NEW YORK – Defending BIG EAST Tournament Champion St. John’s has the top seed in the East Division, but the Midwest seeds are up for grabs as the volleyball regular season comes to a close this weekend.
 
In the East, the Red Storm completed divisional play with a 6-2 record with two split losses to Villanova and UConn. Overall St. John’s is 10-3.
 
Assuming all matches are played this weekend, Villanova and Providence will be vying for the final spot as the Wildcats and Friars square off against one another in Providence. The matches are scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Friday and Saturday. The two teams are 3-3 in the East. If Villanova or Providence sweeps the other in the series, they will be the second seed in the tournament.
 
Seton Hall and UConn, which are both 2-4 in the East Division, also play each other. Their series will be played in Storrs, Conn., with matches scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday as well.
 
Should Villanova and Providence split the series, and either Seton Hall or UConn sweep, there would be three-way tie at 4-4. In the mini-conference, the team with the best match winning percentage within the group would gain the advantage.
 
In the Midwest, Creighton, Xavier and Marquette are still in the running for the two divisional spots in the tournament. Creighton and Xavier will play two matches this weekend at 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. Central on Saturday and Sunday. The matches were rescheduled from the Feb. 26-27 weekend. Creighton is 5-1 in the Midwest Division. Assuming all matches are played, one win for the Bluejays will put them in the tournament. Xavier is 3-1. Two wins for the Musketeers would solidify a spot for XU. Waiting on the sidelines is Marquette, who is 4-2, and just coming off a two-week COVID-related pause.  
 
DePaul and Butler are finished with the regular season having played against all of their Midwest opponents. The Blue Demons finished 3-5 in the division, 6-5 overall. The Bulldogs finished 1-7 in the Midwest, 4-10 overall.
 
The tournament semifinals will take place at Noon ET/11 a.m. Central and 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. Central at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb on Friday, April 2. Creighton is the tournament host.  The No. 1 seed in the East, St. John’s, will play the No. 2 seed in the Midwest and vice versa. The tournament final will be played on April 3 on 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. Central.