St. John’s Downs Xavier in Straight Sets to Claim Third BIG EAST Sweep

Friday, October 6

Cincinnati, Ohio (Cintas Center)

6 p.m.

St. John's University

12-5,4-1Big East

Xavier

10-6,3-2Big East

St. John's (NY)

Xavier

St. John’s Downs Xavier in Straight Sets to Claim Third BIG EAST Sweep

10/6/2023 9:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Giorgia Walther posted a match-high 10 kills

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The St. John's volleyball team claimed its third BIG EAST sweep of the season when they took down Xavier, 3-0, on Friday night at the Cintas Center.

The scores of the sweep were 25-17, 25-21 and 25-13. With the win, the Johnnies (12-5, 4-1 BIG EAST) are now 4-1 in BIG EAST play for the first time since 2012.

"Perhaps our most complete match of the season, with significant contributions from everyone," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "We were low error tonight but high in energy and teamwork. I could not be prouder of the squad."

Giorgia Walther paced the Johnnies in kills with 10 at a 20.8 percent clip. She also tacked on two digs, two blocks and an ace.

Wiktoria Kowalczyk posted a team-high 19 assists paired with three digs and two aces. Erin Jones added 13 assists, seven kills and five digs.

Rashanny Solano Smith notched a team-best 13 digs at 4.33 per set. The Limon, Costa Rica product also had two aces, two assists and her first career kill.

Ludovica Zola and Magda Stambrowska each registered four blocks in the sweep.

Both Delaney Hogan and Brooklyn Cink contributed a team-high eight kills for Xavier (10-6, 3-2 BIG EAST). Carrigan O'Reilly added 15 helpers, four digs, three kills and three block assists for her team.

Walther paced the Johnnies in kills with four in the opening game while Solano Smith tacked on a set-high five digs. The Johnnies and the Musketeers battled to a 6-6 tie to kick off the frame. A 12-1 run for the Johnnies, featuring four slams from Walther and Jones to go along with six Xavier errors, put the squad up by 11, 18-7. The Musketeers found a groove late in the set, cutting their deficit down to six, 23-17, from a 10-5 stretch. Xavier's initial 11-point deficit proved to be too much, as the Red Storm was able to close out the set, 25-17, with a Kowalczyk ace.

The Red Storm exploded offensively in the second set, raining down 16 total kills as a team. St. John's opened frame two on fire, running out to an initial 6-1 lead on the back of three slams from Walther. Both programs exchanged blows midway through the set, keeping the Johnnies ahead by five, 16-11. Xavier stormed back into the frame, using an 8-3 run to tie the match at 20-all. Two Musketeer attack errors and a Lucrezia Lodi kill put St. John's back up by three at match point, 24-21. Just like set one, a Kowalczyk ace closed out game two, 25-21, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.

The block was on point for St. John's in the third game, recording 10 total blocks as a team. The Johnnies jumped out to a 5-2 lead to open the set, but Xavier answered right back to tie the third frame at five points apiece. The Red Storm then put together a large 13-4 stretch, registering five combined slams from Eleonora Tosi, Jones, Stambrowska and Walther, to take a 18-9 lead, midway through the period. The Johnnies ran away with the rest of the set, benefiting from a collection of kills and Xavier attack errors to take the third frame, 25-13 and claim their third BIG EAST sweep of the season.

St. John's will stay on the road when they face off against Butler tomorrow evening at the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse at 5 p.m.