Volleyball: WVU Falls to St. John's
November 01, 2009 03:53 PM | General
By Kelly Tuckwiller for MSNsportsNET.com
November 1, 2009
Results
QUEENS, N.Y.– The West Virginia University volleyball team fell in a close match to BIG EAST opponent St. John’s this afternoon at the Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y.
St. John’s improved to 9-17, 2-8 after defeating the Mountaineers (14-12, 4-7) in a 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 25-25) match.
Set one started with two kills from senior outside hitter Kristina Gallahan, followed by one from junior outside hitter Lauren Evans to give the Mountaineers their first lead of the set at 3-1. WVU held a steady lead through most of the set, until the Red Storm’s Darlene Ramdin stepped up to bring St. John’s back in the game. Down 21-22, Ramdin once again landed a kill to bring her team back, as the Red Storm went on a run to put them in position for the win. She then finished the set with a kill.
The Red Storm carried the momentum into the second set, as they jumped to a 7-4 lead. However, sophomore Kylie Armbruster and Norman answered with a set of kills, giving the Mountaineers some momentum of their own. Down, 6-8 Armbruster hit two-straight kills to tie the set, as a block from sophomore setter Kari Post and Norman gave WVU the lead. With the match tied at 21, St. John’s refused to fall, as a kill from Kun Song, sent the Red Storm on a 4-0 run as Ramdin posted a kill to end set two.
Set three started in favor of the Mountaineers after a kill from junior outside hitter Andrea Miller and a solo block from Evans. However, the Red Storm returned as Ruisa Scheffel added two kills of her own. With the set tied at 16, Gallahan took control posting two-straight kills for the WVU lead. The Mountaineers held on to the lead for the remainder of the set as Norman posted her ninth kill of the match for the win.
WVU started strong in set four with an 11-8 lead after a block from Post and Evans. The Mountaineers held on to the lead until a kill from Radin gave the Red Storm the momentum. Tied at 19, St. John’s then posted a block followed by a Randin kill. Refusing to fall, WVU answered with a pair of kills from Evans and Gallahan, and a service ace from Post, for a 22-11 advantage. Despite their best efforts, the Mountaineers couldn’t hold off the Red Storm as they took the match after a WVU attack error.
Leading the Mountaineers today was Gallahan who posted 16 kills and five digs, while Norman added 10 kills and six.
Junior libero Bonnie West also played well with 13 digs and three service aces.
For the second-straight match, WVU posted double digit blocks with 13.
The Mountaineers return to home play on Friday, Nov. 6, with a 7 p.m. match against Villanova at the WVU Coliseum.
