Nov. 18, 2005

Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The St. John's women's volleyball team fell 3-1 (30-22, 30-22, 28-30, 31-29) to Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament on Friday, Nov. 18. The Red Storm finishes the year 23-9 overall, 9-5 in the BIG EAST, while Cincinnati improves to 19-11 overall, 9-5 in the conference.

The Red Storm was led by current BIG EAST Rookie of the Week Hui Ping Huang (The Republic of China) who held the offensive with 19 kills and put up five total blocks (1 solo, 4 assists). Patti Hardiman (Honolulu, Hawaii) earned her ninth double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs, while fellow Hawaiian Kathleen Yee (Honolulu, Hawaii) controlled the back line with a match high 28 digs. Anicia Wood (Wotton Terrace, Barbados) recorded six total blocks (1 solo, 5 assists) for the Red and White.

The two teams battled point-for-point in the first game until the Bearcats took the lead for good on a kill by sophomore Erin Maldo, 19-18. The Red Storm fought back to bring the gap within two, 24-22, with kills from Wood and Huang but the team's efforts were not enough as the Bearcats took game one 30-22 with a six point run on serves from Maria Pongonis

The Red Storm grabbed the first point of game two and took a small 3-1 lead before the Bearcats tied the game at five. The Red Storm continued its lead by putting a four point gap between it and the Bearcats, 12-8, but the game was quickly tied again at 17. The Bearcats jumped on a 14-5 run led by Pongonis who scored five kills. The Bearcats continued their control of the board taking game two 30-22.

Down two games, the Red Storm came back after the break looking for a win. It did just that taking the third game 30-28. First team all-conference selection Huang, accounted for seven of the team's points that game, including the closer. The Bearcats had an early 5-1 lead before Shameka Mitchell (Lakeland, Fla.) brought St. John's within two, 8-6. St. John's then took a six point run, 12-8, and continued to control the game. Cincinnati fought back hard tying the score four times before St. John's took the lead for good on two Hardiman kills, 25-23.

Once again the two teams went head to head to the 15th point of the fourth game when St. John's prevailed on a kill from Caitlin Rimgaila (Trooper, Pa.). The Red Storm created a five point lead for itself on kills from Huang but the Bearcats were not willing to give up as Maldo put one down to tie the score at 27. Tied again at 29, Pongonis spiked two kills to give Cincinnati the game, 31-29, and match.

Cincinnati out hit St. John's .207 to .122 for the match, while St. John's out blocked UC by a 23-17 margin. The Bearcats were led by senior Maria Pongonis, who recoreded a match-high 19 kills and 20 digs, and redshirt freshman Jessie Nevitt, who hit .400 on 13 kills with just one error.

The remainder of the Red Storm's season will be decided on Nov. 27 when the NCAA will announce the Division I Women's Volleyball Championship pairings. The announcement will be broadcasted live on ESPNews between 2:30 - 3 p.m.

For the most up-to-date information and statistics on St. John's Athletics, please visit www.RedStormSports.com, or call our hotline at 1-888-GO-STORM.

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