St. John’s to Host Red Storm Invitational

QUEENS, N.Y. (Sept. 15, 2022) – A week after winning its sixth-straight Jack Kaiser Classic title, the St. John's volleyball team will host three non-conference opponents in the Red Storm Invitational.

The Red Storm will start the tournament on Friday against Columbia at noon inside Carnesecca Arena. The Johnnies will then take on Boston College the same day at 7 p.m. before closing things out against Middle Tennessee the following day at 2 p.m. The Red Storm's matches will be available to stream on ESPN3. Live stats will be available for all matches on RedStormSports.com.

The Johnnies enter the tournament looking to keep their undefeated streak at home and earn their third tournament title of the year after winning both the Kaiser Classic and the VolleyBucs VolleyPalooza.

Last weekend, after defeating Southeastern Louisiana in a five-set comeback and sweeping Bryant and Stonehill, the Red Storm was awarded its sixth straight Jack Kaiser Classic Championship. Wiktoria Kowalczyk, Giorgia Walther and Rachele Rastelli were named to the All-Tournament team following impressive performances over the two-day slate. Kowalczyk, who tallied 60 kills and 11 blocks against Southeastern Louisiana on Friday morning, was named tournament MVP after registering 133 assists on the weekend and averaging 1.64 blocks per set over three contests.

For the second time in three weeks, Rastelli was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Rastelli tallied 56 kills and 70 points during a 3-1 week for the Red Storm. The graduate student's most notable performance came as she tallied 16 kills along with three aces and three blocks during a five-set thriller against Southeastern Louisiana last Friday morning.

Kowalczyk leads the nation in assists with 434 total assists and leads the BIG EAST with 10.85 assists/set. Walther sits atop the league rankings for points (4.50/set) while also sitting in second in the conference in kills (4.05/set). Rastelli follows Walther taking third in the league in points (4.25/set) and fourth in kills (3.6/set). The duo rank within the top 50 nationally of both total points and total kills.
Last season Columbia finished with a 5-19 overall record. The Lions were selected to finish eighth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll. Columbia enters the weekend with a 3-3 record, most recently picking up two wins in its host tournament. The Lions are led by Pierce Woodall, who boasts 3.24 kills/set. Columbia also returns Vanessa Pan, who is averaging 4.95 digs per set and has tallied 15 service aces.

The Johnnies lead the all-time series against the Lions, 6-2. The Red Storm has won the last three meetings at home.

Boston College comes to Queens undefeated and is one of three teams in Division I to boast a 10-0 record. Last weekend, the Eagles swept both Marist and Rhode Island and won a five set match against LIU during the URI Invitational. Reigning ACC Co- Player of the Year Katrina Jensen leads the squad with 98 kills across 27 sets. Defensively, the Eagles will look to Anna Murphy, who has recorded 107 digs across 33 sets.

Last season, St. John's snapped an eight-game winning streak in its match against the previously-undefeated Eagles on Sept. 10, 2021. The Johnnies lead the all-time series, 9-4.

The Blue Raiders are 8-2 on the season, most recently going undefeated and taking home the Blue Raider Invitational title last weekend. Middle Tennessee returns reigning C-USA Libero of the Year Marley Banton. Banton is pacing the team with 4.05 digs/set. The Blue Raiders' squad also includes Taylor Eisert, who has been named C-USA Setter of the Week the past two weeks. Eisert is averaging 9.84 assists per set as well as 0.32 blocks per set.

Saturday's match will be the first game between the Red Storm and the Blue Raiders.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Wiktoria Kowalczyk

Rachele Rastelli

Giorgia Walther

St. John's University Athletics