St. John’s Falls in Five Sets to Marquette

Saturday, November 6

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

4 p.m. (ET)

St. John's University

14-14,5-9Big East

Marquette

21-4,12-2Big East

Marquette

St. John's (NY)

11/6/2021 7:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

Rachele Rastelli posted a match-high 19 kills in the Johnnie’s loss

By: Jamie Goerke

QUEENS, N.Y. (Nov. 6, 2021) – The St. John's volleyball team fell to Marquette, who is receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches' Poll, on Saturday night.

Marquette (21-4,12-2 BIG EAST) took the first set by a score of 25-23, before falling in the second set, 25-19, and the third set, 28-26. The Golden Eagles won the last two sets with scores of 25-22, and 18-16.

Marquette has lost just two conference matches, both to Creighton.

Reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week Rachele Rastelli posted a match-high 19 kills and 14 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. The right-side hitter also added in a service ace and four block assists.

Giorgia Walther hit 18 kills on a .417 hitting percentage while Ariadni Kathariou recorded 15 kills on a .600 clip, three service aces, a solo block and six block assists. The last Red Storm student-athlete to hit over .550 was Hanna Wagner against Stony Brook on Sept. 17, 2017.

Eleonora Tosi notched 13 kills and a service ace while Iliana Rodriguez added in a service ace. Sheena Yoshioka tallied 11 digs and a service ace while Maria Angelica Palacios posted three kills and three block assists.

Tiziana Baumrukova and Wiktoria Kowalczyk both had 28 assists with Kowalczyk also adding in three kills, a solo block and four block assists.

Tied at seven in the first set, St. John's (14-14, 5-9 BIG EAST) went off on an 8-3 run to take the lead, 15-10. Rastelli and Tosi both added in two kills to the spurt. Marquette retaliated getting the next eight points to lead 18-15. The Red Storm recorded eight of the next 14 points before an attack error allowed Marquette the set, 25-23.

The Golden Eagles grabbed the first point of the second set before the Johnnies took off on an early 9-2 spurt to get ahead, 9-3. Kathariou had four kills during the run. Knotted at 15, St. John's captured 10 of the next 14 points to win the set, 25-19. Walther hit three back-to-back kills during the spurt.

Up, 15-14, in the third set, the Golden Eagles jumped out to a 7-2 run to advance their lead to 22-16. The Red Storm could not be held down going off on a 12-4 spurt to take the set, 28-26. Rastelli and Walther each recorded three kills apiece on the run.

Marquette was up 14-12 in the fourth set when it recorded seven of the next 11 points to advance to a 21-16 lead. The Johnnies notched six of the next seven points to tie the set at 22, before the Golden Eagles tallied three straight kills to win the set, 25-22.

The fifth set was 13-10, in favor of the Johnnies, when Marquette recorded four straight points to lead, 14-13. The set saw three more ties before two kills by Hope Werch gave the Golden Eagles the set, 18-16, and the match, 3-2.

The Red Storm will return to action, for its final weekend at home, on Friday at 3 p.m. against Connecticut.