QUEENS, N.Y. – Another five-setter ended in Villanova volleyball's favor on Friday night, moving the Wildcats to 4-0 this year in five-set matches after an outlasting (25-20, 14-25, 25-17, 17-25, 15-6) of the St. John's Red Storm at Carnesecca Arena to kick off BIG EAST play.

A trio of players contributed double-digit kills for Villanova (10-2, 1-0 BIG EAST), led by a 14-kill, 15-dig double-double from Abby Harrell while Cat Young added 12 terminations and Campbell McKinnon totaled 11 kills in addition to five rejections.

Reagan McGivern posted a team season-high in blocks (match-best nine) and put up eight kills on a match-high .333 hitting while Ava Harris added a career-high four aces and Ava Mehrten totaled six rejections to help the 'Cats to a season-best in blocks.

"We gutted this one out tonight and that's great, this is a hard place to play," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "Ava (Mehrten) saved the day on a number of occasions with her blocking. Hopefully we can re-group and be good tomorrow at Seton Hall."

It's the second straight five-set match the Wildcats have won on the year, the first win over the Johnnies in the last four matchups and moves the VU all-time edge over St. John's to 25-20.

The first frame featured back-and-forth action and a good deal of deadlocks with 12 ties up through 17-all, at which point the Wildcats used an 8-3 run to force a pair of St. John's pauses and finish out the stanza at a 25-20 score.

It was all Johnnies from the start in the second, getting out to a five-point edge to begin and using seven straight scores later for a 25-14 win to even the match at a set apiece.

Villanova responded and then some in the third set, using three separate four-point runs to command the frame and lead by as many as 13 before weathering a late Red Storm run for a 25-17 victory.

A 5-1 St. John's string gave the Johnnies momentum in the fourth and made the Wildcats have to play catchup, but the hosts responded in a one-point game with seven of the next eight and cruised to a 25-17 win of their own to force a fifth.

The 'Cats grabbed the opening seven points of the decisive stanza and led 8-2 at the side switch. St. John's managed to get on the board and took a few points back, but Villanova was too strong to cave and outlasted the Red Storm with a 15-6 victory.