Creighton volleyball swept the Colgate Raiders in the first round of the NCAA tournament, advancing to play the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 2.
After a hot start, including an early 9-0 run, Colgate played the Jays evenly for most of the first two sets, as both teams were red hot offensively, with the Jays hitting .319 on the match and the Raiders hitting .231, almost .100 better than the .137 Creighton has held opponents to this season.
“I thought our passing game was elite,” Colgate head coach Ryan Baker. “It was a battle and it was a back and forth serve and pass match, it had a really high level for both teams to be hitting over .200 in the NCAA tournament and Creighton with .300 is is pretty unique.”
Colgate fought back to make the first set close, but Creighton pulled away late to take the first set 25-19.
Creighton’s block controlled the first set effectively, getting touches on most of the Raiders’ swings despite only officially registering two blocks. Colgate changed tactics in the second, deciding to roll shots over the Creighton defenders at the net, and late rotations from Creighton’s back line allowed several of these shots to fall.
“A lot of the balls we were letting drop were tips,” senior middle blocker Kiana Schmitt said. “It was just a lot of junk, and that’s just about being disciplined.”
Colgate controlled much of the second set, leading as late as 14-13 and eventually tying the game at 23-23 before Schmitt and junior outside hitter Norah Sis combined for back-to-back kills to end the set.
The first two sets were led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Ava Martin, who overpowered the Colgate block time and time again, ending the match with nine kills alongside two blocks and two aces.
Creighton came back in the third set determined to flip the script from the second, and a huge part of the defensive change was sophomore defensive specialist Sky McCune, who came in and began to clean up all the tips that had been falling in the second on the way to a team-high 13 digs to with three aces off the bench.
“She was incredible,” Sis said. “There were a lot of balls they would just barely tip over and I thought for sure they were going down, and she just gets her hand under it and then we’d win the point.”
Creighton rolled through the third, never trailing as Sis took over the match, picking up six kills in the set. Colgate showed some spark at the end of the match, fending off three Creighton match points, but the Jays’ seven-point lead proved too much to overcome, and they secured the sweep, winning the final set 25-20.
The Jays advance to play Minnesota, who swept Utah State in their first round match behind a balanced attack from their hitters and a dominant performance at the service line, picking up nine aces against the Aggies.
The game will be a rematch of a game in September, when Creighton travelled to Minnesota and pulled out a five-set victory over the Golden Gophers.
“I’m excited,” Minnesota libero said of the upcoming rematch. “I’m pumped.”
The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 2 in D.J. Sokol Arena.