St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Temple
Temple Outlasts St. Johns, 3-0
8/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 29, 2009
RICHMOND, Va. - The St. John's volleyball team fought Temple to the final point of its 3-0 defeat. The Red Storm (0-3) took the Owls (1-2) to game point twice in the third set, but could not overcome a resilient Temple team. Senior Ruisa Scheffel led the attack for STJ, notching 10 digs and 15 kills to lead the squad in hitting percentage at .250. Rookie Gabriela Petkova recorded her second consecutive double-double of the year with 36 assists and 12 digs.
Neither team led by more than three in the first set until Temple grabbed a late point for a 22-18 lead and pulled through for the 25-18 victory.
Down 8-4 in the second stanza, the Red Storm launched a comeback, landing within two points at 14-12. The Owls expanded their lead to five with a 17-12 score before STJ scored three straight points to make it 18-16. Trading points, St. John's stayed within two until Diana Banya followed a kill with a solo block to tie it at 21. Scheffel followed with a deep kill to the backline as the Red Storm earned its second lead of the set. Two kills by Yun Yi Zhang helped Temple capture four of the next five points to take the set, 25-23.
An ace from Scheffel gave STJ a 5-4 lead in the third set before trading points with Temple. She would have two in the set. With three consecutive points, St. John's gained a 19-16 lead, which the Owls quickly silenced with three points after a time out. Tied again at 20, Scheffel kept the Red Storm in it with a pair of kills. Temple kept up the pace, knotting the score at 23, but a Banya kill put STJ in position for game-point. Two points from the Owls gave Temple a 25-24 advantage. A kill from Zhang would end the match for Temple, earning the 3-0 victory.
Four members of the Red Storm registered double-digit digs. Petkova and Kun Song each had 12, while Ashley Asing tallied 11 and Scheffel added 10. Song finished off the double-double with 11 kills. Banya led STJ with four blocks. Zhang added 26 kills and 14 digs for the Owls.
STJ hits the court again to continue non-conference action on Tuesday, September 1, traveling to Stony Brook. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
