St. John's University Athletics
Friday, September 7
Nacogdoches, Texas (Robert H. Shelton Gym)
12:00 PM
St. John's University
vs
Stetson
St. John’s to Travel to Texas for Third Non-Conference Tournament
9/6/2018 7:36:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Red Storm to take on Stetson, Stephen F. Austin, and Tennessee State at the event.
After defeating Stony Brook on the road on Tuesday, the Red Storm will continue its road trip, travelling to Nacogdoches, Texas for the Fredonia Hotel/Holiday Inn Express SFA Invitational this weekend.
The Johnnies will open against Stetson on Friday, Sept. 7 against Stetson scheduled for a noon eastern first serve. St. John's will finish action on Friday against host-school Stephen F. Austin at 7:30 p.m. The Red Storm will end the event with a matchup against Tennessee State on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. eastern.
It will be the first time in program history St. John's plays any of these schools and will mark the end of seven-consecutive matches away from Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm has gone 3-1 so far this season on the road and capped off winning the Cornell Invitational last weekend. Redshirt junior Nia Diaz ranks third in the BIG EAST and leads the team with a .379 hitting percentage. She was named to her first career All-Tournament Team alongside Tournament MVP Erica Di Maulo who is averaging 9.71 assists per set ranking fourth in the conference.
Stetson comes into the event with more wins this year than it had in all of 2017. The Hatters finished last season at 3-23, but are 4-2 so far in 2018 after opening the season by winning the FIU Kickoff. This past weekend, Stetson competed at the MTSU Blue Raider Bash finishing with a 1-2 record. They lost to Troy and Austin Peay before defeating Middle Tennessee to close the event. Second-year coach Yang Deng returns Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Hao Jin. The senior middle blocker ranks ninth in the Atlantic Sun in blocks per set (1.04) and is also tied for fifth in service aces (8). Junior Eva Deisa ranked second on the team last year in kills and currently leads the team again with 86 through Stetson's first six matches.
Stephen F. Austin won the Southland Conference last season after finishing with a 14-2 conference record, but was upset in the first round of the conference tournament by Abiliene Christian. The Lumberjacks still earned a bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship before falling to Ole Miss. Head Coach Debby Humphreys was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year for the sixth time in her career last season and is one of 15 coaches with more than 650 career wins. The team was chosen to win the conference in 2018 with 14 first place votes and placed three on the Preseason All-Southland First Team. One of them, Danae Daron, was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Memphis Invitational and currently ranks ninth in the conference with 0.91 blocks per set.
Donika Sutton is in her second season at the helm of Tennessee State. The Tigers come into the tournament at 1-5 on the season after losing all three matches at the Chattanooga Classic. The Tigers fell to North Alabama, Chattanooga and UNC Asheville in the two-day event. After going 7-23 in 2017, the Tigers were picked to finish tenth out of 12 teams in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2018. The team also returns Preseason All-OVC Team member Rachel Henderson. The senior ranks sixth in the conference in kills per set (3.20) and third in blocks per set (1.16) after leading the Tigers in both categories last season.
The Johnnies will open against Stetson on Friday, Sept. 7 against Stetson scheduled for a noon eastern first serve. St. John's will finish action on Friday against host-school Stephen F. Austin at 7:30 p.m. The Red Storm will end the event with a matchup against Tennessee State on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. eastern.
It will be the first time in program history St. John's plays any of these schools and will mark the end of seven-consecutive matches away from Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm has gone 3-1 so far this season on the road and capped off winning the Cornell Invitational last weekend. Redshirt junior Nia Diaz ranks third in the BIG EAST and leads the team with a .379 hitting percentage. She was named to her first career All-Tournament Team alongside Tournament MVP Erica Di Maulo who is averaging 9.71 assists per set ranking fourth in the conference.
Stetson comes into the event with more wins this year than it had in all of 2017. The Hatters finished last season at 3-23, but are 4-2 so far in 2018 after opening the season by winning the FIU Kickoff. This past weekend, Stetson competed at the MTSU Blue Raider Bash finishing with a 1-2 record. They lost to Troy and Austin Peay before defeating Middle Tennessee to close the event. Second-year coach Yang Deng returns Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Hao Jin. The senior middle blocker ranks ninth in the Atlantic Sun in blocks per set (1.04) and is also tied for fifth in service aces (8). Junior Eva Deisa ranked second on the team last year in kills and currently leads the team again with 86 through Stetson's first six matches.
Stephen F. Austin won the Southland Conference last season after finishing with a 14-2 conference record, but was upset in the first round of the conference tournament by Abiliene Christian. The Lumberjacks still earned a bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship before falling to Ole Miss. Head Coach Debby Humphreys was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year for the sixth time in her career last season and is one of 15 coaches with more than 650 career wins. The team was chosen to win the conference in 2018 with 14 first place votes and placed three on the Preseason All-Southland First Team. One of them, Danae Daron, was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Memphis Invitational and currently ranks ninth in the conference with 0.91 blocks per set.
Donika Sutton is in her second season at the helm of Tennessee State. The Tigers come into the tournament at 1-5 on the season after losing all three matches at the Chattanooga Classic. The Tigers fell to North Alabama, Chattanooga and UNC Asheville in the two-day event. After going 7-23 in 2017, the Tigers were picked to finish tenth out of 12 teams in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2018. The team also returns Preseason All-OVC Team member Rachel Henderson. The senior ranks sixth in the conference in kills per set (3.20) and third in blocks per set (1.16) after leading the Tigers in both categories last season.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
St. John's Women's Volleyball vs Delaware State Highlights 9.13.2025
Saturday, September 13
Volleyball vs Marist Highlights 9.12.2025
Friday, September 12
Postgame Press Conference St. John's Volleyball vs Bowling Green 12.13
Saturday, December 14
Postgame Press Conference St. John's Volleyball vs UCONN 12.12
Thursday, December 12