2021 Volleyball Roster
Roster
Hickman, Naomi
DS
/ VolleyballS
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH/DS
/ VolleyballS
/ VolleyballS
/ VolleyballDS/OH
/ VolleyballDS
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
Jersey Number 21
Naomi Hickman
- Position:
- Middle Blocker/Right Side Hitter
- Height:
- 6-4
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Lawrence, Kan.
- High School:
- Free State
Bio
2021: Senior at Creighton
• BIG EAST ranks: 2nd in blocks/set.
• League play only ranks: 3rd in blocks/set.
• NCAA ranks: 24th in blocks/set; 49th in total blocks.
• Played in 116 career victories for Creighton, the most in program history.
• Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 22 after averaging 2.20 blocks per set the final weekend of the regular-season.
• Ranked fourth in CU history with 448 career block assists and 486 total blocks.
• Set the D.J. Sokol Arena record with 233 career block assists and 61 matches played in the facility.
• Hit .333 and averaged 2.11 kills and 1.11 blocks per set as CU swept three matches at the Mizzou Invitational (Aug. 27-28).
• Hit .359 and averaged 1.64 kills and 1.09 blocks in three wins at the Bluegrass Battle (Sept. 3-4).
• Had eight kills and five blocks while hitting .500 in win vs. USC (9/3).
• Had five block assists in all three matches at the Bluejay Invitational (Sept. 10-11).
• Collected season-best 10 kills in win at Butler (9/24).
• Produced seven kills in consecutive matches at St. John’s (10/1) and Seton Hall (10/2).
• Tied season-high with 10 kills and hit .562 in win at Providence (10/17).
• Had seven blocks vs. Georgetown (10/22).
• Had six block assists in 3-1 win at Marquette (10/29).
• Owned season-high eight blocks in Senior Day sweep vs. St. John’s (11/21).
• Had five blocks in 3-0 NCAA Tournament win vs. Ole Miss (Dec. 2).
• Became ninth player in program history to appear in 100 Creighton wins on Sept. 18 at Wichita State.
• A preseason All-BIG EAST choice in 2021.
• Only player in Creighton VB history to start five season openers.
• Sister, Rachel, plays volleyball at Northern Colorado.
2020: Senior at Creighton
• Unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST Team.
• AVCA All-East Region First Team.
• Third in the BIG EAST with 1.18 blocks per set and third with .330 hitting percentage in all matches.
• In league-only play led the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.363), total blocks (40) and blocks per set (1.33).
• Ranked 65th nationally in blocks per set.
• Creighton is 24-3 in her career when she has seven or more kills.
• Named Most Outstanding Player of BIG EAST Tournament (April 3) after averaging 2.57 kills and 1.00 blocks per set while hitting .533.
• Finished with six blocks and six kills in season-opener vs. Nebraska-Omaha (Jan. 24).
• Led team with seven blocks vs. South Dakota (Jan. 29).
• Owned six kills and five blocks in win at South Dakota (Jan. 31).
• Tied career-high with 11 blocks and added eight kills on .412 hitting in 3-2 win vs. No. 25 Marquette (Feb. 5).
• Hit .500 with 11 kills during 3-2 victory against DePaul (March 5).
• Owned seven blocks one night later in another 3-0 win vs. DePaul (March 6).
• Hit .583 with seven kills and a block assist on match point in 3-2 win vs. Xavier (March 27).
• Had season-high 12 kills (including one on match point) to go with five blocks and hit .579 in BIG EAST Tournament finals win vs. Marquette (April 3).
• Closed season with nine kills in NCAA Tournament battle against Morehead State (April 14).
• Became 16th player in Creighton history to start four season openers.
2019: Junior at Creighton
• Started all 31 matches for the BIG EAST champs, averaging 1.84 kills and 0.94 blocks per set on .293 hitting.
• Ranked fifth in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage and sixth in blocks per set in all matches, as well as finishing third in blocks per set in league action.
• Averaged 1.97 kills per set and 1.09 blocks per set while hitting .394 in eight matches against top-25 competition.
• Named UNI Tournament (Sept. 7) MVP as well as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 10) after 38 kills and nine blocks on .465 hitting in three wins.
• Nearly doubled previous career-high in kills (9) when she had 17 kills in 25 swings to hit .640 win victory vs. No. 12 Kentucky (Sept. 6).
• Sealed tourney title with 11 kills on .733 hitting in win vs. No. 15 USC (Sept. 7).
• Opened her junior year with eight kills and .467 hitting at No. 2 Nebraska (Aug. 30).
• Had six of career-high 11 blocks in first set of 3-2 win at No. 10 Marquette (Oct. 12).
• Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 25 after becoming CU’s first player since 2012 with consecutive matches of 10 or more blocks.
• Posted 10 blocks in 3-1 win over No. 9 Marquette that clinched the regular-season BIG EAST title (Nov. 22).
• Added 10 more blocks two days later in a 3-1 win vs. DePaul (Nov. 24).
2018: Sophomore at Creighton
• Started in 26-of-32 appearances as a sophomore.
• Averaged 1.26 kills and 1.17 blocks per set on .262 hitting.
• Fourth in the BIG EAST in blocks per set (1.17), 14th in hitting percentage (.262) and 25th in aces per set (0.22).
• Ranked 80th nationally (13th among sophomores) with 1.17 blocks per set.
• Named to All-Tournament Team at the BIG EAST Championship after averaging 2.00 kills and 1.86 blocks per set on .387 hitting in two wins.
• In 18 matches after returning to the starting line-up on Oct. 5, she averaged 1.56 kills, 1.33 blocks and 0.29 aces per set on .294 hitting.
• Averaged at least one block per set played in each of her final 12 matches.
• Had a season-high nine blocks in BIG EAST Championship final win vs. No. 16 Marquette (Nov. 24).
• Averaged 1.78 blocks in three 3-0 wins at the SMU DoubleTree Classic (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), earning her BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
• Owned seven kills and six blocks in sweep vs. Seton Hall (Oct. 5).
• Notched six kills and five blocks in win at No. 18 Marquette (Oct. 26).
• Tied season-high with nine kills and .500 hitting in BIG EAST Championship win vs. Villanova (Nov. 23).
• Had seven blocks in 3-0 NCAA Tournament win vs. South Dakota (Nov. 30).
2017: Freshman at Creighton
• Averaged 1.17 kills and 0.70 blocks per set while starting
28-of-31 matches played as a freshman.
• Hit .375 and finished with five kills, three digs and a block in 3-0 win vs. Saint Mary’s (Aug. 25) in her collegiate debut.
• Owned season-bests with nine kills, six blocks and .692 hitting percentage in 3-2 win at Georgetown (Nov. 18) to clinch outright BIG EAST title.
• Tied season-high with nine kills in BIG EAST Championship semifinal victory vs. Villanova (Nov. 24).
Free State High School
• Named by PrepVolleyball.com as the No. 98 Senior Ace, the highest-regarded recruit in Creighton’s No. 25-ranked class.
• Second Team All-State as a senior.
• Set a school record with 730 career kills.
• As a senior, her team went 35-7 as she averaged 3.1 kills and
1.3 blocks per set while hitting .378 and producing 36 aces.
• At the state tournament, her team went 2-1 and handed the nation’s No. 5 team, Blue Valley West, its first loss of the year.
• Named Area Player of the Year as a senior and was a three-time First Team All-Sunflower League selection.
• Team finished fifth in state in 2016 in its first appearance in a dozen years.
• Averaged 2.4 kills and 0.9 blocks per set as a junior.
• Third Team Club Volleyball All-American in 2015 and 2017 by PrepVolleyball.com.
• Participated in the Kansas-Missouri All-Star Game.
• Coached in high school by Amy Hoffsommer.
• Played for same KC Power club program as senior teammate Annika Welty, where she won the USAV 18 Open National Championship under coaches Mike and Danielle Stowell.
• Played four years of volleyball and one year of basketball in high school.
• Committed to Creighton in March of 2015.
Awards & Honors
2017-18 BIG EAST All-Academic Team
2018 All-BIG EAST Tournament Team
2018 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 9/4
2018-19 BIG EAST All-Academic Team
2018-19 Dean’s List
2019 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 11/25
2019 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, 9/10
2019 UNI Tournament All-Tournament Team
2019 UNI Tournament MVP
2019-20 BIG EAST All-Academic Team
2020 All-BIG EAST
2020 AVCA All-East Region First Team
2020 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
2020 BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player
2020-21 BIG EAST Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete Scholarship
2021 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 11/22
2021 Preseason All-BIG EAST
Personal
• Daughter of Ryan and Miriam Hickman.
• Has siblings Rachel, Isaac and Hope.
• Her sister, Rachel, is a junior volleyball player at Northern Colorado.
• Nursing major and health administration and policy minor.
• Nickname is Nae.
• Hidden talent is playing the piano.
• Favorite food is avocados.
• Dream dinner guests would be Martin Luther King Jr., C.S. Lewis and Bob Goff.
• Says most improved Bluejay is Kiana Schmitt.
• Best sports memory is beating Marquette in the BIG EAST Tournament.
• Go-to pregame music artist is Justin Bieber.
• Dr. Kandis McCafferty is her favorite CU professor.
• In 10 years would love to be working as a nurse and be a mom.
• Chose Creighton because she loved the players, coaches and culture.
• Favorite Summer Olympics sport to watch is swimming.
• BIG EAST ranks: 2nd in blocks/set.
• League play only ranks: 3rd in blocks/set.
• NCAA ranks: 24th in blocks/set; 49th in total blocks.
• Played in 116 career victories for Creighton, the most in program history.
• Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 22 after averaging 2.20 blocks per set the final weekend of the regular-season.
• Ranked fourth in CU history with 448 career block assists and 486 total blocks.
• Set the D.J. Sokol Arena record with 233 career block assists and 61 matches played in the facility.
• Hit .333 and averaged 2.11 kills and 1.11 blocks per set as CU swept three matches at the Mizzou Invitational (Aug. 27-28).
• Hit .359 and averaged 1.64 kills and 1.09 blocks in three wins at the Bluegrass Battle (Sept. 3-4).
• Had eight kills and five blocks while hitting .500 in win vs. USC (9/3).
• Had five block assists in all three matches at the Bluejay Invitational (Sept. 10-11).
• Collected season-best 10 kills in win at Butler (9/24).
• Produced seven kills in consecutive matches at St. John’s (10/1) and Seton Hall (10/2).
• Tied season-high with 10 kills and hit .562 in win at Providence (10/17).
• Had seven blocks vs. Georgetown (10/22).
• Had six block assists in 3-1 win at Marquette (10/29).
• Owned season-high eight blocks in Senior Day sweep vs. St. John’s (11/21).
• Had five blocks in 3-0 NCAA Tournament win vs. Ole Miss (Dec. 2).
• Became ninth player in program history to appear in 100 Creighton wins on Sept. 18 at Wichita State.
• A preseason All-BIG EAST choice in 2021.
• Only player in Creighton VB history to start five season openers.
• Sister, Rachel, plays volleyball at Northern Colorado.
2020: Senior at Creighton
• Unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST Team.
• AVCA All-East Region First Team.
• Third in the BIG EAST with 1.18 blocks per set and third with .330 hitting percentage in all matches.
• In league-only play led the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.363), total blocks (40) and blocks per set (1.33).
• Ranked 65th nationally in blocks per set.
• Creighton is 24-3 in her career when she has seven or more kills.
• Named Most Outstanding Player of BIG EAST Tournament (April 3) after averaging 2.57 kills and 1.00 blocks per set while hitting .533.
• Finished with six blocks and six kills in season-opener vs. Nebraska-Omaha (Jan. 24).
• Led team with seven blocks vs. South Dakota (Jan. 29).
• Owned six kills and five blocks in win at South Dakota (Jan. 31).
• Tied career-high with 11 blocks and added eight kills on .412 hitting in 3-2 win vs. No. 25 Marquette (Feb. 5).
• Hit .500 with 11 kills during 3-2 victory against DePaul (March 5).
• Owned seven blocks one night later in another 3-0 win vs. DePaul (March 6).
• Hit .583 with seven kills and a block assist on match point in 3-2 win vs. Xavier (March 27).
• Had season-high 12 kills (including one on match point) to go with five blocks and hit .579 in BIG EAST Tournament finals win vs. Marquette (April 3).
• Closed season with nine kills in NCAA Tournament battle against Morehead State (April 14).
• Became 16th player in Creighton history to start four season openers.
2019: Junior at Creighton
• Started all 31 matches for the BIG EAST champs, averaging 1.84 kills and 0.94 blocks per set on .293 hitting.
• Ranked fifth in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage and sixth in blocks per set in all matches, as well as finishing third in blocks per set in league action.
• Averaged 1.97 kills per set and 1.09 blocks per set while hitting .394 in eight matches against top-25 competition.
• Named UNI Tournament (Sept. 7) MVP as well as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 10) after 38 kills and nine blocks on .465 hitting in three wins.
• Nearly doubled previous career-high in kills (9) when she had 17 kills in 25 swings to hit .640 win victory vs. No. 12 Kentucky (Sept. 6).
• Sealed tourney title with 11 kills on .733 hitting in win vs. No. 15 USC (Sept. 7).
• Opened her junior year with eight kills and .467 hitting at No. 2 Nebraska (Aug. 30).
• Had six of career-high 11 blocks in first set of 3-2 win at No. 10 Marquette (Oct. 12).
• Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 25 after becoming CU’s first player since 2012 with consecutive matches of 10 or more blocks.
• Posted 10 blocks in 3-1 win over No. 9 Marquette that clinched the regular-season BIG EAST title (Nov. 22).
• Added 10 more blocks two days later in a 3-1 win vs. DePaul (Nov. 24).
2018: Sophomore at Creighton
• Started in 26-of-32 appearances as a sophomore.
• Averaged 1.26 kills and 1.17 blocks per set on .262 hitting.
• Fourth in the BIG EAST in blocks per set (1.17), 14th in hitting percentage (.262) and 25th in aces per set (0.22).
• Ranked 80th nationally (13th among sophomores) with 1.17 blocks per set.
• Named to All-Tournament Team at the BIG EAST Championship after averaging 2.00 kills and 1.86 blocks per set on .387 hitting in two wins.
• In 18 matches after returning to the starting line-up on Oct. 5, she averaged 1.56 kills, 1.33 blocks and 0.29 aces per set on .294 hitting.
• Averaged at least one block per set played in each of her final 12 matches.
• Had a season-high nine blocks in BIG EAST Championship final win vs. No. 16 Marquette (Nov. 24).
• Averaged 1.78 blocks in three 3-0 wins at the SMU DoubleTree Classic (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), earning her BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
• Owned seven kills and six blocks in sweep vs. Seton Hall (Oct. 5).
• Notched six kills and five blocks in win at No. 18 Marquette (Oct. 26).
• Tied season-high with nine kills and .500 hitting in BIG EAST Championship win vs. Villanova (Nov. 23).
• Had seven blocks in 3-0 NCAA Tournament win vs. South Dakota (Nov. 30).
2017: Freshman at Creighton
• Averaged 1.17 kills and 0.70 blocks per set while starting
28-of-31 matches played as a freshman.
• Hit .375 and finished with five kills, three digs and a block in 3-0 win vs. Saint Mary’s (Aug. 25) in her collegiate debut.
• Owned season-bests with nine kills, six blocks and .692 hitting percentage in 3-2 win at Georgetown (Nov. 18) to clinch outright BIG EAST title.
• Tied season-high with nine kills in BIG EAST Championship semifinal victory vs. Villanova (Nov. 24).
Free State High School
• Named by PrepVolleyball.com as the No. 98 Senior Ace, the highest-regarded recruit in Creighton’s No. 25-ranked class.
• Second Team All-State as a senior.
• Set a school record with 730 career kills.
• As a senior, her team went 35-7 as she averaged 3.1 kills and
1.3 blocks per set while hitting .378 and producing 36 aces.
• At the state tournament, her team went 2-1 and handed the nation’s No. 5 team, Blue Valley West, its first loss of the year.
• Named Area Player of the Year as a senior and was a three-time First Team All-Sunflower League selection.
• Team finished fifth in state in 2016 in its first appearance in a dozen years.
• Averaged 2.4 kills and 0.9 blocks per set as a junior.
• Third Team Club Volleyball All-American in 2015 and 2017 by PrepVolleyball.com.
• Participated in the Kansas-Missouri All-Star Game.
• Coached in high school by Amy Hoffsommer.
• Played for same KC Power club program as senior teammate Annika Welty, where she won the USAV 18 Open National Championship under coaches Mike and Danielle Stowell.
• Played four years of volleyball and one year of basketball in high school.
• Committed to Creighton in March of 2015.
Awards & Honors
2017-18 BIG EAST All-Academic Team
2018 All-BIG EAST Tournament Team
2018 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 9/4
2018-19 BIG EAST All-Academic Team
2018-19 Dean’s List
2019 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 11/25
2019 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, 9/10
2019 UNI Tournament All-Tournament Team
2019 UNI Tournament MVP
2019-20 BIG EAST All-Academic Team
2020 All-BIG EAST
2020 AVCA All-East Region First Team
2020 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
2020 BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player
2020-21 BIG EAST Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete Scholarship
2021 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 11/22
2021 Preseason All-BIG EAST
Personal
• Daughter of Ryan and Miriam Hickman.
• Has siblings Rachel, Isaac and Hope.
• Her sister, Rachel, is a junior volleyball player at Northern Colorado.
• Nursing major and health administration and policy minor.
• Nickname is Nae.
• Hidden talent is playing the piano.
• Favorite food is avocados.
• Dream dinner guests would be Martin Luther King Jr., C.S. Lewis and Bob Goff.
• Says most improved Bluejay is Kiana Schmitt.
• Best sports memory is beating Marquette in the BIG EAST Tournament.
• Go-to pregame music artist is Justin Bieber.
• Dr. Kandis McCafferty is her favorite CU professor.
• In 10 years would love to be working as a nurse and be a mom.
• Chose Creighton because she loved the players, coaches and culture.
• Favorite Summer Olympics sport to watch is swimming.
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. UCSB - 9/6/25
Sunday, September 07
Creighton Volleyball Postgame Interview vs. UCSB - 9/6/25
Sunday, September 07
Creighton Volleyball's Brian Rosen Postgame Interview vs. San Diego - 9/5/25
Saturday, September 06
#13 Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. San Diego - 9/5/25
Saturday, September 06
