Creighton defeats No. 7 Kansas on the road, 3-0, wins Kansas Invitational title.
#BIGEASTvb Weekend Roundup – 9.11.17
NEW YORK – Highlighting the third weekend of BIG EAST volleyball action was another Top 10 win by Creighton and another undefeated weekend by Providence, who is now 10-0. In Monday’s AVCA poll, Creighton moved up one spot from No. 9 to No. 8.
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Butler (2-0)
Friday, Sept. 8: W, 3-0 at Kent State
Saturday, Sept. 9: W, 3-0 vs. College of Charleston (Kent, Ohio)
Butler posted two straight set sweeps as the Bulldogs improved to 7-2 on the season. Redshirt junior Whitney Beck was named the tournament MVP of the Golden Flashes Classic with a pair of double-double performances. Junior libero Taylor Takeda was also named to the All-Tournament Team by averaging 6.50 digs per set. The scores of the match against Kent State was 25-20, 25-20 and 25-14. Against College of Charleston, the Bulldogs came up with 10 service aces in a tight game that featured two of three sets going extra points (27-25, 25-14, 31-29). Makayla Ferguson dished out 40 assists in the match.
No. 9 Creighton (2-1)
Friday, Sept. 8: L, 3-1 vs. No. 17 Purdue
Friday, Sept. 8: W, 3-0 vs. Belmont | W, 3-0 at No. 7 Kansas
The Creighton Bluejays’ weekend was highlighted by another top 10 win, this time over then-No. 7 Kansas on their home court. With a 2-1 record at the Kansas Invitational, Creighton moved up to No. 8 in Monday’s AVCA poll. Creighton lost the first match of the weekend, 3-1 to then-No. 17 Purdue, 21-25, 15-25, 25-22, 25-27. The weekend ended in a rematch of the 2016 NCAA tournament game between Creighton and Kansas, as the Bluejays took the match 25-20, 25-16, 29-27. It was the first 3-0 home loss for Kansas since Sept. 28, 2011. Creighton junior Jaali Winters was named the Tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by Brittany Witt and Taryn Kloth. Creighton improved to 7-2 on the season and collected its third tournament title of the season.
DePaul (0-3)
Friday, Sept. 8: L, 3-1 vs. Army West Point
Saturday, Sept. 9: L, 3-0 vs. Milwaukee | L, 3-0 vs. Northwestern
DePaul hosted the DePaul invitational over the weekend, but lost to Army, Milwaukee and Northwestern on their home court. Despite the losses, Myah Reed was named to the All-Tournament Team. Reed led the Blue Demons with an average of 3.00 kills per set, 3.40 points per set. Claire Anderson accounted for 3.15 points per set with 2.10 digs per set and 2.70 kills per set. DePaul is 2-6 overall.
Georgetown (1-2)
Friday, Sept. 8: L, 3-2 vs. James Madison
Saturday, Sept. 9: W, 3-0 vs. Coppin State | L, 3-2 vs. Buffalo
Georgetown (6-3) split on the final day of the Georgetown Classic, sweeping Coppin State (25-13, 25-14, 25-17) and losing to Buffalo (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-12). The Hoyas lost the opening match 3-2 to James Madison (20-25,25-20,11-25,25-22,6-15). Junior middle blocker Symone Speech was named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts over the weekend. She averaged 3.23 kills and 1.00 blocks per set while hitting at a solid .393 clip in three matches. Speech led the Hoyas with 22 kills and a career-high eight blocks, both match highs against Buffalo.
Marquette (1-1)
Friday, Sept. 8: W, 3-0 vs. Loyola-Chicago
Saturday, Sept. 9: L, 3-1 at No. 13 Kentucky
Marquette went 1-1 over the weekend at the 2017 Marquette Invitational opening the weekend with a straight set win over Loyola-Chicago 15-15, 25-11, 25-17. Allie Barber keyed the Golden Eagles (4-4) with 13 kills and a .478 hitting percentage, while freshman Hope Werch notched six kills and redshirt junior Jenna Rosenthal added five. Rosenthal also served four aces in the match. Against No. 13 Kentucky, each set was close as the Wildcats won the advantage in each set by just two points 25-23, 24-26, 25-23, 25-23. Barber paced the Golden Eagles (4-4) with 21 kills at a .488 clip, joined in double-digit kills by Werch (12 kills, 11 digs) and Rosenthal (10 kills, four blocks) again.
Providence (4-0)
Friday, Sept. 8: W, 3-0 vs. Rider | W, 3-1 vs. Holy Cross
Saturday, Sept. 9: W, 3-0 vs. St. Francis | W, 3-0 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
The Friars extended their winning streak to 10 contest as Providence lost just one set in their host tournament. Sophomore Addison Root recorded three double-doubles throughout the tournament. Against Rider, Root had 14 kills and 14 digs, against Holy Cross, she had 19 kills and 13 digs, and against St. Francis Brooklyn, she tallied 11 kills and 12 digs. The Friars had at least two players with double digit kills in each match.
St. John’s (2-1)
Friday, Sept. 8: W, 3-0 vs. Valparaiso
Saturday Sept. 9: L, 3-0 at Cornell | W, 3-0 vs. Binghamton
With 2-1 record at the Cornell Invitational, St. John’s was able to bring home the tournament title, winning a three-way tiebreaker. Kayley Wood earned her first career most valuable player of a non-conference tournament after being named the MVP, Danisha Moss picked up her second ever all-tournament team nod and Erica Di Maulo made it a trio of Red Storm to receive all-tournament honors. St. John’s is currently 7-2 on the season.
Seton Hall (2-1)
Friday, Sept. 8: W, 3-1 vs. Cincinnati
Saturday, Sept. 9: W, 3-2 at Illinois State | L, 3-0 vs. Dayton
Seton Hall went 2-2 last week, including two wins in three matches at the Redbird Classic over the weekend. On Wednesday, The Hall dropped a hard five-set match at Princeton, which snapped a three-match win streak. The Pirates bounced back however, on Friday and defeat Cincinnati in four sets. The Bearcats were an NCAA team last season. Early in the day on Saturday, The Hall rallied from a 2-1 deficit to edge host Illinois State in five sets, before falling to another 2016 NCAA team, Dayton, in the afternoon. Abby Thelen led Seton Hall (6-3) with 4.08 kills, 1.50 digs per set over the weekend with six total blocks.
Villanova (2-1)
Friday, Sept. 8: L, 3-0 vs. Princeton
Saturday, Sept. 9: W, 3-0 vs. Connecticut | W, 3-0 vs. Albany
Villanova dropped the first game of the Villanova Classic to Princeton before rallying with two straight set wins over Connecticut and Albany on Saturday. Freshman outside hitter Mallory Potts finished the weekend with 36 kills over three matches and also led the team in points with 38. Senior outside hitter Allie Loitz had an outstanding weekend as well, tallying 21 kills in the two matches she played to go along with 15 digs. Both Potts and Loitz gained All-Tournament honors. Villanova heads into the week with a 6-3 record.
Xavier (0-2)
Friday, Sept. 8: L, 3-0 vs. Kansas State | L, 3-1 vs. North Florida
Xavier finished out the Georgia Tech Invitational on Friday, losing two to Kansas State and North Florida. Redshirt junior middle blocker Alexis Newsome was named to the All-Tournament team after leading the Musketeers with .345 hitting percentage and 13 blocks. Newsome also ranked second on the team in kills with 26. Xavier is currently 4-6 heading into week four.
Upcoming Midweek Schedule
Tuesday, Sept. 12
MARQUETTE at Milwaukee at 7 p.m.
VILLANOVA at Lehigh at 7 p.m.
Fairfield at ST. JOHN’S at 7 p.m.
Brown at PROVIDENCE at 7 p.m.
Hofstra at SETON HALL at 7:30 p.m.
DePaul at LOYOLA-Chicago at 8 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 14
MARQUETTE at Wisconsin at 8 p.m.
All times are Eastern.