Weber State University Athletics
Friday, September 2
Las Vegas, NV
7:00 PM MT
Weber State University
4-1,0-0Big Sky
3
vs
1
St. John's
3-2,0-0Big East
1
2
3
4
F
St. John's (NY)
18
15
25
21
1
Weber St.
25
25
14
25
3
Photo by: Robert Casey
Storm Chasing: Wildcats Beat Red Storm in Las Vegas
9/2/2022 11:07:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The Wildcats returned to their winnings ways on Friday night in Cox Pavilion with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-15, 14-25, 25-21) win over the St. John's Red Storm.
Weber State seized a 2-1 lead in the match's opening set and wouldn't relinquish it in what was a dominating first stanza. The lead ballooned to eight points on a few different occasions and ultimately finished off at 25-18, WSU held St. John's to a .000 hitting percentage for the set.
It was more of the same for the 'Cats in the second. Weber State got out to a big lead early on and kept its foot on the proverbial gas pedal. The highlight of the second set was when defensive specialist – and the smallest player on the court – Macy Sumrall lunged at a ball from the back row that floated over the Red Storm defense and found the floor in the back corner for a kill. The Wildcats took the set 25-15 and took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The tables turned in the third set, however. St. John's, who had been hitting .000 through two sets, found its way around the dominating Wildcat block and tallied 14 kills in the set to go along with a pair of aces. Weber State had no answer, and the Red Storm ran away with the third set 25-14.
For a period of time it seemed like St. John's was going to run away with the fourth set, too. The Red Storm held four-point advantages on a couple of occasions throughout the set, and had a 19-16 lead prior to Weber State making its move. Following an attacking error from St. John's, Dani Richins went off in one of the most epic sequences of her storied career.
Ace.
Ace.
Ace.
The All-American went back-to-back-to-back from the service line to give the 'Cats a 20-19 lead and forcing St. John's to take a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, true freshman Ashley Gneiting had a hard swing on the left side for a kill to extend the Wildcat lead. Weber State scored on four of the match's final six points to round things out at 25-21, and improve to 4-1 on the season.
NOTABLES
-Gneiting led all players in kills with 16 kills on 32 swings, and she swung an impressive .316 for the match
-Richins ended the night with 13 kills, a trio of service aces, and 10 digs to give her another double-double.
-Baylee Bodily was tremendous in the offense for the evening, racking up 10 kills on 15 swings for a .533 hitting percentage.
-Kate Standifird led all players with 38 dimes and also chipped in nine digs.
-Weber State outblocked St. John's 12.0-5.0, and was led by Emma Mangum who had three solo and four total blocks.
-Friday night's match was the first time in history that Weber State had ever played St. John's in volleyball.
QUOTABLES
"Yeah, it's about getting better everyday. We got better than we were yesterday, it's not so much about getting in the win column, it's about playing a decent level of volleyball. […] (Dani) wasn't having a great fourth set, but her for her dial in for three aces to get us back into that game and get us the lead was a huge deal. That's kind of how she's been. She's got to keep on doing that kind of stuff, being able to pull herself out of funks whenever she gets in them." – Jeremiah Larsen
UP NEXT
Weber State finishes the UNLV Rebel Classic on Saturday afternoon at 4 PM MT against the Miami Hurricanes. This will be the first time in school history that Weber State plays Miami in volleyball.
TICKETS
Season and single match tickets are on sale and can be purchased online or by calling the Weber State ticket office at 801-626-8500.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure to follow Weber State volleyball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to stay up to date with everything happening with the Wildcats.
Weber State seized a 2-1 lead in the match's opening set and wouldn't relinquish it in what was a dominating first stanza. The lead ballooned to eight points on a few different occasions and ultimately finished off at 25-18, WSU held St. John's to a .000 hitting percentage for the set.
It was more of the same for the 'Cats in the second. Weber State got out to a big lead early on and kept its foot on the proverbial gas pedal. The highlight of the second set was when defensive specialist – and the smallest player on the court – Macy Sumrall lunged at a ball from the back row that floated over the Red Storm defense and found the floor in the back corner for a kill. The Wildcats took the set 25-15 and took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The tables turned in the third set, however. St. John's, who had been hitting .000 through two sets, found its way around the dominating Wildcat block and tallied 14 kills in the set to go along with a pair of aces. Weber State had no answer, and the Red Storm ran away with the third set 25-14.
For a period of time it seemed like St. John's was going to run away with the fourth set, too. The Red Storm held four-point advantages on a couple of occasions throughout the set, and had a 19-16 lead prior to Weber State making its move. Following an attacking error from St. John's, Dani Richins went off in one of the most epic sequences of her storied career.
Ace.
Ace.
Ace.
The All-American went back-to-back-to-back from the service line to give the 'Cats a 20-19 lead and forcing St. John's to take a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, true freshman Ashley Gneiting had a hard swing on the left side for a kill to extend the Wildcat lead. Weber State scored on four of the match's final six points to round things out at 25-21, and improve to 4-1 on the season.
NOTABLES
-Gneiting led all players in kills with 16 kills on 32 swings, and she swung an impressive .316 for the match
-Richins ended the night with 13 kills, a trio of service aces, and 10 digs to give her another double-double.
-Baylee Bodily was tremendous in the offense for the evening, racking up 10 kills on 15 swings for a .533 hitting percentage.
-Kate Standifird led all players with 38 dimes and also chipped in nine digs.
-Weber State outblocked St. John's 12.0-5.0, and was led by Emma Mangum who had three solo and four total blocks.
-Friday night's match was the first time in history that Weber State had ever played St. John's in volleyball.
QUOTABLES
"Yeah, it's about getting better everyday. We got better than we were yesterday, it's not so much about getting in the win column, it's about playing a decent level of volleyball. […] (Dani) wasn't having a great fourth set, but her for her dial in for three aces to get us back into that game and get us the lead was a huge deal. That's kind of how she's been. She's got to keep on doing that kind of stuff, being able to pull herself out of funks whenever she gets in them." – Jeremiah Larsen
UP NEXT
Weber State finishes the UNLV Rebel Classic on Saturday afternoon at 4 PM MT against the Miami Hurricanes. This will be the first time in school history that Weber State plays Miami in volleyball.
TICKETS
Season and single match tickets are on sale and can be purchased online or by calling the Weber State ticket office at 801-626-8500.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure to follow Weber State volleyball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to stay up to date with everything happening with the Wildcats.
Team Stats
SJU
Weber
Kills
43
47
Errors
22
16
Attempts
119
118
Hitting %
.176
.263
Points
53
68
Assists
41
46
Aces
5
9
Blocks
5
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
13
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballWeber State Volleyball In-Depth | Episode 16: Stacia Barker
Tuesday, September 09
Wildcat Invitational Highlights
Sunday, August 31
President Mortensen with volleyball - August 2025
Tuesday, August 26
Weber State Volleyball In-Depth | Episode 15: Brielle Rueckert
Wednesday, August 13