Saturday, September 6
Los Angeles, Calif.
6:00 PM
Creighton University
3-2,0-0Big East
3
vs
2
UC Santa Barbara
2-2,0-0Big West
1
2
3
4
5
F
UC Santa Barbara
25
17
25
18
10
2
Creighton
19
25
23
25
15
3
#13 Volleyball Overcomes Gauchos To Win in Five
9/6/2025 8:22:00 PM | Volleyball
Martin has career-high 24 kills
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --Â Ava Martin had a career-high 24 kills and the No. 13 Creighton Volleyball team overcame a 2-1 deficit to rally and defeat UC Santa Barbara in five sets at the Trojan Invitational on Saturday afternoon at Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif. Scores of the Bluejay win were 19-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10.
Creighton has now won three in a row after an 0-2 start, while UCSB fell to 2-2 with its second five-set loss in as many days.
UC Santa Barbara fell behind 3-1 to start the match before using a 9-2 run to take control of the first set. The Bluejays scored four in a row, including back-to-back aces by Ava Martin, only to have UCSB score the next six points to open up a 21-13 lead. Creighton fought off four set points on Abbey Hayes' serve, but it was too little, too late, as the Gauchos closed out the 25-19 victory. UCSB hit .250 in the set ad held CU to .000 hitting on 34 swings, as Martin accounted for six of CU's nine kills. Annalea Maeder had six assists and a team-high six digs in the opener.
Creighton never trailed in the second set, picking up a 25-17 victory to knot the match heading into intermission. Martin had five kills and another ace, while Hayes recorded three kills in six swings. A kill by Hayes, CU's 14th of the set, closed out the 25-17 victory.
The third set featured 14 ties and five lead changes before UC Santa Barbara prevailed with a 25-23 victory. CU had a 14-11 edge in kills and out-hit the Gauchos .179 to .105, but five service errors by the Bluejays ultimately did in the visitors from the Midwest.
Creighton used a 6-0 run on freshman Nora Wurtz's serve to take a 10-4 lead to begin the fourth set. CU's margin grew as large as 15-7 and 16-8 at one point. UCSB did draw within 21-16 before a kill from Hayes gave CU a cushion down the stretch. Creighton held to the Gauchos to just eight kills and .080 hitting in the fourth frame.
Martin sandwiched her 22nd and 23rd career kills around a Saige Damrow ace as Creighton scored the initial three points of the fifth set. CU led 8-5 when teams flipped benches and a kill by Jaya Johnson made it 9-5. CU never trailed in the finale, getting a kill by Martin to finish off the contest. Creighton hit .444 in 18 errorless swings in the fifth set, as five different Bluejays were credited with a kill.
Martin had 24 kills and hit .286 to lead a Bluejay attack that had six different women collect four or more kills. Maeder had her third double-double of the year and 25th in her career with 38 assists and 14 digs, while Hayes had season-highs with 14 digs and seven kills. The Bluejays hit .199 and finished with 58 kills, 65 digs, 10 blocks and nine aces.
UCSB was paced by 19 kills and 10 digs from Eva Travis, while Milan Rex owned 23 assists. The Gauchos earned 52 kills, 53 digs, 13 blocks and three aces on .183 hitting but also had 15 service errors.
Creighton concludes play in the Trojan Invitational on Sunday at 3 p.m. Central when it takes on No. 22 USC. The Trojans opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over UC Santa Barbara last night.
NOTES: Creighton is now 2-0 in five-set matches this season after going 0-3 a year ago in the fifth sets ... Abbey Hayes entered the match with seven digs and one kill before finishing with 14 digs and seven kills today ... Creighton has won 46 straight matches against unranked teams and 38 straight non-televised matches ... Today was Creighton's first match that wasn't televised or video webcast since Sept. 17, 2022 vs. Kansas State (at Rice), snapping a streak of 96 straight matches that had been broadcast ... Creighton has won 28 straight matches when owning a better hitting percentage, 53 straight when owning more kills and 23 in a row when owning more digs than its opponent ... With her 24 kills today, Ava Martin (1,185) moved past Marysa Wilkinson (1,183) into 10th in Creighton history for most career kills ...One day after hitting .789 with a career-high 15 kills in 19 swings, Kiara Reinhardt had nine kills and hit.429 in 14 swings. She's now averaging 2.67 kills and hitting .618 at the Trojan Invitational.
Creighton has now won three in a row after an 0-2 start, while UCSB fell to 2-2 with its second five-set loss in as many days.
UC Santa Barbara fell behind 3-1 to start the match before using a 9-2 run to take control of the first set. The Bluejays scored four in a row, including back-to-back aces by Ava Martin, only to have UCSB score the next six points to open up a 21-13 lead. Creighton fought off four set points on Abbey Hayes' serve, but it was too little, too late, as the Gauchos closed out the 25-19 victory. UCSB hit .250 in the set ad held CU to .000 hitting on 34 swings, as Martin accounted for six of CU's nine kills. Annalea Maeder had six assists and a team-high six digs in the opener.
Creighton never trailed in the second set, picking up a 25-17 victory to knot the match heading into intermission. Martin had five kills and another ace, while Hayes recorded three kills in six swings. A kill by Hayes, CU's 14th of the set, closed out the 25-17 victory.
The third set featured 14 ties and five lead changes before UC Santa Barbara prevailed with a 25-23 victory. CU had a 14-11 edge in kills and out-hit the Gauchos .179 to .105, but five service errors by the Bluejays ultimately did in the visitors from the Midwest.
Creighton used a 6-0 run on freshman Nora Wurtz's serve to take a 10-4 lead to begin the fourth set. CU's margin grew as large as 15-7 and 16-8 at one point. UCSB did draw within 21-16 before a kill from Hayes gave CU a cushion down the stretch. Creighton held to the Gauchos to just eight kills and .080 hitting in the fourth frame.
Martin sandwiched her 22nd and 23rd career kills around a Saige Damrow ace as Creighton scored the initial three points of the fifth set. CU led 8-5 when teams flipped benches and a kill by Jaya Johnson made it 9-5. CU never trailed in the finale, getting a kill by Martin to finish off the contest. Creighton hit .444 in 18 errorless swings in the fifth set, as five different Bluejays were credited with a kill.
Martin had 24 kills and hit .286 to lead a Bluejay attack that had six different women collect four or more kills. Maeder had her third double-double of the year and 25th in her career with 38 assists and 14 digs, while Hayes had season-highs with 14 digs and seven kills. The Bluejays hit .199 and finished with 58 kills, 65 digs, 10 blocks and nine aces.
UCSB was paced by 19 kills and 10 digs from Eva Travis, while Milan Rex owned 23 assists. The Gauchos earned 52 kills, 53 digs, 13 blocks and three aces on .183 hitting but also had 15 service errors.
Creighton concludes play in the Trojan Invitational on Sunday at 3 p.m. Central when it takes on No. 22 USC. The Trojans opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over UC Santa Barbara last night.
NOTES: Creighton is now 2-0 in five-set matches this season after going 0-3 a year ago in the fifth sets ... Abbey Hayes entered the match with seven digs and one kill before finishing with 14 digs and seven kills today ... Creighton has won 46 straight matches against unranked teams and 38 straight non-televised matches ... Today was Creighton's first match that wasn't televised or video webcast since Sept. 17, 2022 vs. Kansas State (at Rice), snapping a streak of 96 straight matches that had been broadcast ... Creighton has won 28 straight matches when owning a better hitting percentage, 53 straight when owning more kills and 23 in a row when owning more digs than its opponent ... With her 24 kills today, Ava Martin (1,185) moved past Marysa Wilkinson (1,183) into 10th in Creighton history for most career kills ...One day after hitting .789 with a career-high 15 kills in 19 swings, Kiara Reinhardt had nine kills and hit.429 in 14 swings. She's now averaging 2.67 kills and hitting .618 at the Trojan Invitational.
Team Stats
UCSB
CU
Kills
52
58
Errors
24
29
Attempts
153
146
Hitting %
.183
.199
Points
68.0
77.0
Assists
43
47
Aces
3
9
Blocks
13
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
24
Aces
4
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS/MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
MB
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