The Creighton volleyball team improved to 8-1 on the season after going 3-0 and capturing the title at the Northern Colorado Classic. The Jays knocked off three 2011 NCAA Tournament teams in Ball State University, Tulsa University and the host University of Northern Colorado.

Three Jays were named to the All-Tournament team: seniors middle blocker Heather Thorson and setter Megan Bober along with sophomore middle blocker Kelli Browning. Browning was also named the MVC defensive player of the week for her performance in the tournament.

“I just try to go out there every game and have fun and play Creighton volleyball,” Browning said about her recent play. “That’s what everyone’s doing right now. We’re trying to put Creighton on the map and I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

Creighton began tournament play in Greeley, Colo. last Friday evening against the Cardinals of Ball State. Despite trailing for most of the first set, the Bluejays came storming back and captured the momentum, which lead to a Creighton sweep.

Scores in favor of the Jays were 25-22, 25-14 and 25-21.

Sophomore outside hitter Leah McNary led the Jays with 13 kills on .379 hitting and also chipped in three blocks. Browning finished with a team-high eight blocks, Bober had 35 assists and freshman libero Kate Elman finished with 11 digs.

As a team, Creighton had 39 kills on .373 hitting, 30 digs and two aces. But the biggest reason for the win was the Jays’ dominance at the net, where they had 13 blocks compared to just three for Ball State. The excellent blocking is something that would continue throughout the weekend.

“We blocked really, really well,” head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth said. “We really disrupted all three teams’ offense I think. They made more errors than I think they normally do.”

The Jays got off to a slow start and fell behind 5-1 early in the set. Creighton played catch-up for most of the set until a Browning ace tied it up at 21-21 and swung the momentum. Booth said she noticed a trend of the team getting off to slow starts, and said whatever the reason it is “not acceptable.”

“I thought we just didn’t come out ready to go in that match and once we kind of chipped away, it wasn’t any big run, we kind of chipped away point by point,” Booth said. “Once we kind of got back even then we kind of pushed at that point.”

And that’s exactly what they did. Creighton closed out the match on a 4-1 run and carried the momentum over into the second set, which the team won handily.  In the third set, a 5-0 Creighton run gave the Jays an 11-7 lead that they would not give up.

Creighton returned to the court on Saturday to face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The Jays were pushed to four sets but still emerged victorious by scores of 25-19, 21-25, 29-27 and 25-21.

Bober posted her tenth career triple-double with 34 assists, 15 digs and 11 blocks, and she also chipped in seven kills. But the box score isn’t the only way she impacts the game according to her coach.

“Megan’s doing a lot of physical great things but I think her leadership is just as important right now,” Booth said.

Thorson paced the Jays with 18 kills on .500 hitting, while Browning had 11 kills and a career-high 15 block assists. Browning’s 15 block assists set a school record and tie the MVC record for block assists in a match.

Overall, Creighton had 50 kills on .193 hitting, 76 digs and two aces. The Jays also continued their dominance at the net with 21 team blocks, the second highest total in school history.

The Jays led throughout in the first set and used a couple of big runs to secure the 25-19 victory. The second set featured nine ties, but Tulsa took control and evened the match at one set apiece.

The third set went back and forth with neither team able to take control. It included 16 ties, eight lead changes and several missed opportunities on set points by both teams. Creighton went ahead 24-23 and had a chance to serve for the set, but wasn’t able to capitalize. After that both teams traded set points until Creighton was able to close out the match on a 3-0 run featuring a kill and an ace by Browning and a kill by Thorson.

The two teams battled in the fourth set to a 14-14 tie, but from that point Creighton went on a 4-0 run sparked by Browning and was able to hold on to close out the match.

The Jays closed out the tournament against the host Northern Colorado and won in a sweep. Scores in Creighton’s favor were 25-22, 25-21 and 25-15.

McNary led the way with 13 kills on .481 hitting and Browning wasn’t far behind with 12 kills on .571 hitting, three blocks and an ace. Bober finished with 26 assists while Elman had 15 digs.

Creighton returns home Friday night to open the conference season against the Missouri State University Bears, one of the top teams in the Valley.

“We’re all ready to get into conference play, start off strong,” Browning said. “We have a big weekend coming up, we’re really excited for that and I think that should be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

The MSU game starts at 6 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena.

The Jays play again Saturday night against another tough Valley foe in the Wichita State University Shockers. First serve for the second home game of the weekend is at 6 p.m.