NCAA Volleyball Lexington Regional: Creighton 3, Arizona State 1
Ava Martin had 23 kills and hit .388 as Creighton topped Arizona State 3-1 (26-24, 19-25, 25-13, 25-18) on Thursday afternoon in the NCAA Volleyball regional semifinals at Historic Memorial Coliseum.
Martin had plenty of support from her teammates. Senior middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt had 15 kills and hit .737, while setter Annalea Maeder had a double-double with 56 assists and 16 digs. Jaya Johnson had 12 kills for the Blue Jays, who advance to Saturday’s regional final where they will face either Kentucky or Cal Poly.
The first set was tight early, but Creighton eventually built a 10-7 lead. The Blue Jays led 13-11 when Arizona State made a run. The Sun Devils scored four in a row, including consecutive aces from Brynn Covell, to lead 15-13. With ASU leading 18-17, Creighton scored three in a row, including back-to-back kills from Kiara Reinhardt, to take a 20-18 lead.
Arizona State responded, scoring the next three points, including two kills from Noemi Glover, to take the lead back, 21-20. The back-and-forth continued as Creighton scored three in a row to lead 23-21. ASU scored the next two to tie the set at 23-23, but the Blue Jays would win the set 26-24.
Creighton would build an early lead in set two, but ASU eventually caught up, tying the set at 12-12 on a kill by Glover. The Sun Devils would later score four straight points to lead 17-14. Creighton would get back within two points a couple of times, including at 20-18, but ASU would win the set 25-19 to tie the match at one set apiece.
The Blue Jays took control of the third set early, building a 10-3 lead as Reinhardt got hot for Creighton. Arizona State would eventually get within six, 16-10, but Creighton responded by scoring the next five points to build a double-digit lead. The Blue Jays won the third set 25-13 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Creighton scored the first three points of the fourth set, including consecutive aces by Sydney Breissinger. Arizona State would fight back to get within one, the last time at 7-6, before Creighton scored four in a row. From there, the Blue Jays were able to maintain a comfortable lead on their way to the win.
Arizona State Postgame Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening Statement…
“Hats off to Creighton, really clean volleyball. They put a lot of pressure on us from the serving line and we weren’t able to find the right answers.”
On the adjustment Creighton made in the third set…
“They just spun the rotation just slightly, and they were getting their really, really good servers on the line. They mixed up really well, and they got us in some trouble there. They were playing really clean volleyball, and we’re patient, and we block a ball, and they cover it, and they just kind of kept chipping away and chipping away. They’re really, really scrappy, so that was probably the big adjustment.”
On what surprised them about Creighton…
“Honestly, nothing. I mean, they played their game, and they’ve got some really nice players. Their middle we knew was going to be tough to stop, and 15 kills in four sets is pretty impressive. I thought we’d be able to get them in a little more trouble, which in the second set, we really did. We were getting them off the net, and it makes a big difference because then they have to become a little more reliant, but I don’t think there’s anything that surprised us. They’ve been playing great volleyball all year. They probably don’t get the credit because they’re not as tough of a conference, but they were really good in the preseason. I think in any conference, going undefeated is an impressive feat, and they did it, so I wouldn’t say there’s anything they did in particular was any different. They executed really, really well.”
Arizona State Student-Athletes
#5 Sydney Henry, S
On momentum going to the 3rd set…
“Yeah, for sure. There was definitely some momentum there and we made it known that we were gonna stay together and we were going to stay connected and we were going to use it in the third set. But like they said, Creighton came out, they punched us, but we wanted to punch back as well. definitely after that second set, we could use some momentum.”
On a defining moment from the season…
“There wasn’t one defining moment but I think we all kind of knew coming into this how bad we wanted to repeat this year and Noemie and I both coming in this year. We knew the history of ASU and I wanted to continue that legacy, so I think from the moment that we all stepped in there together, we knew what we wanted to do, how to get there, we knew it was going to take hard work and so I think just all along, that was the plan for us.”
#10 Noemie Glover, OH
On what was working for Noemie…
“I think Sydney was putting me in good positions to score. I think that was kind of the main reason that I’m able to find openings there, our passers were doing well to put the ball in good position, and then just seeing the floor and having diverse shot selection.”
On their successful season …
“I think in the summer, we did a lot of summer camps with younger players and I think just seeing how those players interacted with our younger people, being new people in the community, seeing how much the community cared for ASU and just volleyball in general. I think that kind of pushed the momentum throughout the season, you know, we’d see campers that came, they’d wear their shirts, and they’d just be so excited to, you, watch us play. I think that that is easy to play when you have like when people that are saying, you know, they’re looking up to you or they’re looking up to the team and just seeing how the younger players were interacting with our team in general, I think that that was just really fun to continue on and especially being at home and just being able to see all those kids from the summer and seeing what kids will come again this summer. I think that that was just really fun, and it’s a big momentum push for all of us.“
Creighton Postgame Quotes
Creighton Head Coach Brian Rosen
Opening Statement….
“First just congrats to Arizona State on an incredible season- a battle tonight. Yeah, their right sides are so good. The ESPN question at halftime was, their right sides are really good-what should you do to stop them? That was a good question. Our goal to stop them was to really ramp up service pressure and try to take them out and put them into tough situations as much as we could. I thought defensively, we made some great plays. We talked before this match, all kind of week in practice, that they’re gonna get their kills, you know, Noemie (Glover) is gonna bounce the ball on the floor somewhere and we got to roll that one back to them. So what can score is the tip, the role, the offspeed. And I don’t know if one did today. We were so good defensively on everything else. That’s what allowed us opportunities to transition and score. And then offensively, man, we were special good today. I thought all of our seniors were incredible. If these two aren’t high team all Americans, I don’t know what is. And I just thought we’re lucky to have them and everyone again stepped up. Like, Jaya (Johnson) made some humongous swings for us, even like she got blocked once at the end of, I think it was the third set, and came back and swung harder on the next one. I thought we had that mentality all match. They have a huge block. And I thought anytime any one of them got blocked, the next one came harder. Maybe with a little bit more angle. And so I just thought they showed incredible poise. We’ve shrilled at times this season to allow one point to be one point. I thought all match tonight, they were able to move on quickly to the next one. Our side out percentage was so good against a really good Arizona State team and just really proud of the group and what they’ve accomplished so far this season. And as Ava (Martin) prematurely put us into the finals, that’s the goal on Saturday too.”
On what adjustments were made to service pressure in the third set…
“Yeah, and that’s who we’ve been all year. I know they mentioned Adam (Kessenich), one of our assistants. Like, he works tirelessly on our serving system games, all those things that we serve every single day in practice, and we’ve talked since the spring about being the best serving team in the country. We make our team say it every day. It’s on every scattering report we have that we are the best serving team in the country and they passed way too well in those first two sets. And so, really talked about picking up the pressure, like going for it, and if you make an error, it’s okay. That’s how we are as a coaching staff. Nora (Wurtz) going on that big run in the third set, I think was almost like a relief for our team. Like she is the person that always goes on runs for us and she struggled on the first two sets to kind of get in a rhythm. So her going on that run, I think, allowed our team to be like, oh, here we go. And I thought everyone kind of relaxed and got a little more free in those scenarios. But yeah, I thought our first context on both sides were really good today.”
On the success of passing throughout the entire match…
“Oh, it was really good. The second set was the one set where we didn’t pass kind of to our level. We talked about it in the locker room and between those two sets, how we know we can pick up some of these. They did a really nice job working in some short (and) deep, and a couple of those got us. But I thought third set on, we really protect it, though. There was one late in the third set that Ava (Martin), like, went down under and got, and then I thought Anna (Maeder) made some special sets tonight. There were a few times where she was pushed like all the way across the net and was able to reverse balls to Jaya (Johnson), find Kiara (Reinhardt) in some tough situations to kind of hold their block because Arizona State’s a great scheme blocking team and I thought she did a nice job kind of going against the flow.”
On Ava Martin reaching the most kills in program history in the tournament…
“She just always gets it done. I was looking, they handed me a stat sheet in the second set. And I think she had like sixteen kills or something like that in the second set. I looked at Izzy (Ashburn), my assistant next to me, I was like, God, does Ava really have sixteen kills right now? Um, it didn’t feel that way. I knew she was playing well but, it didn’t feel like she already had sixteen kills and she kind of does it that way. Like, she’ll kind of get you, get you, get you. And then you know at 23-23, she’s going to get that one too. Those are the ones that stand out, but it’s all the points, like up to that, that she does such a great job. And again, she was on Glover (Noemie) a ton today, and that’s a big block. And I thought she did such a good job using low on the block and trying to tool off her points, work in the court, working some tips in. We were able to get the back row going too. So she’s just such a complete player and one of the best passers in the gym too.”
Creighton Student-Athletes
#5 Kiara Reinhardt, MB
On what it meant to win today …
“People kept asking us that at the beginning of the season, you guys’ lost Kendra, you guys’ lost Nora, but I think they really underestimated the girls that we have on this team right now. That was what I kept saying at the beginning of the year, I am so excited for some more girls who have had to take, kind of a backseat, obviously to some stellar athletes, but I just kept saying I am so excited for girls to find their role and to find their confidence, and that is what the nation is seeing right now too. So I am really just so proud of this team and how we’ve had a group of 17 who are stepping up and who are putting others before themselves and are just playing special good right now, and it’s been so fun and such a joy to be alongside them.”
On ASU tipping and rolling their blocks …
“I mean, yeah, our game plan was every time they tip a roll or shot at us, like, we have to take care of that and put the ball away. And so that’s something we’ve wanted to hang our hats on all year and that was just, again, super important for today’s game plan. So I think just as hitters like, when our defenders get a great day out of those, like, we’re just like, okay, it’s our time now. Like, let’s go, like, let’s go put the ball away for them. Like, it said, like, they make a great day on anything. We want to just, like, continue that point and finish that point for them. So, yeah, which I felt like we all fed off each other so well today.”
On Coach Rosen …
“Yeah, I think he’s just at a really good foundation and has just kept us so consistent. All year in just trying to, again, remember back to who we are, like, Craig Molleyball and Cate and Good is great enough to be anyone. And so I think he’s really helped reinforce that in us of like, going back there and we’re able to come out every match being able to be confident in ourselves and that our training that we do every single day in the gym is great enough and we can trust and lean in on that. And again, like the culture and the relationships we’ built here too, like, there’s so much to say that like, we can fall back on that and we can trust in that, and that we put in the work on the court and off the court to, to be able to keep pushing through and win another game.”
#24 Sydney Breissinger, DS
On if there was a specific adjustment they made during the game …
“That’s all Adam K. He’s calling our zones all the time and he does such an awesome job at it. We talked about mixing short and deep in like working depth against this team and that was something I think we were able to do and we worked that in a lot more and sets three and four just kind of keep them guessing and just really putting the pressure on them. We trust every single person to go back behind the line and put in a great serve, and that’s what we were doing.”
On if a certain player made a play to spark the team …
“Honestly, I think Sid had a lot of digs that were just like wow digs. And I think when you make some of those plays, especially after their right side’s going off and her making some of those digs really makes us hitters want to dig deeper and, you know, get a kill for that point. KR had some amazing deep corner swings that I mean; they’re just untouchable. I mean, you can’t do anything about it. I think there’s just a lot of little things, but I think our team as a whole played so well today, and we played together, and I think that’s really what won us this game and that’s what’s going to help us really go far is when we all lean on each other and play for each other.”
On potentially playing Kentucky the next match …
“I think they’re both just really well-balanced teams, and like, we love our matchup against teams like that. Like, we just believe in ourselves so much. But we try not to worry too much about what’s on the other side of the net. We focus so much on ourselves and so we’re going to go sit out there, we’re going to scout, we’re going to watch a little bit more, but our main focus is ourselves.”
#8 Ava Martin, OH
On winning with the team …
“It’s so fun, and we just keep going. We just want to keep playing because we love this group of girls, and it’s just so fun when we’re out there playing together. Obviously, winning is amazing, but we get to do it with each other. And I think that’s the big thing we keep going back to. Also, there’s a good amount of us that lost last year, and we’re all pretty hungry. We’re still upset about that loss last year and our goal this year is to make it to the final four. And so just taking it one game at a time and, I mean, that’s been our goal this whole season and so fighting for that final four.”
