Creighton’s defense on Sunday was big in the sweep (Spomer / WBR)
Defense won the day for the Bluejays on Sunday afternoon as Kirsten Bernthal Booth’s 14th-ranked volleyball team overcame 24 attack errors to defeat Butler in straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-17) at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Bluejays rallied from a 12-9 deficit to take the first set, 25-21, despite finishing with a .122 attack percentage on their 41 swings. Sophomore Jaela Zimmerman and redshirt freshman Keeley Davis combined for seven kills in game one, but the Bulldogs were keyed in on the duo defensively as they limited the young outside hitters to an .042 hitting clip. Junior middle blocker Naomi Hickman, however, provided some relief at the net with three kills on five swings, while sophomore Annika Welty helped out in a variety of ways with a kill, a block, a dig, and an assist on a kill by Hickman to lead the Jays to a 1-0 match lead.
Butler had nine of their 14 blocks in the second set alone, but Creighton still managed to find the floor enough times to produce 14 kills and pull out the 25-22 win to grab a 2-0 match lead before the break. Keeley Davis had five kills on her 11 game-two swings and Naomi Hickman doubled up her kill total from set one to pace the offense. Defensively, Creighton finished with 23 digs to hold the Bulldogs to a .146 attack percentage.
Game three went the way most sets have gone lately when the Jays have a 2-0 lead going in — they stepped on the throat. Davis started things off with her 10th kill on the first point and Creighton never looked back from there, cruising to a 25-17 match-clinching victory. In saving their best for last, the Bluejays out-hit Butler .275 to .067. Davis finished with a match-high 16 kills. Zimmerman chipped in 11 kills and 11 digs to give her a double-double in back-to-back matches for the first time in her career. Senior setter Madelyn Cole joined her in the double-double column with 34 assists and 11 digs. Hickman added 7 kills on .385 hitting and senior libero Brittany Witt anchored the defense with a match-best 19 digs.
“I think we figured out a different way to win,” Booth said. “Butler out-hit us in two of the three games, they out-blocked us significantly, but I thought we won the serve and pass game and I thought that was the difference. I thought we were good defensively — Witt, in particular, was all over the place. Usually our hitting percentages are higher, and obviously we’d like that to be the case, but it was good to see us perform well in other areas.”
Despite the struggles against Butler’s block, Creighton’s defense was sharp in the face of a frustrating afternoon offensively. The Bluejays held the Bulldogs to a .119 attack percentage on 109 swings. CU’s 58 digs were the most in a three-set match this season, topping the 57 they had on Saturday’s win at Xavier. Three Bluejays finished in double figures with Witt leading the way with 19, followed by Zimmerman and Cole with 11 each. Junior defensive specialist Grace Nelson added six, while Keeley Davis and Annika Welty each ended up with five.
Booth was pleased, but at the same time not surprised with her team’s unwavering focus defensively despite atypical performance offensively.
“That’s a testament of this group as a whole,” she said. “I just haven’t seen them seem rattled. I think they are emotionally resilient, so if something happens they tend to respond. Even if one of them might be struggling internally they all do a good job of looking confident, and I think that’s part of building confidence among your teammates. I never had a moment where I thought they looked rattled, and I think what they did today is something they’ve done all season.”
With the win, the Bluejays improved to 22-4 overall and 15-1 in Big East play with two matches left in the regular season. On Friday, November 22, they will kick off the final weekend before postseason play with a high stakes battle against conference rival Marquette. The 9th-ranked Golden Eagles will bring an identical 15-1 league record to town for what amounts to a winner-take-all match for the 2019 Big East regular season title. A win gives the Bluejays at least a share of that crown for the sixth consecutive season, while a win for Marquette puts them in the driver’s seat for their first outright regular season title since 2013.
“I think it’s our job [as coaches] to rein it back in,” Booth said of the hype that will be building for Friday’s match. “They’re going to be ready for the game, so they just need to go play. We’ll hopefully put together a good scout and it should be fun. I just hope they go out and enjoy it. Enjoy the moment as opposed to feeling stressed. I hope both teams play well, because if both teams play well it should be a really fun match to coach, play in, and for fans to see.”
First serve between the Big East’s Titans of the Taraflex is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena.
