Megan Bober couldn’t wait to get on the court at the brand-new Sokol Arena and start her first match as a Bluejay.

“I was really excited to get on the court and pumped to get out here,” she said.

Bober is the Jays’ new setter. The 6-foot redshirt freshman from Murdock, Neb., has already accumulated 173 assists through six matches. She also ranks fifth on the Jays in kills with 27 and third in total blocks with 17.

Bober spent her redshirt year learning the setter position under Creighton’s four-year starter, Korie Lebeda, whose 5,821 career assists rank fifth-most in Missouri Valley Conference history. Bober said Lebeda and the rest of the Jays helped her make the transition into leading this year’s offense.

“My teammates were great in getting me into the program, as I was learning a new offense and playing a faster-paced game,” she said. “They helped me out a great deal.”

Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth gives Bober credit for being so receptive to the teaching she received.

“She sucks it all in,” Booth said. “She’s an extremely coachable kid.”

Bober brings a different dynamic to the Jays’ front row. As a taller setter than Lebeda, she has more opportunities for blocks and front row attacks. As a left-hander, she can wait longer to turn and hit a ball, thus keeping

defenders guessing.

“It’s definitely different, and I’m excited for the possibilities,” senior middle blocker Jessica Houts said. “She has a lot of different strengths than Korie.”

With a new “quarterback” and a new home court, the Jays are finding possibilities

all around.

“It’s loud, and the fans are great,” Bober said of the Jays’ new arena. “We boost off that. It’s a great court to play on.”

The Sokol Arena is on campus, which allows the Jays to practice and play in the

same place.

“We’re closer to where the fans are,” Houts said. “Now we have a real home-

court advantage.”

Bober’s coming out party at the Bluejay Invitational hinted at great potential. In the matches against Texas Tech and No. 10 Illinois, she had 13 kills and 53 assists. Booth is happy about what she’s been seeing from Bober so far.

“I’ve been very pleased with Megan,” she said. “I thought she set good balls, made some good decisions. I thought she had a

great weekend.”

Bober continued to impress when the Bluejays traveled to the Jayhawk Invitational last weekend at the University of Kansas. She had 40 assists in a four-set match against Kansas and four kills each against Florida International, Kansas and Lipscomb. In that match, she was one block away from achieving Creighton’s first triple-double since 2001 when she finished with 29 assists, 14 digs and nine blocks.

Losing four seniors and starting out with a 1-5 record, this season could be termed a rebuilding year. But having Bober at setter is one less question mark for the Jays.

“She’ll be great,” Houts said.