St. John’s Falls to Hawaii in Five-Set Nail-Biter

Sunday, September 1

Honolulu, Hawaii (Stan Sheriff Center)

1:00 AM (ET)

St. John's University

9-5

Hawaii

12-1

St. John's (NY)

Hawaii

St. John’s Falls to Hawaii in Five-Set Nail-Biter

9/1/2019 11:41:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Four Johnnies notched double-digit kills in the loss

By: Jared Anderson

Despite taking a 2-1 lead following the third set, the St. John's volleyball team dropped a 3-2 decision to Hawaii on Sunday morning at the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic.

The Johnnies took sets one and three, 28-26 and 25-23, but came up short in sets two, four and five by scores of 25-20, 25-22 and 15-12.

St. John's came out in the fourth set with sizable momentum after going up 2-1 following a kill by Efrosini Alexakou, but Hawaii would go on to close out the night narrowly taking each of the final two sets.

Junior Klara Mikelova put forth a stellar offensive effort for the Johnnies, notching a team-high 18 kills while Alexakou recorded 14 kills and 15 digs on the night.

Sophomore Rachele Rastelli was another undeniable force on both sides of the ball for the Red Storm, totaling 16 kills and six digs against Hawaii.

Amanda Sanabia led the way defensively for St. John's with a team-high 21 digs. Erica Di Maulo collected 11 kills and dished out a total 42 assists for the Red Storm.

St. John's came out strong in the first set behind Mikelova and Alexakou's offensive play, as the Johnnies jumped out to an early 9-6 lead. Hawaii responded with a 4-0 run. The two programs battled back-and-forth over the remainder of the set, taking it down to the wire. Alexakou closed out the first frame with a kill to capture the win for the Red Storm, 28-26.

The second set featured a similar back-and-forth battle early on, but Hawaii would eventually break away and take a 20-14 lead late in the match. Despite a quick 3-0 run by the Johnnies that featured kills from Mikelova and Rastelli late in the second, Hawaii held on to close out the set, 25-20.

The third set featured another tightly contested battle between the two programs with neither squad able to increase the deficit by more than three points. However, Alexakou came up big for the Red Storm once again in the set's final moments. She closed out the third with another kill to give the Johnnies a 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead.

Hawaii and St. John's both came out looking strong in the fourth before the Rainbow Warriors sent the match into a game-deciding fifth set after the Red Storm fell just short in the fourth, 25-22.

The final frame was reflective of the night's tight battle between the two programs. Hawaii increased its lead late in the fifth set by two points, 11-8. The Johnnies tied it up at 11 apiece before Hawaii ran away with it late in the set to seal the victory, 15-12.

The Red Storm will look to bounce back tonight as they take on No. 21 San Diego in its final match of the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu. The contest is slated for 8:45 p.m. ET.
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