NEW YORK – Two pieces of the BIG EAST Volleyball playoff picture have been locked into place as Creighton swept Providence this weekend twice to win the BIG EAST Regular Season title for the third consecutive year and Marquette defeated Seton Hall 3-1 to lock up the one of the remaining three tournament spots left. Creighton’s back-to-back sweep of Providence extending the Bluejays winning streak to include six matches in straight set wins.
The victory made Creighton the first team to win three straight outright BIG EAST titles since Notre Dame from 1999-2002.
Xavier could be the next team in should the Musketeers defeat Georgetown on the road on Sunday.
No. 22 Creighton 3, Providence 0 (Friday, Nov. 11)
Taryn Kloth led the Bluejays with 14 kills and hit .560 to set a career-high for hitting percentage in a single-match, and Lauren Smith added nine kills on .562 hitting. Lydia Dimke dished out 34 assists and guided Creighton to a .366 hitting percentage. The Bluejays completed the night with scores of 25-15, 25-18, 25-13. Cayala Veverka and Jenae Alderson each finished with eight kills to pace the Friars. Libero Michelle Cruz led Providence with 12 digs, and Chicyia Clark had 24 assists.
Xavier 3, Villanova 1 (Saturday, Nov. 12)
Xavier picked up a critical win in BIG EAST play on Saturday, defeating Villanova in four sets (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20) at Jake Nevin Field House on the campus of Villanova. The Musketeers (16-12, 10-5 BIG EAST) split the season series with the Wildcats (17-11, 8-7 BIG EAST). Abbey Bessler led the match with 20 kills on the day. The senior outside hitter also added six digs. Claire Crutchfield led the Wildcats with 14 kills.
St. John’s 3, DePaul 1 (Saturday, Nov. 12)
St. John’s swept the season series against DePaul with a 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 23-25, 25-17) victory over the Blue Demons on Saturday afternoon and the Red Storm has now won six of its last seven matches against DePaul. The Red Storm (15-14, 6-10 BIG EAST) was exceptional in all aspects of its Saturday afternoon matchup, as the Johnnies recorded 13 blocks, 51 assists, 50 digs and notched eight service aces, while hitting at .250 clip. Gaia Traballi registered 20 kills which marked the second time during her rookie campaign where she reached the 20-kill mark. Caitlyn Coffey had 12 kills to lead DePaul (13-14, 7-8 BIG EAST).
Butler 3, Georgetown 2 (Saturday, Nov. 12)
It took all five sets to determine a winner between Butler and Georgetown on Saturday afternoon (25-20, 24-26, 26-24, 22-25, 15-6). After a back and forth battle through the opening four sets, Butler settled in to dominate the fifth 15-6 to earn the 3-2 victory. Butler's 18th win of the regular season was highlighted by a near triple-double from setter Makayla Ferguson. The junior went off against the Hoyas to record 51 assists, 11 digs, eight kills and six blocks. Ferguson split the work load evenly between Anna Logan and Whitney Beck. Logan led the team with 21 kills, hitting .352 on 54 attempts. Beck was equally as impactful with 19 kills on 45 swings for a .356 attack percentage. Alyssa Sinnette led the charge for Georgetown with 23 kills. Liv King was close to 20 with 19. Paige McKnight had a match high 55 assists.
Marquette 3, Seton Hall 1 (Saturday, Nov. 12)
Redshirt senior Meghan Niemann reached her 1,000th-kill as Marquette clinched a spot in the 2016 BIG EAST tournament with a 3-1 (25-13, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22) victory over Seton Hall on Saturday evening at the Al McGuire Center. Marquette (22-5, 12-3) was paced by its pair of redshirt sophomores, Taylor Louis and Jenna Rosenthal, as the dup poured in 18 and 16 kills, respectively, while Rosenthal hit a stellar .609 clip and added four blocks. Niemann tallied nine kills in the match, recording her 1,000th career kill in the fourth set of play. She also added three blocks and hit .438. Dominique Mason paced Seton Hall (14-15, 8-8) with 12 kills. Sophia Coffey had 21 assists.
No. 22 Creighton 3, Providence 0 (Saturday, Nov. 12)
The Creighton Volleyball team won its 16th straight match and clinched its third straight outright BIG EAST Conference regular-season title with a 3-0 sweep of Providence on Saturday night. Scores of the match were 25-18, 25-22, 25-13. Creighton (22-6, 16-0 BIG EAST) extended the best single-season start in league history with its sixth straight sweep, the longest streak in program history. Providence fell to 13-19 on the year, and is 1-15 in BIG EAST action. Both teams came out firing on all cylinders in the first set, as PC hit .375 and Creighton an even loftier .464. The score was tied at 9-all until Creighton unleashed a 6-2 run after a timeout. Taryn Kloth had five kills in the frame, a 25-18 Bluejay victory.
#BIGEASTvb Weekend Schedule
Sunday, Nov. 13
XAVIER at GEORGETOWN at 1 p.m.
SETON HALL at DEPAUL at 1 p.m.
BUTLER at VILLANOVA at 2 p.m.
ST. JOHN’S at MARQUETTE at 2 p.m.