St. John’s Comeback Falls Short Against DePaul, 3-2

Sunday, October 18

Queens, N.Y.

2 p.m.

St. John's University

15-6,5-3Big East

DePaul

14-5,6-2Big East

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
DePaul	25	25	21	22	15	3
St. John's (NY)	21	16	25	25	7	2

Photo by: Vincent Dusovic

St. John’s Comeback Falls Short Against DePaul, 3-2

10/18/2026 5:50:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Rashanny Solano Smith moves into second all-time in program history in digs

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team's comeback against DePaul on Sunday afternoon fell short, as the Blue Demons claimed a 3-2 victory over the Red Storm in Carnesecca Arena.

After going down 2-0, St. John's (15-6, 5-3 BIG EAST) roared back over sets three and four, but DePaul (14-5, 6-2 BIG EAST) claimed the final set to escape with a 3-2 victory. In set two, Rashanny Solano Smith moved into second all-time in program history with 1,869 career digs, passing Amanda Sabina. The set scores were 21-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-22 and 7-15.

The Blue Demons' offense featured a well-balanced attacking unit, with four players tallying 10 or more kills, totaling 56 as a team. St. John's fired 51 kills on the evening. The Red Storm held the advantage at the service line, recording seven aces with just three errors, compared to DePaul's four aces and 13 errors.

Carola Tesoro notched her ninth double-double of the season, turning in a team-high 15 kills along with 13 digs. Maggie Carcillo dished out 22 assists, with Martina Capponcelli recording 17 helpers and a match-best four service aces. Solano Smith led all players with 19 digs.

DePaul's offense clicked from the start of set one and kept the Red Storm at a distance all the way to 14-9. St. John's rallied to score five unanswered points and level the set at 14-14. The Blue Demons regrouped following the media timeout and took a slight three-point advantage at 20-17. The visitors' lead would hold firm, taking the opener 25-21.

After DePaul went up 4-1 to start the second game, St. John's battled to within a pair of scores at 7-5. An ensuing 3-1 spurt by the Blue Demons forced the Johnnies to take a timeout at 10-6. Following the stoppage, the lead bubbled to as many as seven at the media timeout at 15-8. St. John's fought back to come within four at 16-12, but DePaul regrouped and ran away with a 25-16 set win to take a 2-0 match lead.

The Red Storm took exception and came out firing to start the third frame, taking a 9-3 lead and forcing a DePaul timeout. The visitors settled in for a brief moment, but the Johnnies thwarted the momentum to the 15-6 media timeout. DePaul refused to back down and clawed its way back to within five at 19-14. St. John's pushed through the red zone to claim the third frame, 25-21.

Set four began with St. John's using a 5-2 lead to start, but the Blue Demons found their stride and came back to take the lead at 11-10. Neither team refused to give an inch throughout the rest of the set, as a number of long rallies broke St. John's way to give them an 18-17 lead. With Capponcelli at the service line, the Red Storm engineered a 7-0 run to put distance on the Blue Demons. The visitors applied pressure down the stretch, but St. John's forced a fifth set by way of a 25-22 set-four win.

To start the final frame, both squads went back and forth, but DePaul would find itself with a three-point cushion at 6-3. The Blue Demons didn't look back and rolled their way to a 15-7 fifth-set victory and 3-2 road win.

St. John's hits the road for a four-match swing, starting next weekend. On Friday, Oct. 23, the Red Storm take on Villanova at 7 p.m. The next day, the Johnnies battle the Hoyas in Washington, D.C., at 6 p.m.