Behind 16 kills by Norah Sis and an efficient attack, No. 14 Creighton swept Kayla Banwarth's Mississippi squad 25-21, 25-15, 25-13 in the first round of the NCAA volleyball tournament Thursday in Omaha.
But the win could be expensive for the Bluejays, who lost senior leader Jaela Zimmerman in the second set to a knee injury.
Sis, a freshman who played at Papillion-La Vista, hit .800 in the match with no attack errors. Creighton had hitting percentages of .423, .250 and .484 in the three sets, with Kendra Wait getting 31 assists.
Creighton never trailed in the first set, building a 19-14 lead on a Zimmerman kill. After the Rebels cut the lead to 22-20, the Bluejays closed it out with a block by Sis and Naomi Hickman, an ace serve by Wait and, after a Katie Corelli kill for Mississippi, a Rebel serving error. Zimmerman and Sis combined for nine kills in the set.
People are also reading…
The Bluejays went on a big run to secure the second set. After trailing 3-0 early, Creighton tied it at 10. With the score 12-12, Creighton closed out the set with a 13-3 run, including five kills by Sis.
Zimmerman, a three-time All-Big East player, had to be helped off the court after injuring her left knee early in the second set and did not return. Her status going forward is unknown.
Creighton started fast in the third set, taking an early 9-2 lead. After back-to-back kills from Anna Bair cut Creighton's lead to 10-8, the Bluejays went on a 6-1 run to regain control. Mississippi never threatened again, and Sis sealed it with a kill on match point.
Banwarth, a former Husker player and assistant coach in her second season at Ole Miss, had the Rebels in the tournament for the first time since 2010. Bair led the Rebels with 10 kills.
Creighton will next play Kansas at 7 p.m. Friday. The Jayhawks stunned No. 19 Oregon 25-21, 25-21, 25-22 earlier Thursday.