St. John’s Takes Down Coppin State, 3-1, to Close the Red Storm Invitational

Saturday, August 31

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

3-0,0-0Big East

Coppin State

2-1,0-0MEAC

Coppin St.

St. John's (NY)

St. John’s Takes Down Coppin State, 3-1, to Close the Red Storm Invitational

8/31/2024 5:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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Erin Jones was named Red Storm Invitational MVP

QUEENS, N.Y. (Aug. 31, 2024) – The St. John's volleyball team took down Coppin State, 3-1, to close out the Red Storm Invitational on Saturday afternoon inside Carnesecca Arena.

After taking the first two sets, 25-21 and 25-20, the Red Storm dropped the third set, 22-25, but rallied back to take the fourth and final frame, 25-18.

The Johnnies were named the Red Storm Invitational Champions after boasting a perfect, 3-0 record with wins against Niagara, Northeastern and Coppin State.

Erin Jones was named the Red Storm Invitational MVP after posting 33 kills on a 34.4 percent clip with 32 digs, five aces and five total blocks across the weekend.

Lucrezia Lodi and Magda Stambrowska were both tabbed to the Red Storm Invitational All-Tournament Team. Lodi registered 33 kills and 29 digs across the tournament while Stambrowska racked up 23 kills at a 44.2 hitting percentage.

Giorgia Walther paced the match with 19 kills and three solo blocks. The outside hitter also tallied five digs. Lodi added 18 kills at a 38.9 percent success rate and nine digs to the Johnnies' totals. Jones tacked on 11 kills on a 36.4 hitting percentage, nine digs and a solo block.

Wiktoria Kowalczyk led the match with 51 assists and contributed seven digs, four block assists and three kills. Rashanny Solano Smith notched a match-high 21 digs and provided three helpers.

Ludovica Zola put up four total rejections, including a solo block with a kill, an assist and an ace. Kya Harris also recorded the first kill of her Red Storm career.

Lodi went off for seven kills at a 38.5 percent rate in the first set. Both squads went back and forth trading points to a 6-6 statement at the start of the opening frame. The Johnnies rang up four straight points, two of which came from the fist of Walther, putting the Red Storm up by four, 10-6. The back-and-forth play from the beginning of the set returned until Coppin State made it a one-point game, 16-15, off a Sophia Bertotti Metoyer kill and service ace. Fresh out of a timeout, up 21-20, St. John's threw down three kills from Lodi and Stambrowska en route to a first set, 25-21, victory.

Walther and Lodi each pounded four kills for the Red Storm in game two. St. John's kicked off the second set with an initial 10-5 lead powered by four Walther slams, forcing an early Coppin State timeout. The Red Storm continued to build its lead up to 10, 19-9, but the Eagles found a spark, registering five straight scores to cut the Johnnies' advantage in half, 19-14. St. John's stayed calm despite constant Coppin State pressure and found a way to take the second period, 25-20.

Walther and Lodi each contributed another six kills and a solo block in the third stanza. The frame opened to a 6-6 tie before the Eagles rattled off four straight points from a trio of kills and a block to take a 10-6 lead. Down by five, 16-11, Lodi sent three kills into the floor to cut the deficit to two, 16-14. Coppin State brought its advantage back to five, 21-16, but the Johnnies wouldn't go down quietly, bringing it back to within two, 23-21. The Red Storm's effort wasn't enough to put away the Eagles, as they took the set, 25-22.

Jones posted a set-high six kills and a solo block in the fourth and final frame. The Red Storm opened the set on fire with a 6-2 lead that forced a Coppin State timeout. After talking things over, the Eagles returned the same effort and tied things at 8-8. St. John's went on a 7-3 stretch, benefiting from back-to-back Zola blocks to lead, 15-11. The Johnnies maintained their four-point lead as the two teams exchanged points, but two straight Coppin State scores dropped the St. John's edge to two, 19-17, and forced a home team timeout. The Red Storm never relinquished its lead, using three straight Walther slams to claim the final frame, 25-18.

St. John's will kick off its first road swing of the season next weekend, Sept. 6-8, when it battles San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and Arizona State at the San Diego Invitational.