
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Volleyball Sweeps South Dakota To Earn First 11-1 Start
9/18/2021 1:46:00 PM | Volleyball
Creighton meets Wichita State tonight at 7 pm
WICHITA, Kan. -- The Creighton Volleyball team earned its fifth straight win and improved to 11-1 for the first time with a 3-0 victory vs. South Dakota on Saturday afternoon at the Shocker Volleyball Classic in Wichita, Kan.
Scores of the Bluejay sweep were 25-17, 25-14, 25-18.
Creighton took a 1-0 lead in the match via a 25-17 victory in the first set. Just as she did last night, Abby Bottomley used an extended serving run to help Creighton move ahead, this time 12-4 after six straight serves. USD would draw within one point at 16-15 but get no closer as CU finished the frame with a 9-2 run. Bottomley had 11 digs and Norah Sis owned five kills and four digs to pace CU. USD hit just .065 as star outside hitter Elizabeth Juhnke hit -.222 with six attack errors in 18 swings.
The Bluejays pulled free from an early 4-4 tie as Jaela Zimmerman served up a 5-0 run to move ahead 9-4, followed a short time later by a 4-0 surge to make it 15-7. Bottomley closed out the set with a 6-0 serving run as the Jays closed out the 25-14 win on a kill from kill from Kiana Schmitt.
Bottomley's ace early in the third set moved the Bluejay advantage to 9-4 and laid the groundwork for CU's ninth sweep in 12 matches this fall.
Three Bluejays had double-doubles, Zimmerman (16 kills, 16 digs), Sis (12 kills, 10 digs) and Kendra Wait (34 assists, 17 digs), and Bottomley recorded a match-leading 22 digs. Naomi Hickman was a big part of CU's impressive blocking day, leading all players with six rejections. Creighton finished with 48 kills, five aces, 77 digs and 10 blocks on .303 hitting.
USD was paced by 10 kills from Juhnke, who hit .000 for the afternoon on 51 swings. Omaha Marian product Lolo Weideman paced the Coyotes with 19 digs. South Dakota owned 27 kills, two aces, 59 digs and six blocks on .084 hitting.
Creighton returns to action tonight at 7 p.m. when it takes on Wichita State (6-2) to close play at the Shocker Volleyball Classic. The match will air on ESPN+.
NOTES: Creighton is now 6-2 against South Dakota since reinstating volleyball in 1994 ... In both meetings last season between Creighton and South Dakota, the home team went up 2-0 before losing the last three sets ... Naomi Hickman moved past Megan Bober for fourth in Creighton history with 381 career block assists ... Abby Bottomley had her 25th straight match with 10 or more digs dating to last season at High Point ... Abby Bottomley surpassed 200 career digs in her 12th career match at Creighton, second-fastest in program history behind Bianca Rivera (11) ... Jaela Zimmerman's 16 digs tied a season-high and were two shy of her career-best ... Kiana Schmitt hit .500 with six kills in 10 swings. Creighton is now 13-0 all-time when the Waunakee, Wis., product has six or more kills in a match ...Wichita State lost in four sets to Wyoming earlier on Saturday morning to fall to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 at the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
Scores of the Bluejay sweep were 25-17, 25-14, 25-18.
Creighton took a 1-0 lead in the match via a 25-17 victory in the first set. Just as she did last night, Abby Bottomley used an extended serving run to help Creighton move ahead, this time 12-4 after six straight serves. USD would draw within one point at 16-15 but get no closer as CU finished the frame with a 9-2 run. Bottomley had 11 digs and Norah Sis owned five kills and four digs to pace CU. USD hit just .065 as star outside hitter Elizabeth Juhnke hit -.222 with six attack errors in 18 swings.
The Bluejays pulled free from an early 4-4 tie as Jaela Zimmerman served up a 5-0 run to move ahead 9-4, followed a short time later by a 4-0 surge to make it 15-7. Bottomley closed out the set with a 6-0 serving run as the Jays closed out the 25-14 win on a kill from kill from Kiana Schmitt.
Bottomley's ace early in the third set moved the Bluejay advantage to 9-4 and laid the groundwork for CU's ninth sweep in 12 matches this fall.
Three Bluejays had double-doubles, Zimmerman (16 kills, 16 digs), Sis (12 kills, 10 digs) and Kendra Wait (34 assists, 17 digs), and Bottomley recorded a match-leading 22 digs. Naomi Hickman was a big part of CU's impressive blocking day, leading all players with six rejections. Creighton finished with 48 kills, five aces, 77 digs and 10 blocks on .303 hitting.
USD was paced by 10 kills from Juhnke, who hit .000 for the afternoon on 51 swings. Omaha Marian product Lolo Weideman paced the Coyotes with 19 digs. South Dakota owned 27 kills, two aces, 59 digs and six blocks on .084 hitting.
Creighton returns to action tonight at 7 p.m. when it takes on Wichita State (6-2) to close play at the Shocker Volleyball Classic. The match will air on ESPN+.
NOTES: Creighton is now 6-2 against South Dakota since reinstating volleyball in 1994 ... In both meetings last season between Creighton and South Dakota, the home team went up 2-0 before losing the last three sets ... Naomi Hickman moved past Megan Bober for fourth in Creighton history with 381 career block assists ... Abby Bottomley had her 25th straight match with 10 or more digs dating to last season at High Point ... Abby Bottomley surpassed 200 career digs in her 12th career match at Creighton, second-fastest in program history behind Bianca Rivera (11) ... Jaela Zimmerman's 16 digs tied a season-high and were two shy of her career-best ... Kiana Schmitt hit .500 with six kills in 10 swings. Creighton is now 13-0 all-time when the Waunakee, Wis., product has six or more kills in a match ...Wichita State lost in four sets to Wyoming earlier on Saturday morning to fall to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 at the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
Team Stats
CU
USD
Kills
48
27
Errors
11
16
Attempts
122
131
Hitting %
.303
.084
Points
63.0
35.0
Assists
46
24
Aces
5
2
Blocks
10.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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