St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
WEST VIRGINIA *
No. 19 Volleyball Defeats West Virginia, 3-0
9/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 30, 2007
QUEENS, N.Y. - The No. 19 Red Storm volleyball team defeated the Mountaineers of West Virginia, 3-0, Sunday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena. The scores of the match were 30-27, 30-16, and 30-26. With the win, St. John's improved to 19-2 (4-0 BIG EAST) and extended its winning streak to 10 straight matches. The Mountaineers, meanwhile dropped to 9-7 (1-3 BIG EAST).
Seniors LaToya Blunt and Wioleta Leszczynska contributed fantastic efforts in the victory. Blunt had a match-high 15 kills, while Leszczynska chipped in with another great setting performance, as she led all players with 45 assists. Senior Hui Ping Huang had a great match as well, registering13 kills and three service aces. Junior Lena Yee had a match high 11 digs.
Things started out slow for the Red Storm in game one, as the team trailed throughout most of the game. The Mountaineers grabbed the first point of the match on a kill by sophomore Marissa Meyers. The game would remain close, until the Red Storm used its first timeout at 15-12. After the breather, LaToya Blunt started things up for St. John's with a big kill and the Mountaineers were unable to gain a lead greater than two points from then on. It wasn't until a kill by Huang made it 27-26 St. John's, that the Red Storm took the lead for good. An ace by Huang ended the game 30-27.
The second game was close early on, and with St. John's leading 6-5, junior Casie Brooks went back to serve. On one service-turn the Red Storm racked up seven straight points with three kills by Blunt and two aces by Brooks and took a 13-5 lead. This lead would be big enough for the Red Storm, who increased it later on in the game to 26-14 on another service-turn by Brooks in which the team tallied seven points. St. John's used a .405 hitting percentage in the game to West Virginia's .071 to take game two by the score of 30-16. The Red Storm went into the locker room with a 2-0 match lead.
After the ten-minute break, St. John's came out strong, building an 11-4 lead early in game three. The lead would remain significant until the Mountaineers fought their way back to within four point towards the end of the game at 29-25, forcing the Red Storm to use a timeout. After the timeout, West Virginia got another point to make it 29-26, but a kill by senior Elizabeth Austin ended the game and match. Austin matched a team-high 5 kills for game three, as the final score was 30-26, giving the Red Storm a 3-0 sweep of the match.
For the Mountaineers, three players matched the team-high with 10 kills: seniors Abby Tevis and Ashley Pappas and freshman Abby Norman. Senior Kailee Goold led the Mountaineers with 35 assists, while freshman Bonnie West had a team-high 10 digs.
Up next, St. John's takes its 10-match winning streak to the road with key BIG EAST match-ups against the University of Louisville and the University of Cincinnati. The Red Storm will battle the Cardinals on Saturday, Oct. 6, and the Bearcats on Sunday, Oct. 7. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
- Red Storm -
