St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Butler
St. John's Falls To Butler In Four Sets
9/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Box Score (PDF)
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QUEENS, N.Y. - Facing a tough BIG EAST opponent for the second-straight night, St. John's fell to Butler in four tightly contested sets, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 21-25, 24-26).
It was a solid defensive performance out of the Red Storm, as it registered 14.5 blocks which marked the 12th time this season the Red Storm posted double-digit blocks. St. John's also forced 24 Butler errors and logged 62 digs in the close four set match. The Bulldogs kept the Johnnies attack at bay, holding them to a .191 hitting percentage, while they hit at a .229 clip.
St. John's (10-6, 1-2 BIG EAST) was led by Gaia Traballi on the offensive side of the ball, as the freshman from Italy produced a team-high 16 kills and also added 10 digs to give her four double-doubles on the season. Danisha Moss has found her offensive game in recent matches, as she picked up a career-high 11 kills against Butler. On the defensive side, Moss was terrific in front of the net registering a team-high nine blocks and now has 95 total blocks on the year.
Freshman setter Erica Di Maulo distributed 46 assists and has now dished out at least 40 assists in seven matches this season. Amanda Sanabia, a newcomer from Annapolis, Md., recorded a season-high 19 digs, while Margherita Bianchin and Julia Cast each registered eight kills.
The first set featured nine ties, but only one lead change as the Red Storm hit at a .244 clip. With the Johnnies trailing 17-13, St. John's went on a 7-2 run to take a 20-19 advantage. The Red Storm won five of the next eight points with two kills from Lexie Lobdell, including winning the final point on a kill from the sophomore from Aurora, Ill.
St. John's started the next set by winning the first four points on the great serving by Lobdell. Butler (12-6, 1-1 BIG EAST) stormed back to take a 10-8 lead after going on a 10-4 run and the largest lead by the Bulldogs in the entire set was only two points. The Red Storm was leading 23-22, but Butler won the final three points of the set to even up the match.
The third set was the biggest margin of victory, but it was only four points, as Butler won the frame, 25-21. Di Maulo logged 14 assists in the set and dished out double-digit assist total in every set of the match.
The last set of the match had the Red Storm down 16-10, but St. John's got its play going by producing a 14-7 run to take a 24-23 lead. However, Butler won the last three points of the set to win the match, 3-1. The Bulldogs were led by two student-athletes who recorded double-doubles in Makayla Ferguson (48 assists and 11 digs) and Anna Logan (18 kills and 11 digs).
Next up, the Red Storm will be back on the road for midweek matchup against longtime BIG EAST rival Villanova on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The first serve is slated for 7 p.m. at the Jake Nevin Field House.
