Creighton volleyball probably hasn’t gotten off to the start they were hoping for. After a season opening win over UTSA, the wins have been few and far between since, as the Bluejays have struggled against top flight competition such as Texas A&M and Kansas State.
The 2-5 Bluejays were also on the short end of the stick in their own invitational last weekend, getting a win against South Dakota while falling to both Northern Illinois and Marquette.
However, one positive from last weekend was the (mostly) successful experiment with a new look: a modified 6-2 formation to integrate Megan Bober and Michelle Sicner together on the court. It proved successful against South Dakota, but ran into some kinks against Marquette.
This week, the Bluejays are back at it, but it won’t be easy to rebound. They head down the road to Lincoln for the Ameritas Players Challenge starting Thursday night, opening with the #11 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. With the Huskers coming off of a loss of their own on the road and this being the home opener, it will be a steep challenge for the Bluejays.
In preparation for this week’s matches, we talked to head volleyball coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth to see where the team is going at this point in the season.
White & Blue Review: Despite the losses, how well do you think your team is playing right now?
Kirsten Bernthal Booth: “I don’t think we are playing as well as we should be playing. I’m still optimistic with the pieces, the attitude, and the work ethic that we will play better. We have had some really good practices this week. I think the team also thinks they have the pieces, so that is big.
We did not play well this past weekend. With that said, we played some great teams. That makes it even harder, but we have to get better and to the team’s credit we think that they get that. Right now half the team is in here 45 minutes early getting reps on their own, so those are all great things to see.”
WBR: What do you hope to learn from your team in this week’s matches against Nebraska, Weber State and St. Mary’s?
KBB: “Two of the three teams–Nebraska who is obviously a top program and St. Mary’s is on the fringe of being top 25 as they have received some votes this week, upset Duke last week and demolished Notre Dame. With Weber State, playing any Division I team you are playing a good team.
I hope that we can get some more continuity with our lineup, which is still a work in progress and could be a work in progress for a couple more weeks which I don’t really like since we open conference next week. I would like to have some things solidified. I want us to clean up some of the routine errors that we have been making.
We focused a lot on offense this week. We have to get more firepower. We have talked to the players about taking more risks and swings for kills. That may lead to more errors, but at this level you have to go and put the ball down. Right now we are playing a little safe offensively. “
WBR: This past weekend you changed the look of the team by going with the 6-2 configuration. Was that done as a way to get all of your available talent out there or just to kind of switch things up?
KBB: “It was done to get more offense. When you play a 6-2 you get another hitter. We think we need as much offense as possible.”
WBR: What is the atmosphere like playing in the Coliseum versus playing in the Sokol Arena environment?
KBB: “They are both phenomenal atmospheres. They have small arenas and great crowds. It will be a packed house. It is their first home match so they will have a lot of adrenaline playing at home. That can be good and bad. It is a great showcase of the talent that is in the state.”
WBR: Creighton will be on television for the first time this season. What exposure does that bring for Creighton Volleyball and do you hope for more TV appearances?
KBB: “We have talked to NET. Our goal is to get more games on and we are hoping that will happen yet this year to get more games on television. I think Creighton and the name recognition in Omaha is phenomenal. Outside of Omaha we have to get more, so NET is a great way to do that. A lot of times central and western Nebraska don’t really know much about Creighton, and that might even be that way in Lincoln to some degree.
A goal for our University is to have people see what a great University it is, not only athletically, but a chance to say academically where all of our students have great experiences. Getting on television is a way to market that.”
WBR: It sounds like Creighton and Nebraska may not play again for a while or at least next year for sure. How do you feel about that and are there plans to try and schedule another high ranking school to replace that level of competition you are losing?
KBB: “Our best bet to bring teams in like that are in tournaments. In our invitational next year, we have two of our three teams–Kansas State and Denver. I don’t schedule with the idea I want to bring a Top 10 team in. If that happens it’s great. I schedule with the intent of which teams, if we win, are going to give us an opportunity for the NCAA Tournament. But then we have to win matches, which is where we have struggled this year. I think our schedule has set us up to earn an NCAA bid, but we haven’t won the matches we need to win. I still think we can do it.”
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Notes:
- The Creighton vs. Nebraska match on Thursday night will be shown on Nebraska Educational Television(NET) across the state of Nebraska.
- For those with cable systems, it is available on Cox channel 12 or in HD on channel 1012 in the Omaha metro. In other areas of Nebraska, it will be available on your cable’s main NET channel. Here is a coverage map and translators/channels.
- The game will be on DirecTV channel 26 and on Dish Network 9147 in the local DMA market, which is Nebraska and parts of Iowa.
- If you want to listen to the games, check out 1180 KOIL AM on the dial.
- Join us for WBR Live! from the Coliseum — whether you are there, watching the game on TV or listening at home. Get in on the action.
- For Friday afternoon’s 4:30 match against Weber State and Saturday morning’s 11:30 a.m. match against St. Mary’s, listen on 1180 KOIL AM
