St. John’s Takes Down FGCU In Five Sets

Sunday, August 27

Fort Myers, Fla. (Alico Arena)

1:30 p.m.

St. John's University

2-1,0-0Big East

Florida Gulf Coast

1-2,0-0ASUN

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
St. John's (NY)	21	17	25	25	15	3
FGCU	25	25	20	21	11	2

8/27/2023 5:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Wiktoria Kowalcyzk named to the FGCU Invitational All-Tournament Team

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The St. John's volleyball team closed out the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational by defeating FGCU, 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.

After dropping the first two sets, the Red Storm (2-1) went on to complete a reverse sweep for the first time since they beat Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 9, 2022. The scores of the sets were 21-25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-21 and 15-11.

Wiktoria Kowalcyzk was named to the FGCU Invitational All-Tournament Team after posting 45 assists and eight digs against the Eagles.

Erin Jones and Giorgia Walther each posted their first double-doubles of the season, with Jones registering 22 kills and 11 digs, while Walther added 14 kills, six aces, and 10 digs. Magda Stambrowska added eight kills hitting at a stellar 80 percent clip. As a team, the Johnnies totaled 60 kills and 88 digs.

After making her first collegiate start on Saturday, Rashanny Solano Smith made her first career start at libero on Sunday, posting a team-high 29 digs, four assists and two aces.

Courtney Glotzbach led the way for the Eagles (1-2) with 13 kills and six digs while Reese Burry added 21 digs. Lilly Tessier set her way to 37 assists in the match. FGCU registered 54 total kills and 67 digs.

In the opening frame, Jones put down four kills while Ludovica Zola added three. Both teams exchanged blows at the beginning of the first game leading to a 6-6 tie. A Jones ace put the Johnnies up one 7-6, before FGCU scored five straight points to take a 11-7 lead. The Red Storm battled back cutting their deficit down to two, 19-17, after an Eagle attack error. A 6-4 stretch for FGCU put the set away, 25-21.

Jones put together another impressive set in the second game, registering six kills. St. John's opened the set scoring three straight, capped off by a Walther ace. The Eagles came back and took a 10-9 lead midway through the set off of a Shelby Kent kill. After retying the game at 16-all off a Jones kill, FGCU grew their lead back to eight, winning the second game 25-17.

The Eagles broke an early 5-5 tie in the third frame, scoring three straight points to take an 8-5 lead. An Eleonora Tosi kill tied things back up at 11-all, but FGCU went on a 4-1 run to retake their three-point lead. An FGCU service error would tie the game back up at 17-17, and two straight errors would give St. John's a 18-17 lead. The Johnnies went on a 7-3 stretch, slamming the door on FGCU with a Jones kill. The Red Storm won their first set 25-20.

St. John's opened the pivotal fourth game on a 7-3 run, powered by four combined slams from Jones, Tosi and Walther. The Eagles stormed back midway into the game, taking a late 18-17 lead off of an Ella Chapman kill. With the set tied at 21-all, the Johnnies manufactured four straight points to take the set 25-21 and force a fifth frame.

In a contested fifth set, the Red Storm used a Walther kill and an Eagle attack error to go up by two, 8-6. Despite FGCU cutting the lead down to one, St, John's held onto their lead, completing the reverse sweep and taking the fifth frame 15-11.

St. John's will be back in action next weekend when they travel to take on Utah Tech, New Mexico and CSU Bakersfield at the Lobo Invitational.