Wednesday, September 8
Omaha, Neb.
6:30 PM
Creighton University
6-1,0-0Big East
0
vs
3
Nebraska
6-0,0-0Big Ten
1
2
3
F
Nebraska
25
25
25
3
Creighton
14
22
16
0
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
#19 Volleyball Falls To #3 Nebraska Before 11,279 Fans
9/8/2021 9:33:00 PM | Volleyball
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Bluejays suffer first loss after program-best 6-0 start
OMAHA, Neb. -- Playing in front of 11,279 fans at CHI Health Center Omaha, the No. 19 Creighton Volleyball team fell to No. 3 Nebraska in straight sets on Wednesday, Sept. 8. Set scores for the match were 25-14, 25-22, 25-16.
The attendance was the fourth-largest home crowd in school history and 10th biggest regular-season volleyball-only crowd in NCAA history at all sites. Each of the top 12 spots on that list are matches held in the state of Nebraska, including a record 14,022 when Creighton had last hosted Nebraska in 2018.
The loss dropped the Bluejays to 6-1 on the season, snapping the best start on program history after consecutive 3-0 weekends at tournaments hosted by Missouri and Kentucky. Jaela Zimmerman led Creighton with eight kills in the match and Annika Welty provided six kills. Abby Bottomley led all players with a season-best 21 digs and Naomi Hickman contributed a match-leading seven blocks. Creighton had 28 kills, one ace, 59 digs and nine blocks on .053 hitting.
The Huskers improved to 6-0 on the year, and are now 18-0 against the Bluejays since CU reinstated volleyball in 1994. Nebraska got 11 kills from Lexi Sun and 17 digs from Lexi Rodriguez. The Cornhuskers finished with 40 kills, five aces, 69 digs and nine blocks on .177 hitting.
In each set an extended Nebraska run proved to be the Bluejays undoing. Holding an early 6-4 edge in the opening frame, Creighton yielded seven of eight points to give the Huskers an 11-7 edge. Nebraska went on to claim the opening set 25-14, out-hitting Creighton .286 to .065. Kubik had six kills and an ace in the opener and Keonilei Akana contributed six digs to slow down CU's high-powered offense.
The Bluejays seemed to be heading to knot the match at one set each, holding an 18-14 lead in set number two. Following a timeout by Nebraska, the Cornhuskers responded with eight consecutive points on Akana's serve, seizing a 22-18 advantage as Nebraska went on to take the set 25-22. CU had five blocks in the second frame, including four from Hickman, but it wasn't enough.
Tied 4-4 early in the third frame, Nebraska raced out to an 11-4 edge as Akana served a 7-0 run and posted a 25-16 victory for its first sweep over the Bluejays since 2015. Ally Batenhorst led NU in the third set with five kills. Ally Van Eekeren served up CU's only ace of the match in the third set.
Creighton returns to action on Friday, September 10th when it hosts the Bluejay Invitational. Illinois meets Nebraska-Omaha at 10:30 am., before Creighton hosts SMU at 12:30 p.m.
NOTES: The crowd of 11,279 was the nation's largest crowd this season, surpassing a crowd of 8,318 last Friday when Nebraska hosted Nebraska-Omaha ... Of the 18 meetings since 1994 between Creighton and Nebraska, this was just the sixth contest held in Omaha .... Creighton has started 4-0 or better six times. Four of those teams suffered their first loss at the hands of a ranked team ... Creighton fell to 0-6 all-time inside CHI Health Center Omaha, with all six losses coming against ranked teams ... Creighton had led 2-0 at intermission in each of its first five matches of the season and had an been 18-2 in sets before losing all three sets on Wednesday ... Abby Bottomley has now had 20 matches in a row with 10 or more digs ... Bottomley surpassed 100 digs at Creighton in her seventh career match, the third-fastest in program history behind Bianca Rivera and Brittany Witt ... Creighton fell to 18-10 all-time in home openers, and 13-6 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth ... Creighton fell to 20-81 all-time against top-25 teams and 2-2 against teams ranked exactly third ... Creighton fell to 15-20 all-time in matches involving ranked teams.
The attendance was the fourth-largest home crowd in school history and 10th biggest regular-season volleyball-only crowd in NCAA history at all sites. Each of the top 12 spots on that list are matches held in the state of Nebraska, including a record 14,022 when Creighton had last hosted Nebraska in 2018.
The loss dropped the Bluejays to 6-1 on the season, snapping the best start on program history after consecutive 3-0 weekends at tournaments hosted by Missouri and Kentucky. Jaela Zimmerman led Creighton with eight kills in the match and Annika Welty provided six kills. Abby Bottomley led all players with a season-best 21 digs and Naomi Hickman contributed a match-leading seven blocks. Creighton had 28 kills, one ace, 59 digs and nine blocks on .053 hitting.
The Huskers improved to 6-0 on the year, and are now 18-0 against the Bluejays since CU reinstated volleyball in 1994. Nebraska got 11 kills from Lexi Sun and 17 digs from Lexi Rodriguez. The Cornhuskers finished with 40 kills, five aces, 69 digs and nine blocks on .177 hitting.
In each set an extended Nebraska run proved to be the Bluejays undoing. Holding an early 6-4 edge in the opening frame, Creighton yielded seven of eight points to give the Huskers an 11-7 edge. Nebraska went on to claim the opening set 25-14, out-hitting Creighton .286 to .065. Kubik had six kills and an ace in the opener and Keonilei Akana contributed six digs to slow down CU's high-powered offense.
The Bluejays seemed to be heading to knot the match at one set each, holding an 18-14 lead in set number two. Following a timeout by Nebraska, the Cornhuskers responded with eight consecutive points on Akana's serve, seizing a 22-18 advantage as Nebraska went on to take the set 25-22. CU had five blocks in the second frame, including four from Hickman, but it wasn't enough.
Tied 4-4 early in the third frame, Nebraska raced out to an 11-4 edge as Akana served a 7-0 run and posted a 25-16 victory for its first sweep over the Bluejays since 2015. Ally Batenhorst led NU in the third set with five kills. Ally Van Eekeren served up CU's only ace of the match in the third set.
Creighton returns to action on Friday, September 10th when it hosts the Bluejay Invitational. Illinois meets Nebraska-Omaha at 10:30 am., before Creighton hosts SMU at 12:30 p.m.
NOTES: The crowd of 11,279 was the nation's largest crowd this season, surpassing a crowd of 8,318 last Friday when Nebraska hosted Nebraska-Omaha ... Of the 18 meetings since 1994 between Creighton and Nebraska, this was just the sixth contest held in Omaha .... Creighton has started 4-0 or better six times. Four of those teams suffered their first loss at the hands of a ranked team ... Creighton fell to 0-6 all-time inside CHI Health Center Omaha, with all six losses coming against ranked teams ... Creighton had led 2-0 at intermission in each of its first five matches of the season and had an been 18-2 in sets before losing all three sets on Wednesday ... Abby Bottomley has now had 20 matches in a row with 10 or more digs ... Bottomley surpassed 100 digs at Creighton in her seventh career match, the third-fastest in program history behind Bianca Rivera and Brittany Witt ... Creighton fell to 18-10 all-time in home openers, and 13-6 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth ... Creighton fell to 20-81 all-time against top-25 teams and 2-2 against teams ranked exactly third ... Creighton fell to 15-20 all-time in matches involving ranked teams.
Team Stats
NEB
CU
Kills
40
28
Errors
18
21
Attempts
124
131
Hitting %
.177
.053
Points
54.0
38.0
Assists
38
27
Aces
5
1
Blocks
9.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH
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