Red Storm Sweeps Coppin State, Defeats UMBC, 3-1

Saturday, August 25

Baltimore, Md. (Hill Field House)

5:30 PM

St. John's University

UMBC

8/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Aug. 25, 2012

BALTIMORE, Md. - In the second and final day of the Battle at the Bay, St. John's picked up a pair of wins, sweeping Coppin State and defeating UMBC, 3-1.

Sophomore Aleksandra Wachowicz, who led the team in kills in the tournament, and senior Sabina Piegza, who led in assists, received All-Tournament honors. Wachowicz had 38 kills in the four matches, including 16 against UMBC - a team-high for the season. Piegza, who led the team in assists in every contest, complied 108 assists in the tournament, including a season-high 39 assists against UMBC.

The Red Storm's only loss in the tournament came against Towson, who won all four matches, winning the Battle at the Bay.

MATCH ONE

In its first match of day two, the Red Storm defeated the Eagles, 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-12). All-time, St. John's is undefeated against Coppin State (0-3), sweeping them in all three meetings between the two programs.

Two freshmen led the attack against the Eagles as Karin Palgutova and Shawna-Lei Santos combined for 22 of the team's 43 kills. Palgutova had 12 kills and a .611 attacking percentage, both team-highs for the match, and added three digs. Her classmate, Santos, notched 10 kills, picked up her first-career service ace, and added six digs.

"I've played a bunch of positions and playing outside is a main one," Santos said. "I feel like I'll help the team a lot there and my teammates will help me out a lot, too. We have that kind of relationship where we bond on and off the court."

For the second consecutive match, senior Milica Krstojevic tied her career-high of nine kills, which she established while playing for Oregon. Sophomore Aleksandra Wachowicz also contributed nine kills.

MATCH TWO

In the only match of the Battle at the Bay that did not result in a sweep, the Red Storm defeated the Lady Retrievers, 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 23-25, 25-14). St. John's played UMBC (2-2) to three close sets before overwhelming the Lady Retrievers in the fourth.

The first set saw four lead changes and five tied scores before Wachowicz closed it out with a kill to win, 25-20.

The Red Storm led for the majority of the second set, but the Lady Retrievers nipped at their heels, tying the score six times and extending the set beyond 25 points. With the score tied at 27-27, St. John's collected two consecutive kills from Krstojevic and Piegza to win the set, 29-27.

St. John's got off to a fast start in the third set, collecting the first five points, but UMBC rallied, tying the match 12 times before taking a late lead and winning it, 25-23.

In the fourth and final set, the Red Storm led by as much as 15 points before closing out the match with a 25-14 victory.

Senior Gabriela Petkova and her classmate, Piegza, compiled their 18th and 5th career double-doubles, respectively. Petkova and Piegza tied for the team-lead in digs (13) while Petkova, who played at libero, added 10 assists. Piegza, meanwhile, racked up 39 assists - a team-high for the match and for the season.

Wachowicz led the attack with a team-high 16 kills and 41 attacks. She also contributed two assists and five digs.

After compiling 12 kills against Coppin State earlier in the day, Palgutova one-upped herself with a 13 kill effort against the Lady Retrievers. Her classmate, Santos, contributed 8 kills, 3 assists, and 12 digs.

Krstojevic racked up nine kills for the third consecutive match, tying the career-high she established while playing for Oregon

NEXT UP

St. John's will take on Siena in the 2012 homer-opener on Wednesday, Aug. 29 at 7:00 p.m at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm has won its previous eight matches with the Saints and is 8-2 against them all-time.

For live updates and more info, log onto RedStormSports.com or follow the official Twitter account (@STJ_Volleyball), using the hashtag: #stjvball.