St. John’s Volleyball Fall to Syracuse in Five-Set Thriller

Saturday, September 20

Syracuse, N.Y. (Women's Building)

6 p.m.

St. John's University

4-9,0-0Big East

Syracuse

8-2,0-0ACC

St. John's (NY)

Syracuse

St. John's volleyball secures win over Delaware State., 3-1

St. John’s Volleyball Fall to Syracuse in Five-Set Thriller

9/20/2025 9:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Syracuse Box Score

Rashanny Solano Smith and Chloe Bell named to All-Tournament Team

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team (4-9, 0-0 BIG EAST) fell in the Syracuse Invitational finale in five sets against hosts, Syracuse (8-2, 0-0 ACC).

Junior Rashanny Solano Smith and freshman Chloe Bell were named the All-Tournament Team.

The match saw 20 ties in a tightly contested battle in the Women's Building. Senior Erin Jones recorded her second triple-double of the day and her fourth of the 2025 campaign, finishing with 14 kills, 23 assists and 11 digs. The scores of the sets were 25-20, 25-17, 25-23, 25-13 and 15-10.

St. John's recorded a team season-high 55 kills, exceeding the previous best from today's 3-1 victory over Siena (54). Jones led the team in kills and Martina Capponcelli collected 26 assists. Solano Smith notched a team-high 14 digs.

The Red Storm came out swinging to begin the match as they jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead. Syracuse used a series of blocks to erase the deficit and level the match at 8-8. The Johnnies engineered a 4-0 run to cut the deficit, 15-13. Syracuse used its final timeout at 21-15 and the stoppage proved successful, halting the visitors' run at 22-18. At 23-20, Jones fired a kill for set point and finished the frame off herself, 25-20.

In the second set, the Orange rattled off five quick points to establish a 5-1 lead. The deficit grew to as many as six at 9-3, and as the frame continued, the lead bubbled to eight at 16-8. Despite errors from the service line and several Red Storm kills, Syracuse maintained the advantage until the end, 25-17.

The third stanza went back-and-forth featuring 11 tied and five lead changes. With a Jones kill and a Capponcelli ace, St. John's went ahead early, 6-4. The Orange clawed back to level the score at 6-6, and the set remained tied through 14-14. Syracuse attempted to build a small lead at 18-15, but the Red Storm responded with a 3-1 run to cut the deficit to 19-18. Towards the end of the set, the Johnnies stormed back to take the lead at 23-22. Barbara Costa dos Santos' career-high eighth kill sealed the third stanza, 25-23.

In the fourth set, Syracuse pulled away in the middle of the frame and went onto force a fifth set, 25-13.

In the final frame, Syracuse rallied to an early 3-0 lead. After a successful coaches' challenge for St. John's, the Red Storm tried to claw their way back from a four-point deficit at 8-4. The Orange maintained the advantage into a visitors' timeout at 10-6. In the end, the Syracuse lead held up, taking the set 15-10.

Solano Smith and Bell were two of six players named to the All-Tournament Team. Over 12 sets of work, Solano Smith recorded 40 total digs and played a key part of the St. John's back line. Bell collected 24 kills over her three matches and contributed 1.5 total blocks.

Head Coach Joanne Persico was honored prior to the start of the match as she returned to her alma mater, where she was named the BIG EAST Player of the Year for the Oranage in 1986.

The Red Storm now shift their focus to BIG EAST play. The team welcomes Villanova to open conference competition next Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.