Bessler's School Record 33 Kills Leads Xavier to Five-Set Victory Over St. John's

Saturday, September 26

Cincinnati, Ohio

8 P.M.

Xavier University

7-6, 3-0BIG EAST

St. John's

11-6, 1-1BIG EAST

St. John's

Xavier

Bessler's School Record 33 Kills Leads Xavier to Five-Set Victory Over St. John's

09.26.15 | Volleyball

Box Score

Musketeers come-from-behind to remain undefeated in BIG EAST play

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Junior Abbey Bessler posted a school record 33 kills on Saturday night, leading the Xavier volleyball team to a come-from-behind five-set victory (17-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-13) over St. John's at Cintas Center.

The previous record was 29 kills, set by Kate Duchek against Duquesne on Oct. 16, 2004. Bessler has posted 25 or more kills in a match three times in her career.

Xavier remains undefeated in BIG EAST play with a 3-0 record, while improving to 7-6 overall. St. John's falls to 11-6 (1-1 BIG EAST).

Down 2-0, the Musketeers engineered the start of the comeback late in third set. Trailing 22-18, Xavier scored seven unanswered points - capped by three straight kills by Bessler - to win the set, 25-22. All told, the third frame had 10 ties and six lead changes.

Xavier jumped out to a 5-3 advantage in the fourth set and never trailed for the remainder of the stanza - holding on for the 25-22 victory. The Musketeers hit .389 in the frame with 10 kills coming from Bessler.

Tied at 11 in the fifth set, Xavier closed the match on a 4-2 run capped by Bessler's 33rd kill of the night to seal the come-from-behind victory. The Musketeers posted a .524 hitting percentage in the final stanza.

Bessler posted her third double-double in as many matches and eighth of the season as the junior added 11 digs in the win. Meredith Klare recorded a match-high 22 digs.

Sofia Peterson added a career-high 14 kills in the win to go along with a .464 hitting percentage. Makayla Agin added seven kills, while Laura Grossman chipped in six.

Setters McKena Estes and Mackenzi Humm both had 27 assists for the Musketeers.

St. John's had six more blocks (12-6) than Xavier in the match. The Red Storm were paced by Karin Palgutova's 19 kills and Deniz Mutlugil's 57 assists.

Xavier returns to action at DePaul on Wednesday, Sept. 30. First serve is slated for 8 p.m. EST.