St. John’s Drops Heartbreaker at Old Dominion in Five Set Thiller

Friday, August 28

Norfolk, Va.

7 p.m.

St. John's University

1-1,0-0Big East

Old Dominion

1-1,0-0Sun Belt

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
St. John's (NY)	20	25	25	21	11	2
Old Dominion	25	18	21	25	15	3

St. John’s Drops Heartbreaker at Old Dominion in Five Set Thiller

8/28/2026 10:47:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score ODU Box Score 2026 VB Record Book

Freshman Carola Tesoro records her first career double-double with 26 kills and 12 digs

NORFOLK, Va. – The St. John's volleyball team played its second match of the day on Friday evening, falling to the Quest for the Crown hosts, Old Dominion, in a 3-2 decision.

In the first-ever meeting between the two programs, Head Coach Joanne Persico moves to 12-8 when playing opponents for the first time in her last 20 tries. The set scores were 20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 21-25 and 11-15.

Freshman Carola Tesoro notched her first career double-double, firing a team-high 26 kills and collecting 12 digs. The last Johnnie to record a double-double was Martina Ghezzi last season at DePaul on Nov. 8, registering 16 kills and 13 digs. Lejla Hadziredzepovic chipped in 15 kills, while Amanda Caputi dished out 29 assists and Maggie Carcillo collected 16 helpers.

Rashanny Solano Smith led the Red Storm with 18 digs. Teodora Stamenkovic, Chloe Bell and Kendall White each recorded 1.5 total blocks.

The opening set was tightly contested, featuring 11 ties, with neither team holding more than a two-point cushion through the 16-16 mark. ODU rattled off a 6-2 run to take control down the stretch and forced St. John's to take both its timeouts. The Monarchs were able to fend off a brief run by the Red Storm and went on to win the first set, 25-20.

In frame two, St. John's bounced back from the previous set by hitting .355 as a team. The visitors opened with a quick 5-1 run and forced the Monarchs to call an early timeout. The Red Storm continued to hold a sizeable lead throughout the set, highlighted by 13 kills between Tesoro and Hadziredzepovic. In the end, the Johnnies held their advantage by a score of 25-18 and knotted the contest at 1-1.

A back-and-forth battle ensued to begin the third game, as Old Dominion held a slight lead. St. John's responded with a 6-1 run to take the lead at 9-6. The Monarchs wouldn't go down quietly, staying within three points at the media timeout, 15-12. ODU continued to press and once again crept within a pair of points with the Johnnies in the red zone at 20-18. St. John's claimed the final points of the set, 25-21, and took a 2-1 set lead.

In the fourth game, the Red Storm jumped out to an early 8-5 lead, but Old Dominion responded with a 5-1 run to take the lead. After a deadlock at 13-13, the home team rattled off a pair of points to make it 15-13 and trigger a media timeout. ODU's lead grew to as many as four as the Johnnies continued to push back, but the Monarchs held on
in the end by a score of 25-21, sending the match to a fifth set.

In the deciding fifth frame, each team exchanged points to 7-7, but Old Dominion went up by as many as four at 11-7. The Monarchs triggered match point at 14-9, but St. John's claimed a pair after back-to-back kills from Tesoro, forcing ODU to take a timeout at 14-11. However, the hosts would hold on to take the final set, 15-11, and the match, 3-2.

St. John's will close out the opening weekend tomorrow afternoon with a matchup against USC Upstate. First serve against the Spartans is set for noon.