St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
18-12,9-8Big East
Villanova
9-20,5-12Big East
St. John’s Dominates Villanova in Straight Sets
11/18/2022 10:35:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Red Storm will close the regular season on Sunday against Georgetown
QUEENS, N.Y. (NOV. 18, 2022) – The St. John's volleyball team swept Villanova on Friday night at Carnesecca Arena in the penultimate match of the regular season.
With the win, the Red Storm (18-12, 9-8 BIG EAST) will secure at least the fifth seed in next week's BIG EAST Championships with a win on Sunday. The Wildcats (5-12, 9-20) will play its final match of the season tomorrow night against Seton Hall.
Giorgia Walther and Lucrezia Lodi led the team with 11 kills apiece. Lodi added six digs and Walther added a match-high four aces.
Freshman Erin Jones proved her versatility registering 15 assists, eight kills, seven digs, and three blocks.
Bree Martin recorded a match-high 17 digs.
Freshman Magda Stambrowska notched six kills while hitting at a .875 clip.
Wiktoria Kowalczyk led the team in the assists for the 29th time this season, tallying 23 helpers.
After losing in four sets to Villanova earlier in the season, the Johnnies only allowed the Wildcats to take a brief lead in the second set. The Red Storm hit .294 opposed to the Wildcats .152. St. John's out-dug its opponent for the 23rd time this season, 38-33.
The Red Storm started the match firing on all cylinders opening to a 6-2 lead in the first set. After trading points, the Wildcats strung three points together to close the deficit to 7-6. St. John's responded with a 4-0 run and cruised to the first set victory, 25-18. The first frame featured a balanced offensive attack, with five Red Storm individuals registering two or three kills.
The Wildcats posed a threat early on in the second stanza, leading 4-1. The Johnnies responded with a 3-0 run to tie the frame at 4. The Wildcats then held a 7-6 lead, but the Red Storm rallied on four consecutive points to lead for the final time, 10-7. Villanova threatened with the score 12-10 in favor of the Johnnies but, four Walther serves recorded four Red Storm points on two aces to pull the team away, 16-10. Walther closed the set on a lightning ace to take the second frame, 25-19. Walther was very strong in the set registering six kills, three aces and a dig as well.
Once again, the dominant Red Storm did not allow the Wildcats to take a lead in the third and final set. The Johnnies jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. Mimi Larry recorded a career-high two assists on the final two St. John's points in the 25-18 victory. St. John's never allowed the Wildcats to string together more than a pair of points in the stanza. Lodi led the way with six kills as the team hit a whopping .324 in the frame.
St. John's will close the regular season hosting Georgetown for a Sunday matinee match, first serve is set for 1 p.m. St. John's will honor the seven Johnnies stepping off the court at Carnesecca Arena for the final time before the match. The contest will be streamed on BEDN on Flo Sports.
