St. John’s Picks Up Two Wins to Open Seminole Invitational

Friday, September 13

Tallahassee, Fla. (Tully Gymnasium)

11:00 AM

St. John's University

5-4

Stony Brook

1-7

St. John's

Stony Brook

St. John’s Picks Up Two Wins to Open Seminole Invitational

9/13/2019 7:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Senior Erica Di Maulo registered 63 kills across six sets for the Red Storm

By: Jared Anderson

QUEENS, N.Y. (Sept. 13, 2019) – The St. John's volleyball team defeated Stony Brook and Florida A&M during the first day of the Home2 Suites Tallahassee Seminole Invitational, capturing both matches in straight sets inside Tully Gymnasium.

            The Red Storm (6-4) opened the tournament with a victory over Stony Brook, 25-19, 25-17 and 25-16, all in favor of the Johnnies. St. John's swiftly defeated Florida A&M by scores of 25-15, 25-16 and 25-16.

            Against Stony Brook (1-7), senior setter Erica Di Maulo registered a game-high 35 assists (11.67 per set), while sophomore outside hitter Efrosini Alexakou led both programs with 19 kills. Maria Angelica Palacios and Amanda Sanabia also had game-highs for the Red Storm. Palacios hit a .857 clip with six kills and led the team with four blocks, while Sanabia collected 11 digs.

            The Johnnies opened the first set with an early 4-2 lead behind kills from Palacios and Rastelli. St. John's then went on a 6-1 run featuring back-to-back kills from Palacios to extend the Red Storm's lead to seven, 11-4. Despite the Seawolves trailing 19-11, and making a late push to cut the lead to six, the Red Storm held on to take the win, 25-19.

            St. John's carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 run. The Johnnies continued to push the pace throughout the match, taking a 19-11 lead following a kill from Di Maulo. The Red Storm once again went on a 4-0 run to close out the frame, 25-17.

            The third set kicked off as a tight battle between both programs, with neither team able to break a one-point lead at the start of the set. Despite Stony Brook going up 11-7 midway through the frame, St. John's went responded with a 4-0 run highlighted by a kill from Rastelli to tie things up at 11. With the Red Storm up 17-16, the Johnnies went on an unprecedented 8-0 run to close out the frame, 25-16.

            St. John's entered the second matchup with Florida A&M (1-8) looking to build off of its first win of the tournament.

            Sanabia led both programs with 26 digs, while Di Maulo put up a game-high 28 assists. Mikelova, Hanna Wagner and sophomore Jovana Askovic combined for 25 of the team's 45 kills.

            The Johnnies jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead behind kills from Mikelova and Rastelli. The Rattlers worked their way back into the match, cutting the Johnnies' lead to two, 10-8, but the Red Storm refused to let up. The Johnnies rattled off a 5-0 run down the stretch to take the opening set, 25-15.

            The Red Storm immediately took over again in the second stanza, taking an early 9-5 lead. The Johnnies then went on a 5-0 run, bumping their advantage to 10, 15-5. Askovic closed out the set with a kill, as the Johnnies took the second set, 25-15.

            After taking the lead in the start of the final set, the Johnnies never looked back. St. John's went ahead 17-6 midway through the third, with Tiziana Baumrukova later putting down a kill to seal the win, 25-16.

            St. John's will look to capture its third-straight win tomorrow in the final matchup with No. 25 Florida State. The start time is slated for 12 p.m. inside Tully Gymnasium.