St. John's University Athletics
Sunday, November 10
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
12:00 PM
St. John's University
17-10, 9-5
3
vs
0
Butler
11-15, 8-6
1
2
3
F
Butler
20
19
22
0
St. John's
25
25
25
3
St. John’s Downs Butler for Third Straight BIG EAST Victory
11/10/2019 4:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
QUEENS, N.Y. (Nov. 10, 2019) – Looking for its third consecutive conference win, the St. John's volleyball team downed Butler in straight sets on Sunday afternoon inside Carnesecca Arena.
The Red Storm swept the Bulldogs, 25-20, 25-19 and 25-22.
The Johnnies now ride a three-game win streak after also defeating Providence on November 3 and picking up another straight-set win over Xavier on Friday night.
Despite St. John's and Butler both entering the match with an 8-5 record in league play, the Red Storm now stand alone at fourth place in the BIG EAST standings.
"We know that we need to be prepared for every time we step on the court and these girls are," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "They play hungry, they play together, they play really smart, they play really hard and when their best is needed, they usually bring it. I'm really happy with them."
Sophomore outside hitter Efrosini Alexakou put down a match-high 17 kills and 16 digs in the win. Alexakou ranks first in conference play with 4.98 points per set this season and leads the team with 386 kills.
Erica Di Maulo dished out 38 assists and collected two service aces while outside hitter Klara Mikelova registered 12 kills and 11 digs.
Middle blocker Maria Angelica Palacios also led both teams with five blocks as sophomore right side hitter Rachele Rastelli notched 11 kills.
As the first set fell underway, Butler (11-15, 8-6 BIG EAST) jumped out to an early 9-7 lead. The Red Storm (17-10, 9-5 BIG EAST) quickly worked its way back after a service error and an attack error from the Bulldogs tied the score at 9-9. The two teams continued to trade points before a service ace from Alexakou and a ball handling error from Butler put the Johnnies on top by two, 18-16. After a kill from Mikelova extended St. John's lead to three, 20-17, the Bulldogs scored two consecutive points to cut the deficit to one, 20-19. Mikelova put down a kill on the next play, 21-19, while Butler's Megan Sheridan notched a kill of her own to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance, 21-20. However, the Red Storm rattled off a 4-0 run to take the first frame, 25-20.
Set number two saw the Johnnies grab a steep advantage in the early going, as St. John's worked its way to a 10-5 lead. A service error helped Butler take the next point, 10-6, before the Red Storm went on a 4-0 spurt to extend the deficit to eight, 14-6. As the set wore on, a service ace helped bring the Bulldogs within six, 21-15. While Butler worked to keep the set alive with the Johnnies sitting at match point, 24-19, a kill from Rastelli helped St. John's capture the frame, 25-19, and a 2-0 match lead.
The third and final set started out as a tight battle between the Red Storm and the Bulldogs with both sides knotted up at 9-9. After Butler took a three-point lead, 15-12, kills from Palacios, Di Maulo and Alexakou helped the Johnnies even the score at 15 apiece. The Bulldogs stood within one late in the set, 22-21, but a kill from Rastelli and an attack error from Butler helped put St. John's at match point, 24-21. The Bulldogs took the next point, 24-22, before a Mikelova kill helped the Red Storm close out the set and match, 25-22.
The Johnnies will return to action when the team takes on Seton Hall this Friday night inside Carnesecca Arena. The start time is slated for 7 p.m.
The Red Storm swept the Bulldogs, 25-20, 25-19 and 25-22.
The Johnnies now ride a three-game win streak after also defeating Providence on November 3 and picking up another straight-set win over Xavier on Friday night.
Despite St. John's and Butler both entering the match with an 8-5 record in league play, the Red Storm now stand alone at fourth place in the BIG EAST standings.
"We know that we need to be prepared for every time we step on the court and these girls are," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "They play hungry, they play together, they play really smart, they play really hard and when their best is needed, they usually bring it. I'm really happy with them."
Sophomore outside hitter Efrosini Alexakou put down a match-high 17 kills and 16 digs in the win. Alexakou ranks first in conference play with 4.98 points per set this season and leads the team with 386 kills.
Erica Di Maulo dished out 38 assists and collected two service aces while outside hitter Klara Mikelova registered 12 kills and 11 digs.
Middle blocker Maria Angelica Palacios also led both teams with five blocks as sophomore right side hitter Rachele Rastelli notched 11 kills.
As the first set fell underway, Butler (11-15, 8-6 BIG EAST) jumped out to an early 9-7 lead. The Red Storm (17-10, 9-5 BIG EAST) quickly worked its way back after a service error and an attack error from the Bulldogs tied the score at 9-9. The two teams continued to trade points before a service ace from Alexakou and a ball handling error from Butler put the Johnnies on top by two, 18-16. After a kill from Mikelova extended St. John's lead to three, 20-17, the Bulldogs scored two consecutive points to cut the deficit to one, 20-19. Mikelova put down a kill on the next play, 21-19, while Butler's Megan Sheridan notched a kill of her own to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance, 21-20. However, the Red Storm rattled off a 4-0 run to take the first frame, 25-20.
Set number two saw the Johnnies grab a steep advantage in the early going, as St. John's worked its way to a 10-5 lead. A service error helped Butler take the next point, 10-6, before the Red Storm went on a 4-0 spurt to extend the deficit to eight, 14-6. As the set wore on, a service ace helped bring the Bulldogs within six, 21-15. While Butler worked to keep the set alive with the Johnnies sitting at match point, 24-19, a kill from Rastelli helped St. John's capture the frame, 25-19, and a 2-0 match lead.
The third and final set started out as a tight battle between the Red Storm and the Bulldogs with both sides knotted up at 9-9. After Butler took a three-point lead, 15-12, kills from Palacios, Di Maulo and Alexakou helped the Johnnies even the score at 15 apiece. The Bulldogs stood within one late in the set, 22-21, but a kill from Rastelli and an attack error from Butler helped put St. John's at match point, 24-21. The Bulldogs took the next point, 24-22, before a Mikelova kill helped the Red Storm close out the set and match, 25-22.
The Johnnies will return to action when the team takes on Seton Hall this Friday night inside Carnesecca Arena. The start time is slated for 7 p.m.
Team Stats
Butler
SJU
Kills
35
48
Errors
16
15
Attempts
98
116
Hitting %
.194
.284
Points
42.0
61.0
Assists
31
45
Aces
2
7
Blocks
5.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballRS
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