St. John’s volleyball improved to 3-3 in the Big East and 13-8 overall as they defeated Providence on the road in straight sets.
After the game, the head coach of the Red Storm, Joanne Persico, said “It was a fantastic team effort on the road! We had a lot of energy today, we were focused and we stuck to the game plan.”
It seemed as if everything clicked on all cylinders offensively and defensively as the Red Storm received many contributions from a number of different players. Senior Deniz Mutlugil and red shirt sophomore Hope Demel led a dominant offense Saturday afternoon with 20 and 13 assists.
Demel’s 13 assists is a new season high. Don’t be surprised if the red shirt sophomore sees more playing time after that performance.
The Red Storm only committed nine errors through the entire game and finished with a .372 attacking percentage.
Senior Karin Palgutova, sophomore Julia Cast and freshman Margherita Bianchin also were key pieces to the Red Storm attack. All three recorded double digits in kills. Palgutova and Bianchin had 11 while Cast finished with 10.
The St. John’s defense gave the Friars offense trouble and didn’t let up throughout the three sets. The Red Storm defense managed to deliver 11 blocks against the Friars offense. Red shirt junior Briana Guzman tallied seven blocks while red shirt sophomore Danisha Moss extended her Big East lead in blocks with four more Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Delaney D’Amore also assisted on defense with 11 digs for the game.
The first set really gave the momentum that St. John’s needed to put the Friars on its heels. Mutlugil and Palgutova together clinched the first set 25-22 after a late push by the Friars, who got cut the lead as far down as two.
The second set was a different story. The Red Storm jumped out early and quickly as they took the second set, 25-13. The Red Storm offense accounted for an incredible .455 attacking percentage in the set. Bianchin and Cast played key set win with four and three kills respectively. As a result, St. John’s took a commanding 2-0 lead into the third set.
The Red Storm commanded the final set as well. Bianchin led the way once again with five more kills to ensure a Red Storm victory by a score of 25-15 to complete the sweep.
Looking Ahead:
St. John’s will face Seton Hall Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Carnesecca Arena. The Pirates are one spot above the Red Storm in the Big East standings, so it is a big match for the Red Storm if they want to move up and challenge the elite teams in the conference.
