Oct. 18, 2009
Box Score
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova volleyball team (16-6, 5-3 BIG EAST) extended its win-streak to four matches after defeating St. John's, 3-2 (9-25, 25-14, 25-22, 19-25, 15-10) on Sunday afternoon in Jake Nevin Fieldhouse.
Three Wildcats posted double figure kills led by sophomore Maggie Mergen who tallied 14 and hit .310. Senior Elysse Studzinski connected for 13 kills, while freshman Krista Andersen posted 11.
Sophomore Kim Maroon collected 19 digs and classmate Courtney Oertli gave out 42 assists.
"We came through when we needed to today," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "It was good to get the win. We'll take close wins every time we can get them."
After dropping the first set, 25-9, Villanova came out to a quick 10-4 lead in the second frame. The Wildcats took a 17-10 lead and extended it to 23-13 before Studzinski connected on the winning kill for a 25-14 victory.
St. John's (8-14, 1-5 BIG EAST) got on the board first in the third set, but three kills from senior Amy Gulyas put `Nova in front 12-11 as the Red Storm used a timeout. The score tied seven times before Villanova called timeout trailing 19-18. After the break, Studzinski, Mergen and Gulyas each tallied a kill to tie the score at 21-21 as St. John's used its final timeout. Two errors from the Red Storm set Maroon up to serve for set point and Mergen connected for a final kill to seal the win.
After taking a 4-1 lead in the fourth frame, the Red Storm scored five unanswered points to jump ahead, 6-4. The Wildcats trailed 13-8 after calling timeout, but Mergen and sophomore Maria Nolan each notched a kill to close the gap by two points, 13-11. St. John's used a 7-2 run to extend its lead to 20-13 and the Wildcats could not recover, falling 25-19.
In the fifth and deciding set, Villanova got on the board first and held a 6-4 lead after an ace from Gulyas. The Red Storm called a timeout, but the `Cats came out of the break and scored four unanswered points to extend their lead to 10-5. St. John's closed the gap to 11-7 after a kill, but Villanova stayed strong as a kill from Andersen sent freshman Kristina Bither to serve for match point. Mergen connected for the final point as Villanova won, 15-10.
The Wildcats will have a weekend off from BIG EAST play as they travel to Fordham on Sunday, Oct. 25. The match is set for 2:00 p.m.
