St. John's University Athletics
Friday, August 25
Fort Myers, Fla. (Alico Arena)
4 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Ole Miss
St. John’s Set to Open Season at the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational
8/24/2023 12:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Watch (St. John's at FGCU) ESPN+Live Stats (St. John's vs Ole Miss)Live Stats (St. John's vs Arizona State)Live Stats (St. John's at FGCU)Match Notes2023 Volleyball Record Book
Red Storm to face Ole Miss, Arizona State and Florida Gulf Coast in opening tournament
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team will begin its 2023 season this weekend at the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational, when they take on three opponents in Fort Myers, Fla.
The Red Storm will begin their season on Friday, Aug. 25, when they battle against Ole Miss at 4 p.m. in Alico Arena. The Johnnies will then face off with Arizona State the next day at 3 p.m. On Sunday, St. John's will close out the tournament with a match against host school, FGCU at 2 p.m. The Red Storm's match against FGCU will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and live stats for all three matches will be available on FGCUAthletics.com.
The Johnnies will face off against all three opponents for the first time in program history.
Joanne Persico, the architect of the program, returns to lead the Johnnies for the program's 30th season. In 2022, the Red Storm completed its 12th 20-win season in program history (20-14), finishing fourth in the BIG EAST. The program was selected to its second NIVC Tournament in program history and claimed its first victory in the tournament after sweeping Binghamton in straight sets.
In the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Red Storm were predicted to finish fourth, following Marquette (1st), Creighton (2nd) and Xavier (3rd). Giorgia Walther was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team, marking the 11th straight season that the Johnnies have had at least one student-athlete tabbed to the preseason team.
Walther had a stellar sophomore season for St. John's where she was unanimously named to the All-BIG EAST Team, led the team with 463 kills and 3.67 kills per set which was the third-highest in the BIG EAST. The talented outside hitter also added 32 aces and 195 digs across the 2022 season. The Cannobio, Italy, native was selected to the AVCA East Coast All-Region team as an honorable mention recipient.
Alongside Walther, the Johnnies return a talented group from 2022, including BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection Lucrezia Lodi and setter, Wiktoria Kowalczyk. Lodi turned in an impressive freshman season, racking up 335 kills at 2.66 kills per frame to go along with 279 digs and 29 aces. Kowalczyk was the Red Storm's assist leader with 1,299, averaging an impressive 10.31 assists per set. The Warsaw, Poland native amassed 20 or more assists in 33 of the team's 34 matches, and currently ranks ninth all-time in career assists for St. John's.
In 2022, Ole Miss finished with an 11-17 overall record and a 7-11 mark in conference play. The Rebels were selected to finish ninth in the SEC Preseason Poll. Middle Blocker Rasha Ratliff was the only member of the Rebels to be selected to the Preseason All-SEC Team. A two-time All-SEC Selection, Ratliff totaled 106 blocks and 277 kills at a .343 hitting percentage.
Arizona State is in its first season under head coach JJ Van Niel. Last season, the Sun Devils finished ninth in the PAC-12, with a 13-19 overall record and a 7-13 conference mark. ASU was predicted to finish 10th in the 2023 PAC-12 Coaches Poll. The Sun Devils return nine athletes from the 2022 campaign including three-time All-PAC-12 Honorable Mention section Marta Levinska.
Sunday's opponent, FGCU heads into 2023 following an impressive 2022 campaign that saw the Eagles win their second ASUN Tournament title after bolstering a 26-7 overall record and a 13-3 conference mark. The Preseason ASUN poll favorites graduated all five ASUN All-Conference Team members following the 2022 campaign. Of the returners, Preseason All-ASUN Team Selection Juliana Lentz totaled 161 kills at an impressive .329 clip. Lentz also had a team-leading 83 blocks in 2022.
The Red Storm will begin their season on Friday, Aug. 25, when they battle against Ole Miss at 4 p.m. in Alico Arena. The Johnnies will then face off with Arizona State the next day at 3 p.m. On Sunday, St. John's will close out the tournament with a match against host school, FGCU at 2 p.m. The Red Storm's match against FGCU will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and live stats for all three matches will be available on FGCUAthletics.com.
The Johnnies will face off against all three opponents for the first time in program history.
Joanne Persico, the architect of the program, returns to lead the Johnnies for the program's 30th season. In 2022, the Red Storm completed its 12th 20-win season in program history (20-14), finishing fourth in the BIG EAST. The program was selected to its second NIVC Tournament in program history and claimed its first victory in the tournament after sweeping Binghamton in straight sets.
In the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Red Storm were predicted to finish fourth, following Marquette (1st), Creighton (2nd) and Xavier (3rd). Giorgia Walther was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team, marking the 11th straight season that the Johnnies have had at least one student-athlete tabbed to the preseason team.
Walther had a stellar sophomore season for St. John's where she was unanimously named to the All-BIG EAST Team, led the team with 463 kills and 3.67 kills per set which was the third-highest in the BIG EAST. The talented outside hitter also added 32 aces and 195 digs across the 2022 season. The Cannobio, Italy, native was selected to the AVCA East Coast All-Region team as an honorable mention recipient.
Alongside Walther, the Johnnies return a talented group from 2022, including BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection Lucrezia Lodi and setter, Wiktoria Kowalczyk. Lodi turned in an impressive freshman season, racking up 335 kills at 2.66 kills per frame to go along with 279 digs and 29 aces. Kowalczyk was the Red Storm's assist leader with 1,299, averaging an impressive 10.31 assists per set. The Warsaw, Poland native amassed 20 or more assists in 33 of the team's 34 matches, and currently ranks ninth all-time in career assists for St. John's.
In 2022, Ole Miss finished with an 11-17 overall record and a 7-11 mark in conference play. The Rebels were selected to finish ninth in the SEC Preseason Poll. Middle Blocker Rasha Ratliff was the only member of the Rebels to be selected to the Preseason All-SEC Team. A two-time All-SEC Selection, Ratliff totaled 106 blocks and 277 kills at a .343 hitting percentage.
Arizona State is in its first season under head coach JJ Van Niel. Last season, the Sun Devils finished ninth in the PAC-12, with a 13-19 overall record and a 7-13 conference mark. ASU was predicted to finish 10th in the 2023 PAC-12 Coaches Poll. The Sun Devils return nine athletes from the 2022 campaign including three-time All-PAC-12 Honorable Mention section Marta Levinska.
Sunday's opponent, FGCU heads into 2023 following an impressive 2022 campaign that saw the Eagles win their second ASUN Tournament title after bolstering a 26-7 overall record and a 13-3 conference mark. The Preseason ASUN poll favorites graduated all five ASUN All-Conference Team members following the 2022 campaign. Of the returners, Preseason All-ASUN Team Selection Juliana Lentz totaled 161 kills at an impressive .329 clip. Lentz also had a team-leading 83 blocks in 2022.
Players Mentioned
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