St. John's University Athletics
Tuesday, September 8
Bronx, NY
7 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Fordham
Photo by: Vincent Dusovic
Volleyball Ventures to Fordham for Midweek Action
9/7/2026 3:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Red Storm to face off against longtime Associate Head Coach Bryan Weber as Fordham skipper
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's volleyball team will play its first midweek contest of the 2026 season on Tuesday, matching up with Fordham. First serve from the Rose Hill Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Head Coach Joanne Persico and the Red Storm will face off against former Associate Head Coach Bryan Weber for the first time as the skipper of the Rams. The match will be streamed to ESPN+ and live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.
The Johnnies are coming off a 2-1 weekend hosting the Lou Carnesecca Invitational, picking up wins over Rider and UAB. St. John's nearly swept the weekend but fell to East Texas A&M.
Rashanny Solano Smith was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of Week on Monday afternoon. The libero tallied 76 digs, 14 assists and four service aces in 11 sets of play. The highlight of the weekend was a 35-dig performance against East Texas A&M, becoming the first Johnnie to collect 30 or more digs since 2018 and setting a career-best in the process. Against UAB, the senior logged 28 digs while dishing out six assists and serving a pair of aces during the 3-1 victory over the Blazers.
In addition to Solano Smith, Lejla Hadziredzepovic was also named to the Lou Carnesecca Invitational All-Tournament Team for her performances over the weekend.
Hadziredzepovic fired 41 kills over 11 sets of work, adding eight digs and 2.0 total blocks to her stat line.
Through the first two weeks St. John's leads the BIG EAST in kills per set (13.63) and assists per set (13.00). Carola Tesoro leads the BIG EAST in kills with 103, while averaging 4.29 per set. The Milan, Italy, native has turned in three double-doubles the Red Storm in the early going. The outside hitter collected a 13-kill, 13-dig double-double against East Texas A&M, while serving a pair of aces. Solano Smith also leads the BIG EAST in digs with a 131, averaging 5.46 per set.
Fordham mirrors St. John's 4-2 start to the year, most recently going 1-1 at the Delaware Invitational. The Rams picked up a 3-1 win over New Haven but fell to the Blue Hens 2-3.
Under the direction of first year Head Coach Bryan Weber, the Fordham opened the year by going 2-1 at the Cherry and White Invitational at Temple. This is Fordham's second midweek match of the season, most recently sweeping FDU in the Bronx.
Johanna Franzen spearheads the Fordham offense with 85 kills, averaging 3.54 per set. Giada Ianuale quarterbacks the offense with 192 assists, dishing out 8.00 per set. As a team the Rams have served 56 aces, good enough for more than two per set. Defensively, Ozge Ozaslan anchors the back line with 123 digs and averages 4.73 per set. At the net it's Tatum Holderied holding down the fort, rejecting 22.0 total shots this year.
St. John's returns to the court on Friday evening for its first match of the Iona Invitational. First serve against Central Connecticut is set for 5 p.m. The next day the squad will play a pair of contests against NJIT at 1 p.m. and Iona at 6 p.m.
Head Coach Joanne Persico and the Red Storm will face off against former Associate Head Coach Bryan Weber for the first time as the skipper of the Rams. The match will be streamed to ESPN+ and live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.
The Johnnies are coming off a 2-1 weekend hosting the Lou Carnesecca Invitational, picking up wins over Rider and UAB. St. John's nearly swept the weekend but fell to East Texas A&M.
Rashanny Solano Smith was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of Week on Monday afternoon. The libero tallied 76 digs, 14 assists and four service aces in 11 sets of play. The highlight of the weekend was a 35-dig performance against East Texas A&M, becoming the first Johnnie to collect 30 or more digs since 2018 and setting a career-best in the process. Against UAB, the senior logged 28 digs while dishing out six assists and serving a pair of aces during the 3-1 victory over the Blazers.
In addition to Solano Smith, Lejla Hadziredzepovic was also named to the Lou Carnesecca Invitational All-Tournament Team for her performances over the weekend.
Hadziredzepovic fired 41 kills over 11 sets of work, adding eight digs and 2.0 total blocks to her stat line.
Through the first two weeks St. John's leads the BIG EAST in kills per set (13.63) and assists per set (13.00). Carola Tesoro leads the BIG EAST in kills with 103, while averaging 4.29 per set. The Milan, Italy, native has turned in three double-doubles the Red Storm in the early going. The outside hitter collected a 13-kill, 13-dig double-double against East Texas A&M, while serving a pair of aces. Solano Smith also leads the BIG EAST in digs with a 131, averaging 5.46 per set.
Fordham mirrors St. John's 4-2 start to the year, most recently going 1-1 at the Delaware Invitational. The Rams picked up a 3-1 win over New Haven but fell to the Blue Hens 2-3.
Under the direction of first year Head Coach Bryan Weber, the Fordham opened the year by going 2-1 at the Cherry and White Invitational at Temple. This is Fordham's second midweek match of the season, most recently sweeping FDU in the Bronx.
Johanna Franzen spearheads the Fordham offense with 85 kills, averaging 3.54 per set. Giada Ianuale quarterbacks the offense with 192 assists, dishing out 8.00 per set. As a team the Rams have served 56 aces, good enough for more than two per set. Defensively, Ozge Ozaslan anchors the back line with 123 digs and averages 4.73 per set. At the net it's Tatum Holderied holding down the fort, rejecting 22.0 total shots this year.
St. John's returns to the court on Friday evening for its first match of the Iona Invitational. First serve against Central Connecticut is set for 5 p.m. The next day the squad will play a pair of contests against NJIT at 1 p.m. and Iona at 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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