Creighton had previously rallied from a 2-1 match deficit to win in five sets on four separate occasions this season. They found themselves needing to harness more of that magic on Wednesday afternoon in order to extend their season, but they ultimately fell a few plays short, suffering a 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 25-14, 13-15 loss to Morehead State in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Junior outside hitter Jaela Zimmerman finished with a match-high 18 kills, sophomore outside hitter Keeley Davis dropped a double-double with 15 kills and 17 digs, and true freshman middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt was absurdly efficient in tallying a career-best 13 kills on 18 swings without committing a single error, but all of that was not enough at the end of the day to offset an inconsistent passing performance piled onto 11 service errors and a handful of missed opportunities to capitalize on free balls sent over the net by Morehead State.
In a match where four sets were decided by nine points, those plays are crucial. The Bluejays, on this day, just didn’t make enough of them count on their side of the ledger.
“Obviously we’re disappointed,” Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth said after the loss. “I thought we had chances and maybe didn’t seize some opportunities that I thought we could have seized today. … We said as a coaching staff, even in games we won, that we left some points out there that we didn’t seize as we typically do.
“When you’re losing games or winning games by two points those things are going to bite you and we got bit today.”
After splitting the first two sets and falling into a 22-14 hole in the third set, the Bluejays scored nine of the final 12 points to build momentum for a must-win fourth set. They were able to carry that momentum over for a dominant 25-14 win to tie the match at two games apiece, but couldn’t sustain that level of play once Morehead State steadied itself early in the fifth and final set.
Sophomore outside hitter Abby Hulsman paced the Eagles (17-1) with 17 kills on .314 hitting. Senior outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier matched her output with 17 kills of her own to go along with seven digs and two aces. The duo combined to hit .300 on 70 total swings — 28 of their 34 kills came in the last four sets as they proved to be too difficult for Creighton to slow down.
“They were passing very well, which made it really hard to read the setter and guess which pin hitter they were going to,” Reinhardt said. “That definitely made it really difficult for us. Their pins just played a really great game. We stopped them at times, but at other times we weren’t able to.”
Big Tournament Most Outstanding Player Naomi Hickman finished the match with nine kills and three blocks, while setter Mahina Pua’a tallied 25 assists and five digs. Despite having an extra year of eligibility due to the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season neither player, along with fellow seniors Grace Nelson and Erica Kostelac, have indicated publicly that they play to suit up one more for the Bluejays when the fall 2021 season rolls around.
As it stands, Creighton closes out a delayed and truncated 2020 season with an overall record of 12-4. They posted a league-best 7-1 mark in the Big East’s Midwest Division and took home the Big East Tournament title for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Zimmerman was named East Region Player of the Year and was joined by Hickman and Davis on the All-East Region First Team.
“I’ve loved this group,” Booth said. “That’s why I coach because I love being around young women. I’m pretty bummed today, there’s no question about that. Obviously I’m grateful that we got to play, but losing still stings even during a pandemic.
“It was a tough ride. I’ve said that over and over, and I think if you talk to most coaches and if they’re candid they’ll tell you this has been a tough ride. But it hasn’t been a depleting ride. It’s not like I want to run out of coaching because of it. It’s been challenging for different reasons, and I think this team has shown a ton of resilience and I think they will all be stronger women when we get through this because they have been able to handle all this adversity and still be good teammates, and still come and find the good in tough situations. I think these are things that are going to bode well for them in life.”
