St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Villanova
St. John’s Continues BIG EAST Play with Road Matches at Villanova and Georgetown
9/29/2022 11:52:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Red Storm hopes to extend eight-match win streak
QUEENS, N.Y. (Sept. 29, 2022) – Currently on its longest winning streak since 2012, the St. John's volleyball team will look to continue its perfect start to BIG EAST play this weekend with a pair of road matches.
The Red Storm will travel to Villanova for a 7 p.m. match on Friday night at Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. The match can be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network on Flo Sports. The Johnnies will then head to Georgetown for a 5 p.m. contest the following evening at McDonough Arena. The match will be streamed on HoyaVision.
St. John's was victorious in home matches against Providence and UConn last weekend, extending its winning streak to eight. The Johnnies began the weekend by taking down the Friars on Friday night in three sets. Lucrezia Lodi notched her fourth double-double with 16 kills and 17 digs while Giorgia Walther added 16 kills. On Saturday evening, the Red Storm won a suspenseful five-set match against UConn. The Johnnies took a marathon first set, 36-34, before Huskies evened the match by taking the second frame, 25-20. St. John's won the third stanza and, after the Huskies claimed the fourth to force a final frame, took the decisive last stanza, 15-12, to cap a thrilling victory.
The reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year, Rachele Rastelli earned her first career BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week selection on Monday following the Red Storm's 2-0 weekend. After tallying four blocks in the three-set sweep of Providence on Friday, she recorded a season-high 11 digs and six blocks in the five-set thriller against UConn. On the other side of the ball, Rastelli posted a BIG EAST-best 26.0 points and 22 kills against the Huskies. Over the course of the weekend, Rastelli led the BIG EAST in points per set at 4.75. She also ranked third in the league averaging 3.88 kills and fifth with 1.25 blocks.
For the first time this season and the second time in her career, Walther was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. In the five-set win against the Huskies on Saturday, she logged 15 kills and six service aces, the latter of which is the highest total by a BIG EAST player this season. The day before against Providence, the sophomore posted 13 kills in a three-set sweep. Walther's 3.70 kills per set and 4.16 points per set rank second and third overall, respectively, in the BIG EAST this season. She has failed to record double-digit kills just once in 15 matches.
Villanova enters the weekend following a pair of three-set losses on the road against Xavier and Creighton to open BIG EAST play. The Wildcats were picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST preseason poll, one slot below the Red Storm. Three Villanova players rank near the top of BIG EAST statistical standings. Kiara Booth is seventh with a .313 hitting percentage, Izzy Plummer ranks eighth tallying 1.03 blocks per set and Belle Morgan places ninth with 6.61 assists per set. Rose Crist leads the Wildcats with 145 kills.
Villanova leads the all-time series with St. John's, 15-10. The Wildcats took the only match against St. John's in the 2021 fall season, winning in five sets at Jake Nevin Fieldhouse.
Georgetown was swept in a pair of road losses at Creighton and Xavier this past weekend. Mary Grace Goyena ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in two categories with 3.51 kills per set and 4.01 points per set. Lilly Costigan is third in the conference in service aces per set (.39) and sixth in assists per set (7.68) on the season.
St. John's leads the all-time series with Georgetown, 18-5. The Red Storm won the lone match of 2021 against the Hoyas, 3-2, at McDonough Arena. The Johnnies have won the last four matches of the series.
