St. John’s Falls to No. 10 Marquette

Saturday, September 28

Milwaukee, Wis. (Al McGuire Center)

6:00 PM (ET)

St. John's University

9-6, 1-1

No. 10 Marquette

13-2, 3-0

St. John's

Marquette

9/28/2019 9:19:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Red Storm fell in four sets to the Golden Eagles in its second conference matchup this season

By: Jared Anderson

            MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Sept. 28, 2019) – After capturing a win over DePaul to kick off conference play, the St. John's volleyball team had its three-game win streak snapped Saturday night, falling to No. 10 Marquette on the road inside the Al McGuire Center.

            The Johnnies took the first set, 25-22, before the Golden Eagles captured the following frame in extra points, 26-24. Marquette (13-2, 3-0 BIG EAST) then capped off the match by taking sets three and four, 25-23 and 25-18.

            Outside hitter Klara Mikelova led the way on offense for the Red Storm, putting down a team-high 15 kills. Sophomores Efrosini Alexakou and Rachele Rastelli each notched double-doubles with Alexakou recording 14 kills and 10 digs, while Rastelli put down 14 kills of her own and collected 12 digs. Reigning BIG EAST Libero of the Year Amanda Sanabia also led the team with 16 digs.

            Senior setter Erica Di Maulo registered a game-high 38 assists and 14 digs on the night, extending her all-time assist mark to 4,325.

            St. John's (9-6, 1-1 BIG EAST) kicked off the first set trailing Marquette 3-0 before kills from Palacios and Mikelova helped tie things up, 6-6. After trading points early on, the Golden Eagles eventually garnered a four-point lead before the Red Storm put together a 4-0 run to once again even the score, 12-12.

            The Johnnies and Marquette both worked to break away with the lead, but remained within at least two points of each other until a kill from Di Maulo put St. John's up, 21-18, late in the first. Despite the Golden Eagles cutting the deficit to two with the Red Storm sitting at match point, a Rastelli kill closed out the set, 25-22, and gave the Johnnies a 1-0 lead.

            Marquette grabbed a three-point lead at the start of the second frame until a kill from Alexakou capped off a 3-0 run to knot the game at nine. After St. John's went up by one point following an attack error from Marquette, the Golden Eagles put together a quick 4-0 spurt to reclaim the lead, 14-11.

            While the Johnnies came within one point of Marquette, the home team continued to push the pace and jumped out to a four-point lead, 21-17, late in the second. A pair of kills from Kathariou helped St. John's chop away at the deficit before Mikelova and Rastelli put down two kills of their own to tie things up at 23. After St. John's forced the frame into extra points, Marquette went on to even up the match by taking set two, 26-24.

            The third frame started off as another tight battle between both squads, as the Red Storm took a one-point lead following an attack error from the Golden Eagles, 7-6. After a kill from Marquette evened the score at nine, an Alexakou kill later established a three-point lead, for St. John's, 13-10, forcing the Golden Eagles to take a timeout.

            The Red Storm refused to let up after the break, going on a 4-0 run as a service ace from Di Maulo pushed the advantage to seven, 17-10. Marquette refused to let up, putting together a 9-2 spurt to even up the frame at 19 apiece. After exchanging points at the end of the set, a kill and a service ace from the Golden Eagles' Ellie Koontz helped her squad take a 2-1 lead by downing the Red Storm, 25-23.

            The Johnnies had a slow start at the beginning of the fourth with Marquette jumping out to an 8-4 lead after two attack errors from St. John's. After a Mikelova kill cut the deficit to three, a quick 3-0 surge from the Golden Eagles pushed the advantage to six, 11-5. Despite the Red Storm's efforts to comeback, Marquette continued to extend the lead, capturing the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1.

            St. John's returns from its two-game road stretch to take on No. 14 Creighton on Friday night inside Carnesecca Arena. The start time is slated for 7 p.m.