Volleyball Gets Ready For State Farm Illini Classic
9/5/2007 1:15:00 PM | Volleyball
This Weekend
Creighton (3-3) heads to Champaign, Ill., for two matches in the State Farm Illini Classic. The Bluejays open play against Tennessee (4-1) on Friday at 4:30 pm.
The winner of the Creighton/Tennessee match will face the winner of Friday night's Marquette (2-3)/Illinois (4-2) contest, while Friday's losers will also meet on Saturday.
Illinois will play at 3 pm on Saturday regardless of their Friday result, with the other match just prior at 12 pm.
Huff Hall (4,050) will host the action.
Radio Broadcast Information
Both of Creighton's matches at the State Farm Illini Classic can be heard on KVSS (88.9 FM), and will be streamed live on-line at www.kvss.com. Brad Burwell will call the action.
Video Broadcast Information
All matches this weekend will be video webcast and can be seen on the University of Illinois volleyball page at www.fightingillini.com.
Fans will need to purchase a monthly subscription for $6.95 by clicking on the Illini All-Access On-Demand button on the right-side of the page.
Live Stats Information
Illinois will be providing live stats for all matches in the State Farm Illini Classic. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the right-hand side of the page, or visit www.fightingillini.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 3-3 through six matches this season, with all three setbacks coming against teams currently in the top-25. Five of Creighton's first six opponents reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Senior MB Kelly Goc, a preseason all-MVC selection, leads the team with 3.92 kills per game as well as a .429 hitting percentage.
Not far behind is Jessica Houts, who averages 3.37 kills per game and paces the club with 1.53 blocks per game.
Running the offense is junior setter Korie Lebeda, who averages 12.11 assists per game.
Through six matches, Creighton is averaging 15.47 kills, 1.68 aces, 15.84 digs and 2.89 blocks per game while hitting .229 as a club.
Scouting Tennessee
Tennessee brings a 4-1 record into the weekend after winning last weekend's Comcast Lady Vol Classic. Tennessee's most impressive win to date was a five-game victory over #21 Utah, while its lone loss was a three-game sweep to #1 Nebraska in Omaha.
Milan Clarke leads the team with 60 kills, an average of 3.53 per game. She's been named to two all-tourney squads in as many events, including MVP honors of the Comcast Lady Vol Classic last weekend.
Leah Hinkey is second on the team with 2.65 kills per game but hits a team-high .405 and is second with seven aces and 1.29 blocks per game. Kylie Marshall paces the squad with 0.76 aces per game.
Setting the Lady Vols is Jena Berg, who averages 10.65 assists per game.
As a team, Tennessee averages 13.53 kills, 1.71 aces, 13.82 digs and 3.18 blocks per game while hitting .218.
Scouting Illinois
Illinois is 4-2 this season after going 2-1 each of the first two weekends. Both of the Illini's losses have been in five games against teams that are now ranked, Dayton and LSU.
Highly-touted freshman Laura DeBruler leads Illinois with 4.13 kills per game, including five matches of 10 or more putaways. Vicki Brown averages 3.04 kpg and hits .418. She also leads the team with 1.43 blocks per game.
Lizzie Bazzetta (8.91 apg.) and Hillary Haen (5.12 apg.) shared setting duties the first weekend but Bazzetta played almost exclusively the past two matches last weekend.
As a team, Illinois averages 15.52 kills, 2.00 aces, 14.65 digs and 2.70 blocks per game while hitting .277 as a team.
Scouting Marquette
Marquette is 2-3 this season, losing both matches outside of Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles own wins over Miami (Fla.) and Oakland but have lost to BYU, Iowa and Texas-Arlington.
Marquette finished last season with a 16-15 record and tied for third in the Big East Conference with a 10-4 league mark.
Kimberley Todd averages 4.61 kills per game and is the main weapon offensively. Jenn Brown leads the defense with 1.28 blocks per game.
Katie Weidner sets the offense with 11.89 assists per game.
As a team, Marquette averages 13.94 kills, 1.89 aces, 16.67 digs and 2.36 blocks per game while hitting .149.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 70-56 record in her fifth season with the Bluejays. She became the program's all-time winningest coach on Aug. 25 with a 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin.
Booth came to Creighton after going 112-41 in three years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A native of Lincoln, Neb., Booth played volleyball at Truman State, where she was named conference MVP, an Academic All-American and Missouri's 1997 NCAA Woman of the Year. She ranked third in Division II history with 6,077 assists when she graduated.
Booth is helped by associate head coach Paul Giesselmann and assistant coaches Angie Oxley Behrens and Steve Bymers.
Tennessee is coached by Rob Patrick, who owns a 214-108 record in his 11th season with the Lady Vols. Patrick was named national coach of the year in both 2004 and 2005. Patrick has led UT to five straight seasons of 19 or more wins, including the 2005 Final Four. Patrick is assisted by Mike Minnis and former Southern Illinois assistant Katie Noble.
Illinois is coached by coached by Don Hardin, who owns a 196-143 record in his 12th year in Champaign. That lifts his career mark to 398-220 in 20 years overall, which includes eight years at Louisville. He is assisted by Kevin Hambly and Jen Oldenburg.
Marquette is coached by Pati Rolf, who owns a 84-70 record in her seventh year with the Golden Eagles. Rolf was previously head coach at Minnesota-Duluth and owns a career mark of 394-239 in 19 years. She is assisted by Erica Heisser and Raftyn Birath.
Series History vs. Tennessee
Tennessee won the only previous meeting against Creighton, 15-7, 15-5, 15-7, on Sept. 7, 1996 in San Francisco, Calif.
Christina Jestila led UT with 14 kills, while Michelle Prorock led the Bluejays with 19 kills and 12 digs in the loss.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth has never faced Tennessee or Rob Patrick but is 2-1 all-time against Southeastern Conference schools.
Series History vs. Illinois
Creighton and Illinois have never met on the volleyball court.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth has never faced Illinois or Don Hardin and is 1-1 all-time against Big Ten Conference schools.
Series History vs. Marquette
Creighton won the only previous meeting with Marquette, downing the Golden Eagles 30-26, 28-30, 25-30, 30-22, 16-14 on Sept. 11, 2005 in Boulder, Colo. The Jays trailed 12-9 in game five before scoring five straight points and never trailed again.
Leah Ratzlaff led Creighton with 20 kills and .326 hitting, while Abby Baumann had 17 kills for the Jays. Marquette was paced by 20 kills from Theresa Coughlin.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-0 against Marquette and Pati Rolf and is 1-0 all-time against Big East competition.
Last Weekend Summary
Creighton lost three-game matches to No. 1 Nebraska and No. 18 Cal Poly last week in the Holiday Inn Downtown Classic.
Playing without Kelly Goc, the Bluejays fell 30-23, 30-18, 30-26 against Nebraska on Friday night at a sold-out NU Coliseum. Jessica Houts paced the Jays with 13 kills against the Huskers.
On Sunday, a record crowd of 13,081 fans saw the Jays drop a 30-26, 30-28, 30-21 match to Cal Poly at Qwest Center Omaha. Goc returned with a team-best 13 kills.
13,081 Is New NCAA Record
The largest regular-season volleyball-only crowd in NCAA Volleyball history, 13,081, was on hand for Creighton's match on Sunday against Cal Poly. The match was the first half of a Holiday Inn Downtown Classic doubleheader that included Penn State playing Nebraska in the nightcap.
The previous largest crowd had been 12,504 when Colorado visited Nebraska on Nov. 4, 2000.
It also shattered the previous MVC and Creighton record for home attendance in a match of 12,112 that the Jays hosted last year for a home match against the Huskers.
Rivera Digging It
Bianca Rivera has proven to be a difference-maker on the defensive end just six matches into her Division I career. The junior college transfer had a career-high 23 digs on Sunday against Cal Poly, including 16 in the second game alone.
Rivera now owns 106 digs on the season. Her six matches to reach 100 career digs is easily the quickest in school history, four matches quicker than three others.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 6 09/02/07 #18 Cal Poly
Melissa Weisensee 10 09/30/94 Missouri State
Kailey Reyes 10 09/27/98 at W. Illinois
Brittany Coleman 10 09/19/03 Southern Illinois
Sarah Schulze 11 09/16/06 Southern Illinois
Rivera One Of A Few
Junior Bianca Rivera has collected 14 or more digs in every match this season, the only player in the MVC that can make that claim.
In fact, only four Valley players have had 10 digs or more in every match this season, Rivera, Ellie Blankenship (UNI), Kristy Elswick (SIU) and Kelly Broussard (WSU).
Houts Named To All-Tournament Team
Junior Jessica Houts was named to the Holiday Inn Downtown Classic All-Tournament Team last weekend. Houts led Creighton with 19 kills and seven blocks in matches against nationally-ranked Nebraska and Cal Poly over the weekend. The Bloomington, Minn., native also led all Bluejay attackers with a .226 hitting average.
Other players honored were Nebraska's Rachel Holloway, Jordan Larson and Sarah Pavan (MVP), Penn State's Christa Harmotto and Cal Poly's Kylie Atherstone.
Top Five Crowds
According to numbers calculated by Diane Nordstrom at the University of Wisconsin, Creighton ranks third nationally thus far with an average home attendance of 3,890 fans per game. Creighton is one of four MVC schools in the top-11 on her list, joining Wichita State, Northern Iowa and Illinois State.
2007 Volleyball Home Average Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Ave. Total Dates
1. Nebraska 8,668 17,337 2
2. Hawaii 6,597 39,581 6
3. Creighton 3,890 15,560 4
4. Wisconsin 3,609 10,827 3
5. Wichita State 3,254 9,762 3
Ranked Teams Give These Teams Fits
The four teams at this weekend's State Farm Illini Classic can't be accused of playing weak competition. The schools, which own a collective 13-9 record entering the weekend, have played two matches against #1 Nebraska and one match each vs. #9 BYU, #17 Cal Poly, #21 LSU, #23 Dayton and #25 Middle Tennessee. Against unranked foes, the four State Farm Illini Classic teams are 13-2 this year.
Common Opponents
Creighton and Tennessee share one common opponent, with both teams losing to #1 Nebraska this year. Below is a comparison between the losses to the Cornhuskers:
Stat Creighton Tennessee
Match Date Aug. 31 Aug. 24
Match Result L 3-0 L 3-0
Points Scored 67 52
Kills vs. NU 34 33
Hitting Pct. vs. NU .126 .088
Digs vs. NU 36 30
Aces vs. NU 5 2
Blocks vs. NU 5.0 4.5
Loving The Land of Lincoln
Creighton should enjoy the trip to Illinois this weekend. Last season the Bluejays won four matches in the state of Illinois, more than any state except Nebraska.
The Jays defeated Illinois State (twice by 3-1), Bradley (3-0) and Southern Illinois (3-1) in the nation's 21st state before having its season end with a 3-0 loss in the MVC Tournament semifinals to Northern Iowa.
Bloemke Steps It Up
Sophomore MB Lauren Bloemke had the match of her career to date on Aug. 28 in a win over Iowa State. Bloemke had career-highs with 18 kills and three aces while also adding three blocks and a pair of assists. Even more impressive is that she didn't enter the match until Kelly Goc was injured with the score 15-14 in game one.
Coming into the night, her previous high had been 10 kills in one match. Her three aces, which all came during an 11-0 serving run, matched her career total to that point. Last season Bloemke did not record her 18th kill of the season until CU's 16th match, a Sept. 30 win over Indiana State.
Bloemke currently ranks second on the team with nine aces in only 52 serving attempts. By comparison, last year she had one ace and nine errors in 37 serving attempts all season.
Booth Becomes Volleyball Wins Leader
Kirsten Bernthal Booth became the winningest volleyball coach in modern school history with her team's 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin on Aug. 25. The victory was Booth's 69th at Creighton, passing Howard Wallace who was 68-94 in six years from 1997-2002.
Oelke A Rising Star
Allie Oelke improved her numbers with each of the first four matches she played in to start her career, increasing her kill totals from four to seven to eight to 13. The Chaska, Minn., native leads all MVC players with 0.58 aces per game thus far and is second with 11 aces.
Oelke is just the fourth true freshman to start Creighton's season opener since 1999. Each of the previous three players (Brittany Coleman/2003, Carolyn Decker/2004, Korie Lebeda/2005) would go on to earn MVC All-Freshman Team honors.
Oelke had 13 kills, nine digs, three aces and a block in CU's win at Iowa State on Tuesday. On Sunday, the unflappable freshman had 11 kills and nine digs before the largest crowd in NCAA volleyball-only, regular-season history (13,081).
Houts On The Double
Junior MB Jessica Houts had the first double-double of her career on Aug. 28, finishing with 14 kills and 10 blocks at Iowa State.
It was the 37th career match that Houts has had 10 or more kills, but first with 10 or more blocks. She's also had two matches with 10 digs or more, but never in the same match as one of her top offensive or blocking performances.
Lebeda Passes 3,000 Assists
Junior setter Korie Lebeda notched her 3,000th career assist on a set to Sarah Schulze on the first point of Creighton's victory over Iowa State on Aug. 28th. The milestone came in Lebeda's 65th match played and 231st game of her career.
As a reference, it took UNI's Jill Arganbright 73 matches (247 games) to reach 3,000 career assists. Arganbright closed her career with an MVC-record 6,064 assists from 2000-03 in 138 matches.
Lebeda was already the quickest player to 1,000 career assists in Creighton history, taking 23 matches (77 games) to get there, as well as 2,000 career assists (43 matches, 152 games).
Below is Creighton's quickest players to reach 3,000 assists:
Matches to
Name 3,000 asts. Opponent
Korie Lebeda 65 8/28/07 at Iowa State
Kailey Reyes 72 11/17/00 at Wichita State
Melissa Weisensee 88 9/5/97 vs. Texas-San Antonio
Lebeda Takes A Break (Finally)
Korie Lebeda played every point of her freshman and sophomore seasons, and the first 299 points of her junior year before finally being replaced by Rachel Vrbicky with CU owning a 26-10 lead over Montana State on Aug. 25th. That brought her amazing streak to 11,849 consecutive points without a break to open her college career.
After coming out for three points, Lebeda returned for the final six points of that match.
Lebeda has now played in 12,536 of a possible 12,539 points since coming to Creighton, good for an astounding 99.976 percent.
Scheduling Up
Last year Creighton won three matches against teams that advanced to the 2006 NCAA Tournament: Jacksonville State, Saint Louis and Middle Tennessee.
This year's schedule features 11 matches against 2006 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, including defending national champion Nebraska. Creighton has already beaten Stephen F. Austin and Iowa State this year from that group.
Other NCAA qualifiers from 2006 include Middle Tennessee, Stephen F. Austin, Iowa State, Cal Poly, Tennessee, Minnesota, Northern Iowa (2) and Missouri State (2).
Creighton will play 10 matches against teams that received votes in the AVCA Preseason Top-25 poll.
Beating NCAA Tourney Teams
There's an old saying that “to be the best, you've got to beat the best”. Creighton's win on Aug. 25 over Stephen F. Austin was its seventh all-time over a team that appeared in the NCAA Tournament the previous season. Others on that list were Illinois State (twice in 1999), Missouri (2004), Florida Atlantic (2006), Nevada (2006) and Jacksonville State (2006). CU followed that up with a win on Aug. 28 at Iowa State.
However, the win over Stephen F. Austin was the first win over a team that won a match in that trip to the NCAA's, a feat they duplicated on Aug. 28 at Iowa State.
Creighton will get five more chances to beat NCAA winners from a year ago, including Minnesota, Northern Iowa (twice) and Missouri State (twice). Friday's opponent, Tennessee, also advanced to the 2006 NCAA's but lost in the opening round.
Goc Had Big Weekend But Injured at ISU
Kelly Goc had a big start to her senior season, hitting .508 while averaging a team-best 4.12 kills per game at the Bluejay Invitational. Goc led CU with 12 kills on Friday while hitting .385 against Middle Tennessee, then hit 21-1-33 (.606) in two wins on Saturday.
Included in that was a 14-0-21 performance (.667) against Stephen F. Austin that is tied for the third-best hitting percentage in school history.
Goc leads Creighton with 3.92 kills per game, a .429 hitting percentage and 4.58 points per game.
Defensive Effort Supreme
Montana State's 15 kills on Aug. 25 tied the fewest ever allowed by Creighton, matching the mark set by Drake on Sept. 22, 2006.
Additionally, Montana State's -.044 hitting percentage was the third-lowest by a Bluejay opponent ever.
Lowest Hitting Percentages vs. Creighton
Pct. Team K E TA Date
-.108 UMKC 19 27 74 9/15/96
-.086 Drake 15 23 93 9/22/06
-.044 Montana State 15 19 90 8/25/07
-.008 UMKC 29 30 125 10/24/00
-.007 Wichita State 27 28 135 10/21/95
Crowds Kept Coming
Creighton ranked 16th nationally in average attendance (1,611) in 2006, its best finish ever. That ranks as a 683% increase from the 2002 season, the final year before Kirsten Bernthal Booth arrived. Below is the 2006 attendance list:
2006 Volleyball Home Average Attendance
Rk. School Ave. Total Dates
1. Hawaii 7,186 158,093 22
2. Nebraska 4,137 78,598 19
3. Wisconsin 3,900 66,294 17
4. Minnesota 3,620 50,673 14
5. Missouri 2,565 28,216 11
6. Penn State 2,548 48,417 19
7. Washington 2,516 37,741 15
8. Florida 2,425 41,223 17
9. Texas 2,169 34,711 16
10. Wichita State 2,083 29,157 14
11. Stanford 2,061 30,918 15
12. BYU 1,882 24,464 13
13. New Mexico State 1,830 31,111 17
14. Texas A&M 1,781 21,376 12
15. Northern Iowa 1,708 23,909 14
16. Creighton 1,611 20,940 13
Cal Poly 1,611 16,114 10
18. Purdue 1,594 27,096 17
19. Michigan State 1,455 21,825 15
20. Illinois 1,366 19,127 14
Opening Weekend Records Fall
Creighton had a bunch of records fall during the first weekend of the season at the Bluejay Invitational.
Freshman Allie Oelke tied a school-record with three aces in her debut, which had been done three times previously.
In Oelke's second match, she tied a Bluejay Invitational record with four aces against Montana State.
Oelke would also go on to set the tournament record with eight aces overall in three matches.
Junior Bianca Rivera set a school-record with 14 digs in her debut match, three more than the previous mark held by Mallory Lahm (2004).
Rivera has already set another school record as she has opened her career with six straight matches of 10 or more digs. The previous record of three was held by Brittany Coleman (2003).
Fall 2006 Summary
Creighton's 2006 team finished 21-10 while wrapping up the program's best season since its 1994 reinstatement. The Bluejays opened 10-1, including tournament titles at Middle Tennessee and Montana State, and also hung tough in a four-game loss to #1 Nebraska before 12,112 fans at Qwest Center Omaha.
The team would finish an impressive 13-5 away from home, including a 4-1 neutral site record, and fell in the semifinals of the MVC Tourney to Northern Iowa.
Kelly Goc and Korie Lebeda were named first-team all-MVC while Jessica Houts was a second-team selection. Senior captain Emily Greisch was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American and joined Lebeda and Abby Baumann on the Valley's Scholar-Athlete First Team.
20-Win Season
Creighton reached the 20-win milestone for the first time in modern school history last year and finished with 21 victories. The previous school-record for wins since the program's 1994 reinstatement had been the 2004 team that finished 18-11.
Creighton also tied its school-record with 12 conference wins last season, previously accomplished in 2001.
Reshuffled Decker
One player that might have anticipated the start of the 2007 season more than any other is fourth-year junior Carolyn Decker. Decker, who earned all-MVC Freshman Team honors in 2004, has missed the majority of the past two years with injuries.
Decker missed all but six matches of the 2005 season after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in her right elbow.
Last season, Decker was hurt during the third match of the opening weekend when she tore the ACL in her left knee while landing on a jump serve.
Decker has started 35-of-42 career matches, averages 2.59 kills and 2.25 digs, and ranks second in CU history with 0.34 aces per game. Her insertion into the Bluejay line-up coincided with an 11-0 run during game three of CU's 3-1 win at Iowa State on Aug. 28.
Baby Jays
Two members of the coaching staff added a child during the offseason.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and her husband, Erik, welcomed a daughter, Hayden Isabel Bernthal Booth, to the world on August 3rd. The couple also has a two-year old daughter, Reese. Booth missed the first two weeks of preseason practice and returned to her coaching duties full-time on August 20th.
Associate head coach Paul Giesselmann and his wife, Dr. Paige Groppe, welcomed a daughter, Ansley Paige Giesselmann, on April 9th. The couple also has twin 11-year old boys, Hunter and Garret.
MVC Leaders
Creighton has two different returners that led the league in a statistical category for MVC-only matches. Kelly Goc led the way with 3.97 kills per game and Korie Lebeda was first with 13.25 assists per game.
In addition, Amanda Cvejdlik finished second with 0.51 aces per game, though her 34 aces topped all players.
For all matches, Lebeda was first with 12.79 assists per game, easily outdistancing Illinois State's Erin Lindsey's 11.96 apg. that ranked second.
Creighton's team also led the MVC in four different statistical categories, both for all matches and MVC matches only. The Jays led the league in assists per game, kills per game, fewest opponent kills per game and fewest opponent assists by per game.
Game Five Frenzy
Creighton is 16-4 in five-game matches over the past four seasons. That's impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth games prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival.
Below is a list of Creighton's record in five-game matches on a yearly basis:
Year Game 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 0-0 3-3
Total 31-32 163-208
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 103-6 (.945) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 45-0 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own a 50-3 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 5-134 (.036) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-41 mark in those home matches. Those five comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below:
Date Opponent Games 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
Freshman Get To Start
Creighton has started at least one freshman in 141 of its last 144 matches. The opening weekend of 2006 remains the only time since Sept. 20, 2002, that Creighton opened a match without a freshman starter.
Goc Moves Into Top 10 In Kills, Blocks
Junior middle blocker Kelly Goc got 36 kills at last year's MVC Tournament to become the fifth member of Creighton's 1,000-kill club. She's just the third player to reach that milestone as a junior, joining Melissa Walsh and Leah Ratzlaff.
Goc continues to crash the Creighton record books in several career categories, as seen below:
Goc on the Career Lists
Stat Rank Goc Total
Hitting Pct. 2nd .276
Points 2nd 1,243.0
Points Per Game 3rd 4.05
Kills Per Game 4th 3.41
Kills 4th 1,047
Block Assists 6th 236
Attack Attempts 6th 2,573
Blocks 7th 267
Block Solos T-7th 31
Blocks Per Game 9th 0.87
Defensive Awards
Following last season the Collegiate Volleyball Update website (www.cvu.com) honored Creighton with a pair of defensive awards. The Jays were one of five teams in the running for “Deep Digging Team of the Year”, which was won by Murray State.
Additionally, Creighton was also one of five teams in CVU's Overall Defensive Team of the Year list, which was topped by Missouri State.
Setting The Fab Four
One reason Korie Lebeda led the Missouri Valley Conference with 12.79 assists per game last year was that she had plenty of offensive weapons to choose from. The Bluejays boasted four players ranked in the MVC's top 18 in kills. Kelly Goc (3.94) was second, Amanda Cvejdlik (3.58) was fifth, Jessica Houts (3.33) is ninth and Abby Baumann (2.78) was 18th.
Creighton owned four players with at least 300 kills. Not only had CU never had four players at that level in any season, but they've never done that over any two-year span either. In the first 12 years of the program, only 14 players had ever had 300 or more kills.
Production Returning
Creighton returns 10-of-13 letterwinners from last season, and more than 94 percent of their statistical production in every category except digs, as seen below:
Stat Returners Departures
Kills 1903 (99.7%) 5 (0.3%)
Blocks 305.5 (99.3%) 2.0 (0.7%)
Points 2382.5 (99.3%) 17.0 (0.7%)
Assists 1715 (98.2%) 32 (1.8%)
Matches Started 175 (94.1%) 11 (5.9%)
Aces 173 (94.0%) 11 (6.0%)
Digs 1954 (86.7%) 299 (13.3%)
The Baumann Barometer
Creighton's record is 22-7 all-time when Abby Baumann reaches double-digit kills. Creighton is also 16-5 all-time when Baumann finishes with a double-double.
A more telling statistic revolves around Baumann's hitting percentage. CU is 23-0 in her career when she has 10 attacks or more and hits .208 or better, but just 35-38 in her career when she hasn't.
Baumann averaged 2.96 kills and hit .172 in CU's 21 wins last year, but just 2.44 kills and hit .000 in the Jays 10 losses.
Game 1 Result = Match Result
In its last 56 matches in which it wins game one, Creighton is 50-6.
CU is 57-10 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when they win game one. In that same time span, CU is just 13-46 under Booth it they drop the first game.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 38-46 in the 28 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including an 8-1 mark last year. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 22-15 in 13 regular-season tournaments.
After winning just one of its first 18 regular-season tournaments all-time (the 2000 Iowa State Heritage Classic), the Jays have won five of its last 10 regular-season tournaments.
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton was picked third in the 2007 MVC preseason coaches poll. Northern Iowa (97 points, seven first place votes) was favored to win its second straight title, just ahead of Wichita State (85, one) and Creighton (81, two). Rounding out the rest of the league was Missouri State, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Evansville, Bradley, Drake and Indiana State.
Each of the past three years Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them in the preseason poll.
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 ???
AVCA Honors CU Volleyball For Academics
The Creighton volleyball program was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as a recipient of the 2007 AVCA Team Academic Award. Creighton previously won the award in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
The award honors teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA. Last spring the Bluejay volleyball team posted a cumulative GPA of 3.38, as six student-athletes landed on the Dean's List (3.5 or better).
Radio Broadcast Information
Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson will broadcast at least 20 regular-season matches this season on KVSS (88.9 FM), as well as any potential MVC Tournament and NCAA Tournament matches. The matches will also be streamed on-line at www.kvss.com. A complete list of remaining matches follows:
Remaining Volleyball Broadcast Schedule
Sept. 7 vs. Tennessee
Sept. 8 vs. Marquette/Illinois
Sept. 11 at Drake
Sept. 21 at Northern Iowa
Sept. 28 Illinois State
Sept. 29 Indiana State
Oct. 12 Wichita State
Oct. 13 Missouri State
Oct. 19 Bradley
Oct. 20 Northern Iowa
Nov. 2 Southern Illinois
Nov. 4 Evansville
Nov. 9 at Missouri State
Nov. 10 at Wichita State
Nov. 16 Drake
Creighton Ticket Information
Tickets to Creighton's home regular-season matches are sold at all Ticketmaster outlets. Cost is $7 for adults and $4 for youth (18 years of age or younger) with children five and under admitted free. Season ticket information is available online at www.gocreighton.com or by calling (402) 280-JAYS. Creighton has sold approximately 380 season tickets for volleyball this year after selling 286 season tickets last year.
Creighton (3-3) heads to Champaign, Ill., for two matches in the State Farm Illini Classic. The Bluejays open play against Tennessee (4-1) on Friday at 4:30 pm.
The winner of the Creighton/Tennessee match will face the winner of Friday night's Marquette (2-3)/Illinois (4-2) contest, while Friday's losers will also meet on Saturday.
Illinois will play at 3 pm on Saturday regardless of their Friday result, with the other match just prior at 12 pm.
Huff Hall (4,050) will host the action.
Radio Broadcast Information
Both of Creighton's matches at the State Farm Illini Classic can be heard on KVSS (88.9 FM), and will be streamed live on-line at www.kvss.com. Brad Burwell will call the action.
Video Broadcast Information
All matches this weekend will be video webcast and can be seen on the University of Illinois volleyball page at www.fightingillini.com.
Fans will need to purchase a monthly subscription for $6.95 by clicking on the Illini All-Access On-Demand button on the right-side of the page.
Live Stats Information
Illinois will be providing live stats for all matches in the State Farm Illini Classic. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the right-hand side of the page, or visit www.fightingillini.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 3-3 through six matches this season, with all three setbacks coming against teams currently in the top-25. Five of Creighton's first six opponents reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Senior MB Kelly Goc, a preseason all-MVC selection, leads the team with 3.92 kills per game as well as a .429 hitting percentage.
Not far behind is Jessica Houts, who averages 3.37 kills per game and paces the club with 1.53 blocks per game.
Running the offense is junior setter Korie Lebeda, who averages 12.11 assists per game.
Through six matches, Creighton is averaging 15.47 kills, 1.68 aces, 15.84 digs and 2.89 blocks per game while hitting .229 as a club.
Scouting Tennessee
Tennessee brings a 4-1 record into the weekend after winning last weekend's Comcast Lady Vol Classic. Tennessee's most impressive win to date was a five-game victory over #21 Utah, while its lone loss was a three-game sweep to #1 Nebraska in Omaha.
Milan Clarke leads the team with 60 kills, an average of 3.53 per game. She's been named to two all-tourney squads in as many events, including MVP honors of the Comcast Lady Vol Classic last weekend.
Leah Hinkey is second on the team with 2.65 kills per game but hits a team-high .405 and is second with seven aces and 1.29 blocks per game. Kylie Marshall paces the squad with 0.76 aces per game.
Setting the Lady Vols is Jena Berg, who averages 10.65 assists per game.
As a team, Tennessee averages 13.53 kills, 1.71 aces, 13.82 digs and 3.18 blocks per game while hitting .218.
Scouting Illinois
Illinois is 4-2 this season after going 2-1 each of the first two weekends. Both of the Illini's losses have been in five games against teams that are now ranked, Dayton and LSU.
Highly-touted freshman Laura DeBruler leads Illinois with 4.13 kills per game, including five matches of 10 or more putaways. Vicki Brown averages 3.04 kpg and hits .418. She also leads the team with 1.43 blocks per game.
Lizzie Bazzetta (8.91 apg.) and Hillary Haen (5.12 apg.) shared setting duties the first weekend but Bazzetta played almost exclusively the past two matches last weekend.
As a team, Illinois averages 15.52 kills, 2.00 aces, 14.65 digs and 2.70 blocks per game while hitting .277 as a team.
Scouting Marquette
Marquette is 2-3 this season, losing both matches outside of Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles own wins over Miami (Fla.) and Oakland but have lost to BYU, Iowa and Texas-Arlington.
Marquette finished last season with a 16-15 record and tied for third in the Big East Conference with a 10-4 league mark.
Kimberley Todd averages 4.61 kills per game and is the main weapon offensively. Jenn Brown leads the defense with 1.28 blocks per game.
Katie Weidner sets the offense with 11.89 assists per game.
As a team, Marquette averages 13.94 kills, 1.89 aces, 16.67 digs and 2.36 blocks per game while hitting .149.
The Coaches
Creighton is coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth (Truman State, 1997), who owns a 70-56 record in her fifth season with the Bluejays. She became the program's all-time winningest coach on Aug. 25 with a 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin.
Booth came to Creighton after going 112-41 in three years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A native of Lincoln, Neb., Booth played volleyball at Truman State, where she was named conference MVP, an Academic All-American and Missouri's 1997 NCAA Woman of the Year. She ranked third in Division II history with 6,077 assists when she graduated.
Booth is helped by associate head coach Paul Giesselmann and assistant coaches Angie Oxley Behrens and Steve Bymers.
Tennessee is coached by Rob Patrick, who owns a 214-108 record in his 11th season with the Lady Vols. Patrick was named national coach of the year in both 2004 and 2005. Patrick has led UT to five straight seasons of 19 or more wins, including the 2005 Final Four. Patrick is assisted by Mike Minnis and former Southern Illinois assistant Katie Noble.
Illinois is coached by coached by Don Hardin, who owns a 196-143 record in his 12th year in Champaign. That lifts his career mark to 398-220 in 20 years overall, which includes eight years at Louisville. He is assisted by Kevin Hambly and Jen Oldenburg.
Marquette is coached by Pati Rolf, who owns a 84-70 record in her seventh year with the Golden Eagles. Rolf was previously head coach at Minnesota-Duluth and owns a career mark of 394-239 in 19 years. She is assisted by Erica Heisser and Raftyn Birath.
Series History vs. Tennessee
Tennessee won the only previous meeting against Creighton, 15-7, 15-5, 15-7, on Sept. 7, 1996 in San Francisco, Calif.
Christina Jestila led UT with 14 kills, while Michelle Prorock led the Bluejays with 19 kills and 12 digs in the loss.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth has never faced Tennessee or Rob Patrick but is 2-1 all-time against Southeastern Conference schools.
Series History vs. Illinois
Creighton and Illinois have never met on the volleyball court.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth has never faced Illinois or Don Hardin and is 1-1 all-time against Big Ten Conference schools.
Series History vs. Marquette
Creighton won the only previous meeting with Marquette, downing the Golden Eagles 30-26, 28-30, 25-30, 30-22, 16-14 on Sept. 11, 2005 in Boulder, Colo. The Jays trailed 12-9 in game five before scoring five straight points and never trailed again.
Leah Ratzlaff led Creighton with 20 kills and .326 hitting, while Abby Baumann had 17 kills for the Jays. Marquette was paced by 20 kills from Theresa Coughlin.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 1-0 against Marquette and Pati Rolf and is 1-0 all-time against Big East competition.
Last Weekend Summary
Creighton lost three-game matches to No. 1 Nebraska and No. 18 Cal Poly last week in the Holiday Inn Downtown Classic.
Playing without Kelly Goc, the Bluejays fell 30-23, 30-18, 30-26 against Nebraska on Friday night at a sold-out NU Coliseum. Jessica Houts paced the Jays with 13 kills against the Huskers.
On Sunday, a record crowd of 13,081 fans saw the Jays drop a 30-26, 30-28, 30-21 match to Cal Poly at Qwest Center Omaha. Goc returned with a team-best 13 kills.
13,081 Is New NCAA Record
The largest regular-season volleyball-only crowd in NCAA Volleyball history, 13,081, was on hand for Creighton's match on Sunday against Cal Poly. The match was the first half of a Holiday Inn Downtown Classic doubleheader that included Penn State playing Nebraska in the nightcap.
The previous largest crowd had been 12,504 when Colorado visited Nebraska on Nov. 4, 2000.
It also shattered the previous MVC and Creighton record for home attendance in a match of 12,112 that the Jays hosted last year for a home match against the Huskers.
Rivera Digging It
Bianca Rivera has proven to be a difference-maker on the defensive end just six matches into her Division I career. The junior college transfer had a career-high 23 digs on Sunday against Cal Poly, including 16 in the second game alone.
Rivera now owns 106 digs on the season. Her six matches to reach 100 career digs is easily the quickest in school history, four matches quicker than three others.
Creighton's Quickest Players To 100 Digs (Career)
Name MP Date Opponent
Bianca Rivera 6 09/02/07 #18 Cal Poly
Melissa Weisensee 10 09/30/94 Missouri State
Kailey Reyes 10 09/27/98 at W. Illinois
Brittany Coleman 10 09/19/03 Southern Illinois
Sarah Schulze 11 09/16/06 Southern Illinois
Rivera One Of A Few
Junior Bianca Rivera has collected 14 or more digs in every match this season, the only player in the MVC that can make that claim.
In fact, only four Valley players have had 10 digs or more in every match this season, Rivera, Ellie Blankenship (UNI), Kristy Elswick (SIU) and Kelly Broussard (WSU).
Houts Named To All-Tournament Team
Junior Jessica Houts was named to the Holiday Inn Downtown Classic All-Tournament Team last weekend. Houts led Creighton with 19 kills and seven blocks in matches against nationally-ranked Nebraska and Cal Poly over the weekend. The Bloomington, Minn., native also led all Bluejay attackers with a .226 hitting average.
Other players honored were Nebraska's Rachel Holloway, Jordan Larson and Sarah Pavan (MVP), Penn State's Christa Harmotto and Cal Poly's Kylie Atherstone.
Top Five Crowds
According to numbers calculated by Diane Nordstrom at the University of Wisconsin, Creighton ranks third nationally thus far with an average home attendance of 3,890 fans per game. Creighton is one of four MVC schools in the top-11 on her list, joining Wichita State, Northern Iowa and Illinois State.
2007 Volleyball Home Average Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Ave. Total Dates
1. Nebraska 8,668 17,337 2
2. Hawaii 6,597 39,581 6
3. Creighton 3,890 15,560 4
4. Wisconsin 3,609 10,827 3
5. Wichita State 3,254 9,762 3
Ranked Teams Give These Teams Fits
The four teams at this weekend's State Farm Illini Classic can't be accused of playing weak competition. The schools, which own a collective 13-9 record entering the weekend, have played two matches against #1 Nebraska and one match each vs. #9 BYU, #17 Cal Poly, #21 LSU, #23 Dayton and #25 Middle Tennessee. Against unranked foes, the four State Farm Illini Classic teams are 13-2 this year.
Common Opponents
Creighton and Tennessee share one common opponent, with both teams losing to #1 Nebraska this year. Below is a comparison between the losses to the Cornhuskers:
Stat Creighton Tennessee
Match Date Aug. 31 Aug. 24
Match Result L 3-0 L 3-0
Points Scored 67 52
Kills vs. NU 34 33
Hitting Pct. vs. NU .126 .088
Digs vs. NU 36 30
Aces vs. NU 5 2
Blocks vs. NU 5.0 4.5
Loving The Land of Lincoln
Creighton should enjoy the trip to Illinois this weekend. Last season the Bluejays won four matches in the state of Illinois, more than any state except Nebraska.
The Jays defeated Illinois State (twice by 3-1), Bradley (3-0) and Southern Illinois (3-1) in the nation's 21st state before having its season end with a 3-0 loss in the MVC Tournament semifinals to Northern Iowa.
Bloemke Steps It Up
Sophomore MB Lauren Bloemke had the match of her career to date on Aug. 28 in a win over Iowa State. Bloemke had career-highs with 18 kills and three aces while also adding three blocks and a pair of assists. Even more impressive is that she didn't enter the match until Kelly Goc was injured with the score 15-14 in game one.
Coming into the night, her previous high had been 10 kills in one match. Her three aces, which all came during an 11-0 serving run, matched her career total to that point. Last season Bloemke did not record her 18th kill of the season until CU's 16th match, a Sept. 30 win over Indiana State.
Bloemke currently ranks second on the team with nine aces in only 52 serving attempts. By comparison, last year she had one ace and nine errors in 37 serving attempts all season.
Booth Becomes Volleyball Wins Leader
Kirsten Bernthal Booth became the winningest volleyball coach in modern school history with her team's 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin on Aug. 25. The victory was Booth's 69th at Creighton, passing Howard Wallace who was 68-94 in six years from 1997-2002.
Oelke A Rising Star
Allie Oelke improved her numbers with each of the first four matches she played in to start her career, increasing her kill totals from four to seven to eight to 13. The Chaska, Minn., native leads all MVC players with 0.58 aces per game thus far and is second with 11 aces.
Oelke is just the fourth true freshman to start Creighton's season opener since 1999. Each of the previous three players (Brittany Coleman/2003, Carolyn Decker/2004, Korie Lebeda/2005) would go on to earn MVC All-Freshman Team honors.
Oelke had 13 kills, nine digs, three aces and a block in CU's win at Iowa State on Tuesday. On Sunday, the unflappable freshman had 11 kills and nine digs before the largest crowd in NCAA volleyball-only, regular-season history (13,081).
Houts On The Double
Junior MB Jessica Houts had the first double-double of her career on Aug. 28, finishing with 14 kills and 10 blocks at Iowa State.
It was the 37th career match that Houts has had 10 or more kills, but first with 10 or more blocks. She's also had two matches with 10 digs or more, but never in the same match as one of her top offensive or blocking performances.
Lebeda Passes 3,000 Assists
Junior setter Korie Lebeda notched her 3,000th career assist on a set to Sarah Schulze on the first point of Creighton's victory over Iowa State on Aug. 28th. The milestone came in Lebeda's 65th match played and 231st game of her career.
As a reference, it took UNI's Jill Arganbright 73 matches (247 games) to reach 3,000 career assists. Arganbright closed her career with an MVC-record 6,064 assists from 2000-03 in 138 matches.
Lebeda was already the quickest player to 1,000 career assists in Creighton history, taking 23 matches (77 games) to get there, as well as 2,000 career assists (43 matches, 152 games).
Below is Creighton's quickest players to reach 3,000 assists:
Matches to
Name 3,000 asts. Opponent
Korie Lebeda 65 8/28/07 at Iowa State
Kailey Reyes 72 11/17/00 at Wichita State
Melissa Weisensee 88 9/5/97 vs. Texas-San Antonio
Lebeda Takes A Break (Finally)
Korie Lebeda played every point of her freshman and sophomore seasons, and the first 299 points of her junior year before finally being replaced by Rachel Vrbicky with CU owning a 26-10 lead over Montana State on Aug. 25th. That brought her amazing streak to 11,849 consecutive points without a break to open her college career.
After coming out for three points, Lebeda returned for the final six points of that match.
Lebeda has now played in 12,536 of a possible 12,539 points since coming to Creighton, good for an astounding 99.976 percent.
Scheduling Up
Last year Creighton won three matches against teams that advanced to the 2006 NCAA Tournament: Jacksonville State, Saint Louis and Middle Tennessee.
This year's schedule features 11 matches against 2006 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, including defending national champion Nebraska. Creighton has already beaten Stephen F. Austin and Iowa State this year from that group.
Other NCAA qualifiers from 2006 include Middle Tennessee, Stephen F. Austin, Iowa State, Cal Poly, Tennessee, Minnesota, Northern Iowa (2) and Missouri State (2).
Creighton will play 10 matches against teams that received votes in the AVCA Preseason Top-25 poll.
Beating NCAA Tourney Teams
There's an old saying that “to be the best, you've got to beat the best”. Creighton's win on Aug. 25 over Stephen F. Austin was its seventh all-time over a team that appeared in the NCAA Tournament the previous season. Others on that list were Illinois State (twice in 1999), Missouri (2004), Florida Atlantic (2006), Nevada (2006) and Jacksonville State (2006). CU followed that up with a win on Aug. 28 at Iowa State.
However, the win over Stephen F. Austin was the first win over a team that won a match in that trip to the NCAA's, a feat they duplicated on Aug. 28 at Iowa State.
Creighton will get five more chances to beat NCAA winners from a year ago, including Minnesota, Northern Iowa (twice) and Missouri State (twice). Friday's opponent, Tennessee, also advanced to the 2006 NCAA's but lost in the opening round.
Goc Had Big Weekend But Injured at ISU
Kelly Goc had a big start to her senior season, hitting .508 while averaging a team-best 4.12 kills per game at the Bluejay Invitational. Goc led CU with 12 kills on Friday while hitting .385 against Middle Tennessee, then hit 21-1-33 (.606) in two wins on Saturday.
Included in that was a 14-0-21 performance (.667) against Stephen F. Austin that is tied for the third-best hitting percentage in school history.
Goc leads Creighton with 3.92 kills per game, a .429 hitting percentage and 4.58 points per game.
Defensive Effort Supreme
Montana State's 15 kills on Aug. 25 tied the fewest ever allowed by Creighton, matching the mark set by Drake on Sept. 22, 2006.
Additionally, Montana State's -.044 hitting percentage was the third-lowest by a Bluejay opponent ever.
Lowest Hitting Percentages vs. Creighton
Pct. Team K E TA Date
-.108 UMKC 19 27 74 9/15/96
-.086 Drake 15 23 93 9/22/06
-.044 Montana State 15 19 90 8/25/07
-.008 UMKC 29 30 125 10/24/00
-.007 Wichita State 27 28 135 10/21/95
Crowds Kept Coming
Creighton ranked 16th nationally in average attendance (1,611) in 2006, its best finish ever. That ranks as a 683% increase from the 2002 season, the final year before Kirsten Bernthal Booth arrived. Below is the 2006 attendance list:
2006 Volleyball Home Average Attendance
Rk. School Ave. Total Dates
1. Hawaii 7,186 158,093 22
2. Nebraska 4,137 78,598 19
3. Wisconsin 3,900 66,294 17
4. Minnesota 3,620 50,673 14
5. Missouri 2,565 28,216 11
6. Penn State 2,548 48,417 19
7. Washington 2,516 37,741 15
8. Florida 2,425 41,223 17
9. Texas 2,169 34,711 16
10. Wichita State 2,083 29,157 14
11. Stanford 2,061 30,918 15
12. BYU 1,882 24,464 13
13. New Mexico State 1,830 31,111 17
14. Texas A&M 1,781 21,376 12
15. Northern Iowa 1,708 23,909 14
16. Creighton 1,611 20,940 13
Cal Poly 1,611 16,114 10
18. Purdue 1,594 27,096 17
19. Michigan State 1,455 21,825 15
20. Illinois 1,366 19,127 14
Opening Weekend Records Fall
Creighton had a bunch of records fall during the first weekend of the season at the Bluejay Invitational.
Freshman Allie Oelke tied a school-record with three aces in her debut, which had been done three times previously.
In Oelke's second match, she tied a Bluejay Invitational record with four aces against Montana State.
Oelke would also go on to set the tournament record with eight aces overall in three matches.
Junior Bianca Rivera set a school-record with 14 digs in her debut match, three more than the previous mark held by Mallory Lahm (2004).
Rivera has already set another school record as she has opened her career with six straight matches of 10 or more digs. The previous record of three was held by Brittany Coleman (2003).
Fall 2006 Summary
Creighton's 2006 team finished 21-10 while wrapping up the program's best season since its 1994 reinstatement. The Bluejays opened 10-1, including tournament titles at Middle Tennessee and Montana State, and also hung tough in a four-game loss to #1 Nebraska before 12,112 fans at Qwest Center Omaha.
The team would finish an impressive 13-5 away from home, including a 4-1 neutral site record, and fell in the semifinals of the MVC Tourney to Northern Iowa.
Kelly Goc and Korie Lebeda were named first-team all-MVC while Jessica Houts was a second-team selection. Senior captain Emily Greisch was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American and joined Lebeda and Abby Baumann on the Valley's Scholar-Athlete First Team.
20-Win Season
Creighton reached the 20-win milestone for the first time in modern school history last year and finished with 21 victories. The previous school-record for wins since the program's 1994 reinstatement had been the 2004 team that finished 18-11.
Creighton also tied its school-record with 12 conference wins last season, previously accomplished in 2001.
Reshuffled Decker
One player that might have anticipated the start of the 2007 season more than any other is fourth-year junior Carolyn Decker. Decker, who earned all-MVC Freshman Team honors in 2004, has missed the majority of the past two years with injuries.
Decker missed all but six matches of the 2005 season after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in her right elbow.
Last season, Decker was hurt during the third match of the opening weekend when she tore the ACL in her left knee while landing on a jump serve.
Decker has started 35-of-42 career matches, averages 2.59 kills and 2.25 digs, and ranks second in CU history with 0.34 aces per game. Her insertion into the Bluejay line-up coincided with an 11-0 run during game three of CU's 3-1 win at Iowa State on Aug. 28.
Baby Jays
Two members of the coaching staff added a child during the offseason.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and her husband, Erik, welcomed a daughter, Hayden Isabel Bernthal Booth, to the world on August 3rd. The couple also has a two-year old daughter, Reese. Booth missed the first two weeks of preseason practice and returned to her coaching duties full-time on August 20th.
Associate head coach Paul Giesselmann and his wife, Dr. Paige Groppe, welcomed a daughter, Ansley Paige Giesselmann, on April 9th. The couple also has twin 11-year old boys, Hunter and Garret.
MVC Leaders
Creighton has two different returners that led the league in a statistical category for MVC-only matches. Kelly Goc led the way with 3.97 kills per game and Korie Lebeda was first with 13.25 assists per game.
In addition, Amanda Cvejdlik finished second with 0.51 aces per game, though her 34 aces topped all players.
For all matches, Lebeda was first with 12.79 assists per game, easily outdistancing Illinois State's Erin Lindsey's 11.96 apg. that ranked second.
Creighton's team also led the MVC in four different statistical categories, both for all matches and MVC matches only. The Jays led the league in assists per game, kills per game, fewest opponent kills per game and fewest opponent assists by per game.
Game Five Frenzy
Creighton is 16-4 in five-game matches over the past four seasons. That's impressive since Creighton had never finished a season with a winning record in fifth games prior to Kirsten Bernthal Booth's arrival.
Below is a list of Creighton's record in five-game matches on a yearly basis:
Year Game 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 0-0 3-3
Total 31-32 163-208
2-0 Better Than 0-2
Creighton is 103-6 (.945) all-time when leading a match 2-0, including a 45-0 mark under Kirsten Bernthal Booth. They own a 50-3 all-time mark in home matches they lead 2-0 in.
Conversely, the Jays are 5-134 (.036) all-time when trailing a match 0-2, including an 0-41 mark in those home matches. Those five comebacks from down 0-2 are listed below:
Date Opponent Games 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
Freshman Get To Start
Creighton has started at least one freshman in 141 of its last 144 matches. The opening weekend of 2006 remains the only time since Sept. 20, 2002, that Creighton opened a match without a freshman starter.
Goc Moves Into Top 10 In Kills, Blocks
Junior middle blocker Kelly Goc got 36 kills at last year's MVC Tournament to become the fifth member of Creighton's 1,000-kill club. She's just the third player to reach that milestone as a junior, joining Melissa Walsh and Leah Ratzlaff.
Goc continues to crash the Creighton record books in several career categories, as seen below:
Goc on the Career Lists
Stat Rank Goc Total
Hitting Pct. 2nd .276
Points 2nd 1,243.0
Points Per Game 3rd 4.05
Kills Per Game 4th 3.41
Kills 4th 1,047
Block Assists 6th 236
Attack Attempts 6th 2,573
Blocks 7th 267
Block Solos T-7th 31
Blocks Per Game 9th 0.87
Defensive Awards
Following last season the Collegiate Volleyball Update website (www.cvu.com) honored Creighton with a pair of defensive awards. The Jays were one of five teams in the running for “Deep Digging Team of the Year”, which was won by Murray State.
Additionally, Creighton was also one of five teams in CVU's Overall Defensive Team of the Year list, which was topped by Missouri State.
Setting The Fab Four
One reason Korie Lebeda led the Missouri Valley Conference with 12.79 assists per game last year was that she had plenty of offensive weapons to choose from. The Bluejays boasted four players ranked in the MVC's top 18 in kills. Kelly Goc (3.94) was second, Amanda Cvejdlik (3.58) was fifth, Jessica Houts (3.33) is ninth and Abby Baumann (2.78) was 18th.
Creighton owned four players with at least 300 kills. Not only had CU never had four players at that level in any season, but they've never done that over any two-year span either. In the first 12 years of the program, only 14 players had ever had 300 or more kills.
Production Returning
Creighton returns 10-of-13 letterwinners from last season, and more than 94 percent of their statistical production in every category except digs, as seen below:
Stat Returners Departures
Kills 1903 (99.7%) 5 (0.3%)
Blocks 305.5 (99.3%) 2.0 (0.7%)
Points 2382.5 (99.3%) 17.0 (0.7%)
Assists 1715 (98.2%) 32 (1.8%)
Matches Started 175 (94.1%) 11 (5.9%)
Aces 173 (94.0%) 11 (6.0%)
Digs 1954 (86.7%) 299 (13.3%)
The Baumann Barometer
Creighton's record is 22-7 all-time when Abby Baumann reaches double-digit kills. Creighton is also 16-5 all-time when Baumann finishes with a double-double.
A more telling statistic revolves around Baumann's hitting percentage. CU is 23-0 in her career when she has 10 attacks or more and hits .208 or better, but just 35-38 in her career when she hasn't.
Baumann averaged 2.96 kills and hit .172 in CU's 21 wins last year, but just 2.44 kills and hit .000 in the Jays 10 losses.
Game 1 Result = Match Result
In its last 56 matches in which it wins game one, Creighton is 50-6.
CU is 57-10 overall under Kirsten Bernthal Booth when they win game one. In that same time span, CU is just 13-46 under Booth it they drop the first game.
Regular-Season Tournament History
Creighton is 38-46 in the 28 regular-season tournaments it has participated in all-time, including an 8-1 mark last year. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's teams are 22-15 in 13 regular-season tournaments.
After winning just one of its first 18 regular-season tournaments all-time (the 2000 Iowa State Heritage Classic), the Jays have won five of its last 10 regular-season tournaments.
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton was picked third in the 2007 MVC preseason coaches poll. Northern Iowa (97 points, seven first place votes) was favored to win its second straight title, just ahead of Wichita State (85, one) and Creighton (81, two). Rounding out the rest of the league was Missouri State, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Evansville, Bradley, Drake and Indiana State.
Each of the past three years Creighton has finished in the spot predicted of them in the preseason poll.
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 ???
AVCA Honors CU Volleyball For Academics
The Creighton volleyball program was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as a recipient of the 2007 AVCA Team Academic Award. Creighton previously won the award in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
The award honors teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA. Last spring the Bluejay volleyball team posted a cumulative GPA of 3.38, as six student-athletes landed on the Dean's List (3.5 or better).
Radio Broadcast Information
Brad Burwell and Erin Swanson will broadcast at least 20 regular-season matches this season on KVSS (88.9 FM), as well as any potential MVC Tournament and NCAA Tournament matches. The matches will also be streamed on-line at www.kvss.com. A complete list of remaining matches follows:
Remaining Volleyball Broadcast Schedule
Sept. 7 vs. Tennessee
Sept. 8 vs. Marquette/Illinois
Sept. 11 at Drake
Sept. 21 at Northern Iowa
Sept. 28 Illinois State
Sept. 29 Indiana State
Oct. 12 Wichita State
Oct. 13 Missouri State
Oct. 19 Bradley
Oct. 20 Northern Iowa
Nov. 2 Southern Illinois
Nov. 4 Evansville
Nov. 9 at Missouri State
Nov. 10 at Wichita State
Nov. 16 Drake
Creighton Ticket Information
Tickets to Creighton's home regular-season matches are sold at all Ticketmaster outlets. Cost is $7 for adults and $4 for youth (18 years of age or younger) with children five and under admitted free. Season ticket information is available online at www.gocreighton.com or by calling (402) 280-JAYS. Creighton has sold approximately 380 season tickets for volleyball this year after selling 286 season tickets last year.
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballCreighton Volleyball's Brian Rosen Postgame Interview vs. San Diego - 9/5/25
Saturday, September 06
#13 Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. San Diego - 9/5/25
Saturday, September 06
Creighton Volleyball - Win #1 - Recap vs Kansas 8.31.25
Thursday, September 04
Creighton Volleyball's Brian Rosen Media Availability - 9/3/25
Wednesday, September 03
