In front of a sold-out crowd at DJ Sokol Arena on Friday night, the Creighton Bluejays secured a 3–1 victory over Northern Iowa to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season.
Coming off a five-set battle against Northern Colorado the night before, Creighton opened the night with early energy. The Bluejays took a 5–4 lead on a tip kill from senior setter Anna Maeder, and never trailed the rest of the set. UNI kept pace, but Creighton’s serving proved decisive. Sydney Breissinger and freshman Nora Wurtz combined for 11 service points, allowing the Bluejays to pull away late.
“We went on a couple of serving runs right there at the end to make the difference,” head coach Brian Rosen said.
Freshman outside hitter Abbey Hayes closed the set with an attack down the line, giving Creighton a 25–18 win.
“We would not have won that first set without Abbey,” senior Ava Martin said. “I mean, she was on fire.”
UNI responded in the second set, using a strong offensive push from outside hitters Lily Dykstra and Cassidy Hartman to build an early 8–3 lead that forced a Creighton timeout. Despite multiple rallies that brought the Jays within one, UNI held control. A service error put Creighton behind 21–22, and Dykstra’s kill—upheld after a Creighton challenge—closed out the frame for a 25–23 Panther victory.
“UNI is just one of the best coached teams in the country,” Rosen said. “They scheme so well and they were going to take specific things away, so we needed people to step up.”
With the match tied 1–1, Creighton faced another deficit in the third set, trailing 6–10 before using its first timeout. The Bluejays regrouped and slowly chipped into UNI’s lead. Sophomore Alivia Hausmann delivered a key five-point serving run that pushed Creighton back into contention and helped tie the set at 15–15.
“Liv came in and hit some huge serves for us to go on some runs,” Rosen said.
The set featured multiple ties as both teams traded points. With UNI leading 21–20, the Panthers sent a serve long following a challenge, giving Creighton another opening. Middle blocker Eloise Brandewie followed with back-to-back blocks to give Creighton a 24–21 cushion. A UNI service error ended the set at 25–22 and put the Bluejays ahead 2–1.
Martin had 12 kills through three sets, while Dykstra led UNI with 15.
Creighton maintained its momentum in the fourth set and controlled the early rhythm. Maeder scored on a second-touch kill to give the Bluejays a 7–5 edge, and consistent pressure from the service line helped Creighton extend its lead to 11–9. The Jays then capitalized on a string of UNI attack errors, using a six-point run to build their largest lead of the set at 17–9.
Northern Iowa answered with its strongest push of the frame, taking eight of the next nine points to cut Creighton’s advantage to 18–17. The Panthers’ defensive adjustments slowed the Jays’ offense, and Hartman continued to find ways to score in transition, forcing Rosen to call a timeout to regroup.
Out of the break, Creighton responded with composure. Brandewie and Johnson combined for a pair of blocks to give the Jays a three-point cushion. On the next rotation, Wurtz delivered an ace that clipped the back line, and Martin followed with a cross-court kill to push the lead to 22–17. UNI managed to side out twice, but the Bluejays maintained separation down the stretch.
“There aren’t very many teams that that have outkilled us this year,” Rosen said, “so kudos to them for just being aggressive offensively. Their outsides are two of the best in the country and just took rip after rip. We got just enough blocks, especially in some big moments, to do some great things.”
A final kill from Martin capped the 25–21 win, securing the match and sending Creighton to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season. With the win came a celebratory “shower” of water bottles in the locker room, a moment Rosen didn’t mind as the team marked another week together.
“I knew was coming,” Rosen said, laughing. “They got me at Marquette truly by surprise. This one I knew was coming, so we at least got to get them back a little. We came in with some, but as you can see, I believe I got it worse than they did. We brought the whole coaching staff, our strength coach… we threw him in there… For me, it was celebrating more time with this team. So, I’ll take this water.”
The Bluejays now head to Lexington, KY to faced three-seeded Arizona State in the Regional Semifinals tomorrow. Creighton is searching for its second-straight Elite 8 and a date with the winner of Kentucky/Cal Poly. First serve with the Sun Devils is set for noon CT.
