasons (including 2022), 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 was assisted by Angie Oxley Behrens, Brian Rosen and Elise Fulcher.
All-BIG EAST Quartet
Four members of the Creighton Volleyball program earned All-BIG EAST honors, with Norah Sis being selected as Player of the Year and Ava Martin recognized as Freshman of the Year.
Sis joined Lydia Dimke (2016) and Jaali Winters (2018) as Creighton women named BIG EAST Player of the Year. Sis lived up to the hype as Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year as she led the league in kills per set (4.33) and points per set (4.72). The Papillion, Neb., product was a three-time BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and had single-match highs of 30 kills (vs. Auburn), 19 digs (vs. Florida State and at Rice) and nine blocks (vs. DePaul). Sis was also an All-BIG EAST selection in 2021, when she brought home Freshman of the Year accolades from the BIG EAST.
Martin becomes Creighton’s fourth BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, joining Jaali Winters (2015) as well as current teammates Keeley Davis (2019) and Norah Sis (2021). A four-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week this season, Martin ranked ninth in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.309) during league play and the Bluejays were 13-1 when the Overland Park, Kan., native owned eight or more kills.
One of the league’s most improved players, Kiana Schmitt earned her first All-BIG EAST plaudit after a huge season that saw her top the conference in BIG EAST play with 1.23 blocks per set and ranking fourth with a .361 hitting percentage. Creighton is 20-0 all-time when the senior owns four or more blocks and 42-6 when the Waunakee, Wis., middle blocker generates six or more kills. The two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week this fall had her best match in a 3-2 win vs. DePaul when she finished with career-highs of 16 kills and 13 blocks.
Kendra Wait was named All-BIG EAST for the second straight season after once again leading the BIG EAST in assists per set. The Gardner, Kan., native was the nation’s only player to average at least 11.00 assists and 3.00 digs per set. Wait led the Bluejays with 18 double-doubles this fall.
This year marked the 10th time in as many years as a member of the BIG EAST that Creighton has had multiple all-conference selections, and eighth straight season with three or more First Team selections.
Postseason Honors
Norah Sis and Kendra Wait were both named Honorable Mention All-Americans at season’s end by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
It’s the second straight Honorable Mention accolade for Wait, while Sis was a Third Team All-American last fall. Creighton was the nation’s only team with multiple sophomores to be named All-Americans in 2022.
This year marks the 11th straight season that Creighton has had at least one All-American, with multiple All-Americans in seven of the past eight campaigns.
Creighton now owns 27 all-time AVCA All-America accolades in program history, which have been earned by 15 different women.
Sis and Wait were also named All-East Region by the AVCA, while Kiana Schmitt was an Honorable Mention all-East Region selection.
This year’s awards mark the eighth straight year that Creighton has had two or more student-athletes earn First Team All-Region acclaim, putting the Bluejays in elite company with the likes of Texas (22 straight years), Kentucky (13), Minnesota (13), Nebraska (12), Wisconsin (11), BYU (9) and Pittsburgh (8).
Creighton’s 25 First Team All-Region selections since 2015 ranks 10th-most nationally, trailing only Texas (40), Kentucky (36), Minnesota (35), Nebraska (35), Stanford (30), Florida (29), Wisconsin (28), Pittsburgh (27) and Penn State (26).
Wait An Academic All-American
Sophomore Kendra Wait was named a Second Team Academic All-American, as chosen by College Sports Communicators.
The 2022 Academic All-America® Volleyball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators (formerly known as CoSIDA), recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field or court and in the classroom.
Creighton is one of six schools with a Women’s Volleyball Academic All-American in each of the past two seasons, joining Arizona State, Pittsburgh, Texas, Texas Tech and UCF, but CU and UCF are the only two schools with different honorees each season. Last fall Creighton’s Abby Bottomley was named a First Team Academic All-American.
Wait is the seventh different player in program history to be named an Academic All-American, and first sophomore. The Nursing major owns a 4.00 GPA. She was one of four Bluejays on the All-America ballot after earning Academic All-District accolades along with teammates Kiara Reinhardt, Kiana Schmitt and Norah Sis.
Back For More (Awards)
After earning a similar honor last fall, Norah Sis was named Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Championship in 2022 as well. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by fellow Bluejays Ava Martin and Kendra Wait.
Nobody had been named Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Championship multiple times since Creighton’s Jaali Winters (2016, 2018), and no player had won the award in back-to-back seasons since Notre Dame’s Jaimie Lee in 1996 and 1997.
Booth’s Haul
With eight titles, Kirsten Bernthal Booth is one of two volleyball coaches in league history to win six or more BIG EAST Championship titles.
The only other coach with six or more was Notre Dame’s Debbie Brown (9).
BIG EAST Tournament Champions
Creighton Volleyball won the school’s 10th different BIG EAST Tournament title for since joining the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013. All but two of those titles have been won by the volleyball program.
Creighton (2022) joined Notre Dame (1996), Louisville (2010) and Marquette (2013) as the only programs to win the BIG EAST Tournament in men’s soccer and women’s volleyball in the same year.
Creighton’s BIG EAST Tournament Titles (10)
Baseball (1): 2019
Men’s Soccer (1): 2022
Volleyball (8): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022
Nine In A Row
Creighton clinched a share of its ninth straight BIG EAST regular-season title on Nov. 18 with a win at DePaul.
With its 2022 title, Creighton became the first team in BIG EAST volleyball history to win nine straight regular-season titles. The previous record had been seven by Notre Dame from 1999-2005.
The Bluejay volleyball team is also the first Creighton program in any sport to win nine or more straight league titles, surpassing the five in a row by the men’s soccer program (1992-96).
Champions Among Champions
Since the start of the 2012 season, Creighton, Texas and Western Kentucky are the nation’s only schools to have won 10 conference regular-season titles (including 2022). All but two of Creighton’s nine crowns (including 2022) were outright titles, whereas Texas shared one title and WKU shared five.
Creighton has also won nine conference tournament titles since 2012, the most in the nation.
Most Conference Titles 2012-2022
Regular-Season League Tournament
10 (2 shared) Creighton 9 Creighton
10 (1) Texas 8 Dayton
10 (5) Western Kentucky 8 Western Kentucky
9 Fairfield 7 Fairfield
8 BYU 6 American
8 (1) Colorado State 6 LIU
Creighton’s NCAA Tournament History
Creighton made its 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the past 13 years after earning an 11th straight bid to the Big Dance. The Bluejays made their NCAA debut in 2010 and have been in every tournament since then with the exception of 2011.
The Bluejays are 12-12 in its first 12 appearances, and have knocked off the likes of Iowa State (2010 and 2019), Marquette (2012), Arkansas (2013), Coastal Carolina (2015 and 2017), No. 23 North Carolina (2015), Northern Iowa (2016), No. 4 Kansas (2016), No. 17 Michigan (2016), South Dakota (2018) and Ole Miss (2021).
Creighton is 9-3 in First Round play, 2-7 in the Second Round, 1-1 in the Regional semifinals and 0-1 in the Regional finals. The Bluejays are 3-4 at home, 7-3 in neutral-site matches and 2-5 in true road matches.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 12-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and is the only Bluejay head coach to lead the program into the postseason. Booth’s 12th appearances in the NCAA Tournament as Creighton’s coach are more than any other coach in any other Bluejay sport ever.
NCAA Tourney Streak
The NCAA Tournament run for Creighton men’s soccer, as well as the inclusion of Creighton Volleyball into the 2022 NCAA Tournament, extended an impressive streak for Bluejay athletics.
This year marked the 36th straight academic calendar year that Creighton has had at least one NCAA Tournament team.
Only 11 schools made the NCAA Tournament in both women’s volleyball and men’s soccer this fall.
The group includes Creighton, Fairleigh Dickinson, High Point, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Quinnipiac, San Diego, Stanford and Washington.
Creighton, Kentucky, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Washington are the only schools with teams in both events each of the past two seasons.
Against NCAA Tournament Teams
Creighton went 6-5 against teams in the field of 64, including two victories vs. Marquette and one win each vs. Northern Iowa, Iowa State, USC and Florida State.
In 11 matches this fall against NCAA Tournament teams, Norah Sis averaged 4.19 kills per set, Kendra Wait averaged 10.55 assists and 3.90 digs per set and Allison Whitten averaged 3.83 digs per set. The Jays hit .221 and averaged 13.81 kills, 1.21 aces, 17.47 digs and 1.62 blocks per set.
vs. NCAA Tournament Teams
Opponent CU Score
Auburn L 2-3
Florida State W 3-2
Iowa State W 3-0
Kentucky L 1-3
Marquette W 3-2
Marquette L 0-3
Marquette W 3-2
Nebraska L 2-3
Northern Iowa W 3-0
Rice L 2-3
USC W 3-1
Seed Value
Creighton was a top 16 national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the past eight seasons. Only 12 schools in the country can say that, as seen below:
Rk. School Top 16 Seeds Since 2015
1. Minnesota 8
Nebraska 8
Texas 8
4. BYU 7
Florida 7
Penn State 7
Wisconsin 7
8. Washington 6
Kentucky 6
Stanford 6
11. Creighton 5
Baylor 5
11 Straight NCAA’s
Creighton Volleyball has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 11 seasons. They are the first women’s team in any sport at Creighton to make 11 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only other sport in Creighton history to make 11 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the men’s soccer program, which qualified in 17 straight seasons from 1992-2008.
Creighton is one of nine teams nationally to have appeared in each of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments (2012-22). That group features BYU, Creighton, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Texas and Washington.
There are also 13 schools that have appeared in 12 of the last 13 NCAA Tournaments, a group that includes Creighton, Florida State, Hawai’i, Minnesota, Purdue and Stanford.
Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, San Diego, Texas and Washington have appeared in every NCAA Tournament since at least 2010.
A Bunch of Winners
Creighton owns 58 wins during the last two seasons, fourth-most in the nation in that span and trailing only Final Four qualifiers Louisville (63), Pitt (61) and Wisconsin (59).
The only teams with 27 or more wins each of the past two campaigns are Creighton, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Texas, UCF, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin.
Nation’s Toughest Sub-Regional?
The records of the teams that came to Omaha for the NCAA Tournament certainly made a strong case that it’s the nation’s toughest sub-Regional.
The 105 combined wins on Selection Sunday between Creighton, Auburn, South Dakota and Houston are six more than any other site (Marquette hosted Ball State, Georgia Tech and Wright State).
The 18 combined losses for the Creighton sub-Regional were part of a three-way tie for the fewest along with Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh hosted BYU, Colgate and James Madison) and Penn State (Penn State hosted UCF, UMBC and Yale).
The winning percentage of the four teams (.854) on Selection Sunday was also the best of any site, topping the Pittsburgh sub-Regional (Pittsburgh hosted BYU, Colgate and James Madison).
Match That!
Only 10 teams in the nation owned 27 or more wins on Selection Sunday, and three of them were in the Omaha sub-Regional. It was the only sub-Regional site with three 27-win teams, while nine of the 16 sites (Stanford, Oregon, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Nebraska, Minnesota, Louisville, Florida and Baylor) didn’t have a single team with 27 victories.
Rank W-L School
1. 29-1 Towson
29-3 South Dakota
3. 28-3 Houston
28-3 Western Kentucky
28-3 Wright State
6. 27-1 San Diego
27-1 UCF
27-3 Pittsburgh
27-4 Creighton
Setting The Pace
Only nine teams in the nation had won 86 or more sets by Selection Sunday, and three of them were in Omaha for the sub-Regional.
South Dakota led the nation with 90 sets won. Houston was tied for fifth with 87 sets won, while Creighton was tied for seventh with 86 sets won. If you’re curious, Auburn had won 68 sets by then.
Rank Sets Won School
1. 90 South Dakota
2. 89 Wright State
89 Drake
89 Towson
5. 87 UCF
87 Houston
7. 86 Creighton
86 Marquette
86 Western Kentucky
The. Best.
No matter how you slice it, Creighton and Marquette have dominated BIG EAST Volleyball since 2013.
Stat CU MU Everyone Else
BIG EAST Reg.-Season Titles 9 3 0
BIG EAST Play Win Percentage .917 .830 .408
BIG EAST Tourney Titles 8 1 1
BIG EAST Player of the Year 3 5 3
BIG EAST Libero of the Year 2 0 8
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year 4 3 4
BIG EAST Coach of the Year 3 2 5
AVCA All-Americans* 6 2 0
AVCA H.M. All-Americans 16 8 14
AVCA Region Freshman of Year 3 1 2
AVCA Region Coach of Year 3 0 2
CoSIDA Academic All-Americans 6 3 0
*First/Second/Third Teams only
Thorn In Marquette’s Side
Marquette is 237-73 since the start of the 2013 season, but just 5-22 in that time against Creighton.
In other words, the Golden Eagles own a .185 winning percentage against Creighton (5-22) compared to a .820 mark (233-51) against everyone else.
No other team has beaten Marquette more than five times in the past decade (2013-22), with in-state rival Wisconsin (5) next-closest. Among BIG EAST teams, Xavier owns four wins to top those schools not named Creighton.
If you wanted to break it down to just the past five seasons, Marquette is 2-12 against Creighton (.143) and 119-14 (.895) against everyone else.
BIG EAST’S Best
Since the reconfiguration of the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, Creighton, Marquette and St. John’s 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, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020. CU won the 2019 regular-season crown, while St. John’s upset nationally-ranked Creighton and Marquette to bring home the 2019 tournament title. In 2020, Creighton won the Midwest Division regular-season title, while St. John’s claimed the East Division crown. In both 2021 and 2022, Creighton and Marquette shared the regular-season title and CU won the tournament title.
Below is a look at the record of each BIG EAST team since league realignment in 2013:
BIG EAST VB Standings Since 2013
BIG EAST only All matches
Team (NCAA Bids) W L W L
Creighton (10) 154 14 254 65
Marquette (9) 137 28 238 73
Xavier 97 69 152 139
Butler 90 78 157 138
Villanova (1) 84 84 155 134
St. John’s (1) 79 89 172 139
Seton Hall (1) 71 96 143 156
DePaul 45 123 109 173
Georgetown 35 125 86 186
Connecticut# 27 17 45 32
Providence* 27 125 94 165
*Providence rejoined the league for volleyball in 2014 and
its 2013 overall record (12-20) is not included above.
#Connecticut rejoined the league in 2020 and
its record from 2013-19 (96-121) is not included above.
The Avengers
During its nine-year run of BIG EAST Tournament titles from 2014-22, Creighton has just 10 regular-season league losses. In nearly every case, Creighton would avenge that loss with a league tournament victory over the opponent that beat them previously.
This year’s Creighton team owned one league loss, and avenged that loss against Marquette in the final.
Date Loss Tourney Rematch Result
10/10/14 at Seton Hall
11/23/14 Seton Hall W 3-1
10/30/15 at Villanova W 3-0
10/05/17 at Marquette W 3-2
11/17/17 at Villanova W 3-0
11/08/19 at Villanova Didn’t Meet
02/06/20 Marquette W 3-1
10/01/21 at St. John’s Didn’t Meet
10/16/21 at Connecticut Didn’t Meet
11/19/22 at #16 Marquette W 3-2
Not One, Not Two…
With a win on Nov. 26th, Creighton became the sixth different program to win three straight league tournament titles.
The others to do it:
3 Straight BIG EAST Tourney Titles
1988-94 (7) Pittsburgh
1995-98 (4) Notre Dame
2000-02 (3) Notre Dame
2008-10 (3) Louisville
2014-18 (5) Creighton
2020-22 (3) Creighton
JZ Wins Again
Jaela Zimmerman tied a school record on Nov. 26th when she played in her fourth BIG EAST Tournament title match victory.
She is the fifth Bluejay to play in four conference tournament championship wins, joining Marysa Wilkinson (2014-17), Jaali Winters (2015-18), Taryn Kloth (2015-18) and Naomi Hickman (2017-18, 2020-21).
Creighton won each of the last 21 matches that Zimmerman has appeared in.
No Slump Here
Norah Sis and Kendra Wait were two of the nation’s best freshmen last year, and showed no sign of a sophomore slump this fall.
Sis finished last season with 435 kills. With 30 kills in the NCAA Tournament, she ended with 489 kills. That ranked fourth-most in CU single-season history.
Wait had 1,213 assists last season, which ranked 10th most in CU single-season history. This year she owned 1,272 assists, tied for eighth-most in program history.
D.J. Sokol Arena Records Fall
Three different current Bluejays own D.J. Sokol Arena season or career records.
Keeley Davis owns the career mark for service aces (66), 13 more than the previous mark held by Kate Elman.
Norah Sis owns the career mark for both kills per set (4.19) and points per set (4.65), just ahead of Jaali Winters (3.86 kps., 4.24 pps.) in both categories. Sis also set the single-season kills per set record (4.25 kps.) this fall.
Kendra Wait tied for the single-season arena record with 588 assists, matching Madelyn Cole’s output in 2018 in an identical 53 sets played.
This year is the 14th season of D.J. Sokol Arena, which opened in 2009 and has hosted 196 Bluejay matches.
Not A Freshman Anymore
The season-high 22 kills by Creighton’s Ava Martin on Nov. 26 were the most by a freshman in the BIG EAST Tournament final since Louisville’s Lola Arslanbekova had 25 vs. Cincinnati in 2009.
Martin is Creighton’s fourth BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. The other three also stepped up in their NCAA Tournament debuts.
Jaali Winters (2015) had 20 kills and 10 digs in a 3-1 win vs. Coastal Carolina. Keeley Davis (2019) had 15 kills and hit .448 in a 3-0 win vs. Iowa State. Norah Sis (2021) had 16 kills and 10 digs on .444 hitting in a 3-0 win vs. Ole Miss. Martin owned 14 kills, four assists and three digs in her NCAA Tourney debut vs. Auburn.
Break Out The Brooms
Prior to a Nov. 19th 3-0 loss at Marquette, Creighton had won 29 straight sets over the course of 33 days.
It was the longest streak of sets won in program history, four more than the previous high. Three of CU’s longest eight sets won streaks have now been snapped by Marquette.
Consecutive Sets Won
Set Wins Dates Snapped By
29 Oct. 16, Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette
25 Oct. 22-Nov. 20, 2016 Villanova
25 Oct. 26-Nov. 23, 2018 #16 Marquette
22 Nov. 7-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas
19 Oct. 12-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova
15 Oct. 7-21, 2016 at Marquette
15 Sept. 28-Oct. 13, 2018 at Villanova
15 Sept. 11-24, 2021 at Butler
Top 25 History
Creighton is 172-40 all-time when playing as a ranked team, and also 18-23 all-time against ranked teams when ranked itself. That mark improves to 2-1 when both Creighton and its opponent are ranked in the top 10.
Since the start of the 2012 season, 38 of Creighton’s 69 losses have come against ranked teams. In that same period, Creighton is 262-31 against unranked teams. Creighton has won all but three of its past 94 home matches over unranked teams and all but 10 of its last 121 matches at all sites against unranked teams.
After a total of three total top-25 wins from 1994-2014, Creighton has earned at least one top-25 win each of the last eight seasons (2015-22). That includes a record-tying four top-25 victories in 2019.
Creighton is 23-84 all-time against ranked teams and 13 of those top 25 wins all-time have come against either Marquette (8) or Kentucky (5).
The highest ranked teams that Creighton has ever beaten at any site were No. 3 Washington (8/26/17 in Seattle) and No. 3 Kentucky (9/4/21 in Lexington). CU’s highest-ranked opponent it has defeated at home was a 3-1 win over then-No. 9 Marquette on Nov. 22, 2019.
Ranked vs. Ranked (CU is 18-23)
Home: 8-9 Away: 5-8 Neutral: 5-6
Date Winner Loser CU Score
11/19/12 #11 Minnesota #21 Creighton 1-3
08/30/13 #25 Creighton #13 BYU 3-1
09/14/13 #11 UCLA #24 Creighton 1-3
09/16/13 #7 Hawaii #23 Creighton 2-3
08/30/14 #22 Kansas #23 Creighton 1-3
09/03/16 #23 Kentucky #22 Creighton 0-3
12/02/16 #21 Creighton #4 Kansas 3-2
12/09/16 #21 Creighton #17 Michigan 3-2
12/10/16 #5 Texas #21 Creighton 0-3
08/26/17 #9 Creighton #3 Washington 3-1
09/01/17 #7 Creighton #13 Kentucky 3-0
09/02/17 #18 USC #7 Creighton 0-3
09/08/17 #17 Purdue #9 Creighton 1-3
09/09/17 #9 Creighton #7 Kansas 3-0
09/16/17 #19 Iowa State #8 Creighton 2-3
12/12/17 #12 Michigan St. #15 Creighton 1-3
08/24/18 #13 Creighton #5 Kentucky 3-2
08/25/18 #10 USC #13 Creighton 2-3
09/06/18 #7 Nebraska #14 Creighton 2-3
09/15/18 #8 Illinois #10 Creighton 1-3
09/23/18 #10 Creighton #21 Marquette 3-0
10/26/18 #10 Creighton #18 Marquette 3-1
11/24/18 #9 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-1
12/01/18 #22 Washington #9 Creighton 0-3
08/30/19 #2 Nebraska #18 Creighton 1-3
08/31/19 #20 Baylor #18 Creighton 0-3
09/06/19 #23 Creighton #12 Kentucky 3-1
09/07/19 #23 Creighton #15 USC 3-1
09/14/19 #12 Washington #17 Creighton 1-3
10/12/19 #13 Creighton #10 Marquette 3-2
11/22/19 #12 Creighton #9 Marquette 3-1
12/07/19 #7 Minnesota #15 Creighton 2-3
02/05/21 #19 Creighton #25 Marquette 3-2
02/06/21 #25 Marquette #19 Creighton 0-3
09/08/21 #3 Nebraska #19 Creighton 0-3
09/02/22 #17 Creighton #25 USC 3-1
09/03/22 #16 Kentucky #17 Creighton 1-3
09/07/22 #2 Nebraska #17 Creighton 2-3
10/14/22 #21 Creighton #16 Marquette 3-2
11/19/22 #16 Marquette #11 Creighton 0-3
11/26/22 #15 Creighton #14 Marquette 3-2
Block Record Falls
Creighton set a school-record for total blocks and block assists the last time it met DePaul on Oct. 16.
Creighton’s 22.0 blocks broke the record of 21.0 done twice before (in 2003 and 2012), and the most by any BIG EAST team since 2018.
Creighton’s 40 block assists were two more than the previous mark set in 2009 and 2012, and eight more than the previous mark for a five-set match done three times.
Individually, Kiana Schmitt’s 13 total blocks were the most by a Bluejay since Kelli Browning in 2012, and tied for fifth-most ever by a Bluejay.
Most Total Blocks, Individual
17 Ashley Williams (3-14) vs. Wichita State (5s) 10-10-03
16 Ashley Williams (4-12) vs. Southern Illinois (5s) 9-19-03
15 Kelli Browning (0-15) vs. Tulsa (4s) 9-8-12
14 Jessica Houts (0-14) vs. Lipscomb (4s) 9-4-09
13 Laurel Sanford (1-12) vs. Southern Illinois (5s) 10-21-11
13 Kiana Schmitt (1-12) vs. DePaul (5s) 10-16-22
Most Total Blocks, Team
22 vs. DePaul (2-40) 10-16-22
21 vs. Southern Illinois (8-26) (5s) 9-19-03
21 vs. Tulsa (2-38) (4s) 9-8-12
20 vs. Lipscomb (1-38) (4s) 9-4-09
20 vs. Indiana State (3-34) (3s) 10-24-09
20 at Kansas (4-32) (5s) 9-19-12
Most Block Assists, Team
40 vs. DePaul (5s) 10-16-22
38 vs. Lipscomb (4s) 9-4-09
38 vs. Tulsa (4s) 9-8-12
36 vs. Southern Illinois (4s) 10-27-12
35 at Bradley (4s) 11-19-05
Against The BIG EAST
Since the BIG EAST was restructured in 2013, Creighton owns a record better than .500 against each of the other teams currently in the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays own 171 wins against BIG EAST competition (including BIG EAST Championship play) since 2013, 28 more wins than Marquette for most in the league.
CU still has not lost to four league foes (DePaul, Georgetown, Providence, Xavier) since joining the BIG EAST, and Marquette (5), Villanova (3), Seton Hall (3) and St. John’s (3) are the only BIG EAST programs to top the Bluejays multiple times since 2013.
Opponent Reg. Season BE Tourney Total
Butler 18-1 – 18-1
Connecticut 2-1 1-0 3-1
DePaul 20-0 1-0 21-0
Georgetown 18-0 – 18-0
Marquette 16-4 6-1 22-5
Providence 15-0 – 15-0
Seton Hall 15-3 2-0 17-3
St. John’s 16-2 0-1 16-3
Villanova 15-3 3-0 18-3
Xavier 19-0 4-0 23-0
Total 154-14 17-2 171-16
X Marks The Spot
Creighton owns 23 straight matches against Xavier, its best streak against any team.
Most Consecutive Match Wins Over One Team
Wins Opponent Dates
23 Xavier 2013-Present
21 DePaul 2013-Present
19 Southern Illinois 2003-11
19 Georgetown 2013-Present
18 Butler 2013-Present
16 Indiana State 2005-Present
Five For Fighting
Creighton won back-to-back five set home matches against Marquette and DePaul on Oct. 14 and Oct. 16. Incredibly, it was the first time in 10 years of regular-season BIG EAST play that Creighton had played back-to-back five setters in conference matches at any site.
The last time it happened was CU’s final two league matches as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in 2012 when it won road matches at Wichita State and Missouri State.
Ironically, Creighton honored the league champion 2012 Volleyball team that weekend during its victory over Marquette.
Creighton had not won multiple five-set home matches on the same weekend since October of 2010 when it beat Missouri State and Wichita State on consecutive days.
Depth, Depth and More Depth
Only nine active players throughout the 11-team BIG EAST had at least 800 career kills, 500 career digs and 100 career blocks, and five of those women were Creighton Bluejays.
800 Kills, 500 Digs, 100 Career Blocks, BIG EAST
Name, School Kills Digs Blocks
Rachele Rastelli, SJU 1,865 609 401
Caylee Parker, UConn 1,705 1,221 210
Bethany Clapp, CU 1,214 879 166
Brooklyn Cink, XU 1,156 781 230
Jazz Schmidt, CU 1,022 744 212
Jaela Zimmerman, CU 1,000 796 165
Keeley Davis, CU 962 842 155
Norah Sis, CU 924 627 116
Jasmine Davis, UConn 897 830 151
Streak Reached 17
Before Nov. 19th, Creighton had won 17 straight matches, its 10th double-digit winning streak since 2012. The win streak was tied for the third-longest in program history.
When Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired, the Jays had never had a win streak longer than five. Each of the 17 longest win streaks in program history have come under Booth’s guidance.
Most Consecutive Wins, Creighton History
Wins Dates Snapped By
23 Sept. 23-Dec. 9, 2016 at #5 Texas, 3-0
21 Sept. 21 – Nov. 30, 2018 #22 Washington, 3-0
17 Sept. 29-Nov. 30, 2012 at #11 Minnesota, 3-1
17 Sept. 23 – Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0
14 Sept. 19-Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0
14 Oct. 17-Dec. 2, 2021 Kansas, 3-1
12 Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015 at Villanova, 3-2
11 Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014 Seton Hall, 3-0
11 Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017 at Villanova, 3-0
10 Oct. 31-Dec. 5, 2015 vs. #2 USC, 3-1
Spectacular Sis
Norah Sis owns 10 or more kills in each of CU’s last 15 matches. That ranks as the fifth-longest in program history, but is barely just one-quarter of the way to Leah Ratzlaff’s Beamonesque record.
Consecutive Matches, 10 or More Kills
58 Leah Ratzlaff, Sept. 13, 2003-Sept. 9, 2005
21 Jaali Winters, Oct. 6, 2015 – Aug. 28, 2016
19 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 26-Nov. 21, 1997
18 Jaela Zimmerman, Nov. 16, 2019 – March 27, 2021
15 Norah Sis, Oct. 7, 2022-Present
14 Kelly Goc, Sept. 8-Oct. 19, 2007
13 JoDe Cieloha, Sept. 7-Oct. 18, 1996
13 Jaali Winters, Nov. 12, 2016-Sept. 1, 2017
12 Amanda Cvejdlik, Aug. 25-Sept. 19, 2006
Seniors Leading The Way
Creighton recognized seniors Emily Bressman, Bethany Clapp, Keeley Davis, Jazz Schmidt, Allison Whitten and Jaela Zimmerman following its Nov. 13th win vs. Seton Hall.
Clapp (Incarnate Word), Schmidt (Palm Beach Atlantic) and Whitten (Morehead State) are all graduate transfers in their first year in the Bluejay program.
Bressman missed this season due to injury but owns 38 kills, 138 digs and four aces in her career as a defensive specialist and outside hitter.
Davis is a two-time All-Region and All-BIG EAST selection who burst onto the scene in 2019 as the league’s Freshman of the Year. She owned 962 kills, 842 digs and ranks first in CU history with 148 aces.
Zimmerman is a three-time All-BIG EAST choice, two-time AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and a four-time event MVP. She closed her career with 1,000 kills, 796 digs and 77 aces.
All told, the group combined for 5,688 digs, 4,255 kills, 2,057 assists, 698 blocks and 558 service aces at the collegiate level.
NCAA Crowds
Creighton attracted 4,803 fans on the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. That figure ranked 11th-best among the 16 host sites nationally.
NCAA Round 1/2 Attendance
Rk. Host Rd. 1 Rd. 2 Total
1. Nebraska 8062 8235 16297
2. Wisconsin 7229 7229 14458
3. Minnesota 4489 4671 9160
4. Texas 4172 4812 8984
5. Oregon 3474 3014 6488
6. Ohio State 3492 2874 6366
7. Stanford 2866 2797 5663
8. Florida 2563 2936 5499
9. Pittsburgh 2667 2814 5481
10. San Diego 2667 2228 4895
11. Creighton 2653 2150 4803
12. Penn State 2403 2389 4792
13. Kentucky 2293 2387 4680
14. Marquette 2064 2066 4130
15. Baylor 1402 1007 2409
16. Louisville 933 984 1917
Attendance Update
Creighton ended the year ranked 13th nationally in total home attendance (41,805) and 16th in fans per home match (2,459).
Creighton has led the BIG EAST in average home attendance in every non-COVID year since joining the league.
Creighton’s 41,805 home fans this fall were second-most in program history. The 2,459 fans per home match were also second-most ever.
Most Home Fans, Season
Rk. Fans Dates Year
1. 47,632 17 2018
2. 41,805 17 2022
3. 30,211 14 2021
4. 29,905 18 2015
5. 25,615 13 2019
Highest Home Attendance Average, Season
Average Rk. Fans Dates Year
1. 2,802 47,632 17 2018
2. 2,459 41,805 17 2022
3. 2,158 30,211 14 2021
4. 1,970 25,615 13 2019
5. 1,873 24,346 13 2017
Come On Down
While the top seven home crowds in program history have occurred at CHI Health Center Omaha, D.J. Sokol Arena has also attracted 33 crowds of 2,000 or more.
Largest Home Crowds, Creighton History
Att. Opponent Date CU Result Facility
15,797 #2 Nebraska 09/07/22 L 2-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
14,022 #7 Nebraska 09/06/18 L 2-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
13,081 #18 Cal Poly 09/02/07 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
12,112 #1 Nebraska 09/24/06 L 1-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
11,279 #3 Nebraska f09/08/21 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
10,131 #4 Nebraska 09/15/15 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
8,037 #2 Nebraska 10/05/08 L 0-3 CHI Health Center Omaha
2,653 Auburn 12/02/22 L 2-3 Sokol
2,578 #13 Kentucky 09/01/17 W 3-0 Sokol
2,552 South Dakota 11/30/18 W 3-0 Sokol
2,517 Coastal Carolina 12/01/17 W 3-1 Sokol
2,514 #7 Nebraska 08/31/10 L 0-3 Sokol
2,509 #22 Washington 12/01/18 L 0-3 Sokol
2,504 #9 Marquette 11/22/19 W 3-1 Sokol
2,415 #12 Michigan St. 12/02/17 L 1-3 Sokol
2,389 Kansas 12/03/21 L 1-3 Sokol
2,351 Ole Miss 12/02/21 W 3-0 Sokol
2,325 Northern Iowa 10/05/12 W 3-1 Sokol
2,290 Iowa State 09.07/18 W 3-1 Sokol
2,285 Texas Tech 08/28/09 W 3-0 Sokol
2,242 #16 Marquette 11/24/18 W 3-1 Sokol
2,241 #21 Marquette 09/23/18 W 3-0 Sokol
2,225 Georgetown 11/09/18 W 3-0 Sokol
2,222 Marquette 11/04/17 W 3-0 Sokol
2,206 Xavier 10/18/18 W 3-2 Sokol
2,195 Seton Hall 10/05/18 W 3-0 Sokol
2,194 Wyoming 09/21/19 W 3-0 Sokol
2,135 Bradley 10/14/11 W 3-1 Sokol
2,134 Nebraska-Omaha 09/13/19 W 3-0 Sokol
2,113 #25 USC 09/02/22 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
2,073 Seton Hall 11/03/19 W 3-0 Sokol
2,067 Villanova 11/21/14 W 3-0 Sokol
2,064 Villanova 09/27/19 W 3-0 Sokol
2,054 #16 Marquette 10/14/22 W 3-2 Sokol
2,041 DePaul 09/21/18 W 3-0 Sokol
2,037 #14 Marquette 11/26/22 W 3-2 Sokol
2,013 Villanova 11/23/18 W 3-0 Sokol
2,006 Butler 10/18/19 W 3-0 Sokol
Crowded House
Creighton averaged 2,459 fans per home match this season, which ranked 16th-most nationally. That attendance average figure ranks second-most in program history, trailing only 2018 (2,802).
Creighton’s 41,805 total home fans ranked 13th-most nationally. That figure ranked second-best in program history, trailing only 2018 (47,632).
Average Attendance Leaders
1. Nebraska 8,190
2. Wisconsin 7,761
3. Hawaii 5,963
4. Minnesota 4,758
5. Texas 4,364
6. Ohio State 3,609
7. BYU 3,218
8. Michigan State 3,208
9. Florida 3,138
10. Iowa State 2,991
11. Colorado State 2,885
12. Washington 2,728
13. Penn State 2,699
14. Stanford 2,694
15. Illinois 2,566
16. Creighton 2,459
Total Home Attendance Leaders
1. Nebraska 155,618
2. Wisconsin 139,701
3. Hawaii 89,450
4. Minnesota 80,886
5. Texas 74,196
6. Florida 59,623
7. Michigan State 51,320
8. Ohio State 50,530
9. Colorado State 49,052
10. Penn State 48,578
11. BYU 48,277
12. Stanford 43,101
13. Creighton 41,805
14. Kentucky 40,137
15. Iowa State 38,882
Decade of Dominance
Ten years in the BIG EAST gives Creighton a pretty good set of data to compare its yearly performance in league matches. Here’s how the 2022 campaign compares to previous seasons:
Creighton’s Year-By-Year BIG EAST Stats
Year W-L KPS HIT{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a} SAPS DPS BPS
2013 12-4 13.75 .213 1.00 16.20 3.13
2014 16-2 14.89 .242 1.30 17.09 2.86
2015 17-1 15.02 .271 1.33 16.97 2.47
2016 18-0 15.37 .317 1.69 16.08 2.41
2017 16-2 14.81 .302 1.31 16.62 2.05
2018 18-0 14.45 .294 2.13 15.67 2.38
2019 17-1 14.61 .269 2.07 15.80 2.25
2020 7-1 12.93 .249 1.30 14.17 2.75
2021 16-2 13.95 .242 1.82 18.02 2.86
2022 17-1 14.80 .299 1.85 16.10 2.33
Sis Is Rolling
Sophomore Norah Sis owned 489 kills this season and now has 924 in her career.
The 924 kills is second-most ever by a Bluejay in their first two seasons, trailing only Jaali Winters’ 994.
The 489 kills this season ranks second-most ever by a Bluejay sophomore. That record of 516 is held by Leah Ratzlaff.
Most Kills, After 2 Seasons at Creighton
Kills Yr1 Yr2 Name Year
994 546 448 Jaali Winters 2015 & 2016
924 435 489 Norah Sis 2021 & 2022
769 341 428 Melissa Walsh 1998 & 1999
733 270 463 Alicia Runge 2009 & 2010 (Jr. & Sr.)
696 180 516 Leah Ratzlaff 2002 & 2003
653 267 386 Jessica Houts 2005 & 2006
640 225 415 Amanda Cvejdlik 2005 & 2006
Most Kills, Creighton Sophomores
Kills Name Year
516 Leah Ratzlaff 2003
489 Norah Sis 2022
448 Jaali Winters 2016
428 Melissa Walsh 1999
415 Amanda Cvejdlik 2006
390 Taryn Kloth 2016
386 Jessica Houts 2006
376 Leah McNary 2012
350 Kelli Browning 2012
No Losers Here
Creighton has been nearly as good as anyone at avoiding losses in recent seasons.
Creighton, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Texas, Towson, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin are the nation’s only teams with five losses or less in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons.
If you go back two years more, the nation’s only teams to lose six times or less in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons are Creighton, Pittsburgh and Texas.
President Elect Booth
Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth has been voted the President-Elect of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Booth will begin her service on January 1, 2023 then become AVCA President in 2024. She will join the 17-member AVCA Board of Directors, which includes elected representatives, appointed voting members for Diversity Development and Legislation, and non-voting members for Education and Awards.
Booth will serve as President-Elect in 2023, be President in 2024 and 2025, and then finish out her term as Past President in 2026.
Booth is in her 20th season as the head women’s volleyball coach at Creighton.
Putting The 0 In October And November
Creighton finished the month of October with a perfect 8-0 record, which included five sweeps and three 3-2 victories.
It’s the fourth time in the past six fall seasons that Creighton has been unbeaten in October.
All told since October of 2014 Creighton is 65-5 in the 10th month of the year.
Creighton’s been awfully good in the month of November too. Since the start of 2014, CU is 61-5 in the 11th month of the year.
Creighton has won 37 straight October home matches (since 10/15/11) and 33 consecutive home matches in November (since 11/23/14).
20/20 Vision
Creighton earned its 10th season of 20 or more wins in the past 11 seasons with a 3-0 win at St. John’s on Oct. 30th. The only exception in that span was the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season (when CU only played 16 matches).
All 13 of Creighton’s 20-win seasons since its 1994 reinstatement have come under the leadership of Kirsten Bernthal Booth. Before her arrival, CU had never won more than 16 matches in a single season.
Most Matches Won, Creighton Season
Year MP W L Pct. Coach
1. 2021 35 31 4 .886 Booth
2. 2012 33 29 4 .879 Booth
2018 34 29 5 .853 Booth
2016 36 29 7 .806 Booth
5. 2022 32 27 5 .844 Booth
2015 36 27 9 .750 Booth
7. 2017 33 26 7 .788 Booth
2019 31 25 6 .806 Booth
2014 34 25 9 .735 Booth
10. 2013 32 23 9 .719 Booth
11. 2006 31 21 10 .677 Booth
2007 31 21 10 .667 Booth
2010 31 21 12 .636 Booth
14. 2004 29 18 11 .621 Booth
2008 27 18 9 .667 Booth
League Streak Reached 28
Before its Nov. 19 loss at No. 16 Marquette, Creighton had won 28 consecutive regular-season BIG EAST matches. That tied the program’s second-longest win streak ever in league play.
During CU’s 28-match league win streak, the Bluejays won 84-of-92 sets.
Consecutive Regular-Season League Wins
Wins Dates Snapped By League
31 Nov. 18, 2017 – Nov. 3, 2019 at Villanova, 3-0 BIG EAST
28 Oct. 31, 2015 – Sept. 30, 2017 at Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
28 Oct. 17, 2021- Nov. 18, 2022 at #16 Marquette, 3-0 BIG EAST
14 Sept. 29, 2012 – End of 2012 Never (left MVC) MVC
12 Sept. 20-Oct. 25, 2015 at Villanova, 3-2 BIG EAST
11 Oct. 11-Nov. 21, 2014 Seton Hall, 3-0 BIG EAST
11 Oct. 6-Nov. 12, 2017 at Villanova, 3-0 BIG EAST
9 Nov. 4, 2005-Sept. 30, 2006 Northern Iowa, 3-2 MVC
Dealing Up Aces
Keeley Davis had nine aces in the final regular-season home weekend of her career (Nov. 11-13), helping her break a 21-year old school record for career aces that had been held by Molly Moran.
Davis reached 100 career aces in her 82nd career contest on Aug. 26 vs. Wichita State, which ranked third-fastest in Bluejay history.
Davis is the first player in Creighton history with multiple seasons of 50 or more service aces.
It’s also worth noting that three of Davis’ teammates entered the year having owned more than 100 career aces, though they’ve done so at other schools. Bethany Clapp owned 103 aces in 97 matches at Incarnate Word, Jazz Schmidt had 103 aces in 96 matches at Division II Palm Beach Atlantic and Allison Whitten had 103 aces in 115 contests at Morehead State.
Service Aces, Career
Name Sets No. Years
1. Keeley Davis 383 148 2019-22
2. Molly Moran 341 145 1998-01
3. Melissa Weisensee 411 125 1994-97
4. Brittany Witt 471 122 2016-19
5. JoDe Cieloha 398 113 1994-97
6. Kate Elman 464 105 2012-15
7. Shelly Kapler 388 104 1996-99
8. Jaali Winters 494 101 2015-18
9. Madelyn Cole 225 93 2018-19
10. Carolyn Decker 300 89 2004-08
Creighton’s Quickest Players To 100 Aces (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Molly Moran 73 08/31/01 vs. DePaul
Melissa Weisensee 77 11/01/96 Southern Illinois
Keeley Davis 82 08/26/22 vs. Wichita St.
JoDe Cieloha 85 09/06/97 at UNLV
Shelly Kapler 95 10/15/99 Bradley
Brittany Witt 107 10/05/19 Seton Hall
Kate Elman 120 11/15/15 Butler
Jaali Winters 135 11/17/18 Providence
Schmitt A Ki Player
Kiana Schmitt entered the 2022 season with three career matches (of 60 played) with 10 or more kills, but the senior had 12 matches in double-figures this fall.
Schmitt owns a career-high with 16 kills vs. DePaul on Oct. 16.
Creighton is 42-6 all-time when Schmitt has six or more kills. CU is also 20-0 all-time when she owns four or more blocks.
Poll Road Ahead
Creighton has been ranked in each of the last 30 AVCA Top 25 polls. With little movement from week-to-week, however, CU is one of 18 teams to be ranked each of those polls, a group that includes Baylor, BYU, Creighton, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Texas, Western Kentucky and Wisconsin.
Creighton has been ranked in all but six of the past 99 weeks the AVCA has put out a Top 25 poll.
107 Weeks As A Ranked Team
Creighton is ranked in the most recent AVCA poll for the 107th time in program history. That’s 43rd-most of all programs in NCAA history.
All 107 rankings have occurred since 2012 and under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Whitten Finishes At 531
Allison Whitten finished her career having appeared in 536 career sets, though the first 417 of those came at Morehead State from 2018-21.
By comparison, the only Bluejay in history to play in 500 or more sets was Lauren Smith, who appeared in a program-record 511 sets with the Jays from 2013-16. Last year Abby Bottomley completed her career with 517 sets played, including 403 at High Point.
Whitten Surpasses 2,000 Digs
Creighton libero Allison Whitten surpassed 2,000 career digs on Sept. 18 at Rice, as she had 24 digs on the afternoon.
The grad transfer had 1,823 digs in four seasons at Morehead State and led CU with 466 digs this season, giving her 2,289 in her career.
By comparison, the top two women in digs at Creighton (only) are Brittany Witt (2,079 from 2016-19) and Kate Elman (2,054 from 2012-15).
Last year’s Bluejay libero, Abby Bottomley, finished her career seventh in NCAA history with 2,711 career digs, though the first 2,158 digs came while at High Point from 2017-20.
Whitten had seven or more digs in all 32 contests this fall.
Bouncing Back
The Creighton staff is quick to credit athletic performance coach Brad Schmidt for helping the team get stronger during the off-season and maintain that strength during the season.
Need evidence of that? Creighton has played eight five-set matches so far this season. Not only was Creighton 6-3 in five-setters this fall, but the Jays are also 7-1 this year in the contest after a five-setter..
Since Aug. 25, 2018, Creighton is 17-2 in the match following a five-setter since Aug. 25, 2018.
Taking The Fifth
Creighton is 68-36 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 18 of its last 25 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, an NCAA Tournament win at No. 4 Kansas in 2016, 2017 victories at Butler, Georgetown and Marquette, a 2018 win at Butler, wins at UNI and No. 10 Marquette in 2019, at South Dakota in the 2020 campaign and at Omaha and UConn in 2022.
It’s also worth noting that Creighton is 18-5 all-time in five-set home matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton’s six victories in five-set matches this season breaks the program record of five previously done in 2003, 2011 and 2015. The nine five-set matches in 2022 was also a record.
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 4-1 26-7
2018 3-2 29-5
2019 2-1 25-6
2020 4-2 12-4
2021 1-1 31-4
2022 6-3 27-5
Total 83-64 534-336
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 365-11 (.971) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 308-5 mark (.984) under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. CU is 232-3 when up 2-0 dating to September of 2009, and 120-1 all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena when up 2-0 at the break.
Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that won the first two sets won 95.0 percent of their matches from 2009-18.
Conversely, the Jays are 17-204 (.077) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, and 15-105 (.125) under Booth.
One of those comebacks came on Oct. 7, 2022 at UConn, which was CU’s first comeback win on the road in league play after trailing 0-2 since 2015. CU then overcame an 0-2 home deficit on Oct. 14, vs. No. 16 Marquette, the first such comeback against a ranked foe. Combined, the UConn and Marquette comebacks mark the first time in program history the team has posted multiple reverse sweeps in the same month.
Those 17 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
10/18/18 Xavier 25-17, 25-17, 15-13 Booth
01/31/21 at So. Dakota 25-20, 25-23, 15-7 Booth
10/07/22 at UConn 25-15, 25-12, 15-13 Booth
10/14/22 #16 Marquette 25-19, 25-16, 15-8 Booth
Didn’t Have To Wait Long
Creighton sophomore Kendra Wait became the ninth player in program history to reach 2,000 career sets when she did so on Oct. 16 vs. DePaul.
Wait needed 54 matches to reach the milestone, sixth-fastest in program history. The five women ahead of her combined to win First Team All-Conference honors nine times.
Wait reached 1,000 assists this season on Nov. 4 in CU’s 24th match of the fall.
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
Madelyn Cole 53 10/25/19 at Providence
Kendra Wait 54 10/16/22 DePaul
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
Single-Season Matches to 1,000 Assists
Name MP Opponent Year
Korie Lebeda 21 at Drake 2006
Brittany Coleman 22 at Southern Illinois 2004
Korie Lebeda 23 Missouri State 2005
Brittany Coleman 23 Northern Iowa 2003
Kailey Reyes 23 at Southern Illinois 1999
Melissa Weisensee 23 at Evansville 1996
Kailey Reyes 24 at Wichita State 2000
Melissa Weisensee 24 at Evansville 1997
Kendra Wait 24 Providence 2022
Kailey Reyes 25 Wichita State 2001
Korie Lebeda 25 Southern Illinois 2007
Korie Lebeda 26 Bradley 2008
Lydia Dimke 26 Xavier 2016
Madelyn Cole 26 at Seton Hall 2018
Megan Bober 27 Evansville 2010
Lydia Dimke 27 Georgetown 2017
Madelyn Cole 27 #9 Marquette 2019
Megan Bober 28 at Northern Iowa 2009
Megan Bober 28 at Wichita State 2012
Michelle Sicner 28 Xavier 2013
Kendra Wait 29 at Villanova 2021
Maggie Baumert 32 vs. Seton Hall 2014
Not Much Middle Ground
Of Creighton’s last 26 matches, there’s been nine five-set matches and 16 sweeps. Only one of those contests has been exactly four sets.
Creighton was 6-3 this year in five-set matches, 4-1 in four-setters and 16-1 in sweeps.
Creighton averaged 17.96 digs per set and 14.04 kills per set in contests to go five sets this season. Kiara Reinhardt hit .318 in those matches, while Norah Sis averaged 4.40 kills per set and Kendra Wait averaged 11.05 assists and 3.97 digs per set.
Creighton is 46-2 in its last 48 matches to last exactly three sets.
Welcome Back Jaela
Jaela Zimmerman made her 2022 debut on Sept. 30 when she checked in to serve set point in Creighton’s 25-15 set one victory over Butler.
She made her second appearance on Oct. 8 on match point at Providence, and promptly dialed up her first ace of the season.
The pressure level upped a notch on Oct. 16 when she was inserted into the fifth set with the score tied at 7-all. She earned her first dig of the season immediately and served a 3-0 run as the Jays took the lead for good in the 15-11 win.
Zimmerman saw her first front row action of the season on Oct. 22 at Georgetown and earned her first kill of 2022 on Oct. 28 at Seton Hall, the 998th of her career.
A two-time AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and three-time All-BIG EAST selection, Zimmerman tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in Creighton’s NCAA Tournament win vs. Ole Miss on Dec. 2, 2021 and underwent surgery five weeks later.
Jae-Z Plays The Hits
Jaela Zimmerman owns 1,000 kills, good for a tie for 14th in Creighton history. She reached the milestone in her 111th career match on Nov. 13 on her Senior Day vs. Seton Hall.
Career Kills
Name Sets No. Years
1. Jaali Winters 494 1,843 2015-18
2. Leah Ratzlaff 409 1,622 2002-05
3. Melissa Walsh 394 1,596 1998-01
4. Taryn Kloth 462 1,427 2015-18
5. Kelly Goc 394 1,414 2004-07
6. Jessica Houts 451 1,385 2005-09
7. JoDe Cieloha 398 1,375 1994-97
8. Leah McNary 458 1,257 2011-14
9. Marysa Wilkinson 499 1,183 2014-17
10. Lauren Smith 511 1,160 2013-16
11. Allie Oelke 445 1,126 2007-10
12. Kelli Browning 424 1,104 2011-14
13. Amanda Cvejdlik 343 1,029 2005-08
14. Shelly Kapler 388 1,000 1996-99
Jaela Zimmerman 357 1,000 2018-Pr.
Creighton’s Quickest Players To 1,000 Career Kills
Name MP Date Opponent
Melissa Walsh 70 10/15/00 Eastern Illinois
Jaali Winters 73 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 St.
Taryn Kloth 103 08/31/18 vs. NC State
Allie Oelke 107 10/09/10 Wichita State
Kelli Browning 110 10/26/14 DePaul
Jaela Zimmerman 111 11/13/22 Seton Hall
Lauren Smith 119 10/07/16 at Villanova
Marysa Wilkinson 120 09/30/17 at St. John’s
Home Sweet Home
Creighton is in its 10th season as a member of the BIG EAST since joining the league in the summer of 2013.
Since then, the Bluejays are 92-4 in home matches against BIG EAST teams (83-3 in the regular-season, 9-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament).
Since November of 2014, Creighton is 76-1 inside D.J. Sokol Arena against BIG EAST teams, which includes a 68-1 league mark and a 8-0 mark in the conference tournament. The only setback (on Feb. 6, 2021 vs. Marquette) was played as a non-conference match, only to be flipped to a league contest 19 days later.
Put another way, since enrolling at Creighton in 2018, Bluejay fifth-year senior Jaela Zimmerman went 47-1 in home matches against BIG EAST teams, and 141-24 in sets.
Hall Call
Megan (Bober) Varasteh entered the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 15th, at a banquet at Hilton Omaha.
Varasteh was part of the 54th class of inductees (along with Renae Sinkler-O’Gorman and Carol Ketcham) and gives the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame 94 inductees, plus the 1991 Creighton Baseball Team. The Athletics Hall of Fame started in 1968 with the induction of Bluejay great Bob Gibson.
Varasteh starred as a member of the Creighton Volleyball program from 2008-12, becoming the program’s first player in earn AVCA All-America honors multiple times. She became the volleyball program’s first woman named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year as well as MVC Tournament MVP, helping the Bluejays to their first regular-season and conference tournament titles and a then-record 29 victories. She closed her career with a school-record 15 triple-doubles (second in MVC history) and as the only player in league history with at least 4,000 assists, 1,000 digs, 800 kills and 400 blocks.
She joined Melissa Walsh (2009), Korie Lebeda (2014) and Kelli Browning (2021) as the only Creighton Volleyball players to be inducted.
In addition to being named Creighton’s Female Athlete of the Year, she was also recognized as the Carl M. Reinert, S.J., Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, repeated her spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team selection as a senior.
The last win of Bober’s career was a 3-0 sweep over Marquette in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Down For The Count
Creighton outscored teams 1,443-1,031 in league play this season and allowed a BIG EAST opponent score more than 18 points in just 20 of the 60 sets played.
20 Kills At A Time For Sis
Norah Sis had a career-high 30 kills in the NCAA Tournament match vs. Auburn.
Sis is one of five players in program history with three or more matches of 25 or more kills. Her 13 career matches of 20 or more kills ranks tied for fourth-most.
Most Matches With 25+ Kills, Creighton Career
25+K Name Years
8 Melissa Walsh 1998-01
6 Leah Ratzlaff 2002-05
6 Jaali Winters 2015-18
3 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
3 Norah Sis 2021-Present
2 Jessica Houts 2005-09
1 Michelle Prorock 1994-96
1 JoDe Cieloha 1994-97
1 Shelly Kapler 1996-99
1 Melanie Keolanui 1997-00
1 Kelly Goc 2004-07
1 Alicia Runge 2009-10
1 Keeley Davis 2019-22
Matches With 20+ Kills, Career
20+K Name Years
23 Melissa Walsh 1998-01
20 Leah Ratzlaff 2002-05
18 Jaali Winters 2015-18
13 Kelly Goc 2004-07
13 Norah Sis 2021-Present
10 JoDe Cieloha 1994-97
7 Taryn Kloth 2015-18
5 Jessica Houts 2005-09
5 Leah McNary 2011-14
Matches With 20+ Kills, Season
20+K Name Year
11 Leah Ratzlaff 2003
9 Leah Ratzlaff 2004
9 Jaali Winters 2015
9 Norah Sis 2022
8 Melissa Walsh 2000
7 Melissa Walsh 1999
6 Kelly Goc 2006
6 Jaali Winters 2016
5 Kelly Goc 2007
5 Taryn Kloth 2018
Wait, How Is That Possible?
Only 17 players in the nation averaged 11.00 assists per set. Of those 17, only Creighton’s Kendra Wait averaged more than 3.00 digs per set.
Wait averaged 11.16 assists and 3.23 digs per set this fall.
Let’s Get It Started
Creighton won its first 17 league matches in 2022 and has now started 11-0 (or better) in league play in five of the past eight seasons.
During five of the last eight seasons, Creighton started BIG EAST play 11-0 or better.
Year League Wins Before First Loss Lost To
2013 0 at Butler
2014 5 at Seton Hall
2015 11 at Villanova
2016 18 —
2017 4 at Marquette
2018 18 —
2019 12 at Villanova
2020 1 #25 Marquette
2021 2 at St. John’s
2022 17 at #16 Marquette
Set Streaks
How often had Creighton previously won each of its first 12 sets of a BIG EAST season before this year? How about never?
Only once previously had Creighton even won its first six sets in league play, and that came during the 2018 season where CU went 18-0 and dropped just 6-of-60 sets in league play all season. The most league sets won in a row to start a season had come in 2011, when Creighton won its first eight sets played. That team finished 12-6 in Missouri Valley Conference action.
Year Set Wins Before First Set Loss Set Lost To
2013 1 at Butler
2014 5 Butler
2015 1 Seton Hall
2016 4 DePaul
2017 2 Georgetown
2018 7 at Butler
2019 5 Georgetown
2020 1 #25 Marquette
2021 2 at Butler
2022 12 at Connecticut
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Creighton Volleyball was picked to win the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of league coaches.
Creighton earned 9-of-11 first place votes and 99 of a possible 100 points. That was just ahead of Marquette’s 90 points and the other two votes for first place.
DePaul (72) was picked third, just ahead of UConn (71) and St. John’s (66). Rounding out the bottom half of the poll were Villanova (54), Butler (47), Xavier (42), Georgetown (25), Providence (25) and Seton Hall (14).
Creighton also had three women among the 12 members on the BIG EAST’s preseason all-conference team in Jaela Zimmerman and Kendra Wait as well as unanimous selection Norah Sis. Sis was also tabbed the BIG EAST’s Preseason Player of the Year.
Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of it or better in the preseason poll in 18 of 20 years under Kirsten Bernthal Booth (including 2022) including 11 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 1st – –
2018 2nd 1st #1
2019 2nd 1st #1
2020 1st (MW) 1st (MW) – –
2021 1st T-1st – –
2022 1st T-1st – –
Wait Making History
Just nine days after she had 59 assists and 36 digs against Florida State, Kendra Wait had 56 assists and 24 digs on Sept. 18 at Rice. On Nov. 26th, she had a career-high 60 assists as well as 20 digs in a 3-2 win vs. No. 14 Marquette.
Wait is the first Bluejay with a match of at least 50 assists and 20 digs in a match since Korie Lebeda in 2006, and first Bluejay ever to post three matches of at least 50 assists and 20 digs in the same season.
50 Assists, 20 Digs In A Match
A D Name Opp. Date
51 21 Melissa Weisensee at Wichita State (5s) 9/14/96
53 24 Melissa Weisensee at Indiana State (5s) 10/18/96
65 22 Melissa Weisensee at Evansville (5s) 11/8/97
55 28 Kailey Reyes Evansville (5s) 9/11/99
65 24 Kailey Reyes Illinois State (4s) 9/24/99
64 23 Kailey Reyes at Evansville (5s) 11/4/00
54 22 Brittany Coleman at Illinois State (4s) 10/18/03
62 21 Brittany Coleman at So. Illinois (4s) 10/29/04
71 20 Korie Lebeda at Evansville (5s) 11/18/06
59 36 Kendra Wait vs. Florida State (5s) 9/9/22
56 24 Kendra Wait at Rice (5s) 9/18/22
60 20 Kendra Wait #14 Marquette (5s) 11/27/22
All That Jazz
Jazz Schmidt had just 25 kills in Creighton’s first 10 matches of the season before she erupted for a season-high 17 kills on Sept. 18 at Rice.
Schmidt’s 17 kills were the most by a left-handed Bluejay since Megan Bober owned 19 kills at Southern Illinois on Oct. 21, 2011.
Sis Swings Away
Norah Sis obliterated Creighton’s school-record of 77 attack attempts in a match (held by Jaali Winters) when she had 93 swings in CU’s 3-2 win vs. Florida State on Sept. 9.
Sis’ 93 attacks were the third-most in the nation by a player in a match this season.
Sis finished her season with 77 attack attempts vs. Auburn, tying the D.J. Sokol Arena record.
More From Sept. 9
Creighton’s 129 digs vs. Florida State were two shy of its school record and second-most in the nation this year for a single match. CU’s only match with more was 131 vs. Illinois State on Oct. 13, 2000.
Creighton’s 254 attack attempts rank as its second-most in program history. The only match with more came Oct. 14, 2000 vs. Indiana State (296).
Norah Sis’ 28 kills vs. Florida State were tied for fourth-most in program history, and four away from Michelle Prorock’s school record set in 1996.
My Favorite Martin
Ava Martin opened her BIG EAST career with 10 kills (Sept. 23 vs. Georgetown), 11 kills (Sept. 25 vs. Villanova), 14 kills (Sept. 28 vs. Xavier) and 14 kills (Sept. 30 vs. Butler), helping her earn back-to-back BIG EAST Freshman of the Week accolades.
She was the first Bluejay freshman to open her BIG EAST career with four straight matches of 10 or more kills, and just the third in program history to do so in any conference.
Martin had her first career double-double vs. No. 16 Marquette when she had 18 kills and 12 digs on Oct. 14.
Allie Oelke did it in four straight matches in 2007 and JoDe Cieloha set the record that still stands with five straight matches in 1994. Both of those came in the Missouri Valley Conference.
CU Freshmen With 10+ Kills to Start League Play
Streak Name Year
5 JoDe Cieloha 1994
4 Allie Oelke 2007
4 Ava Martin 2022
3 Rachelle Von 1997
3 Melissa Walsh 1998
3 Jaali Winters 2015
2 Michelle Prorock 1994
2 Carolyn Decker 2004
2 Jessica Houts 2005
2 Melanie Jereb 2012
15,797 Fans!
No. 17 Creighton hosted 15,797 fans on Sept. 7 against No. 2 Nebraska, setting a record for the largest regular-season volleyball-only crowd in NCAA history. The mark stood for all of nine days before Wisconsin hosted 16,833 fans for a match vs. Florida.
Here’s a look at the top volleyball-only regular-season crowds in NCAA history. Of note, 13 of the top 14 figures of 11,000 or more have been in the state of Nebraska.
Largest Regular-Season Volleyball-Only Crowds in NCAA History
Att. Opponent, Result Date Site
16,833 Florida def. Wisconsin 9/16/22 Madison, WI
15,797 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/7/22 Omaha, NE
14,022 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-2 9/6/18 Omaha, NE
13,870 UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-2 9/13/09 Lincoln, NE
13,412 Nebraska def. LSU, 3-0 9/12/08 Lincoln, NE
13,396 Nebraska def. Hawai’i, 3-0 10/21/07 Lincoln, NE
13,081 Cal Poly def. Creighton, 3-0 9/2/07 Omaha, NE
Nebraska def. Penn State, 3-0
12,504 Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0 11/4/00 Lincoln, NE
12,112 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-1 9/24/06 Omaha, NE
11,892 Dayton def. W. Michigan, 3-0 9/11/10 Lincoln, NE
Nebraska def. Illinois, 3-2
11,529 Nebraska def. Colorado, 3-0 10/22/95 Lincoln, NE
11,279 Nebraska def. Creighton, 3-0 09/08/21 Omaha, NE
11,076 Nebraska def. UCLA, 3-1 8/25/07 Omaha, NE
Tennessee def. Utah, 3-2
11,032 UCLA def. Nebraska, 3-1 9/14/91 Lincoln, NE
10,927 Minnesota def. Illinois, 3-1 10/16/04 Minneapolis, MN
10,645 Purdue def. W. Michigan, 3-1 10/29/85 W. Lafayette, IN
10,576 Penn St. def. Hawai’i, 3-0 8/27/05 Omaha, NE
Nebraska def. Stanford, 3-0
10,570 Purdue def. Wisconsin, 3-2 10/17/08 W. Lafayette, IN
Sis Races Past 500, 600, 700, 800 & 900 Kills
Sophomore Norah Sis is one of the fastest players in CU history to 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 career kills.
She’s got 924 kills in 65 matches, becoming the second-fastest ever to 900 during the NCAA Tournament..
Creighton’s Quickest Players To 500 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Jaali Winters 34 12/04/15 vs. Coastal Carolina
Melissa Walsh 37 09/25/99 Indiana State
Norah Sis 40 09/03/22 #16 Kentucky
JoDe Cieloha 43 10/15/95 at Indiana State
Keeley Davis 43 03/28/21 Xavier
Amanda Cvejdlik 44 10/13/06 at Wichita State
Creighton’s Quickest Players To 600 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Jaali Winters 41 09/03/16 at USC
Melissa Walsh 42 10/09/99 at Wichita State
Norah Sis 45 09/17/22 vs. Kansas State
Leah Ratzlaff 52 11/14/03 Illinois State
JoDe Cieloha 53 08/30/96 Murray State
Amanda Cvejdlik 53 11/17/06 at Southern Illinois
Creighton’s Quickest Players To 700 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Melissa Walsh 49 11/06/99 Missouri State
Jaali Winters 50 09/25/16 DePaul
Norah Sis 53 10/14/22 #16 Marquette
Leah Ratzlaff 57 09/03/04 vs. Montana
JoDe Cieloha 61 09/14/96 at Wichita State
Alicia Runge 62 11/27/10 at Northern Iowa
Creighton’s Quickest Players To 800 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Melissa Walsh 56 09/02/00 vs. UNCG
Jaali Winters 59 10/28/16 at Seton Hall
Norah Sis 59 11/04/22 Providence
Leah Ratzlaff 64 09/14/04 at Iowa
JoDe Cieloha 68 10/11/96 Bradley
Creighton’s Quickest Players To 900 Kills (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Melissa Walsh 63 09/29/00 at Bradley
Norah Sis 65 12/02/22 Auburn
Jaali Winters 68 11/26/16 vs. Xavier
Leah Ratzlaff 70 10/01/04 Evansville
JoDe Cieloha 76 11/09/96 at Bradley
Preseason Ranking
Creighton was ranked 18th in the AVCA preseason poll. It’s the eighth time in the past 10 years that the Jays have been ranked in the preseason.
The No. 18 slotting was tied for the fourth-best preseason ranking in program history.
Over the last 15 seasons (including 2022), 275-of-375 teams (73.3 percent) of teams have been in both the preseason and final polls, and since 2008 340-of-375 teams (90.7 percent) in the preseason top-25 polls would go on to reach the NCAA Tournament (including 2022), as all but No. 12 UCLA, No. 17 Illinois and No. 22 Utah reached the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
This year marked the 11th straight season that CU has been ranked at least one week, extending a program record.
Year Preseason Rank Final W-L Final Rank
2013 25th 23-9 NR
2014 23rd 25-9 NR
2016 18th 27-9 9th
2017 9th 26-7 16th
2018 13th 29-5 13th
2019 18th 25-6 16th
2020 16th 12-4 NR
2022 18th 27-5 21st
Some Fab Freshmen
Including Sky McCune on Aug. 26 vs. Iowa State, Creighton has started 15 different true freshmen in its season opener since 2009, and 19 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), Naomi Hickman (2017), Emily Bressman (2019), Kiara Reinhardt (2020), Kendra Wait (2021), Norah Sis (2021) and Sky McCune (2022), with Coleman, Lebeda and Wait the only freshmen to start at setter in the season-opener.
In addition, CU also started redshirt freshmen Lauren Smith (2013) and Brittany Lawrence (2015), as well as transfers Maggie Baumert (2014), Lydia Dimke (2016), Madelyn Cole (2018), Erica Kostelac (2019) and Mahina Pua’a (2020) in season-openers.
Eleven of those women (Martin, Sis, Wait, Reinhardt, Coleman, Decker, Lebeda, Oelke, Mandolfo, Sicner and Jereb) went on to land a spot on the MVC or BIG EAST’s All-Freshman Team (though the BIG EAST had no such team from 2013-19). Winters was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2015, Dimke was named BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2016, Davis was BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2019, Sis recognized as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2021 and Martin named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2022.
Last year marked the first time that Creighton started multiple true freshmen in a season-opener since 2012, when Ashley Jansen and Melanie Jereb both earning a starting nod. The 2012 and 2021 teams are the two winningest single-season teams in program history.
Believe The Hype
Creighton’s recruiting class of freshmen Morgan Colangelo, Ava Martin, Sky McCune and Ann Marie Remmes was recognized as the nation’s No. 24 class by PrepVolleyball.
Martin was listed as the nation’s No. 47 recruit, while McCune was tabbed 52nd-best. Creighton now owns eight players on its 2022 roster who were Top 100 recruits.
Top-100 PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces
(list started in 2004)
Rank Year Player
68 2004 Carolyn Decker
55 2008 Laurel Sanford
60 2011 Michelle Sicner
73 2013 Jess Bird
50 2014 Lydia Dimke*
18 2015 Taryn Kloth
41 2015 Jaali Winters
77 2016 Erica Kostelac#
98 2017 Naomi Hickman
99 2017 Steph Gaston
49 2018 Jaela Zimmerman
42 2018 Keeley Davis
46 2020 Kiara Reinhardt
97 2020 Ellie Bolton
7 2021 Kendra Wait
28 2021 Norah Sis
31 2021 Eve Magill
47 2022 Ava Martin
52 2022 Sky McCune
* signed with Purdue and later transferred to Creighton
# signed with Cincinnati and later transferred to Creighton
PrepVolleyball.com Recruiting Rankings
(list started in 2004)
Year Rank Freshman Recruits
2004 Best of the Rest (Baumann, Decker, Goc, Lahm, Mehal)
2005 Honorable-Mention (Cvejdlik, Houts, Lebeda)
2006 None (Bloemke, Schulze, Workman)
2007 None (Feldman, Oelke, Vrbicky)
2008 Highest Honorable-Mention (Almgren, Bober, Sanford)
2009 Highest HM Boggs, Greisch, Moon, Templeton, Thorson)
2010 High HM (Fliss, Hackbarth, Malm, Mandolfo, S. Smith)
2011 Highest HM (Browning, McNary, Neisler, Sicner, Stivers)
2012 High Honorable-Mention (Elman, Jansen, Jereb, L. Smith)
2013 None (Bird, Crawford, Foje)
2014 Highest Honorable-Mention (Lawrence, Tupper, Wilkinson)
2015 11th (Ballenger, Bohnet, Kloth, O’Connell, Winters)
2016 High Honorable-Mention (Conlon, Taylor, Witt)
2017 25th (Gaston, Hickman, Roumeliotis)
2018 10th (Davis, Welty, Zimmerman, Zumach)
2019 Highest HM (Bressman, Krause, Schmitt, Van Eekeren)
2020 27th (Bolton, Maser, Reinhardt, Skovsende)
2021 5th (Magill, Milner, Sis, Wait)
2022 24th (Colangelo, Martin, McCune, Remmes)
Set 1 Result A Strong Indicator
Creighton is 372-34 (.916) overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when it wins set one. In that same time span, CU is just 69-150 (.315) under Booth when it drops the first set.
Per RichKern.com, Division I teams that lost the first set in 2018 won just 20.7 percent of their matches that season, and 20.2 percent of their matches from 2009-18.
Since Aug. 29, 2010, Creighton has gone 136-5 in its last 141 home matches when taking a 1-0 lead, losing only on Sept. 12, 2015 to Pacific, on Sept. 6, 2018 to No. 7 Nebraska and on Jan. 29, 2021 to South Dakota, on Sept. 3, 2022 to No. 16 Kentucky and on Dec. 2, 2022 to Auburn.
Creighton has gone 104-4 in its last 108 matches at all sites when winning the first set, compared to an 12-16 record in that same span when dropping the opener.
Creighton has gone 145-3 in its last 148 matches against unranked foes when winning the opening set.
Eleventh Heaven
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is in some select company, as she has directed her team to 12 NCAA Tournaments. That’s more than any other coach in Creighton history.
Name Sport NCAA’s @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth Volleyball 12
Bob Warming Men’s Soccer 11
Dana Altman Men’s Basketball 7
Greg McDermott Men’s Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Elmar Bolowich Men’s Soccer 6
Against NCAA Tournament Qualifiers
Last season Creighton played four matches against 2020 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, going 3-1 against such teams.
This year’s team played nine matches (Iowa State, Kentucky, Nebraska, Florida State, Kansas State, Rice and Marquette 3x) scheduled against teams that made the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and CU went 5-4 against those foes.
After going 3-35 against teams coming off NCAA Tournament bids prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth‘s arrival, the Jays are 94-105 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 8-6
2018 8-5
2019 5-4
2020 3-1
2021 3-1
2022 5-4
TOTAL 97-140
TOTAL Under Booth 94-105
Marian Pipeline
This is the 20th straight season that Creighton Volleyball had at least one product of Omaha Marian High School on the roster, as senior Emily Bressman keeps the streak alive.
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.
2022: Emily Bressman
2021: Emily Bressman
2020: Emily Bressman
2019: Emily Bressman, Brittany Witt
2018: Kelsey O’Connell, Brittany Witt
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
Survival of the Fittest
Creighton has won nine matches under Kirsten Bernthal Booth after surviving an opponent’s match point, including season-opening wins over No. 5 Kentucky in 2018 and vs. UTSA in 2011. Three of those other comeback wins have come against Wichita State.
On the other hand, Creighton is 441-3 under Booth when it reaches a match point opportunity, falling only when it wasted two match points on Sept. 4, 2010 to Iowa, two match points on Nov. 1, 2013 in a loss to St. John’s, and two match points on Dec. 7, 2019 in an NCAA Tournament loss at No. 7 Minnesota.
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
08/24/18 vs. #5 Kentucky 16-15, 19-18 22-20
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 owns 441 victories on the Bluejay sideline to rank fifth in school history across all sports.
Coach, Sport Victories (thru 12/31/22)
Brent Vigness, Softball 819
Ed Servais, Baseball 618*
Mary Higgins, Softball 564
Tom Lilly, Men’s & Women’s Tennis 498*
Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball 441*
Jim Flanery, Women’s Basketball 388*
Ed Hubbs, Men’s & Women’s Tennis 347
Dana Altman, Men’s Basketball 327
*still active coaching at Creighton
League Opener Histories
Including its Sept. 23 sweep of Georgetown, Creighton owns a 21-8 record all-time in conference openers, including an 18-2 record under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. That includes a 9-1 mark in BIG EAST lid-lifters, and nine straight wins.
Including 2022, each of the last 10 times that Creighton won its league opener (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022), the Bluejays went on to win the regular-season title, going a combined 161-11 in regular-season league action. Creighton also won nine of the 10 conference tournament titles (including 2022) during those years, going 18-1 in those seasons.
In the 20 seasons that Creighton has won its conference opener, it has never finished worse than .500 in league play and it owns a combined .775 (290-84) winning percentage (including 2022) in league matches.
In the eight years in which Creighton lost its league opener, the Bluejays have had a losing record on five occasions and owns a combined .363 (53-93) winning percentage during league contests.
In conference home openers, Creighton is 24-5 overall and 18-2 under Booth, with 12 straight wins.
In league road openers, Creighton is 20-9 overall and 17-3 under Booth, with nine straight wins.
Year-By-Year In Non-Conference Play
Despite annually facing one of the nation’s toughest non-conference schedules, Creighton has continued to excel against elite competition.
Creighton is 8-12 against ranked non-conference foes over the last five seasons after going 2-43 all-time vs. ranked teams in regular-season non-conference matches.
Creighton owned 12 non-conference wins last season to set a program record for a regular-season. It’s actually also the first season with 10 wins prior to league play.
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 26-7
2018 8-4 1-3 29-5
2019 7-3 2-3 25-6
2020 3-2 0-0 12-4
2021 12-1 1-1 31-4
2022 8-3 1-2 27-5
Production Returns
Creighton returns 11-of-16 letterwinners to the court from last season, including four starters
From last year’s team, only Abby Bottomley, Naomi Hickman, Eve Magill, Ally Van Eekeren, Annika Welty are not back.
All told, of the seven categories listed below, Creighton returns 511.8 of a possible 700{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a} back (73.1 percent).
Below is a breakdown of the production that is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Assists 1,331 (87.4{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a}) 192 (12.6{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a})
Kills 1,307 (80.2{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a}) 323 (19.8{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a})
Points 1,627.0 (75.6{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a}) 526.0 (24.4{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a})
Matches Started 154 (73.3{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a}) 56 (26.7{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a})
Digs 1,460 (70.6{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a}) 607 (29.4{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a})
Aces 128 (66.7{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a}) 64 (33.3{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a})
Blocks 192 (58.0{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a}) 139.0 (42.0{b037f4174007d005f1ab9cb8d1aafc050eb5d7e8c07298e478acc145e540df6a})
