St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Volleyball Sweeps USF, 3-0
11/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 7, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's volleyball team defeated the University of South Florida, 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-20), Friday night at Carnesecca Arena. With the victory, the Red Storm clinches a berth in the 2008 BIG EAST Volleyball Tournament, the squad's fourth-straight appearance. STJ improved to 19-7 and remains in first place in the conference with a 10-1 record in league play, while USF fell to 15-11 (5-6 BIG EAST).
Two players recorded double-digit kills for the Red Storm as senior Casie Brooks led the team with 11 kills, while classmate Valeria Kovaleva tallied 10, including some left handed spikes. Brooks and senior Lena Yee tied for the team-high with six digs on the night. St. John's held the Bulls to just a .088 hitting percentage in the match.
Senior Wioleta Leszczynska led all players on the court with 32 assists and a near-perfect .833 hitting percentage - five kills on six attempts - while picking up five digs. Freshman Darlene Ramdin and senior Chen Chen each recorded a match-high four total blocks, while sophomore Kun Song contributed with seven kills and five digs.
The first set was back and forth as there were seven ties and two lead changes through 12-12. On one rotation the Red Storm took a lead that it would not relinquish, picking up six straight points led by Song who registered two service aces, and STJ took a 18-12 lead. St. John's would hold off the Bulls and win the set, 25-18, on a USF blocking error on a kill by Song.
St. John's scored the first point of the second set but the Bulls answered right back. That remained the case until the score was tied 9-9 and the Red Storm went ahead by two points, 11-9, on a kill by Chen and a USF attack error. With St. John's leading 11-10, the Red Storm picked up the next point on a kill by Kovaleva, who then went back to serve. On that rotation, STJ put the set out of the Bulls' reach by tacking on four straight points to take a 16-10 lead. Kills by Brooks, Song and Kovaleva led the Red Storm to the 25-15 set victory, as a USF attack error put St. John's in the locker room up 2-0 in the match.
The Red Storm came out strong to start the third set, building up 5-1 and 6-2 leads early. USF came right back to tie the score at 6-6 after scoring four straight, then took a 9-7 lead in the set, forcing St. John's to call its first timeout. After the breather, St. John's fought back with five straight points to take a 12-9 lead. After a triple-block by Brooks, Song and Chen gave STJ a 17-13 lead, USF burnt its first timeout. Back in action, St. John's expanded its lead to 20-13, then went on to win the set, 25-20, on a left-handed kill by Kovaleva, taking the match 3-0.
For the Bulls, junior Marcela Gurgel had a match-high 14 kills, while senior Stephanie Augustavo led all players with nine digs. Sophomore Mariana Thon registered a team-high 20 assists and junior Alli Arbogast led USF with three blocks.
The Red Storm returns to the court on Sunday, Nov. 9 for Senior Day at Carnesecca Arena. STJ will take on the Georgetown Hoyas at 2 p.m. in the last home game of the season in Queens. Prior to the match, there will be a special ceremony for St. John's five seniors: Brooks, Chen, Kovaleva, Leszczynska, and Yee.