Nov. 1, 2008

Box Score

QUEENS, N.Y. - The Villanova volleyball team had four Wildcats post double figure kills, but it was not enough as they fell 3-1 (22-25, 29-27, 18-25, 16-25) to St. John's on Saturday afternoon in Carnesecca Arena.

The Wildcats (13-12, 4-5) were led by senior Dana Tartazky who connected on 16 kills. Freshman Morgan Petkovich tallied 12 kills, while fellow classmates Laurie McNamara and Maggie Mergen posted 11 and 10 kills respectively.

Junior Chelsea Graman gave out 49 assists. Freshman Kim Maroon led the defensive effort with 13 digs, while junior Amy Gulyas collected 12 and senior Kaela Frizzell had 10 digs in the match.

"We played really well offensively for three sets," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "We got better in this match and hope to build on that, but we couldn't stay with St. John's in the fourth. St. John's is the best team in the BIG EAST for a reason and we struggled to find a way to stop them. Their libero was fantastic today."

Graman served an ace in the first set to give Villanova a 7-4 lead, but the Red Storm took a 10-8 lead after an error from the `Cats. Back-to-back kills from McNamara pulled Villanova to within one point, 15-14, and tied the score at 15 after a miscue from St. John's. After being tied at 19, the Red Storm scored three unanswered points to force Villanova to call timeout. With a 24-20 lead, St. John's served for set point and the Wildcats forced two more attempts to close the set, which ended with the Red Storm taking a 25-22 victory.

After a 14-14 tie in the second frame, Villanova used a 4-1 run to jump ahead, 18-15 and forced the Red Storm to use a timeout. After the break, St. John's went on a run of their own to reclaim the lead, 21-20 and forced Villanova to the sidelines. Petkovich connected on a kill to give VU a 24-23 lead, but the Red Storm tied the score. The team's traded points back and forth until the set was tied at 27 apiece. Petkovich and McNamara slammed kills to end the second set, 29-27, in Villanova's favor.

A miscue from St. John's in the third stanza tied the score at 10, but an 11-5 run from the Red Storm forced the Wildcats to use their second timeout trailing 21-15. Tartazky connected on a kill, but St. John's served for set point with a 24-17 advantage. A kill from senior Whitney Harrington held St. John's off, but they claimed the third set, 25-18, following a kill.

St. John's came out strong in the fourth set and jumped to a 6-1 lead as Villanova called a timeout. The `Cats scored just two more points after the break and used their second timeout trailing, 12-3. Mergen and Tartazky hit consecutive kills as St. John's held on to a 23-15 lead and called a timeout. Tartazky connected on one final kill, but Villanova dropped the final set, 25-16.

Villanova returns to the court on Sunday, Nov. 2, at Connecticut beginning at 2:00 p.m.