Junior Erica Di Maulo helped the Red Storm clinch on Friday
NEW YORK – St. John’s has secured its place in the 2018 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship presented by Jeep. The Red Storm took down Seton Hall Friday night in straight sets to become the third team to clinch a spot in this year’s tournament hosted by Creighton in Omaha, Neb. St. John’s is 22-9 overall and 11-5 in BIG EAST standings.
This is the first time since 2012, before the conference’s reconfiguration, that the Red Storm have qualified for the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship. They won the championship title in 2007. This year, St. John’s joins No. 9 Creighton (23-4, 15-0 BIG EAST) and No. 18 Marquette (23-5, 13-2) after they both qualified last weekend. With the Red Storm earning their bid, that leaves only one more spot in the four-team tournament to be decided in the final three matches of the regular season.
St. John’s won in three sets against Seton Hall Friday night (25-18, 25-15, 25-16) to earn the series sweep for the season. The Red Storm were led by freshman Efrosini Alexakou who logged a double-double. She recorded a match-high 14 kills and 14 digs. Junior Amanda Sanabia added 13 digs, while junior Erica Di Maulo had a match-high 42 assists.
Senior Sophia Coffey led the Pirates with a double-double on Senior Night. She collected a team-high 23 assists and 10 digs. Fellow senior Caitlin Koska had a team-high nine kills along with four digs.
The 2018 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship will take place from Nov. 23 – 24 in Omaha, Neb., hosted by Creighton. The semifinals are slated for Friday, Nov. 23 at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. ET. The winners from those two matches will face off in the Championship match on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m. with all three matches taking place at D.J. Sokol Arena at the Ryan Athletic Center.
This was the only match of the weekend for St. John’s and Seton Hall. The rest of the league will play on Sunday before the conclusion of the regular season next weekend.