The No. 23 Creighton volleyball team wrapped up the nonconference slate with a second place finish at the Wichita Classic. The Jays fell in a five-set battle with the No. 6 Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine before sweeping South Dakota and knocking off the host Wichita State Shockers in another five-set game.
A pair of Bluejays was honored in Wichita as freshman outside hitter Jess Bird and sophomore libero Kate Elman were named to the all-tournament team.
The Jays opened the weekend on Friday evening with Hawaii, the toughest test of the entire noncoference schedule, and Creighton took them to a decisive fifth set. However, Hawai’i was able to come out on top and won 25-17, 25-16, 19-25, 20-25, 15-9.
Creighton dug themselves a hole early in the match, as they finished with 10 errors and only nine kills in the first set and dropped the first set. The Bluejays cleaned it up a bit in the second set, cutting their errors in half, and found themselves down just one lat in the set at 17-16. However, Hawai’i took control and rattled off the next eight points to take a 2-0 lead into intermission.
Creighton emerged from the locker room a completely different team. The Jays jumped out to a 6-1 lead behind three consecutive kills by freshman middle blocker Lauren Smith and never looked back. The lead reached as many as eight points at 23-15 before Creighton closed out the set 25-19, holding Hawai’i to its lowest point total in any set this season.
The fourth set went back and forth early on with eight ties, but after Hawai’i took its first post-intermission lead at 16-15 Creighton responded with runs of 6-1 and 5-2 to close out the set an even the match at 2-2.
“We came back in with so much more focus [after the intermission] … we came out with more intensity,” sophomore outside hitter Melanie Jereb said. “We realized that we might have a chance so we should seize the moment and push hard. It was a really fun match to play once we got going too. To be that close to such a high-ranked team, it feels pretty awesome.”
Creighton scored the first point of the final set, but the Rainbow Wahine took control after that and overpowered the Jays for a six-point win.
“Hawai’i is a phenomenal team,” heead coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth said. “I actually think they’re underrated at No. 6 in the country … It was really great to see them respond [after falling behind two sets to none] and I thought pick it up quite a bit. Even in the fifth game, to Hawai’i’s credit, they went into a new gear in the fifth game. That was good to see. The problem is we need to make sure we don’t start so slow.”
Junior outside hitter Leah McNary led the Jays with 12 kills. Elman finished with a team-high 19 digs. Bird posted a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.
On Saturday, Creighton swept Dakota 25-19, 25-20, and 25-19. The Bluejays pulled away late in the first set, came from behind in the second and in the third they jumped out to an early lead and held on to close out the game.
Jereb led the Jays with nine kills and 11 digs. Junior setter Michelle Sicner finished with 30 assists, 16 digs and six kills.
Creighton wrapped up the weekend against former conference rivals Wichita State and knocked off the tournament hosts in five sets. Scores in favor of Creighton were 16-25, 25-18, 25-20, 18-25 and 15-9.”Wichita is just such a great team, and any time you beat a great team in a great atmosphere it is a lot of fun,” Booth said. “I’ve got great respect for them … it’s a tough place to play. Any time you go into a fifth game it’s a toss-up. I really like the composure that our team showed. It was a big win.”Wichita State jumped out to a lead early in the first set and maintained control throughout. The Jays answered to tie the game at 1-1 using a 6-1 run midway throught the set to take control. The Jays rolled through the third set as well, using a 8-2 run to build a 22-15 lead that they managed to maintain despite a late push by the Shockers. Wichita State fought off elimination by taking the fourth set and forced the game to a fifth and final set. In the fifth, the Shockers took a 6-4 lead before Creighton fired off an 11-3 run to close out the match and take second place at the Shocker Classic.McNary finished with 17 kills. Sicner recorded 45 assists, 14 digs, seven blocks and six kills.The classic concluded the nonconference portion of the Jays’ schedule. Creighton played one of the toughest schedules in the country and emerged with a 9-3 record and a top 25 ranking.
“I’m really pleased with where we are. 9-3 with the schedule that we played is truly outstanding and I’m really proud of them. But I think the challenge is, we’re only a segment through … Now we have a weekend off. We’re going to get lots of rest, and then we have to kick it in gear. The Big East is really strong.”
Creighton gets this weekend off before opening Big East play on the road at Butler on Oct. 4 before traveling to Georgetown the next day. First set against the Bulldogs is set for 6 p.m.