OMAHA – Ava Martin had 20 kills and Saige Damrow added 19 digs as No. 18 Creighton Volleyball picked up its first sweep and first home win of the 2025 season with a 25-16, 25-19, 25-18 win over Rice on Saturday at the Bluejay Invitational.
Martin had 20 kills on 36 swings and hit .472 on the afternoon, while Abbey Hayes contributed a season-high 10 kills and hit .320. Damrow led a stout Bluejay defense with 19 digs. Creighton had 47 kills, 51 digs, five blocks, as well as season-highs with 10 aces and .349 hitting.
Rice was paced by 12 kills from Taylor Preston and 25 assists and eight digs by Savannah Skopal. The preseason favorites in the American Conference had 31 kills, 45 digs, 3.5 blocks and two aces on .196 hitting.
Creighton never trailed in the first two sets. The Bluejays rolled out to a 7-1 lead to open the match as it finally built a sizable cushion after opening the year with five ranked foes among its first seven opponents, including three top-five opponents. Martin had nine kills in the opener to start her big afternoon.
The Bluejays bolted to a 5-1 lead in the second frame. Though Rice would battle back to tie the score on a pair of occasions, a 6-1 run capped by one of Martin’s four aces helped the Bluejays move in front 17-11.
A kill by Kiara Reinhardt helped CU take a 2-0 lead into the break. Martin contributed another seven kills and Damrow dug 10 balls, including four in one long rally. The Bluejays served up five aces in the second set.
Rice’s only leads came in the third set, as the Owls scored the first point and stayed in front by as much as three before Reinhardt pounded three kills during Annalea Maeder’s 5-0 serving run to give the Jays a 16-14 advantage.
The Bluejays closed out the victory with a 25-18 victory after an unsuccessful challenge on match point. Hayes had five kills and Martin and Reinhardt added four each in the finale, part of a Bluejay attack that hit .485 with 17 kills in 33 swings.