We are past the midpoint of the Missouri Valley Conference volleyball season. While it may not seem like the Creighton volleyball team is in the same place they were last season at this time, they are actually closer than you think.
At this time last season, Creighton was 7-2 in conference play with losses against Drake and Northern Iowa. This season they sit at 6-3 at the midway point but with losses Missouri State, Wichita State, and Northern Iowa. But you can look at it this way — the losses against Missouri State and Wichita State this season were on the road, where the Bluejays didn’t make that road swing and lose those matches until the second half last season. So there is still a lot of opportunity still to come, including home matches against the Shockers and the Bears. The month of October defines teams.
However, Northern Iowa is still Northern Iowa. The #12 ranked Panthers swept the Bluejays at home last Saturday night after Creighton’s exciting win against Bradley and the celebration of Bluejay Madness.
This weekend, Creighton hosts sixth-place Southern Illinois on Friday and ninth-place Evansville on Saturday. In the Valley, anything can happen and teams have to be prepared for every match no matter who it is against. Evansville had a surprising upset of Wichita State last weekend after the local media in Wichita claimed it was a “certainty” the Shockers would win. Even though Creighton has had a lot of success against these two teams, anything can happen.
As her team prepares for this weekend’s matches, we talked to head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth to get her assessment of the midway point of the conference season.
White & Blue Review: You are halfway through the conference season. Are you at where you thought you would be or do you wish it was different?
Kirsten Bernthal Booth: I’d say that is sort of a mixed answer. I think we are in an okay position. We haven’t dropped any matches that we walk away and said that the loss is going to bite us. We hope the second half goes better because we haven’t won any big matches either. I think we are in a good position, but what we have been telling the team this week is that we have to get better and take advantage of the opportunities we have in the second half.
We talked about in the preseason where October is where teams are made or broken and this is a pivotal time for our team. I think they really want to get better and are doing things to get better. So those are all good things. Hopefully we will see some of that transfer this weekend. We aren’t playing great, but that is how we want to be playing when we hit November.
WBR: Going back to Saturday against Northern Iowa, it was really pretty close in the first couple of sets. What was the thing keeping the Bluejays from getting over that hump?
KBB: We were making too many unforced errors. Serving is a thing that we have control over. We take some risks serving, but at that point you have to hit a good serve and you can’t make that error. Hitting errors, and UNI is a good team. A great team wins games when things are tight. We are definitely in the mix; we just have to do things more consistently.
WBR: Last week, the Wichita media put out an article basically saying that it was basically a certainty that Wichita State would win over Evansville. However, the Shockers went out and lost against the Aces. How tough is it to try and not overlook a team and be prepared in Valley play.
KBB: Here’s the deal, we wouldn’t have to play bad to lose to Southern Illinois or Evansville. They are both very good teams and our players know that. We barely beat Southern Illinois. We were very fortunate to get out of there with a win. The Evansville match at their place, we played probably one of our best matches of the year. We played great. With the win for them (Evansville), their confidence has to be really high. We are going to have our hands full and the Valley is so deep right now. Everyone is a good team. Our players get that and our expectations as a coaching staff will show on Friday.
WBR: So far all of your losses have been quality losses as they have been against teams higher in the RPI. Will that help down the stretch?
KBB: Yes, that will look good, but the fact is, we don’t have any good wins either. We have solid wins, but that’s the next step. I have talked to the team a lot that we are in an okay position where we have not hurt our resume. Now we have to make our resume. We need to do our business every night beating Southern Illinois and Evansville and then beating teams that are higher in the RPI like Wichita State, Missouri State, and UNI. We have to seize those opportunities.
WBR: Saturday night is the annual “Pink-Out” in support of fighting breast cancer. Can you tell us a little more about this game over the years?
KBB: I think especially as a female team, I’m sure every player on this team knows someone that has passed away from breast cancer, has been through it, or knows someone currently going through treatment. I think it is an opportunity to raise awareness on a devastating disease that we have taken a lot of strides. Forty years ago it was a death penalty. Now, most people survive when they get breast cancer. That is a good thing and we need to continue to make progress so hopefully at the age these ladies hit where that could be a problem, it isn’t.
***
NOTES:
- Both matches this weekend can be heard on 1180 KOIL AM.
- Saturday’s match is a Pink Out for breast cancer awareness so wear your pink clothing in support. The Creighton volleyball players will be wearing pink uniforms.
- The team to win the first set has won 37 of Creighton’s last 39 matches and 34 of Creighton’s last 35 contests against MVC competition.
- The team to win the first set has won each of the last 15 meetings between Creighton and Evansville.
- Creighton currently has streak of 508 matches where they have had at least one block.
- Julianne Mandolfo ranks in the top 10 of the NCAA in digs.
- See the rest of the Creighton Game Notes.
