Volleyball falls 3-1 at No. 19 Creighton

Box Score (PDF)

OMAHA, Nebraska – The Marquette University women's volleyball team fell 3-1 to No. 19 Creighton on Sunday afternoon at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Golden Eagles (14-3, 5-1 BIG EAST) dropped their first league match of the season to the Bluejays, who move into a tie for first in the BIG EAST with the victory.

"I'm proud of our team's fight," Marquette head coach Ryan Theis said. "Creighton's offense executed at a high level and we couldn't quite get it done. Five of our last six matches on the road has been tough and we are looking forward getting back home for a few matches."

Outside hitter Hope Werch led Marquette with a season-high 16 kills, while Taylor Wolf had 13 and Savannah Rennie 10. Wolf hit .407 and posted a triple-double with 23 assists and a Marquette-high 21 digs.

The Jays (17-2, 5-1 BIG EAST) hit a combined .316 (67-17-158) and received 22 kills from freshman Norah Sis and 20 from Jaela Zimmmerman, each of whom recorded double-doubles.

Creighton used a 10-0 run early in the first set to break away after Marquette scored the match's first three points. MU eventually pulled within two points, 21-19, to force a CU timeout before the Jays closed the frame, 25-20, while hitting .452 (16-2-31). MU hit .364 (15-3-33) itself.

Marquette fought off three set points in the second set before falling 28-26. MU trailed 22-19 before rallying to knot the frame at 23 as the Jays called timeout. Rennie had two kills to fend off CU late and MU's final point came on an Ellie Koontz kill.

The Golden Eagles forced a fourth set with a 25-19 win in the third. Werch and Rennie each had four kills for MU in the frame.

Marquette used both its timeouts after falling behind 9-1 to start the fourth set, but rallied back to pull within a pair, 16-14. Freshman outside hitter Jenna Reitsma provided a spark for the Golden Eagles in the middle of the fourth before the Jays took nine of the next 11 points for the 25-16 win. CU hit .404 in the final stanza and notched 22 of its 25 points on kills.

The win was the 400th career victory for CU head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.

Creighton leads the all-time series with Marquette 21-5 and is 12-2 at DJ Sokol Arena against the Golden Eagles.

UP NEXT: The Golden Eagles will be back home next Friday at 7 p.m. CT for a match against St. John's before hosting Seton Hall on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT. Five of MU's next six matches are at the Al McGuire Center.

Keep up with the Marquette University women's volleyball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteVB) and Instagram (@MarquetteVB) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball).