Creighton's Kendra Wait (15) serves the ball during the third set of a first round NCAA volleyball tournament match against South Dakota at Sokol Arena in Omaha on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
Gene Schinzel Omaha World-Herald
Kendra Wait and Norah Sis talked about it throughout the season, how much the journey meant to this Creighton team.
Last Sunday night, that journey had the Bluejays on the cusp of history.
Creighton and Penn State were tied 3-3 in the fifth set. A win would have put the Jays in the Final Four for the first time and set up a rematch with rival Nebraska. But in front of an energized home court, Penn State put together a 9-2 run that ended the program's most successful season ever.
"We fought our hearts out on that court," Wait said minutes after the loss. "We battled and there's no other group of women I would want to go out there and battle with.
"It's going to sting for a while but it's been a great journey."
Wait and Sis are two of the most decorated players in program history, too.
They've combined to win the last three Big East player of the year awards, and on the eve of the Final Four received more honors no other Bluejay had: Wait became the program's first first-team All-American while Sis was the first second-teamer.
Both knew with the makeup of this year's team, the program could make a run at the Final Four.
"I just think the way that all 19 women on this team came into the gym every single day and no matter what we were dealing with in school or outside lives, I think everyone wanted it so badly for each other," Sis said.
Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth, whose other trip to the Elite Eight with the Jays was in 2016, saw the team's close-knit structure.
"I'm proud of who they are off the court as much as I'm proud of who they are on the court," Booth said. "The love they have among each other is pretty remarkable and I'm grateful that we had this."
Creighton started the ranked No. 12, then went to No. 9 when the Jays played at Nebraska and Louisville in a one-week span.
Creighton dropped both matches in five sets, but the next week beat a pair of top-10 opponents -- Purdue and Kansas -- to move to No. 6, the highest ranking in program history.
They climbed as high as No. 5 while rattling off a 25-match winning streak. During that run, CU lost a total of five sets, including one to two-time defending national champ Texas in the Round of 16.
"We've talked all season that we have grit, we have heart and we play with that every single point," Wait said. "I think we were able to showcase that this weekend again."
Wait and Sis' names are all over Creighton's record book.
Wait finished second on the career assist list with 4,970. She had 20 double-doubles this season and a program-record 73 for her career.
Sis, a Papillion-La Vista grad, finished second in career kills (1,664) and fifth in aces (113).
"They are selfless. You know we talk about what's wrong with college athletes, these guys are what's right about college athletics," Booth said. "They're student-athletes, they're wonderful humans. I'm just sad I don't get to coach them and the other seniors."
There were five other seniors whose careers ended in the Elite Eight: Maddy Bilinovic, Elise Goetzinger, Katie Maser, Abbey Milner and Emma Ziegler. Bilinovic (Penn State) and Goetzinger (Kentucky) were starters as grad transfers, helping CU to a single-season record 32 wins. Both were honorable mention All-Americans.
In the past four seasons, Creighton went 119-17 and was Division I's second-winningest program, behind only Pittsburgh. Last month, CU won its 11th straight Big East regular-season title and the 10th league tournament in 11 years.
Wait said the program's culture is what brought about that success.
"It won't stop with us," Wait said. "I'm so excited to see where this program grows in the future because it's just such an amazing place."
Slated to be back next season is outside hitter Ava Martin, a third-team All-American who ended the year with 18 straight matches of 10 kills or more. She has more than 1,000 for her career.
Starting middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt and right-side hitter Jaya Johnson, one of the Big East's top freshmen, can return as well.
"I can't wait to watch them next year," said Sis, who like Wait was selected in the Pro Volleyball Federation draft. "I'm just going to miss it so much and I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to play for Creighton."