The No. 6 ranked Creighton Bluejays faced off against the Providence Friars at DJ Sokol Arena in Omaha last Friday to open Big East play.
Fresh off a stellar weekend in Lawrence, Kansas, where the Jays triumphed over then No. 6 Purdue and the previously undefeated No. 10 Kansas, Creighton was eager to extend their winning streak.
Adding to the excitement of the match, it was Alumni Night, and many former Creighton volleyball players who helped shape the program were there to cheer on the Jays.
The Bluejays got off to a strong start in set one, with libero senior Maddy Bilinovic leading a 6-0 run.
“One of our big goals was to come out strong; we didn’t want Providence to believe,” Coach Kirsten Bernthal-Booth said. “When Maddy went on a run in the first game, it really set a tone.”
Building on this momentum, the Jays showcased their strength with a block by senior setter Kendra Wait, extending their lead to 13-6. Wait received accolades before the match for surpassing 4,000 career assists, making her just the fifth player in Creighton volleyball history to achieve this milestone.
The entire team was getting involved late in the first set, and with back-to-back kills by senior Abbey Milner, the Jays took set one 25-10.
“Everyone was getting in; we’re 19 strong,” sophomore Destiny Ndam-Simpson said about the involvement of nearly the whole team. “You can feel the love on the court.”
The Jays fell behind 0-3 early in set two, but a nine-point serving run by sophomore Sydney Breissinger quickly shifted the momentum, giving the Bluejays a 10-3 lead.
“We’ve been talking a lot in the gym about serving tempo—serve fast and be aggressive from behind the line. We wanted to get them out of system as much as possible,” Breissinger said, reflecting on their serving success.
A big block by Ndam-Simpson put Creighton up 19-9, and with two additional kills from her, the Bluejays closed out set two 25-12.
“I thought she did a great job of managing the game tonight, doing something smart with it if the ball wasn’t perfect,” Coach Booth said, praising Ndam-Simpson’s standout performance.
The Jays got off to a quick start in set three, with an overpass kill by Wait that put Creighton ahead 4-0. Sophomore Ava TeStrake then registered her first kill of the match, extending the Bluejays’ lead to 12-5.
“I know nerves for some of them are huge in those moments, but they did a really nice job of performing even through some of those nerves,” Coach Booth said, reflecting on how the players were feeling as they entered the BIG EAST season.
A great dig by junior Ava Martin brought the Jays to match point, and with Ndam-Simpson’s ninth kill of the match, Creighton secured the set 25-13 and the match 3-0.
The Bluejays will return home on Sunday to face the undefeated University of Connecticut, with the first serve scheduled for 1 P.M.