Red Storm Prepares for Final Home Weekend of 2018

Friday, November 2

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

7:00 PM

St. John's University

Creighton

11/1/2018 9:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

St. John’s will host Providence for Senior Day on Saturday

By: Eric Robinson

Coach Persico Celebration Info

The St. John's volleyball team will play its final home matches of 2018 this weekend as the Red Storm takes on #9 Creighton on Friday before playing Providence on Saturday for the annual Senior Day.

Additionally, there will be a celebration for Head Coach Joanne Persico and her 25 years as the head coach of the St. John's volleyball program before the match on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the President's Room before Johnnies go head-to-head against Providence. The event is free for volleyball alumnae and $50 for additional guests.

Both matches will have live stats available and will be broadcast on ESPN3. The Red Storm will kick of the weekend at 7 p.m. on Friday against #9 Creighton.

The Bluejays took the first match against the Red Storm in three sets at Creighton and have not lost a conference game since Nov. 17, 2017 entering the match at Carnesecca Arena. In 12 BIG EAST matches, Creighton has only dropped six sets and are 20-4 overall this season.

Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Taryn Kloth leads the team with 356 kills, and ranks second in the conference with 4.09 kills per set. The Bluejays also boast the BIG EAST's leader in assists per set. Madelyn Cole ranks first with 10.79 assists per set and second in overall assists with 939 behind Erica Di Maulo, who ranks third in the nation with 1,118 assists this season.

Creighton has taken the past ten matches against the Red Storm and owns a 10-1 record over the Johnnies all-time. The Red Storm was led by Rachele Rastelli with 11 kills in the first match in Omaha.

The Red Storm will finish their 2018 home matches on Saturday against Providence with the celebration for Coach Persico preceding the match. All proceeds from the event will go to assist the volleyball program.

Before the match, there will be a short ceremony honoring St. John's three seniors, Lexie Lobdell, Yanjiao Zhao, and Nia Diaz.

Providence enters the weekend at 8-15 with a 2-10 BIG EAST record. The Friars are coming off a 1-1 weekend after dropping DePaul on the road in straight sets before being swept by Marquette on Saturday.

The Friars have two members with more than 250 kills on the season, Addison Root, 261, and Allison Impellizeri, 257. The pair ranks seventh and eighth in the BIG EAST in kills per set, respectively. Allison Barber ranks second in the conference with 10.13 assists per set, meaning both players who rank above Di Maulo will be in Queens over the weekend.

The Red Storm defeated Providence on the road in four sets on Oct. 5 with Kayley Wood posting 20 kills in the victory. That improved St. John's record against the Friars to 17-5 all-time, now winning 11 of the last 12 matches in the series.