St. John's University Athletics
VOLLEYBALL OPENS SEASON
9/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Red Storm are slated to take on Texas-El Paso tonight at 8:00. Then on Saturday, September 2, St. John's will play host Central Connecticut at 10:00 and Holy Cross at 3:30. UTEP, Holy Cross and Central Connecticut combined for only 15 wins last season, making the Red Storm the decided favorite this weekend.
Head Coach Joanne Persico-Smith returns ten letterwinners, including four starters, from her 1999 squad which posted a 16-16 overall record.
Leading the offensive attack once again this season is senior outside hitter Olga Roudovksi (Brooklyn, N.Y./Sheepshead Bay). Roudovski led the Red Storm last year with 410 kills and 224 digs. She is currently third on the school's all-time kills list with 987 and is just 13 away from becoming the third volleyball player in school history to rack up 1,000 career kills. Roudovski also holds the school record for kills in a match with 31, set against Syracuse in 1998.
Also returning in the middle is senior Aleeza Miller (Los Angeles, Calif./Cal-Berkeley) who posted a .306 hitting percentage last season and led the Red Storm with 97 total blocks. She is currently third all-time in total blocks with 267. Another force on the right side is senior Amanda Berg (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb), who tallied 206 kills and 88 total blocks last year. She is right behind Miller on the career blocking list with 243.
