It is no secret that the St. John’s Women’s Volleyball team has been on a losing streak since the start of the Big East Conference games.

Running on a 2-8 record prior to the Halloween game versus UConn, St. John’s was itching for a win. It did not look easy, especially considering that they had lost in a 3-1 match against UConn earlier in the season. The Johnnies left it all on the court and came up with an invigorating 3-1 win over the Huskies.

Missing their freshman setter, Martina Capponcelli, the Red Storm had to pivot in their setup, a situation that proved difficult at the start. Though they had initially kept in pace with the Huskies, the Red Storm ended up losing the first set 25-15. This only pushed them that much harder in the second.

The second set was opened by the Johnnies who took an early lead, managing to keep it all the way to the end. They managed to tie the contest 1-1 in a set win of 25-16.

Now that it was a tied game, it was clear that the third set was much more important for either team to take a lead.

It led to a fast-paced, hard-hitting set, highlighted by senior Erin Jones with a kill and consecutive aces. The Johnnies took a 10-point lead, making the set 17-7. It was at this point that the Huskies realized they needed to put on the pressure, forcing the Johnnies down to only 2 at 19-17. Though startled, the Johnnies managed to go on a six-point run to close the set 25-19. 

With a 2-1 lead, the Johnnies saw a win in their future. The Huskies were determined to take back the final set. They opened the set with a three-point lead but it didn’t take long for the Red Storm to catch up. The two teams traded points all the way down to a 20-20 tie.

This set went down with tension, a contested final point and even an injury time out for junior Rashanny Solano Smith, but it didn’t stop the Johnnies from securing a 25-22 win in this set, and a 3-1 win over UConn.

This meant much more than a win for the players. This game would mark the 600th career win for Coach Joanne Persico. Her name will go down in history as the 16th active head coach to reach this milestone and the first-ever Big East volleyball head coach to amass this amount of wins. It is thanks to her that the Johnnies were able to come together and win the game.