Sometimes it takes some motivation. Sometimes it takes coaching. The Creighton volleyball team used a little bit of both to jump out to an 8-1 record. The Bluejays are coming off a weekend where they won their second invite of the three they have participated in, this time against three teams that went to the NCAA Tournament last season. Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth noticed the difference in her team’s play at the Northern Colorado Invitational.
“We blocked really, really well. We really disrupted all three teams’ offense because of our blocking, and they made more errors than they probably would have. Our serve receive was pretty good, not incredible, but better than the week before. It was different people stepping up in different matches and I like to see that.”
One of the keys to this early 8-1 record has been the play of sophomore Kelli Browning. Browning was named the MVC Defensive Player of the week for her performance last weekend at Northern Colorado and helped lead the Bluejays to a sweep over the bears to capture the invite championship.
“We really tried to focus the week before on blocking and blocking footwork as well as keying in on their key players, and all the blockers did a really good job of doing that,” said Browning. “Blocking was definitely one of our strong points over that tournament.”
Browning struggled a bit last season thrown into the mix as a true freshman. She rotated in and out of the lineup throughout the season and while she probably didn’t have the success she would have liked, her head coach saw the potential.
“We felt when Kelli arrived at preseason of her freshman year we walked out saying this kid is going to be good. She was inconsistent and we didn’t like her arm swing,” said Bernthal Booth. “To her credit, we started breaking things down in January and we always tell players that if you are not getting a lot of feedback that probably means you cannot take criticism and that you will not progress as quickly as we think you can. Kelli was someone that was receptive to feedback, thought about it, and learned from it and it is really paying off.”
This season she looks like a totally different player. After some great strides in the spring, Browning did her own work in the offseason to get her confidence up. “Over the spring and summer I worked to keep my elbow high and worked on a lot of blocking footwork,” she said. Through the 9 matches this season, Browning is second only to Leah McNary in kills and kills per set while leading the team in hitting percentage at .446.
“I thought she improved in the spring season, but I don’t know what she did this summer mentally. She sees the court so much better this fall than she did in the spring. She is a different player from the spring season to this fall. Her vision is good, she is hitting high and she is so confident, but yet she still has so many things to work on which is exciting as a coach and we have higher expectations for her in the long term,” Bernthal Booth said.
While Browning is controlling the front, it is the play of freshman Kate Elman controlling the back. Elman has looked comfortable at the libero position since starting her Creighton career just nine games ago. She does notice the difference in the game from high school to college, but at the same time was prepared for the change.
“I think [I have adjusted] pretty well. There are a lot of things that are different. It is always faster and they hit harder. I was fortunate to have played on club teams that gave you different looks with high competition and great players. Overall it has been a pretty easy adjustment,” Elman said.
Elman has looked like a leader out there and commands it, but personally she is very modest about her role on the team and just does what comes naturally.
“I don’t know if they look to it or not,” said Elman. “I talk to Megan Bober and sometimes when I don’t play my best she tells me ‘Hey we need your energy’ when I am a little under par. I don’t think they say that ‘we need Kate’s specific leadership,’ but whatever energy is brought to the court and whoever brings it to the court is needed at times.”
While Bernthal Booth is coaching her team, Elman is motivating her teammates. Her latest motivation was last weekend at the Northern Colorado invite where she told her teammates that she would buy them some ice cream if they get some blocks in the match against Tulsa. The team responded by taking the match and Elman kept true to her word. She may be tied to this now throughout the season.
“It was a one-time thing and I have done stuff like that before with my club team. Like the first person to get the biggest kill will get a good prize from me. It is usually like more of an incentive to do something good and to loosen things up, but I’ll end up buying ice cream for them. It is just something fun I like to do.”
This weekend the Bluejays dip out of the non-conference to start MVC play. While some may ease into conference play, Creighton jumps into the fire right away hosting Missouri State on Friday and Wichita State on Saturday. Both teams were ranked ahead of the Bluejays in the preseason conference poll and both teams went to the NCAA Tournament last season. A big test for sure, but not one that Bernthal Booth or her players back away from.
“It is what it is. We have been playing great teams all preseason, so I guess the positive is that we go in and play another couple of great teams,” said Bernthal Booth. “The challenge is making sure your team is ready, I think they will be. We have this mix of youth and experience. Our experienced kids get the importance of every match. That really paid dividends for us in Colorado for them to understand the gravity of a 10 a.m. match that they can’t overlook.”
While Missouri State and Wichita State don’t have the spectacular record like the Bluejays have, they are still teams that will be in the Valley race at the end of the year.
“They will understand the importance of Friday night. We will focus on Friday for now and then after Friday night we will let them move to Saturday,” said Bernthal Booth.
Both Browning and Elman are looking forward to the challenge. “”We are all ready to get into conference play and to start off strong.” said Browning “We really have a really big weekend coming up and we are looking forward to it.”
“I don’t look at it differently. A game is a game to me,” said Elman. “Every game is big. Every game is important especially in D-1 college volleyball. Every game is important for what our coach calls our ‘resume’ to get into the dance. I feel like every game is important. I haven’t played any of those teams anyway. My teammates say it should be fun. We will see.”
The games this weekend, especially on Friday against Missouri State, is really important based on history. No MVC team that has lost their first conference game has gone on to win the conference championship. The Bluejays are looking to get off on the right foot.
“The challenge is how to approach the players on scouting teams,” said Bernthal Booth. “We vary year to year, but this year we have decided that we are really just going to focus on the next match. That might bite us at some point, but conference matches are all equal whether you are playing a top team or a last place team.”
With the 8-1 start, Creighton is making its mark by getting votes in the top 25 poll this week, in fact the most votes they have ever received and are on the verge of making the top 25.
“I just try to go out every game, have fun and play Creighton volleyball,” said Browning. “We are trying to put Creighton on the map and we are headed in the right direction.”
NOTES:
- Both matches this weekend begin at 6:00 p.m. at DJ Sokol Arena. On Friday night, join us before the match for the CU Spirit Event by Getting Blue.
- Friday night’s match against Missouri State can be heard on Mighty 1290 AM or follow the live stats.
- Saturday’s match against Wichita State can be heard on 1180 Zone2 unless the Omaha Storm Chasers are playing game four of its playoff series where the game would then be moved to Mighty 1290. You can also follow the live stats for that one.
- Creighton has lost 5 of the past 6 meetings with Missouri State and only have four victories over the last 28 meetings.
- Wichita State and Creighton has went back and forth in wins and losses over the last 7 matches. The Bluejays won the latest meeting in Omaha last season and all three matches held at Sokol Arena.