Red Storm Heads to Providence and No. 10 Creighton

Match Notes
Providence Live Stats
Providence Live Broadcast (Paid Subscription)
Creighton Live Stats
Creighton Live Broadcast

The St. John's volleyball team will travel to Providence and tenth-ranked Creighton to continue the BIG EAST conference season.

The Red Storm will take on the Friars at 6 p.m. on Friday before making the trip to Omaha to play the Bluejays at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The match against Providence can be seen with a paid subscription on Friars.com with the Creighton match being broadcast on Fox Sports Go. Free live stats for both can be found on the team websites.

St. John's (14-6, 3-2 BIG EAST) took its weekend contest over Seton Hall on Saturday at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm hit .319 as a team in the three-set victory over the Pirates. Efrosini Alexakou led the way with 13 kills and added 12 digs for her fifth-straight double-double and sixth of the season.

Amanda Sanabia added 25 digs, eclipsing 400 digs on the season. The junior currently ranks ninth in program history in career digs and trails Karin Palgutova by 25 digs for eighth on the all-time list. The Annapolis, Md., native is the reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week and has been honored by the conference in some capacity in four-consecutive weeks.

Erica Di Maulo currently ranks third in the nation with 776 assists through 80 sets this season. The setter already ranks fifth in program history with 3,191 career assists and ranks third in the BIG EAST with 9.70 assists per set. Nia Diaz is second in the conference with a .363 hitting percentage and ranks third on the team with 150 kills this season.

Providence comes into the weekend at 7-8 on the season and 1-3 in BIG EAST play. The Friars fell in straight sets on the road last weekend to Xavier and Butler, and the team's lone win came at home against DePaul in five sets. Margot Royer-Johnson is in her 19th season leading Providence. The Friars are coming off a season in which they won 17 matches, which was their most since winning 19 in 2007.

Senior Allison Impellizeri leads the Friars in kills per set, hitting percentage, and blocks per set. The middle blocker posted season highs against DePaul with five digs and five aces. Impellizeri is hitting a .367 clip in conference matches, which ranks fourth in the BIG EAST.

St. John's took both matches from Providence last season and leads the all-time series at 16-5. The Red Storm is 6-3 at Providence in program history and is 10-1 against Providence in the last 11 matches against the team.

Creighton will enter the weekend ranked tenth in the nation and the last remaining unbeaten team in the conference at 4-0 in BIG EAST play after knocking off Butler and Xavier on the road last weekend.

The Bluejays boast three Preseason All-BIG EAST Team members in Taryn Kloth, Jaali Winters, and Brittany Witt and were selected to finish second in the conference behind Marquette. Madelyn Cole leads the BIG EAST in assists per set (10.51) and also leads the team in service aces with 17.

The Bluejays are 12-4 overall and played a strong nonconference schedule to prepare for BIG EAST play. All four of the team's losses came against teams either currently ranked or who received votes in the most recent AVCA Coaches' Poll. The Bluejays also defeated Kentucky who was ranked fifth in the country at the time and are currently ranked 18th.

Kirsten Bernthal Booth is the winningest coach in program history and is now in her 16th season as head coach of Creighton and has three National Coach of the Year Awards to her name. The Bluejays have made the NCAA Tournament in seven of the last eight seasons.

Creighton has won the past nine matches against St. John's and owns 9-1 record all-time against the Johnnies. The Red Storm's one victory came at Creighton in 2013.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Efrosini Alexakou

Erica Di Maulo

Nia Diaz

Amanda Sanabia

St. John's University Athletics