Musketeers, No. 21 Creighton Set for BIG EAST Championship

Saturday, November 26

Indianapolis, Ind.

2:30 p.m.

Xavier University

No. 1 Creighton

Musketeers, No. 21 Creighton Set for BIG EAST Championship

11.26.16 | Volleyball

Watch Live Championship Central Live Stats

Xavier takes on the top-seeded Bluejays on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on FS2

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – No. 2 seed Xavier volleyball will compete for its first BIG EAST Tournament title on Saturday against top-seed No. 21 Creighton. First serve is slated for 2:30 p.m. from Hinkle Fieldhouse with the game being aired nationally on FS2.

The Musketeers are looking for their first BIG EAST Championships since joining the conference in 2013. A win would give Xavier its third overall NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2007.

Xavier enters the match having won 12 of its last 14 matches.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Friday, Nov. 25
Semifinals
No. 1 seed Creighton 3, vs. No. 4 seed Seton Hall - Creighton 3, Seton Hall 0
No. 2 seed Marquette vs. No. 3 seed Xavier - Xavier 3, Marquette 1

Saturday, Nov. 26
Championship
Winners of the Semifinals at 2:30 p.m. (FS2)

THE MATCHUP VS CREIGHTON

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (20-12) vs CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS (25-6)
Match Info: Friday, Nov. 25 - 2:30 p.m. - Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse)
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/2ggQ56E
Watch Live - FS2: http://bit.ly/1sjW14c

ABOUT CREIGHTON

2016 Record: 25-6 (18-0 BIG EAST)
Series History: Xavier trails, 11-0

NOTABLES
• Creighton is appearing in its sixth conference tournament title game in program history, all in the last seven years, and fourth straight. Creighton is 3-2 in the previous five title game appearances, including a 2-1 mark since joining the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013.
• Creighton is seeking its third straight BIG EAST Championship title, having beaten Seton Hall (3-1) in the 2014 final and Villanova (3-0) last year. A win would make the Bluejays the first team to win three straight BIG EAST Championship titles since Louisville from 2008-10.
• With a win on Saturday, Creighton can complete an unbeaten season against BIG EAST teams. No team has gone unbeaten in the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament since Notre Dame in 2001.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series, 11-0. The Musketeers are 0-2 in BIG EAST Tournament matches against the Bluejays.

LAST MEETING: Creighton 3, Xavier 0 - Nov. 6, 2016 (Omaha, Neb.)
• Kristen Massa ledXavier with 12 kills on 31 attempts.
• Abbey Bessler was limited to just nine kills on a .259 swing percentage, while leading XU with 14 digs on the night. Bessler also tied a season-high with three service aces and recorded a block assist.
• Meredith Klare was second on the team with 13 digs.
• Mackenzi Humm and McKena Estes combined for 31 assists.

BIG EAST FIRST TEAM HONOREES

• Seniors Abbey Bessler and Sofia Peterson were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team on Wednesday afternoon. The all-conference teams were voted on by the conference's 10 head coaches.

• Bessler earns first-team honors for the fourth consecutive season, becoming the first player in program history to earn first-team honors every year. The Hebron, Ky., native ranks third in the BIG EAST in kills (3.76 k/s) and fifth in points (4.18 p/s).

• The outside hitter has 11 double-doubles on the year and posted 10 or more kills in all but six matches this season. The 2015 BIG EAST Player of the Year earned conference weekly honor roll honors five times this fall and was tabbed player of the week on Aug. 29.

• Peterson earns all-conference honors for the second straight year as the right side picked up second-team honors a year ago. The Melbourne, Fla., native ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.340) and 17th in kills (2.69 k/s). She also ranks third on the team in blocks with 62.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Year	Matchup	Result
2016	No. 3 Xavier vs No. 2 Marquette - Semifinals	W, 3-1
2015	No. 3 Xavier vs No. 2 Villanova - Semifinals	L, 3-0
2014	No. 4 Xavier vs No. 1 Creighton - Semifinals	L, 3-1
2013	No. 3 Xavier vs No. 2 Creighton - Semifinals	L, 3-1

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

• The Musketeers have won two conference titles, coming in 1984 (North Star Conference) and 2001 (Atlantic 10). Xavier looks to advance to the NCAA Tournament this weekend for the third time in school history (2001, 2007).

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Senior Abbey Bessler was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday afternoon for her on-court performance over the weekend. The outside hitter averaged 4.00 kills and 1.88 digs per set over two matches with a .301 hitting percentage. She totaled 32 kills, 15 digs, four blocks and one service ace.

BIG EAST Weekly Award Winners

Name	Award	Week
Abbey Bessler	Honor Roll	Nov. 21
Brooke Betts	Honor Roll	Nov. 14
Abbey Bessler	Honor Roll	Nov. 11
Abbey Bessler	Honor Roll	Nov. 7
Mackenzi Humm	Honor Roll	Oct. 27
Abbey Bessler	Honor Roll	Oct. 25
Sofia Peterson	Honor Roll	Oct. 17
Sofia Peterson	Honor Roll	Oct. 10
Abbey Bessler	Honor Roll	Sept. 26
Abbey Bessler	Player of the Week	Aug. 29

NOTABLES

• The Musketeers clinched the program's 21st, 20-win season following the win over Marquette.

• Abbey Bessler is only 19 kills shy of becoming the school's all-time leader in kills. The senior outside hitter already holds the school records for career attack attempts and points, while ranking fifth in digs.

• Kristen Massa led Xavier with 3.33 kills per set vs the Bluejays this season, totaling 20 kills over two sets. Abbey Bessler added 2.83 kills and digs per set.

• Kristen Massa matched her season-high in blocks with five against Marquette. She has had five block assists three times this season.

• Xavier is 2-42 all-time against nationally ranked teams. The Musketeers have dropped 24 straight against ranked teams with their last win coming against Dayton, 3-1, on Oct. 19, 2007 at Cintas Center.

LAST TIME OUT

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT - SEMIFINALS
Xavier 3, Marquette 0 - Nov. 25, 2016 (Indianapolis, Ind.)

• Xavier's senior class of Abbey Bessler, Brooke Betts and Sofia Peterson combined for 34 of the team's 53 kills. They only committed five errors in 73 attempts.
• Sofia Peterson posted a team-high 14 kills to go along with a .542 hitting percentage. Abbey Bessleradded 12 kills, while Brooke Bets had eight. Bessler also had three of Xavier's five service aces and eight digs.
• Morgan Finn collected 10 kills with a match-high .714 hitting percentage.
• Mackenzi Humm dished out a team-high 23 assists with nine digs. Fellow setter McKena Estes added 22 assists.
• Sophomore Meredith Klare had a match-high 15 digs. Classmate Kristen Massa added six kills a team-high five blocks. Xavier held a 7-2 advantage in total team blocks.

BIG EAST STATS: XU TOP-FIVE

Hitting Percentage

1.	Creighton	.278
2.	Marquette	.261
3.	Xavier	.248

Opponent Hitting Percentage

1.	Creighton	.168
2.	Marquette	.185
t-3.	Butler	.196
t-3.	St. John's	.196
5.	Xavier	.206

Assists (a/s)

1.	Creighton	13.49
2.	Villanova	12.82
3.	Xavier	12.79

Kills (k/s)

1.	Creighton	14.70
2.	Xavier	13.89

Blocks (b/s)

1.	St. John's	2.90
2.	Marquette	2.37
3.	Xavier	2.29

Individual Hitting Percentage

1.	Jasmine King, DePaul	.406
2.	Jenna Rosenthal, Marquette	.363
3.	Caitlyn Coffey, DePaul	.359
4.	Sofia Peterson, XU	.347

Individual Kills (k/s)

1.	Taylor Louis, Marquette	4.44
2.	Anna Logan, Butler	4.41
3.	Abbey Bessler, XU	3.74

Individual Blocks (b/s)

1.	Danisha Moss, St. John's	1.46
2.	Jenna Rosenthal, Marquette	1.26
3.	*Alexis Newsome, XU*	*1.17*

Individual Points (p/s)

1.	Anna Logan, Butler	5.03
2.	Taylor Lewis, Marquette	4.95
3.	Brittany Maxwell, DePaul	4.29
4.	Allie Loitz, Villanova	4.25
5.	*Abbey Bessler, XU*	*4.16*

NCAA STATS

• Xavier ranks 12th in team kills (1,655) and 23rd in team assists (1,525).
• Individually, Alexis Newsome ranks 39th in total blocks (138) and Abbey Bessler ranks 51st in total kills (440).

CAREER RECORD WATCH: BESSLER

KILLS

Rank	Kills	Name	Years
1.	1,779	Sally Schulte	1993-96
2.	1,761	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

ATTACK ATTEMPTS

Rank	AA	Name	Years
1.	*5,062*	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

POINTS

Rank	Points	Name	Years
1.	1,994.5	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

DIGS

Rank	Points	Name	Years
4.	1,407	Jennifer Nunn	1989-92
5.	1,385	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll as announced by the conference office on Aug. 3. The preseason poll and All-BIG EAST selections were voted on by the conference's 10 head coaches.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

• Three Musketeers were selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team in Abbey Bessler, Kristen Massa and Sofia Peterson. Xavier and Creighton were the only two teams with three players each on the preseason team.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• The Musketeers posted an 18-12 overall record last year, the team's 18th straight year with a .500 or above record.

• Xavier has posted a 51-19 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in all three seasons.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors eight times in the last 11 years. Aubree Smith earned the honors last season, while Abbey Bessler picked up the recognition in 2013.