St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Welcomes BIG EAST Elite Cincinnati, Louisville
9/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
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- Live Video (St. John's vs. Cincinnati)
- Live Video (St. John's vs. Louisville)
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's volleyball team welcomes BIG EAST preseason favorite No. 22 Cincinnati and Louisville, last season's conference tournament champion, to Carnesecca Arena this weekend. The Red Storm continues its conference slate with matchups against the Bearcats on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Cardinals, Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
The Red Storm (13-5, 0-1) will look to bounce back after dropping its BIG EAST opener against Villanova last Friday, 3-1. With the win the Wildcats extended their winning streak to a conference-high 12 in-a-row. Sophomore setter Gabriela Petkova picked up her team-leading fourth double-double of the season, registering 28 assists and 16 digs.
After defeating BIG EAST opponents Seton Hall and Rutgers in straight sets last weekend, Cincinnati (13-3, 2-0) moved up to 22nd in the AVCA Division I Coaches' Poll. The Bearcats are led by senior outside hitter Stephanie Niemer, who just recently picked up her third consecutive BIG EAST Player of the Week honor.
Last week, Louisville (6-5, 1-1) swept Rutgers, 3-0, before falling to Seton Hall, 3-2, in the opening weekend of conference play. The Cardinals finished the 2009 season as the BIG EAST Tournament Champions, but dropped a first round matchup to Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament.
Both the Cincinnati and Louisville series, which began in 2005, are currently level at three wins apiece.
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.
STORMWATCH
• The Red Storm has relied on a balanced attack this season as five players have recorded 100 kills or more.
• Four members of the squad are averaging over 2.25 kills per set and five Red Storm athletes are averaging over 2.0 points per set (min. 50 sets).
• Junior captain Darlene Ramdin is the focal point of the Red Storm attack, recording a team-high .255 hitting percentage (min. 100 attempts).
• Ramdin also leads the team at the net, tallying a team-high 62 blocks (18 solo, 44 assisted).
• Newcomer Anzelika Lukjanska is currently leading the squad in kills with 147 and is second on the team with 148 digs.
• Petkova has a team-high 531 assists and is averaging 8.85 per set.
• Junior transfer Brunna Kronbauer currently leads the team with 26 service aces.
• Freshman libero Korina Yee has recorded a team-high 173 digs and is one of two players (Lukjanska) to play in all 64 sets.
THE MATCHUPS
• Both series started in the 2005 season following Cincinnati's and Louisville's move from Conference USA to the BIG EAST.
• Cincinnati and Louisville both swept the Red Storm a season ago.
• Both series are also level at three wins apiece.
• However, STJ is 4-0 all-time against the Bearcats and Cardinals in matches played in Carnesecca Arena.
• Three of the six matches against Cincinnati have ended in three sets, while none have needed a fifth. • Four of the six matches against Louisville have ended in three sets, while one needed all five frames to decide a winner.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
• Cincinnati enters Friday's matchup as the No. 22 team in the nation. • The Bearcats are currently on a six-match winning streak. • UC swept both Rutgers and Seton Hall last week to start BIG EAST play 2-0. • Outside hitter Stephanie Niemer is having an outstanding senior season, picking up three consecutive BIG EAST Player of the Week Awards.
• Niemer is also the first-ever BIG EAST athlete to receive the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week, which she earned on Sept. 21.
• She was also selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year.
• Niemer leads the team in overall kills (295), kills per set (5.27), attacking percentage (.334), service aces (23), points (345) and points per set (6.16).
• Sophomore Becca Refenes leads the team in blocks with 72, while freshman libero Emily McIntyre leads the Bearcats with 212 digs.
• Senior Annie Fesl leads the team with 670 assists for an average of 11.96 per set.
• UC's 13.55 assists per set ranks 10th in the nation, while its 14.3 kills per set is ranked 15th nationally.
• The Bearcats .270 hitting percentage is good for 26th in the nation.
• Niemer finds herself all over the national rankings, including fourth in the country in kills per set (5.27) and 64th in the nation in aces per set (.41).
• Fesl's 11.96 assists per set are good for sixth in the nation, while Refenes' 1.29 blocks per set are good for 30th in the country.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
• Louisville travels to Connecticut on Friday before playing the Red Storm on Sunday afternoon.
• The Cardinals are coming off a five-set loss to Seton Hall on Sunday, Sept. 26.
• Last season, the Cardinals swept STJ, 3-0, at home.
• U of L is led by sophomore outside hitter Lola Arslanbekova's 152 kills and 3.30 kills per set.
• Freshman Caitlin Welch leads the team with 134 digs, while senior libero Lindsey Mango's 83 is good for second on the squad.
• Junior Anastasia Artemeva is coming off a career-high 16 kills against Seton Hall.
• Senior middle blocker Amanda Simmons is currently ranked eighth nationally with 1.48 blocks per set, while the Cardinals as a team are ranked 11th in the nation in the category.
• Arslanbekova is currently 161st in the nation in kills per set with 3.3 and ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in the same category.
• U of L's 2.83 blocks pet ser currently ranks first among BIG EAST teams, while Simmons 0.17 blocks also ranks first.
• The Cardinals are fifth in the conference in hitting percentage (.213) and rank fourth in opponents hitting percentage (.165).
• Arslanbekova was a unanimous preseason All-BIG EAST Preseason Team selection.
• U of L was picked to finish second in the conference behind Cincinnati.
UP NEXT
• The Red Storm will travel to Milwaukee, Wis., to take on Marquette on Friday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. ET.
• STJ leads the series, 3-2, over Marquette, but the Golden Eagles have won the last two matchups.
• St. John's will then travel to Syracuse to take on the Orange on Sunday at 2 p.m.
• SU is currently leading the BIG EAST with an 18-1 overall record.
• The Orange tied the overall series at eight wins apiece with a 3-1 victory over STJ a season ago.
