St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Volleyball Travels To Central Connecticut State Wednesday
9/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's volleyball team will travel to New Britain, Conn., on Wednesday to take on the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils. First serve of the match is set for 7 p.m. at CSSU's Detrick Gymnasium.
Wednesday's meeting marks the fourth between the two schools, with St. John's holding a 2-1 series lead. The teams met last season at Central Connecticut State and the Red Storm came out victorious, 3-0.
STORMWATCH
The Red Storm returned home from its trip to the West Coast this past weekend with a 1-2 record. The team picked up its first win of the season with a 3-1 victory over San Jose State on Monday, after losing its first two matches to No. 5 California and UC Santa Barbara at the Cal Molten Classic, both by 3-0 scores.
St. John's received votes in the latest CBS College Sports/AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, released on Monday. The Red Storm received 21 votes and sits just eight spots out of the top 25.
The Red Storm and head coach Joanne Persico-Smith currently sit just seven wins shy of the 300 victory mark.
Where They Fare
In the BIG EAST:
- As a team, St. John's ranks eighth in the conference, holding opponents to a .199 hitting percentage.
- The Red Storm is also tied for ninth amongst BIG EAST schools with 11.20 assists per set.
- Senior Lena Yee leads the St. John's defense with 3.90 digs per set, which ranks seventh in the BIG EAST.
- Grad Student Wioleta Leszczynska ranks eighth in the conference with 8.90 assists per set.
- Senior Valeria Kovaleva has a team-high 3.30 kills per set and is currently tenth amongst BIG EAST hitters.
Scouting the Blue Devils
Central Connecticut State enters Wednesday's matchup with a 2-1 record after hosting the Blue Devil Invitational this past weekend. The team picked up wins over Bucknell (3-0) and Iona (3-2), but dropped its final match against Stony Brook (1-3). In 2007, the Blue Devils finished 23-7, including a 7-1 record in Northeast Conference action, good for a second place finish in the league.
Head coach Linda Sagnelli returns ten letterwinners from the 2007 squad including four starters and her libero. CCSU will also have three newcomers on this year's team. Returning for the Blue Devils this year is sophomore outside hitter Lauren Snyder who finished last season with 4.12 kills per set and 2.39 digs per set. Also returning is sophomore libero Kaitlin Petrella who racked up 5.26 digs per set in 2007.
On Deck
St. John's will travel to the University of Maryland this weekend to take part in the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Invitational. On Friday, the Red Storm will take on the Wildcats of Kentucky at 4:30 p.m. The team will square off against the host team, Maryland, on Saturday at 10 a.m. before closing out the tournament with a match against Missouri later that day at 5 p.m.
