St. John’s Falls in Five Sets to San Jose State, 3-2

Friday, September 5

Honolulu, Hawaii (Stan Sheriff Center)

10:45 p.m. ET

St. John's University

0-5,0-0Big East

San Jose State

2-3,0-0Mountain West

St. John's (NY)

San Jose St.

St. John’s Falls in Five Sets to San Jose State, 3-2

9/6/2025 2:20:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score San Jose St. Box Score

Erin Jones records double-double and team secures season-high nine blocks

HONOLULU, Hawaii- The St. John's volleyball program fell in their second match of the OUTRIGGER Invitational late Friday night against San Jose State, 3-2.

The Red Storm (0-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) came out on top in the first two set but dropped the following three to the Spartans (2-3, 0-0 Mountain West). The scores of the sets were 25-22, 25-11, 25-21, 25-15, 15-4.

As a team St. John's secured several season-highs, most notably blocking nine total shots.

Senior Erin Jones collected her second double-double of the season, finishing with a season-high 21 kills to lead the team and chipped in another season-high 18 digs. Martina Capponcelli paced the team in assists with a season-high of 36. Rashanny Solano Smith also secured a season-high 22 digs to lead the Johnnies.

The Red Storm opened the match with a 6-2 run, capped with a Martina Ghezzi ace. San Jose would settle into their offense and being trading points with the visitors. After cutting the lead to two at 10-8, St. John's responded with a 5-2 run, forcing the Spartans to take their first timeout at 15-10. After the stoppage, teams went point-for-point to bring the score to 19-15. However, San Jose made a push and knotted the score, 20-20. After a Johnnies timeout, the visitors ended the set on a 5-2 run, 25-22.

After trading points to start the second set at 3-3, St. John's unleashed a 6-0 run highlighted by a Chloe Bell block after a long rally. As San Jose would cut into the lead, the Red Storm took a timeout to regroup at 9-6. Both teams would go point-for-point in middle part of the stanza at 14-11, but the Johnnies rattled off 11 unanswered points and win the set, 25-11.

The third frame saw eight tie scores and four lead changes. At the start, neither team was able to build a significant lead. Tied at 8-8, Jones unleashed her match leading 13^th kill. After a Spartan sideout, the Albuquerque, N.M., native downed yet another ball to help build a small lead for St. John's at 12-10. After a visitors 3-0 run, San Jose used a 3-0 run of their own to cut the lead back down to 15-13, forcing a Red Storm timeout. A series of errors by St. John's allowed the home team to take their first lead since the early stages of the set, 16-15. The Red Storm would use a 5-2 run to put themselves back in front at 20-18, but the Spartans would come back to tie the frame at 20-20. The ensuing 5-1 run was enough to force a fourth set.

San Jose started the fourth set on a 3-0 run, quickly forcing St. John's to take a timeout. The home team rattled off two more points before Jones was able to secure the first point of the set for the Johnnies. Both squads engaged in a back-and-forth as the visitors made a push to cut the deficit, getting as close to three at 10-7. The Spartan lead would increase back to five before St. John's called its final timeout of the set at 12-7. After the stoppage, the trading of points continued until the visitors were able to rattle off two straight points and forcing San Jose to take its first timeout at 15-11. As momentum shifted, the Spartans were able to grow their lead to as many as six at 20-14. The Red Storm were only able to put one more point on the board, as the visitors forced a fifth set, 25-15.

In the final frame, teams exchanged the first five points. San Jose was able to capitalize and jump out to a 5-2 lead, forcing St. John's to take a timeout. The Spartans then engineered an 11-2 run to win the set, 15-4, and the match.

St. John's will use the off day on Saturday to regroup before closing out the OUTRIGGER Invitational on Sunday. First serve against Hawaii is set for 11 p.m. ET inside Bankoh Arena.