Last night (October 20), Creighton volleyball had been scheduled to face DePaul at Sokol Arena. The atmosphere was fitting, as the Jays were set to celebrate the Pink Out in the evening. The fans joined the occasion in packs. They were given the pink T-shirt to wear in the stands while the Jays’ players showed up wearing the pink ribbon in their hair. Ultimately, at D. J. Sokol Arena, the crowd showed a full house to celebrate the matchup between two stalwarts of NCAA volleyball. Everything went smoothly for the Jays, eventually. Yet Kirsten Bernthal Booth has encountered disappointment. 

In the game, the Creighton volleyball team hunted in pairs as they uprooted DePaul in a 3-0 result. From the get-go, the Jays pounced on the opponent, sweeping every set. In fact, in the 17th Annual Pink Out, the Creighton volleyball team earned its best start with a 17-2 record. Furthermore, the result (25-18, 25-12, 25-13) earned the NCAA volleyball squad its 10th straight victory. You’d think this would put a huge smile on Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth’s face, right? Well, not quite.

Kirsten Bernthal Booth is not holding back when it comes to the NCAA’s first in-season rankings—she feels her Creighton volleyball team is getting shortchanged. Right now, the Bluejays sit in sixth place, trailing behind powerhouses like Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Louisville, and Stanford. But Kirsten believes they’ve earned a better spot, and she’s got the numbers to back it up.

As of Friday, Creighton was rocking a fourth-place ranking in RPI, which was the cutoff for the rankings. Plus, let’s not forget that the Blue Demons have only lost twice, both times on the road, against teams with higher rankings. So slipping to sixth? Yeah, that’s hard for Kirsten to swallow. In her eyes, Creighton should still be holding strong at number four, she tells Omaha News. “We were a little disappointed. I think there was a strong argument we could’ve landed at four,” she went on to provide an insight into the squad’s sentiments. But after the announcement, there’s little room to do anything. So?

Booth is not on the side of those who lose hope easily. Regarding the NCAA Volleyball’s operations, she said, “We hope that the committee continues to watch us play and will make some judgments based on our resume a little differently in a month.” Additionally, she mentioned that Creighton Volleyball had already tried to reach the authorities to show displeasure with the ranking.

Yet, nothing positive has come out. Meanwhile, the helplessness reflected in her voice when she said, “I think we did everything that we could, other than — obviously, we needed to win one of those five-setters, is what they were telling us.” But the mentor has already set her eyes to turn the table and her squad has reasons to change the standings.  

Creighton Volleyball targets to achieve a new milestone in the NCAA Volleyball

This year, in June, Creighton University announced it had extended the contract with coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth for the long term. Notably, the veteran coach has already spent 21 summers in the volleyball fold. In her period, the NCAA Volleyball team has experienced unprecedented success in the realm. With a 470-189 record, the squad has won 11 regular-season conference titles under her watch. Among those, 10 titles have come as the consecutive BIG EAST Conference titles. An enviable resume for any volleyball coach! However, she is yet to touch a milestone. 

According to the rules, the top 16 teams in the NCAA rankings get the golden ticket to host the first weekend of the tournament. But it’s the top four that score the real prize—they can host the second weekend if they make it that far. Creighton Volleyball has enjoyed the honor of hosting five times in its impressive history, with three of those happening in just the last three seasons.

However, there’s one milestone that’s still eluding them: they’ve yet to host that coveted second weekend. For Kirsten Bernthal Booth, securing that opportunity would be especially meaningful. She’s already got her sights set on sharpening her squad to reach that goal. Fans are now eagerly anticipating what this season holds.