St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Volleyball Opens 2010 Season At Army Invitational
8/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2010
Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's University volleyball team travels to West Point, N.Y., for the Army Invitational, with matches slated on August 27 and 28 against Iona, New Hampshire, Fairleigh Dickinson and host institution Army. Head coach Joanne Persico, entering her 17th year with St. John's, takes one of her most touted recruiting classes into 2010, welcoming eight newcomers to the Red Storm squad.
2010 marks the ninth time in 17 seasons that the season-opener has occurred in a neutral setting, the last coming in 2009, and 13th time that the Red Storm has played its season debut away from home. St. John's is a combined 10-0 all-time against Fairleigh Dickinson, Iona and New Hampshire. This will be the Red Storm's first-ever matchup against host institution Army.
FOLLOW THE GAME 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 will be available for free on www.goarmysports.com.
A live video feed will also be available for the Army match on Saturday, Aug. 28, at 5:30 p.m.
SCOUTING THE GAELS
The Iona volleyball squad was selected to finish fifth overall in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
The Red Storm is 4-0 all-time against the Gaels, with the last meeting coming in the 2004 campaign.
The Gaels rebounded from a rough start last season, winning six of their last seven matches and finishing the 2009 campaign with an even 9-9 record.
The Maroon and Gold are returning six seniors in 2010, including libero Allison Nieters
In addition to the returning starters, the squad brings back a total of eight letterwinners and will welcome eight newcomers, many with experience at the collegiate level, to the court in 2010.
Nieters, a two-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and 2009 Libero of the Year, was once again named to the preseason All-MAAC team, as voted on by league coaches.
Nieters holds Iona's career, single-season and single-match records for digs entering her final season with the Gaels. With 2,055 career digs, she is one of two MAAC performers to reach the 2k mark.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
New Hampshire finished the 2009 season with a 13-15 overall record and a 5-5 mark in America East play.
The Wildcats finished last season as the hottest team in the America East winning five of the final six regular-season matches.
UNH returns nine letterwinners and four starters from the 2009 roster, including America East Co-Defensive Specialist of the Year Sara Heldman.
The Wildcats were selected to finish fourth in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Red Storm is 1-0 all-time against the Wildcats with a 3-0 victory in the 2006 season.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson was tabbed sixth in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Knights, who finished the 2009 season with an 8-24 overall record, return six starters from last season.
Sophomore Meaghan Wheeler returns as the Knights' top outside hitter.
Wheeler averaged 3.45 kills per game in 2009 - good for second-best in the conference.
The Red Storm is 5-0 all-time against FDU with the last meeting coming in 2003.
SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
The Army Black Knights return to action in 2010 as the defending Patriot League Champions and host of the invitational.
The Black Knights finished the 2009 season with a 26-6 overall record and a 12-2 mark in conference play.
Army made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009.
Sophomore outside hitter Ariana Mankus became the first player in conference history to be named Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season.
Mankus led the league in kills (3.67 per set) and registered 12 double-doubles (kills, digs) on the year.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Red Storm and the Black Knights.
UP NEXT
STJ will return home for a match against Stony Brook on Tuesday, Aug. 31 before hosting the annual St. John's Classic from Sept. 3-4.
The Red Storm will square off against local rivals Columbia, Manhattan and St. Francis.
STJ is a combined 18-3 against those three schools all-time.
St. John's will also face Denver for the first time in program history.
