St. John's University Athletics
Friday, April 2
Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)
2:30 PM ET
St. John's University
vs
Marquette University
St. John’s Readies for BIG EAST Semifinal against Marquette
3/31/2021 6:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The reigning BIG EAST Champions square off with the second-seeded Golden Eagles at 2:30 p.m. ET
QUEENS, N.Y. (March 31, 2021) – After closing out its regular season schedule with five straight league victories to capture the top seed in the conference's East Division, the St. John's volleyball team will kick off postseason play against No. 2 seed Marquette on Friday in the semifinal round of the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship Presented by JEEP.
The Red Storm will take on the Golden Eagles at 2:30 p.m. ET inside D.J. Sokol Arena. The match will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network Presented by SoFi with Bob Brainerd and Jill Dorsey-Hall on the call from Omaha.
No. 1 seed Creighton will face off with No. 2 seed UConn in the first semifinal contest on April 2 at 12:00 p.m. ET. The BIG EAST Championship final will be played on April 3 at 12:30 p.m. ET with a live broadcast airing on FS1.
St. John's (10-3, 6-2 BIG EAST) clinched its third straight tournament appearance with its sweep of Villanova on March 23. As a team, the Red Storm posted a conference-best .256 hitting percentage, 13.29 assists per set, and 13.92 kills per frame on the season.
Juniors Efrosini Alexakou and Rachele Rastelli have arguably been the two most dominant hitters in the BIG EAST this season. The duo each averaged 4.31 kills per set in conference play, ranking first in the league. Rastelli also led the BIG EAST with 4.98 points per frame while Alexakou placed second with 4.60 points per set.
Rastelli was named the conference's offensive player of the week two times and earned three selections to the league's weekly honor roll.
Alexakou was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 6 and March 31. She also became the 11th player in program history to reach to join the 1,000-kill club on March 12 in the Johnnies' four-set win over Seton Hall. The junior outside hitter is the first player to record 1,000 career kills since Julia Cast in 2017.
Tiziana Baumrukova led the league and ranked sixth in the nation with 11.67 assists per frame this spring. The senior setter also recorded 12.10 assists per set in conference play. Baumrukova has dished out 560 helpers and collected 99 digs for St. John's.
Senior Maria Angelica Palacios posted a .358 hitting percentage against BIG EAST competition, as junior Ariadni Kathariou notched 1.20 blocks per set this season.
Marquette (9-3, 4-2 BIG EAST) enters the tournament after sitting out the last two weekends of the regular season due to COVID-19 issues within the program.
The Golden Eagles fell to Butler in five sets on March 5 before earning a three-set victory over the Bulldogs in their last contest on March 6.
Graduate transfer Taylor Wolf leads the team with 3.42 points per set and 2.80 kills per set this spring while graduate student Savannah Rennie ranks second on the team with 2.93 points per set.
The Red Storm last played Marquette on Nov. 30, 2019, when the Johnnies took down the Golden Eagles in four sets to capture the 2019 BIG EAST Championship and secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
St. John's has earned three regular-season crowns in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and two tournament championships in 2007 and 2019. The Johnnies hold the second-most BIG EAST titles among current teams in the conference behind Creighton.
The winner of Friday's match between St. John's and Marquette will face the victor of the semifinal contest between Creighton and UConn on Saturday.
The Red Storm will take on the Golden Eagles at 2:30 p.m. ET inside D.J. Sokol Arena. The match will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network Presented by SoFi with Bob Brainerd and Jill Dorsey-Hall on the call from Omaha.
No. 1 seed Creighton will face off with No. 2 seed UConn in the first semifinal contest on April 2 at 12:00 p.m. ET. The BIG EAST Championship final will be played on April 3 at 12:30 p.m. ET with a live broadcast airing on FS1.
St. John's (10-3, 6-2 BIG EAST) clinched its third straight tournament appearance with its sweep of Villanova on March 23. As a team, the Red Storm posted a conference-best .256 hitting percentage, 13.29 assists per set, and 13.92 kills per frame on the season.
Juniors Efrosini Alexakou and Rachele Rastelli have arguably been the two most dominant hitters in the BIG EAST this season. The duo each averaged 4.31 kills per set in conference play, ranking first in the league. Rastelli also led the BIG EAST with 4.98 points per frame while Alexakou placed second with 4.60 points per set.
Rastelli was named the conference's offensive player of the week two times and earned three selections to the league's weekly honor roll.
Alexakou was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 6 and March 31. She also became the 11th player in program history to reach to join the 1,000-kill club on March 12 in the Johnnies' four-set win over Seton Hall. The junior outside hitter is the first player to record 1,000 career kills since Julia Cast in 2017.
Tiziana Baumrukova led the league and ranked sixth in the nation with 11.67 assists per frame this spring. The senior setter also recorded 12.10 assists per set in conference play. Baumrukova has dished out 560 helpers and collected 99 digs for St. John's.
Senior Maria Angelica Palacios posted a .358 hitting percentage against BIG EAST competition, as junior Ariadni Kathariou notched 1.20 blocks per set this season.
Marquette (9-3, 4-2 BIG EAST) enters the tournament after sitting out the last two weekends of the regular season due to COVID-19 issues within the program.
The Golden Eagles fell to Butler in five sets on March 5 before earning a three-set victory over the Bulldogs in their last contest on March 6.
Graduate transfer Taylor Wolf leads the team with 3.42 points per set and 2.80 kills per set this spring while graduate student Savannah Rennie ranks second on the team with 2.93 points per set.
The Red Storm last played Marquette on Nov. 30, 2019, when the Johnnies took down the Golden Eagles in four sets to capture the 2019 BIG EAST Championship and secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
St. John's has earned three regular-season crowns in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and two tournament championships in 2007 and 2019. The Johnnies hold the second-most BIG EAST titles among current teams in the conference behind Creighton.
The winner of Friday's match between St. John's and Marquette will face the victor of the semifinal contest between Creighton and UConn on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
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