St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, October 23
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
13-10,4-5Big East
3
vs
0
Xavier
10-11,5-5Big East
1
2
3
F
Xavier
26
20
20
0
St. John's (NY)
28
25
25
3
St. John’s Sweeps Xavier During Homecoming Weekend
10/23/2021 6:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Red Storm topped Xavier in the season series.
QUEENS, N.Y. (Oct. 23, 2021) – The St. John's volleyball team defeated Xavier in straight sets on Saturday afternoon. The match was in conjunction with St. John's Athletics Homecoming Weekend.
In its first conference rematch of the season, the Red Storm (13-10, 4-5 BIG EAST) notched its second victory against Xavier. The first win came in four sets on Oct. 9.
Rachele Rastelli and Giorgia Walther recorded identical double-doubles both tallying 16 kills and 10 digs in the victory. Rastelli also contributed a solo block.
Rastelli's 16 kills move her into sixth place on the program's career kills leaderboard. With 1,308 kills, the senior passed Hui Ping Huang (2005-2007).
Eleonora Tosi notched 14 kills while Iliana Rodriguez added in a career-high five service aces. Tiziana Baumrukova tallied 39 assists and one ace while Wiktoria Kowalczyk blocked one solo rejection. Sheena Yoshioka led the match with 13 digs.
"This was such a special home victory because we got to play in front of our alumnae," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "This is our first homecoming weekend in a while, so it felt great to get the victory over a very tough Xavier team. The win was a full-team effort including our amazing crowd."
Rastelli and Walther hit two kills a piece on the Red Storm's way to an early 9-1 lead in the first set. Up 16-6, Xavier (10-11, 5-5 BIG EAST) went off on a 15-6 run to get within one at 22-21. After a Tosi kill tied the score at 26, Rastelli recorded two straight kills to give St. John's the set, 28-26.
With the Musketeers up 6-5, the Johnnies took off on a 7-1 spurt to get ahead, 12-7. The run was marked with one kill by both Ariadni Kathariou and Rastelli. Xavier inched close and got within one on four separate occasions, but a Tosi kill sealed the deal for the Red Storm at 25-20.
In the third set, Xavier was down by one, 7-6, when it captured five straight points to take the lead, 11-7. The Johnnies responded with an 8-2 run, marked with back-to-back aces by Rodriguez, to get on top, 15-13. St. John's recorded 10 of the next 17 points to take the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0.
St. John's will play Butler on Sunday at 2 p.m. inside Carnesecca Arena.
In its first conference rematch of the season, the Red Storm (13-10, 4-5 BIG EAST) notched its second victory against Xavier. The first win came in four sets on Oct. 9.
Rachele Rastelli and Giorgia Walther recorded identical double-doubles both tallying 16 kills and 10 digs in the victory. Rastelli also contributed a solo block.
Rastelli's 16 kills move her into sixth place on the program's career kills leaderboard. With 1,308 kills, the senior passed Hui Ping Huang (2005-2007).
Eleonora Tosi notched 14 kills while Iliana Rodriguez added in a career-high five service aces. Tiziana Baumrukova tallied 39 assists and one ace while Wiktoria Kowalczyk blocked one solo rejection. Sheena Yoshioka led the match with 13 digs.
"This was such a special home victory because we got to play in front of our alumnae," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "This is our first homecoming weekend in a while, so it felt great to get the victory over a very tough Xavier team. The win was a full-team effort including our amazing crowd."
Rastelli and Walther hit two kills a piece on the Red Storm's way to an early 9-1 lead in the first set. Up 16-6, Xavier (10-11, 5-5 BIG EAST) went off on a 15-6 run to get within one at 22-21. After a Tosi kill tied the score at 26, Rastelli recorded two straight kills to give St. John's the set, 28-26.
With the Musketeers up 6-5, the Johnnies took off on a 7-1 spurt to get ahead, 12-7. The run was marked with one kill by both Ariadni Kathariou and Rastelli. Xavier inched close and got within one on four separate occasions, but a Tosi kill sealed the deal for the Red Storm at 25-20.
In the third set, Xavier was down by one, 7-6, when it captured five straight points to take the lead, 11-7. The Johnnies responded with an 8-2 run, marked with back-to-back aces by Rodriguez, to get on top, 15-13. St. John's recorded 10 of the next 17 points to take the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0.
St. John's will play Butler on Sunday at 2 p.m. inside Carnesecca Arena.
Team Stats
XU
SJU
Kills
39
56
Errors
14
20
Attempts
118
122
Hitting %
.212
.295
Points
49
67
Assists
35
53
Aces
2
6
Blocks
8
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballRH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
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