OMAHA - A pair of Omaha Marian standouts will continue their
volleyball careers at Creighton University, as Bluejay head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth announced the additions of Kate Elman and Ashley Jansen on the opening day of the spring signing period today.

The duo join fall signees Melanie Jereb (Cary, Ill.) and Lauren Smith
(Lincoln, Neb.) as newcomers who will be freshmen in the fall and have four years of eligibility at Creighton. Elman and Jansen are expected to compete for playing time as defensive specialists or the libero spot in the fall.

"We're thrilled with the addition of Kate and Ashley," said Booth. "Both of them will be phenomenal additions to our backcourt, both serve receive and defensive-wise. Perhaps more importantly they're great young women that will bring energy to the gym and represent Creighton, the athletic department and themselves, with class and respect."

OMAHA - Five matches against BCS teams and 10 matches against NCAA
Tournament qualifiers highlight the 2012 Creighton Volleyball schedule, released today by head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.

Creighton has traditionally played one of the nation's most difficult
non-conference schedules under Booth, and this fall figures to be no
different. The Bluejays will take part in tournaments at South Florida (featuring UCF, USF and Wisconsin) and Northern Colorado (with Tulsa, Ball State and Northern Colorado), and will also host Kansas State, Syracuse and Denver in the Bluejay Invitational.

The Jays also have non-conference mid-week tilts vs. Kansas and South
Dakota.

ITHACA, N.Y. - Melissa Batie-Smoose, who has spent nearly 20 years coaching at nearly every collegiate level, has been named The Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach Of Volleyball at Cornell University. The announcement was made by Andy Noel, the Meakem*Smith Director of Athletics and Physical Education at Cornell.

Batie-Smoose was the most successful head coach in the history of Savannah College of Art & Design, guiding the team to an 81-43 overall record (.653). The 2009 Sun Conference Coach of the Year led her squad to a conference tournament title and an appearance in the NAIA national tournament. That team ranked as high as 20th nationally. She previously served as head coach at Nova Southeastern University (2005), helping recruit a core of players that would advance to the Elite Eight of the 2008 NCAA Division Division II tournament.

While serving as a head coach at the NAIA and Division II levels, Batie-Smoose has also served as an assistant coach in the ACC, SEC, Conference USA and Missouri Valley Conferences. She spent two seasons as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Florida State (2006-08) and two years as an assistant at Wake Forest (2003-04), a year at Creighton (1998) and four seasons at Charlotte (1992, 1994-96). Batie-Smoose also spent a year as a volunteer assistant at Florida (2000). After her first season at Charlotte, Batie-Smoose spent one year as an assistant volleyball and softball coach at Allegheny College (1993) before returning to assist the 49ers.

Click to view story on White and Blue Review

It is that time of year — the time where it gets a little warmer outside, the birds are chirping and many have spring fever. But, there are those still inside working on their skills that will be used in less than six months from now kicking off the fall sports season. The Creighton Volleyball team is one of those groups.

Creighton Volleyball is quietly preparing for the start the Creighton 2012-13 sports season. “I just love this time of year,” said head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. “It creates some extra time to develop the team.”

OMAHA – The UNO volleyball team kicks off its spring 2012 schedule this weekend, hosting a three-team event with the UNO Spring Volleyball Tournament.

On Saturday, March 17, Nebraska Omaha will play two matches at Sapp Fieldhouse. The Mavericks face future Summit League foe South Dakota at 1 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m. match with in-state rival Creighton.

"We as a team are extremely excited to compete against two quality opponents such as South Dakota and Creighton on our home floor," Head Coach Rose Shires said. "Entering 2012, we have an young squad in that we have four juniors and six freshmen on the roster, but we are confident in the work we have done this spring and the level of competitiveness we'll bring to the court. The team has made significant strides this spring, and the redshirt freshmen in particular are anxious to get on the floor to show what they can do."

VERMILLION, S.D. – The South Dakota volleyball team will open its spring season Saturday at the Nebraska-Omaha tournament in Omaha, Neb. The Coyotes will play two matches as part of the weekend.

South Dakota will face Nebraska-Omaha – which joins the Summit League in 2012-13 – at 1 p.m. Saturday, and follows with a match against Creighton at 2:30 p.m. later in the day.

The Coyotes will return four starters plus their libero from last year’s team that finished 14-18 overall and 7-11 in the Summit League, which tied them for sixth in their first season in the league.

North Dakota State will be a common foe for Creighton and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during the spring volleyball season.

The Bison will face Creighton on Saturday, March 24 at 12:30 p.m. at the D.J. Sokol Arena. Iowa State is also taking part in the event.

NDSU will play Nebraska at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at the Cox Activities Center at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Neb.

Click to view on gocreighton.com.

Creighton Volleyball's Natalie Hackbarth will be blogging througout the spring, taking you behind the scenes in preparation for her junior season this fall. Below is her first entry.

1/16/12
January 16th marks a day of firsts. The first of many blogs I'll be posting to keep everyone updated on Bluejay volleyball--on and off the court, the first of many posts we hope you read:), the first Monday of classes for the 2nd semester, and Bluejay volleyball's first day of offseason practice and conditioning. As you can imagine, after a month of sleeping in, exercising on our own time, and eating christmas cookies..it was rough waking up for the first early-morning weights and conditioning session. Especially, when the majority of Creighton volleyball players aren't "morning people." But despite the muscle soreness and the need for an occasional nap, we're all really excited to be back on the volleyball court:)

Click to view story on Omaha World-Herald.

Growing up as a Creighton volleyball fan, Jessica Bird was a member of the school's "Bluejay Buddy" program.

The 5-foot-11 junior outside hitter from Bennington will soon make an even more meaningful contribution after giving an oral commitment to CU head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.

Click to view story on White and Blue Review.

Creighton volleyball came up just short this season in returning to the NCAA Tournament. A solid returning core will try and take the team there again in 2012. But Julianne Mandolfo, the MVC Libero of the Year, won’t be among them.

"Julianne has not made a decision where she is going to continue her playing career, but intends to transfer," Creighton head coach Kirsten Bernthal-Booth said. "All parties felt it would be in Julianne's best interest to have a chance to pursue other opportunities."