[dropcap]Creighton’s[/dropcap] 2016 volleyball team looks poised to build off the successes of recent years and remain a key competitor in both the Big East Conference and on the national stage. With four returning starters, including two All-Americans, the Bluejays are well positioned to contend for their third straight Big East regular season and conference tournament championship.
The Bluejays’ 27-9 season in 2015 included the second most wins in program history, successful repeats as Big East regular season and tournament champions, and Creighton volleyball’s first ever trip to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. Finishing the season as the 14th-ranked team in the RPI, the 2016 squad will look to continue their strong play heading into a new year.
The 2015 graduations of senior defensive specialists Kate Elman and Ashley Jansen, as well as all-around player Melanie Jereb, will leave holes that need to be filled. All three seniors ranked in the top five for the Bluejays in digs last season. Jansen and Jereb appeared in each match in 2015 while Elman missed only one. Rising senior and defensive specialist Amanda Foje, who primarily appeared as a serving specialist in 2015, may see more playing time. The 2016 freshman class also brings in two new defensive specialists, Brittany Witt and Mac Conlon, who can help fill the gaps in the backcourt.
Offensively, Creighton’s attack should remain strong and look familiar with their top five kills leaders all returning this year. Topping the group is the 2015 Big East Freshman of the Year and third team All-American Jaali Winters. She will be joined by fifth year senior and 2015 Honorable Mention All-American Lauren Smith, as well as senior Jess Bird and junior Marysa Wilkinson. These four appeared in every match of Creighton’s successful 2015 campaign. The team will feel the loss of senior setter Maggie Baumert, who led the team in 2015 with 10.96 assists per set and was a focal point of the offense. Junior Kenzie Crawford, who started 11 matches last year and averaged 8.8 assists per set, will likely see an increased role in 2016. Freshman setter Jaclyn Taylor and redshirt freshman Megan Ballenger are also available.
The players’ end of the bench is not the only place fans will see new faces this fall. As Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth and longtime assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens enter their 14th season, they will be joined by Ryan Meek and Micah Rhodes. The two new coaches come to Omaha from Hendrix College (AR) and Buena Vista University (IA), respectively.
Bluejays fans will get their first look at the 2016 team at the Blue-White Scrimmage on August 19th. The season officially kicks off eight days later as the team begins a quartet of invitation tournaments showcasing some of the best volleyball teams in the country. While competing in these four tournaments, Creighton will have a chance to build their non-conference resume, facing nine 2015 NCAA tournament teams in the first three weeks of the 2016 season.
An old Missouri Valley Conference rival, and last year’s MVC conference champion, Wichita State, joins Creighton in heading to Ames, IA to meet the Cyclones for the Iowa State Challenge August 27 and 28. All three teams advanced to the round of 32 in last year’s NCAA tournament and will be looking for strong starts to their 2016 campaigns.
The next road trip will take the Bluejays farther from home as they visit Los Angeles, CA, for the USC Radisson Classic. Although the weekend includes rematches against tournament teams Kentucky and UNI, the headlining match will be on Saturday, September 3 as the Bluejays get a shot at redemption against the USC Trojans, the 2015 tournament overall number one seed, who also defeated the Bluejays twice in 2015. The first was a USC sweep in early September and then a 3-1 USC victory advanced the Trojans to the Elite 8 and ended Creighton’s season. Despite losing two senior starters, including three time All-American and AVCA 2015 Player of the Year Samantha Bricio, the USC squad will likely be a strong national presence again. The match will be the first of three tests for the Bluejays on the national stage against teams ranked in last year’s top 10 RPI.
Looking to reclaim the Bluejay Invitational Title after losing it to University of the Pacific last year, the Bluejays return to Omaha and D.J. Sokol Arena on September 8 for their home opener against Kansas. The Jayhawks will be returning to Omaha for the first time since losing there in last year’s Final Four. This will be the second consecutive match pitting the Bluejays against a 2015 top 10 team. The Bluejay Invitational also brings TCU and Chattanooga to Omaha. TCU finished fourth in the strong Big 12 Conference in 2015 and fell to Hawaii in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Chattanooga Mocs won the regular season Southern Conference Title in 2015, before losing in the conference tournament final and just missing the NCAA tournament.
A short break of the early season tournament action will send the Bluejays to Manhattan, KS on September 13 where they will face a Kansas State squad looking for payback. Last year, the Bluejays overcame an unlikely 0-2 set deficit to beat the Wildcats in Omaha. Last year’s matchup proved to be a turning point for the Bluejays’ season; they had a record of 5-7 prior to the comeback and 21-2 following it. Kansas State posted a 17-12 (9-2 at home) record in 2015, losing to Wichita State in the NCAA tournament’s first round.
The Ameritas Players Challenge will bring the Bluejays just down the road to in-state rivals and defending National Champions, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. A double header on Friday against Gonzaga and Montana State will kick off the team’s trip. The Bulldogs and Bobcats posted 2015 records of 16-15 and 3-21, respectively. Creighton will seek its first win against the Huskers since 2013 in their third and final matchup against a top 10 team from last year on Saturday, September 17. With both teams enduring rigorous non-conference tournaments, the match could be a defining moment before the conference schedules begin.
Big East Conference play will begin for the Bluejays with a home match against the Golden Eagles of Marquette. Marquette fought back after dropping the first two sets to Creighton in last year’s Big East Tournament semifinal before ultimately losing to the Bluejays in the decisive fifth set. Creighton is currently riding a five match win streak against Marquette, but the Golden Eagles remain one of the Big East’s top contenders and are undoubtedly aiming to take back the conference title that they last won in 2013.
The Big East schedule will continue, and feature a home and away match with each member school. The only exception will be Providence, who will play two games in Omaha this year, a scheduling quirk that Creighton will reciprocate next year in order to save traveling costs for both programs.
Each match against Villanova will be significant for the Bluejays. When the teams meet on the Wildcats’ home court on Friday, September 30, Creighton will be looking to make up for the only blemish on their 2015 Big East resume. The Bluejays fell 3-1 there last season. The top two teams in the Big East last year will meet again in Omaha for the Bluejays’ Senior Night on Sunday, November 20.
Creighton hopes to find themselves travelling to Indianapolis for the November 25 and 26 Big East Conference Tournament, hosted by Butler. The capstone weekend will bring together the conference’s top four teams with a coveted automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line. Last year the Big East ultimately sent three teams to the tournament: Creighton, Villanova, and Marquette.
The Bluejays’ 2015 season was a major stepping stone for a program that has consistently grown under Coach Booth’s tenure. With a challenging schedule and target on their back as two-time defending conference champions, Creighton has the stage to showcase their talents and potential.
Check back in for continued coverage of the 2016 Creighton Bluejays women’s volleyball team, including the pre-season media day on August 10, the same day as the first 2016 AVCA Coaches Poll.