Volleyball Heads to New York for Pivotal BIG EAST Battles

Friday, November 8

Queens, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

St. John's

Photo by: Rooted Media House

Volleyball Heads to New York for Pivotal BIG EAST Battles

11.07.19 | Volleyball

Xavier to take on St. John's and Seton Hall with playoff position on the line

By: By Mark Leopold, Xavier Athletics Communications

CINCINNATI, Ohio – In the last two-match road stretch of the season, Xavier (6-6 BIG EAST) will look to knock off St. Johns (7-5 BIG EAST) and Seton Hall (2-10 BIG EAST). First serve against St. John's is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET on Friday, and Seton Hall is set to begin at 8:00 pm ET on Saturday.

THE MATCHUP VS ST. JOHN'S

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-13) vs ST. JOHN'S RED STORM (15-10)
Match Info - Friday, Nov. 8 - 7:00 p.m. ET - Carnesecca Arena
Watch - TBD
Live Stats - TBD

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S

2019 Record: 15-10 (7-5 BIG EAST)
2018 Postseason: NIVC First Round
Series History: Xavier leads 9-4
Last Meeting : SJ 3, XU 0 - 10/12/2019

ST. JOHN'S AT A GLANCE
• After being swept at the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic, St. John's didn't drop a set in their three-match home tournament. The7 finished non-conference action at 8-5. including a marquee win against No.14 Oregon. St. John's enters this weekend having beaten each of their BIG EAST foes except nationally-ranked Creighton and Marquette (twice each) and in their lone meeting with Butler.
• The Red Storm is led by Efrosi Alexakou, who is second in the BIG EAST with 356 kills (4.14 per set), and Rachele Rastelli (258) also rank in the top 10.
• St. John's was picked to finish third (out of 10) in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, and currently sit fourth with a 3-2 conference record.
• Joanne Persico returns for her 26th year as head coach of the Red Storm. Of her numerous accolades, she has two BIG East Coach of the Year honors, three BIG EAST Regular Season Championships, Two NCAA Tournament Appearances, and she ranks 18th in victories among active Division I women's head coaches.

THE MATCHUP VS SETON HALL

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-13) vs SETON HALL PIRATES (7-12)
Match Info - Saturday, Nov. 9 - 8:00 p.m. ET - Walsh Gymnasium
Watch - https://shupirates.com/watch/?Live=353&type=Live
Live Stats - https://shupirates.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary

ABOUT SETON HALL

2019 Record: 7-19 (2-10 BIG EAST)
2018 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads 10-3
Last Meeting : XU 3, SHU 0 - 10/11/2019

SETON HALL AT A GLANCE
• After a rock 0-5 start to the season, Seton Hall found their grove and finished the non-conference schedule with a 5-9 record, winning five of their last nine matches. To begin BIG EAST play, they lost their first two matches on the road, but bounced back at home by beating Providence and Georgetown. Since, Seton Hall has lost their last seven matches, never winning more than two sets in a match.
• Seton Hall's biggest strength is digs, and freshman Libero Raygan Murray leads the Pirates with 3.93 digs/set. Murray is one of eight freshman on a youthful 15-player roster. The youth comes with mistakes, as the team ranks last in the BIG EAST in kills, assists, blocks, opponent hitting percentage and hitting percentage.
• Seton Hall was picked to finish eighth (out of 10) in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, and currently sit seventh with a 2-3 conference record.
• Eight-year head coach Allison Yaeger leads the Pirates in 2019. Yaeger enters the season ranked second in Seton Hall history in matches coached and victories. In 2014, she was awarded the AVCA Regional Coach of the Year, and the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.

FIRST SERVE

• Xavier enters this weekend with a 9-13 record after picking up two four-set victories at the Utah State Tournament, beating the host and Eastern Michigan after falling to Southern Utah in their regular-season opener. At home, they knocked off William & Mary in between losses to Akron and eventual tournament champions Wright State. They started BIG EAST play with a five-set victory at DePaul and a five-set victory at Georgetown. At home, Xavier beat Seton Hall in three sets for their first sweep of 2019, and they beat Providence on the road to continue their road dominance. Two weeks ago, Xavier took down Georgetown in an epic reverse sweep to stay at .500 in conference play, and proceeded to knock off DePaul in four sets.

• Two Musketeers won awards on the first weekend of action, as Lauren Hanlon and Ellie Chaffee were name to the All-Tournament team. Additionally, Hanlon was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. In Week two, Moriah Hopkins was named to the All-Tournament team and Jayda Carlton was listed on the BIG EAST Honor Roll. The following week, Lauren Hanlon was named to the All-Tournament Team following her 24-kill performances in two matches at the LUV Invitational. Ellie Chaffee earned a spot on the BIG EAST Honor Roll in part due to her 10-kill, 9-block performance against Georgetown. Jayda Carlton earned two more BIG EAST Honor Roll mentions for her blocking against Seton Hall and Marquette, and the following week after her blocking against Providence and Creighton. Two weeks ago, Carlton picked up her third-straight BIG EAST Honor Roll award, while Lauren Hanlon was named to her second BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honor. Moriah Hopkins kept Xavier's streak going with a BIG EAST Honor Roll mention last week.

2019 OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

• Xavier plays two teams that finished the year ranked in the AVCA Coaches' Poll: No. 13 Creighton and No. 15 Marquette.

• The Musketeers take on five teams that participated in the 2018 NCAA Tournament (Eastern Michigan, Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and Creighton). Twelve of the Musketeers 20 opponents posted a winning record last year.

• The Musketeers' 20 opponents combined to post a 311-294 last season with a .514 winning percentage.

• Xavier will face teams from nine different conferences this year, including a team from the ACC.

• The Musketeers faced three teams for the first time in program history this fall: Utah State, Southern Utah and William & Mary.

2019 TEAM LEADERS

• Freshmen Alyssa Overbeck and MaryAnn O'Toole and Senior Madi Kutruff lead the team in digs so far this season with a combined 806 digs of the team's 1180.

• Sophomore Jayda Carlton is the BIG EAST block leader, as she's tallied 101 blocks (1.23 block per set) in 22 matches.

• While kills are evenly dispersed throughout Xavier's balanced attack, Redshirt Freshman Lauren Hanlon leads the way with 199 put-aways (2.56 kills per set). Behind her, Moriah Hopkins chips in with 176 kills.

BIG EAST NOTES

• Xavier opened BIG EAST play on Sept. 25 at DePaul and won a tight five-set match. The Musketeers close conference action at Butler on Nov. 23.

• Xavier has posted a 72-45 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in three of their five seasons in the BIG EAST.

• Marquette will host the 2019 BIG EAST Tournament after it was held at Creighton a year ago.

ABOUT THE TEAM

• Xavier graduated five seniors in Morgan Finn, Meredith Klare, Laura Grossman, Olivia Hart and McKena Estes.

• The Musketeers return eighth letterwinners from last year, including two upperclassmen. Xavier will have one senior on the team this fall.

• Xavier added five newcomers to the 2019 roster in MaryAnn O'Toole, Carrigan O'Reilly, Alyssa Overbeck, Ailsa Watson and Hayley Heitmeyer.

• Xavier returns freshman outside hitter Norah Painter who ranked fourth on the team in total kills (178) last season. The Musketeers also return its leader in total blocks (107) in Jayda Carlton.

UP NEXT

• Next, Xavier comes home for the Alumni Match on November 16 against Creighton, and then faces Providence on Saturday, November 17.