Xavier Heads to New York for Duels with Seton Hall and St. John's

CINCINNATI, OH - Xavier begins the home stretch of the season on the road as they take on Seton Hall and St. John's for the second time in the fall of 2021. They split the weekend at Cintas Center, knocking off the Pirates in five sets, but losing to St. John's in four sets.

The Musketeers are 10-9 (5-3 BIG EAST), while Seton Hall is 10-12 (2-6 BIG EAST) and St. John's is 12-10 (3-5 BIG EAST).

XAVIER SCHEDULE

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (10-9) vs SETON HALL PIRATES (10-12)
Match Info - Friday, October 22 - 6:00 p.m. ET - Walsh Gymnasium
Live Stats - https://bit.ly/3vvBifm
Watch Live ($) - https://bit.ly/3vvBco0

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (10-9) vs ST. JOHN'S RED STORM (12-10)
Match Info - Saturday, October 23 - 3:00 p.m. ET - Carnesecca Arena
Live Stats - http://bit.ly/2NpfxLk
Watch Live ($) - https://es.pn/30EWkN6

ABOUT SETON HALL

2021 (Spring) Record: 4-7 (2-6 BIG EAST)
2021 (Fall) Record: 10-12 (2-6 BIG EAST)
Series History: Xavier leads 12-3
Last Meeting: Xavier 3, Seton Hall 2 (October 8, 2021 - Cincinnati, OH)

NOTABLES
• This will be the 16th meeting between Xavier and Seton Hall. The Musketeers hold the series advantage 12-3, and they've won the last six matches between the two schools.
• The Pirates are 10-12 this fall, sweeping through two non-conference tournaments, Butler, and beating Providence in five sets.
• Seton Hall was chosen to finish 10th in the BIG EAST by the league's coaches, with Outside Hitter Tsvetelina Ilieva being named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Allison Yaeger returns for her 10th season as Seton Hall's head coach. Since joining the team as head coach, she ranks second in Seton Hall history in both matches coached and victories.

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S

2021 (Spring) Record: 10-4 (6-2 BIG EAST)
2021 (Fall) Record: 12-10 (3-5 BIG EAST)
Series History: Xavier leads 9-6
Last Meeting: Xavier 1, St. John's 3 (October 9, 2019 - Cincinnati, OH)

NOTABLES
• Xavier and St. John's also prepare for their 16th meeting all-time. While Xavier leads the series 9-6, they have lost the last five matches, with the Musketeers' latest victory coming at home in 2016.
• The Red Storm are 12-10 this season, having swept their home tournament, but going 1-3 against ranked teams this season. After dropping nine straight sets to ranked opponents, St. John's pulled off a four-set upset of No. 16 Creighton on October 1.
• St. John's was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll. They have a talented roster with Efrosini Alexakou being named the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, and Rachele Rastelli also being named to the Preseason All-Conference team.
• Joanne Persico has been at St. John's for 28 years. Among many accomplishments in her tenure, she was 2018 and 2006 BIG EAST Coach of the Year, Two BIG East Championships, Three NCAA Tournament Appearances, and ranks 28th in the NCAA for most victories among active coaches.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST HONORS

• Junior Carrigan O'Reilly was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team on Aug. 8.

• O'Reilly ranked second in the BIG EAST in assists per set (10.69) last season, while ranking 30th in the NCAA. The All-BIG EAST performer recorded 631 total assists to rank 73rd in the NCAA. She added 69 kills, seven aces, 146 digs and 29 blocks.

• The Westerville, Ohio, native also earned AVCA All-East Region Honorable Mention Team honors.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier has played all of their non-conference matches and competed in three tournaments. The Musketeers opened the season at the Charlotte Tournament on Aug. 27-28, taking on South Carolina State, Charlotte and Colorado. Then Xavier traveled to the Loyola Tournament on Sept. 3-4, taking on SIUE, Eastern Kentucky and Loyola. After facing Lipscomb and Louisville, the Musketeers went up against in-state foes Cincinnati, Miami and Dayton.

• The Musketeers hosted the Xavier Tournament on Sept. 10-11. Three of the four teams competing in the tournament participated in the NCAA Tournament last spring: Louisville, Purdue and Lipscomb. Purdue finished the year ranked No. 7 in the AVCA Top-25 Poll, while Louisville ranked 11th.

• Xavier took on crosstown rival Cincinnati on Sept. 16 at Fifth Third Arena. The two teams split the two-match series last year with the road team winning each match.

• The Musketeers played teams from 10 different conferences during non-conference action (ACC, MEAC, C-USA, Pac-12, OVC, A-SUN, MVC, MAC, AAC, A-10). Xavier faced two new opponents for the first time in program history in SIUE and Loyola.

• Xavier opened its 18-match BIG EAST schedule on Friday, Sept. 24 with a win against Providence.

• Xavier closes its BIG EAST schedule with back-to-back road matches at UConn (Nov. 19) and Butler (Nov. 21).

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• The Musketeers posted a 7-7 (3-3 BIG EAST) record during the COVID-19 shortened spring 2021 season. Xavier had wins over rival Cincinnati, Big 12 member Kansas and AVCA Top-50 team UIC.

• Xavier returns AVCA All-East Region Team member, Carrigan O'Reilly. The junior setter picked up honorable mention team honors, becoming the first Musketeer to earn the honors since Sofia Peterson and Abbey Bessler in 2016.

• O'Reilly also earned All-BIG EAST honors. She averaged 10.71 assists per set, ranking second in the BIG EAST and 28th in the NCAA. She added 69 kills, 29 blocks, 146 digs and seven aces. The Westerville, Ohio, native had seven double-doubles and one triple-double.

• The Musketeers also return All-BIG EAST honoree and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, Delaney Hogan. She was the first Musketeer to earn "Freshman of the Year" honors since Aubree Smith picked up the accolades in 2011 (Atlantic-10 Conference). She was also the first Xavier player to earn a major award from the BIG EAST since Abbey Bessler in 2015 (BIG EAST Player of the Year).

• Hogan led the BIG EAST in hitting percentage this season (.356), while ranking 100th in the NCAA. The middle blocker also led the Musketeers in total kills (131) and total blocks (45) this season. She averaged 2.38 k/s and 0.82 b/s and had 10 or more kills in eight matches.

• Xavier only graduated one player in Lauren Hanlon. All told, the Musketeers return 13 letterwinners and welcome four newcomers to the roster.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST HONOREES

Preseason BIG EAST Volleyball Player of the Year
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's, Sr., OH

Preseason All-BIG EAST
(listed alphabetically by institution, then last name)

Melody Davidson, Butler, R-Sr., MB
Caylee Parker, Connecticut, Sr., OH
Naomi Hickman, Creighton, Sr., MB
Jaela Zimmerman, Creighton, Sr., OH^
Savannah Rennie, Marquette, Gr., MB^
Taylor Wolf, Marquette, Gr., RS/S^
Allison Barber, Providence, Gr., S
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's, Sr., OH^
Rachele Rastelli, St. John's, Sr., RS
Tsvetelina Ilieva, Seton Hall, So. OH
Averi Salvador, Villanova, Gr., L/DS
Carrigan O'Reilly, Xavier, Jr., S/RS

^ denotes unanimous selection

PRESEASON COACHES' POLL

1.	Creighton (8)	97 pts.
2.	Marquette (3)	93
3.	St. John's	83
4.	Xavier	68
5.	Villanova	56
t-6.	UConn	48
t-6.	DePaul	48
8.	Providence	44
9.	Butler	31
10.	Seton Hall	27
11.	Georgetown	10

First-place votes in ()

CURRENT BIG EAST STANDINGS

1.	Marquette	8-1
2.	Creighton	6-2
3.	UConn	6-2
4.	Xavier	*5-3*
5.	DePaul	5-4
6.	Villanova	4-4
7.	Butler	4-4
8.	St. John's	3-5
9.	Seton Hall	2-6
10.	Providence	1-7
11.	Georgetown	1-7

UP NEXT

• Following this weekend's action, Xavier returns to Cintas Center for bouts against Butler and Uconn on October 29-30 at 6:00 pm ET and 4:00 pm ET respectively.

Schedule

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