St. John’s Falls to No. 13 Texas A&M in NCAA Tournament Opener

Thursday, December 5

College Station, TX

7:30 p.m. ET

St. John's University

22-12

Texas A&M

22-7

St. John's

Texas A&M

St. John’s Falls to No. 13 Texas A&M in NCAA Tournament Opener

12/5/2019 11:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Efrosini Alexakou led the Red Storm with 13 kills on the night

By: Jared Anderson

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Dec. 5, 2019) – After making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 12 years, the St. John's volleyball team's season came to a close on Thursday night, as No. 13 seed Texas A&M defeated the Johnnies in three sets at Reed Arena to advance to the Round of 32.

Set scores were 27-25, 25-21, and 25-12, all in favor of the Aggies.

The Red Storm ended its 2019 campaign with a 22-12 record and the Johnnies' third-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.

This season also saw St. John's capture its first BIG EAST Championship since 2007 after becoming the first fourth-seeded team to win the tournament since the conference was reconfigured in 2013.

Sophomore Efrosini Alexakou led the team with 13 kills and added four digs while Klara Mikelova recorded 11 kills and eight digs.

Senior setter Erica Di Maulo capped off the final match of her collegiate career by posting 30 assists, six digs and three blocks.

St. John's got off to a slow start in the opening set as Texas A&M jumped out to an early 6-1 lead. However, the Johnnies quickly cut the deficit to two with a service ace from Mikelova setting the score at 7-5. After the Aggies established a four-point lead midway through the frame, 14-10, the Red Storm erupted on a 6-0 scoring run to jump ahead by two, 16-14. Texas A&M stayed persistent, eventually knotting things up at 19 apiece. After the two teams remained at standstill, 22-22, a pair of kills from Alexakou put St. John's at set point, 24-22. A 3-0 spurt from the Aggies gave Texas A&M the lead in borrowed time, 25-24. Despite a kill from Alexakou evening the score, 25-25, the Aggies picked up the next two points to take the first frame, 27-25.

As the second set fell underway, the Johnnies trailed the Aggies by three, 5-2. After Texas A&M extended its lead to five, 10-5, the Red Storm went on a quick 3-0 spurt to cut the deficit to two, 10-8. The Aggies put down a kill to make it 13-11 before St. John's notched the next three points to get on top by one, 14-13. The two teams stood neck-and-neck with a kill from Rachele Rastelli setting the score at 18-18. However, Texas A&M went on a 5-0 run to take back the lead, 23-18. While a block from Maria Angelica Palacios and Di Maulo kept the set alive with the Aggies sitting at set point, 24-21, Texas A&M scored on the following play to grab the second frame, 25-21.

The Red Storm trailed by four early in the third set, 8-4. After a pair of kills from Mikelova brought the Johnnies within two, 9-7, Texas A&M scored eight consecutive points to extend its lead to 10, 17-7. While St. John's worked to chip away at the deficit, 17-9, the Aggies continued to push the pace and went on to close out the third frame and match, 25-12.