Creighton Volleyball Season Ends in Elite Eight at #2 Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The most successful season in Creighton Volleyball history came to a heartbreaking end on Sunday night as the sixth-ranked Bluejays fell to second-ranked Penn State in five sets in the Elite Eight. Scores in favor of Penn State were 25-15, 16-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-7.

Creighton had its school-record 25-match win streak snapped and ends the fall with a 32-3 record.  Penn State improved to 33-2 with the win and will reach its first Final Four since 2017, and 14th overall.

Penn State never trailed in the first set, using a strong effort behind the service line to force the Bluejays into an early 16-9 hole following a 6-0 run on Camryn Hannah's serve. The Nittany Lions dealt five aces in the opener, in its 25-15 victory. PSU hit .211 and had 21 digs in the first frame, including nine by Gillian Grimes, to hold the visitors to .081 hitting.

Creighton took its first lead of the evening early in the second set on a three-point run at the service line by freshman Alivia Hausmann, going ahead 7-6. Creighton closed the set on a 7-1 serving barrage after a six-point run by Norah Sis and a set-clinching ace from Maddy Bilinovic. Creighton hit .500 in the second set, including five kills by Ava Martin, while also authoring three aces.

Martin sparked the Bluejays to an 8-4 lead to open the third set, serving up her 55th ace of the season to force a quick timeout from Penn State. Her second ace of the night in her next serving rotation helped CU to a 17-12 lead in the third frame. Down 20-17, the hosts used a 7-1 run to get to set point, and took a 2-1 lead in the match two points later on the sixth kill of the set by Jess Mruzik.

Creighton led for much of the fourth set, but once again Penn State rallied to within one at 15-14. But kills from Jaya Johnson and Elise Goetzinger followed by an ace by Bilinovic returned the cushion to four (18-14) and led to Penn State's second timeout of the game. A kill from Wait gave CU a 22-17 margin but PSU countered with two points in a row on Hannah's serve before she gifted CU a point by serving one long. CU closed out the set with kills by Kiara Reinhardt and Johnson to close out the 25-20 victory and force a fifth set.

The teams traded blows to open the fifth frame, however the Nittany Lions seized control with an extended 6-1 surge to take a 9-5 lead. Following another kill from Martin, Penn State embarked on a 3-0 run to take a 12-5 advantage. A kill by Goetzinger and a block by Reinhardt and Wait closed the deficit to within 12-7 before Penn State secured the win with a block and a kill from Trammell. Penn State recorded nine kills in the set, hitting .412 and held the Jays to -.053 hitting.

Martin led Creighton with 17 kills while Sis, Johnson and Goetzinger each pounded out eight kills apiece. Wait dished out 36 assists, dug nine balls and collected five blocks while Bilinovic recorded a team-high 16 digs out of the back row with Reinhardt notched a match-leading five blocks over her own. Creighton hit .141 and finished with 48 kills, 10 aces, 56 digs and nine blocks.

Mruzik led the Penn State offense with a match-high 20 kills and recorded eight digs, while Jurevicius added in 11 kills on 24 swings. Izzy Starck tallied a 41 assist, 11 dig double-double, while Gillian Grimes dug a match-high 17 balls. The Nittany Lions totaled 56 kills, seven aces, 63 digs and 11.0 blocks while hitting at a .226 clip.

With the win, Penn State advances to play third-ranked Nebraska in the national semifinal in a battle of teams that tied for the Big Ten regular-season title. ACC rivals Pittsburgh and Louisville will face off in the first semifinal.