Alexakou Joins 1,000-Kill Club as St. John’s Downs Seton Hall

Saturday, March 13

South Orange, N.J. (Walsh Gym)

5 PM ET

St. John's University

7-3,3-2Big East

Seton Hall University

3-4,1-3Big East

St. John's (NY)

Seton Hall

Alexakou Joins 1,000-Kill Club as St. John’s Downs Seton Hall

3/13/2021 9:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Jordan McCalla posted a match-high 20 kills and a .600 hitting percentage in the win

By: Jared Anderson

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (March 13, 2021) – The St. John's volleyball team picked up its second straight win against Seton Hall in four sets on Saturday night, as Efrosini Alexakou became the 11th player in program history to reach the 1,000-kill mark.

The Pirates narrowly took the first frame, 25-23, before the Johnnies captured the final three sets, 25-23, 25-9, and 25-12.

Alexakou tallied 17 kills and 14 digs, marking her sixth consecutive double-double of the season. The junior outside hitter is the first player to record 1,000 career kills since Julia Cast in 2017.

Jordan McCalla did it all in the Red Storm's win, racking up a match-high 20 kills while hitting at a .600 clip. The senior outside hitter added 16 digs, three aces, one assist and one block. McCalla had nine of her 20 kills come in the fourth set.

Sophomore Iliana Rodriguez led both teams with 22 digs. She also registered four assists and one ace. The Johnnies' libero has notched at least 20 digs three times this season and is averaging 3.84 digs per set.

Right-side hitter Rachele Rastelli recorded 13 kills and a .321 hitting percentage. Rastelli also reeled in four digs and two blocks.

Senior setter Tiziana Baumrukova dished out 52 assists and picked up eight digs.

St. John's (7-3, 3-2 BIG EAST) got off to a slow start in the opening frame, as Seton Hall (3-4, 1-3 BIG EAST) took an early 9-3 edge. A 3-1 spurt brought the Johnnies within four, 10-6, but the Pirates responded with a 9-3 run to go on top by 10, 19-9. A kill from Maria Angelica Palacios sparked a 12-3 stanza, as the Red Storm cut the deficit to one, 22-21. Despite St. John's hard-fought comeback, Seton Hall scored on three of the next five plays with a kill from Emilee Turner giving the Pirates the first set, 25-23.

The second frame was a tight battle, as a kill from Seton Hall gave the Pirates a two-point lead, 11-9. After a service ace put Seton Hall up by four, 17-13, the Red Storm put together a 7-2 run to go on top by one, 20-19. The two sides knotted the score four more times until a kill from Rastelli and an attack error from the Pirates helped give St. John's the second frame, 25-23.

The Red Storm kept its foot on the gas in the third, racking up 16 of the first 20 points following a kill from Palacios, 16-4. St. John's posted a .458 attack percentage throughout the frame while holding Seton Hall to a .000 attack percentage. St. John's continued to dominate the Pirates, 24-8. Seton Hall picked up a point on the next play, 24-9, but a kill from Rastelli gave the Johnnies the third set, 25-9, and a 2-1 match lead.

The Red Storm kept the pressure in the fourth, capturing an early 8-1 lead. After a kill from Seton Hall, 8-2, McCalla threw down four straight kills for the Johnnies with an attack error helping set the score at 13-2. St. John's refused to let up, taking a late 21-11 lead following a kill from Palacios. The Red Storm finished the frame on a 4-1 run to take the fourth set and match, 25-12.

St. John's returns to Carnesecca Arena for a pair of home contests against Providence on March 19 and March 20. The two meetings are both slated for a 3 p.m. start time.