Xavier Falls to No. 21 Creighton in BIG EAST Volleyball Championships

Saturday, November 26

Indianapolis, Ind.

2:30 p.m.

Xavier University

20-13

No. 1 Creighton

25-7

Xavier

Creighton

Xavier Falls to No. 21 Creighton in BIG EAST Volleyball Championships

11.26.16 | Volleyball

Box Score Season Stats (PDF)Box Score (PDF)BIG EAST Release

Abbey Bessler led the Musketeers with 13 kills

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

INDIANAPOLIS – No. 3 seed Xavier volleyball fell top-seed No. 21 Creighton in three sets (19-25, 15-25, 25-27) on Saturday in the BIG EAST Championship finale. The tournament was held at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Bluejays (26-6) earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Musketeers (20-13), along with Marquette, will await to see if they receive one of the 32 at-large bids. The NCAA Selection Show will be aired on ESPNU on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 9 p.m.

MATCH NOTES

• Abbey Bessler led the Musketeers with 13 kills. The senior outside hitter was six kills shy of setting the all-time record at Xavier. She added seven digs in the loss.

• Kristen Massa was the only other player with double-figure kills with 10, her 16th game of the year with 10 or more kills.

• Samantha Foti led Xavier with nine kills, while Meredith Klare added eight.

• Mackenzi Humm dished out a team-high 18 assists to go along with six digs. McKena Estes added 13 assists and five digs.

• Creighton held a 4-3 edge in total team blocks and had five more service aces (6-1).

SET ONE

• The opening set had 10 ties and four lead changes. Tied at 17, the Bluejays closed the set on an 8-2 run to take an early 1-0 match lead.

• Both teams hit well in the opening set as Xavier hit .324 and Creighton posted a .452 attack percentage. Abbey Bessler led Xavier with five kills in the opening set.

SET TWO

• Creighton posted a match-high .483 hitting percentage in the second stanza, while limiting Xavier to only .032 attack percentage – on its way to a 25-15 set victory.

SET THREE

• Tied at 10, the Musketeers went on an 8-4 run to take their largest lead of the set, 18-14. Xavier had match point at 24-22 before the Bluejays scored five of the final eight points to win the match and their third straight BIG EAST Tournament Title.

• Brooke Betts hit .800 with four kills, while Kristen Massa added five kills. Abbey Bessler also had four kills.