Volleyball Opens Home Slate of BIG EAST Matches with No. 11 Creighton

CINCINNATI - Xavier volleyball opens the home slate of BIG EAST matches with No. 11 Creighton on Saturday in the Cintas Center.

GAME INFORMATION

Xavier vs. No. 11 Creighton
Sept. 23 | 5 p.m. ET | Cintas Center | Cincinnati, Ohio
Live Stats - bit.ly/XUHomeStats
Watch - bit.ly/45V9XVm

ABOUT CREIGHTON

2023 Record: 9-2 (0-0 BIG EAST)
2022 Record: 27-5 (17-1 BIG EAST)
2022 Postseason: NCAA Tournament, First Round
Series History: 0-23
Last Meeting: Nov. 25, 2022; Creighton win 3-0, BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals
Head Coach: Kirsten Bernthal Booth (21st)

BIG EAST STANDINGS

Place	Team	BIG EAST	OVERALL
1.	Xavier	1-0	8-4
2.	Creighton	0-0	9-2
3.	Georgetown	0-0	9-3
4.	Villanova	0-0	9-3
5.	St. John's	0-0	8-4
6.	DePaul	0-0	7-4
7.	Seton Hall	0-0	6-5
8.	Providence	0-0	6-6
9.	Butler	0-1	6-6
10.	UConn	0-0	5-7
11.	Marquette	0-0	4-7

WEEKLY AWARDS

• Sarah Stevens was tabbed to the Sept. 18 BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for her performance in the final weekend of nonconference action. The redshirt junior middle blocker registered 20 kills, six block assists, one block solo, and a .555 hitting percentage against Northern Kentucky and Kennesaw State. Stevens earned the selection for the first time in her career.

• Carrigan O'Reilly was tabbed to the Sept. 18 BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for her performance in the final weekend of nonconference action. The graduate setter tallied 76 assists in the seven sets averaging 10.86 assists/set and collected an additional 13 digs, three block assists, and eight kills. She led the team to average 14.33 kills/set against Northern Kentucky and 13.75 kills/set against Kennesaw State.

• Delaney Hogan was tabbed to the Sept. 11 BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for her performance in the Xavier Tournament where the middle blocker accumulated 37 kills, only two errors, five block assists, one block solo, and a .603 hitting percentage in the three matches. In the match against Bellarmine, Hogan hit for .867, tying the BIG EAST Overall Individual Single Match Record for hitting percentage.

• Emma Grace was tabbed to the Aug. 28 BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for her performance in the Cincinnati Tournament where the outside hitter accumulated 46 kills, 26 digs, four service aces, and a .389 hitting percentage across 11 sets.

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year: Norah Sis, Creighton, Jr., OH

Preseason All-BIG EAST:
Jaymeson Kinley, R.S. Sr, Butler, DS
Ava Martin, So., Creighton, OH
Norah Sis, Jr., Creighton*, OH
Kendra Wait, Jr., Creighton*, S
Jill Pressly, Sr., OH, DePaul
Yadhira Anchante, Jr., Marquette*, S
Hattie Bray, Jr., Marquette, MB
Aubrey Hamilton, Sr., Marquette, OH
Carsen Murray, Sr., Marquette*, MB
Giorgia Walther, Jr., St. John's, OH
Brooklyn Cink, Gr., Xavier, OH
Carrigan O'Reilly, Gr., Xavier, S/RS
*Unanimous selection

Preseason Coaches Poll
Points (First place votes)
1. Marquette 97 (7)
2. Creighton 94 (4)
3. Xavier 78
4. St. John's 64
5. UConn 63
6. DePaul 59
7. Villanova 46
8. Butler 40
9. Seton Hall 30
10. Providence 18
11. Georgetown 16

SCHEDULE NOTES

• The Musketeers faced Purdue Fort Wayne in an exhibition match on Aug. 19 in Fort Wayne.

• Xavier will play 11 nonconference matches between four tournaments, with five games at home and six on the road. The Musketeers participate in two road tournaments, the Cincinnati Tournament and the Colorado Tournament, then return home to host two tournaments in the Cintas Center.

• The Musketeers swept the opening weekend of play in the Cincinnati Tournament with wins over Indiana State, rival Cincinnati, and first time opponent Alabama State.

• Xavier fell to Colorado, Northern Colorado, and Charlotte in the Colorado Classic.

• The Musketeers posted a 2-1 record in the Xavier Tournament with wins over Buffalo and Bellarmine while taking Missouri to five sets.

• Xavier opened the home slate of nonconference games on Sept. 8 with a 3-2 win over Buffalo.

• The Musketeers sealed nonconference action with a 2-0 weekend at home, highlighted by a 3-1 win over Northern Kentucky and a straight sets win over first time opponent Kennesaw State.

• Xavier will face foes from 11 different conferences in the 2023 schedule (BIG EAST, MAC, The Valley, SWAC, Pac-12, Big Sky, Big XII, AAC, SEC, ASUN, Horizon League), meeting Alabama State, Northern Colorado, and Kennesaw State for the first time in program history.

• The Musketeers opened BIG EAST action at Butler on Sept. 20 with a straight sets win and is set to close the regular season at Creighton on Nov. 17 at 7 pm.

• Xavier will face four teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last season including Northern Colorado, Colorado, Marquette, and Creighton. Xavier also takes on Buffalo, St. John's and Alabama State, who each participated in the 2022 NIVC Tournament. Of the 21 opponents the Musketeers will face, 10 saw action in their respective conference tournament.

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• The Musketeers were picked to finish third in the league as voted on the 2023 BIG EAST Preseason Poll by the coaches. Both Carrigan O'Reilly and Brooklyn Cink were tabbed to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. O'Reilly earned the selection for the third consecutive season.

• In 2022, the Musketeers achieved a 21-12 (11-7 BIG EAST) record, a trip to the BIG EAST Conference Tournament, and a postseason bid to the NIVC where they advanced to the quarterfinals but ended the season in a five set match with Boston College. The Musketeers are looking towards another successful season.

• Xavier returns 11 letterwinners, three of who were tabbed to the 2022 All-BIG EAST Team - Carrigan O'Reilly, Brooklyn Cink, and Delaney Hogan.

• To cap off the 2023 roster, the Musketeers added six freshman - Jamison Gordon, Elouise Czajkowski, Quinci Thomas, Kasey Quenichet, Margo Kemp, and Annie Eschenbach.

• The 2023 roster consists of two graduate students, four seniors, four juniors, one sophomore, and six freshmen.

• Following the conclusion of the 2022 regular season, Head Coach Christy Pfeffenberger and her staff were named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Returning this year alongside Pfeffenberger is Associate Head Coach Ed Tolentino for his eighth season and Assistant Coach Andre Foster for his second.

• In July, Coach Pfeffenberger announced the hiring of former student-athlete, Angel Robinson, as the program's new graduate assistant. As an athlete at Xavier, Robinson accumulated 155 kills, 61 block assists, 11 block solos, and 199.5 points.

UP NEXT

Xavier will host No. 11 Creighton on Saturday then head east to Villanova and Georgetown next weekend.

Schedule

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