It is the midway point of the collegiate volleyball season, and the Creighton Bluejays are at a crossroads. Their 5-9 record is a bit deceiving because they are playing better than their record indicates and because they appear to be gelling together as a team. Still, they’ve had to fight through some interesting circumstances during the first half of the 2009 season:
- A flu breakout modified the first matches of the season. Opening weekend was to be a four team tournament with Tulane, Texas Tech, and Illinois joining the Jays in Omaha. Tulane canceled at the last minute because of a rash of illness that hit the team, making them unable to travel. This was a missed opportunity to play a Tulane team hovering around the preseason top 25 lists. Tulane has since gone 7-4 after missing the Bluejay Invitational.
- With young players come growing pains of inconsistency. After losing to ranked teams in back to back sweeps against Illinois and Nebraska, the Jays went 0-3 at the Kansas Invitational the following weekend — the low point of the season thus far.
- Missed opportunities in five-set matches. Four of Creighton’s past seven matches have gone the full five sets (including the last two). They had UConn and Dayton on the ropes at the Dayton Invitational and just missed wins in five-set matches: Dayton is 11-2 and receiving votes in the polls, while UConn is hovering around .500 with an up and down season. Creighton lost for the first time since 2005 against Illinois State in a match that went the full five sets. The only five-set win was against Indiana State, and that was a comeback victory.
Taking these and other circumstances into consideration, Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth summed up for White & Blue Review this week where her team is, exactly, at this point in the season.
“We would like to have more wins on our record and we have been experiencing some growing pains and some ups and downs. However, we have most of the season in front of us. Our focus has been better.”
There’s no better time to be hitting a stride, as the Bluejays have this weekend a golden opportunity to take off in the right direction much like they did last season. The opportunity opens Friday with a nationally ranked Wichita State squad coming to Omaha, followed Saturday by MVC unbeaten Missouri State.
Both teams have different styles of play. Wichita State comes into the match ranked #25 in the nation, and they play a faster tempo than the Bears. The preseason favorite Shox are led by returning MVC Player of the Year Emily Stockman, who leads the Valley in kills per set and points per set while also ranking in the top 10 in aces and hitting percentage.
“She has a great cast around her,” Booth said. That cast includes last season’s All-Valley middle blocker Sarah McGee and preseason All-Valley setter Mary Elizabeth Hooper.
The Missouri State Bears, on the other hand, are known more for their outside hitters. They enter the weekend with a 3-0 conference record (10-4 overall), fresh off a win last weekend against WSU. The Bears are receiving votes in the polls, but their 0-2 record in true home games might be holding them back from a national ranking. Advantage, Bluejays?
One advantage that Creighton does not have is the services of Lauren Bloemke. The Jays announced last week that the senior will sit out the rest of the season to further recover from knee surgery.
“She has been able to be a vocal leader for the team and we hope we are able to have her back next season if she gets a medical redshirt,” Booth said.
This change hasn’t affected the rotation or style of play the Bluejays have utilized all season, and may in fact help further solidify the rotation.
Saturday night’s match against MSU will create history. It will be the first televised event in the Ryan Athletic Center and Sokol Arena, as it can be seen across the state of Nebraska on Nebraska Educational Television’s NET-1 and NET-HD channels.
And it is homecoming weekend, too. So come to Sokol Arena to see Nayka Benitez’ jump serve and the screaming spikes from Jessica Houts and Allie Oelke. There’s a weekend full of opportunity for Jays fans to see the volleyball team in action. And there’s a weekend full of opportunity for the volleyball Bluejays to make a statement and set the tone for the rest of the season.
she has been able to be a vocal leader for the team and we hope we are able to have her back next season if she gets a medical redshirt.
