St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Takes Down California Baptist, 3-1, in Season Opener
8/26/2022 1:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Head Coach Joanne Persico claims 526th win
QUEENS, N.Y. (Aug. 26, 2022) – The St. John's volleyball team took down California Baptist in four sets to win its opening match of the season on Friday morning.
With the win, Head Coach Joanne Persico claimed her 526th career win. 526 is a significant number in St. John's history, as legendary men's basketball head coach Lou Carnesecca, whose name graces the Red Storm's home arena, compiled a record of 526-200 in his 24 years leading the Johnnies on the hardwood.
St. John's (1-0) won the first set, 25-21, before California Baptist (0-1) narrowly claimed the second set in a marathon, 34-32. The Johnnies used set scores of 25-20 and 25-15, respectively, to close out the match.
Giorgia Walther led the team with career-highs of 22 kills and three service aces while reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Rachele Rastelli added 20 kills on a .385 clip.
In her collegiate debut, Magda Stambrowska tallied nine kills on a stellar .692 clip and led the squad with five blocks.
Bree Martin contributed a match-best 18 digs while Wiktoria Kowalczyk added a match-high 54 assists.
With California Baptist up, 9-4, in the first set, the Johnnies went off on a 12-4 run to take the lead, 16-13. Stambrowska tallied three kills on the spurt. The Lancers tied the set at 20 on a Christine Graf kill before the Red Storm pulled away with a 5-1 run. Walther contributed three kills in the closing burst while Rastelli grabbed the set-winning point.
The Lancers tied set two at 21 on a service ace to kick off a back-and-forth battle that would bring the set to 34 points. Despite Walther and Rastelli each adding in three kills during the final tussle, California Baptist claimed the second set, 34-32.
With revenge in mind, the Red Storm opened the third set on an 8-1 run, spurred on by three Rastelli kills. After a Lancers timeout, CBU clawed back within two, 21-19, before three errors and a Walther kill gave St. John's the 2-1 set advantage.
The Lancers took the lead in the fourth set, 7-6, before St. John's scored seven straight points to take the lead at 13-7. With California Baptist within four, 14-10, the Red Storm claimed 11 of the next 16 points to grab the set, 25-15, and the match, 3-1. In the final spurt, freshman Erin Jones added two kills.
The Johnnies will look to continue their winning ways when they close out the VolleyBucs VolleyPalooza Tournament on Saturday. The Red Storm is set to face App State at 1 p.m. before a 5 p.m. battle with Charleston Southern on ESPN +.
With the win, Head Coach Joanne Persico claimed her 526th career win. 526 is a significant number in St. John's history, as legendary men's basketball head coach Lou Carnesecca, whose name graces the Red Storm's home arena, compiled a record of 526-200 in his 24 years leading the Johnnies on the hardwood.
St. John's (1-0) won the first set, 25-21, before California Baptist (0-1) narrowly claimed the second set in a marathon, 34-32. The Johnnies used set scores of 25-20 and 25-15, respectively, to close out the match.
Giorgia Walther led the team with career-highs of 22 kills and three service aces while reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Rachele Rastelli added 20 kills on a .385 clip.
In her collegiate debut, Magda Stambrowska tallied nine kills on a stellar .692 clip and led the squad with five blocks.
Bree Martin contributed a match-best 18 digs while Wiktoria Kowalczyk added a match-high 54 assists.
With California Baptist up, 9-4, in the first set, the Johnnies went off on a 12-4 run to take the lead, 16-13. Stambrowska tallied three kills on the spurt. The Lancers tied the set at 20 on a Christine Graf kill before the Red Storm pulled away with a 5-1 run. Walther contributed three kills in the closing burst while Rastelli grabbed the set-winning point.
The Lancers tied set two at 21 on a service ace to kick off a back-and-forth battle that would bring the set to 34 points. Despite Walther and Rastelli each adding in three kills during the final tussle, California Baptist claimed the second set, 34-32.
With revenge in mind, the Red Storm opened the third set on an 8-1 run, spurred on by three Rastelli kills. After a Lancers timeout, CBU clawed back within two, 21-19, before three errors and a Walther kill gave St. John's the 2-1 set advantage.
The Lancers took the lead in the fourth set, 7-6, before St. John's scored seven straight points to take the lead at 13-7. With California Baptist within four, 14-10, the Red Storm claimed 11 of the next 16 points to grab the set, 25-15, and the match, 3-1. In the final spurt, freshman Erin Jones added two kills.
The Johnnies will look to continue their winning ways when they close out the VolleyBucs VolleyPalooza Tournament on Saturday. The Red Storm is set to face App State at 1 p.m. before a 5 p.m. battle with Charleston Southern on ESPN +.
Team Stats
SJU
CBU
Kills
64
47
Errors
23
21
Attempts
136
122
Hitting %
.301
.213
Points
83
61
Assists
58
47
Aces
9
4
Blocks
10
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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