St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Concludes Regular Season At West Virginia, Pittsburgh
11/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
- Game Notes
- ONLINE VIDEO GUIDE: Inside St. John's Volleyball
- 2010 Volleyball Record Book
- Follow St. John's Volleyball on Twitter
- Live Video (St. John's at West Virginia)
- Live Video (St. John's at Pittsburgh)
QUEENS, N.Y. - Winners of three consecutive BIG EAST matches, the St. John's volleyball team returns to action this weekend with its final two matches of the 2010 regular season. The Red Storm will travel to West Virginia and Pittsburgh this weekend with hopes of continuing its run towards a conference tournament berth.
St. John's enters Friday's match in Morgantown, W. Va., with an overall record of 18-11, including a 5-7 mark in BIG EAST play and is tied for eighth place in the conference. Last weekend, the Red Storm concluded its final homestand of the 2010 campaign with wins over USF and Georgetown. STJ dropped the Bulls, 3-0, on Friday night, before topping the Hoyas, 3-1, in Sunday's Senior Day match.
Junior captain Darlene Ramdin was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for her performance over the weekend. Ramdin recorded an impressive .521 attacking percentage and averaged 4.14 kills per set over the weekend. She notched a career-high .643 hitting percentage against Georgetown, registering a season-high 20 kills with only two errors on 28 attempts.
The Mountaineers are currently 14-14 overall and 4-8 in BIG EAST play. WVU has lost six matches in a row entering Friday night's contest. Most recently, the Mountaineers dropped decisions to the conference's top teams, then-No. 21 Cincinnati and Louisville. As the league's leader in digs per set, West Virginia's defense is the strength of the squad. The Mountaineers have two student-athletes with over 400 digs on the season, including senior libero Bonnie West. West has accumulated 469 total digs on the season and is currently ranked third in the conference with an average of 4.79 digs per set.
Pittsburgh is currently 11-17 overall and also tied for eight in the BIG EAST with a 5-7 mark in conference play. The Panthers are coming off four consecutive losses and also dropped decisions to Cincinnati and Louisville last week. Pitt is led by senior outside hitter Amy Town. Town leads the team with 386 kills, for an average of 3.68 per set. Classmate Imani Harper is second on the team with 279 kills and hits an impressive .326.
FOLLOW THE ACTION 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.
Both matches this weekend will feature a live video broadcast; links are available at www.RedStormSports.com.
STORMWATCH
The Red Storm has featured a balanced attack this season, as six athletes have recorded 100 kills or more.
Three members of the squad are averaging over 2.12 kills per set and five Red Storm athletes are averaging over 2.0 points per set.
Ramdin continues to be the focal point of the Red Storm attack, recording team-highs in kills (240), hitting percentage (.271) (min. 250 attempts), points per set (3.22), blocks (112) and overall points (312.5).
Senior Diana Banya and junior Anzelika Lukjanska are currently ranked second and third on the squad in kills with 228 and 221, respectively.
Lukjanska is also third on the team in digs with 208, while Banya leads the team with an average of 2.56 kills per set.
Sophomore Gabriela Petkova has a team-high 615 assists and is second on the team with 229 digs.
Junior Alyssa Bennett has started the past nine matches at setter and is currently averaging 8.75 assists per set during that span. She is second on the team with 402.
Junior Brunna Kronbauer currently leads the team with 30 service aces.
Freshman libero Korina Yee has recorded a team-high 256 digs and is one of two players (Lukjanska) to play in all 104 sets.
THE MATCHUPS
The West Virginia vs. St. John's series started in 1995.
The Red Storm currently holds a 13-2 all-time advantage over the Mountaineers.
STJ has won the last five matchups and not since 2004.
St. John's is 7-1 in the WVU Coliseum, with its only away loss coming in the 1998 season.
Nine of the matches have ended in straight sets, while only three have needed all five to decide a winner.
St. John's won last season's match by a score of 3-1.
The Pittsburgh vs. St. John's series started in 1994, the Red Storm's first season of volleyball.
The Panthers currently lead the all-time series, 12-5, over STJ.
There have been 10 shutouts in the series history and only two shutouts.
STJ is 3-5 at Pittsburgh.
After winning four in a row over Pitt from 2005-08, the Red Storm had its winning streak snapped in straight sets last season.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
WVU is 14-14 overall, including a 4-8 mark in the BIG EAST and currently sit one match behind St. John's in the conference standings.
WVU is on a six-match losing streak that includes three shutouts and two five-set losses.
The Mountaineers are 9-9 in three-set matches, 4-2 in four-set matches and 1-3 in five-set matches.
WVU is 7-3 in the Coliseum this season.
As a team, the Mountaineers have an attacking percentage of .163, average 12.2 kills per set, 11.4 assists per set, 1.6 blocks pet set and an impressive 17.5 digs per frame.
WVU leads the BIG EAST and is ranked 15th in the country in digs per set.
West, the WVU senior libero, leads the team with 469 digs per set.
She averages 4.79 digs per set, while junior outside hitter Serinna Russo averages 4.42 per frame.
Russo is second on the team with 411 total digs.
West and Russo rank third and fifth in the conference in digs per set, respectively.
The Mountaineers have four hitters with over 200 kills, including senior middle blocker Lauren Evans, who leads the team with 252 kills and a .298 attacking percentage.
Evans also leads the team with 82 total blocks.
Junior setter Kari Post leads the team with 911 assists on the season, for an average of 9.80 per set.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Pitt is 11-17 overall and tied with St. John's for eight place in the conference with a 5-7 BIG EAST record.
The Panthers are on a four-match losing streak that includes two shutouts.
Pitt is coming off a 3-0 loss to Cincinnati.
The Panthers are 3-11 in three-set matches, 3-4 in four-set matches and 5-2 in five-set matches.
Pitt is 7-6 in the Fitzgerald Field House this season.
As a team, the Panthers have an attacking percentage of .182, average 12.3 kills per set, 11.6 assists per set, 1.9 blocks per frame and 14.5 digs per set.
Town, a senior outside hitter, leads the way for the Panthers with 386 kills.
Town averages 3.68 kills and 4.11 points per set, ranking her fourth in both categories in the BIG EAST Conference.
The Ontario native also leads the team with 24 service aces.
Harper is second on the team with 279 kills and leads the Panthers with a .326 attacking percentage, ranking her sixth in the conference.
Harper also leads the team with 85 blocks.
The Panthers have six student-athletes with 100 or more digs, including sophomore libero Margy Acton.
Acton leads the team with 414 digs for an average of 4.14 per set.
Senior setter Alyssa King leads the Panthers in helpers on the season, tallying a team-high 662.
UP NEXT
With the field yet to be decided, the BIG EAST Conference Tournament will take place from Friday, Nov. 19 - Sunday, Nov. 21.
The tournament will take place at Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House and consist of the conference's top eight teams.
