The celebration started long before the confetti fell. As Creighton volleyball swept Georgetown in straight sets on Nov. 9, the cheers that echoed through D.J. Sokol Arena were both for another win and for the four seniors who built one of the most dominant runs in program history.
No. 12 Creighton never trailed in the match, extending its Big East regular-season win streak to 45 matches. The match doubled as a senior day sendoff for Annalea Maeder, Sky McCune, Ava Martin and Kiara Reinhardt, who together finished their home careers 40-0 against Big East opponents inside Sokol Arena.
The Bluejays didn’t waste any time turning the afternoon into a party. Nora Wurtz served a school-record nine aces, including five in a 12-0 run to close the first set. Her serving runs were interrupted by timeouts and media breaks, but the redshirt freshman never lost focus. She said she was thinking about the seniors every time she stepped back to the service line.
“I thought, ‘The faster we can get out of here, the faster we can all cry and love each other,’ she said. “We can’t imagine this team without them. They’re such good role models, on and off the court.”
Most players would get nervous serving so many points in a row, but Wurtz credited the seniors for teaching her composure under pressure.
“On the court, even when things aren’t going well, they’re all so calm. They’re always collected and uplifting everyone. No matter what, there’s a smile on their faces,” she said.
Creighton hit .418 as a team, Martin leading the way with 13 kills. Reinhardt added nine kills and five blocks, and Maeder orchestrated the offense with 29 assists. McCune, who has battled injuries this season, made her second appearance of the season as a serving specialist.
The afternoon had the feeling of a coronation. Wurtz opened the second set with back-to-back aces, drawing 2,500 fans to their feet. When her record-breaking ninth ace dropped early in the third, the announcement over the loudspeakers was nearly drowned out by the roar of the crowd. Later in that same set, each senior was subbed out one-by-one to a standing ovation.
The emotion wasn’t limited to the court. Less than 24 hours earlier, the team had attended the wedding of former Bluejay star Nora Sis, who married a Creighton baseball player. The morning of the match, underclassmen decorated the locker room for the seniors. Head coach Brian Rosen said this made all the difference in the match.
“We’re not a team that plays well in tight, serious environments,” Rosen said afterward. “We’re a team of joy. We play our best when we’re having fun and getting after it.”
Rosen credited the senior class with preserving and expanding the culture first established by former head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
“It’s a group that genuinely loves each other and would do anything for the person next to them,” he said. “As a staff, we’re just lucky to be around them. That’s why we do this.
Annalea Maeder, a setter and graduate transfer from Cal Berkeley, has been Creighton’s steady hand all season. The native of Ried, Switzerland, leads the Big East in assists per set and has already surpassed 3,500 assists in her career.
Maeder’s mother, who she says is her “biggest supporter,” was able to come to Omaha for the match. She donned a blue shirt with the words “Swiss Miss” on the front — a nod to the nickname Maeder earned at Cal — and waved the Swiss flag enthusiastically before embracing her daughter in a long hug.
“I really think there’s no place like D.J. Sokol Arena,” Maeder said in a senior day video. “When we pack this place for big games, it’s electric. The fans are so supportive, and they make you want to play your best volleyball for them.”
Rosen said Maeder’s decision to stay committed to Creighton after the coaching transition spoke volumes.
“She could have gone anywhere,” he said. “For her to trust in our program and our culture means everything. She’s brought a ton of joy and experience to our team.”
Sky McCune, a Gretna native and defensive specialist, has been part of the program for four seasons and lived out a hometown dream.
“It was my dream to play here,” McCune said in the senior day video. “Growing up and coming to all the games, and then getting recruited here, was the coolest thing ever.”
Injuries limited McCune’s time on the court this season, but she was able to sub in for a few serves during the senior day match.
“With her injuries, she could have easily said, ‘I’m done,’” Rosen said. “But this program has meant too much to her to do that, and she fought through a lot of pain to get to the point that she’s in right now.”
McCune’s influence reaches far beyond the stat sheet, as the senior is a steady source of encouragement and confidence for her teammates. That same encouragement extends to her coaches. When Rosen stepped into his new role last spring, McCune’s belief in him was one of his first moments of reassurance.
“That’s Sky. She’s a people person, a relationship builder, and I don’t think she realizes how much those little things impact us as coaches,” Rosen said.
If McCune embodies Creighton’s heart, Ava Martin represents its rhythm. The senior outside hitter from Overland Park, Kan., has been the team’s offensive anchor. A two-time All-American, she is known for her poise in big moments and her ability to make the game look effortless.
“Watching Ava get better and better every single year has been truly special,” Rosen said. “She is among the greats to ever play in this program.”
Martin’s impact extends outside the court, especially in the way she connects with fans.
“Everywhere we go, if I’m wearing Creighton stuff, people say, ‘Go Bluejays!’” Martin said in the senior day video. “We have such huge support for volleyball now; it’s not just ‘Go Jays,’ it’s ‘Go Creighton Volleyball!’”
That same support has been a constant in her personal life, too.
“My parents are amazing,” she said. “Growing up in a big family, it wasn’t always easy for them to make everything, but somehow they still find a way to be at almost every home game and a lot of away games.”
Of all the seniors, Kiara Reinhardt has been around the longest. The middle blocker from Cedarburg, Wis., is in her sixth season with the Bluejays. She’s led the Big East in blocks, ranks among the top hitters in the nation this season and on Sunday, became the D.J. Sokol Arena record holder for solo blocks.
“She’s been a leader for this program every year I’ve been here, so I can’t picture this team without her,” Rosen said. “She’s so selfless … she represents our program with the highest standards. Yes, she’s really good at volleyball, but she’s so much more than that.”
Reinhardt stayed for a sixth season while earning her master’s in nursing, helping guide a younger roster through change and challenge.
“It’s been such a blessing to go through life with these girls,” Reinhardt said. “They fight for one another and support each other through tough things outside of volleyball.”
Her growth, she said, has been as much personal as athletic.
“I’ve grown so confident in my values and my leadership,” Reinhardt said. “I’ve learned how to connect with teammates and really listen. It’s been cool to let go of the things that don’t matter and hold close to what does.”
Her leadership on and off the court has shaped the team’s play and its culture. Along with Maeder, Martin and McCune, she will help guide the Bluejays as they finish the regular season on the road at St. John’s and Seton Hall. Then, they travel to Milwaukee for the Big East tournament, where they hope to win a sixth straight conference title.
Rosen said he hopes the looseness and energy the team showed today will continue.
“I asked [the team] after the match, ‘Can we recreate this? The feeling that you as an individual, as a team, had today, how can we recreate this moving forward?’” he said.
With that kind of energy, Creighton hopes to carry that joy straight through to the postseason. The Bluejays will go on the road for their final two regular season matches, squaring off with St. John’s before closing out the schedule with a 4 p.m. matchup tomorrow at Seton Hall. With a pair of wins, Creighton will clinch their 12th straight Big East regular season title. First serve with the Red Storm is set for 6 p.m. tonight.