The St. John’s Women’s Volleyball team (12-3) defended home court on Sept. 28 against the Seton Hall Pirates (6-6) in their first Big East match of the season. The Johnnies entered the match 4-0 in their non-conference slate after defeating Fairfield and sweeping Iona, LIU and Bryant in the 10th Annual Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic.
Erin Jones continued her monsterous junior year campaign with 16 kills, 18 digs and a 36.7 percent clip, leading to 19 definitive points for the Red Storm. Jones also tacked on six assists, two blocks and two aces throughout the match.
Seton Hall started out on a 4-2 run in the first set that was met with a 7-1 scoring stretch emphasized by Giorgia Walther. The senior outside hitter picked up four consecutive kills to bring the Johnnies lead to 9-4. The teams exchanged scoring runs throughout the set, but Seton Hall put down two kills to break through the 23-23 tie and take the first stanza.
St. John’s did not let up from there as Walther and senior setter Wiktoria Kowalczyk combined for four kills to bring the lead to 14-10 in the second set. The Pirates once again caught up with the Red Storm and tied up the score at 14-all. Digging deep, the Red Storm pulled through the rest of the set and closed the frame on a 4-1 run. Junior middle blocker Magda Stambrowska put down the final kill to take the second set and officially shift the momentum for the Johnnies.
St. John’s led in all statistics following the second set with 29 kills, a 17.3 attacking percentage and 36 digs. Seton Hall went into the third with 19 kills and 28 digs.
Torch Photo/ Anthony Sissons
That momentum led directly to the third set as St. John’s opened up the frame with a 14-3 scoring stretch — led by six combined kills from Stambrowska, Walther and junior outside hitter Lucrezia Lodi. Lodi picked up the immediate kill to start the set and grabbed 10 digs, five kills and three aces to finish the match as a whole. Walther led the set with five kills for the Johnnies as the team held on to a significant lead throughout its entirety and went up in the match 2-1.
The Red Storm cruised through an 8-0 scoring run in the fourth and final set with Lodi in the service position. The Italian native’s service game propelled St. John’s into a 10-3 lead in the fourth and final set to pick up the win for the Red Storm. Seton Hall’s attempts at climbing back were cut short as St. John’s would go on another scoring run to further extend their lead. Walther finished the set with seven kills and an impressive 50 percent conversion rate.
The final set scores were 25-23, 25-19, 25-12 and 25-14.
St. John’s put together an all-around team win as big-name players put up big-time numbers. Kowalczyk ended the night with 40 assists, eight digs, four blocks and two kills. She was paired with Jones on the Big East Honor Roll this past week after winning tournament MVP at the Jack Kaiser Classic.
Sophomore libero Rashanny Solano Smith once again defended the backcourt and impressed with 16 digs in the match. Stambrowska finished with eight kills, five blocks and two digs. Walther led all attackers with 22 kills, seven digs and a block in the first Big East match of her senior campaign.
St. John’s will continue Big East action in Carnesecca Arena on Sept. 29 as the Georgetown Hoyas (7-6) travel to Queens.
