St. John’s Takes Down Providence in Straight Sets

Saturday, September 23

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

5 p.m.

St. John's University

10-4,2-0Big East

Providence

6-8,0-2Big East

Providence

St. John's (NY)

St. John’s Takes Down Providence in Straight Sets

9/23/2023 8:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score St. John's vs Providence Box Score (PDF)

Magda Stambrowska posted 12 kills on a 92.3 percent clip

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team swept Providence in straight sets, 3-0, on Saturday evening to close out the first weekend of BIG EAST Play.

The Johnnies' (10-4, 2-0 BIG EAST) 2-0 start in the BIG EAST marks just the second time the Red Storm has had a perfect start in conference play this decade. The Johnnies started 2-0 last season when they took down Providence, 3-0, and UConn, 3-2.

The scores of the sets were 25-19, 25-16 and 25-18.

Magda Stambrowska paced the team in kills with 12, tying her career high. The sophomore posted a near perfect 92.3 hitting percentage to go along with two blocks.

Erin Jones and Giorgia Walther posted 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Walther recorded six digs and an assist. Jones put up three blocks, two aces and two digs.

Ludovica Zola added eight kills on an impressive 57.1 percent clip paired with three blocks.

Wiktoria Kowalczyk continued her impressive junior campaign by notching 36 assists, eight digs, two aces and two kills. Kowalczyk leads the Johnnies with 516 helpers on the season.

Rashanny Solano Smith picked up 14 digs and a career-high seven assists in the sweep.

Providence's Shailyah Rhoden recorded a team-high 11 digs to go along with three blocks. Savannah Ivie posted 10 digs, three assists and one ace for the Friars (6-8, 0-2 BIG EAST).

The Red Storm opened the first frame posting 19 total kills on a 48.5 percent clip. Kowalczyk recorded 14 helpers. The Johnnies kicked off the match by jumping out to an 8-4 lead off six combined kills. The Friars punched right back, using a 7-4 run to tie the first game at 11-all. Leading by one, 16-15, St. John's poured on three straight kills from Stambrowska, Jones and Zola to take a four-point, 19-15 lead. The Red Storm let Providence creep back into the match, cutting its deficit down to two, 20-18, from two Kayla Grant kills and an ace. The Johnnies went on a late 5-1 run, closing out the first game with an Eleonora Tosi kill, taking it 25-19.

Jones and Stambrowska both slammed five kills apiece in the second frame. The Friars opened set two on fire, taking a 10-5 early lead on the back of five kills. St. John's answered right back, going on an 11-1 run that featured seven straight points off a mix of attack errors and Stambrowska and Jones kills to take a 16-11 lead. The Red Storm never looked back using a final 9-5 stretch that was capped off by a Friar attack error, to take the second game, 25-16.

Both the Johnnies and the Friars exchanged blows early to a 9-9 tie. A 7-1 St. John's run, featuring three combined Tosi and Zola slams, gave the program a 16-10 advantage midway into the frame. Providence chipped away at its deficit, cutting it down to two, 18-16, off a 6-2 stretch. However, the Red Storm kept its foot on the gas, using a 7-2 run that had three Walther kills, to close out the set and the match, 25-18.

St. John's will return to the court on Wednesday, Sept. 27, when it hosts Seton Hall at 6:30 p.m. in Carnesecca Arena.