St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, October 28
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
5 p.m.
St. John's University
18-6,10-2Big East
3
vs
2
Butler
10-13,4-8Big East
1
2
3
4
5
F
Butler
25
25
21
20
11
2
St. John's (NY)
18
15
25
25
15
3
Photo by: BWillschCreative
Photo by: BWillschCreative
Photo by: BWillschCreative
Photo by: BWillschCreative
Photo by: BWillschCreative
Photo by: BWillschCreative
Photo by: BWillschCreative
Photo by: BWillschCreative
Photo by: BWillschCreative
Photo by: BWillschCreative
St. John’s Defeats Butler in a Five-Set Thriller During its 30th Anniversary Game
10/28/2023 9:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Erin Jones and Giorgia Walther each notched 18 kills
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team took down Butler in a dramatic five-set thriller, 3-2, behind 18-kill performances from Erin Jones and Giorgia Walther inside Carnesecca Arena on Saturday night.
After dropping its first two sets, St. John's (18-6, 10-2 BIG EAST) responded with its back against the wall to take the next three in convincing fashion. The scores of the sets were 18-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 15-11. The reverse sweep marks the third of the season for the Red Storm.
"An unbelievable reverse sweep victory in front of our amazing loyal and loud fans. So exciting to be a part of it and these players make coaching so exhilarating and rewarding," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "Our staff could not be prouder of their fight tonight and their ability to stay locked in longer is now providing dividends in high pressure situations. This special victory for our 30th year of St. John's volleyball is dedicated to every single one of those players who wore the red and played for me over the last 3 decades."
Before the match, Walther was honored in a pregame ceremony for being the 13th player in program history to surpass 1000 career kills. The volleyball program and Persico were also honored for the 30th anniversary of the program at St. John's.
Jones and Walther each notched 18 kills in the match. Jones registered her eighth double-double of the season, consisting of 13 assists to go along with her 18 slams on a 31.7 percent clip. She also totaled five digs, four blocks and two aces. Walther also tallied three digs, three aces and three blocks.
Lucrezia Lodi posted 12 kills, nine digs and two helpers. Ludovica Zola registered six blocks for the second straight night.
Wiktoria Kowalczyk led her squad in assists for the 23rd consecutive match, racking up 35 to go along with seven digs.
Rashanny Solano Smith and Bree Martin shared libero duties, recording 12 and 11 digs, respectively.
Butler's Grace Boggess paced her team in kills with 15 paired alongside eight digs, four blocks and three aces. Jaymeson Kinley tallied a match-high 21 digs while Cora Taylor contributed a match-best 43 assists.
Lodi paced the Johnnies in set one with four kills and a dig while Eleonora Tosi contributed two blocks. Butler (10-13, 4-8 BIG EAST) opened the match to a 5-2 lead that featured three kills and forced an early St. John's timeout. The Bulldogs continued to hold their lead midway through the stanza, growing it to as much as eight, 19-11. The Red Storm was never able to put together a significant run, as Butler put the frame away, 25-18.
Walther tacked on four kills in the second frame to go along with six assists and three kills from Jones. The Bulldogs kicked the second set off much like the first game, racking up points to a 7-2 lead which caused a St. John's timeout. Butler piled on more points in the middle of the set to take a 10 point, 19-9, advantage over the Johnnies. Both the Red Storm and the Bulldogs traded points toward the end of the frame, but St. John's deficit was too much as it fell to Butler, 25-15, giving them a 2-0 lead in the match.
Jones exploded for six kills and two blocks in the third period. The programs battled to a 9-9 tie at the start of frame three, with the Johnnies on the receiving end of six kills distributed between Jones, Stambrowska, Lodi and Walther. The Red Storm took its first lead of the set, 15-14, off a block assist from Zola and Jones and continued to grow its lead to three, 19-16. The teams went point for point at the end of the set, but St. John's was able to use its advantage to take the set, 25-21.
Walther and Jones paced the Johnnies in kills, recording six and five, respectively in the fourth frame. The Johnnies ripped open a 9-2 lead to kick off frame four on the back of a combination of kills and Bulldog errors. Butler used a 10-7 stretch to cut its deficit down to four, 16-12. Holding a three-point lead late, the Johnnies scored back-to-back points on Walther slams to grow their lead to five, 21-16, causing the Bulldogs to take a timeout. St. John's and Butler exchanged points late in the set, but the Red Storm's lead was too much to overcome for the Bulldogs, as a Lodi kill capped off the set, 25-20, evening the match at two games apiece.
Jones and Walther notched another three kills apiece in the fifth stanza. The Johnnies rolled out to a 7-2 advantage, put together from five combined slams between Walther and Jones. Butler battled its way back into the set with a 4-2 run to trail by three, 9-6. At Red Storm match point, 14-8, the Bulldogs scored three straight points to cut the lead down to 14-11, but a Jones kill capped off the set for St. John's, 15-11, securing its third reverse sweep of the season.
St. John's hits the road for a three-game trip starting on Friday, Nov. 4 against Providence. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Alumni Hall.
After dropping its first two sets, St. John's (18-6, 10-2 BIG EAST) responded with its back against the wall to take the next three in convincing fashion. The scores of the sets were 18-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 15-11. The reverse sweep marks the third of the season for the Red Storm.
"An unbelievable reverse sweep victory in front of our amazing loyal and loud fans. So exciting to be a part of it and these players make coaching so exhilarating and rewarding," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "Our staff could not be prouder of their fight tonight and their ability to stay locked in longer is now providing dividends in high pressure situations. This special victory for our 30th year of St. John's volleyball is dedicated to every single one of those players who wore the red and played for me over the last 3 decades."
Before the match, Walther was honored in a pregame ceremony for being the 13th player in program history to surpass 1000 career kills. The volleyball program and Persico were also honored for the 30th anniversary of the program at St. John's.
Jones and Walther each notched 18 kills in the match. Jones registered her eighth double-double of the season, consisting of 13 assists to go along with her 18 slams on a 31.7 percent clip. She also totaled five digs, four blocks and two aces. Walther also tallied three digs, three aces and three blocks.
Lucrezia Lodi posted 12 kills, nine digs and two helpers. Ludovica Zola registered six blocks for the second straight night.
Wiktoria Kowalczyk led her squad in assists for the 23rd consecutive match, racking up 35 to go along with seven digs.
Rashanny Solano Smith and Bree Martin shared libero duties, recording 12 and 11 digs, respectively.
Butler's Grace Boggess paced her team in kills with 15 paired alongside eight digs, four blocks and three aces. Jaymeson Kinley tallied a match-high 21 digs while Cora Taylor contributed a match-best 43 assists.
Lodi paced the Johnnies in set one with four kills and a dig while Eleonora Tosi contributed two blocks. Butler (10-13, 4-8 BIG EAST) opened the match to a 5-2 lead that featured three kills and forced an early St. John's timeout. The Bulldogs continued to hold their lead midway through the stanza, growing it to as much as eight, 19-11. The Red Storm was never able to put together a significant run, as Butler put the frame away, 25-18.
Walther tacked on four kills in the second frame to go along with six assists and three kills from Jones. The Bulldogs kicked the second set off much like the first game, racking up points to a 7-2 lead which caused a St. John's timeout. Butler piled on more points in the middle of the set to take a 10 point, 19-9, advantage over the Johnnies. Both the Red Storm and the Bulldogs traded points toward the end of the frame, but St. John's deficit was too much as it fell to Butler, 25-15, giving them a 2-0 lead in the match.
Jones exploded for six kills and two blocks in the third period. The programs battled to a 9-9 tie at the start of frame three, with the Johnnies on the receiving end of six kills distributed between Jones, Stambrowska, Lodi and Walther. The Red Storm took its first lead of the set, 15-14, off a block assist from Zola and Jones and continued to grow its lead to three, 19-16. The teams went point for point at the end of the set, but St. John's was able to use its advantage to take the set, 25-21.
Walther and Jones paced the Johnnies in kills, recording six and five, respectively in the fourth frame. The Johnnies ripped open a 9-2 lead to kick off frame four on the back of a combination of kills and Bulldog errors. Butler used a 10-7 stretch to cut its deficit down to four, 16-12. Holding a three-point lead late, the Johnnies scored back-to-back points on Walther slams to grow their lead to five, 21-16, causing the Bulldogs to take a timeout. St. John's and Butler exchanged points late in the set, but the Red Storm's lead was too much to overcome for the Bulldogs, as a Lodi kill capped off the set, 25-20, evening the match at two games apiece.
Jones and Walther notched another three kills apiece in the fifth stanza. The Johnnies rolled out to a 7-2 advantage, put together from five combined slams between Walther and Jones. Butler battled its way back into the set with a 4-2 run to trail by three, 9-6. At Red Storm match point, 14-8, the Bulldogs scored three straight points to cut the lead down to 14-11, but a Jones kill capped off the set for St. John's, 15-11, securing its third reverse sweep of the season.
St. John's hits the road for a three-game trip starting on Friday, Nov. 4 against Providence. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Alumni Hall.
Team Stats
Butler
SJU
Kills
54
58
Errors
25
21
Attempts
149
149
Hitting %
.195
.248
Points
73.0
78.5
Assists
48
56
Aces
10
7
Blocks
9
13.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Kills
18
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
S/RH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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