JAMAICA, N.Y.  The St. Johns volleyball team upset BIG EAST rival UConn, 3-2 (30-24, 26-30, 30-22, 20-30, 15-12), tonight in a match played at Alumni Hall. This win marks the first time in nine meetings that the Red Storm have defeated the Huskies. The Red Storm record improves to 14-10 overall and 3-2 in the BIG EAST, while the loss drops the Huskies to 7-10 overall and 3-2 in the BIG EAST.

In the first game, the Red Storm fell behind early, but battled back behind the hitting of sophomore Allison Heckl (Corrales, N.M.) to take the game, 30-24. Heckl, seeing her first action in a while, sparked the Red Storm with four kills on eight attempts, while adding a key service ace late in the game. St. Johns was able to withstand being out hit by UConn, 17 kills to 9, by taking advantage of the numerous errors committed by the Huskies.

Game two started very similar to the first, as UConn took an early advantage. However, the Red Storm used the loud support of the crowd to take back control of the game. That control was short lived as the Huskies tied the match at 20 and continued on to win the game, 30-26. The Husky hitting was too much as they posted a .357 hitting percentage with 14 kills on 28 attempts and committing only four errors. Senior Sarah McCrary (Walnut, Calif.) led the Red Storm in game two with four kills on seven attempts, while senior Robyn Kurasaki (Milliani, Hawaii) dished out nine assists.

The Red Storm dominated the third game, en route to a 30-22 win. With the game tied at 14, St. Johns, behind the serving of sophomore Yana Ruban (Kiev, Ukraine), strung off six straight points to take a 20 to 14 lead which they would never surrender. From there, the Red Storm used strong hitting to take the game, compiling a .364 hitting percentage with 15 kills and only three errors on 33 attempts. Freshman Jackie Ahlers (Stony Point, N.Y.) led the attack with six kills on nine attempts, including two important kills late in the game. McCrary and Kurasaki continued their strong matches with five kills and 15 assists, respectively.

The fourth game went back and forth early, until the Huskies took advantage with the scored tied at 14 and never looked back. A match-high 18 kills pushed the Huskies to the 30-20 win. UConn was led in the game by seniors Christine Lambert and Melissa Wooley who combined for 13 kills, while Lambert also added three service aces and three block assists. McCrary and Ahlers paced the Red Storm with three kills apiece, while Kurasaki added seven digs and seven assists.

The fifth and decisive game remained close early as neither team could expand their lead past one point. However, with the score tied at nine, the Red Storm posted four consecutive points on two Jackie Ahlers kills and two UConn hitting errors, to take the lead 13-9. With the crowd on its feet, the Huskies fought back with three straight kills, narrowing the score to 13-12. However, St. Johns would not give up their lead as back-to-back kills by junior Rosalyn Dang (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Ruban ended the match. McCrary and Ahlers once again led the Red Storm hitting attack in this game with a combined seven kills on 12 attempts.

For the match, the Red Storm were led by McCrarys 17 kills and three service aces. Kurasaki dished out 43 assists and chipped in 14 digs. Defensively, freshman libero Shannon Engle (San Jose, Calif.) tied Kurasaki with 14 digs while Rosalyn Dang added a season-high 13. Jackie Ahlers contributed key kills all night, finishing with 13.

The Huskies were led by senior Christine Lambert who posted an impressive .512 hitting percentage with 23 kills and only 2 errors in 41 attempts. Lambert also led the Huskies with seven block assists and six service aces. Senior Melissa Wooley posted a double-double with 19 kills and 14 digs. Junior setter Julie Erbez tailed 58 assists, while sophomore Jamie Hadenfeldt posted a game-high 20 digs.

The Red Storm return to action on Tuesday, October 22 at 4:30 p.m. hosting local rival Hofstra.