UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The sixth-ranked and second-seeded Creighton Volleyball crew dethroned two-time defending nationwide champion Texas with a 3-1 victory within the Regional Semifinal hosted by Penn State on Friday afternoon.
Creighton (32-2) posted its twenty fifth straight win by scores of 24-26, 25-19, 25-21, 25-20, advancing to its second Elite Eight in program historical past. Texas ends its season 20-7.
Creighton began with ruthless effectivity, pounding kills on its first six swings to race to an 11-5 lead. Texas responded with a five-point run to tie the rating at 12-all. Tied at 13, Creighton went on a five-point run that began with a stuff from Kiara Reinhardt and Jaya Johnson and adopted on an ace by Maddy Bilinovic. CU lead 19-14 after Ava Martin’s fifth kill earlier than as soon as once more Texas battled to knot the rating at 22-all. A kill from Martin and an ace by Norah Sis gave Creighton a pair of set factors up 24-22, however the Longhorns countered with a 4-0 run to steal the primary set, 26-24. Martin had eight kills within the first body and Wait added 13 assists as CU hit .367. Texas hit .406 within the opener as Marianna Singletary and Ayden Ames each had 5 kills.
Similar to the primary set, the Bluejays began red-hot, bolting to a 9-4 benefit to pressure a timeout from the Longhorns after Martin’s tenth profession NCAA Tournament ace. Texas made one other run to slender the hole to at least one, however this time the Bluejays did not buckle and closed out the set with a 5-0 run to win the second set 25-19. Creighton hit .361 within the second set, closing out the body on the seventh kill of the set by Sis.
The third begin noticed Creighton take an early 5-1 lead however Texas rallied transfer in entrance 14-13. That did not hassle Creighton, because the Jays rallied with seven of the following 10 factors to maneuver in entrance 20-17. The Bluejays ended up successful the third set 25-21 on a kill from Jaya Johnson. Creighton hit .344 within the third recreation as Johnson and Sis every had 4 kills.
Creighton trailed by as a lot as 4 early in fourth set however bounced again to take leads of 15-12 and 18-13. The Bluejays would maintain a 3 level benefit the rest of the match, utilizing back-to-back blocks from Sis, Reinhardt and Johnson to safe their first journey to the Elite Eight since 2016. Five Bluejays had a number of kills within the finale and Reinhardt had 4 of her match-high eight blocks. Sis additionally served up two of her 4 aces to tie a program-record for an NCAA Tournament contest.
Sis led the best way for the Bluejays with 15 kills, 13 digs, 4 aces and three blocks, whereas Martin added in 15 kills of her personal. BIG EAST Player and Setter of the Year, Kendra Wait, dished out 47 assists and picked up a match-high 17 digs, whereas Reinhardt collected a match-high eight blocks and season-high 9 kills within the victory. Creighton completed the day with 60 kills, 51 digs, 11 blocks and eight aces on .307 hitting.
Texas was led by a match-high 23 kills from Madisen Skinner with Marianna Singletary added in 11 kills of her personal. Averi Carlson had 41 assists and 9 digs, whereas Jenna Wenaas popped up 13 digs and Emma Halter collected 16. Michigan hit .197 and tallied 55 kills, three aces, 53 digs and two blocks.
With the win, Creighton advances to play within the Regional Final on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Central towards the winner of the Marquette/Penn State match that’s underway. Sunday’s contest will air on ESPN.
NOTES: Creighton’s Elise Goetzinger was teammates with Texas standouts Madisen Skinner and Reagan Rutherford when the University of Kentucky received the nationwide title within the spring of 2021 … Creighton had received 176 straight units when proudly owning a set level earlier than dropping the primary set at this time … Creighton had a block on the primary level of the match and now owns a rejection in 938 consecutive contests … Ava Martin’s (10) profession aces within the NCAA Tournament are a profession file … Kendra Wait (317) grew to become Creighton’s all-time chief in NCAA Tournament assists, passing Lydia Dimke (274) … Kendra Wait had her 20th double-double of the season and prolonged her program-record to 73 profession double-doubles. Wait now owns a double-double in 9 straight matches towards Top 25 competitors and 17-of-19 general on the collegiate stage … Norah Sis had her 100th profession match with 10 or extra kills … Madisen Skinner is the primary Creighton opponent with 20 or extra kills this season … Creighton improved to 32-2 with its 25th straight win, extending the nation’s longest energetic win streak … Creighton’s 32 wins are a program file and tied for the nationwide lead with Pittsburgh, although Penn State, Nebraska and Dayton all play later at this time and may tie the Bluejays … Creighton is now 1-1 all-time towards Texas … Texas is the 101st completely different faculty that Kirsten Bernthal Booth has crushed as Creighton head coach … Creighton is now 2-5 all-time towards the defending nationwide champions with two straight wins … Creighton tied a school-record with its fourth Top 25 win of the season … Creighton is now 20-2 on impartial flooring within the final 4 seasons … Creighton is now 3-7 towards Top 16 nationwide seeds within the NCAA Tournament … Creighton will make its first Regional Final look since 2016 … Creighton is now 17-13 all-time within the NCAA Tournament, together with a 2-2 mark within the Regional Semifinals … Creighton’s seniors at the moment are 119-16 within the final 4 seasons, the nation’s second-most wins behind Pittsburgh (122) … Creighton is now 25-27 all-time in matches when each groups are within the Top 25 … The solely different BIG EAST crew to succeed in the NCAA Regional Final was Creighton’s 2016 crew … Texas had its 14-match win streak in NCAA Tournament play snapped, the third-longest within the occasion’s historical past.
