Typically whenever Villanova and Creighton line up across the net from one another they understand that the race to capture three sets will be hard-earned. On Friday night, however, it appeared that only Creighton was prepared for that type of match as they wiped out the Wildcats by scores of 25-16, 25-16, and 25-19 to open Big East play with an impressive sweep in front of more 2,000 fans at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Sophomore outside hitter Jaela Zimmerman led the way with a match-high 13 kills. Junior outside hitter Erica Kostelac finished with 11, while Megan Ballenger and Keeley Davis each added eight as the Bluejays (8-3, 1-0 Big East) piled up 50 kills against just 12 errors on 104 swings to go along with nine aces from the service line.
“I thought that was one of the best matches we’ve played as far as being clean,” Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth said. “Maybe it stood out because I thought our serve and pass was really good. With our serving obviously we disrupted Villanova, particularly in game one and two, but more importantly we made them get out of it on their own. We didn’t just give them errors. They had to earn their way out, and that’s been something we’ve really put a priority on.”
Pacing CU in the serve and pass game were senior libero Brittany Witt and senior setter Madelyn Cole. Witt finished with a match-high 14 digs and even seven assists on out of system balls, while Cole added 12 digs and a pair of aces to go along with her match-high 32 assists.
The nine aces as a team were a season-best, and Creighton has now committed just five errors from behind the line in consecutive outings after having at least eight in each of their first nine matches.
“We knew whoever won the serve and pass game was going to have the upper hand,” Witt said. “I think there was a lot of focus on getting serves in, but also being aggressive so we could get them out of system.”
While there was only one tie and no lead changes, game one was tightly contested through the first 25 combined points. Then Villanova began to unravel in a hurry. A service error by Anna Morse gave Creighton a 15-11 lead right before a media timeout. Jaela Zimmerman roared out of the break with kills on the first two points to force Villanova to burn its first timeout. Then three straight points by the Bluejays out of that break in the action prompted the Wildcats to burn their second and final timeout out of obvious frustration.
Creighton, who was once leading by just two at 12-10, finished the opening set on a 13-6 run to open up a 1-0 lead in the match. The Bluejays hit .405 in game one, finishing with 18 kills and just a single attack error on 42 swings.
“We were locked in from the start,” Witt said. “We knew this was a good team coming into it, so we were locked in and focused. We knew the scout and we followed it really well.”
If there was any space left between the pedal and the floor after set one, the Bluejays eliminated it in game two. If such a rule existed. this one could have been called early. Creighton had four kills and two aces right out of the gates to open up a 7-1 lead, which then became 14-3, and soon after 19-7. Momentum swings happen quickly in volleyball, but CU’s lead 12-point lead in set two felt more like 20.
Creighton’s hitting percentage actually dropped by 24 points from game one down to .381, but they added six aces to make up the scoring difference. Villanova (9-3, 0-1 Big East) sided-out at just 43% and had only one dig as a team in the entire set.
Game three was far more competitive than the first two. There were still just two lead changes the entire set, but the Wildcats were much sharper with their serving and passing, which helped them hang around until Erica Kostelac helped blow the roof off the building with an incredible effort to keep a point alive for Creighton.
With the score knotted up at nine, the Wildcats were inches away from taking the lead. Fortunately for the Bluejays, Kostelac put her quick reflexes on full display when she poked a ball over the net, then set up for a solo block touch two seconds later. The play ended with a block by Zimmerman to bring the crowd to its feet and give Creighton a 10-9 lead.
Kirsten Bernthal Booth couldn’t quite recall how Kostelac was able to pull that of in a matter of seconds, but she remembers the energy it injected into the building.
“I noticed the crowd,” Booth said. “That was my big thing. It changed the momentum of that game … the momentum shift there was really big.”
Villanova was playing catch-up the rest of the set until Creighton closed it out with a 5-1 run, sealing the deal with consecutive kills by Keeley Davis.
The win helped Creighton improve to 96-5 against conference foes over the past six seasons. Their last setback against a team from the Big East came on November 17, 2017 when they were swept on the road at Villanova.
Dating back to last season, CU has won 25 straight regular-season sets against league competition. They’ll put that streak on the line when they return to the court on Sunday, September 29 to face off against Georgetown. First server is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena.
