The Creighton volleyball team finished up their home part of the slate last weekend. The Bluejays lost the first set against Wichita State, but then in a rare feat rallied for the win in a five-set thriller. CU couldn’t continue the momentum the next night against Missouri State, losing the first two sets en route to an eventual loss to the Bears.
The Bluejays now hit the road for the next two weekends for their final three matches of the regular season. Their first will be against #12 Northern Iowa, who has not lost a conference match (50-0) in almost three full seasons. The Jays will have their hands full. The next night offers another extreme, in a road match at last place Bradley.
Creighton’s NCAA Tournament at-large chances are slipping away, but a couple wins this weekend could throw them back into the picture.
As the team prepares for the trip to Cedar Falls and Peoria, we talked to head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth to get her view of the team heading into this weekend.
White & Blue Review: What do you take away from the matches last weekend?
Kirsten Bernthal Booth: “I thought it was a great weekend of volleyball. I think on Friday night, we did a lot of good things against a very good Wichita State team. I like their toughness in being able to battle back to win that in five. On Saturday night, I thought at points we did some good things. I didn’t think our consistency was there as much on Saturday night as it was on Friday night. Missouri State is a great team. Missouri State is really consistent and plays great defense. They have a phenomenal setter and we are going to have to play great ball to win. I think we had great moments in doing that, we just didn’t do that the whole time and we didn’t get a win.
We are trying to build a resume, so we got one good win to help our resume. Would I have liked to get another one? Absolutely. Getting one win was good and maybe it can give us some good momentum heading into the weekend.”
WBR: Looking at seeding a little bit, would you rather be a 2 or 3 seed come the MVC Tournament?
KBB: “There is no question that would be a preference of where we would want to land. We had some control of that last weekend and we have more opportunities in front of us. Obviously, the other teams control some things.”
WBR: Is there a magic number in volleyball as far as wins go like they sometimes talk about in basketball?
KBB: “Good question. We were just discussing that as a staff. I don’t know. I don’t think so. Some people may say 20 wins, but I don’t really buy into that. I don’t understand if you beat a team that is a 300 RPI team and it adds a ‘W’ how that helps you. But some would argue differently.”
WBR: Other than consistency, is there anything you are working on looking forward to this weekend?
KBB: “Talking specifically about Northern Iowa, they arguably have the best setter in the league (Bre Payton). She has been MVP the past two years and is a senior now. She is just different than any other setter in the country. She is a true setter where ours (Megan Bober) hits also. Bre averages just under two kills a game but she throws the ball all over the place. You do prepare a little differently than UNI because they run a little more of an unorthodox offense because she is so phenomenal.”
WBR: With less success against Northern Iowa in the past, what would a win against Northern Iowa at their place bring to the program?
KBB: “I think we are the last ones to win at Northern Iowa and it is just a tough place to play. More than the fact of beating Northern Iowa, it would be beating a team with a very, very high RPI and would help enhance our opportunities to make the NCAA Tournament. It’s not about us playing against a specific team, it is about playing a team that can help you reach your goals at the end of the season. That is why it would be so big, because they are a great team and it will help our chances.”
WBR: The other part of the weekend is visiting Bradley. They have a new facility for women’s sports. What does having that add to the Valley in addition to having Sokol Arena?
KBB: “Bradley hired a new coach last year and I think it is a program just waiting to take off. Their facility is awesome. It is a little bigger than ours with about 4,000 seats and it is beautiful. It is a great atmosphere to play in. You compete against your league schools, but you want them to do well, especially during the first three weeks of the season. All the coaches in the league are rooting for each other. If you get a good win, we are cheering for them. I want Bradley to take off. Obviously, I want us to beat them on Saturday night, but we want our league schools to be great. It helps the Missouri Valley Conference, it helps our at-large chances. Bradley’s new facility is great for building their program. Bradley is a lot like Creighton — a smaller, high academic school. There is great volleyball along the way. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them in the next few years in the upper echelon of the league.”
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NOTES:
- Both matches this weekend can be heard on 1180 KOIL AM.
- Creighton is 3-39 against Northern Iowa all-time. They were actually the last team to beat Northern Iowa in conference play (Nov. 21st, 2008). The Panthers have ended Creighton’s season at the MVC Tournament each of the last six years, including last year’s Tournament final.
- Vs. Bradley, the winner of the first set has won each of the past 15 meetings in this series.
- Creighton signed two recruits on Wednesday–Melanie Jereb, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Cary, Illinois and Lauren Smith is a 6-foot-4 middle blocker from Lincoln Pius X.