This is the first installment of White & Blue Review’s 2010 Creighton volleyball season preview. Join us every day this week as we take a look at each part of Kirsten Bernthal Booth’s club, leading up to the start of their season and the Blue-White Scrimmage on Saturday, August 21.
The Creighton volleyball team enters 2010 coming off a year of ups and downs. It’s tough to call last year a “disappointment” — the Jays were picked by Missouri Valley Conference coaches to finish fourth in the league and they ended up tied with Drake for fourth, so expectations were met — but the team’s 14-17 record left a lot to be desired.
The season started on a note that really couldn’t have been any higher: 2,285 fans packed the brand new, state-of-the-art D.J. Sokol Arena for the Jays’ season-opening match against Texas Tech — the arena’s first regular-season event. More than 800 students made the atmosphere something that rivaled what Nebraska plays in front of every night in Lincoln, and the Bluejays rode that emotion to an easy 3-0 sweep.
That, and the program’s first ever victory over a top 25 team on October 2 at home against No. 25 Wichita State, were the two highlights of an inconsistent season.
After the victory over Texas Tech in the first match of the Bluejay Invitational, the Jays dropped back-to-back matches to top-ten teams — against No. 10 Illinois to close out the Bluejay Invitational and to No. 6 Nebraska in Lincoln two days later. Those losses were expected, but then Creighton dropped five of its next six matches before conference play and entered its MVC schedule a disappointing 2-7. In those matches, the Jays often held strong leads but let them slip away. Leading two sets to one against Connecticut on Septemner 12, and up 21-18 in the fourth set, Creighton let UConn end the set on a 7-2 run and proceeded to drop the fifth set. Later that day, the Jays let a 2-sets-to-none lead slip away against Dayton.
Creighton won three of its first four matches to start conference play, and then the Jays split their next 16 matches, going 8-8 down the stretch, including the thrilling upset of No. 25 Wichita State and a straight-sets loss to No. 20 St. Louis.
The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament was held, for the first time, on Creighton’s campus at the D.J. Sokol Arena. Creighton defeated Drake in the first round before losing to Northern Iowa in the tournament’s semi-finals. The Jays have been eliminated from the MVC Tournament by UNI in each of the last five seasons.
The Jays, amidst a roller-coast-ride of a season, were able to put up some impressive statistics, especially in the blocks category. The Jays’ 3.08 blocks per set ranked third nationally, while senior Jessica Houts and sophomore Laurel Sanford both ranked in the top-25 individually in the same category.
Houts, undoubtedly one of the greatest players in Creighton volleyball history, finished her career as the Jays’ all-time leader in matches played, sets played, block assists, total blocks and blocks per set, and she ranks in the top five in kills, kills per set and attack percentage. She was twice named to the MVC All-Conference Team and MVC All-Academic Team.
Volleyball Preview 2010: