Momentum can carry a lot of teams. It can be the momentum of some great wins to take you on to even greater wins, or losses could mount and it becomes even tougher to avoid the next loss. Last week, Creighton volleyball took positive momentum on the road to face two of the top teams in the MVC — Wichita State and Missouri State — while sitting atop the Valley at 5-0.
Unfortunately for the Bluejays, they hit a bump in the road falling in four sets on Friday night against Missouri State and then suffering a sweep by Wichita State the following night.
The good news is that they have had this week to work on a few things before returning to the comforts of home. At this point of the season, they have to put aside the performances from last weekend and focus on this week, because it does not get any easier.
On Friday night, the Bluejays host Bradley. Although the Braves are 7-9 overall and 1-6 in the conference, the real enemy could be Creighton themselves. They will want to turn the previous weekend’s momentum around for Bradley and not look ahead to a Saturday night match against #12 Northern Iowa. The last thing Creighton will want to do is walk away with a couple more losses.
The good news: Creighton has won 11 matches in a row against Bradley. The bad news: Creighton is 3-38 all-time against Northern Iowa and the Panthers have not lost a conference match in about two and a half seasons.
As the team prepares for the eventful weekend, head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth gives some insight on last weekend and what to look forward to this week.
White & Blue Review: Last weekend, things probably didn’t go as you probably had hoped. What was the thing that hurt the team the most?
Kirsten Bernthal Booth: Missouri State was a game of runs. We had big runs and they had big runs. Every game was about a run. I thought that match could have gone either way. We lost the first one pretty handily, we won the second one, and Missouri State won the third one. We were up big in the fourth game 20-16 and then we lose 25-21. Obviously there was a huge run at the end that lost that match for us. Again, there is our inconsistency. I think against some of the other teams in the league, we have had success despite our inconsistency. But when you are playing great teams, those inconsistencies are going to bite you.
Saturday night we did not play our best, but to Wichita State’s credit, they were phenomenal. They flat out beat us. Do you think we could have played them more competitively? Absolutely. But they were the best team I’ve seen all season — that’s over Nebraska and Northern Illinois. They were phenomenal.
WBR: Maybe that answers my next question, but with Missouri State coming back just as Creighton was primed to send that match to a fifth game, does that carry over to Saturday night?
KBB: I think a lot of times it does. Sometimes I feel like fatigue is a factor on that trip. It is just a grueling trip. We got into our hotel at 3 a.m. I didn’t think fatigue was our issue. I just think we didn’t execute very well. It wasn’t a long enough match that I felt like that if we went four or five (sets), then it becomes a factor. I think some years you can say yes fatigue was an issue, but I don’t think that was an issue. It was a cross between them playing outstanding volleyball and us not executing.
WBR: After those two games, do you have the feeling you would like to go out and play right away the next day against a team or are there a lot of things that you still want to work on this week to get ready for Friday night?
KBB: It’s more fun to get back in the gym after a win, but I think the bigger feeling is that we want to get in the gym and work out some things. We feel like we need to get better defensively and we need more offense this week. Those are two big glaring areas that we feel like we are capable of getting better, but we aren’t doing it yet.
WBR: With Bradley on Friday and Northern Iowa on Saturday this week, do you wish they were flipped around?
KBB: I don’t. I think some years we would. I think coming off of two losses and going in and playing a very good Bradley team. We need to be ready to go. I think we are always concerned that the team will look ahead, but we will lose if we do that. Bradley is good and we can’t look ahead. I actually like the way it lays out. We are putting most of our effort into Bradley, but like every week, we will spend some time talking about the other team too. We’ll work on UNI and Bradley in practice.
WBR: With all the activity going on around campus this weekend (volleyball matches, Bluejay Madness, women’s Soccer, men’s soccer) do you expect a nice crowd Friday night?
KBB: I think so. I would expect a great crowd. It will be one of those crowds that we will have a good crowd at the beginning and that it will continue to grow throughout the match. It should be an awesome night to celebrate Creighton athletics. We’re excited for the basketball teams to follow us and it should be a fun atmosphere.
WBR: What makes #12 Northern Iowa so tough, and how do they garner that kind of national recognition?
KBB: I think they are very different than many of the top 15 teams. With a lot of those teams you are going to see some huge power and good defense behind. With Northern Iowa, you are going to see incredible defense with good power. They are just so efficient and defensively sound. A ball that would be a kill against any other team in the country they are getting up in to play. Their setter, although small, is the two-time league MVP. She is a special player and opens things up so nicely. They are not flashy. Other teams you might see jumping out of the gym and whoa! They are not that flashy, but very blue collar and are going to try and beat you with long points and longevity.
WBR: You were inducted to your alma mater’s (Truman State) athletic Hall of Fame last week. How do you feel about that?
KBB: It is a nice honor. I was disappointed to miss the event. My parents went last Friday night. I had a great experience at Truman on and off the court. It is a great school and I feel like my best friends in life came from college, so it is a chance to celebrate that.
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Notes
- Friday night is a Blue Out. Wear blue to the game and cheer on the Bluejays
- 30 minutes after the match, stick around for Bluejay Madness to kick off the start of the men’s and women’s basketball season which includes team announcements, three-point shootout, dunk contest and scrimmages.
- Both matches can be heard on 1180 KOIL AM
- The winner of the first set has won each of the past 14 meetings in Creighton/Bradley series.
- The last time Northern Iowa lost a Missouri Valley Conference match, it was against the Bluejays on November 21st, 2008 where the Jays swept them 3-0.
- Creighton has won 11 straight regular-season MVC matches and is 16-1 in its last 17 Valley matches at D.J. Sokol Arena.
