GAINESVILLE, Fla. -

The Red Storm volleyball team (33-3) will be making its first appearance in the regional rounds of the NCAA Tournament this weekend, taking on the No. 5 USC Trojans in the Gainesville regional semifinal action on Friday. The match is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida.

STORM WATCH
St. John's enters the weekend on a 14-match winning streak, picking up home wins over Long Island University (3-0) and Delaware (3-1) in the first and second rounds of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. With the wins, the Red Storm earned a spot in the Round of 16 in the single-elimination tournament.

Four Named To AVCA All-Northeast Region Team
Four members of the 2007 Red Storm volleyball team were named to the American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) All-Northeast Region Team, the AVCA announced Wednesday. Seniors Hui Ping Huang and Wioleta Leszczynska earn the honor for the second consecutive season, while fellow classmate LaToya Blunt and junior Lena Yee land themselves on the list for the first time in their careers.

Red Storm Volleyball Receives Highest Ranking In Program History
The Red Storm is currently ranked No. 13 in the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. This marks the highest that the program has ever appeared in the national poll. St. John's debuted this season at No. 24 on Sept. 3 and has been featured in the poll every week since.

Huang Named College Volleyball Update National Player Of The Week
St. John's senior Hui Ping Huang was named the College Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Player of the Week on Tuesday, Dec. 4, becoming the first Red Storm player to pick up the honor. Huang led St. John's to victories over Long Island and Delaware by picking up a total of 40 kills in the two matches and a blistering .522 hitting percentage.

St. John's Earns First Ever Seeding In NCAA Touranment; Hosts First and Second Rounds
The Red Storm is making its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and its first appearance as a top-16 seeded team, this year via an automatic bid after winning the program's first ever BIG EAST Tournament Championship. St. John's hosted the first and second rounds of the tournament for the first time in program history at Carnesecca Arena on Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1. A record crowd of 1,241 turned out to watch the Red Storm take on the LIU Blackbirds on Friday.

Where They Fare
Nationally:
• Wioleta Leszczynska ranks third in the nation with 14.27 assists per game.
• Hui Ping Huang ranks fourth in the country with a .445 hitting percentage, she also ranks 41st in the nation with 4.63 kills per game.
• LaToya Blunt's .370 hitting percentage ranks 26th on the national list.
• The Red Storm ranks second in the nation in assists per game (16.53) and kills per game (17.69). St. John's also ranks eighth in the country with a .285 team hitting percentage. The team's .917 winning percentage is the seventh-best.
In the BIG EAST:
• Leszczynska remains first in the conference with 14.27 assists per game, marking the 14th straight week she's held on to the top spot.
• Huang has been the BIG EAST leader in hitting percentage for 11 straight weeks. Her 4.63 kills per game ranks third in the conference, while her 1.14 blocks per game is 9th best.
• Blunt's .370 hitting percentage ranks right behind Huang for second in the BIG EAST.
• Lena Yee is third amongst conference defenders with 4.81 digs per game.
• Junior Valeria Kovaleva ranks eighth in the BIG EAST with 0.36 service aces per game.
• St. John's ranks first in the conference in hitting percentage (.285), kills per game (17.69), assists per game (16.53), and digs per game (16.91). The Red Storm ranks fourth in service aces per game (1.73) and sixth in blocks per game (2.55).