St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Welcomes Princeton To Open Homestand
9/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
QUEENS, N.Y. - After participating in the Michigan State Spartan Showcase this past weekend, the St. John's volleyball team returns to action Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. when it welcomes Ivy League affiliate Princeton to Carnesecca Arena for its inaugural St. John's Employees and Retirees Day. The match will be the first of six in a five-day span, which includes four at home, for the Red Storm.
After recording a 1-2 mark at the tournament, St. John's now stands at 4-2 on the young 2011 season. The Red Storm's lone victory came in a 3-1 decision over Toledo, while its losses came against Cleveland State and tournament host Michigan State.
Under new leadership in 2011, the Tigers (3-1) opened their campaign at the annual Hofstra Invitational this weekend, picking up victories over NJIT, Fairfield and St. Francis to improve to 3-0, before dropping their final match of the tournament to host Hofstra, 3-1.
The two programs met at least once a season for 10-consecutive years from 1995-2004, but took a six-year hiatus from the series, and finally met again last season at Penn State's Rockvale Outlets Classic. The Red Storm claimed the match in straight sets to extend its winning streak to five and its all-time record to 9-6 against the Tigers.
FOLLOW THE MATCH LIVE
• The match will be aired live on StormTracker All-Access with analyst Ralph Bednarczyk on the call. As always, free live stats will be provided by GameTracker. Fans can tune into the broadcast for a monthly fee of $9.95 or an annual subscription of $79.95.
• Fans can also keep up with all of the live action by following the St. John's volleyball Twitter feed @STJ_Volleyball or by searching the #stjvball hashtag. Remember to use both the #stjvball and #ncaavb hashtags throughout the 2011 season.
STORMWATCH
• 18-year head coach Joanne Persico, the only coach in program history, enters the match just five wins away from 350 total victories with a 345-209 overall record.
• Senior middle hitter Darlene Ramdin, who currently has 924 career kills and ranks eighth all-time in the category, needs just 76 to become the seventh member of St. John's 1,000-kill club.
• With her six blocks at the Spartan Showcase this weekend, Ramdin moved into seventh place on the all-time blocks list with 302 career rejections, just two better than Anicia Wood. Ramdin is now just 10 blocks away from taking over the sixth spot on the list and 23 from cracking the top five.
• Junior setter/libero Gabriela Petkova is currently ranked fifth in the STJ record books with 1,747 assists. With just 315 more helpers, Petkova will pass Lisa Tedder for fourth place on the list.
CAN YOU DIG IT?
• Freshman outside hitter Aleksandra Wachowciz currently leads the Red Storm with 56 kills and a 3.50 kills per set average. Her kills per set average is currently tied for eighth in the BIG EAST Conference.
• She also has team-high 10 service aces and is currently averaging 0.62 aces per set, good for third place in the conference.
• Wachowicz is currently ranked in the top four in the conference in points per set with 4.44. She is the only freshman in the top 10.
• Ramdin is currently pacing the Red Storm in blocks and blocks per set with 24 and 1.26, respectively. Her 1.26 blocks per frame average currently ranks seventh in the BIG EAST.
• Senior outside hitter Brunna Kronbauer leads the team with a .297 attacking percentage (min. 100 attempts) and also ranks eighth in the conference with a 0.44 aces per set average. Kronbauer enters the match with 18 aces on the season.
INSIDE THE SERIES
• St. John's currently leads the all-time series 9-6 over Princeton and holds a 6-4 advantage at home against the Tigers.
• The Red Storm is currently on a five-match winning streak against Princeton.
• The two programs met at least once a season for 10-consecutive years from 1995-2004. During that time, Princeton won four-consecutive matchups from 1998-2000.
• The squads renewed the rivalry last season at Penn State's annual Rockvale Outlets Classic, with the Red Storm claiming a 3-0 victory over the Tigers.
• Kronbauer recorded a team-high nine kills in the match, while Ramdin and Paulina Piegza each added seven.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• With first year head coach Sabrina King at the helm, the Tigers opened their 2011 season with three wins and one loss at the annual Hofstra Invitational this past weekend.
• As a player at Princeton, King led the Tigers to Ivy League titles in 1997, 1999 and 2000, as well as to titles in 2004 and 2007 as an assistant coach.
• Princeton claimed straight-set victories over NJIT and Fairfield, and defeated St. Francis 3-1 before falling to tournament host Hofstra by the same margin.
• As a team, Princeton currently tops the Ivy League in blocks per set (2.87), service aces per set (1.93) and digs per frame (18.47). The Tigers also rank second in opponent hitting percentage (.153) and third in team hitting percentage (.233), assists per set (12.0) and kills (12.67).
• After one weekend of play, All-Ivy Leaguer Cathryn Quinn leads the Tigers with 31 kills, 14 blocks and 4.50 points per set. Her points per set average currently ranks second in the Ivy League.
• Three Tigers are ranked in the top 10 in the conference in service aces, with Quinn's 0.60 aces per set average ranking second.
• Quinn was named to the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 6) for her performance at the tournament.
• Sophomore outside hitters Chelsea Parker and Sydney Brombal are both close behind with 27 kills apiece, while Parker's 3.38 kills per set leads the team.
• Senior defensive specialist Hillary Ford paces the Tigers with 82 kills and an impressive 5.47 digs per set. Her digs per set average currently ranks third in the Ancient Eight.
• Princeton finished the 2010 campaign with a 16-9 overall record, including an 8-6 mark in conference play, and tied for second in the Ivy League.
UP NEXT
• St. John's continues its busy week of action when it hosts the newly named St. John's Kaiser Classic from Sept. 9-10 at Carnesecca Arena.
• This season, the Red Storm will look to defend its title from a season ago when it welcomes in-state rival Buffalo and New England institutions Brown and Northeastern to the classic.
• Following the event, the Red Storm will play its fifth and sixth match in a five-day span when it travels to the Bronx to compete in the final day of Fordham's Rose Hill Classic on Sunday, Sept. 11. STJ will face Colorado and Fordham to conclude the tournament.
