Friday night’s match between Creighton and Xavier started out as a clash between two teams sitting in the top two spots in the Big East standings, but the midway point of the third set it became a countdown to a coronation. The Bluejays swept Xavier in straight sets 25-20, 25-22, 25-15 in front of a loud and proud Bluejay crowd of 1,913 at D.J. Sokol Arena as Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and company won their second consecutive Big East regular season title, and third regular season conference crown in the last four years.
“They deserve this being the human beings that they are, and the work ethic that they’ve put in,” Booth said. “We told them they could enjoy it for a couple hours, and then we have to refocus, because this is just one of the to-do’s on our list as Bird and I were just talking about, and we got a lot more to accomplish.”
Junior outside hitter Jess Bird led the Bluejays with 14 kills in the match, finishing with double-digit kills for the fourth time in her last five matches. Senior setter Maggie Baumert quietly flirted with a triple-double, ending the match with 34 assists, 10 digs, and six kills. Freshman outside hitter Jaali Winters was the only other Bluejay to reach double figures in kills as she finished with 12 to extend her streak of matches with 10 or more kills to 12 straight dating back to October 3rd when she had seven kills in a win at Providence.
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See photos from WBR Photographer Brad Williams of the win
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As a team the Bluejays hit .284 for the match, but that was aided by a strong third set in which they registered a .625 attack percentage in finishing off the Musketeers. Though the overall offensive performance wasn’t pretty, Booth felt the team’s effort in other areas kept them in control until the offense started to click in game three.
“I felt that offensively it wasn’t all that pretty, but I thought we scrambled really well,” Booth said. “At halftime we said we’re playing really good on the ugly plays. Meaning it’s a scrappy play and we’re making good out-of-system swings. I thought we got some good block touches, but I didn’t think our offense was really crisp in the first two games.”
“I don’t think it was anything that was said at halftime. We just kind of got our rhythm going. I think Xavier really started to struggle; you kind of get to that point where you can see a team, the look in their eyes that they’re struggling some, so it was a mix of those two things. I was glad to see us work out of maybe not our best offensive performance.”
Another key to the decisive victory was how well the Bluejays neutralized Xavier’s main weapon in 6-foot-2 junior outside hitter Abbey Bessler. Creighton targeted her all night long on serves and held her to just six kills and a .111 attack percentage on 27 swings, her second-lowest percentage in 15 conference matches this season.
“We knew Bessler was one of their go-to players,” Baumert said. “I really think that we followed game plan and took her out of the match.”
But as much as they tried to deflect it and talk about the next task on their list, tonight wasn’t about neutralizing Bessler, Xavier, or finding a rhythm offensively. Tonight was about a senior class of Ashley Jansen, Melanie Jereb, Kate Elman, Lizzy Stivers, and Maggie Baumert that won a third conference title in four seasons while leading a group that relies on team chemistry and cohesiveness as much as their talent on the court.
“Our seniors are a phenomenal class,” Bird said. “Each one brings something different to the table, which just makes it even better, because it just all works together. They’ve set such a great example in practice, even in the offseason and everything. They’re a great group, and they are winners. They push through everything in practice.”
While acknowledging their accomplishments, their head coach believes they deserve more credit for who they are away from volleyball court.
“I look into them as people more than all of their accomplishments,” Booth said. “[Creighton SID Rob Anderson] will talk about all those things on Sunday (Senior Day), which are phenomenal. Each group that we’ve brought in over the years has taken it to that next step, and I think this class has definitely taken us that next step. They’re the ones who took us to our first conference championship, not our first NCAA bid, but several of our NCAA bids.”
“But I think when I will remember this class, I will remember the selflessness of this class. They really role modeled team before self, and a lot of them have faced situations where they’ve actually had to do it. It’s easy to say I’m going to be a good teammate no matter what happens, but these guys have actually done it. They’re just nice people, as is our whole team. I really like them as human beings, and I always think that the next transition when they’re done is you get to be friends, and these guys will be great to be friends with … although I’m getting so old I don’t whether that’s weird or not. They are really wonderful people. I say that about them, but I could say that about all of our team. I always tell people I have three daughters and if any of them turn out like any of the 16 women on our team, I will be a great parent, because I want them to turn out like any of these guys.”
For Booth and her coaching staff — including assistant Angie Oxley Behrens, who has coached alongside Booth for her entire 13-year tenure on the Bluejay sidelines after taking over a program that had just finished up a 3-23 season — it is another banner they get to hang inside D.J. Sokol Arena at the end of the year no matter what happens the rest of the way. But true to form, as it’s always about the players and the process and the people around her, it’s not yet time to reflect on a season that has not reached it’s conclusion.
“I always say my best attribute is I can hire great people that know a lot more than I do, so I think that’s what I do really well,” she said. “I have really been fortunate to surround myself with fantastic people. Ask me at the end of the season, it’s not about nostalgia at this point in growth. I get to that point in the season, but I’m not there yet. This is exciting, but I’m still in ‘Let’s Go!’ mode. We’ll worry about that sort of stuff as the year goes. Right now we got more things to get done.”
Right. More to do, because the conference tournament starts in two weeks. That surely give the team some time to enjoy their second consecutive Big East regular season title, won’t it?
“We get two hours, then it’s bed time,” Baumert replied.
In that case, by the time anyone reads this, the Creighton Bluejays will already be thinking about Sunday afternoon’s regular season home finale against the Butler Bulldogs.
Listen to Postgame Interviews with head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and players Jess Bird and Maggie Baumert