St. John's University Athletics
Monday, September 1
Louisville, Ky. (L&N Federal Credit Union Arena)
3 p.m.
St. John's University
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No. 4 Louisville
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St. John's (NY)
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Louisville
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St. John’s Falls to No.4 Louisville in Cardinal Classic Finale, 3-0
9/1/2025 5:55:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The St. John's volleyball program fell to No. 4 Louisville on Labor Day in the final game of the Cardinal Classic at the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, 3-0.
The Red Storm (0-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) played competitive sets against a top-five ranked Cardinals (3-0, 0-0 ACC), as senior outside hitter Erin Jones was named to the All-Tournament team. Jones finished with 28 kills, 36 assists and 20 digs over the three-match tournament.
The scores of the sets were 25-13, 25-15 and 25-19.
St. John's finished with their highest block total of the season with five total blocks against Louisville's high-octane offense.
Jones was the only player with double-digit kills logging 12 against Louisville. Freshman Martina Capponcelli registered 18 helpers to lead the team in assists and Rashanny Solano Smith paced the squad with nine kills. Chloe Bell led the charge for the defense, finishing with 2.5 blocks.
Right out of the gate, the Cards head coach Dan Meske challenged the opening serve for being out of bounds, but the call stood giving the Johnnies the first point of the match. With the visitors down one, Ana Franca Benjamim rejected a Louisville attack to tie the match at 3-3. The Cardinals' offensive started to click and went on a 7-2 run to bring the score to 17-8. Jones, who had five kills in the first set, fired a kill as Louisville maintained a steady lead 20-11. They finished on a 5-2 run to claim the first set, 25-13.
To start the second frame, both teams went on runs of two until a deadlock at 5-5. The Cards offense was able to grab a four-point lead but then suffered a service and attack error to cut the lead to 9-7. Head Coach Joanne Persico won her first challenge of the young season, making it a one-point game, 10-9. The home team would end the second set on a 6-2 run, with a final score of 25-15.
At the start of the third stanza, the home team opened with a 5-2 run. A Chloe Bell rejection at the net helped the visitors to kickstart a 3-0 run to tie the match, 5-5. Louisville responded with a 4-0 run of their own, forcing a St. John's timeout. After the stoppage, the Cards rattled off a 6-2 run capped off with an ace. The Red Storm were able to grab a few points off several home team attacking errors, but at 17-10 the two sides traded points. Jones recorded her 10th kill of the match to bring the Johnnies within six, 20-14. After a long rally late in the stanza, Jones rattled off another kill and a service ace to cut into the lead, but Louisville held on for the sweep, 25-19.
Jones was one of seven players to be named to the All-Tournament team, averaging 9.3 kills, 12 assists and 6.6 digs per match.
St. John's volleyball makes its way to Hawaii to play the OUTRIGGER Invitational. Action in the Aloha State gets underway on Thursday, Sept. 4 against Utah Valley at 10:45 p.m. ET.
All-Tournament Team
Lauren Dreves, OH, Auburn
Liz Markovska, OH, Auburn
M.E. Hargan, OH, Morehead State
Erin Jones, OH, St. John's
Payton Petersen, OH, Louisville
Chloe Chicoine, OH, Louisville
MVP: Kamden Schrand, L, Louisville
The Red Storm (0-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) played competitive sets against a top-five ranked Cardinals (3-0, 0-0 ACC), as senior outside hitter Erin Jones was named to the All-Tournament team. Jones finished with 28 kills, 36 assists and 20 digs over the three-match tournament.
The scores of the sets were 25-13, 25-15 and 25-19.
St. John's finished with their highest block total of the season with five total blocks against Louisville's high-octane offense.
Jones was the only player with double-digit kills logging 12 against Louisville. Freshman Martina Capponcelli registered 18 helpers to lead the team in assists and Rashanny Solano Smith paced the squad with nine kills. Chloe Bell led the charge for the defense, finishing with 2.5 blocks.
Right out of the gate, the Cards head coach Dan Meske challenged the opening serve for being out of bounds, but the call stood giving the Johnnies the first point of the match. With the visitors down one, Ana Franca Benjamim rejected a Louisville attack to tie the match at 3-3. The Cardinals' offensive started to click and went on a 7-2 run to bring the score to 17-8. Jones, who had five kills in the first set, fired a kill as Louisville maintained a steady lead 20-11. They finished on a 5-2 run to claim the first set, 25-13.
To start the second frame, both teams went on runs of two until a deadlock at 5-5. The Cards offense was able to grab a four-point lead but then suffered a service and attack error to cut the lead to 9-7. Head Coach Joanne Persico won her first challenge of the young season, making it a one-point game, 10-9. The home team would end the second set on a 6-2 run, with a final score of 25-15.
At the start of the third stanza, the home team opened with a 5-2 run. A Chloe Bell rejection at the net helped the visitors to kickstart a 3-0 run to tie the match, 5-5. Louisville responded with a 4-0 run of their own, forcing a St. John's timeout. After the stoppage, the Cards rattled off a 6-2 run capped off with an ace. The Red Storm were able to grab a few points off several home team attacking errors, but at 17-10 the two sides traded points. Jones recorded her 10th kill of the match to bring the Johnnies within six, 20-14. After a long rally late in the stanza, Jones rattled off another kill and a service ace to cut into the lead, but Louisville held on for the sweep, 25-19.
Jones was one of seven players to be named to the All-Tournament team, averaging 9.3 kills, 12 assists and 6.6 digs per match.
St. John's volleyball makes its way to Hawaii to play the OUTRIGGER Invitational. Action in the Aloha State gets underway on Thursday, Sept. 4 against Utah Valley at 10:45 p.m. ET.
All-Tournament Team
Lauren Dreves, OH, Auburn
Liz Markovska, OH, Auburn
M.E. Hargan, OH, Morehead State
Erin Jones, OH, St. John's
Payton Petersen, OH, Louisville
Chloe Chicoine, OH, Louisville
MVP: Kamden Schrand, L, Louisville
Team Stats
SJU
LOU
Kills
25
44
Errors
19
10
Attempts
97
94
Hitting %
.062
.362
Points
31.0
61.0
Assists
23
41
Aces
1
5
Blocks
5
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
2
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S/RH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
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