St. John’s Prepares for DePaul and Xavier

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team is gearing up to take on DePaul and Xavier inside Carnesecca Arena this weekend.

The Red Storm will welcome DePaul to Queens on Friday at 7 p.m., before squaring off with Xavier on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. inside Carnesecca Arena. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.

The Johnnies come into the weekend with a 16-10 overall record and a 5-7 conference mark, after falling to both No. 6 Creighton and RV Marquette, 3-0, on the road last week. St. John's is one game behind Villanova for the sixth seed in the BIG EAST Tournament.

Magda Stambrowska eclipsed the 500 career-kill mark on Sunday in the Johnnies' contest against Marquette. The middle blocker posted eight slams at an efficient 43.9 percent hitting rate to go along with two aces, a dig and a block.

The standout has registered 171 kills, 68 total blocks, 36 digs and 19 service aces so far this season.

Rashanny Solano Smith was stellar holding down the Red Storm's back row last weekend, earning 25 total digs, two assists and an ace. The Limon, Costa Rica native logged 15 digs across three sets against Creighton to average five per set. She followed up her performance by digging out 10 balls at Marquette on Sunday.

Lucrezia Lodi led the Johnnies' offense during its Midwest road swing, totaling 25 kills, 14 digs, two aces, two assists and a block. The junior recorded five slams and six digs in Omaha, Neb., on Friday. The San Lazzaro di Savena, Italy product led the Red Storm's match against Marquette in Milwaukee with a match-best 15 slams at a 45.2 hitting percentage. The junior also tacked on eight digs, two aces and two assists.

Wiktoria Kowalczyk paced St. John's in assists against the Bluejays and the Golden Eagles. The senior produced 20 helpers, four digs, two kills and two blocks against Creighton. The Poland native went on to lead the Red Storm in assists for the 25th match this season against Marquette, generating 35 helpers, to go along with eight digs and two aces.

Kowalczyk's 866 total assists rank 45^th in the nation as of Nov. 7.

St. John's will host DePaul on Friday for the 33rd time in program history, before welcoming Xavier to Queens on Saturday for the 23rd meeting in the all-time series. The Red Storm fell on the road in both of its first contests with the Blue Demons and the Musketeers this season.

DePaul heads to Queens with a 16-8 overall mark and an 8-4 BIG EAST record for fourth in the conference. The Blue Demons went 1-1 last weekend, taking down Seton Hall, 3-1, and falling to Georgetown, 3-2. Jill Pressly has been a hitting machine for DePaul, totaling 397 kills at a BIG EAST leading 4.27 per set. BIG EAST mainstay Rachel Krasowski currently leads the league with 443 digs at 4.76 per set.

Xavier will head to New York with a 7-5 BIG EAST mark and a 9-13 overall record. The team is fifth in the conference. Logan Flaugh serves as Xavier's setter and has racked up 874 assists at 10.66 per set, the second-best in the BIG EAST. Margo Kemp is second in the conference with an impressive 38.2 hitting percentage. Kemp has also produced 201 kills, a team-leading 69 total blocks, and 17 solo rejections.

Following this weekend's pair of contests, St. John's will head to Pennsylvania for a midweek match with Villanova on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. in Jake Nevin Fieldhouse.

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Players Mentioned

Wiktoria Kowalczyk

Lucrezia Lodi

Rashanny Solano Smith

Magda Stambrowska

St. John's University Athletics