Thanks to a highly-touted recruiting class and several key players returning, the Creighton volleyball team only wants to accomplish more in 2015. The Bluejays are coming off a Big East regular-season and conference tournament title-winning season. They clinched a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, but unlike the previous two trips, which each time saw them come one game short of the first Sweet Sixteen appearance in program history, the Bluejays dropped out in the first round against Oregon State.

From that team they lost Kelli Browning, Leah McNary, Michelle Sicner, and Katie Neisler to graduation, while freshman Toni Tupper transferred to Nebraska, and changed her sport to Track and Field. Browning was a three-time All-American and finished her Creighton career school’s all-time leader in attack percentage (.335) and blocks per set (1.42). McNary finished her career in the top 10 in school history in career kills (458) and kills per set (2.74). In five career matches in the NCAA Tournament she averaged 3.47 kills per set. Sicner recorded five triple-doubles during her career as a setter. She was an Honorable Mention All-American as a junior in 2013 and in that same season earned an AVCA National Player of the Week award. Katie Neisler was a key contributor as a senior. She stepped in for injured sophomore Jess Bird during the first weekend of the season and had a solid senior campaign. On Senior Night, in a four-set win over Butler, she became the only Creighton player to record 16 or more kills and 16 or more digs in a match since the NCAA changed the scoring in 2008. Her versatility was on display as she was the only player last season to finish with at least 200 digs, 90 kills, and 40 assists.

Combined those four seniors won 94 matches in their careers, including an Missouri Valley Conference regular season and conference tournament title in 2012, a Big East regular season and conference tournament title in 2014, and compiled a 2-3 record over the course of program-best three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.

They won’t be an easy group to replace, but the Bluejays do return 11 players from last season, including four players who started 19 or more matches and their libero. Joining that core will be five true freshmen that make up the 11th-best recruiting class in the nation according to PrepVolleyball.com. All indications in the preseason are that this is the deepest group that Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth has had at her disposal at Creighton. That has made for some highly competitive position battles…

Middle Blockers

Lauren Smith, RJr., Brittany Lawrence, RFr., Kelsey O’Connell, Fr., Megan Ballenger, Fr.

The only returning player who saw action last year from this group is redshirt junior Lauren Smith. Brittany Lawrence used last season as a redshirt year just like Smith did in 2012. Smith started every match in front of the net alongside All-American Kelli Browning. Smith was third on the team last year in kills (278) behind seniors Kelli Browning and Leah McNary. Only Browning had more total blocks than her 132. She was a Second Team All-Big East selection last season, and earned the Most Valuable Player award for the Big East Tournament after she averaged 2.63 kills per set, 1.38 blocks per set, and sported a .576 attack percentage in four-set wins over Xavier and Seton Hall.

Ballenger and O’Connell are talented, versatile, and hard-working newcomers, and Brittany Lawrence has had a year in the system that she hopes will translate into a breakout second season just as it did for Lauren Smith two years ago. All four will battle for playing time at the net with Smith having the obvious benefit of experience.

Creighton Head Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth…

…on Lauren Smith: 

“Lauren has an incredible arm, huge fire power. I think her blocking has gone from being good to being very good, and I hope that she takes another jump on that this year. I think she is just a dominant force at the net.”

…on Brittany Lawrence: 

“Brittany has improve exponentially over the last year. It’s fun to see her progress. She has a huge, tall body, and I think she has the potential to be a very good blocker. She’s still continuing to work on that. Her offense has gotten very good.”

…on Kelsey O’Connell: 

“Kelsey has done a fantastic job, and I think she is a kid who can kind of do it all. She’s a great blocker and she’s got good vision. She works her tail off; she’s in every single time in transition. She’s just really a well-trained athlete.”

…on Megan Ballenger: 

“Megan is so fun to coach, because she’s got such a high volleyball IQ, and is really known for just kind of being up quick. She can do a lot of things with the ball. She’s that very very rare entity that she can play both front and back row as a middle blocker.”

Outside & Right Side Hitters

Melanie Jereb, Sr., Lizzy Stivers, RSr., Jess Bird, Jr., Marysa Wilkinson, So., Jaali Winters, Fr., Taryn Kloth, Fr.

This group of players features a loaded mix of experience, leadership, and versatility. 2015 Preseason Big East Player of the Year Jess Bird leads the returners with an ability to really do everything on the floor. She can block, she can dig, she can hit. Her issues last year were a balky knee that derailed the non-conference portion of Creighton’s season. She returned to play the final 20 matches, finishing second on the team behind Kelli Browning in kills per set (2.96) and third in digs per set (2.49). She was a First Team All-Big East selection along with Browning. The Bluejays were 18-4 with her in the lineup and 7-5 without her.

Melanie Jereb showed off her versatility when she moved over to libero in place of the injured Kate Elman for the final eight matches of the regular season and both matches in the Big East Tournament before Elman returned in the NCAA Tournament. She earned Big East Defensive Player of the Week twice and averaged 4.35 digs per set in the 10 matches that Elman was out.

Sophomore Marysa Wilkinson returns as the right side hitter after finishing fifth on the team in kills per set (1.98) and third behind Kelli Browning and Lauren Smith in total blocks (72). She’ll be trying to build off of a surprisingly productive freshman season.

Senior Lizzy Stivers brings a lot of experience as a serving specialist, while freshmen Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth are both top 50 recruits and bring a lot of size, athleticism, and talent to the floor for the Bluejays. Kloth has missed the preseason while recovering from a broken foot, but Winters has looked every bit as talented as her accolades suggest.

Creighton Head Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth…

…on Melanie Jereb: 

“Mel is just a great volleyball player, a high IQ kid. She can kind of do it all, incredible defensive player and serve-receiver. She has great vision with her shots.”

…on Lizzy Stivers: 

“Lizzy is a kid that can kind of do it all. Where she has really impacted our team is as a serving specialist, and she’s fighting to get that opportunity again this year. She’s just a kid that you want on your team, because she’s always wanting to get the scout side better and doing everything she can to make the team the best it can be.”

…on Jess Bird:

“Jess is a great six-rotation kid that can pass the heck out of the ball, and dig so well. She has great fire power. She flies and is able to do some things with the ball just because she elevates so much.”

…on Marysa Wilkinson:

“Marysa has taken a jump from last year. I think she was good last year, I think she’s better this year. You can tell that she’s jumping higher. Her blocking has gotten very good. At this point I don’t anticipate her playing back row, but her back row has gotten really good.”

…on Jaali Winters: 

“Jaali is a six-rotation kid with a heavy arm. I think she really likes to push the tempo. She’s a good blocker — just a kid who has all of the pieces.”

…on Taryn Kloth:

“The thing I like about Taryn is she hits at such high angles, because she’s so tall. She hits at angles that you don’t usually see. In high school she was extremely low error.”

Setters

Maggie Baumert, RSr., Kenzie Crawford, RSo.

Baumert transferred in from Georgia last season and had such a good year at setter that her season average of 9.85 assists per set and 1,054 assists puts her fourth on Creighton’s all-time list. In a road win at Marquette, she came one kill shy of Creighton’s first quadruple-double in school history. She finished with nine kills, 42 assists, 12 digs, and 10 blocks in the four-set victory.

What Kenzie Crawford lacks in match experience she makes up for in athletic ability and work ethic. Together, they provide leadership and both have earned the respect of their teammates despite each bringing different abilities to the floor.

Creighton Head Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth…

…on Maggie Baumert:

 “Maggie has great hands. Maggie I always say is just solid at everything she does. She’s a great blocker, she’s a great setter, she’s a great defensive player. She’s just solid at everything. She’s a very calm, cool, collected leader, and really respected by her team.”

…on Kenzie Crawford:

“Kenzie is also an incredible leader the same way Maggie is. They lead in different ways, but both are really beloved by their teammates, which I think is fantastic. Kenzie is highly athletic. She can make plays out of balls that I’ve never seen a player in our gym make the plays that she can make. Defensively she’s outstanding. She and Maggie are very different, but they are both great setters.”

Defensive Specialists & Liberos

Kate Elman, Sr., Ashley Jansen, Sr., Amanda Foje, Jr., Samantha Bohnet, Fr.

Kate Elman is that player that will literally run through anything to keep the ball off the floor, evidenced by her broken arm that she suffered mid-match at home against Marquette after she crashed into the scorer’s table. The broken bones are all healed up and she heads into her senior season leading the Creighton defense at libero. She is already the school’s all-time leader in digs with 1,516 and earned a preseason all-conference nod by the Big East to start off the 2015 season.

Ashley Jansen is a steady back row partner for Elman, and her serve is one of, if not the best on the team. She led the Bluejays in aces with 32 in 2014, and is great at surprising opposing teams with the occasional back row kill, of which she had 16 last season.

Creighton Head Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth…

…on Kate Elman: 

“Kate is kind of that steady kid. The thing that we like about Kate is that it’s very rare that she gets frazzled. If she has a bad pass she does a really good job of bouncing back, and I think that is something a libero has to be able to do. I feel like her serve-receive is a great strength. I think her serve has really improved this year, it’s gotten more consistent.”

…on Ashley Jansen: 

“Ashley, Kate, and Mel are just so similar as far as being great serve-receivers. I trust any of them. Ashley has kind of found her home in right back. I think that’s because she’s a former setter in high school. The other thing that makes Ashley really versatile is that she can attack. She’s really good out of system at getting swings as compared to when most people have to send a free ball over, she can put a down ball in with some velocity to maybe not get a kill, but take a team out of system. She’s also got a really good serve. She’s one of our best servers as far as hitting exact locations on the court.”

…on Amanda Foje:

“Foje has really improved. She’s doing a great job, she can play every defensive position. She’s got a wicked serve, we’re still continuing to work on the consistency. If we can get her serve consistent she’s got a great serve.”

…on Samantha Bohnet: 

“Sam has really I think been a wonderful surprise on how quickly she has taken to the defensive position, because she was a setter in high school, so there is a lot of unknowns. Her passing has been really stellar. Her defense has been great, her serve has really improved. It’s been really fun to watch her progress.”