#25 Creighton Volleyball Holds Off Red Storm

QUEENS, N.Y. -- No. 25 Creighton Volleyball fought off a pesky St. John's team to post a four-set victory on Saturday night in Queens, N.Y. The Red Storm won the first set 25-20 before Creighton bounced back with 25-10, 25-17 and 25-21 victories to improve to 7-7 on the year and 2-0 in BIG EAST play.

St. John's (11-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) won the first set 25-20, using a 5-0 run to go ahead 10-5 and holding a multiple point lead the rest of the way. Lejla Hadiredepovic led the Johnnies with six kills in the first frame and Rashanny Solano Smith had eight digs for SJU to hold the Jays to ,051 hitting. Nora Wurtz paced CU with three kills in the first set.

Creighton did not trail in the second set, building an early 9-4 lead.  Senior Eloise Brandewie played a key factor as the Jays pulled away in the second, recording three kills and three blocks as part of a 7-0 run to help the Jays take a 16-7 lead. Creighton hit .297 in the second set, recording five blocks and 24 digs, while holding SJU to .000 hitting in 40 swings.

The Red Storm opened up a 7-2 lead in the third set, but Sydney Breissinger served a 7-0 run to help Creighton take a 9-7 lead it would not surrender. The margin grew to 14-10 on an ace by Abbey Hayes and was 15-10 at the technical timeout following a Brandewie smash. The Jays closed out a 25-17 third set win on Ava TeStrake's fourth kill of the evening.

Creighton closed out the match in the fourth set to seal its 11th straight win over St. John's. The Jays led most of the set before the Red Storm embarked on a 7-1 run to take an 18-15 lead. CU battled back to tie the score at 19-all on Breissinger's serve as the senior delivered an ace surrounded by a kill and a block by Brandewie. A blocking error on Ames' 13th kill gave the Jays a 21-20 advantage.  Dalton then had her career-high tying seventh kill and Abbey Hayes served up an ace to make it 23-20. Ames got the Jays to match point with a kill, and after. Red Storm sideout Brandewie closed the show with her 10th kill. Ames had five kills in the clincher while Breissinger added six digs and Brandewie three blocks.

Ames led Creighton with 14 kills, Brandewie had 10 kills and eight blocks and Wurtz tied a career-high with 10 kills and hit .692. Saige Damrow led the defense with 17 digs and three aces and Abbey Hayes also contributed 10 digs and three aces. Katie Dalton set for the Jays, finishing with 33 assists, seven digs and tying her career-high with seven blocks. The Jays had 48 kills, 59 digs, 11 blocks and nine aces on .213 hitting.

Hadiredepovic led St. John's with 11 kills, but she also had 12 errors in 32 swings to hit -.031 overall. BIG EAST kill leader Carola Tesoro hit .000 with nine kills and as many errors in 40 swings. Rashanny Solano Smith led all players with 27 digs. The Red Storm finished with 38 kills, 60 digs, seven blocks and three aces while being held to .102 hitting.

Creighton is back in action on Friday at 6 p.m. when it opens a four-match homestand against DePaul.