After a two week road trip, the Bluejay Volleyball team received a needed home game to rebound from the tough losses on the road including two 5-set losses last weekend against UConn and Dayton. Creighton looked like they were well on their way after dominating in the first set, but then had to rally a comeback to save themselves in the 3-1 victory over the Braves.
Creighton looked dominant and confident in the first set controlling things nicely enroute to a 25-9 win. The second set exposed the inconsistencies the young team has had this season losing 25-19 and continued on into the third set where the Jays were down at one point 20-17 before rallying back to a 25-23 win in set 3. Senior Middle Blocker Lauren Bloemke echoed those sentiments. “We have been struggling with consistency you know and we needed to go on a run and step up and do it and get things going. We had a lot of blocks and everything came together. When we are loose we play with more confidence and so much better than when we are playing scared. ”
Bloemke was a large factor in the game three comeback as she served 6 of the final 8 points to help the Jays salvage the set. Bradley was hitting a very low .039 for the match and were very close to leaving Omaha with a victory.
In the fourth set, the Bluejays again struggled as things went back and forth to a 6-6 tie before going on a 19-8 run to take that set 25-14 and to start the conference season 1-0.
Creighton Head Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth expanded a little bit on their struggles. “We just need to be able to handle pressure and you could feel the tension in game two and then in game three and I think our challenge as coaches is to calm everyone down on the court. As soon as we get loose, we play great ball, but I felt if a couple good things can happen we can feed off that. But I thought our arm swings got slow in game two and obviously Bradley was a large factor too as they did not have as many errors as in game one.”
The ladies in blue felt the home court advantage from the crowd of 1013. Bloemke was ready to be back. “It is really nice, the traveling, missing school, and everything we feel more comfortable playing at home and getting back the crowd is such a huge factor…coming back in that third game because the crowd started getting into it. You know, it is just exciting to come back when you are down”
Saturday night, the Jays welcome Northern Iowa to Sokol Arena where Creighton owns a 3-32 record against the Panthers with one of those wins coming last season a week before the MVC Tournament. Both players and coaches are excited for the match. Blomeke excitedly said, “Northern Iowa is probably my favorite team to play. It’s always a good game and you know they are just a good team that we always play well against, it is always a challenge.” Coach Booth felt the same way. “I’m pretty jazzed up to play Northern Iowa. They are a great team, solid all the way around. They will not give us points, they are a low error team and they play great defense. We are really going to have to get after it defensively, block well and play consistent ball.”
Booth was very appreciative of the crowd. “We haven’t had the best start. I’m pleased that Jays fans came out and supported us and helped us get a victory. Obviously a big match tomorrow night and I hope they support us again.” The match against Northern Iowa begins at 7PM at Sokol Arena. The Jays are 1-0 in conference play. Come out and support the Creighton Volleyball Team.