With a huge come from behind victory, St John’s (11-7, 2-3) beat Big East opponent Seton Hall (9-9, 3-2), 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 26-24, 26-24) at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday. The game was close throughout with both teams unable to gain any momentum.
The Red Storm had four players with 10 or more kills. Mona Karkkainen collected 15 kills (career-high) and had a .481 hitting percentage, while freshman Erica Di Maulo tallied 50 assists (match-high). For the third time this season, Di Maulo hit the 50 assists mark and has registered 40 or more assists in five of the last six games. She also had a career-high five aces.
Other players that helped picked up the win were Gaia Traballi and Margherita Bianchin. Trablli posted 12 kills and Bianchin collected 11 kills plus six digs. Julia Cast had an excellent game with 10 kills and superb .558 attacking percentage. From the libero spot, Lexie Lobdell picked up 17 digs for a career high. Together, Melissa Chin and Delaney D’Amore had a total of 13 digs coming off the bench.
The Red Storm had a team total of 47 digs. The Big East leader in total blocks, Danisha Moss, had six blocks in the game, giving her a total of 104 so far this season.
In the first set, Seton Hall won 25-22. Di Maulo tallied 15 of her 50 assists in that set but the Pirates managed to have a .429 hitting percentage. The next set was tight with only one lead change and the biggest lead for either team was just four points. With the score tied at 17, the Red Storm finally took control of the frame by scoring four of the last five points to take a 21-18 lead. The Pirates tried to mount a comeback but fell short with the Johnnies winning the frame 25-23.
The Red Storm took a 2-1 lead by winning the third frame 24-21.
In the fourth and final set, the Red Storm had a huge comeback, they were down 17-9 to Seton Hall. St. John’s scored five consecutive points but were still down 20-17 until they went on another run to take a 24-21 lead. The Pirates fought back and tied the score at 24 but the Johnnies were able to finish the comeback with a strike by Bianchin to take to beat their Big East rival with a 3-1.
St. John’s will face Marquette on October 7 at 5 pm and DePaul on October 8 at 4 pm. Both games will take place in Carnesecca and be shown on ESPN3.
