Eight months ago, the Creighton Volleyball team reached milestones that rising programs always desire. In a season that seems like yesterday, the Bluejays made their first MVC Tournament final, earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament, and knocked off Iowa State for a first round win — their first in program history. The result was a culmination of what head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth has worked for over the past nine seasons.
But Booth is hoping things don’t stop there.
“We really wanted this team to come together emotionally,” she said. “They worked on that a lot this spring. We have a lot of great leadership coming into this year.”
With the momentum coming into the 2011 season, there are a lot of things to look forward to. With four returning starters, two seniors and a junior setter that is almost like a senior, there are a lot of great opportunities for Creighton volleyball to continue to establish itself as one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference.
After a day of compliance training and other meetings, Creighton volleyball got back on the court Tuesday to start their first day of practice. Fortunately, the start of the season has been somewhat kind to the Bluejays as they come into fall practice with everyone almost at 100%.
“We had a lot of injuries in the spring. A lot of our offseason has been mending people that have been injured,” Booth said.
The Rise of the Program
Over the years, Creighton’s volleyball program has made solid strides. In Booth’s first year, 2003, the Bluejays went from 3-23 the season before to 12-18 with basically the same squad. This past season’s 21-12 record is the crowning achievement of the program thus far.
Making the NCAA Tournament gives more exposure to any team, no matter what conference you are in. Booth sees the exposure as a great advancement of the volleyball program.
“I think it is huge. The program has seen great progress over the last nine years. We have improved almost every year, but we had that hanging over our heads that we had not made the tournament. To get over that hump is huge from a recruiting standpoint that you can tell players that we have been there.” Booth continued, “Now the challenge is taking that and catapulting it to bigger and better things.”
The Ryan Center could also be considered one of those extra benefits. The facility dedicated to women’s sports has given Creighton a stable place to play. The Jays have been pretty successful in the newish building, going 19-9 in the first two seasons including 15-3 against MVC foes. But that isn’t all that Booth feels Creighton can offer.
“We want to be a regular and we think ‘Why can’t we be a Sweet 16 team or a Final 4 team?’ We have an incredible school to sell, great fans, and obviously one of the best facilities in the country.”
Leaders on and off the Court
In an ideal situation, schools have about three or four seniors to lead the way on the court. Creighton heads into the 2011 campaign with two seniors in Laurel Sanford and Karisa Almgren.
Sanford was injured in the first game last season, but still came back to lead the team in blocks (115) and finished as an MVC All-Second Team performer.
“Laurel is really competitive on the court. We will have some younger middles coming in this fall and I think she will do a great job setting the tone in practice and showing them how hard we work.”
Heading into her third season as a starter, Sanford could approach some records by the end of 2011.
Almgren is known for her unending energy, dancing, and excitement over each play. But her coach says she brings so much more to the table that fans may not see.
“Karisa is a natural leader,” said Booth. “That is just her personality. When she sat on the bench for two years, she was still a leader for this team. In the locker room she says the right things. You demonstrate character when you don’t get the things you want. Obviously she got what she wanted — to play — but the two years prior she didn’t get down on herself which is great for leadership.”
Megan Bober, though only a junior, has been a big leader this summer and grown as a player in her four years on the Hilltop. A versatile weapon as the team’s setter, Bober was second on the team in blocks last season and a member of the MVC First Team. Her growth as a player impresses Booth, who was also a setter back in her days as a collegiate athlete.
“It has been really fun to watch Megan develop. She really took off last fall. What the coaches have really loved was Megan’s end of the year meeting, where she said that she hasn’t come close to being as good as she can be. She is driven to be better and that is how she is in a lot of different things.”
The redshirt junior plays like a senior and pushes her teammates to be better. Booth expresses that more to the point.
“She has challenged some kids that if they are not working hard, has been the one to say that they need to be in the gym. For women 18 t0 22 years old, that is a hard thing to do.”
Julianne Mandolfo and Brooke Boggs return this season to anchor the defensive specialists. Mandolfo had 531 digs and was named to the MVC All-Freshman squad while Boggs was sort of a “jack-of-all-trades,” stepping in when needed on the serving end and becoming a solid defensive staple by the end of the season.
New Starters
Replacing Allie Oelke and Alicia Runge is the challenge that the volleyball staff has been dealing with since the end of last season.
“A lot of the spring was spent looking at the different options,” said Booth. “I don’t think we know exactly where we will be playing people this fall, but the spring time is a good time to throw people into those different positions.”
Injuries during the spring hampered some players, but gave others opportunities. Sanford was out with a sore shoulder. Almgren had her knee scoped. Sophomores Savannah Smith and Lexi Malm had offseason surgery and libero Mandolfo had a broken finger.
Booth is interested to see how things shake down with this season’s roster.
“I think some of our freshman will play for starting time. I think you will see every class represented on the court a fair amount this season.”
There are some plans to redshirt players this season, but until the players get on the court, the coaching staff wants to make sure everyone has an opportunity to see if they are ready. Creighton ran into a situation three years ago when they had to replace four seniors with a lot of inexperienced players. They don’t want that to happen this season or in the future.
Junior Heather Thorson is one player on the radar. The local product from Mead started 26 matches last season and played in 31 of 33 games. Booth sees her having an opportunity to expand her role.
“She started at the middle for us last season and was definitely great in her role. She got fewer sets than a lot of people, but when she did get a set she did a great job with it. She really has a goal of being a go-to and she has worked hard to do that in the spring and I thought she did a nice job of doing that.”
Another player that saw a little more action in the spring was Natalie Hackbarth. With a lot of players out with injuries, the sophomore from Algona, Iowa had some extra opportunities to impress the coaching staff.
“It was good for her to get that experience in the back row,” said Coach Booth.
As far as newcomers, there is an opportunity for the five freshmen — Michelle Sicner, Kelli Browning, Katie Neisler, Lizzy Stivers, and Leah McNary — to make an early impact.
“For the first time ever, we were able to have all of them come to camp, so we got to work with them last week,” Booth said. With the transition from high school to college, the time they have had to get acclimated to their teammates and the program could have an impact on their development.
With the short period of time between the start of practice and the beginning of the season, there is some curiosity as to how the coaching staff evaluates whether those incoming freshmen can make an early contribution. The 2010 College Volleyball Update Coach of the Year summed it up this way.
“We do a lot of scrimmaging in practice and a lot of game scenarios and throw kids in back and forth. We’ll do that already on the first day. Plus you have seen them enough in their club and high school season that you have an idea on how you could see them contribute right away. You throw them to the wolves.”
The Blue-White game on August 20 (6:30 p.m., Sokol Arena) will be a good evaluator to see how the new players look to the fans.
The Favorable Schedule
Last season, Creighton fought through a tough non-conference schedule, including playing two weeks straight away from Omaha and then transitioning into MVC play on the road. This year looks a little different. After starting the season in an invitational tournament at Texas A&M and a single game at Kansas State, the Bluejays then host their own invitational the following weekend. A week later, they head down to Lincoln for an invitational that includes a match with the Huskers before returning to host the Creighton Classic that includes MVC foe Drake.
“Once every four years, you get your sister school (Drake) the opening weekend of conference play. A lot of other schools aren’t in conference play by then, so that is why we get to host a tournament,” Booth pointed out.
One thing to note about the opening invitational at Texas A&M: The season’s opening match will be against Texas-San Antonio where former Creighton head coach Howard Wallace serves as an assistant. Wallace helmed the CU program before Booth took over in 2003.
How the Conference Stacks Up
The MVC enjoyed some great success last season by finishing sixth in the RPI. The league had never finished higher than ninth. While the conference has graduated a lot of talent, a lot still remains that could make the league a tough out again, not only during the non-conference, but a battle in conference play to an exciting finish.
The league has benefited from great continuity of coaches in the league. Drake and Bradley are two teams that head into the season with new head coaches. Though the Braves have been toward the bottom of the league, they are the latest institution to boast a new facility for women’s sports, Renaissance Coliseum. As for the big contenders in the league, here will be the teams to watch this season along with the Bluejays.
- Northern Iowa: Northern Iowa has been a stalwart in the MVC the past few seasons. They are undefeated at 36-0 in conference play the last two seasons and have not lost a lot of players from last season. They may see a hit with libero Ellie Blankenship graduating. However, the Panthers are loaded with talent. Creighton has struggled with UNI, sporting a 3-38 all-time record against the Panthers.
- Wichita State: Although they lost their great middle blocker Sarah McGee, there is still plenty of talent available, including last season All-MVC players Emily Adney and Mary Elizabeth Hooper. Creighton played one of their more epic matches last season at home against the Shockers.
- Missouri State: They will be solid with first teamers Kelley Michnowicz and Calli Norman returning to their lineup. They have always played Creighton tough in the league.
Eager to catch your first glimpse of the 2011 Creighton volleyball team? Check out the Blue-White Scrimmage August 20 at Sokol Arena. The Bluejays open the home portion of their regular season schedule on Friday, September 2, against Northern Illinois.
Check White & Blue Review for other news on the Creighton volleyball team throughout the season.