Creighton, Xavier Advance To BIG EAST Championship Final
INDIANAPOLIS – Creighton and Xavier advanced to the 2016 BIG EAST Women’s Volleyball Championship presented by Jeep on Friday with semifinal wins over Seton Hall and Marquette. The Bluejays and Musketeers will meet Saturday for the championship title and the league’s automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Championship. The tournament selection show will air Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Creighton, the top seed in the tournament, defeated Seton Hall 3-0 in the first semifinal; while No. 3 seed Xavier came back to defeat No. 2 seed Marquette 3-1 after dropping the first set. It was the first BIG EAST tournament match win for the Musketeers.
Saturday’s championship match will air at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT on FS2.
Matchup: No. 3 seed Xavier vs. No. 1 seed [21] Creighton
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Television: FS2
Notes: Creighton returns to the BIG EAST Championship match for the third consecutive year. With the win against Seton Hall in the semis, the Bluejays have won 19 matches in a row. Their last loss was on Sept. 17 on the road at then-No. 1 Nebraska, 3-1. Creighton’s 3-0 win over Seton Hall was their 20th straight set win for the year. Xavier just recorded their first BIG EAST victory with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over second-seeded Marquette, 3-1. Xavier will be making its first appearance in the BIG EAST championship game. Xavier has won 12 of their last 14 matches.
In The BIG EAST Championship: Second meeting; Creighton leads the series 1-0
Creighton In The BIG EAST Championship: 6-1; Fourth appearance; 2014 & 2015 Champion
Xavier In The BIG EAST Championship: 1-3 (last appearance 2015)
Semifinal Recaps
Creighton 3, Seton Hall 0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-22)
Creighton took set one, 25-16. Seton Hall had trailed 6-0 to start the match, but responded with a seven-point rally to take a one point lead. The score stayed tied until point 9 when Creighton broke the tie and led for the remainder of the match. The Pirates stayed within two points of Creighton’s lead until point 18 for the Bluejays. From there, Creighton scored seven-straight points for the match one win. Similar to the first set, the Pirates and Bluejays stayed close through the first half before Creighton pulled away with five straight points to win 25-19. The third set was clearly the closest of the match. The teams combined for 14 ties and eight lead changes. Trailing 7-6, the Pirates scored two straight, and a kill by Danielle Schroeder gave them an 8-7 advantage. With the score tied at 12, Creighton scored three to jump ahead, 15-12. But the Pirates bounced back with four straight of their own to take a 16-15 lead. With Seton Hall leading 20-18, the Bluejays scored seven of the final nine points of the match to complete the sweep. Creighton sophomore Jaali Winters had a match high 12 kills. Teammate Taryn Kloth had 10. BIG EAST Player of the Year Lydia Dimke recorded 25 assists. For Seton Hall Sophia Coffey had a double-double with 16 assists, 10 digs. Three players had a team best nine kills.
Box Score
Xavier 3, Marquette 1 (16-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-19)
After Marquette took the first set 25-16 behind a .458 hitting and four kills each from Meghan Niemann, Allie Barber and Taylor Louis, Xavier won the next three sets to take its second-straight 3-1 victory over the Golden Eagles in as many meetings. Xavier led the entire second set before winning 25-20. In the third, Marquette tried to regain momentum and led 4-2 early, but Xavier tied it up at 5-5. Xavier took a lead after an 8-8 tie and never looked back as the Musketeers moved to a 20-12 lead. In the fourth set, Marquette looked like they would tie up the match score as the Golden Eagles led 15-11. Xavier rallied and the teams were tied at 16-16. Xavier went on a 9-3 run to earn the 3-1 victory. Sofia Peterson led the Musketeers with 14 kills. Abbey Bessler and Morgan Finn also hit in the double digits. Finn had no attack errors for a .714 attack percentage. Mackenzi Humm had 23 assists while McKena Estes had 22. Marquette’s Louis finished with a match-high 16 kills.
Box Score