Photo by John Konstantaras
Creighton, Marquette Advance To #BIGEASTvb Championship Final
MILWAUKEE – Creighton and Marquette advanced to the 2017 BIG EAST Women’s Volleyball Championship presented by Jeep on Friday with semifinal wins over Villanova and Butler. The Bluejays and Golden Eagles will meet Saturday for the championship title and the league’s automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Championship. The tournament selection show will air Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Creighton, the top seed in the tournament, defeated Villanova 3-0 in the first semifinal; No. 2 seed Marquette took the second semifinal match in four sets from No. 3 Butler. It is the second time these two teams will meet in a BIG EAST Championship title match.
Saturday’s championship match will air at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT on FS2.
Matchup: No. 2 seed Marquette vs. No. 1 seed [17] Creighton
Time: 1:30 p.m. CT/2:30 p.m. ET
Live Stats: GameTracker
TV: FS2
(Bob Brainerd and Michelle Griffin-Wenzel)
Meeting Notes: Creighton (24-6) returns to the BIG EAST Championship match for the fourth consecutive year. The Bluejays have won the tournament title for the past three seasons. The last team to win four in a row was Notre Dame from 1995-1998. The only other time a team has won four or more titles in a row was Pittsburgh, who won seven-straight titles from 1988-1994. Marquette (22-8) makes its third appearance in the title match. The last time the Golden Eagles played for the BIG EAST tournament title was in 2013 in Omaha, Neb. The Golden Eagles defeated Creighton on the Bluejays home court 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-21, 25-16). Marquette was also runner up in the 2012 championship to Louisville. The last time Marquette and Creighton met in the championship was 2015, also in Omaha. Creighton defeated Marquette in five sets to advance to the finals (25-19, 25-16, 21-25, 20-25, 15-10). During the 2017 season, Creighton and Marquette split their matches. Marquette defeated Creighton, then-ranked 12th nationally, 3-0 on Oct. 6. Creighton returned the favor by defeating the Golden Eagles in straight sets on Nov. 4.
In The BIG EAST Championship: Third Meeting; Series is tied 1-1 (Last 2015)
Creighton In The BIG EAST Championship: 8-1; Fifth appearance (Last 2016); Three-time Champion (2014, 2015, 2016), Runner Up (2013)
Marquette In The BIG EAST Championship: 8-8; 10th appearance (Last 2016); Champion (2013), Runner Up (2012)
BIG EAST Semifinal Recaps
Creighton 3, Villanova 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-19)
Trailing 4-3 early, Creighton used an 8-2 run that saw Villanova blow through both their timeouts after the Jays took an 11-6 lead. Creighton's lead would reach as large as 19-11 before the Wildcats closed within four at 19-15. Creighton would hang on to win a 25-20 decision as Lydia Dimke and Marysa Wilkinson blocked Darcy Wolf on set point. The second set was closer, but Creighton pulled away midway through the frame on a 3-0 serving run by Megan Ballenger that included an ace from the sophomore to give Creighton a 15-12 lead. The Bluejays lead dwindled to two at 22-20 and 24-22, before BIG EAST aces leader Allie Loitz served into the net to give CU the set. Creighton’s Taryn Kloth took over the third set with six kills as Creighton pulled ahead 16-12. A kill from Dimke ended the match for CU's 13th victory in its last 14 contests. Kloth led all Creighton players with 14 kills in 29 errorless swings, hitting .483. Winters had a double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs and Alexa Roumeliotis added 11 digs in her BIG EAST Championships debut. Allie Loitz led the Wildcats (18-12) with 11 kills, five digs and two service aces on a .346 hitting percentage in the loss. Senior libero Allison Fitzgerald had 11 digs.
Marquette 3, Butler 1 (25-15, 24-26, 25-17, 25-20)
Marquette took the first set from visiting Butler behind five kills from BIG EAST Player of the Year Allie Barber, who had no errors in 11 swings. The second set went to Butler, who rallied back from a 10-6 deficit to tie the match at 14-14. The two teams stayed close and were tied through 24. Two errors on Marquette sealed the win for the Bulldogs. Butler’s Anna Logan and Whitney Beck led Butler with four kills each. Coming back from the break, Marquette scored the first three points and never trailed to take back a one-match advantage. Similar to the set two, the match was tied at 14 as Butler rallied back from an early Marquette lead. Tied through 19 still, Marquette broke through with three straight points. Marquette’s Anna Haak (2 kills) and Jenna Rosenthal (1 kill) capped it off for the Golden Eagles. Haak led all players with 20 kills and 20 digs while hitting .450. She had just two errors in 40 swings. Barber had 16, BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Hope Werch had 13 kills with 18 digs. Rosenthal also had 10 kills. For Butler, Logan finished with 17 kills and 16 digs. Logan hit .250
For more on the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship, visit the
Championship Central page.
2017 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship
Presented By Jeep
Semifinals - Nov. 24 - BEDN
No. 1 seed Creighton 3, No. 4 seed Villanova 0
No. 2 seed Marquette 3, No. 3 seed Butler 1
Final - Nov. 25 - FS2
No. 1 Creighton at No. 2 Marquette, 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT
All times listed are Eastern.