St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Volleyball Hosts West Virginia and Pittsburgh
11/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 9, 2005
QUEENS, N.Y. -
The St. John's women's volleyball team will conclude its 2005 regular season at home Friday against West Virginia and Saturday against Pittsburgh. Both games will be held at Carnesecca Arena on the Queens campus with the first serve at 7 p.m. The Red Storm, 21-8 overall and 7-5 in the BIG EAST, continues to work towards a conference tournament berth, the team's first since 1996. As it does so, the Red Storm will honor its graduating volleyball seniors in a pregame ceremony Saturday night.
- STORMWATCH: St. John's is at the end of one of the best seasons in program history. The Red Storm has improved dramatically on last year's conference record of 1-9 and has out-hit its conference opponents .247 to .203 and overall .261 to .157.
In conference matches, St. John's continues to lead the BIG EAST in assists with a total of 684 (15.55 per game). Overall, the Red Storm is second with a .261 hitting percentage, second in kills with 1,617 (16.17 per game) and third in service aces with 172 (1.72 per game).
- LAST TIME OUT: Last weekend's match 3-2 loss at Rutgers marked the third time St. John's has been pushed to five games this season. 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 her fifth 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.
With the Red Storm leading two games to one, 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 Lora Yankauskas and never trailed for the remainder of the game. Courtney Stout and Tamarie 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, but the Scarlet Knights tied the score at 10 on a kill from Amanda Meyer. The Scarlet Knights closed out the game, 15-11, on a service ace from Roxy Calder.
- RED STORM GRABS 18th SWEEP: Friday's victory over Villanova marked the 18th time this season the Red Storm made a 3-0 sweep of its opponent. The season record is also an All-Time program record.
- OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS: Saturday night the St. John's community will honor its graduating volleyball players in a pregame ceremony. This year the Red Storm says goodbye to co-captains Mitchell and Anicia Wood (Wotton Terrace, Barbados). The two provide a balance to the Red Storm's offense and defense at the net.
Mitchell joined the Red Storm as a transfer from the University of South Florida. This season she leads the Red Storm with 357 kills, hitting .297 percent, which places her first on the team. She has recorded 10 services aces, 64 digs and 73 total blocks (13 solo, 60 assists) for 410 points. Before coming to St. John's, Mitchell played three seasons at USF. At the end of her three years, Mitchell recorded 1,047 kills, 350 digs and 265 total blocks.
As a junior she was named an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Honorable Mention All-American, along with being named to the All-Conference USA First Team and to the AVCA All-Midwest Region First Team. She lead the Bulls and finished second in the conference in kills with 560 and point with 648, having playing in all 199 games. She was second on the team with 120 blocks and 264 digs.
As a sophomore, she played in all 37 matches, finishing second on the team and sixth in the conference with a .319 hitting percentage. Mitchell was named to the C-USA All-Tournament team that year as well. As a freshman, Mitchell received C-USA All-Freshman team honors and was ranked third in the conference with a .344 hitting percentage in her first season.
Wood joined the Red Storm lineup in 2003. As a junior, Wood became a fixture in the middle of the Red Storm front line, appearing in all 31 matches. She lead the team and was third in the BIG EAST in total blocks with 134 (26 solo, 108 assists). Her 134 blocks rank fifth on the school's single season list. Wood was also fourth on the squad with 145 kills and second with a .267 hitting percentage. She set a career-high with 11 total blocks (1 solo, 10 assists) against Villanova (Nov. 7, 2004).
As a sophomore, Wood appeared in 53 games for the Red Storm, recording 68 kills and 45 total blocks. This season, she leads St. John's with 108 total blocks (17 solo, 91 assists) and is fifth on the team with 147 kills. Wood also created new career individual contest highs in attempts (26), block solos (3) and digs (4).
- RIGHT SIDE RIGHTEOUSNESS: LaToya Blunt (Vacaville, Calif.) scored yet another match high in kills (15) Friday against Villanova. Sunday she added 10 more kills against Rutgers, bringing her season total to 317, a new career high. This season, Blunt has recorded 69 total blocks (16 solo, 53 assists) and 360.5 points. She is third on the team in kills and in blocks. She entered her second year with the Red Storm off one of the best freshman campaigns in St. John's history. A starter throughout her first season, she finished third on the team with 306 kills and fourth with a .184 hitting percentage. She was third in total blocks with 98 and in assists with 49.
- FRESHMAN FEVER: In conference matches only, starting setter Brooks is ranked ninth with 465 assists (10.57 per game). Brooks has been a constant source of energy and strength in the setter position. She leads St. John's with 753 assists (8.01 per game) and remains first on the team with 37 service aces. Brooks recorded a personal best 52 assists against Marquette on Oct. 22.
Another freshman standout for the Red Storm is outside hitter Huang. She is sixth in the BIG EAST with a .371 hitting percentage with 4.23 kills per game in conference matches. Huang is second on the Red Storm with 320 kills and first with a .342 hitting percentage. She is also second on the team with 35 aces and is third in defensive digs with 2.28 per game (217).
- HAWAIIAN CONNECTION: Freshman libero Yee has successfully controlled the back line this fall for the Red Storm. Yee, who hit a personal best 34 digs against Notre Dame (Oct. 8), is first on the team with 4.04 digs per game (400). Yee added a personal best four service aces against Rutgers, bringing her season total to 16 and has recorded 34 assists. Yee is seventh in the conference with 170 digs (3.86 per game) in BIG EAST matches only.
Junior Patti Hardiman (Honolulu, Hawaii) is third in the conference with 21 service aces (0.50). For the Red Storm, Hardiman is second in digs with 289 and third in service aces with 34. The outside hitter has also recorded 261 kills and 305 points.
- PAST WEEKLY HONORS: Middle Blocker Mitchell earned a BIG EAST honor roll mention this week after recording a total of 35 kills and seven total blocks over the weekend's two matches. Mitchell also received a honor roll mention in week four as well.
Red Storm outside hitter Huang was named BIG EAST Player of the Week for week seven (Oct. 3 to Oct. 9). In the game against Notre Dame, Huang had a match-high and personal-best 25 kills. The total was also a season-high by any Red Storm player this year. She hit just over 45 percent, while adding eight digs and two blocks.
Yee entered the AVCA weekly 30-Dig club with 34 digs in the contest against Notre Dame (Oct. 8). Hardiman also received a BIG EAST honor roll mention this season for week three.
- OVERTIME: St John's has gone to overtime eight times this season. The Red Storm went to four games against Hofstra (Sept. 14) in the Queens Nassau Cup, against Cincinnati (Sept. 23) and No. 7 Louisville (Sept. 25) in the opening matches of conference play, against No. 8 Notre Dame (Oct. 8), and against Marquette (Oct. 22). The Red Storm has been pushed three times to five games this season as well. The first was against Binghamton (Sept. 3) at the Crusader Classic at the College of the Holy Cross, against Syracuse (Oct. 23) and against Rutgers (Nov. 6). St. John's is 3-3 in four game matches, 0-3 in five.
- SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS: The Mountaineers are 16-11 overall, 4-8 in the conference. West Virginia's head coach Veronica Hammersmith returns four starters plus the libero. The Mountaineer returners include seniors Julie Hockenson and Stephanie Zolna. In 2004, Hockenson recorded 279 kills and 105 total blocks, while Zolna had 403 kills and 313 digs.
This season, Zolna leads the Mountaineers with 343 kills and is seventh in conference matches with 16 service aces, while Hockenson is second with 292 kills and is first with 110 total blocks. Sophomore setter Kailee Goold is first for WVU with 1,076 assists and second with 282 digs, while junior libero Aurora Ebert-Santos recorded 490 digs. Ebert-Santos is also fourth in BIG EAST matches with 203 digs.
- LAST TIME OUT BETWEEN THE RED STORM AND MOUNTAINEERS: Friday is the 11th meeting of the two teams. St. John's leads the series 8-2. The last meeting between the two teams was on Oct. 10, 2004. The Red Storm fell to the Mountaineers 3-2 (18-30, 31-29, 31-29, 25-30, 30-28, and 9-15) at Carnesecca Arena. St. John's was victorious over West Virginia in the previous five matches. The Red Storm was led by libero Nicole Colaluca, who recorded a career-high 37 digs in the five-game loss. Yana Ruban recorded 18 kills, Jackie Ahlers had 15 kills and Lisa Tedder (Coos Bay, Ore.) notched 49 assists.
With St. John's up 2-1 in games, the Mountaineers scored several points with kills on the outside to extend their lead to 16-10. Aggressive serving by freshman Molly Roloff and sophomore Alicia Carmignani pulled the Red Storm on top, taking the game 30-28.
In game five, the momentum of the Mountaineers was high with blocks at the net by Alison Zemanski and aggressive jump serving by Gina Cusanelli, which put them on top and gave them the game quickly, 15-9.
- PANTHERS' PROSPECTS: Pittsburgh enters this weekend 16-9 overall, 9-3 in the BIG EAST. As of this week, Pittsburgh was among five other teams to clinch conference tournament berth. The Panthers return eight players, five of which were 2004 starters. The returners include seniors Megan McGrane, Gini Ullery, and sophomore Diana Andreyko.
McGrane, the team's libero, was the recipient of the 2003 BIG EAST Libero of the Year award and is a two-time All-BIG EAST honorable mention. Last season she recorded a school record of 713 digs. Outside hitter Ullery was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team in 2004 and recorded 549 kills, 281 digs and posted a .204 hitting percentage. Andreyko, also an outside hitter, was name BIG EAST and AVCA Northeast Region Rookie of the Year last season. She recorded 413 kills, 29 service aces and 238 digs.
For the current season, Andreyko leads the Panthers with 448 kills and is second in the BIG EAST with 223 kills, while McGrane has recorded 508 digs. Ullery is second on the team with 305 kills and is second with 218 digs. Freshman middle hitter Allie Cherven has recorded 73 total blocks (9 solo, 64 assists), placing her first on the team.
- LAST TIME OUT BETWEEN THE RED STORM AND PANTHERS: Saturday is the 13th meeting of the two teams. Pittsburgh controls the series 11-1. Their last meeting was on Oct. 8, 2004 at Carnesecca Arena. Despite a solid 2-0 lead heading into the third game, the Red Storm fell in what was the first BIG EAST match of the year to Pittsburgh 3-2 (30-27, 31-29, 22-30, 22-30 and 11-15).
The Red Storm was lead by strong performances from Ahlers (18 kills) and Blunt who recorded a double-double with 17 kills (hitting .324) and 14 digs. Colaluca broke her career record in digs with 33 in the hard fought match. Tedder recorded 59 assists and seven blocks.
St. John's jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, winning a back and forth battle in the first match. In game two, St. John's rallied from behind to take the match, 31-29. Trailing by six at 28-21, the Red Storm scored eight straight points with aggressive serving by Blunt and diving defense by Colaluca to show the shock the Panthers and capture the game. Games three and four were dominated by Pittsburgh from the start, with aggressive plays by Megan Miller and Andreyko. In each game the Red Storm tried to fight back around the 15th point, but could not catch up as the Panthers took both games 30-22.
In the deciding game, St. John's and Pittsburgh were tied through the seventh point before the Panthers started pulling away with kills by Miller from the middle. At 13-10 the Red Storm answered back with a kill from Blunt, but the efforts were not enough as Pittsburgh took game five and the match, 15-11.
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.
- Red Storm -