Great 8 (Dec. 12) - UConn vs. St. John's

​ST. JOHN’S 3, UCONN 1 (25-20, 25-23, 27-29, 26-24)
 
NEW YORK – St. John’s lost two matches earlier this season to Big East Conference foe UConn, but the Red Storm made up for it with a flourish Thursday, moving past the Huskies to earn a berth in the Fab Four round of the 2024 NIVC.  
 
St. John’s (24-12) will host Bowling Green (24-9) in the next round; that match is set for 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 14.
 
St. John’s led early in Set 1, pulling ahead 14-7 on a kill from Erin Jones, but UConn came back and tied it at 17-all on a kill from Emma Werkmeister. Lucrezia Lodi then answered the call for the Red Storm with four straight kills, and St. John’s wrapped up the set with a kill by Jones.
 
Set 2 saw UConn take a 16-11 lead, but St. John’s responded in impressive fashion and had it tied up at 21-all before one last push – the final kill came from Lodi as the Red Storm took a commanding 2-0 lead. The Huskies stayed in the fight with a win in Set 3, going up 18-14 and then working through the pressure of multiple ties in the late going. The set was secured with a kill from Doga Kutlu and an error by St. John’s.
 
The Red Storm closed out the match with a strong early effort in Set 4, taking a 16-9 lead. Aqain, UConn made it tough at the finish in coming back from a 24-19 hold to tie it at 24-all, but St. John’s was able to shut the door.
 
UConn beat St. John’s 3-2 on Oct. 19 and then won in a sweep on Nov. 22.
 
The Red Storm got 15 kills and 17 digs from Jones; Giorgia Walther had 13 kills, Magda Stambrowska closed with 12 kills and Lodi finished with 10 kills and 11 digs. Wiktoria Kowalczyk had 49 assists and 17 digs and Rashan Solano Smith added 16 digs.
 
For the Huskies (26-8), Hanna Tylska had 14 kills, Taylor Pannell added 13 kills and Loren Winn closed with 11 kills. Kutlu had 45 assists and nine digs, and McKenna Brand finished with 23 digs.