Saturday, September 18
Wichita, Kan.
7:00 PM
Creighton University
12-1,0-0Big East
3
at
0
Wichita State
6-3,0-0AAC
1
2
3
F
Creighton
26
25
25
3
Wichita St.
24
23
18
0
Jaela Zimmerman was named MVP for the third straight weekend
Photo by: Creighton Athletics
#17 Volleyball Sweeps Wichita State To Win Shocker Volleyball Classic
9/18/2021 8:39:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton opens BIG EAST play on Friday at Butler
WICHITA, Kan. -- No. 17 Creighton Volleyball won its unprecedented fourth straight tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Wichita State to claim the Shocker Volleyball Classic title on Saturday night at Charles Koch Arena. Senior Jaela Zimmerman was named Tournament MVP for the third straight weekend and joined on the All-Tournament Team by fellow Bluejays Kendra Wait and Abby Bottomley.
Scores of CU's victory were 26-24, 25-23, 25-18.
Creighton has now won 13 straight sets and improved its best start in program history to 12-1 overall. Wichita State fell to 6-3 overall after losing for the second time in 10 hours on Saturday.
Creighton took an 8-7 lead in the first set and would not trail again in a first set that featured 11 ties. The Bluejays were ahead 23-20 and 24-22, only to allow the Shockers to rally and even the score at 24-all. Following a timeout, Norah Sis had her set-leading fifth kill before Kiana Schmitt and Kendra Wait teamed up to block Kailin Newsome to end the frame. Wait finished the first set with 12 assists, four digs and three blocks while Abby Bottomley owned 10 of Creighton's 29 digs in the opening set as the Shockers were held to .137 hitting.
Creighton trailed for much of the second set before a 5-0 blitz on Keeley Davis' serve to move in front 23-21. The Shockers responded by tying the score at 23 before CU closed out the set with kills by Norah Sis and Jaela Zimmerman. It's the 12th time in 13 matches this season that Creighton has led 2-0 at intermission.
"I thought Wichita played a great match. I thought it was the best that we've seen them play," said Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "We still did the things we've been hanging our hats on. We stayed in long points. We did disrupt them some with our serving. It was a grind. Obviously game one and game two could have gone either way. I actually said during it 'this is so good for us' because we haven't had a ton of competitive games, so I like that we were in some of those situations of having to work through those things."
Zimmerman helped Creighton make quick work of the Shockers in the third set, serving three aces during an early 8-0 run that put CU in front 12-5. The Bluejays would lead by as much as 19-10 and end up winning a 25-18 decision. CU hit .395 in the final set as Wait dished 19 assists in the game.
Zimmerman led Creighton with 17 kills, 13 digs and four aces while Sis contributed 13 kills and 10 digs. Bottomley notched 17 digs and Ellie Bolton contributed a season-best 15 digs in the return to her home state. Creighton finished with 49 kills, four aces, 68 digs and seven blocks on .237 hitting.
"A lot of the shots she takes, you have to take risks," said Booth of Zimmerman. "Her high hands shot is really impressive and then she's mixing roll shots in and her serve is now one of the best on the team. She's such a great passer and defender. She's playing great volleyball and is really leading this team really well."
Wichita State was paced by 10 kills from Brylee Kelly, while Kayce Litzau added 27 assists and 11 digs. The Shockers owned 39 kills, three aces, 63 digs and five blocks on .150 hitting.
Creighton opens BIG EAST play on Friday with a 5 p.m. Central match at Butler that will air on YouTube.com/ButlerAthletics.
NOTES: Abby Bottomley has had 10 or more digs in 26 straight matches dating to last season ... Jaela Zimmerman and Norah Sis also had double-doubles in this morning's 3-0 sweep vs. South Dakota ... This is the fifth tournament all-time that Creighton has played at least three matches and not dropped a set, and second time this fall ... Naomi Hickman became the ninth player in Creighton history to play in 100 victories ... Jaela Zimmerman was named MVP of the Shocker Volleyball Classic after averaging 4.67 kills, 3.89 digs and 0.44 aces per set while hitting .295. Already the first player in program history to be named an MVP on consecutive weekends, she's now the first player to be honored in three straight weekends ... Creighton improved to 26-23 all-time against Wichita State and has won nine of the past 11 meetings ... Creighton has swept Wichita State in consecutive meetings for the first time ... Creighton is now 12-0 on weekends this season, winning 39-of-42 sets played.
Shocker Volleyball Classic
Presented by Aspen Heights
All-Tournament Team
MVP – Jaela Zimmerman, Creighton
Abby Bottomley, Creighton
Kendra Wait, Creighton
Brylee Kelly, Wichita State
Erika Jones, Wyoming
Payton Chamberlain, Wyoming
Lolo Weideman, South Dakota
Scores of CU's victory were 26-24, 25-23, 25-18.
Creighton has now won 13 straight sets and improved its best start in program history to 12-1 overall. Wichita State fell to 6-3 overall after losing for the second time in 10 hours on Saturday.
Creighton took an 8-7 lead in the first set and would not trail again in a first set that featured 11 ties. The Bluejays were ahead 23-20 and 24-22, only to allow the Shockers to rally and even the score at 24-all. Following a timeout, Norah Sis had her set-leading fifth kill before Kiana Schmitt and Kendra Wait teamed up to block Kailin Newsome to end the frame. Wait finished the first set with 12 assists, four digs and three blocks while Abby Bottomley owned 10 of Creighton's 29 digs in the opening set as the Shockers were held to .137 hitting.
Creighton trailed for much of the second set before a 5-0 blitz on Keeley Davis' serve to move in front 23-21. The Shockers responded by tying the score at 23 before CU closed out the set with kills by Norah Sis and Jaela Zimmerman. It's the 12th time in 13 matches this season that Creighton has led 2-0 at intermission.
"I thought Wichita played a great match. I thought it was the best that we've seen them play," said Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. "We still did the things we've been hanging our hats on. We stayed in long points. We did disrupt them some with our serving. It was a grind. Obviously game one and game two could have gone either way. I actually said during it 'this is so good for us' because we haven't had a ton of competitive games, so I like that we were in some of those situations of having to work through those things."
Zimmerman helped Creighton make quick work of the Shockers in the third set, serving three aces during an early 8-0 run that put CU in front 12-5. The Bluejays would lead by as much as 19-10 and end up winning a 25-18 decision. CU hit .395 in the final set as Wait dished 19 assists in the game.
Zimmerman led Creighton with 17 kills, 13 digs and four aces while Sis contributed 13 kills and 10 digs. Bottomley notched 17 digs and Ellie Bolton contributed a season-best 15 digs in the return to her home state. Creighton finished with 49 kills, four aces, 68 digs and seven blocks on .237 hitting.
"A lot of the shots she takes, you have to take risks," said Booth of Zimmerman. "Her high hands shot is really impressive and then she's mixing roll shots in and her serve is now one of the best on the team. She's such a great passer and defender. She's playing great volleyball and is really leading this team really well."
Wichita State was paced by 10 kills from Brylee Kelly, while Kayce Litzau added 27 assists and 11 digs. The Shockers owned 39 kills, three aces, 63 digs and five blocks on .150 hitting.
Creighton opens BIG EAST play on Friday with a 5 p.m. Central match at Butler that will air on YouTube.com/ButlerAthletics.
NOTES: Abby Bottomley has had 10 or more digs in 26 straight matches dating to last season ... Jaela Zimmerman and Norah Sis also had double-doubles in this morning's 3-0 sweep vs. South Dakota ... This is the fifth tournament all-time that Creighton has played at least three matches and not dropped a set, and second time this fall ... Naomi Hickman became the ninth player in Creighton history to play in 100 victories ... Jaela Zimmerman was named MVP of the Shocker Volleyball Classic after averaging 4.67 kills, 3.89 digs and 0.44 aces per set while hitting .295. Already the first player in program history to be named an MVP on consecutive weekends, she's now the first player to be honored in three straight weekends ... Creighton improved to 26-23 all-time against Wichita State and has won nine of the past 11 meetings ... Creighton has swept Wichita State in consecutive meetings for the first time ... Creighton is now 12-0 on weekends this season, winning 39-of-42 sets played.
Shocker Volleyball Classic
Presented by Aspen Heights
All-Tournament Team
MVP – Jaela Zimmerman, Creighton
Abby Bottomley, Creighton
Kendra Wait, Creighton
Brylee Kelly, Wichita State
Erika Jones, Wyoming
Payton Chamberlain, Wyoming
Lolo Weideman, South Dakota
Team Stats
CU
WSU
Kills
49
39
Errors
17
19
Attempts
135
133
Hitting %
.237
.150
Points
60.0
47.0
Assists
48
36
Aces
4
3
Blocks
7.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
4
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballCreighton Volleyball Unveils New Taraflex Court - 9/10/25
Wednesday, September 10
Creighton Volleyball Media Availability September 9
Tuesday, September 09
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. USC, 9/7/25
Sunday, September 07
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. UCSB - 9/6/25
Sunday, September 07
