JAMAICA, N.Y.  Senior Olga Roudovski (Brooklyn, N.Y./Sheepshead Bay) tallied a team-high 22 kills to go along with 14 digs to lead the St. Johns University volleyball team to a dramatic four-game victory (12-15, 15-4, 15-9, 15-13) over visiting Providence College in a BIG EAST Conference matchup Sunday afternoon in Alumni Hall.

The Storm avenged a three-game sweep at the hands of the Friars from last season and in the process improved to 18-4, 3-1 in the league. Providence falls to 14-8, 1-3 in the conference.

In the first game the Storm took a 5-2 lead early on, capped by a pair of consecutive service aces by junior Kristy Mercein (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow). SJU extended that lead to 9-2 and appeared to be in complete control. But Providence came roaring back, closing the gap to 9-5, and then 11-9. After a St. Johns timeout, the Friars then rallied to tie the score at 11-11. After a number of sideouts, the Friars took the lead for the first time in the game at 13-12 and from there closed out the game 15-12.

The Storm dominated the second game 15-4, after hitting .415 on 18 kills and only one error. In the third game, the Friars got off to a fast start assuming an 8-3 advantage early on. St. Johns called a timeout and then rallied to score the next three points to cut the lead to 8-6. Later in the match, a kill by Roudovski tied the game up at 8-8. Roudovski then smacked down another vicious kill to give the Storm a 9-8 lead. From there the Storm would not trail again and went on to win 15-9 as Mercein put the game away for the Storm with a kill.

The fourth game was an unrelenting battle of determination and hustle on both sides. There were a combined 166 attacks in this game, which lasted 40 minutes. St. Johns took the early lead at 7-3, forcing the Providence coach to call timeout. The Friars later closed the gap to 9-8, and eventually tied the score at 10-10. Although the Storm never surrendered their lead, the Friars would not let up as the score was knotted at 13-13 for quite a while. The Storm finally pulled out the victory.

Roudovski was one of four SJU hitters in double figures as Mercein and senior Amanda Berg (DeKalb, Ill/DeKalb) totaled 17 kills apiece. Senior Aleeza Miller (Los Angeles, Calif./Cal-Berkeley) hit .429 with 15 kills and seven block assists. Freshman Robyn Kurasaki (Milliani, Hawaii/Maryknoll) assisted on 69 kills and had 18 digs.

The Storm will be back in action on Friday, October 13 hosting non-conference opponent Dayton at 4:00 in Alumni Hall.