This is the fourth installment of White & Blue Review’s 2010 Creighton volleyball season preview. Join us every day this week as we take a look at each part of Kirsten Bernthal Booth’s club, leading up to the start of their season and the Blue-White Scrimmage on Saturday, August 21.
Other Volleyball Preview Stories
Power-hitting Alicia Runge looks to lead the Jays on the outside.
With the graduation of all-everything middle blocker Jessica Houts, outside hitter becomes Creighton’s deepest and most talented position in 2010.
Leading the way will be two seniors — Allie Oelke and Alicia Runge. In 2009, Oelke, a three-year starter, was second on the team with 304 kills and 379 digs and led the team with 12 double-doubles. She also finished the season with 15 straight matches of at least 10 digs, a mark that is tied for best all-time by an outside hitter at Creighton.
Runge was third on the team in kills last season behind Houts and Oelke. The junior college transfer, who redshirted in 2008 after arriving at Creighton, seemed to get more comfortable on the court every match. More of a power-hitter when compared to Oelke’s finesse game, she hit .396 over the Jays’ final six matches while averaging 3.24 kills per set. Perhaps most impressively, while the team as a whole seemed intimidated against “big-time” opponents, Runge had some of her best matches against Creighton’s highest-ranked foes: She led the team with eight kills against Nebraska on Sept. 1 and averaged 3.82 kills and 0.92 blocks per set while hitting .394 in three matches against Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa.
Oelke and Runge, along with middle blocker Laurel Sanford, will make up Creighton’s “big three.” The real question will be “who else?”
Junior Karissa Almgren came off the bench at times last year, averaging 0.54 kills and 0.33 blocks per set, and she may lead the pack trying to break through into a more prominent role. Sophomore Heather Thorson, who was included in our preview of Creighton’s middle blockers, actually saw most of her time last year on the right-side. Her versatility will give coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth some options. And then there’s the freshmen: Lexi Malm, from Central City, Neb., and Natalie Hackbarth, from Algona, Iowa. The two racked up more than 2,500 kills between them in high school.
Stay tuned for the liberos/defensive specialists preview.