The Creighton volleyball team had a historic season in 2012. They set the program record for wins in a season, went to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons, and advanced to the second round of the tournament for the second straight time. An All-American (at least in our mind) helped lead the team, while another potential All-American or two emerged for a program that is growing by leaps and bounds.
I had a chance to sit down with head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth recently to talk about the past season and glimpse to the fall of 2013, when a new team steps to the court to build on the success Bernthal Booth has created at Creighton.
Looking back
Kirsten Bernthal Booth leads the Bluejays into 2013 (Spomer/WBR)
In the fall, the preseason conference polls had the Bluejays finishing fourth in the league behind Northern Iowa, Wichita State, and Missouri State. But after media day, it seemed like this confident Creighton team was a little different than the previous two seasons. Well-rounded senior setter Megan Bober was front and center for a team that had been to the NCAA Tournament two seasons before, but that had a lot of ups and downs last season. There were a lot of holes to fill. Four-year veteran Laurel Sanford graduated. MVC Libero of the Year Julianne Mandolfo transferred to Ohio State. Seniors Brooke Boggs and Heather Thorson were back to help anchor Bober, while Leah McNary and Michelle Sicner came back with a lot of potential. But it would be the play of the newcomers and a retooled Kelli Browning that made the difference in leading Creighton to a 29-4 record, the best in program history.
“I think if I was putting out goals in August would I have thought we would have lost 4 matches? No,” said Bernthal Booth. “I thought we overachieved. For us to have a good year we said these things are going to have to happen and those things did happened. We had a fulfilling year. It really came down to great kids who bought into their role as a starter or if they were on the bench. We overachieved for what my expectations were going to be.”
Browning spent the offseason working on improving her swing and becoming a force in the middle. Something clicked for the sophomore from Wisconsin. Browning finished fifth in the country in blocks per set and 32nd in the nation in hitting percentage. She ended up tied for the national leader in total blocks with 204.
“X-factor kids going into the year for us were particularly Kelli Browning. She had not played much the year before and had some improvements in the spring,” said Bernthal Booth. “We felt she needed to have a good fall. She went above our expectations for what we expected. She not only became a good middle, but became a phenomenal middle blocker.”
Elman stepped in right away at libero (Spomer/WBR)
Kate Elman and Melanie Jereb were two freshman that made an impact immediately, both inserted into the starting rotation from the first match of the season. Elman took over the libero position for the departed Mandolfo and took a leadership role almost immediately. Her presence was felt on the court as she recorded 617 digs on the season and finished 68th in the nation with 4.98 digs per set and finished as the sixth best freshman in the nation in digs.
Jereb, on the other hand, was the solid hitter that had been missing since Allie Oelke and Alicia Runge graduated two years ago. She was consistent all season in her attacks and was always a little underestimated by opponents. With Elman and Jereb with three seasons of eligibility remaining, expect to hear their names plenty of times over the next few years. The potential is there for continued success, and maybe came a little earlier than expected.
“We had some unknowns with the freshmen coming in. Even though we thought Melanie Jereb and Kate Elman could contribute, you never know until you get into the college gym if they will make that transition well both physically and mentally. Both of them did that.”
The talk of the fall was the chemistry this team had. In addition to that, it was the physical aspects of the team that rose to the occasion for the great year they had.
Missed All-American
Megan Bober shined during her senior season. (Spomer/WBR)
Four seasons ago, there were a lot of question marks at the setter position as Megan Bober was poised to take over for four year starter and All-MVC star Korie Lebeda. Fast forward to 2012 and Bober will leave Creighton surpassing those expectations and being one of the more dynamic setters in the nation. Bernthal Booth was quick to mention Bober as a key to this year’s team.
“Megan Bober had a great career, but her best year was her senior year, not only mentally, but physically. She opened up our offense so much and her decision making was so good.”
Unfortunately, her play was overlooked nationally as she was named as an Honorable Mention All-American in the AVCA end of the season awards, something that still bothers Bernthal Booth.
“I’m not over it. I’m angry about it. I think there is a lot of explaining to do. I was very disappointed that she was not at a minimum Third Team All-American. I thought second team is where she would land. For her not to make it is a travesty.”
Bober finished this season with 6 triple-doubles (assists, kills, blocks), a rare statistic in college volleyball. At over 6-feet tall, Bober kept her opponents off balance as they had to anticipate a kill attempt on the second hit or whether she would set the ball to a teammate on the third hit. A lot of those decisions she made on when to place the ball either way helped the Bluejays towards a lot of wins this season. She was the only player in the nation to average at least 9.6 assists, 2.9 digs, and 1 block per set this season. A wel-rounded player, indeed.
For a little local flavor, let’s compare Bober’s statistics with Nebraska’s Lauren Cook. Cook was named a first team All-American, but if you look at the impact she had for the team and the statistics, there were some questions on who really seemed to be the All-American. Check the table of their compared stats below:
| Player | Matches | Kills | Kills per Set | Assists | Assists per Set | Aces | Digs | Digs per Set | Blocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Megan Bober | 124 | 239 | 1.93 | 1202 | 9.69 | 30 | 371 | 2.99 | 113 |
| Lauren Cook | 123 | 94 | 0.76 | 1372 | 11.15 | 28 | 338 | 2.75 | 62 |
The only category that Bober’s stats were less than Cook was in assists. However, Bober easily canceled those out with the kills and blocks that she made. Cook was probably on TV more, which could have influenced the selection. But from a purely statistical look, Bober was just as good a setter, if not better, than the first team All-American.
While Bober may not have finished her career on one of the top three All-American teams, it could be a while before Creighton sees as dynamic and well-rounded a four-year player as Bober.
The Offseason
Looking back at how the season ended, the Creighton volleyball team probably wants to have that last match back against Minnesota. They were really close to moving on to the Sweet 16. With it tied up at one set apiece, the Bluejays were up against the Gophers 17-10 in the third set until Minnesota made a comeback and eventually pulled out a 25-23 win. The Bluejays were down early in the fourth set and eventually lost the match 3-1. Although the match still haunts Bernthal Booth, there were a lot of positives that came out of that experience.
“Minnesota is definitely a top 10 program. The exciting thing was that we played a good match, but I thought we played the way we were capable of playing. As a program, we know we are close to the upper, upper echelon. We made a lot of strides, finishing in the top 25 and showed that we deserved to be there.”
Minnesota didn’t play a bad match. It showed two good programs playing and that is the way we want to move forward each year, taking this program to the next level and expand on our goals.”
The players had been off since the end of the season until mid-January, but it was back to work for the team. The coaches can work with them two hours a week on the court with some small group things. The players can do strength and conditioning eight hours a week as they prepare for their spring season starting in mid-March. The spring season is a perfect time for developing that player into their potential in the fall. Last spring, it gave Bernthal Booth and her staff to work with Browning to help develop her skills. There could be potential for another breakout player this offseason.
Creighton recently released its spring schedule. Tough matches are on the way, opening with South Dakota on March 23. They will play over in Harlan, Iowa against Iowa State on March 28. There will also be a spring season meeting with Nebraska on April 12. A week later, they will head out to Kearney to play Wyoming, Northern Colorado, and Nebraska-Kearney. Challenges like this will prepare them for the fall.
Nebraska on the Schedule
While Nebraska is on the spring schedule, don’t look for them to be on the regular season schedule anytime soon. It would have been interesting to see how Creighton would have done against Nebraska this past season. Unfortunately, the Huskers did not have any room on their schedule to add the Bluejays and cannot seem to find the room for the upcoming season.
“I talked to coach Cook about it and I thought maybe it was going to work out, but now they do not have any dates, but said they are hoping in 2014. I sure hope so. I think it is important for volleyball in the state, especially when we have two such strong programs to showcase the talent would be a great thing.”
New Blood
With the graduations of Bober, Boggs, Thorson, and junior Natalie Hackbarth, Bernthal Booth has been busy looking to fill those holes with some new players. Here is a little bit about the players arriving on campus this fall.
- Jess Bird: Bird has been a force in the Omaha metro throughout her high school career. A freshman out of Bennington, Bird was a two-time all-state player the past two seasons and will contend for playing time on the outside right away. “She is a big time recruit for us. She jumps out of the gym and is the real deal,” said Booth.
- Kenzie Crawford: Crawford joins the Bluejays out of Grand Rapids, Michigan as a setter. “She is a big smaller than our other setters at 5-foot-8. She jumps really well, really athletic and a leader,” said Bernthal Booth. While she will likely redshirt this season, there is always a chance she gets into the mix if there were an injury. “She will run a different type of offense than we have been running because we have had such tall setters. We are really excited what she can do long term.”
- Amanda Foje: Foje is a local product out of Omaha Duchesne that was an honorable mention all-state player this past season. While she was mainly a setter at Duchesne, she will be focused on the defensive side of things. But setting isn’t totally out of the picture for Foje. “She will be training as a backup setter for the next two years,” said Bernthal Booth.
Look for even more from Leah McNary next season (Spomer/WBR)
The Bluejays will return a nice core of players for the 2013 squad with starters Elman, Jereb, Sicner, Browning, and Katie Neisler back in the mix. McNary will likely move to a larger starting role. The to-be junior had a great season and was named to the Cobra Magazine All-National third team for her efforts last fall. Her jumping abilities led her to 376 kills on the season. Ashley Jansen and Lizzy Stivers also return with a lot of experience following their freshman campaign.
Sicner returns to take over the setter role left by Bober’s graduation. She was one of top setters in the state when recruited to Creighton a few seasons ago. She gained valuable experience as a hitter this past season after sharing the setter role as a freshman. She is well on her way to being a dual-threat setter like Bober was.
State of Volleyball in Nebraska
Nebraska produces the most Division I college volleyball players per capita in the nation outside of Hawaii. While local schools like Papillion LaVista South basically sent their starting lineup this past season to multiple Division I schools, the volleyball success in the state doesn’t stop with Nebraska and Creighton. While both of those schools enjoyed success this past season, the state’s other colleges enjoyed some great success. Nebraska-Kearney went deep into the NCAA D-II playoffs while Hastings College enjoyed their own deep runs in the NAIA tournament. Add that success in with the Bluejays and the Huskers, that says a lot about the state of Volleyball in Nebraska. Bernthal Booth has her own opinions about these numbers:
“In the 10 years I have been coaching in Nebraska, I think it has been this way the whole time and has not changed. There is no question, little girls in this state, more than other sports, gravitate to volleyball. I credit that with Terry Pettit. He put volleyball on the map in the state. He helped train the high school coaches and we have great high school coaches in this state. Things we take for granted at the junior high and high school level doesn’t take place everywhere.”
Next Season’s Schedule
The schedule for the fall of 2013 is shaping up to be another tough one for the Bluejays. Coach Bernthal Booth isn’t shy about playing tough schools in the non-conference and always includes a tough school in the annual Bluejay Invitational. California is on the slate for this upcoming season. They were a Final Four team just a couple of years ago and having a Pac-12 team coming in, it should make for an exciting tournament at home.
While the schedule is still being finalized, confirmed road opponents include Bowling Green and Denver. There are still some midweek things being finalized, but Bernthal Booth anticipates an aggressive schedule similar to last season which helped boast their resume.
Conference Realignment
While speculation swirls around the “Catholic 7” and the potential of Creighton being included in this conference, what has not been talked about too much is how other sports at Creighton could be impacted by a potential move. Although we didn’t talk to Bernthal Booth about this possibility and impact, we can draw our own conclusions on how a change like this could impact the Volleyball program.
Initially, joining this group could be seen as a step up. Creighton took on a tough Marquette team this past season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. However, that was the only team of the C7 that made it to the tournament this season. The Golden Eagles were the only C7 team to finish over .500 in the Big East and Georgetown finished dead last with a 1-14 conference record and 7-21 overall.
One thing that may be noted is that some of these C7 programs (or potential additions) are not fully funded. It is very likely that with a new conference and conference requirements, volleyball would be a sport that would be required to be fully funded. Eventually that could help the league become stronger as the league continues to establish itself. But it may be a while before the league is up to par with what the MVC can offer right now with solid programs like Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State, not to mention up and coming teams like Illinois State or even Southern Illinois. The MVC has regularly had three teams in the NCAA Tournament the last few years. The Shockers went to the Sweet 16 last season.
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Ultimately, the Creighton volleyball program has ascended into a new era. With the success that the Bluejays had his season, it is hard to not be excited about 2013.