St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
19-6,11-2Big East
Providence
8-17,2-11Big East
St. John’s Takes Down Providence in Straight Sets
11/3/2023 8:50:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Lucrezia Lodi and Erin Jones each logged double-digit kills
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The St. John's volleyball team took down Providence in straight sets behind double-digit kill performances from Lucrezia Lodi and Erin Jones on Friday night inside Alumni Hall. The Red Storm earned set victories of 25-19, 25-18 and 28-26 over the Friars.
With the win, the Johnnies (19-6, 11-2 BIG EAST) have racked up eight sweeps in conference play, which is the most since the 2019 campaign. The Red Storm have also now won 13 of their last 14 matches against Providence.
"We came out of the gate with Lodi leading the way on offense and that set the tone of the match, said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "Winning BIG EAST matches on the road, always takes a full team effort and execution of our game plan, which we achieved tonight."
The Red Storm put together an impressive offensive performance against the Friars (8-17, 2-11 BIG EAST), registering 45 total kills and hitting at a 31.9 percent success rate.
Lodi led the Johnnies in kills with 15, completing 56.5 percent of her attempts to go along with eight digs and three block assists.
Jones logged her ninth double-double of the season against the Friars. The sophomore totaled 14 kills at a 42.3 hitting percentage with 10 assists. Eleonora Tosi also registered seven kills at a 40 percent clip.
Ludovica Zola tallied six total blocks paired with a match-high three service aces. The Milan, Italy, native has now recorded six or more blocks in each of her last three matches.
Wiktoria Kowalczyk notched 28 helpers and five digs in the match. The junior setter now leads the Johnnies with 837 assists on the year.
The Friars' Shaliyah Rhoden paced the match with 19 kills. Miller McDonald totaled a match-high 32 assists for Providence.
Lodi logged eight kills at a 70 percent clip for the Red Storm in game one. The Johnnies started the match with a 7-2 lead over the Friars off four combined kills from Lodi and Zola. Providence immediately put together an 8-3 run to pull within one point, 10-9. St. John's used a big 6-1 stretch that featured another four Lodi kills to go back up by six, 18-12. The squads then went point for point at the end of the set, but a Friar attack error finished off the frame, 25-19, in the Red Storm's favor.
Jones provided four kills and six assists for St. John's in set two. The Johnnies and the Friars battled to a 6-6 tie at the start of the second stanza. Lodi and Tosi recorded back-to-back kills for the Red Storm to take an 8-6 advantage. St. John's grew its lead to seven points, 18-11, off a 10-5 run that featured six kills spread among five different Johnnies. The Red Storm cruised through the end of the set, capping it off with a Jones ace and securing a 25-18 victory.
Jones put together an excellent third frame, pounding eight kills at a 33.3 hitting percentage to go along with a solo block. St. John's and Providence exchanged blows from the jump, leading to a 15-15 tie. Neither team could generate any serious momentum midway through the set until the Friars recorded three straight points to take a 21-18 lead. The Johnnies used a 6-2 stretch to knot the frame at 23. Tied at 24 after a Friar set point, a Jones kill gave the Johnnies their first match point, 25-24, but Providence quickly responded to deadlock the frame at 25. At the Red Storm's third match point, 27-26, Zola and Walther put the game away with a block at the net, giving the Johnnies a 28-26 set victory to secure the program's eighth conference sweep of the campaign
St. John's will remain on the road for a battle with UConn on Saturday inside the UConn Volleyball Center. First serve is set for 6 p.m. in Storrs, Conn.
