St. John's University Athletics
Three Johnnies Unanimously Selected to All-BIG EAST Team
11/27/2019 2:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Erica Di Maulo, Efrosini Alexakou and Rachele Rastelli were three of eight players to earn unanimous selections
QUEENS, N.Y. (Nov. 27, 2019) – After establishing its second straight 20-win season and BIG EAST Tournament berth, the St. John's volleyball team's Erica Di Maulo, Efrosini Alexakou and Rachele Rastelli nabbed unanimous selections to the All-BIG EAST Team in an announcement made by the conference on Wednesday.
This marks Di Maulo's fourth consecutive All-BIG EAST selection. Alexakou was also named to the all-conference team for the second straight season while Rastelli earned her first-ever selection to the squad.
Di Maulo capped off her final regular season with the Red Storm by cementing herself as one of the program's all-time greats. The Johnnies' setter became St. John's all-time assists leader after recording her 4,777th assist in the Red Storm's 3-0 win over Seton Hall on Nov. 15 and currently has 4,886 career helpers. Di Maulo also set a new program record with 148 all-time service aces and has been named to the conference's weekly honor roll three times this year.
The Milan, Italy, native ranks second in the league with 0.41 service aces per set this season while her 10.10 assists per set place third in the conference. Di Maulo also leads the team with 1,080 assists, 44 services aces and has amassed over 1,000 career digs.
Former BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Alexakou, has been plastered all over the conference leaderboards this season, ranking first in BIG EAST play with 5.07 points per set. The sophomore's 4.49 kills per set also placed second in the league. The Johnnies' outside hitter was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 24 and Nov. 8 while also being selected to the conference's weekly honor roll six times in 2019.
Alexakou has several BIG EAST season-highs this year including the most points in a three-set match (20.5), most points in a four-set match (30.5) and most kills in a four-set match (28). Alexakou's 28 kills came in St. John's marquee win over then-No. 14 Oregon on September 19. The Thessaloniki, Greece, product also leads the Red Storm with 449 kills and ranks second on the team with 252 digs.
Rastelli has been an offensive force for the Johnnies all season and was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 14. Rastelli earned the accolade after posting 16 kills and a .462 hitting percentage in St. John's 3-0 win over Xavier. The sophomore followed that performance with 11 kills while hitting at a .362 clip in the Red Storm's three-set sweep against Butler.
The right side hitter closed out the regular season ranked fifth in conference play with 3.97 points per set and sixth with 3.30 kills per set. Rastelli has also collected 334 kills, 132 digs, 76 blocks and 26 service aces for the Johnnies.
The fourth-seeded Red Storm will open postseason play when the team takes on No. 1 seed Creighton this Friday in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament at 6:30 p.m. ET. The match will be held at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wis. The winner of the matchup will play the victor of the second semifinal match between No. 2 seed Marquette and No. 3 seed Villanova scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. The tournament final will be played on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 4:30 p.m. ET and will air live nationally on FS2.
2019 BIG EAST Volleyball Regular Season Awards
BIG EAST Player of the Year
Allie Barber, Marquette, Sr., OH ^
BIG EAST Libero of the Year
Brittany Witt, Creighton, Sr., L
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Keeley Davis, Creighton, Fr., OH ^
Coaching Staff of the Year
Creighton (Head Coach: Kirsten Bernthal Booth)
All-BIG EAST Team
(listed alphabetically by institution, then last name)
Melody Davidson, Butler, So., MB
Brooke Gregory, Butler, Sr., MB
Megan Ballenger, Creighton, Sr., MB ^
Madelyn Cole, Creighton, Sr., S ^
Keeley Davis, Creighton, Fr., OH
Brittany Witt, Creighton, Sr., L ^
Jaela Zimmerman, Creighton, So., OH
Donna Brown, DePaul, So., MB
Brittany Maxwell, DePaul, Sr., OH ^
Allie Barber, Marquette, Sr., OH ^
Martha Konovodoff, Marquette, Jr., L
Hope Werch, Marquette, Jr., OH
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's, So., OH ^
Erica Di Maulo, St. John's, Sr., S ^
Rachele Rastelli, St. John's, So., RS ^
Emma Decker, Villanova, Sr., S
Sophia Howling, Villanova, So., MB
Allie Olsonoski, Villanova, Sr., MB
All-BIG EAST Freshman Team
(listed alphabetically by institution, then last name)
Keeley Davis, Creighton, Fr., OH ^
Peyton Wilhite, Georgetown, Fr., RS
Hannah Vanden Berg, Marquette, Fr., OH ^
Jennifer Leitman, Providence, Fr., OH
Kathleen Johnson, Villanova, Fr., RS
Lauren Hanlon, Xavier, Fr., RS
^ - denotes unanimous selection
This marks Di Maulo's fourth consecutive All-BIG EAST selection. Alexakou was also named to the all-conference team for the second straight season while Rastelli earned her first-ever selection to the squad.
Di Maulo capped off her final regular season with the Red Storm by cementing herself as one of the program's all-time greats. The Johnnies' setter became St. John's all-time assists leader after recording her 4,777th assist in the Red Storm's 3-0 win over Seton Hall on Nov. 15 and currently has 4,886 career helpers. Di Maulo also set a new program record with 148 all-time service aces and has been named to the conference's weekly honor roll three times this year.
The Milan, Italy, native ranks second in the league with 0.41 service aces per set this season while her 10.10 assists per set place third in the conference. Di Maulo also leads the team with 1,080 assists, 44 services aces and has amassed over 1,000 career digs.
Former BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Alexakou, has been plastered all over the conference leaderboards this season, ranking first in BIG EAST play with 5.07 points per set. The sophomore's 4.49 kills per set also placed second in the league. The Johnnies' outside hitter was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 24 and Nov. 8 while also being selected to the conference's weekly honor roll six times in 2019.
Alexakou has several BIG EAST season-highs this year including the most points in a three-set match (20.5), most points in a four-set match (30.5) and most kills in a four-set match (28). Alexakou's 28 kills came in St. John's marquee win over then-No. 14 Oregon on September 19. The Thessaloniki, Greece, product also leads the Red Storm with 449 kills and ranks second on the team with 252 digs.
Rastelli has been an offensive force for the Johnnies all season and was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 14. Rastelli earned the accolade after posting 16 kills and a .462 hitting percentage in St. John's 3-0 win over Xavier. The sophomore followed that performance with 11 kills while hitting at a .362 clip in the Red Storm's three-set sweep against Butler.
The right side hitter closed out the regular season ranked fifth in conference play with 3.97 points per set and sixth with 3.30 kills per set. Rastelli has also collected 334 kills, 132 digs, 76 blocks and 26 service aces for the Johnnies.
The fourth-seeded Red Storm will open postseason play when the team takes on No. 1 seed Creighton this Friday in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament at 6:30 p.m. ET. The match will be held at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wis. The winner of the matchup will play the victor of the second semifinal match between No. 2 seed Marquette and No. 3 seed Villanova scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. The tournament final will be played on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 4:30 p.m. ET and will air live nationally on FS2.
2019 BIG EAST Volleyball Regular Season Awards
BIG EAST Player of the Year
Allie Barber, Marquette, Sr., OH ^
BIG EAST Libero of the Year
Brittany Witt, Creighton, Sr., L
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Keeley Davis, Creighton, Fr., OH ^
Coaching Staff of the Year
Creighton (Head Coach: Kirsten Bernthal Booth)
All-BIG EAST Team
(listed alphabetically by institution, then last name)
Melody Davidson, Butler, So., MB
Brooke Gregory, Butler, Sr., MB
Megan Ballenger, Creighton, Sr., MB ^
Madelyn Cole, Creighton, Sr., S ^
Keeley Davis, Creighton, Fr., OH
Brittany Witt, Creighton, Sr., L ^
Jaela Zimmerman, Creighton, So., OH
Donna Brown, DePaul, So., MB
Brittany Maxwell, DePaul, Sr., OH ^
Allie Barber, Marquette, Sr., OH ^
Martha Konovodoff, Marquette, Jr., L
Hope Werch, Marquette, Jr., OH
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's, So., OH ^
Erica Di Maulo, St. John's, Sr., S ^
Rachele Rastelli, St. John's, So., RS ^
Emma Decker, Villanova, Sr., S
Sophia Howling, Villanova, So., MB
Allie Olsonoski, Villanova, Sr., MB
All-BIG EAST Freshman Team
(listed alphabetically by institution, then last name)
Keeley Davis, Creighton, Fr., OH ^
Peyton Wilhite, Georgetown, Fr., RS
Hannah Vanden Berg, Marquette, Fr., OH ^
Jennifer Leitman, Providence, Fr., OH
Kathleen Johnson, Villanova, Fr., RS
Lauren Hanlon, Xavier, Fr., RS
^ - denotes unanimous selection
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
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