CU head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth looks on as the Jays play at the net (WBR/Spomer) CLICK TO BUY PHOTO
Creighton volleyball head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth has never been shy about scheduling her squad against some of the toughest teams in the nation. However, this season, by far, has been the most challenging. The good news is, it will likely pay off in the long run.
Each weekend since the season has started, the competition has been steadily tougher. The string of BYU, Bowling Green, Northern Colorado, South Florida, California, Kansas, Cal State Northridge, Denver, and UCLA has been a whirlwind of challenging matches. The Jays are 7-2 heading into this weekend’s Shocker Volleyball Classic in Wichita, with CU’s losses coming against California, who is now in the top 25, and UCLA who is 11th in the nation.
“We probably played our best match against Cal-Northridge in the tournament,” Bernthal Booth said reflecting on last weekend. “They are a very good team. What we did in that match was not let an error become a back to back error. We did a great job of siding out. Against Denver and against UCLA we gave up some runs. That was probably the difference with those. We went five sets with Denver and against UCLA we were in the mix.”
Despite losing to UCLA last weekend, Creighton actually moved up in the polls from 24 to 23. Bernthal Booth sees that as respect the Bluejay program has earned.
“I think voters are recognizing what a tough, tough schedule we are playing,” said Bernthal Booth. “Northridge was getting votes and we swept them. I think that added some credibility. We beat some good teams. Now, do I look back at Cal and UCLA, and UCLA was a winnable match. Still that is making me ache a little bit that we didn’t take advantage of that. I would have been disappointed if we dropped off.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Bluejays.
Creighton hits the road again for the third time in four weeks. The Jays face the No. 7 Hawaii Friday night then take on South Dakota and former MVC nemesis Wichita State on Saturday.
“I think Hawaii is the best team we have played all season. I watched them on tape. I think they are better than Cal and UCLA from what I have seen and from what their record indicates. They could be a top 5 program right now. This is a great opportunity to see how we match up against them.”
“South Dakota is off to a great start. Their big stud is an Omaha kid actually. Wichita is 8-1 and playing really well. They are going to want to beat Creighton for a lot of different reasons. It is always a dogfight when we play them.”
Hawaii is 8-1 on the season, winning three tournament titles in Honolulu to start the season. Among their victories are triumphs over No. 1 Texas and No. 11 UCLA. The lone team to beat UH is current No. 2 San Diego. For players like junior Leah McNary, the challenge against these top programs builds some great energy amongst the Bluejays.
“I just know going into the games I have been really excited because I had never played such a high caliber team before,” said McNary talking about last weekend. “It is a great opportunity to be on the other side of the net of such high caliber teams. I think we had a really good chance of winning, but we didn’t follow through. I think it was a really good learning experience for us.”
“I think it shows there was a lot of fight with our team. Even though we lost to UCLA and even against Denver we were a little down and popped back, definitely the game against UCLA will help us to play Hawaii and Wichita State, who is a really good team. We will do the same things, but apply what we learned from this past weekend.”
With the extra week available due to the nine-team Big East schedule, Bernthal Booth jumped at the chance to take on this weekend’s challenge against a top ranked team at the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
“Generally the fourth weekend of the season we were in MVC play. One of the benefits of the Big East schedule is that we get an extra non-conference weekend. Since we were flying every other weekend on the road, this was a no-brainer tournament when I heard about it. We get Hawaii on a neutral court. We respect the Wichita State program a great deal with a great atmosphere. It wasn’t a tough decision when it was a regional location we could drive through, it made sense to do this.”
After this weekend, the Bluejay road show continues heading into their first season in the Big East. Creighton will have a week off before diving into conference play with their first two matches on the road against Butler and Xavier. Although the Bluejays are favored to win the Big East, they are showing in non-conference play that they can play with any team in the nation.
NOTES:
- In case you missed it earlier this week, read our feature on Lauren Smith.
- Different than past seasons, very few Creighton Volleyball games on the road will be broadcast locally. There will be a live stream for the match against Wichita State on Sunday. You can find that here.
- Live stats will be available for each match.
- Wichita State video of each match is available to GoCreighton video subscribers at no additional charge. A 4-month subscription costs $34.95, while a monthly subscription costs $10.95 per month. Fans can also purchase a 24-hour pass ($4.99) or a 48-hour pass ($5.99) that begins the moment you sign up.
- Creighton has not lost consecutive matches since a three-match skid in November of 2011. Hawaii will be the first match for the Jays since their loss against UCLA last Saturday.
- The Shocker Volleyball Classic field enters Thursday with a combined record of 33-5