St. John’s Welcomes DePaul and Marquette

QUEENS, N.Y. (Nov. 4, 2021) – After splitting a pair of five-set matches on the road, the St. John's volleyball team will return to Queens to start a four-game homestand this weekend.

The Johnnies return to action against DePaul on Friday at 7 p.m. before facing Marquette the following day at 4 p.m. The match against DePaul can be found on ESPN3 while the game against Marquette will be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by JEEP available on FloSports.

St. John's had a weekend of five-set matches on the road defeating Georgetown on Friday before falling to Villanova the following day. The Red Storm won the first set against Georgetown, 25-15, before dropping the next two sets, 25-23, and 27-25. St. John's took the last two sets, 27-25, and 15-10. Rachele Rastelli recorded 35 kills in the match, the highest single-game total by a BIG EAST player this season and the fifth highest single-game total in the nation. Ariadni Kathariou blocked a league-best 14 rejections. Villanova won the first set against the Johnnies, 25-21, before dropping the next two sets, 25-21, and 25-22. The Wildcats took the last two sets, 26-24, and 15-8.

For the second time in as many weeks, Rastelli was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week after her performance at Georgetown. On the season, Rachele Rastelli leads the BIG EAST in kills with a 145-kill lead over Creighton's Jaela Zimmerman in second. She is the only league player to have a kills per set average over 4.00.

On the national leaderboard, St. John's players continue to sit in top spots in multiple statistical categories. Rastelli is currently leading the nation in total points with 512 and second in total kills with 439. She is also no. 13 with 5.22 points per set, no. 16 with 4.48 kills per set and no. 23 with 1,015 total attacks. Kathariou is tied for fifth with 118 total blocks and 36th with 1.30 blocks per set while Tiziana Baumrukova is no. 48 with 852 total assists.

St. John's currently ranks seventh in the 11-team BIG EAST standings boasting a .417 win percentage in conference play and a .538 clip overall. The Red Storm is ranked 88th in RPI. The mark is fifth in the conference after Creighton (11), Marquette (14), Connecticut (61) and DePaul (62).

DePaul is currently sixth in the BIG EAST boasting a 6-6 record in conference action. Last weekend, DePaul defeated Providence in four sets before dropping a three-set match to then-no. 24 Creighton. DePaul is led by Jill Pressly, who was named to the All- BIG EAST Freshman Team last spring, with 3.53 kills per set.

Earlier this season, on Oct. 16, the Blue Demons defeated St. John's in five sets. The Red Storm still holds the overall lead, 18-7.

Marquette, who is receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25 poll, is currently second in the conference with a 10-2 league record. The Golden Eagles will face Seton Hall on Friday before coming to Queens. Marquette is coming off a split weekend having lost in four sets to then-no. 24 Creighton before sweeping Providence the following day. The Golden Eagles return Preseason All-BIG EAST picks Savannah Rennie and Taylor Wolf. Wolf leads Marquette with 2.88 kills per set while Rennie averages 2.79.

Marquette beat St. John's in straight sets on Oct. 15, advancing to a 19-6 overall series lead.

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Players Mentioned

Tiziana Baumrukova

Ariadni Kathariou

Rachele Rastelli

St. John's University Athletics