St. John’s Rolls Past Providence, 3-1, on Senior Night

Saturday, November 23

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

5 p.m.

St. John's University

21-11,10-8Big East

Providence

8-21,1-17Big East

Providence

St. John's (NY)

St. John’s Rolls Past Providence, 3-1, on Senior Night

11/23/2024 8:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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Erin Jones broke the BIG EAST Triple-Double Single-Season Record

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team rolled past Providence, 3-1, in its regular season finale on Saturday evening at Carnesecca Arena. The scores of the sets were 25-23, 25-18, 22-25 and 25-13.

With the win and a Xavier loss last night, St. John's (21-11, 10-8 BIG EAST) clinched its third-straight and sixth BIG EAST Tournament bid in the last seven seasons.

Before the match, the Red Storm honored Ariana Robinson, Giorgia Walther, Bree Martin and Wiktoria Kowalczyk for their contributions on and off the court over the last four years.

"Terrific bounce back victory, in front of a tremendous home crowd on our senior night," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "I could not be prouder of this dedicated, reliant and talented squad. Omaha, here we come".

Erin Jones took over the stat sheet yet again, breaking the BIG EAST single-season triple-double record with her eighth of conference play and her ninth of the season overall. The junior registered 21 assists, 16 digs and 15 kills hit at 60.9 percent. The right-side hitter also accounted for three service aces and three blocks.

Lucrezia Lodi secured her fifth double-double of the season on 16 digs and 16 kills at a 37.1 hitting percentage. The Italy native also racked up three total rejections. Walther shined on her senior night, logging 16 kills, two blocks and an ace.

Rashanny Solano Smith continued her monstrous sophomore season, picking up 15 digs and seven helpers. Kowalczyk led the Red Storm in assists for the 31^st match this season, recording 26 helpers to go along with four digs and three service aces.

Magda Stambrowska led the Johnnies with four total blocks paired with four slams. Ludovica Zola tacked on five kills and three blocks against Providence (8-21, 1-17 BIG EAST).

As a team, St. John's led the match with a 34.6 hitting percentage, 61 kills, 58 digs, 54 assists, 9.5 blocks and seven service aces.

The Red Storm jumped out to an 11-6 lead at the start of the opening frame, capitalizing on nine kills between Lodi, Jones, Zola and Kya Harris. Providence crept back in the set with a 3-1 spurt, cutting its deficit down to three, 12-9. The Johnnies answered immediately with a 4-0 stretch to take a seven-point, 16-9 advantage. Battling to a 21-15 Red Storm lead, the Friars threatened with five straight points, only trailing by one, 21-20, and burning a St. John's timeout. The Johnnies responded with a slim 4-3 stretch to take the first stanza, 25-23. Lodi led the way with eight kills in the first game.

The second set kicked off to a 6-6 tie, before the Johnnies hammered down back-to-back slams from Jones and Walther, taking an 8-6 lead. After trading scores to a 10-9 St. John's advantage, a Walther kill sparked a 7-3 run that grew its lead to five, 17-12. The Red Storm held on to its lead, using an 8-6 scoring stretch that was capped by a Lodi slam for a 25-18 second set victory. Walther posted six kills in the second period.

Following a 4-4 start to the third game, Providence took advantage of three-straight Johnnie errors, claiming a 7-4 edge. Down 13-10, St. John's engineered a 3-0 rally behind a kill and an ace from Jones, tying the set at 13. Trading scores to an 18-18 stalemate, the Friars registered three unanswered points, taking a 21-18 advantage and causing the Red Storm to call a timeout. Despite going point-for-point at the end of the set, Providence held onto its three-point lead to claim the third stanza, 25-22. Walther tallied eight kills in the frame.

St. John's stormed out to a 7-2 lead behind three Stambrowska blocks, leading to an early Friar timeout. Ahead 10-5, the Johnnies extended their advantage to eight, 13-5, after registering three straight points. The Friars cut their lead back down to five, 15-10, but the Red Storm went on another 3-0 spurt, engineered by a pair of Jones' aces to go back up by eight, 18-10. St. John's breezed through the remainder of the set, winning the final frame and the match, 25-13. Jones registered five kills in the final set.

St. John's will head to Omaha, Neb., next week for the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament Presented by JEEP. Opponents and game times will be shared on RedStormSports.com, at a later date.