Fifth-Seeded St. John’s Falls to Fourth-Seeded DePaul, 3-0, in First Round of the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship

Wednesday, November 27

Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)

3:30 p.m.

St. John's University

21-12,10-8Big East

#4 DePaul

19-12,10-8Big East

St. John's (NY)

DePaul

Fifth-Seeded St. John’s Falls to Fourth-Seeded DePaul, 3-0, in First Round of the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship

11/27/2024 5:51:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Erin Jones earned her 11th double-double of the season

OMAHA, Neb. (Nov. 27, 2024) – The fifth-seeded St. John's volleyball team fell to fourth-seeded DePaul, 3-0, in the first round of the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship on Wednesday afternoon at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb. The scores of the sets were 20-25, 15-25 and 21-25.

Erin Jones notched her 11^th double-double of the season on 11 assists and 10 kills at a 30.4 hitting percentage. The junior also rang up seven digs and a block assist.

Lucrezia Lodi tallied 10 kills, two digs and a block for St. John's (21-12, 10-8 BIG EAST). Giorgia Walther tacked on eight slams, three aces, two blocks and a dig.

Rashanny Solano Smith paced the match with 14 digs to go along with two helpers against DePaul (19-12, 10-8). Wiktoria Kowalczyk logged a match-leading 22 assists with three digs and a kill. Ludovica Zola led the Red Storm with three blocks.

After a 3-3 start to the match, DePaul sparked an 8-4 run, taking an 11-7 early advantage and burning a St. John's timeout. After talking things over, the Red Storm went on a 4-1 spurt behind kills from Lodi and Stambrowska, cutting its deficit down to one, 12-11. The Blue Demons countered with a 4-1 stretch of their own, growing the lead back to four, 16-12. Despite going point-for-point at the end of the frame, DePaul was able to hold onto its lead, taking the opening game, 25-20. Lodi led the set with seven kills at a 42.9 percent clip.

The Blue Demons opened the second period with a 9-3 advantage, leading to the Johnnies using both of their timeouts. Exchanging scores to a 12-6 DePaul lead, St. John's ripped off three consecutive points that featured a pair of slams from Jones and Walther to trail by three, 12-9. The Blue Demons responded with a 6-1 run that was fueled by four kills, bringing its lead to eight, 18-10. DePaul didn't look back, earning a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-15 second set victory. Jones posted four kills and four digs in the second game.

St. John's stormed out to an 11-6 lead at the beginning of the third set, causing DePaul to use both of its timeouts. Following their second timeout, the Blue Demons engineered a 5-2 run to only trail by two, 13-11. Throwing punches to a 16-14 Red Storm edge, DePaul registered back-to-back points, tying the frame at 16. Knotted at 19-19, the Blue Demons went on a final 6-2 run, taking the set and the match, 25-21. Jones and Walther each tallied four kills in the final set.