St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, September 5
Queens, N.Y.
1 p.m.
St. John's University
4-2,0-0Big East
1
vs
3
East Texas A&M
5-1,0-0Southland
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Texas A&M | 25 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 3 |
| St. John's (NY) | 22 | 20 | 25 | 22 | 1 |
Photo by: Vincent Dusovic
Falls to East Texas A&M in Lou Carnesecca Invitational Finale
9/5/2026 4:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Rashanny Solano Smith set a new career-high with 35 digs
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team closed out the Lou Carnesecca Invitational with a tough 3-1 setback to East Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon.
In a tightly contested match, the Red Storm (4-2) and Lions (5-1) played to 28 tie scores and 11 lead changes throughout the four-setter. The set scores were 22-25, 20-25, 25-23 and 22-25.
St. John's logged 56 kills and collected a staggering 82 digs, outpacing East Texas A&M in both categories, but the Lions held the edge in blocks with 12.0 total.
Rashanny Solano Smith shined for the Red Storm by setting a career-high with 35 digs, the most by a Johnnie since Amanda Sanabia registered 34 digs in a 3-2 win at Xavier on Oct. 27, 2018. The senior collected at least six digs in each set against the Lions.
Carola Tesoro led the way offensively, collecting 13 kills. Lejla Hadziredzepovic followed closely with 10 tallies, as seven other Johnnies notched at least three kills. Amanda Caputi dished out 29 helpers, tying her season high. Chloe Bell anchored the net with 4.0 total blocks. Both Solano Smith and Hadziredzepovic were named to the Lou Carnesecca Invitational All-Tournament Team.
In the opening frame, East Texas A&M came out firing and claimed an early 8-2 lead. With Maggie Carcillo at the service line, St. John's was able to climb back and tie the set at 9-9. From there, both teams traded points all the way to 19-19, resulting in 11 tie scores in the set. The Lions used a 3-0 run to cap the first set at 25-22.
The second set saw St. John's claim an early five-point advantage at 10-5 and seemed to be in control through the media timeout at 15-10. East Texas came back with an 8-0 run to erase the deficit and take the lead at 18-15. The Lions continued to press by taking a five-point lead and finished the set 25-20, taking a 2-0 match lead.
St. John's gutted out set three with 27 team digs, led by Solano Smith's 11. Both squads partook in a back-and-forth all the way to 9-9, but the Red Storm were able to break away with a 4-0 run and held the Lions off to the media timeout at 15-11. Nearing the end of the game, East Texas A&M applied pressure and came within one at 21-20. The Johnnies shook the momentum to stave off the sweep and win the set 25-23.
In the fourth frame, action only intensified with eight tied scores and six lead changes over the home stretch. After brief exchanges to 6-6, St. John's roared out to a five-point lead at 11-6 and continued to hold its lead until the media timeout at 15-7. From there, the Lions slashed the deficit with a 13-4 run to put themselves in the lead and back in the game. St. John's was able to knot the match at 22-22, but it wasn't enough to hold off the visitors, falling 25-22.
St. John's is back in action on Tuesday for a midweek tilt at Fordham. This is the first time that Head Coach Joanne Persico will face off against former Associate Head Coach Bryan Weber as the skipper of the Rams. First serve in Rose Hill Gym is set for 7 p.m.
Lou Carnesecca Invitational All-Tournament Team
MVP: Ariana Brown, OH, East Texas A&M
Jade Washington, L, East Texas A&M
Haley Mullaney, OH/S, East Texas A&M
Rashanny Solano Smith, L, St. John's
Lejla Hadziredzepovic, OH, St. John's
Simone Langford, L, Rider
TBD, UAB
In a tightly contested match, the Red Storm (4-2) and Lions (5-1) played to 28 tie scores and 11 lead changes throughout the four-setter. The set scores were 22-25, 20-25, 25-23 and 22-25.
St. John's logged 56 kills and collected a staggering 82 digs, outpacing East Texas A&M in both categories, but the Lions held the edge in blocks with 12.0 total.
Rashanny Solano Smith shined for the Red Storm by setting a career-high with 35 digs, the most by a Johnnie since Amanda Sanabia registered 34 digs in a 3-2 win at Xavier on Oct. 27, 2018. The senior collected at least six digs in each set against the Lions.
Carola Tesoro led the way offensively, collecting 13 kills. Lejla Hadziredzepovic followed closely with 10 tallies, as seven other Johnnies notched at least three kills. Amanda Caputi dished out 29 helpers, tying her season high. Chloe Bell anchored the net with 4.0 total blocks. Both Solano Smith and Hadziredzepovic were named to the Lou Carnesecca Invitational All-Tournament Team.
In the opening frame, East Texas A&M came out firing and claimed an early 8-2 lead. With Maggie Carcillo at the service line, St. John's was able to climb back and tie the set at 9-9. From there, both teams traded points all the way to 19-19, resulting in 11 tie scores in the set. The Lions used a 3-0 run to cap the first set at 25-22.
The second set saw St. John's claim an early five-point advantage at 10-5 and seemed to be in control through the media timeout at 15-10. East Texas came back with an 8-0 run to erase the deficit and take the lead at 18-15. The Lions continued to press by taking a five-point lead and finished the set 25-20, taking a 2-0 match lead.
St. John's gutted out set three with 27 team digs, led by Solano Smith's 11. Both squads partook in a back-and-forth all the way to 9-9, but the Red Storm were able to break away with a 4-0 run and held the Lions off to the media timeout at 15-11. Nearing the end of the game, East Texas A&M applied pressure and came within one at 21-20. The Johnnies shook the momentum to stave off the sweep and win the set 25-23.
In the fourth frame, action only intensified with eight tied scores and six lead changes over the home stretch. After brief exchanges to 6-6, St. John's roared out to a five-point lead at 11-6 and continued to hold its lead until the media timeout at 15-7. From there, the Lions slashed the deficit with a 13-4 run to put themselves in the lead and back in the game. St. John's was able to knot the match at 22-22, but it wasn't enough to hold off the visitors, falling 25-22.
St. John's is back in action on Tuesday for a midweek tilt at Fordham. This is the first time that Head Coach Joanne Persico will face off against former Associate Head Coach Bryan Weber as the skipper of the Rams. First serve in Rose Hill Gym is set for 7 p.m.
Lou Carnesecca Invitational All-Tournament Team
MVP: Ariana Brown, OH, East Texas A&M
Jade Washington, L, East Texas A&M
Haley Mullaney, OH/S, East Texas A&M
Rashanny Solano Smith, L, St. John's
Lejla Hadziredzepovic, OH, St. John's
Simone Langford, L, Rider
TBD, UAB
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
ETAMU
SJU
Kills
46
56
Errors
20
30
Attempts
164
166
Hitting %
.159
.157
Points
68.0
70.5
Assists
44
52
Aces
10
7
Blocks
12
7.5
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
6
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Friday, September 04
Friday, September 04
Saturday, November 01
Friday, October 31