Returning to the Mountaintop

In 1994, St. John's legend Jack Kaiser hired Joanne Persico to become the head coach of the school's first varsity volleyball team. After meeting with Senior Deputy Athletics Director Kathleen Meehan and the athletic department's search committee, Persico had only one question.

"Where's the volleyball court?" said Persico. "Kathy said that we didn't have one, so I had to ask Coach Carnesecca to put holes in his floor. He said, 'Persico, you can't drill holes, you're going to hit water! We're on a golf course!' I ended up getting the gentleman that drilled the holes on the court for Georgetown University. I said, 'If Big John Thompson was ok with the holes that volleyball drilled, then we'll get the same guy to drill our holes.' And we did."

Persico accepted the position eager to build the St. John's volleyball program from the ground up. What she thought was going to be a job quickly became her life. It was a vocation that presented Persico with a surplus of obstacles before eventually satisfying her itch for success.

In their first-ever season, the Johnnies posted a 10-25 record and went winless in conference play. In 1995, the Red Storm won 24 matches and earned a bid to the BIG EAST Tournament before dropping its opening round contest to Villanova.

After falling in the first round of the conference tournament again in 1996, the Johnnies failed to return to the tournament for the next eight seasons despite racking up 20-plus wins in 2000 and 2003.

St. John's eventually worked its way back to the league tournament in 2005 where the team endured a four-set semifinal loss to Cincinnati.

This loss, however, resonated different and marked the start of an unprecedented three-year reign at the top of the BIG EAST.

"In the beginning, when you're fighting to win a championship and you're fighting and fighting, it's not until you win a championship that you realize what you were doing was really the right thing," said Persico. "It's at that point that you realize you actually went about it the right way."

The Red Storm opened its 2006 campaign on a tear, rattling off nine straight wins to start the season. After suffering a straight-set loss to national powerhouse USC, the Johnnies got right back on their horse, ripping off 21 straight victories and cruising to a 14-0 record in BIG EAST play. The Red Storm's unchallenged run to the BIG EAST Regular Season title marked just the third time in school history that a team had gone unbeaten in league play and the first since the men's soccer team posted a 6-0-2 record in 1993. For the first time in program history, the Johnnies were heading to the NCAA Tournament, where they won their opener against Albany before falling to Minnesota in five sets.

Riding high off their success from the previous season, the Johnnies experienced no letdown in 2007, racking up 28 regular season victories and recording a 13-1 conference record, good enough for the program's second straight BIG EAST Regular Season Championship. After failing to capture a conference tournament crown despite their unprecedented success a year ago, the Johnnies had no intention of repeating their fate. The Red Storm swept Connecticut, took down USF in four sets and swept No. 21 Louisville in the championship match, securing the program's first-ever BIG EAST Tournament title.

Playing host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, St. John's took down LIU and Delaware to earn a spot in the Round of 16. Taking on USC at the University of Florida, the Red Storm forced the Trojans to five sets before falling to the tournament's no. 5 overall seed. The sting of defeat stilled loomed large, but the Johnnies quickly realized the enormity of what they had accomplished; finishing the season with 33 wins and recording the deepest postseason run in program history.

"Representing our university, our hometowns, our club teams, our conference and our families in the NCAA tournament was a proud moment for our program," said Persico. "Going up against USC and taking them to five sets showed the volleyball world that the kids from Queens can play volleyball too. It also showed the nation that you can take players from various places domestically and internationally to create not just an enthusiastic synergy among the team, but also a technical team synergy as well."

Following a relatively slow start to the 2008 campaign, the Red Storm rebounded and racked up its third consecutive regular season crown, going 12-2 in BIG EAST play and finishing the season 22-9 overall.

"During the dynasty years of 2006 to 2008, similar to this year's team, we had terrific chemistry, and everyone dominated their role both on and off the court," said Persico. "No matter how big the stakes were they just thrived under pressure, came out swinging every time and had a ton of fun doing it. Being able to capture three straight conference titles and 'own the BIG EAST' as Coach Carnesecca would say, was a tribute to those players."

St. John's strived to capture a conference championship the next 10 seasons but struggled to work its way back to the mountaintop. After posting a 10-21 overall record in 2011, the Johnnies improved to 20 wins the next season.

In 2013, St. John's opened its campaign with a new slate of challenges following the BIG EAST's reconfiguration. The Johnnies now squared off with three new schools in the conference: Creighton, Butler and Xavier.

The Red Storm failed to post a winning record in BIG EAST play until the 2018 season, when St. John's re-established itself as a true contender in the conference. The Johnnies notched a 23-12 overall record and went 12-6 in league play. St. John's also earned its first bid to the NIVC Tournament before dropping their opening round matchup to Charleston.

Persico and her staff were named the 2018 BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year for the second time in her career after leading the team to its highest win total since 2007.

"That year, we started the charge to get where we are today," said Persico. "That team really started to learn how to win big games under pressure and you can't teach anyone that. They have to experience big games under pressure and learn how to be successful."

During her 26th season at the helm of St. John's volleyball in 2019, Persico took on her most difficult non-conference schedule to date, facing four top-25 teams and nine opponents that earned bids to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

The Johnnies picked up a marquee win on Sept. 19 by taking down then-No. 14 Oregon in four sets before picking up another four-set victory over Duke the next day to win the Hofstra Invitational.

The Red Storm continued to show promise throughout the year and ended the regular season by winning six of its last seven matches, five of which came in straight sets. It was during this dominant win streak that Persico earned her 500th career victory in the Johnnies' three-set sweep against Seton Hall on Nov. 15.

"500 wins is really special," said Persico. "It was a special moment and when I look back, it was all of the players that played and wore the red jerseys for us all of those years. I always go back to the first year's team because I was a first-year coach and those young ladies signed up to play. That first year we built a good foundation and the first few teams that we had here really helped me find my way as a coach and they played hard. We became successful off of the fundamental core values of hard work, enthusiasm, dedication and respect."

Once the regular season came to a close, St. John's entered the BIG EAST Tournament as the no.4 seed and shocked the volleyball world by sweeping the top-seeded Creighton Bluejays in the semifinal round.

The Red Storm defeated second-seeded Marquette in four sets the following day to win its second conference tournament championship. After taking down two top-25 teams in a span of 24 hours, St. John's became one of just 32 programs to earn an automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

The Johnnies were the best in the BIG EAST once again.

"I'm so proud of them," said Persico. "It was so joyful for me to see the players celebrate after both matches because you could just see how much they wanted it. You can only celebrate like that and feel that joy if you have given it all that you had to get there. Those two celebrations were a result of a team that had left it all out there on a court and had their dream come true."

With more than 500 career victories now under her belt, Persico, the longest tenured female coach in St. John's history, hopes to continue the team's renewed success in the years to come.

"I'm really proud of where we are," said Persico. "We're hoping, pushing, working and building to continue the success because once you get a taste of it, you want to do it again."

St. John's University Athletics

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