Volleyball Drops Road Match at No. 25 Creighton, 3-0

Sunday, November 6

Omaha, Neb.

2 p.m.

Xavier University

15-12, 9-5BIG EAST

No. 25 Creighton

20-6, 14-0BIG EAST

Xavier

Creighton

Volleyball Drops Road Match at No. 25 Creighton, 3-0

11.06.16 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletics Communication

OMAHA, Neb. – Xavier volleyball fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-21) in the final match of a weekend road swing at No. 25 Creighton inside D.J. Sokol Arena on Sunday.

Despite the loss, which snapped a four-match winning streak, the Musketeers (15-12, 9-5 BIG EAST) have still won seven of their last nine.

Creighton improved to 20-6 and 14-0 in the league with the sweep, tying a record for the best start to league play in BIG EAST history.

MATCH NOTES

• Kristen Massa had her second double-digit kill effort of the weekend and third in a row, leading Xavier with 12 kills on 31 attempts.

• Abbey Bessler was limited to just nine kills on a .259 swing percentage, just missing her 12th double-double of the season of the year after 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.

SET ONE

• Creighton hit .516, taking control of set one early with the score 7-6. After a McKena Estes serve got the Musketeers within one, Creighton rallied with four straight points to go up 11-6. Xavier would get no closer than four the rest of the way as CU went up with a 25-16 set win.

SET TWO

• Xavier responded well in set two, racing out to a 9-2 lead with a 5-0 run featuring a pair of Massa kills. The Bluejays came back from a timeout with four straight, however, to get back to within 9-6. Xavier continued to lead, getting its advantage back to six, 17-11, after a Creighton error before dropping five straight points. Creighton would eventually tie the match at 19, but XU led as late as 22-21 – until the Bluejays took four of the last five points to seal a 25-23 win.
• Set two was XU's best set statistically, as the Musketeers hit .270 with 14 kills against just four errors.

SET THREE

• Xavier again led early in set three and hung around all set, getting within two at 17-15 on a Creighton error. A 4-0 spurt by the Bluejays threatened to put things out of reach, but the Musketeers answered with four straight of their own punctuated by Massa's 12th kill to make it 21-19. After splitting the next four points, however, Creighton took the match 25-21 on back-to-back kills.

UP NEXT

• Xavier remains on the road next weekend, traveling to Villanova and Georgetown for a pair of league matches. The Musketeers will meet 'Nova on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 12 p.m. to kick off the weekend.