Saturday, September 11
Omaha, Neb.
10:30 AM
Creighton University
8-1,0-0Big East
3
vs
1
Illinois
5-3,0-0Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Illinois
18
16
27
31
1
Creighton
25
25
25
33
3
Keeley Davis had her first double-double of the season on Saturday vs. Illinois.
Photo by: Kristen Holmes
#19 Creighton Outlasts Illinois in Four Set Thriller
9/11/2021 1:37:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton improves to 8-1
OMAHA, Neb. -- The No. 19 Creighton Volleyball team improved to 8-1 on Saturday morning with a 3-1 win vs. Illinois that included a 33-31 fourth set victory.
Jaela Zimmerman (21 kills, 13 digs), Norah Sis (20 kills, 11 digs), Keeley Davis (12 kills, 13 digs) and Kendra Wait (46 assists, 15 digs) had double-doubles to lead the Bluejays. Abby Bottomley provided a season-leading 28 digs for the Bluejays, and Wait also contributed a season-best seven blocks. Creighton had 65 kills, two aces, 86 digs and 11 blocks on .224 hitting overall.
Illinois (5-3) was paced by 17 kills from Megan Cooney and 29 digs by Taylor Kuper. The Illini had 54 kills, five aces, 83 digs and eight blocks while hitting .135.
Creighton held Illinois to .000 hitting in 83 swings during the course of the first two sets, racing to a 2-0 lead on the backs of 25-18 and 25-16 victories Bottomley had 13 digs by the intermission while Wait had four blocks.
The Bluejays led 17-15 in the third set before Diana Brown served up 5-0 rally to put the Illini back in front. Creighton answered to tie the score at 20-all, only to see Illinois successfully challenge a call to move ahead 21-20, and eventually 23-20. CU saved set points when down 24-22, 24-23 and 25-24 before an attack error by the Jays extended the match..
Creighton had a whopping 27 kills in the fourth set, with 22 of them coming from the trio of Zimmerman (10), Davis (6) and Sis (6). The Bluejays were in control with a 23-16 lead before Illinois' Taylor Kuper served an 8-0 run to give the Illini a set point. Creighton would save four set points (24-23, 25-24, 29-28, 31-30) before Davis put down a kill and then served up the next two points for the 33-31 victory. Bottomley had 10 of CU's 25 digs in the fourth set.
The victory was Creighton's first in six all-time meetings against the Illini.
Creighton closes play at the Bluejay Invitational on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. against Nebraska-Omaha. The Mavericks lost a 3-2 match vs. SMU on Saturday afternoon.
NOTES: The match was Creighton's first four-set match of the season ... Creighton's four players with a double-double was last accomplished on Feb. 5, 2021 when Ally Van Eekeren, Keely Davis, Jaela Zimmerman and Mahina Pua'a each did it in a 3-2 win vs. No. 25 Marquette ... Keeley Davis' 12 kills were a season-high ... Jaela Zimmerman's 21 kills were a career-high while Norah Sis' 20 kills matched the freshman's season-high. Sis is the first freshman in CU history with multiple matches of 20+ kills within the first 10 matches of her career ... The match featured 28 ties and 12 lead changes ... Creighton improved to 28-16 all-time at the Bluejay Invitational.
Jaela Zimmerman (21 kills, 13 digs), Norah Sis (20 kills, 11 digs), Keeley Davis (12 kills, 13 digs) and Kendra Wait (46 assists, 15 digs) had double-doubles to lead the Bluejays. Abby Bottomley provided a season-leading 28 digs for the Bluejays, and Wait also contributed a season-best seven blocks. Creighton had 65 kills, two aces, 86 digs and 11 blocks on .224 hitting overall.
Illinois (5-3) was paced by 17 kills from Megan Cooney and 29 digs by Taylor Kuper. The Illini had 54 kills, five aces, 83 digs and eight blocks while hitting .135.
Creighton held Illinois to .000 hitting in 83 swings during the course of the first two sets, racing to a 2-0 lead on the backs of 25-18 and 25-16 victories Bottomley had 13 digs by the intermission while Wait had four blocks.
The Bluejays led 17-15 in the third set before Diana Brown served up 5-0 rally to put the Illini back in front. Creighton answered to tie the score at 20-all, only to see Illinois successfully challenge a call to move ahead 21-20, and eventually 23-20. CU saved set points when down 24-22, 24-23 and 25-24 before an attack error by the Jays extended the match..
Creighton had a whopping 27 kills in the fourth set, with 22 of them coming from the trio of Zimmerman (10), Davis (6) and Sis (6). The Bluejays were in control with a 23-16 lead before Illinois' Taylor Kuper served an 8-0 run to give the Illini a set point. Creighton would save four set points (24-23, 25-24, 29-28, 31-30) before Davis put down a kill and then served up the next two points for the 33-31 victory. Bottomley had 10 of CU's 25 digs in the fourth set.
The victory was Creighton's first in six all-time meetings against the Illini.
Creighton closes play at the Bluejay Invitational on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. against Nebraska-Omaha. The Mavericks lost a 3-2 match vs. SMU on Saturday afternoon.
NOTES: The match was Creighton's first four-set match of the season ... Creighton's four players with a double-double was last accomplished on Feb. 5, 2021 when Ally Van Eekeren, Keely Davis, Jaela Zimmerman and Mahina Pua'a each did it in a 3-2 win vs. No. 25 Marquette ... Keeley Davis' 12 kills were a season-high ... Jaela Zimmerman's 21 kills were a career-high while Norah Sis' 20 kills matched the freshman's season-high. Sis is the first freshman in CU history with multiple matches of 20+ kills within the first 10 matches of her career ... The match featured 28 ties and 12 lead changes ... Creighton improved to 28-16 all-time at the Bluejay Invitational.
Team Stats
ILL
CU
Kills
54
65
Errors
30
24
Attempts
178
183
Hitting %
.135
.224
Points
67.0
78.0
Assists
53
59
Aces
5
2
Blocks
8.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
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/ VolleyballOH
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