St. John’s Pulls Off Dramatic Reverse Sweep Over San Diego, 3-2

Friday, September 6

San Diego, CA

10 p.m.

St. John's University

4-0,0-0Big East

San Diego

0-3,0-0WCC

St. John's (NY)

San Diego

St. John’s Pulls Off Dramatic Reverse Sweep Over San Diego, 3-2

9/7/2024 2:22:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Erin Jones, Lucrezia Lodi and Wiktoria Kowalczyk all notched double-doubles in the comeback win

San Diego – The St. John's volleyball team pulled off a dramatic reverse sweep, taking down San Diego, 3-2, at the Jack Talmadge Volleyball Classic on Friday night inside Jenny Craig Pavilion.

After dropping the first two sets, St. John's (4-0) convincingly took the next three to comeback in its first road match of the year. The scores of the sets were 22-25, 21-25, 27-25, 25-22 and 15-8.

With the win, the Red Storm starts its season 4-0 for the first time since the 2018 campaign when it opened at 5-0. Additionally, the Red Storm secured its first-ever victory against the Toreros, evening the all-time series at 1-1.

"So proud of this team for not blinking in the face of adversity against a perennial volleyball power on their home court," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "Excited for our group as they continue to show grit, resilience, teamwork and make crucial plays when they are needed."

Erin Jones, Lucrezia Lodi and Wiktoria Kowalczyk all notched double-doubles on Friday night.

Jones was brilliant for the Johnnies, earning her second double-double of the season on 19 kills and 14 digs. The junior led the match with 25 points and registered four assists, four service aces and a team-high four block assists.

Lodi totaled 12 kills and 10 digs while Kowalczyk posted a match-high 40 helpers and 15 digs.

Giorgia Walther led the match with 22 kills and tallied eight digs, an ace and a rejection.

Rashanny Solano Smith turned in a match-leading 18 digs to go along with nine assists and a service ace.

As a team, St. John's posted a match-leading 64 kills and limited San Diego (0-3) to a 19.7 team hitting percentage.

Walther slammed down a set-high eight kills in a first frame that saw 13 ties and six lead changes. The first stanza began with a back-and-forth start to a 4-4 tie, but the Red Storm rattled off a 4-1 stretch to lead 8-5 early. The Toreros countered back with three straight points to knot the match back up at 8-8. Both teams battled to a 17-17 stalemate before San Diego earned two consecutive points to lead, 19-17, forcing a St. John's timeout. Down 24-20, the Johnnies contested two set points, however the Toreros were able to secure the opening set, 25-22.

Walther and Jones each registered three kills apiece in the second frame. Much like the opening period, both teams traded points to open the second set with a 12-12 tie. San Diego built itself a three-point cushion with three straight scores to lead 15-12 midway through the stanza. The Toreros maintained its three-point lead until the Red Storm used two San Diego errors with a Magda Stambrowska and Walther block assist to retie the game at 21-all. The Toreros fired off four straight points and claimed the second frame, 25-21, taking a 2-0 edge in the match.

Walther put down seven kills in the third set while Solano Smith added seven digs. St. John's raced out to an 11-3 advantage to begin the third period, benefiting from six kills between Walther, Jones and Lodi. San Diego went on a 7-3 spurt, cutting the Johnnies' lead down to four, 14-10. The Red Storm grew its four-point advantage to six, 21-15, before the Toreros scored six straight points to even the frame, 21-21. St. John's earned its first set point, 24-22, but San Diego fought back to even the set back up at 24. The Johnnies were able to take the frame on their third set point, 27-25, off an Isabel Clark attack error.

Jones led the way with six slams in the penultimate set. The Red Storm started the fourth game hot with a 9-5 lead that featured kills from Lodi and Jones. San Diego kept the pressure on the Red Storm, chipping down its lead to two, 15-13. Neither team was able to generate any significant momentum throughout the middle set until the Toreros registered three straight scores, cutting their deficit down to one, 20-19. St. John's remained poised at the end of the set, never surrendering its lead to win the fourth set, 25-22, and force a fifth frame.

The Red Storm exploded for an 8-2 lead out of the gate in the final set. San Diego fought back, throwing down two kills on a 3-0 stretch, to only trail by three, 8-5. Leading 10-7, the Johnnies went on a decisive 5-1 run, pulling off the comeback with a 15-8, fifth-set victory

St. John's will return to the Jenny Craig Pavilion tomorrow afternoon at 6 p.m. ET to take on UC Santa Barbara.