DePaul Falls to No. 23 Creighton in Five Sets

Friday, March 5

Omaha, Neb.

11:00 A.M. CT

DePaul University

3-4, 3-4BIG EAST

Creighton

5-2, 2-1BIG EAST

DePaul

Creighton

DePaul Falls to No. 23 Creighton in Five Sets

3/5/2021 3:14:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Blue Demons return to action against Creighton on Saturday at 11 a.m.

OMAHA, Neb. – DePaul took No. 23 Creighton to five sets for the first time since 2015, but eventually fell, 3-2 (18-25, 25-19, 25-20, 11-25, 9-15) at D.J. Sokol Arena on Friday afternoon.

Bailey Nelson and Allison Dennemann tallied nine kills apiece to lead the DePaul attack. Rachel Krasowski registered a team-high 15 digs while Hanna Karl collected 10. Phoenix Lee dished out 21 assists while Molly Murrihy posted 17 to go along with two service aces.

"We definitely played good volleyball. We knew coming in that we needed to match their kill count or get close in order to beat Creighton in their home court and we just weren't able to consistently do that for 5 sets" said Marie Zidek at the conclusion of the match.

"Sets 2 and 3 were complete sets for us - the ball control was met with the offensive transition termination. Set 2 alone saw us put up 16 kills. We know what our identity is - we are a ball control-oriented team. However, in order to beat the best teams in conference, there needs to be consistent termination at the end of a really well managed rally."

"All that said, we did a phenomenal job creating an opportunity to win, and there's no doubt that we come back out Saturday and fight hard again."

In the first set, Creighton (5-2, 2-1 BIG EAST) took an early 8-1 command to force a DePaul timeout. The Blue Demons stormed back on three consecutive Bluejay errors and a Donna Brown service ace to cut the deficit to two at 9-7. DePaul would take the lead at 13-12 off a Brown and Dennemann block. After a successful Creighton challenge called a DePaul attack error, the Bluejays would lead 17-15 and continue to create separation. Creighton would win the opening set after winning eight of the last 11 points.

DePaul (3-4, 3-4 BIG EAST) jumped out to an early 8-2 advantage in the second set behind a 4-0 run with Murrihy behind the service line. The Bluejays came within three on numerous occasions, but the Blue Demons responded each time. Consecutive kills by freshmen Jill Pressly and Hanna Karl sealed set two for DePaul. The Blue Demons hit a staggering .593 in set two and had a side out percentage of 80 percent.

Set three saw Creighton with an early advantage before a 5-0 run put DePaul ahead for good at 12-9. The Blue Demons took a six-point lead at 22-16 behind an Avarie Evans-Allen kill before the Bluejays rattled off four in a row to come with two. A Krasowski service ace clinched the set for DePaul to put them ahead 2-1.

It was all Creighton in the fourth set, as the BlueJays led from start to finish to take the set 25-11 and even the match at 2-2. The Bluejays hit at a .522 clip and produced 14 kills compared to DePaul's seven.

In the deciding set, four early errors committed by the Blue Demons allowed Creighton a 6-2 lead to force a DePaul timeout. The Blue Demons would come within two at 7-5 before the Bluejays would take a seven-point lead at 12-5. Naomi Hickman's 11th kill of the day gave No. 23 Creighton the set and the 3-2 victory.

DePaul returns to the court on Saturday at 11 a.m. for its second of two matches with No. 23 Creighton.