St. John’s Triumphs Over Xavier in Friday Night Thriller, 3-2

Friday, October 2

Queens, N.Y.

7 p.m.

St. John's University

12-4,2-1Big East

Xavier

9-5,2-1Big East

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Xavier	17	26	22	25	14	2
St. John's (NY)	25	24	25	13	16	3

Photo by: Vincent Dusovic

St. John’s Triumphs Over Xavier in Friday Night Thriller, 3-2

10/2/2026 11:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Red Storm pick up key conference victory at home

QUEENS, N.Y. – Exhale.The St. John's volleyball team rallied for a critical BIG EAST victory on Friday night, taking down Xavier, 3-2, in Carnesecca Arena.

After taking the first set handily, the Red Storm (12-4, 2-1 BIG EAST) were pushed to the brink by the Musketeers (9-5, 2-1 BIG EAST) but were able to come away with a key conference victory. The set scores were 25-17, 24-26, 25-22, 13-25 and 16-14.

"What an incredible team effort tonight over a tough Xavier team. When the pressure presented itself, our team executed the game plan," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "They are such a fun team to coach."

Both teams tallied 65 kills on the night and swung over .200. The Johnnies recorded 79 digs, marking the fourth time this season the team logged more than 75. At the net, the Red Storm collected 12.5 total rejections to Xavier's 9.0.

The two-headed firing squad of Carola Tesoro and Lejla Hadziredzepovic once again guided the Johnnies to victory, collecting 18 and 17 kills, respectively. Chloe Bell chipped in 11 and Barbara Costa dos Santos recorded a career-best nine kills while swinging .412. Amanda Caputi dished out 33 assists and Maggie Carcillo added 21 helpers of her own. Rashanny Solano Smith tallied a match-best 28 digs and Teodora Stamenkovic swatted a match-high 4.0 total blocks (2 BS, 4 BA).

St. John's came out firing in the opening set with a quick 5-0 spurt that turned into an early 12-6 advantage. Xavier settled in and came close at 13-10, but it wasn't enough to keep the Johnnies from getting to the media timeout first, 15-10. The cushion grew to as many as six midway through the set at 19-13 in favor of the home team. The Red Storm pushed through to the red zone and went on to take the opener by a score of 25-17.

The second game was a contrast from the previous one as both squads exchanged points to start, but a 3-0 run by the Musketeers was enough for St. John's to take its first timeout at 10-9. Xavier continued its run to 14-10 and burned St. John's second timeout in the process. After the stoppage, the Johnnies used a 5-2 swing, capped by a Kendall White solo rejection and Solano Smith ace, to force the visitors to take a breather. Another string of five unanswered points erased the lead at 19-18. Both squads exchanged haymakers in the red zone, refusing to give up ground all the way to 22-22. St. John's was the first to trigger set point, but Xavier fended off the threat with a 3-0 run to end the set at 26-24 and knot the match at a set apiece.

Xavier carried the momentum into the next frame, running out to a 7-2 lead. St. John's chipped away at the deficit to come within one at 13-12 and reclaimed the lead at 15-14 into the media timeout. After the Musketeers forced a 15-15 deadlock, the Johnnies engineered a 6-2 swing to put them up 21-17. Xavier refused to quit and fought to bring it within two points twice at 22-20 and 24-22, but a Tesoro kill was all that was needed to give St. John's a 25-22 win and make it 2-1.

Set four started with Xavier nearly mirroring its start from the previous frame, taking a 6-3 lead. St. John's once again had to claw its way back and came within a tally at 8-7. From there, the Musketeers rallied through the middle portion of the set and took a 10-point lead into the red zone, sending the contest into a winner-take-all fifth set.

Game five began with the teams trading tallies to 4-4, neither giving an inch. St. John's recorded three unanswered points and forced a Xavier timeout at 7-4. The Musketeers answered back and tied the set at 10-10. Both teams used a back-and-forth to bring the score to 13-13, but a 3-1 run by St. John's capped the night at 16-14, resulting in a 3-2 victory for the Red Storm.

St. John's will close out its seven-match homestand tomorrow evening against Butler. First serve against the Bulldogs is set for 5 p.m.