St. John's University Athletics
St. John??' Volleyball Sweeps USF, 3-0
10/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Junior right side hitter Latoya Blunt (Vacaville, Calif.) recorded a match-high 12 kills and produced a .524 hitting percentage to lead the St. John???s volleyball team to a 3-0 (30-12, 30-19, 30-17) victory over the University of South Florida Sunday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm improved to 25-1 overall and remained undefeated in BIG EAST play with a 10-0 mark. USF dropped to 11-12 on the season and 6-4 in conference action.
Blunt also added three block solos to the victory, while senior Patti Hardimon (Honolulu, Hawaii) recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 digs. Junior setter Wioleta Leszczynska (Bielsko-Biala, Poland) dished out a match-high 41 assists and tied the match-high 14 digs, and middle hitter Caitlin Rimgaila (Trooper, Pa.) chipped in with seven kills and four total blocks.
Casie Brooks (Victorville, Calif.) and Blunt went unblemished in the first game, each posting four kills with no errors. Rimgaila put the Red Storm on the board and helped push the squad to an early 5-1 lead. The Bulls tried to tie the score coming within two points twice off of kills from Marcela Gurgel and a block from Alli Arbogast, 9-7, but the Red Storm continued to widen the gap with successful attacks from Hui Ping Huang (The People???s Republic of China), Brooks and Blunt. St. John???s ended game one, 30-12, on a USF service error.
USF???s Gurgel scored the first point of game two, but the Red Storm quickly knotted the score and grabbed the advantage. Huang gave St. John???s an eight-point lead, 20-12, in the middle of the game. Kristina Fabris and Nakia Williams added some points for the Bulls, but were unable to take control. The Red Storm won the second game, 30-19, off of a kill from Dana DeMayo (Ra???anana, Israel).
St. John???s and USF went head-to-head early in the third game. The Bulls??? Fabris tied the score, 4-4, but the Red Storm gained a two-point lead on Bulls errors. Fabris tried to knot it up again, 6-5, but that was the closest USF would get for the remainder of the match. St. John???s stormed past USF on back-to-back points from Blunt, 18-9. Although the Bulls tried to answer back with attacks from Juliana Nogueira, Fabris and Johari Williams, the Red Storm would not back down as it finished the match on a kill from Ruisa Scheffel (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil), 30-17.
For USF, Fabris has nine kills in the contest, while Gurgel chipped in with eight. Libero Stephanie Augstavo tied the match-high 14 digs and Nogueira recorded 18 assists.
The Red Storm returns to action on Friday, Nov. 3, against head coach Joanne Persico-Smith???s alma mater Syracuse. First serve is schedule for 7 p.m., at Manley Field House in Syracuse, N.Y.
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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