St. John’s Outlasts Middle Tennessee State, Claims Red Storm Invitational

Saturday, September 17

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

2 p.m.

St. John's University

9-4,0-0Big East

Middle Tennessee

-103,00 CUSA

Middle Tenn.

St. John's (NY)

St. John’s Outlasts Middle Tennessee State, Claims Red Storm Invitational

9/17/2022 5:54:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Match Box Score

Red Storm moved past Blue Raiders, 3-1, for sixth-straight victory

By: Andrew Loewe

    QUEENS, N.Y. (Sept. 17, 2022) —The St. John's Volleyball team extended its winning streak to six-straight matches after outlasting Middle Tennessee State, 3-1, in the final match of the Red Storm Invitational.

    The Red Storm (9-4) closed out the weekend with a 3-0 record, marking its third tournament victory of the 2022 campaign with the victory (25-16, 26-24, 17-25, 26-24).

    Three Johnnies were selected to the All-Tournament Team MVP Rachele Rastelli. Rastelli totaled 49 kills in the three matches. Lucrezia Lodi and Eleonora Tosi were also selected to the team based on their performances this weekend. Lodi recorded two double-doubles and Tosi notched 43 kills in total this weekend.

    A trio of Red Storm players logged double-digit kills in the four-set triumph, led by Tosi with 14. Rastelli added 13 and Giorgia Walther contributed 12 kills to the potent attack. Wiktoria Kowalcyzk tallied 50 assists and Bree Martin led St. John's defensively with 11 digs.

    The Red Storm dominated the first set, never allowing the Blue Raiders (10-3) to take a lead. With only two ties in the set, St. John's didn't allow the Middle Tennessee attack to get into a groove. A MTSU service error finalized the 25-16 Johnnies victory. Tosi and Lodi led the way with three kills each, to lead the team to hit .391.

    The following set the Johnnies trailed by as much as five but rallied back. With the score knotted at 24, a pair of crucial kills by Erin Jones and Rastelli, the Red Storm clinched a two-set lead, 2-0. The Blue Raiders owned the lead since breaking a 5-5 tie as part of a 6-0 run, and the Johnnies trailed till the last points of the set. Lodi and Rastelli each tacked on four kills.

    The Blue Raiders owned the third set and trimmed the deficit in half. Middle Tennessee scored the first point of the set, and never lost the lead. The Red Storm threatened to take control from MTSU closing the deficit to a single point, 11-10, but three consecutive kills by Kaylee Oscarson maintained the momentum for the Blue Raiders. Middle Tennessee closed out the victory 25-16.

    In the fourth set, the two sides went back-and-forth as neither built a lead of more than three points. With the score deadlocked 21-21, the Red Storm recorded five of the next eight points to close the door. The final kill was delivered by Walther, who sent an attack past the outstretched arms of a Blue Raider to seal a 26-24 match-clinching victory.

    St. John's continues to impress at Carnesecca Arena, as today marked the 15th consecutive non-conference home win, dating back to Sept. 11, 2018. The Red Storm will close out its eight-match home stand next weekend when it welcomes BIG EAST foes Providence and Connecticut.

Red Storm Invitational All-Tournament Team
MVP – Rachele Rastelli (St. John's)
Lucrezia Lodi (St. John's)
Eleonora Tosi (St. John's)
Taylor Eisert (Middle Tennessee State)
Adri Rhoda (Middle Tennessee State)
Jenna Pollock (Boston College)
Saj McBurrows (Columbia)