St. John’s Takes Down Virginia, 3-1, in Super 16 Round of the NIVC; Advances to NIVC Great Eight

Sunday, December 8

Charlottesville, Va. (Memorial Gymnasium)

6 p.m.

St. John's University

23-12,10-8Big East

Virginia

21-11,11-9ACC

St. John's (NY)

Virginia

St. John’s Takes Down Virginia, 3-1, in Super 16 Round of the NIVC; Advances to NIVC Great Eight

12/8/2024 9:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Giorgia Walther paced the match with 21 kills at a 34.1 hitting percentage

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The St. John's volleyball team took down Virginia, 3-1, in the Super 16 round of the NIVC on Sunday night inside Memorial Gymnasium in Charlottesville, Va. The scores of the sets were 25-21, 27-25, 23-25, 25-20.

St. John's (23-12, 10-8 BIG EAST) has now advanced into the Great Eight round of the NIVC Tournament for the first time in program history after taking down the Cavaliers (21-11, 11-9 ACC).

"The team really showed out tonight for our second victory of the weekend and our second win this year against the ACC," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "Giorgia Walther was unstoppable and as always, gave us great leadership on and off the court. I could not be prouder of this special team as they continue to make history and break through to the Great Eight for the first time ever."

Walther was an offensive force on Sunday night, pacing the match with 21 kills at a 34.1 hitting percentage. The senior leader also earned two blocks, two digs and an assist.

Erin Jones notched her second-consecutive and 11^th triple-double of the season inside Memorial Gymnasium. The Albuquerque, N.M., native racked up 16 assists, 13 digs and 12 kills. Jones also tallied two blocks and two aces.

Wiktoria Kowalczyk posted her fourth double-double of the season on a match-best 31 assists and 10 digs, to go along with a service ace. Magda Stambrowska packed on 10 kills and two blocks in the contest.

Rashanny Solano Smith picked up right where she left off on Saturday, leading the match with 23 digs, paired with five helpers and two aces, Bree Martin dug out another seven balls against Virginia. Ludovica Zola registered a team-best six total blocks.

The match started with a battle to a 5-5 tie, before St. John's went on a 6-2 run, featuring four Walther kills to go up, 11-7. Trading blows to a 15-11 Red Storm lead, Virginia registered three consecutive points, cutting its deficit down to one, 15-14, and burning a Johnnie timeout. Tied up at 19, St. John's erupted for a 6-2 run that was polished off by a Lodi kill, taking the first frame, 25-21. Lodi and Walther each pounded five kills in the opening game.

The Cavaliers grabbed an initial 8-5 edge in the second stanza, forcing the first Red Storm timeout of the set. The Johnnies tied things up, 8-8, with a 3-0 spurt that showcased back-to-back Jones aces, but Virginia fired off an 8-3 rally of its own, taking a five-point, 16-11 lead. Down 18-13, St. John's ignited a 9-4 surge behind four Walther slams that knotted the game at 22-all. After the Red Storm fought off two Cavaliers' set points, 25-25, the Johnnies fired off two straight scores to take the second stanza, 27-25. Walther registered 11 kills in the second set.

St. John's raced out to an 8-3 lead at the beginning of the third period, benefiting from six kills between Jones, Walther and Stambrowska. The Cavaliers brought themselves back into the frame with a 12-6 scoring stretch, taking a one-point edge, 15-14. Tied at 17, the Red Storm rattled off three-straight points on a pair of Ana Franca Benjamim kills and a Solano Smith ace, going ahead 20-17. Virginia went on to use a final 8-3 run to take the lead and third set, 25-23. The back-and-forth third frame featured seven ties and four lead changes.

The Johnnies started the fourth set with a slim 12-9 lead after capitalizing on eight Cavalier errors. Battling to a 15-12 St. John's advantage, Virginia engineered a 4-1 spurt that evened the set at 16 and caused the Red Storm to talk things over. Deadlocked at 17-all, the Johnnies sparked a 5-0 rally that was served up by Solano Smith for a 22-17 lead late in the frame. Despite a late 3-0 stretch for the Cavaliers, St. John's punched back with three decisive points to take the set and the match, 25-20. Jones logged five slams in the fourth and final stanza.

The Red Storm will continue its postseason run into the Great Eight round of the NIVC Tournament, where it will take on BIG EAST foe UConn. Game time, date and location will be announced at a later date.