St. John’s Drops Final Match of Seminole Invitational to No. 25 Florida State

Saturday, September 14

Tallahassee, Fla. (Tully Gymnasium)

12:00 PM

St. John's University

6-5

No. 25 Florida State

5-2

St. John's

Florida State

St. John’s Drops Final Match of Seminole Invitational to No. 25 Florida State

9/14/2019 6:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Red Storm took the Seminoles to extra points in two of the three sets

By: Jared Anderson

            QUEENS, N.Y. (Sept. 14, 2019) –Taking on yet another nationally ranked opponent on the road, the St. John's volleyball team battled, but fell in straight sets to No. 25 Florida State at the Home2 Suites Tallahassee Seminole Invitational.

            The Johnnies (6-5) still left Tallahassee with a winning record on the weekend after defeating Stony Brook and Florida A&M on Friday.

            St. John's forced extra points in both the first and third sets, falling by scores of 28-26, 25-18 and 26-24, respectively.

            Sophomores Efrosini Alexakou and Rachele Rastelli were named to the All-Tournament Team, as Alexakou led the Red Storm with 36 kills over the course of three matches. Rastelli was a big factor on both sides of the ball for the Johnnies against Florida State, registering a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs.

            Senior Erica Di Maulo notched a game-high 31 assists against the Seminoles, raising her total for the tournament to 94. Di Maulo currently ranks fourth all-time in St. John's history with 4,158 career assists.

            St. John's and Florida State (5-2) opened the first set in a tight battle. Trailing by three, 8-5, following a three-point burst from the Seminoles, the Johnnies eventually climbed back ahead, 15-14, following a kill from Klara Mikelova. The teams traded blows over the next several minutes before Florida State took the set, 28-26.

            Florida State came out firing in the second frame, scoring 10 of the stanza's first 13 points before moving ahead by as many 10, 20-10. The Red Storm cut into the Seminole lead with a late 5-0 run, but Florida State prevailed, 25-18.

            The third set once again started out as a back-and-forth battle between the two programs. After the Red storm moved ahead, 14-13, both teams traded leads before three consecutive Alexakou kills put the Johnnies on top, 21-19. A kill from Kayley Wood gave the Red Storm set point at 24-23, but Florida State recorded three-straight points to seal the match.

            St. John's will now look to capture its seventh win of the season on Tuesday against No. 10 Oregon at the Hofstra Invitational in Hempstead, N.Y. The start time is slated for 7 p.m. inside the David S. Mack Physical Education Center.