St. John’s Sweeps NJIT In Straight Sets, 3-0

Tuesday, September 10

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

6 p.m.

St. John's University

5-2,0-0Big East

NJIT

2-7,0-0America East

NJIT

St. John's (NY)

Erin Jones led St. John's with 14 kills on a 30 percent hitting clip.

9/10/2024 8:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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Erin Jones posted 14 kills on 30 percent hitting

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team swept NJIT in straight sets on Tuesday evening behind a 14-kill performance from Erin Jones inside Carnesecca Arena. The set scores were 25-21, 25-17 and 25-22.

Jones did it all for St. John's (5-2) on Tuesday night, racking up 14 kills on a 30 percent hitting clip. The junior also logged seven assists, seven digs, three blocks and an ace against the Highlanders. The Albuquerque, N.M., native has now led the Red Storm in kills in four of its seven matches.

Magda Stambrowska was efficient for the Red Storm, posting 11 kills on a 73.3 hitting percentage and added two digs and two blocks. Ludovica Zola registered a match-high six total blocks and an ace. Lucrezia Lodi added 10 digs, eight kills and three blocks.

Rashanny Solano Smith and Sujeili Mermella both made appearances at libero for the Johnnies. Solano Smith rang up 10 digs while Mermella tallied four.

Wiktoria Kowalczyk led the match for the Red Storm's seventh-straight contest with 27 assists to go along with eight digs and a kill.

Ana Benjamim set season-highs of three kills and two helpers in the match.

St. John's led the match with 49 digs, 43 total kills, 41 total assists, and nine blocks. The Red Storm was also stellar defensively again, holding NJIT (2-7) to a 6.3 hitting percentage.

Stambrowska was on fire in the opening stanza, posting six kills at a stellar 75 percent hitting clip. The match opened to a 9-9 tie, before NJIT went on a 6-1 run, capitalizing on four Red Storm errors to take control, 15-10. Following a timeout, the Johnnies went on a 6-1 stretch sparked by two kills from Jones, knotting the frame at 16. Tied at 19, St. John's orchestrated a 6-2 spurt that was engineered by three slams and an ace from Stambrowska, taking the opening set, 25-21.

The Red Storm ran out to a 7-4 advantage at the start of the second game, but the Highlanders quickly responded to take a one-point lead, 8-7. The Johnnies erupted for an 11-4 run off seven kills and two blocks between Lodi, Stambrowska and Jones to hold a seven-point edge, 19-12. St. John's remained in control of the frame despite two contested set points, winning the second period, 25-17. Jones finished the second stanza with six kills.

The third frame kicked off to a 5-5 stalemate until NJIT registered three straight points to lead, 8-5. The Red Storm proceeded to go on a 9-4 rally, benefiting from four kills between Jones, Walther and Stambrowska to go up 14-12. The Highlanders immediately tied the frame at 14 with back-to-back points, but the Johnnies battled back with four consecutive scores from Benjamim, Kya Harris and Zola to regain a five-point lead, 22-17. NJIT didn't go down quietly, testing St. John's with three-straight points to only trail, 23-21, late in the set. The Red Storm slammed the door on a Highlander comeback, using a Jones kill and an NJIT attack error to take the final set, 25-22. Jones added another six kills while Solano Smith tacked on six digs in the decisive third period.

St. John's will hit the road once again this weekend when it takes on Princeton, Duke and No. 3 Penn State at the Penn State Invitational in University Park, Pa.