St. John's University Athletics
St. John??' Volleyball Tops West Virginia, 3-1
9/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
St. John???s volleyball team topped West Virginia, 3-1 (30-28, 30-28, 27-30, 30-18) Sunday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. The Red Storm improved its winning streak to eight matches and is 17-1 on the season, 2-0 in BIG EAST play. The Mountaineers dropped to 1-15 overall and 0-2 in conference action.
St. John???s was led by sophomore Hui Ping Huang (The People???s Republic of China) who posted a match-high 18 kills and tied for a team-best four total blocks. Caitlin Rimgaila (Trooper, Pa.) was second on the squad with 17 kills and four total blocks. Junior setter Wioleta Leszczynska (Bielsko-Biala, Poland) dished out a match-high 59 assists and grabbed 15 digs, while sophomore libero Kathleen Yee (Honolulu, Hawaii) recorded a match-high 23 digs and two service aces.
The Red Storm and Mountaineers went head-to-head in the start of game one. Huang slammed the ball down twice to tie the score, 6-6, but West Virginia took advantage of St. John???s attacking errors to take control of the scoreboard. Successful attacks from freshman Ruisa Scheffel (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil), senior outside hitter Patti Hardimon (Honolulu, Hawaii), and Leszczynska brought the score within one, 17-16, and a service ace from Huang knotted it up again, 17-17. Rimgaila put the Red Storm one point ahead and the team continued to hold onto the advantage. However, the Mountaineers were not ready to give up the fight and tied the score again at 26-26, on a kills from Abby Tevis. St. John???s took the first game, 30-28, on a kill from Leszczynska.
WVU took early control of the second game with a 4-1 run, but kills from Casie Brooks (Victorville, Calif.) and Scheffel tied the score at 5-5 for St. John???s. Fighting point-for-point the Red Storm knotted the score again, 9-9, and grabbed the advantage. The Mountaineers??? Lisa Hough and Tevis kept the gap tight, until they were able to tie the score at 20-20. St. John???s took control again on attacks from Huang, and back-to-back kills from Rimgaila closed out game two, 30-28.
Tied through 12-12 of game three, the Mountaineers took the one point lead, 13-12, off a kill from Gina Cusanelli to take control of the scoreboard. WVU advanced on Red Storm errors and successful attacks from Hough, Tevis and Kailee Goold. St. John???s tried to close the gap on kills from Huang and Rimgaila but West Virginia remained on top and took game three, 30-27.
Leading 2-1, St. John???s opened the fourth game on a kill from Rimgaila. The Red Storm pushed through on points from Huang, Scheffel and Hardimon to take an 18-9 lead. West Virginia tried to rally back on kills from Hough and Tevis, but Hardimon and Huang widen the gap, 28-16. The Red Storm finished the fourth game and match, 30-18, on a Mountaineer service error.
For the Mountaineers, Tevis posted a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Setter Goold dished out 33 assists and Tammy Wolf recorded a team best six total blocks.
The Red Storm returns to action on Friday, Sept. 29, against the Cardinals of Louisville. First serve is schedule for 7 p.m., in 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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