St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Opens BIG EAST Play At Butler, Xavier
9/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
QUEENS, N.Y. - After getting through a tough non-conference schedule that culminated with a 3-2 victory over Auburn last week, the St. John's volleyball team is now set to begin its 2015 BIG EAST slate as the Red Storm will hit the road to face Butler and Xavier this weekend.
The Red Storm (10-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) will first play the Bulldogs (4-9, 1-0 BIG EAST) in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m., before concluding the weekend against the Musketeers (5-6, 1-0 BIG EAST) at the Cintas Center on Saturday at 7 p.m.
FOLLOW THE MATCHES LIVE
Friday's match against Butler will have a live video webcast on ButlerSports.com. Click on the link to access the video - http://butlersports.com/landing/Live_Video
Friday's live stats against Butler will be provided by StatBroadcast.com
Saturday's live stats against Xavier will be provided by Sidearmstats.com
Fans can keep up with all of the live action by following the St. John's volleyball Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/StJohnsVB.
SCOUTING BUTLER (4-9, 1-0 BIG EAST)
- Opened BIG EAST play on the road Wednesday with a five-set victory against DePaul.
- The Bulldogs finished in third place last week at the 2015 Butler Invitational after defeating Youngstown State (3-0) and dropping the next two matches to Missouri (3-1) and Southern Illinois (3-2).
- Sophomore Makayla Ferguson anchors the Bulldogs offense as she leads the team in assists (398), while also in third in the BIG EAST in service aces (19).
- Butler is second in the league in blocks per set (2.37) with freshman Briana Lilly leading the way with 1.13 blocks per set.
- Sharon Clark is in her 16th year as the Butler head coach and has put together five 20-win seasons (2003, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014)
- Butler leads the series 3-1 with the Bulldogs defeating the Red Storm, 3-2, in their last match on Nov. 22, 2014.
SCOUTING XAVIER (5-6, 1-0 BIG EAST)
- Opened BIG EAST play Wednesday with a straight sets victory against Marquette on the road.
- In a 3-1 loss to No. 24 Kentucky last week, senior Makayla Agin posted a season-high 13 kills, while junior Abbey Bessler finished with 11 kills and nine digs. Bessler is seventh n the BIG EAST in kills per set (3.21) and ninth in digs per set at 3.38.
- Xavier leads the BIG EAST in digs per set at 17.56 with redshirt freshman Meredith Klare leading the team and ranks third in the conference with 4.56 digs per set.
- The Musketeers are holding its opponents to a .204 hitting percentage, which ranks fourth in the league.
- Christy Pfeffenberger is in her first year as the head coach of the Musketeers after serving as the team's associate head coach last season.
- Xavier leads the series 5-0 with the Musketeers defeating St. John's, 3-0, in their last match on Nov. 21, 2014.
PALGUTOVA TABBED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Senior outside hitter Karin Palgutova was named BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time this season, as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon.
- In a 2-2 week for the Red Storm, Palgutova racked up 4.11 points and 3.71 kills per set.
- The Slovakian is currently ranked in the top-10 in program history in four categories. Palgutova is all-time leader in kill attempts (4,041), second in kills (1,617), sixth in service aces (118), and ninth in digs (956).
ST. JOHN'S OUTLASTS AUBURN, 3-2, TO CLOSE OUT USF INVITATIONAL
- St. John's closed out its non-conference slate on a high note with a thrilling 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 31-29, 22-25, 15-12) victory over Southeastern Conference foe Auburn in the USF Invitational Saturday evening at the Sun Dome.
- The Red Storm moved to 10-5 on the season, while the Tigers fall to 8-4.
- Leading the charge for the Red Storm was senior outside hitter Karin Palgutova, who finished with 26 kills and 18 digs to record her sixth double-double of the season.
ST. JOHN'S FALLS TO NO. 1 PENN STATE, 3-0, AT USF INVITATIONAL
- Facing its second top-five ranked opponent in three days, the St. John's volleyball team fell to No. 1 Penn State, 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-19) in the USF Invitational Saturday afternoon at the Sun Dome.
- With the loss, the Red Storm falls to 9-5 on the season, while the Nittany Lions improve to 10-0. Penn State now holds a 3-0 lead in the series.
- Freshman outside hitter Pelin Aroguz led the team in kills for the second-consecutive match with 13.
ST. JOHN'S TOPPED BY NO. 5 FLORIDA, 3-0
- St. John's fell to No. 5 Florida, 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-21) in the Gators home opener Thursday evening at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
- With the loss, the Red Storm falls to 9-4 on the season, while the Gators improve to 7-1.
- Freshman outside hitter Pelin Aroguz led St. John's with a career-high 14 kills and four digs.
BIG EAST AND NCAA RANKINGS (as of Sept. 20, 2015)
- With 2.58 blocks per set, St. John's leads the BIG EAST and 37th in the NCAA.
- With 1.46 blocks per set, Danisha Moss leads the BIG EAST and 15th in the NCAA.
- With 3.96 kills per set, Palgutova ranks third in the BIG EAST and tied for 26th in the NCAA.
- With 4.37 points per set, Palgutova ranks fourth in the BIG EAST.
- With 3.34 digs per set, Delaney D'Amore ranks 10th in the BIG EAST.
RED STORM CAREER LEADERS
- With 1,617 kills, Palgutova currently ranks second all-time in program history.
- With 4,041 total attacks, Palgutova currently ranks first in program history.
- With 118 service aces, Palgutova currently is tied for fifth in program history.
- With 956 digs, Palgutova currently is ninth in program history.
- With 3,026 assists, Deniz Mutlugil currently ranks fourth in program history.
- With 1,480 digs, Shawna-Lei Santos currently ranks fourth in program history.
PALGUTOVA AND SANTOS AMONG NCAA ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS
- With 1,617 kills, Palgutova currently ranks sixth.
- With 4,041 total attacks, Palgutova currently ranks ninth.
- With 4.01 kills per set, Palgutova currently ranks seventh.
- With 1,480 digs, Santos currently ranks 25th.
UP NEXT
St. John's will play its BIG EAST home opener on Friday, Oct. 2, when it welcomes defending BIG EAST champion Creighton (6-7, 0-0 BIG EAST) for the Red Storm's eighth annual Dig for a Cure match in Carnesecca Arena at 7 p.m. The Red Storm will then host Georgetown (6-7, 0-0 BIG EAST) on Saturday for a match that is slated for 5 p.m. start. Both matches will air live on ESPN3.
Last season, the Red Storm lost both matches to Creighton (Oct. 17 and Nov. 15), while taking both from Georgetown (Oct. 19 and Nov. 14). The Bluejays lead the all-time series 3-1, while the Red Storm holds a14-9 advantage over the Hoyas.
