Creighton Volleyball moved into a tie for first place in the BIG EAST after earning a pair of road victories over Marquette and DePaul last week. 

The Bluejays opened the weekend with a 3-2 victory over Marquette Oct. 29, avenging an earlier five-set loss that snapped the Bluejays’ conference-record 50-match Big East winning streak, before defeating DePaul in four sets Friday. The wins briefly moved Creighton into sole possession of first place before Marquette’s victory over DePaul on Sunday returned the two teams to a tie atop the conference standings with four matches remaining. 

“Really productive weekend for us this past weekend to pick up two top 50 wins,” head coach Brian Rosen said. “I think we jumped 10 spots in RPI, and so we’re slowly putting ourselves where we want to be.” 

In Milwaukee, the Bluejays took the opening set 25-21 before dropping the next two, 25-19 and 25-17. Facing a 2-1 deficit, Creighton rallied to take the fourth set 26-24, forcing a decisive fifth set. 

The two teams traded points throughout the final frame, with Marquette eventually tying the score at 14. Creighton responded with a kill from junior outside Trinity Shadd-Ceres before junior middle blocker Ayden Ames and fifth-year setter Katie Dalton teamed up for a block on Marquette’s Carson Tyler to secure the 16-14 victory. 

After letting four match points slip away in their first meeting with Marquette, the Bluejays again needed three changes to put the Golden Eagles away. 

“I’m sure there were a lot of déjà vu feelings in the fifth set,” Rosen said. “We had the first match point and didn’t get it, and then they brought it all the way back to 14-all. I just love that we made the plays to get it to 15 and get it to 16, and a huge block to finish.” 

Shadd-Ceres led the Bluejays with 16 kills, while sophomore opposite Ashlyn Paymal added 13. Senior libero Saige Damrow recorded 29 digs, while senior middle Eloise Brandewie contributed 11 kills and nine blocks as Creighton finished with 18 blocks. 

Creighton carried its momentum into Friday’s matchup against DePaul in Chicago, earning a 25-22, 20-25, 25-13, 25-18, 3-1 victory 

The Bluejays had to overcome an early deficit, trailing 17-12 in the opening set before using a five-point run on sophomore outside Abbey Hayes’ serve to take their first lead. Creighton closed out the set on a 13-5 run with a kill from Shadd-Ceres. 

After dropping the second set, the Bluejays took control in the third, limiting the Blue Demons to a -.172 hitting percentage in a 25-13 win. Creighton then scored seven consecutive points to open the fourth set, maintaining their lead to secure the match. 

Shadd-Ceres led Creighton again with 13 kills, followed by Paymal with 12. Dalton recorded her team-leading fifth double-double on the season with 40 assists and 12 digs, while Ames and Brandewie each contributed five blocks. 

Despite earning wins over two of the top teams in the conference, Rosen believes the Bluejays still have areas to improve as they approach the postseason. 

“I think our team knows this past weekend, yes, we got two wins, but I wouldn’t say it was our best volleyball of the season,” Rosen said. “I thought offensively, we’ve been better, and so we’ve got to make sure we get back in the gym and get to work.” 

After an extra couple of days to prepare, the Bluejays head to Cincinnati tomorrow to face Xavier before taking on Butler Sunday at noon. A win against the Musketeers would clinch Creighton a spot in the four-team BIG EAST Tournament. First serve is set for 2 p.m.