BIG EAST Homestand Continues Against St. John's, Seton Hall

Friday, September 23

Queens, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

St. John's

BIG EAST Homestand Continues Against St. John's, Seton Hall

10.19.16 | Volleyball

Live Stats Watch Live

Musketeers have won four of their last six matches

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier continues its five-game homestand on Oct. 20-21, playing host to St. John's and Seton Hall at Cintas Center. The Musketeers take on the Red Storm on Thursday at 6 p.m. and the Pirates at 3 p.m. on Friday.

Xavier concludes its homestand on Thursday, Oct. 27 against Butler.

PROMOTIONS

Throwback Thursday
In honor of #tbt, the first 250 students will receive a neon green Xavier fanny pack.

THE MATCHUP VS ST. JOHN'S

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (11-11, 5-4) vs ST. JOHN'S RED STORM (12-10, 3-6)
Match Info: Thursday, Oct. 20 - 6 p.m. - Cintas Center
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/2dtvbSL
Watch Live: http://bit.ly/2ecEOnk

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S

2016 Record: 12-10 (3-6 BIG EAST)
Series History: Xavier leads, 8-0

NOTABLES
• St. John's leads the BIG EAST in total team blocks (2.97 b/s), while Danisha Moss lead the conference in individual blocks (1.50 b/s). Moss currently has 120 blocks to rank tied for fourth nationally.
• The Red Storm are 4-3 in road matches this season and have dropped two straight away from Carnesecca Arena.
• St. John's has lost three of its last four matches, most recently dropping a four-set match at home to Providence.
• Erica Di Maulo ranks fourth among freshman in the NCAA with 834 total assists. She also leads the team with over two digs per set and is tied with Margherita Bianchin for the team lead in aces with 25.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series with St. John's, 8-0. The Musketeers won the first meeting this season in four sets (25-22, 25-16, 22-25, 25-23).

Xavier 3, St. John's 1 - Sept. 23, 2016 (Queens, N.Y.)
• Sofia Peterson led three Musketeers who recorded double-figure kills with a match-high 12 kills.
• Abbey Bessler and Kristen Massa both chipped in 10, while Bessler also added a season-high 19 digs.
• Meredith Klare posted 16 digs and Samantha Foti added 10. The two players combined for three of the Musketeers six aces in the match.

THE MATCHUP VS SETON HALL

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (11-11, 5-4) vs SETON HALL PIRATES (10-12, 4-5)
Match Info: Friday, Oct. 21 - 3 p.m. - Cintas Center
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/2dtvbSL
Watch Live: http://bit.ly/2ecEOnk

ABOUT SETON HALL

2016 Record: 10-12 (4-5 BIG EAST)
Series History: Xavier leads, 5-2

NOTABLES
• Seton Hall is 5-6 in road contests this season. The Pirates are 1-4 in their last four matches, most recently falling at Creighton in three sets on Oct. 16.
• The Pirates rank fifth in the BIG EAST in digs (14.59 d/s). Senior Tessa Fournier leads the conference in digs (5.19 d/s), while ranking 15th nationally.
• Abby Thelen was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after averaging 3.43 kills and 3.50 points per set last week. She had a career-high 20 kills with a .529 attack percentage versus Providence on Oct. 14.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series with Seton Hall, 5-2. The Musketeers are 2-1 in home matches versus the Pirates.

• Xavier dropped the first meeting between the two schools this season in four sets (22-25, 25-20, 18-25, 22-25).

Seton Hall 3, Xavier 1 - Sept. 24 (South Orange, N.J.)
• Abbey Bessler posted her ninth double-double of the year, recording a team-high 15 kills to go along with 12 digs. The senior outside hitter added four blocks and a .343 hitting percentage.
• Sofia Peterson added 13 kills a team-high .423 hitting percentage. The senior right side has recorded 10 or more kills in eight matches this season, including three in a row.
• Xavier had four more total team blocks (9-5) than Seton Hall. Alexis Newsome paced Xavier with five (four assists, one solo). The middle blocker chipped in eight kills.
• Meredith Klare posted a team-high 16 digs, while Mackenzi Humm dished out a match-high 28 assists.

SENIOR CLASS AWARD

• Abbey Bessler was named one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. The award recognizes student-athletes who excel both on and off the volleyball court.

• To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Bessler was one of four BIG EAST volleyball players named to the list.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Sofia Peterson was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday afternoon for her on-court performance last week. She earns the recognition for the second time in as many weeks.

• Peterson led the Musketeers to a 2-1 record last week. Xavier picked up conference wins over DePaul and Georgetown with its only loss coming to Villanova on Saturday.

• Peterson averaged 3.40 kills per set, totaling 34 kills over three matches. The right side hitter also posted a team-high .438 hitting percentage while adding eight blocks.

• The Melboune, Fla., native had 16 kills in a four-set win at DePaul on Oct. 12. She also hit .667 versus Georgetown as the Musketeers posted a season-high .420 attack percentage in the three set win. Peterson finished her week with 16 kills and a .412 hitting percentage in the four-set loss to Villanova on Oct. 15.

BIG EAST Weekly Award Winners

Name	Award	Week
Sofia Peterson	Honor Roll	Oct. 17
Sofia Peterson	Honor Roll	Oct. 10
Abbey Bessler	Honor Roll	Sept. 26
Abbey Bessler	Player of the Week	Aug. 29

NOTABLES

• Samantha Foti had a team-high 10 service aces over three matches last week. The junior also added 2.45 digs per set to rank second on the squad. She currently leads the Musketeers in aces with 29.

• Morgan Finn posted 2.73 kills per set last week with a .383 hitting percentage and five blocks. The sophomore had 10 blocks and a .571 hitting percentage in the four-set win at DePaul on on Oct. 12 before posting a career-high 12 kills in the four-set loss to Villanova on Oct. 15.

• Abbey Bessler averaged 3.36 kills and 2.27 digs per set last week. The senior outside hitter moved up to second in the all-time kills chart at XU over the weekend as she now has 1,609.

• Brooke Betts led Xavier in total kills last weekend with 17, while adding 10 kills. The senior middle blocker ranks second on the team in blocks (0.89 b/s).

• Meredith Klare averaged 4.82 digs per set last week. The sophomore libero added five service aces, increasing her total to 13 on the season.

• Abbey Bessler has averaged 4.07 kills and 3.26 digs per set in seven career matches against St. John's.

• Xavier has posted 48 more total blocks (186.5 – 138.5) thank its opponents this season.

BIG EAST STATS: XU TOP-FIVE

Hitting Percentage

1.	Creighton	.262
	Marquette	.262
3.	Villanova	.253
4.	DePaul	.245
5.	Xavier	.240

Assists (a/s)

1.	Creighton	13.30
2.	Villanova	13.20
3.	Xavier	12.77

Kills (k/s)

1.	Creighton	14.45
2.	Villanova	14.20
3.	Xavier	13.87

Blocks (b/s)

1.	St. John's	2.97
2.	Marquette	2.44
3.	Creighton	2.27
4.	Xavier	2.22

Individual Hitting Percentage

1.	Jasmine King, St. John's	.375
2.	Sofia Peterson, XU	.356

Individual Kills (k/s)

1.	Anna Logan, Butler	4.44
2.	Taylor Louis, Marquette	4.43
3.	Allie Loitz, Villanova	3.76
4.	Abbey Bessler, XU	3.66

Individual Service Aces (a/s)

1.	Allie Loitz, Villanova	0.42
2.	Megan Ballenger, Creighton	0.40
3.	Samantha Foti, XU	0.35

Individual Blocks (b/s)

1.	Danisha Moss, St. John's	1.50
2.	Jenna Rosenthal, Marquette	1.24
3.	*Alexis Newsome, XU*	*1.12*

Individual Points (p/s)

1.	Anna Logan, Butler	5.03
2.	Taylor Lewis, Marquette	4.97
3.	Allie Loitz, Villanova	4.49
4.	Brittany Maxwell, DePaul	4.29
5.	*Abbey Bessler, XU*	*4.04*

NCAA STATS

• Xavier ranks seventh in team kills (1,165) and 12th in team assists (1,073).

• Individually, Alexis Newsome ranks 39th in total blocks (93), Samantha Foti ranks 48th in service aces (29) and Abbey Bessler ranks 47th in total kills (300).

CAREER RECORD WATCH: BESSLER

KILLS

Rank	Kills	Name	Years
1.	1,779	Sally Schulte	1993-96
2.	1,609	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

ATTACK ATTEMPTS

Rank	AA	Name	Years
1.	4,661	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

POINTS

Rank	Points	Name	Years
1.	1,822	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

DIGS

Rank	Points	Name	Years
5.	1,338	Sally Schulte	1993-96
6.	1,298	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll as announced by the conference office on Aug. 3. The preseason poll and All-BIG EAST selections were voted on by the conference's 10 head coaches.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

• Three Musketeers were selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team in Abbey Bessler, Kristen Massa and Sofia Peterson. Xavier and Creighton were the only two teams with three players each on the preseason team.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• The Musketeers posted an 18-12 overall record last year, the team's 18th straight year with a .500 or above record.

• Xavier has posted a 43-18 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in all three seasons.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors eight times in the last 11 years. Aubree Smith earned the honors last season, while Abbey Bessler picked up the recognition in 2013.