St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Welcomes Local Rivals Rutgers, Seton Hall
10/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
- Game Notes
- VIDEO GUIDE: Inside St. John's Volleyball
- 2010 Volleyball Record Book
- Follow St. John's Volleyball on Twitter
- Live Video (St. John's vs. Rutgers)
- Live Video (St. John's vs. Seton Hall)
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's volleyball team continues its BIG EAST Conference slate on Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m., when it hosts local rival Rutgers in its third-annual Dig For The Cure Match. The Red Storm also welcomes conference opponent Seton Hall to Carnesecca Arena on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Red Storm (14-9, 1-5 BIG EAST) is coming off a thrilling five-set victory over Connecticut last Sunday that was highlighted by senior captain Diana Banya. The outside hitter recorded a career-high 19 kills and was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for her performance against the Huskies. Freshman libero Korina Yee also set a personal-best in the match, registering six aces, including four in a row in the third set.
The Scarlet Knights enter Friday night's Dig For The Cure Match with a 9-11 overall record, including a 1-5 mark in BIG EAST play. After dropping five-straight matches, Rutgers rebounded with two consecutive victories over Rider and Seton Hall. The Scarlet Knights are led by senior outside hitter Caitlin Saxton, who has a team-high 217 kills on the season and averages 2.97 kills per set.
The Hall is currently 8-14 overall and 2-4 in the conference entering their Friday night matchup at UConn. SHU is coming off consecutive losses to Villanova and Rutgers. The Pirates possess a well-balanced offensive attack, with three players recording 220 kills or more. Senior outside hitter Sarah Osmun leads the way offensively, tallying a team-high 286 kills and an impressive average of 3.71 kills per set.
FOLLOW THE MATCH LIVE
Fans can keep up with all of the live action by following the St. John's volleyball Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/STJ_Volleyball.
Live stats of every match will be available for free on www.RedStormSports.com.
A live video feed will also be available for every home match of the season on StormTracker All-Access at www.RedStormSports.com.
StormTracker All-Access costs $9.95 per month and $79.95 for the entire 2010-11 Red Storm athletic season.
THE THIRD-ANNUAL DIG FOR THE CURE MATCH
The Red Storm will take the court donning pink accessories to show its support for breast cancer awareness and a search for a cure.
In its third year, Dig For The Cure is a national fundraiser aimed at raising money and support for a cure for breast cancer.
As part of the Dig For The Cure match, a silent auction will take place throughout the match and fans will have the opportunity to purchase pink bracelets and t-shirts, with proceeds donated to the American Cancer Society.
STORMWATCH
The Red Storm has relied on a balanced attack this season, as five athletes have recorded 130 kills or more.
Four members of the squad are averaging over 2.15 kills per set and five Red Storm athletes are averaging over 2.0 points per set (min. 65 sets).
Junior captain Darlene Ramdin is the focal point of the Red Storm attack, recording a team-high .228 hitting percentage (min. 200 attempts) and averaging 3.02 points per set.
Ramdin also leads the team at the net, tallying a team-high 79 blocks (22 solo, 57 assisted).
Junior transfer Anzelika Lukjanska is currently leading the squad in kills with 175 and is second on the team with 171 digs.
Sophomore setter Gabriela Petkova has a team-high 596 assists and is averaging 8.28 per set.
Junior Brunna Kronbauer currently leads the team with 29 service aces.
Yee has recorded a team-high 219 digs and is one of two players (Lukjanska) to play in all 81 sets.
THE MATCHUPS
St. John's leads both series, 9-7, over the Scarlet Knights and Pirates.
STJ has won five of the last seven matchups against Rutgers, but fell 3-2 on the road a season ago.
The Red Storm has swept RU on seven separate occasions and is 5-3 at home against the Scarlet Knights.
STJ won four consecutive meetings over the Pirates from 2005-08, but lost last season's matchup 3-0 on the road.
11 of the 16 matchups have ended in straight sets and only two matches have needed all five sets to decide a winner.
Seton Hall holds a 5-4 advantage over the Red Storm at home.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Rutgers is 9-11 overall and currently tied with St. John's with a 1-5 mark in conference play.
The Scarlet Knights are currently riding a two-match winning streak following wins over Rider and Seton Hall last week.
Saxton currently leads the team with 217 kills for an average of 2.97 per set.
She is also second on the team with 189 digs, just two behind sophomore setter Stephanie Zielinski's 191.
Zeilinski is coming off back-to-back double-double performances, recording 23 assists and 11 digs vs. Rider and 46 assists and 21 digs vs. Seton Hall last week.
Zielinkski also leads the team in assists with 709, for an average of 9.99 per set.
That average ranks the sophomore eighth in the BIG EAST Conference.
Junior middle blocker Hannah Curtis leads the team with 55 total blocks (nine solo, 46 assisted)
SCOUTING THE PIRATES
Following two consecutive losses, the Hall is 8-14 overall and 2-4 in BIG EAST play entering its Friday night matchup at UConn.
The Pirates are well-rounded offensively as three players have recorded 220 kills or more.
Osmun lead's the way with 286, but Meghan Matusiak and Hannah Hugeback have 232 and 221, respectively.
Osmun and Matusiak rank fourth and fifth in the BIG EAST in kills per set with 3.71 and 3.62, respectively.
Setting the array of outside hitters for the Hall is setter Olivia Trudeau, who is currently ranked seventh in the conference, averaging 10.10 assists per set.
The sophomore has amassed 848 total sets in 2010.
SHU also brings a solid defense to the court on Sunday afternoon, as three Pirates' have also recorded over 200 digs.
Freshman Alyssa Warren leads the way with 366 digs for an average of 4.52 per set, good for fifth in the conference.
To go along with her 200-plus kills, Hugeback has also registered 234 digs.
Junior middle blocker Krissy Wrobel leads the team with 62 total blocks, 59 of which are assisted.
UP NEXT
St. John's will travel to the Midwest for matchups against defending BIG EAST regular season champion Notre Dame and DePaul from Oct. 30-31.
Notre Dame currently leads the series 14-3 over the Red Storm and swept STJ a season ago.
St. John's holds a 5-1 all-time advantage over DePaul and defeated the Blue Demons 3-1 in 2009.
