St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Rutgers
Rutgers Tops St. John's 3-2 Sunday Afternoon
11/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 6, 2005
New Brunswick, N.J. - The St. John's women's volleyball team fell to conference rival Rutgers 3-2 on Sunday, Nov. 6 at College Ave Gym in New Brunswick, N.J. The Red Storm falls to 21-8 overall 7-5 in the conference, while Rutgers improves to 10-15 overall, 5-7 in the BIG EAST.
The Red Storm was lead by Shameka Mitchell (Lakeland, Fla.) who recorded 23 kills on .356 hitting. Freshman Hui Ping Huang (The Republic of China) earned another double double with 16 kills and 11 digs, while Casie Brooks (Victorville, Calif.) had 43 assists and Kathleen Yee (Honolulu, Hawaii) had a match-high and personal best four aces.
The two teams battled through the eighth point of the first game before Rutgers increased the momentum, taking a four point lead. St. John's tied the score again at 14 with a service ace from Patti Hardiman (Honolulu, Hawaii), but Rutgers took control of the game once again, 24-18, with strong efforts at the net from Lora Yankauskas, Tamarie Macon and Amanda Meyer. The Red Storm brought the score within four, 28-24, with kills from Huang and Mitchell, however was unable to gain the advantage as the Scarlet Knights took game one 30-25.
St. John's took a strong 8-2 lead at the start of the second game. Rutgers fought back bringing the score within one several times, but continued to trail as St. John's went on several four point runs to increase the score to 23-17. Two quick kills from Caitlin Rimgaila (Trooper, Pa.) increased the Red Storm's control as it went on to finish game two 30-24.
Tied one game a piece, the Red Storm came in after the break with a six point advantage, 9-3, forcing the Scarlet Knights to call a time out. St. John's took another 5-0 run on kills from LaToya Blunt (Vacaville, Calif.) and Mitchell. Yankauskas and Courtney Stout tried to lessen the gap for Rutgers, but St. John's fought hard taking the third game 30-19 on a block from Blunt.
The Scarlet Knights answered back quickly taking early control of the fourth game. Rutgers secured a seven point lead over St. John's off a kill from Yankauskas and never trailed for the remainder of the game. Stout and Macon's efforts at the net helped the Scarlet Knights keep control of the board, increasing the score to 22-14. Late game efforts from St. John's were not enough as Yankauskas scored game point, 30-17, and forced St. John's to a fifth and decisive game.
Tied through the sixth point of the fifth game, St. John's took a two point lead, 8-6, before switching sides. The Red Storm continued its lead moving the score to 10-7 on an ace from Brooks. The Scarlet Knights tied the score at 10 on a kill from Meyer. Scarlet Knights closed out the game, 15-11, on a service ace from Roxy Calder.
Yankauskas led the Scarlet Knights with 23 kills and three service aces. Stout and Kyra Thompson both recorded double doubles in the afternoon's match. Stout had 12 kills and 10 digs, while Thompson has 12 kills and 13 digs.
The Red Storm returns to action on Friday, Nov. 11 against the Mountaineers of West Virginia and then faces the Pittsburgh Panthers in the team's last regular season contest on Saturday, Nov. 12. First serve for both games is 7 p.m.
For the most up-to-date information and statistics on St. John's Athletics, please visit www.RedStormSports.com, or call our hotline at 1-888-GO-STORM.
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