The Creighton volleyball team didn’t have time for drama on day one of their 2021 fall season, sweeping Kansas City and Saint Louis on Friday afternoon at the Mizzou Invitational in Columbia, Missouri.
The Bluejays, unranked entering the season for the first time since 2015, beat the Roos 25-23, 25-13, 25-12 during the morning session. They then came back five and a half hours later and dispatched of the Billikens 25-15, 25-20, 25-16.
“Anytime you’ve got several new faces and you play two good teams and sweep you’ve got to feel good,” CU head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth said. “I’m pleased with the first day effort. I actually think we have a lot of things we can get better at — it wasn’t totally clean by any stretch. We were lower error in the second match than we were in the first, particularly in the first game of the first match we were really high, high error. It was a good first day. Both SLU and UMKC I’m optimistic are going to have really good seasons. I thought we small-balled well. I thought we served and passed well and I think that’s going to win a lot of games if you’re doing that well.”
Freshman Standouts
True freshman setter Kendra Wait performed like a veteran playmaker despite it being her collegiate debut. She started both matches, finishing with 32 assists, seven digs, five kills, and two blocks against UMKC, then turned around and put up her first double-double with 31 assists, 10 digs, five blocks, and four kills. Not only did she finish with a .563 hitting percentage on 16 error-free swings herself, but she orchestrated an offense that saw seven different hitters register at least one kill in each match.
“I think her decision making is what’s incredible at this point,” Booth said. “Kendra puts you in one on one situations, part of the reason is she’s so fast she can get her hands on the ball and distribute to different places. I do think our setter/hitter connection is one of the areas I think we can a lot better in.”
Wait wasn’t the only newcomer who impressed on day one for the Jays. True freshman outside hitter Norah Sis averaged 2.7 kills per set and finished with an efficient .327 hitting clip between the two matches. Against Saint Louis, she had nine kills on 21 swings and didn’t commit a single attack error. She also added nine digs, four blocks, and served up an ace in each contest.
“You couldn’t tell she was a freshman by the look on her face,” Booth said. “She looked composed and she played composed. If something good didn’t happen she was great at the next ball. She’s just low error, and she took some risks and made a couple really difficult angle shots that scored and you just shook your head and said, ‘how’d she do that?’
“I thought she had a great freshman debut.”
The Steady Eddie Vets
Jaela Zimmerman is steady for the Jays (Juszyk/WBR)
Between Jaela Zimmerman’s typical all-around game, Naomi Hickman’s presence at the net, and Keeley Davis’ performance in an unfamiliar role in the back row, the Jays coaching staff liked what they saw out of the trio of vets. Keeley Davis, in particular, got a glowing review for her passing throughout the afternoon.
“They are just steady, emotionally and physically,” Booth said. “If they make an error or if their teammate makes an error, they all let it go and can move on to the next play. They were leaders with the poise they demonstrated today.”
The Bluejays also got a pair of strong performances out of senior Annika Welty after she was limited at times due to injury in the preseason. Welty had nine kills and four blocks against Kansas City, including a five-point stretch where she had three kills in a row followed by back-to-back blocks stretching Creighton’s lead to 17-6 in set three and effectively ended any hopes the Roos had of staying alive and forcing a game four. In the nightcap against the Billikens, she hit .400 with five kills on 10 swings.
“I thought Annika did great,” Booth said. “In the first game against UMKC she made two or three errors in a row, then she was really, really good. I think she was just getting her rhythm. It didn’t look like she really skipped a beat.”
Notes:
- Sophomore middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt has missed most of the preseason and Friday night. Booth said she’s out indefinitely with a back injury. The Cedarburg, Wisconsin native had eight kills and a career-high 11 blocks in the Big East Tournament title game against Marquette last spring and finished the shortened season ranked 48th in the country with 1.23 blocks per set.
- The Jays combined for 10 aces and 10 errors from the service line on Friday. After struggling in that area of the game in their lone exhibition match against Iowa State, they had several extended serving runs against both UMKC and Saint Louis.
- Today’s performances marked the third time in the last five season that the Bluejays have opened the season by winning their first two matches in straight sets.