St. John’s Defeats Utah Tech, 3-1, to Open the Lobo Invitational

Friday, September 1

Albuquerque, N.M. (Johnson Center)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

3-1,0-0Big East

Utah Tech

1-3,0-0WAC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
St. John's (NY)	25	19	25	25	3
Utah Tech	22	25	18	8	1

St. John’s Defeats Utah Tech, 3-1, to Open the Lobo Invitational

9/1/2023 4:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Erin Jones records her second straight double-double

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M – The St. John's volleyball team opened the Lobo Invitational by taking down Utah Tech, 3-1 on Friday afternoon.

The Johnnies (3-1) claimed the first set of the match, 25-22, before dropping the second to the Trailblazers (1-3), 19-25. St. John's went on to take the next two sets in dominating fashion, 25-18 and 25-8.

Erin Jones did it all for the Johnnies, recording 20 kills, 13 digs and three aces, while hitting at a whopping 42.5 percent clip, en route to her second straight double-double. Giorgia Walther blasted her way to 15 kills in the win, while also picking up eight digs. Wiktoria Kowalczyk continued her impressive start to the 2023 campaign, dishing out a season-high 48 helpers.

Rashanny Solano Smith led the team in digs for the third time in the Red Storm's opening four games, collecting 20, eight of which came in the second frame.

Hannah Howard and Kennedi Kundsen paced the way for the Trailblazers, recording nine digs each. Taela Laufiso contributed 28 of the team's 29 total assists in the loss.

Walther started the match on fire, recording nine kills and an ace in the opening game. The Johnnies started the first set in dominating fashion, jumping out to an early 10-3 lead. The Trailblazers cut their deficit down to four, 10-6, midway through the set off of a Red Storm attack error. A Walther attack error allowed Utah Tech to creep back into striking distance, only facing a two-point deficit, 21-19. St. John's engineered a 4-3 run to close out the frame, featuring four combined slams from Walther, Jones and Magda Stambrowska to take the set 25-22.

Jones left her mark on the second game, leading the squad with nine kills. The second set was a contested back-and-forth battle, with both the Johnnies and the Trailblazers exchanging blows to a 13-13 tie midway through the frame. Utah Tech manufactured five straight points capped off by a Taylor Snow kill to take a four-point lead, 17-13. The Red Storm responded right back, scoring four straight points themselves to retie the game at 17-all. The Trailblazers ultimately took the match, scoring six straight points to end the frame 25-19.

Similarly, to the first game, St. John's opened the third set generating an early 9-4 lead. A 6-2 stretch for Utah Tech, sparked by four St. John's errors, reduced the Johnnies' lead down to one. Holding an 18-17 lead, the Red Storm went on a 7-1 run, closing the door on the third frame, 25-18, with a Jones kill.

The Johnnies controlled the entire fourth frame, running out to a 14-2 lead and never looked back. The Trailblazers trailed by as much as 15 points by the end of the fourth game. Jones' fourth kill of the set followed by a Trailblazer ball handling error would end the frame, with the Red Storm taking it 25-8.

St. John's will retake the court tonight at 8:30 p.m. when they face off against tournament host New Mexico.