October 25, 1998

Villanova, Pa. - Unable to gain any momentum, the Villanova Wildcats lost their fourth straight match to Big East opponent St. John's in three straight games 15-9, 15-10, 15-11. In the first game, the Red Storm built a 9-2 lead and never looked back taking the first 15-9. To start the second game, each team exchanged points until St. John's broke a 10-10 tie and rallied for five straight points to finish off the game 15-10. Behind a game-high .383 hitting percentage, the Red Storm ended the match with a 15-11 victory and earning their first Big East win this season.

For St. John's (13-14/1-5) Kristy Mercein tallied 13 kills and 10 digs, while Stasha Levi had 11 kills and a game-high 15 digs. Villanova (10-11/3-3), without all-Big East performer Megan O'Brien, who was out with an aggravated knee injury, was led by Cathy Arnette who recorded 38 assists and 12 digs while Ruth Ann Blankenhiem knocked down a team-high 13 kills in the losing effort.

Villanova will travel to Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Oct. 27 and then return to Jake Nevin Fieldhouse next weekend to face Georgetown on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Score by Game 1 2 3 ST. JOHN'S 15 15 15 VILLANOVA 9 10 11

Scoring: Assists-St. John's (47), Chae (43), Villanova (43), Arnette (38); Kills-St. John's (57),Mercein (13), Levi (11), Miller (8), Villanova (47), Blankenheim (13), Jones (10), Zitterich (10), Eddinger (9); Digs-St. John's (59), Levi (15), Chae (10), Mercein (10), Villanova (47), Arnette (12), Jones (12), Holcomb (7).