Melanie Jereb with the block. (WBR/Mike Spomer) CLICK PHOTO TO BUY
Dropping five spots in the polls after Saturday’s three-set loss to undefeated California lit a fire under the nationally-ranked Creighton volleyball team.
The 24th-ranked Bluejays (5-1) took out the Kansas Jayhawks in four sets (25-21, 15-25, 25-17, 29-27) on Tuesday night in front of a crowd of 1,031 at D.J. Sokol Arena. It was Creighton’s first win in seven matches all-time against Kansas. It was a big win not only because the Jays were coming off a loss, but also because of what this game meant to their NCAA Tournament resume.
“They really locked in,” head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth said of her team, “Tom [Mendoza] in particular talked to them at halftime about the ramifications of this game long-term, and I think they understood. In November or December this match doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it is to the committee, and I think they really stepped up to that challenge.”
Creighton got off to a quick 6-1 lead in the first set thanks to an ace by serving specialist Lizzy Stivers, and kills by Melanie Jereb and Michelle Sicner. Kansas senior Caroline Jarmoc got KU back in the set with one of her set-high eight kills to tie the score at 10, but the Jays would pull away and never trail in the opening set. Kelli Browning’s kill at eventually gave Creighton the 1-0 match lead.
The Jayhawks made quick work of Creighton in tying the match before the break. Six different players had at least two kills, led by Tiana Dockery’s four, and KU hit .650 as a team en route to a 25-15 win heading into the locker room.
“We struggled and made some mental lapses in Game 2,” Booth said. “I thought we broke down a little bit, but the nice thing was we stayed together as a team.”
After struggling with their block in the first two games, Creighton got five right off the bat in the third set as they jumped out to a 7-2 lead and forced a timeout by Kansas. Despite the attempt to regroup and adjust to the Creighton block, the Jayhawks would get no closer than four points the entire set as the Bluejays took command of the match with a 25-17 win in Set 3.
“I think we were kind of taken aback by their fight in Game 2,” said junior Kelli Browning. “In Game 3 we came out, knowing how big of a game this was for us, and we really came out ready to win. From their on we really did control the match.”
Browning finished with a season-high 15 kills, her first time with double figure kills in a match this season.
The fourth set might go down as one of the most exciting sets of the season for Creighton. The Bluejays used a 5-1 run to break 19-19 tie and set up match point, but KU rallied to tie it at 24-all thanks to three consecutive attack errors by Creighton. The Jays’ Leah McNary and Kansas’ Chelsea Albers, a local product out of Papillion-LaVista High School, traded two kills apiece as the match continued on. A kill by freshman Jess Bird gave the Jays a 28-27, then sophomore Melanie Jereb finished off the Jayhawks for a 29-27 win in the fourth set clincher.
Jereb and sophomore libero Kate Elman were crucial to Creighton’s victory. The two second-year starters were diving all over the floor for digs and keeping points alive for the Bluejays. They combined for 33 digs on the evening
“They played awesome back there,” said Browning. “Obviously blocks and kills are huge momentum points as well, but seeing how hard our passers worked behind us really makes us want to go out and put the ball back down.”
Bernthal Booth agreed with that assessment.
“I thought defensively they did a great job,” coach Booth said, “I really noticed ‘Mel’ a lot in the back row, man, she was just touching some balls. That kid did that the very first weekend. She was a monster diving all over the place. She’s an incredible defensive player, and sometimes that gets overshadowed because of what she does in the front row also. But she’s a stud back there.”
Redshirt freshman Lauren Smith also continued her great play so far this season, posting career-highs in kills (10), blocks (9), digs (3), and points (14.5).
The Bluejays will now become road warriors for a month as they play their next eight matches away from the friendly confines of D.J. Sokol Arena. They take the court on Friday, September 13 in an 11 a.m. contest with Cal State Northridge as part of the 2013 Denver Invitational. Creighton will face CSN and Denver on Friday, then they’ll take on No. 11 UCLA at 1 p.m. the next day.