Creighton volleyball coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth 'excited' to compete against freshman daughter at Northern Iowa

The No. 9 Bluejays are headed to Louisville, Kentucky, for the Cardinal Classic. After dropping a five-set thriller at No. 5 Nebraska on Tuesday, they’ll have a chance to avenge their first loss of the season on Friday against Northern Iowa.

Booth’s daughter, Reese, is a freshman setter at UNI — and the Elkhorn North product has already made an impact in Cedar Falls.

They’ll share the court on opposite sides of the net for the brief family reunion.

“If we’re not winning, it won’t be fun. I’m sure she feels the same way,” Kirsten said, laughing. “I mean, we’re both pretty competitive people. But I think we’re excited to see each other.”

Kirsten said at Wednesday’s press conference that an hour before then she was watching film and studying the Panthers. She saw something she didn’t like and groaned. Typically, she’d be fine with an opponent’s mistake.

Angie Oxley Behrens, Kirsten’s associate head coach, stopped and asked if she was grousing about Reese.

“I said, ‘Yeah, that was a bad set,’” Kirsten said. “It is kind of fascinating. Like writing notes, I’ll write ‘setter’ or ‘number,’ and I’m writing ‘Reese does this.’ It’s a different experience.”

Kirsten’s husband Erik and their 13-year-old Berkely, the youngest of three daughters, are making the trip to Louisville. Reese is ready to see family after her first month at UNI, Booth said, and they’re ready to see her.

But Friday won’t be all love. Not when first serve goes up.

“Obviously we hope to win that match,” Booth said, “and we hope they play well all season, as you can imagine as a parent.”