St. John’s Sweeps First Day of Jack Kaiser Classic

Friday, September 6

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

12:00 PM

St. John's University

2-3

Canisius

2-2

Canisius

St. John's

St. John’s Sweeps First Day of Jack Kaiser Classic

9/6/2019 10:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Live Stats Photo Gallery vs. Canisius Photo Gallery vs. Columbia

The Red Storm picked up wins against Canisius and Columbia to kick off the tournament.

By: Jared Anderson

QUEENS, N.Y. (Sept. 6, 2019) – The St. John's volleyball team ended the first day of the 2019 Jack Kaiser Classic with two wins over Canisius and Columbia, taking straight sets against both squads on Friday inside Carnesecca Arena.

The Red Storm kicked off the tournament with a victory over the Golden Griffins, winning in three sets, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-15. St. John's knocked off Columbia with scores of 25-13, 25-21 and 27-25.

Against Canisius, sophomore outside hitter Efrosini Alexakou led the way for the Johnnies on the offensive end, recording a game-high 16 kills while also adding six digs. Erica Di Maulo registered 31 assists and four kills in the win, while Amanda Sanabia recorded 17 digs and a trio of helpers.

The opening set started out as a tight battle between the two programs, with neither team able to capture a comfortable lead early on. Following a kill by Rachele Rastelli, the Johnnies eventually jumped out to a 13-8 lead.

Canisius (2-3) responded with a 6-1 run to work its way back into the match, tying things up at 14 apiece. However, the Johnnies pulled away late in the set, going on a 4-0 run to take the opening frame, 25-20.

In the early going of the second set, the two programs were knotted at three before the Red Storm built up an 11-6 lead midway through the frame. From there, the Johnnies never looked back as held off Canisius to come away with the win, 25-21.

The Johnnies controlled the third set, holding the lead throughout the majority of the frame since breaking a 1-1 tie early on. With strong offensive pressure from Mikelova, Alexakou and Maria Angelica Palacios, combining for 11 of the team's 14 kills in the third before the Red Storm closed out the match by a comfortable margin, 25-15.

St. John's entered the second match against Columbia (1-1) with both squads notching a victory in their opening contests.

Rastelli and Mikelova each registered 11 kills against the Lions, while Di Maulo put up 34 helpers while also adding three kills of her own.

The Johnnies continued their dominance, going on a 5-1 run to break an early 4-4 tie and take a 9-5 lead. St. John's would hold on to that lead throughout the opening set, capping off the frame by scoring six unanswered points and winning, 25-13.

St. John's and Columbia battled back and forth in the second, as neither team jumped out to a lead larger than two for majority of the set. Mikelova pushed the lead to three, 19-16, after killing a pass from Alexakou. The Lions would cut away at the deficit and trailed by just one, 21-20, before the Red Storm went on a 4-0 run to close the frame, 25-21.

St. John's went down 4-0 early in the final set, but responded with four unanswered points to tie the game at five apiece. Both squads remained within one point of each other throughout the majority of the third, with the Johnnies possessing the largest lead of the set at three.

The Lions then closed in on the Red Storm, knotting the match at 24 and pushing the teams to fight for extra points.

Despite Mikelova notching a kill to give the Johnnies a one-point lead and potential match point, the Lions responded with a kill of their own to once again tie things up at 25. St. John's would go on to seal the win with back-to-back kills from Mikelova and Alexakou to close out the match, 27-25.

St. John's will look to continue its momentum in tomorrow's final matchup of the 2019 Jack Kaiser Classic with Howard at 12:00 p.m., inside Carnesecca Arena.