St. John’s Falls to No. 13 Washington in Straight Sets

Friday, August 30

Honolulu, Hawaii (Stan Sheriff Center)

10:45 PM (ET)

St. John's University

9-5

No. 13 Washington

10-2

Washington

St. John's (NY)

St. John’s Falls to No. 13 Washington in Straight Sets

8/31/2019 2:21:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Red Storm falls to the nationally ranked Huskies, 3-0

By: Jared Anderson

The St. John's Volleyball team endured its first loss of the season Friday night, falling to No. 13 Washington in consecutive sets at the Stan Sheriff Center in the opening match of the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic.

Set scores were 25-22, 25-14 and 25-17, all in favor of the Huskies, who reached the round of 16 in last year's NCAA Tournament.

Sophomore Efrosini Alexakou and Junior Klara Mikelova led the way offensively for the Red Storm, recording eight kills apiece. Mikelova also added five digs in her debut for the Johnnies while Alexakou chipped in seven.

Erica Di Maulo dished out 22 assists on the night while reigning BIG EAST Libero of the Year Amanda Sanabia registered 13 digs.

Di Maulo's 22 helpers extended her career total to 3,826, while Sanabia's 1,409 digs places her just 24 shy of the number five spot on the all-time career list.

The Johnnies came out firing in set one, jumping out to an early 8-4 advantage and holding a lead for a majority of the set. Ahead 19-15 after a Washington service error, St. John's saw the Huskies close the set on a 10-3 run to take the early edge.

Set two featured an early push from Washington, as the Huskies jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead. Following a timeout, the Johnnies began to make strides behind Mikelova's offensive pressure, but were unable to close the deficit. Washington unleashed a 7-3 run midway through the second that proved to be the difference maker, closing out the set, 25-14.

The Johnnies came out swinging in the final set, capturing a 4-0 lead to start the third after a kill from Rachele Rastelli resulted in a timeout from the Huskies. However, Washington regained its momentum and edged out the Red Storm, 25-17, to seal the match.

St. John's will return to action on Saturday evening in Honolulu, taking on the Rainbow Wahine of Hawaii. The game will not technically tip-off until early Sunday in New York, as the teams are slated to begin the match at 1: 00 a.m. ET.