St. John’s Volleyball to Open 2025 Campaign at Cardinal Classic

Friday, August 29

Louisville, Ky. (L&N Federal Credit Union Arena)

3 p.m.

St. John's University

Morehead State

St. John’s Volleyball to Open 2025 Campaign at Cardinal Classic

8/27/2025 4:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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The Red Storm will play Morehead St., Auburn and Louisville from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1

QUEENS, N.Y.– The St. John's volleyball program will begin the 2025 season on the road at the Cardinal Classic, hosted by the University of Louisville. The Johnnies are one of four teams that are set to compete against Morehead State, Auburn and No. 4 Louisville.

The Red Storm will play Morehead State for the first match of the season on Aug. 29 inside the L&N Federal Credit Union at 3 p.m. ET. This is the first all-time meeting between the Eagles and Johnnies. Two days later, St. John's will face off against an SEC opponent in Auburn at noon. For the final match of the tournament, the Johnnies will met former BIG EAST foe Louisville on Labor Day at 3 p.m. All three matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

Head Coach Joanne Persico is looking for her fourth-straight season opening win, dating back to 2022. Persico enters her 32^nd season as the only head coach in the program's history. The four-time hall of famer is the all-time winningest coach in BIG EAST volleyball history and ranks 15^th amongst active head coaches with a 593-401 record.

In 2024, the Red Storm finished with a 24-13 overall record and achieved the best postseason finish in program history with a trip to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) Fab Four.  St. John's returns four of its seven starters from last season. Led by unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST Team selection senior Erin Jones, who will look to continue her record-breaking dominance this season. The Albuquerque, N.M., native broke the BIG EAST record for triple-doubles in conference play with eight. Last season, Jones accumulated 504 kills, 316 assists and 58 service aces. On the defensive side of the net, she collected 405 digs and 62 total blocks.

Junior Rashanny Solano Smith, who was named the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team for the first time as a Johnnie. The Lima, Costa Rica native, spent the summer competing in the 2025 Under-21 Pan American Volleyball Cup for her home country. She was named the Best Libero of the tournament, helping her team to a bronze medal finish. Last season, Solano Smith finished third in the BIG EAST in total digs with 519.

Rounding out Preseason All-BIG EAST honors is senior Lucrezia Lodi. The Italy native registered 362 kills and 2.81 kills per set, both marks are top-15 in the BIG EAST. She returns alongside fellow Italian Ludovica Zola as part of the St. John's defense who led the BIG EAST in solo blocks and averaged 2.02 blocks per set.

The Red Storm welcome five newcomers, as Kendall White, Shiloh Clayton and Chloe Bell come to Queens from the Peach State of Georgia. Martina Capponcelli and Martina Ghezzi arrive in the U.S. from Italy.

St. John's was selected to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason coaches' poll, with just six points separating second and fourth.

Morehead State enters the 2025 season coming off an 18-15 overall record, with a 12-6 mark in Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) play. The Eagles made it to the OVC title match last season, falling to Lindenwood in 0-3 in the championship. They were selected to the NCAA tournament and lost 0-3 to Pitt in the first round. Morehead State was selected to finish fourth in the 2025 OVC Coaches Poll.

Auburn ended the 2024 season with an 14-13 record and a 4-12 mark in the SEC. St. John's and Auburn will meet for the second time in program history. The last time out the Johnnies walked away with the lone victory of the series in a 3-2 victory back on Sept. 19, 2015. The Tigers were selected to finish 13^th in the SEC preseason coaches' poll.

Louisville starts the 2025 season as the fourth team in the AVCA Preseason Top-25 Poll, fresh off a 30-6 record. The Cardinals were the national runners-up a season ago, finishing with a 17-3 record in the ACC. The Cardinals, who were selected to finish second in the ACC coaches' poll, led the NCAA in blocks per set a season ago (3.09). Once BIG EAST foe, St. John's and Louisville will share the court for the first time since the 2013 season.

After the Cardinal Classic, the Red Storm will venture west to Hawaii and compete in the OUTRIGGER Invitational hosted by the University of Hawaii from Sept. 4-7. St. John's will be one of four teams competing in the tournament, facing Utah Valley, San Jose State and hosts Hawaii.