St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, September 26
Queens, N.Y.
7 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
No. 25 Creighton
Photo by: Vincent Dusovic
St. John’s Volleyball Readies for No. 25 Creighton
9/25/2026 11:20:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
First serve against the nationally ranked Bluejays is set for 7 p.m.
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team will wrap up the first week of BIG EAST play against No. 25 Creighton in Queens on Saturday evening.
First serve in Carnesecca Arena is set for 7 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with Satchel Pena-Rivero on the call. Live stats can be found on RedStormSports.com.
The Red Storm will look to knock off the Bluejays for the first time since Oct. 1, 2021. That victory also serves as the last time St. John's took down a ranked opponent. This is the first nationally ranked team the Red Storm will play this season.
Earlier this week, St. John's captured its first BIG EAST victory of the season with a sweep of the Pirates in Queens.The victory marked the first time the Johnnies swept The Hall in Queens since Nov. 15, 2019.
St. John's fired 46 kills from eight different players while hitting .284 as a team and recorded 8.0 total blocks. Lejla Hadziredzepovic led all players with 16 kills while hitting .452. Carola Tesoro and Kendall White added nine and eight kills, respectively. Maggie Carcillo dished out 22 assists, while Amanda Caputi finished with 19 assists and 11 digs. Rashanny Solano Smith anchored the defense with a match-high 17 digs, while Hadziredzepovic and Teodora Stamenkovic each recorded 2.5 total blocks.
After being named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, Solano Smith was named to the NCAA Rotation of the Week for her performances during the 12th Annual Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic. This marked the first time a St. John's player has appeared on the national rotation of the week and this is the first national honor for Solano Smith. She was joined by the likes of players from four nationally ranked teams in Kentucky, Minnesota, Wisconsin and BYU, as well players from Miami and Michigan State.
Solano Smith recorded an eye-popping 41 digs in a 3-1 win over Penn, the most by any player in the NCAA since 2024 and the most by any player in the BIG EAST this season. She has 89 more digs than the next-best player in the BIG EAST in that category.
Creighton enters BIG EAST action with a 5-7 record. The Bluejays appear at No.25 in the AVCA Coaches' Poll, its lowest ranking when playing the Red Storm since the 2021 season.
The defending BIG EAST champions start league play on a five-match losing streak, most recently falling to the reigning national champs in then-No.15 Texas A&M in Omaha on
Sunday. CU has only played on the road twice this year, falling both times at Rice and No.1 Nebraska. So far this season, Creighton has picked up a pair of wins over Top 25 teams in then-No. 9 Purdue and then No. 20 USC.
As a team, the Bluejays lead the conference in total blocks (125) and second in rejections per set with 2.55. Creighton is led offensively by Trinity Shadd-Ceres with 158 kills, averaging 3.22 per set. Ayden Ames and Abbey Hayes each have logged over 100 kills apiece. The offense is quarterbacked by Katie Dalton dishing out 274 helpers, averaging 7.03 per frame.
Defensively, Sage Damrow leads the team with 215 digs and picks up 4.39 per set. Eloise Brandewie and Ames each average more than 1.00 block per frame each, with Brandewie leading the charge with 1.27 rejections a set.
Next weekend, St. John's will conclude its longest homestand of the season with a pair of matches against Xavier on Oct. 2 and Butler on Oct. 3. First serve against the Musketeers is set for 7 p.m. and first serve against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Carnesecca Arena.
First serve in Carnesecca Arena is set for 7 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with Satchel Pena-Rivero on the call. Live stats can be found on RedStormSports.com.
The Red Storm will look to knock off the Bluejays for the first time since Oct. 1, 2021. That victory also serves as the last time St. John's took down a ranked opponent. This is the first nationally ranked team the Red Storm will play this season.
Earlier this week, St. John's captured its first BIG EAST victory of the season with a sweep of the Pirates in Queens.The victory marked the first time the Johnnies swept The Hall in Queens since Nov. 15, 2019.
St. John's fired 46 kills from eight different players while hitting .284 as a team and recorded 8.0 total blocks. Lejla Hadziredzepovic led all players with 16 kills while hitting .452. Carola Tesoro and Kendall White added nine and eight kills, respectively. Maggie Carcillo dished out 22 assists, while Amanda Caputi finished with 19 assists and 11 digs. Rashanny Solano Smith anchored the defense with a match-high 17 digs, while Hadziredzepovic and Teodora Stamenkovic each recorded 2.5 total blocks.
After being named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, Solano Smith was named to the NCAA Rotation of the Week for her performances during the 12th Annual Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic. This marked the first time a St. John's player has appeared on the national rotation of the week and this is the first national honor for Solano Smith. She was joined by the likes of players from four nationally ranked teams in Kentucky, Minnesota, Wisconsin and BYU, as well players from Miami and Michigan State.
Solano Smith recorded an eye-popping 41 digs in a 3-1 win over Penn, the most by any player in the NCAA since 2024 and the most by any player in the BIG EAST this season. She has 89 more digs than the next-best player in the BIG EAST in that category.
Creighton enters BIG EAST action with a 5-7 record. The Bluejays appear at No.25 in the AVCA Coaches' Poll, its lowest ranking when playing the Red Storm since the 2021 season.
The defending BIG EAST champions start league play on a five-match losing streak, most recently falling to the reigning national champs in then-No.15 Texas A&M in Omaha on
Sunday. CU has only played on the road twice this year, falling both times at Rice and No.1 Nebraska. So far this season, Creighton has picked up a pair of wins over Top 25 teams in then-No. 9 Purdue and then No. 20 USC.
As a team, the Bluejays lead the conference in total blocks (125) and second in rejections per set with 2.55. Creighton is led offensively by Trinity Shadd-Ceres with 158 kills, averaging 3.22 per set. Ayden Ames and Abbey Hayes each have logged over 100 kills apiece. The offense is quarterbacked by Katie Dalton dishing out 274 helpers, averaging 7.03 per frame.
Defensively, Sage Damrow leads the team with 215 digs and picks up 4.39 per set. Eloise Brandewie and Ames each average more than 1.00 block per frame each, with Brandewie leading the charge with 1.27 rejections a set.
Next weekend, St. John's will conclude its longest homestand of the season with a pair of matches against Xavier on Oct. 2 and Butler on Oct. 3. First serve against the Musketeers is set for 7 p.m. and first serve against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Carnesecca Arena.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballWednesday, September 23
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