Red Storm Takes Down Butler in Four Sets

Friday, October 26

Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse)

6:00 PM

St. John's University

19-8, 8-4BIG EAST

Butler

7-17, 4-8BIG EAST

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
St. John's	16	25	25	25	3
Butler	25	20	18	20	1

10/26/2018 8:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Sanabia moves into fourth place on the single season digs leaderboard in win.

By: Eric Robinson

Box Score

The St. John's volleyball team defeated Butler in Indianapolis on Friday night, winning its third consecutive match in the process.

"A fantastic comeback win after dropping the first set on the road at Hinkle Fieldhouse. We were able to regroup and find our rhythm and get a big win," Head Coach Joanne Persico said. "Butler has a lot of offensive weapons so I was glad we were able to stabilize them."

Kayley Wood led the Johnnies with 18 kills, while Efrosini Alexakou posted a double-double in the four-set win (16 kills, 22 digs).

As a team, St. John's outhit the Bulldogs .216 to .161 with Erica Di Maulo leading the way with .444. The setter also recorded a double-double with 43 assists and 11 digs on the match.

The Bulldogs started off strong taking the first set 25-16. The Red Storm went down 6-5 early before Butler started an 8-0 run to put the Johnnies down nine points. St. John's remained even with Butler the rest of the way before dropping set one. Wood led the way in the opener with three kills for the Johnnies.

The Red Storm responded by taking the second set 25-20. The Red Storm went up 14-11 before a 4-0 run began to take control of the set. Nia Diaz and Hanna Wagner led the way with two blocks each in the set. The tandem tied for the team lead in blocks with Di Maulo. All three finished the four-setter with four rejections on the night.

St. John's continued taking the third set 25-18 behind four kills from Alexakou. Wood led the way with five kills while Alexakou posted four kills and six digs in the third set alone. With the Johnnies leading 13-11, a Bri Lilly service error sparked a 5-0 run for the Red Storm to put the team up seven points. The Bulldogs would pull within three at 22-17, but Wood finished two kills in the last three points to give the Johnnies a 2-1 set advantage.

The Johnnies finished off the Bulldogs in the fourth set 25-20. St. John's used four combined kills by Wood and Alexakou in the first 14 points to take an 11-3 lead. The Red Storm would extend that lead to 21-10 before Butler began to mount its comeback attempt. The Bulldogs cut the lead to four at 24-20, but a final kill by Kayley Wood gave the Bulldogs the match in four sets.

The Red Storm will next play Saturday at 6 p.m. at Xavier.