St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Evansville (IPFW Invitational)
St. John's Wins 2004 IPFW Volleyball Invitational
9/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 25, 2004
Fort Wayne, IN (September 25, 2004) - Led by tournament MVP Jackie Ahlers (23 kills), the St. John's volleyball team won the IPFW Invitational with a win against Evansville, 3-1 (24-30, 30-26, 30-26, 30-23) tonight at Hillard Gates. St. John's improves to 9-4 (0-0 BIG EAST), while the Purple Aces fall to 6-8.
Ahlers has been named to three All-Tournament teams (Two as an MVP) in every tournament the Red Storm have competed in so far this season. Overall this is her eighth selection since her freshman year in 2002.
Against Evansville, the Red Storm tallied 96 digs and 21 blocks as a team in the win. Junior middle hitter Anicia Wood (6 kills, 9 blocks) and setter Lisa Tedder (45 assists, 19 digs) were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts over the weekend.
In the first game, the two teams were tied throughout the eighth point when St. John's started to pull away with three consecutive Ahlers cross-court kills. Evansville's scrappy defense kept the ball alive off the block to take the lead at 22-19. Late in the game the Purple Aces served three consecutive aces to steal game one, 30-24.
The Red Storm pulled out to a 6-2 lead with two big blocks by Wood. Evansville rallied back and the two teams exchanged the lead through the 24th point, with St. John's coming out on top, 28-25. Ahlers and co-captain Yana Ruban (11 kills, 11 blocks) sealed the win for St. John's with a block on the left side to take game two, 30-26.
Freshman Molly Roloff set the tone with two service aces to pull St. John's to a 6-0 lead in the third game. Up 14-7, St. John's let Evansville sneak in to come within two points at 18-16 with a diving defensive effort in the back row by libero Sarah McClellan. Led by aggressive serving by libero Nicole Colaluca (27 digs), St. John's took game three, 30-23.
Evansville started game four with a 10-3 edge, but St. John's rallied back to tie the game at 11 with an Ahlers kill down the line. The Red Storm continued their attack going on 7-0 run with digs by Colaluca and Alicia Carmignani (10 kills, 23 digs). Evansville would not go away making a late game run with defensive plays at the net, but was not enough as the Red Storm took the final game 30-26.
The Red Storm returns to action this Tuesday, September 28 as head coach Joanne Persico-Smith and the St. John's volleyball program will go for their 200th win when they will host Iona at Alumni Hall. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
