The No. 15 Creighton volleyball team has swept Butler to win their tenth consecutive Big East regular season championship.
Having won the Big East in each of the last 9 seasons, the Jays were looking to keep that streak, as well as their 12-game winning streak, alive with a win.
Marquette, who entered the weekend tied with Creighton, had already played their final game and sits at 16-2 in conference play, while the Jays entered with a 15-2 record, meaning that Creighton had to win to earn a share of the title.
The Jays were also looking to build momentum going into the Big East tournament next week in Milwaukee.
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SET 1:
After a back-and-forth start, the Jays rip off a 6-0 run to take a 13-7 lead and force a Butler timeout. Score is 13-7 in favor of the Jays.
Creighton is hitting .343 to Butler’s .133. All of Creighton’s eligible starters have picked up at least one kill, senior Kiana Schmitt leads the way with 4.
Head coach Kirsten Booth has been aggressive with challenges so far, already challenging two calls in the first set. The aggression has paid off so far, with the Bluejays winning both challenges.
Since the CU run earlier in the set, things have been fairly even with the Jays holding a consistent five to seven point advantage.
An ace from sophomore Sky McCune brings the score to 22-15 in favor of Creighton and Butler burns their second timeout.
The Jays take the set, 25-17.
SET 2
After falling behind 5-3 early in the set, Creighton has fought back with another big mid-set run. a 5-0 run for the Jays has given them a 15-9 lead.
Senior Ellie Bolton checks in to the match for the first time.
A 3-0 run is capped off with a back-row kill from junior Norah Sis, bringing the Creighton lead to 21-13. She has a match-high 10 kills so far.
The Jays have outhit the Bulldogs .296 to .107 in the second set. Four Jays currently have at least six kills.
A stuff block for junior Kiara Reinhardt gives the Jays set point and sophomore Ava Martin spikes a kill off a Butler defender and into the sixth row to send the match to intermission. Creighton wins set 2 with a score of 25-14.
SET 3:
Butler gets off to another hot start, jumping ahead 4-1 to start the set.
Creighton counters with a 3-0 run fueled by back-to-back kills from senior Ellie Bichelmeyer, who has eight kills so far on her senior day.
Creighton jumps ahead 10-7 following a pair of Butler attacking errors. The Bulldogs take their first timeout of the set.
The Bluejays are now running away with the set, as they’ve taken a 20-13 lead. They sit just five points away from the title.
A Butler attacking error brings Creighton to championship point.
A kill for freshman Destiny Ndam-Simpson secures Creighton their tenth consecutive regular season championship.
The Bluejays have secured the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big East tournament in Milwaukee, where they’ll have a first-round bye. They will play at 3 p.m. on Friday, November 24th.