St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Volleyball Upsets Louisville 3-0
9/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Senior tri-captain Patti Hardimon (Honolulu, Hawaii) posted her sixth double-double of the season with a match-high 18 kills and 10 digs en route to the St. John???s volleyball team???s first series win over Louisville, 3-0 (30-28, 31-33, 30-26), Friday night in Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm improved to 18-1 on the season and 3-0 in BIG EAST action, while the Cardinals dropped to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in conference play. With the win St. John???s produced its second nine-match winning streak of the season, which is a conference best.
???Tonight we watch great volleyball,??? said head coach Joanne Persico-Smith. ???We played excellent team volleyball. We worked hard to stay focused and understand our roles. We had wonderful leadership on the court tonight from our captains, Patti Hardimon and Caitlin Rimgaila. We were aggressive, earned the big points that were needed and had amazing support from our fans.???
Hardimon also recorded a match-high and tied her career best six service aces. Sophomore outside hitter Hui Ping Huang (The People???s Republic of China) recorded her 10th career double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs. Junior Latoya Blunt (Vacaville, Calif.) chipped in with 10 kills, as did senior tri-captain Caitlin Rimgaila (Trooper, Pa.) Junior setter Wioleta Leszczynska (Bielsko-Biala, Poland) dished out a match-high 44 assists and grabbed a match-high 16 digs.
Louisville opened the first game with a 4-1 run on a kill and strong services from Ana Yartseva-Stewart. The Cardinals continued to pull ahead on successful points from Tatyana Kolesnikova and Jana Matiasovska. A kill from Blunt brought the Red Storm within one, 6-5, but the team was unable to tie the score. Solid efforts from Stephanie Marsh and Kolesnikova allowed Louisville to continue its control the scoreboard. Points from Huang, Hardimon and sophomore Casie Brooks (Victorville, Calif.) kept the Red Storm right behind the Cardinals, and a service aces from Hardimon finally knotted the score, 20-20. The teams battled point-for-point until St. John???s was able to pull head on another Hardimon ace. A kill from Rimgaila ended game one for the Red Storm, 30-28.
The Red Storm quickly took charge of game two with a 5-1 spate on Cardinal errors and a kill from Blunt. Although Kolesnikova stopped the run, St. John???s held onto the advantage with points from Huang, Hardimon, Leszczynska and Brooks. Back-to-back service aces from Hardimon pushed the Red Storm???s lead to seven points, 16-9. However, Louisville rallied back to produce an 8-1 run to tie the score, 17-17. Once again, the two teams went head-to-head to grab control of the scoreboard. Tied at 31-31, a kill from Rimgaila gave St. John???s the breakaway and a service ace from Hardimon finished the second game, 33-31.
Leading 2-0, the Red Storm fought hard to gain control in the third game as both teams battled point-for-point once again. Tied through 6-6, St. John???s grabbed the advantage on a successful attack from Blunt. Kills from Huang and a Leszczynska service ace gave the Red Storm a five-point lead, 15-10. The Cardinals tried hard to tie the score, with solid attacks from Marsh and Matiasovska, but was unable to do so. A block from Matiasovska and Yartseva-Stewart brought Louisville within one, 19-18, but that was the closest that they would come as St. John???s stormed ahead to take the third game, 30-26, on a kill from Rimgaila.
For the Cardinals, Marsh posted 10 kills and 14 digs, while Matiasovska recorded 10 kills and four block assists. Yartseva-Stewart tallied seven block assists and six kills, while Samantha Dabs dished out a team-best 20 assists.
The Red Storm looks to continue its undefeated streak at home as it hosts the Bearcats of Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 1. First serve is schedule for 2 p.m., in Carnesecca Arena.
