Creighton desperately wanted to open the second half of its Missouri Valley Conference volleyball schedule with a strong performance. Friday’s win definitely fit the bill.

Middle blockers Jessica Houts and Laurel Sanford were too much for Illinois State to handle as the Blujays put together a 25-23, 24-26, 25-20, 25-18 victory.

Houts had 15 kills and six blocks, while Sanford finished with five stuffs and 12 kills on .400 hitting. Outside hitters Alicia Runge and Allie Oelke also stood out, with Runge putting away 12 kills and Oelke turning in 11 putaways and a career-high 24 digs.

“This was definitely a great way to start off the second half,” Houts said. “After seeing all the teams in our conference, I feel confident that — if we play up to our potential — we can beat anybody in the Valley.”

After an up-and-down start, the Bluejays still are only 8-12 overall and 5-5 in the league. But Creighton will get to host the Valley tournament at the end of November. And that, coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth said, is big incentive for a team that has no shot at an at-large NCAA tournament invitation.

“This was a huge win. We didn’t play perfect ball tonight, but we did some good things,” Booth said. “This team still believes it can do some amazing things this year, and that’s not just coach-speak. I know by the way they keep working that they haven’t given up.”

Creighton raced to a 6-0 lead to open the match, but ISU fought back. Booth called a time out with the Bluejays up 24-23, and CU won the opener on a wild rally that ended with Tabitha Visk’s attack error.

Illinois State built a 24-20 advantage in set two and eventually knotted the match 1-all. Creighton made the Redbirds sweat, however, as freshman Lisa Greisch, an Omaha Marian graduate, served up four straight points to tie it 24-24. The run also included four blocks from Houts.

The Redbirds handed Creighton six points on service errors in set three. Those miscues, plus seven combined kills from Houts and Sanford, allowed the Bluejays to pull ahead 2-1.

Illinois State slowed down Creighton’s middle attack late in the fourth, but the Bluejays cruised to the victory as Runge and Oelke teamed up for nine kills in the set.

Megan Bober and Nayka Benitez each had 17 digs for CU — a career best for Bober. The Bluejays play another home match at 7 tonight, when they host Indiana State.

Illinois State (9-12, 4-6)................23 26 20 18

At Creighton (8-12, 5-5).................25 24 25 25

Illinois State (kills-aces-blocks): Visk 11-0-2, Pratapas 1-2-4, Culbertson 6-0-3, Rego 11-0-0, Leggett 13-0-1, Kelley 12-0-5, Lonergan 0-0-0, Wakfield 0-0-0, Mollerus 0-0-0, Stauter 0-0-0, Menendez 0-1-0.

Creighton (kills-aces-blocks): Sanford 12-0-5, Oelke 11-0-4, Bober 4-0-2, Houts 15-0-6, Runge 12-0-2, Schulze 3-0-3, Benitez 0-0-0, Greisch 0-0-0, Thorson 0-0-0.

Set assists: Illinois State 5 (Pratapas 35, Stauter 12); Creighton 54 (Bober 47). A: 1,091.

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