St. John's University Athletics
Rachele Rastelli Named AVCA All-America Honorable Mention
12/15/2021 3:37:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The senior earns accolade following a standout season.
QUEENS, N.Y. (Dec. 15, 2021) –Senior right-side hitter Rachele Rastelli has been named an AVCA Division I Honorable Mention All-American, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced on Wednesday.
Rastelli becomes the 15th player in program history to earn All-America status. The honor comes just one week after Rastelli was named to the AVCA East Coast All-Region team for the second time during her St. John's tenure.
"Rachele Rastelli has climbed to the top of the NCAA volleyball charts because of her outstanding work ethic and her desire to continue to be one of the greatest players in the game today," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "I am especially proud of her ability to take on more of a leadership role this year and overcome adversity towards the end of the season that will no doubt make her even stronger and more focused next season. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Rachele is also an All-Academic honor student and an example of the consummate student athlete."
The senior led the BIG EAST with 4.44 kills per ser and 5.19 points per frame over the course of the season. Despite not playing in the final two weeks of action, Rastelli finished with a 40-kill lead over Creighton's Norah Sis in second place. For these efforts, Rastelli was named the BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year on Nov. 24 joining Efrosini Alexakou, Wioleta Leszczynska and Hui Ping Huang as the only Johnnies to earn the conference's highest individual honor.
The Parma, Italy, native took Division I by storm this season, ranking inside the top 50 of four different statical categories. Her 5.19 points per set currently place her 14th in the nation.
Rastelli earned her third straight selection to the conference's All-BIG EAST Team this season after receiving three selections to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll and being named BIG EAST Player of the Week four times.
Rastelli etched her place in the St. John's record books on Sept. 3, joining the 1,000 kill club during the team's match against Cornell. She currently ranks fourth on the program's all-time kills list with 1,415 kills.
Rastelli becomes the 15th player in program history to earn All-America status. The honor comes just one week after Rastelli was named to the AVCA East Coast All-Region team for the second time during her St. John's tenure.
"Rachele Rastelli has climbed to the top of the NCAA volleyball charts because of her outstanding work ethic and her desire to continue to be one of the greatest players in the game today," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "I am especially proud of her ability to take on more of a leadership role this year and overcome adversity towards the end of the season that will no doubt make her even stronger and more focused next season. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Rachele is also an All-Academic honor student and an example of the consummate student athlete."
The senior led the BIG EAST with 4.44 kills per ser and 5.19 points per frame over the course of the season. Despite not playing in the final two weeks of action, Rastelli finished with a 40-kill lead over Creighton's Norah Sis in second place. For these efforts, Rastelli was named the BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year on Nov. 24 joining Efrosini Alexakou, Wioleta Leszczynska and Hui Ping Huang as the only Johnnies to earn the conference's highest individual honor.
The Parma, Italy, native took Division I by storm this season, ranking inside the top 50 of four different statical categories. Her 5.19 points per set currently place her 14th in the nation.
Rastelli earned her third straight selection to the conference's All-BIG EAST Team this season after receiving three selections to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll and being named BIG EAST Player of the Week four times.
Rastelli etched her place in the St. John's record books on Sept. 3, joining the 1,000 kill club during the team's match against Cornell. She currently ranks fourth on the program's all-time kills list with 1,415 kills.
Players Mentioned
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