MATCH STATS
- No. 14 Creighton def. Providence 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-20)
- Creighton moves to 18-5, 11-1 Big East; Providence falls to 15-12, 4-8 Big East
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Attendance: 77
- Box Score
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – No. 14 Creighton notched its seventh straight win, besting Providence on the road for the second straight day, this time in a sweep.
The Bluejays held the Friars to a .018 hitting percentage in the match, with help from eight blocks. Creighton outdid Providence in every statistical category: hitting percentage (.221 to .018), kills (39-26), aces (4-2), blocks (8-4) and digs (48-34).
Senior middle blocker Marysa Wilkinson and junior outside hitter Taryn Kloth notched eight kills apiece to pace the Bluejays, while junior outside Jaali Winters and sophomore middle Megan Ballenger added five each. Wilkinson hit at a .700 clip with just one error in 10 swings, while Ballenger led the team at the net with five blocks. Winters led the back court with 13 digs followed by sophomore libero Brittany Witt (12).
Sophomore outside Cayla Veverka downed seven kills to lead Providence, while junior outside Megan Onyundo (6), sophomore outside Addison Root (5) and sophomore outside Jenae Alderson (4) followed. Sophomore middle Lindsey Schaible added three kills and a team-best four blocks. Freshman setter Allison Barber pulled up a team-leading nine digs, while senior setter Chicyia Clark notched eight saves.
A trio of Providence miscues and kills by three different players lifted Creighton to an 8-4 lead in Set 1. The Friars managed three of the next four points, but the Bluejays used a 16-5 run to close out the 25-12 victory. Three kills each by Wilkinson and Ballenger and two by Winters pushed Creighton to victory alongside five Providence miscues.
The Friars grabbed an early 8-5 advantage in Set 2 with three Veverka putaways and two by Onyundo. Creighton turned the tables with a 9-3 run, including kills by five different players and two blocks. Down 14-12, Providence scored five of the next eight, three on Bluejay errors, to knot the score at 17. Senior setter Lydia Dimke managed two blocks and a kill to help Creighton to a 21-17 lead en route to a 25-19 victory. The Bluejays ended the set on a 4-0 run, including three Providence errors.
An 8-3 start to Set 3 gave Creighton all of the cushion it needed in a 25-20 win. Four Friar errors and kills by Ballenger, Wilkinson and Kloth forced a Providence timeout. Up just three at 10-7, the Bluejays put together a 13-3 run to build a 23-10 lead. Six Providence miscues, and two blocks and a kill by Wilkinson buoyed the Creighton rally. The Friars would not go quietly, however, countering with a 10-1 run of its own, including five while facing match point at 24-15. The Bluejays were their own worst enemy in the match with five miscues, while Onyundo added two kills and two other players added putaways. Kloth wrapped up the sweep with her eight kill.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Creighton Athletics
The No. 16 Creighton Volleyball team completed a weekend sweep of Providence on Saturday by topping the Friars for the second straight evening. Scores of Saturday’s match were 25-12, 25-19, 25-20.
“We served and passed really well,” said Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. “We passed dramatically better than we did last night and that’s going to help a lot. We served aggressively. Hats off to Providence, I thought they were one of the most scrappy teams that we’ve played in a while. We had lots of blocks that they covered and our blocking was really good tonight.”
Creighton hit .344 to dominate the first set, never trailing in a 25-12 win. Marysa Wilkinson and Megan Ballenger combined for seven kills on eight swings in the opener, and Brittany Witt supplied seven digs.
The second set was tied at 17-all before a 4-0 run on Witt’s serve started an 8-2 push to end the set and give CU a 2-0 lead at intermission. Seven different Bluejays had at least one kill in the set, and Dimke and Ballenger combined for three blocks in the frame.
Creighton led 23-10 in the third set before finally closing out the sweep on its sixth chance at 25-20 on a kill by Taryn Kloth. Jaali Winters had seven digs in the final set as CU held PC to -.053 hitting.
Kloth and Wilkinson each paced CU with eight kills, and Winters contributed seven kills and a match-high 13 digs. Creighton had 39 kills, four aces, 48 digs and eight blocks on .221 hitting overall.
PC was paced by Cayla Veverka’s seven kills and Lindsey Schaible’s four blocks. The Friars had 26 kills, two aces, 24 digs and four blocks on .018 hitting.
Winners of seven straight matches, Creighton improved to 18-5 and is 11-1 in BIG EAST action heading into next Saturday’s 1 p.m. match in Omaha against second-place Marquette (16-7, 10-2 BIG EAST entering tonight’s match at Seton Hall). Marquette won the first meeting this season in Milwaukee, CU’s only loss in its last 40 matches against BIG EAST teams.
“I think it’ll be a great test for us,” said Booth. “Marquette’s bigger and more physical than a lot of the teams we’ve been playing. They handled us pretty easily the last time we played so it’ll be good to see how we respond and it’s always fun to play on our home court. I think all of us are looking forward to it, and I’m sure Marquette is to. We know our fans will come out to support us.”
NOTES: Creighton improved to 8-0 all-time against Providence, winning 24-of-25 sets … Creighton is 68-4 against BIG EAST competition since 2014, while Providence is 8-58 … Jaali Winters passed Leah McNary to move into sixth place in Creighton history in career kills. Winters now owns 1,263 career kills, six more than McNary … Lydia Dimke had five kills and now owns 250 in her Creighton career. She now qualifies for CU’s all-time hitting percentage leaders, and ranks second (.332) behind Kelli Browning (.335).
Courtesy: Providence Athletics
The Providence College women’s volleyball team faced BIG EAST foe #16 Creighton on Saturday, Oct. 28. The Friars dropped the match three sets to none. With the loss, Providence’s record moves to 15-12 (4-8) on the season.
FIRST SET HIGHLIGHTS:
-The Bluejays claimed set one with a score of 25-12.
-The Friars had six players record a kill in the first set. Jenae Alderson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) led Providence with 2 and five other Friars recorded a kill each.
-Allison Barber (Woodbury, Minn.) tallied five digs in the first set.
SECOND SET HIGHLIGHTS:
-Creighton claimed the second set with a score of 25-19.
-Both Megan Onyundo (Woodbridge, Va.) and Cayla Veverka (Collegeville, Pa.) tallied three kills in the second set.
-Chicyia Clark (Huntington Beach, Calif.) tallied four digs in the second set.
THIRD SET HIGHLIGHTS:
-Creighton took the third set and the match with a score of 25-20.
-Veverka again led the Friars in set three with three kills.
-Barber recorded nine assists in the set.
-The Friars held Creighton to a .086 hitting percentage in set three.
MATCH HIGHS:
-Veverka led Providence with seven kills on the night.
-Barber led the Friars in both assists (20) and digs (nine).
-Lindsey Schaible (Tampa, Fla.) recorded two service aces and two solo blocks for Providence.
NEXT UP:
Providence ends its home schedule with matches against DePaul and Marquette on Nov. 3-5. The Friars will take on DePaul on Friday, Nov. 3. The match against Marquette on Nov. 5 will serve at Providence’s senior day.
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