Naomi Hickman was key in the first set that Creighton almost came back to win (Spomer / WBR) $CLICK TO BUY$
It wasn’t always a smooth-sailing afternoon, but thanks in part to a big lift off the bench provided by true freshman middle blocker Annika Welty, the Creighton volleyball team was able to seize control of the match and earn a 23-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-23 win over Wichita State and capture their second straight Bluejay Invitational crown on Sunday afternoon. The 6-foot, 3-inch newcomer from Parkville, Missouri entered the action midway through the second set and produced a match-high seven blocks to help her team regain control after blowing a comfortable lead to the Shockers in set one.
“I thought Annika came in and did a great job,” Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth said. “[Wichita State outside hitter] Emma Wright, number six, was really eating us up, so her first objective was to make sure she could start slowing her down and I thought she did that.
“Annika’s got great feet, so her ability to close — especially for someone with her length — is impressive. I thought she got some really good blocks tonight and did a great job.”
Welty wasn’t part of the initial game plan as Bluejays got off to a sluggish start to the match with a pair of errant passes and long serves giving an early edge to the Shockers. But a 7-0 run book-ended with kills by sophomore right side hitter Naomi Hickman got them back on track, and back in front, with a 9-3 lead. A kill by senior outside hitter Jaali Winters put Creighton ahead 18-14 late, but Wichita State swung the momentum with a 9-3 run spurt of their own that was fueled by some sharp serving and precise passing. An ace by junior setter Madelyn Cole and a kill by senior outside hitter Taryn Kloth saved back-to-back set points as they tried to salvage what at one time was setting up to be a comfortable win the opening set, but a combo block by Emma Wright and Tabitha Brown sealed the game one win for the visitors.
“Passing was part of it, but we also had just a lot of silly miscommunication errors throughout plays.” Winters said when asked how Creighton lost the edge in the first set. “Even during the set we were talking about it. We just needed to talk more and communicate more before the play, during the play, and after about everything that was going on, because it just got quiet out there for a little bit.”
When Jaali Winters (pictured) and Taryn Kloth are both going, Creighton is very hard to stop (Spomer / WBR) $CLICK TO BUY$
Game two was all CU. After giving up four aces to Wichita State servers in set one, the Bluejays gave up none in set two. As a result, they were in system most of the time, and when that happens it often turns into the Jaali Winters & Taryn Kloth Show as it did in game two. The senior All-Americans combined for 11 kills on 25 swings while only committing two errors between them. That’s a 36% termination rate for the two of the most potent weapons in the country. The Shockers as a team matched the Creighton duo in kills, but needed nine more attempts to do it.
Set three was even more lopsided as the Bluejays limited Wichita State to just six kills on 31 swings thanks to six team blocks — four of which involved Annika Welty. Creighton out-hit the Shockers, .333 to -.065, paced by five kills on 10 swings from Winters to help CU take a commanding two sets to one lead in the match.
The fourth and final game was more tightly contested as it featured 10 ties and four lead changes, the most of any set up to that point. The Bluejays got to match point at 24-21 on a kill by Kloth, but the Shockers stayed alive with two points in a row before Welty and fellow true freshman Kari Zumach combined for the team’s 14th block of the afternoon to end a 35-second rally. Welty had a whopping five block touches on the left and right side of the net before the ball finally found the floor.
“I was just trying to read the ball and get to it quick,” Welty said of her mindset on the match’s marathon final point. “Quick feet, side to side.”
Winters finished with a match-high 18 kills to go along with 15 digs for her team-leading sixth double-double of the season. Her partner on the pin, Kloth, added 15 kills of her own, plus a career-high four aces. Madelyn Cole rounded out the trio of Bluejays who earned All-Tournament Team honors with 48 assists, six digs, four kills, and four blocks. However, the story of the day was the blocking of Annika Welty. It changed the complexion of the match, and according to Winters — who earned Bluejays Invitational MVP honors — the true freshman’s impact was felt as much in the back row as it was in the front.
“Block touches are everything,” the Ankeny, Iowa standout said. “We talk about that a lot in practice, too. We don’t need blocks all the time. If we just get block touches that’s so helpful for us in the back row. Annika did a great job stepping up, reading the hitters, and dropping that inside hand.”
Creighton moved to 6-3 on the season with Sunday’s win over the Shockers. They will wrap up the non-conference portion of their schedule next weekend in Champaign for the Illini Classic where they will face Lipscomb, get a second crack at Northern Iowa, and take on undefeated and 11th-ranked Illinois. The tournament gets underway on Friday, September 15th and concludes with the main event on Saturday between the Bluejays and the Illini.