Coming off a big victory, in which the Red Storm defeated Hofstra to bring home the Queens-Nassau Cup, the team hoped to keep their momentum rolling. They did just that as they trounced over St. Peter’s in three games (30-21, 30-18, 30-14) Thursday night. With the win, they improve their season record to 10-3 while dropping St. Peter’s to 2-5.
St. John’s got off to a quick start thanks to main offensive contributor, Latoya Blunt, recording her first kill and the first point of the night. This set the tone for the rest of the match, one in which St. John’s looked in control. From that point, St. John’s did not trail again until the beginning of the third game.
“It was scorching hot but we still had to go and play our game,” said Blunt, who had a total of 14 kills in the game (.542). Shameka Mitchell led the team with 17 kills (.538). On defense, freshman libero Kathleen Yee sparkled with 12 digs while Lisa Tedder had a team-leading 26 sets.
Down 27-11 in the first game, St. Peter’s showed some fight, bringing the game back to within eight at 29-21 with two kills by Tara Teslaa and a service ace by Sasha Pshyenychka but an attack error by Gulhan Cakcak ended the game. The second followed a similar pattern, with Mitchell leading the offensive attack with 10 kills, including the deciding point.
The third game looked to prove a tougher challenge to the Red Storm as St. Peter’s quickly jumped ahead, 6-4, but back-to-back kills by Blunt and Laura Sudano got St. John’s right back into it. At one point, St. John’s scored 10 consecutive points, topped off with four straight kills by Mitchell, contributing to a .400 hitting percentage in the game. A service error by Michal Hausfater ended the final game 30-14.
“We were coming off a great match,” St. John’s coach Joanne Persico-Smith said. “We didn’t want a letdown.” We’ve been playing well as a team and with more confidence. We’ve been playing for bigger points √¢?” getting them late when it counts.”
This was a match her team dominated in, outhitting their opponent .365 to .024 and out blocking them, 14 to six. The Red Storm hope to keep their streak going as they next play Canisius College at the Bucknell Invitational on Friday at 6 p.m.
