St. John's University Athletics
St. John??' Volleyball Defeats Notre Dame 3-0
10/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The St. John???s volleyball team defeated Notre Dame 3-0 (32-30, 30-24, 30-22) Sunday afternoon at the Joyce Center to claim first place in the BIG EAST. The Red Storm owns a 23-1 overall record and is undefeated in conference play with an 8-0 mark. The Fighting Irish are now 13-7 on the season and 7-1 in BIG EAST action.
???We played extremely well in a very tough environment,??? said head coach Joanne Persico-Smith. ???Notre Dame doesn???t lose many volleyball games at home. We played a good team and we rose to the occasion under pressure. We are very proud of our team and we dedicate this win to all of our players, past and present.???
Sunday???s victory marks St. John???s first win over Notre Dame since the series began in 1995. The Red Storm is on a 13 match winning streak and of its 23 victories, 16 have been three-game sweeps.
Reigining BIG EAST Player of the Week Hui Ping Huang (The People's Republic of China) recorded a match-high 16 kills and 15 digs in the victory, while Patti Hardimon (Honolulu, Hawaii) recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 14 kills and 16 digs. Right side hitter Latoya Blunt (Vacaville, Calif.) registered 12 kills and Caitlin Rimgaila (Trooper, Pa.) chipped in with 10 kills. Sophomore libero Kathleen Yee (Honolulu, Hawaii) was a consistant force, leading the backline with a match-high 20 digs, and junior setter Wioleta Leszczynska (Bielsko-Biala, Poland) dished out a match-high 45 assists.
Notre Dame grabbed an early 4-1 lead, but St. John???s tied it, 4-4, on a kill from Casie Brooks (Victorville, Calif.). Blunt gave the Red Storm a two-point surge and the squad widened its gap to 10 points, 19-9, off of successful attacks from Hardimon, Brooks, Blunt and Rimgaila. However, the Fighting Irish was not going to give up that easily and battled back to knot the score at 29-29 with strong efforts from freshmen Christina Kaelin and Serinity Phillips. Powerful attacks from Blunt gave St. John???s the advantage once again, and Huang ended the first game, 32-30.
The Red Storm took control of game two on kills from Huang, Leszczynska and Blunt. The Irish remained close behind with solid efforts at the net from Phillips and freshman Megan Fesl, but were unable to take the lead. Attacks from Hardimon and Rimgaila continued to push St. John???s ahead, while blocks from Blunt and Huang put an eight-point gap on the scoreboard. The Red Storm won the second game off an Irish attacking error, 30-24.
Leading 2-0, St. John???s and Notre Dame battled point-for-point with the Irish knotting the score 10 times before the Red Storm was able to gain the advantage. Three straight points from Huang, Rimgaila and Hardimon made the score, 20-17. A kill from Rimgaila gave St. John???s its largest lead of the third game, 28-18. Notre Dame???s Fesl and Mallorie Croal tried to close the gap, but Blunt slammed the ball down to close the match, 30-22.
Notre Dame's Kaelin posted a team-best 12 kills, while Fesl and Phillips combined for 20 kills.
The Red Storm returns to action on Friday, Oct. 27, against the Hoyas of Georgetown. First serve is schedule for 7 p.m., at Carnesecca Arena.
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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