Xavier Begins Four-Game Homestand with St. John's and Seton Hall

Friday, October 24

Cincinnati, Ohio

6 p.m.

Xavier University

St. John's

Xavier Begins Four-Game Homestand with St. John's and Seton Hall

10.22.25 | Volleyball

Watch (Xavier+)Live Stats

St. John's and Seton Hall will visit Cintas Center this weekend to kick off the second half of BIG EAST play.

By: Abbey Curtis, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - The Xavier volleyball team welcomes St. John's and Seton Hall to Cintas Center this weekend to begin a four-game home stretch for the Musketeers.

XU sits at second place in the BIG EAST standings with a 7-1 record at the halfway point of league play.

McKinley Boehm was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the third time this season while Kelsey Niesen earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career.

The duo helped lead the Musketeers to a 2-0 weekend on the road where they took down Marquette and DePaul.

Xavier is tied with Nebraska, UTEP and Towson for most wins in the country with 18 each.

match information

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24 | 6:00 PM

Xavier Musketeers (18-2, 7-1 BIG EAST) vs. St. John's Red Storm (6-15, 2-6 BIG EAST)
Cincinnati, Ohio // Cintas Center
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Live Stats

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25 | 4:00 PM

Xavier Musketeers (18-2, 7-1 BIG EAST) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (6-13, 0-8 BIG EAST)
Cincinnati, Ohio // Cintas Center
Watch (Xavier+)
Live Stats

about the musketeers

The Musketeers are currently on a six-game win streak and have won 12 of their last 13 matches.
Xavier ended non conference play with an 11-1 record, their best mark in program history.
XU looks to defend its home court this weekend with a 7-0 record inside Cintas Center this season.
McKinley Boehm was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the third time this season after leading the team with 1.38 blocks per set in Xavier's 2-0 weekend on the road. Boehm is the only player to receive the award multiple times this season.
Kelsey Niesen earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career after pacing the Musketeers with 3.63 digs per set over the weekend. She helped hold Marquette to a .186 hitting percentage, their lowest mark in conference play.
With the defeat of Marquette last Friday, the Musketeers took sole possession of second place in the BIG EAST standings behind No. 13 Creighton.
Xavier's defense ranks second in the league with 14.73 digs per set & a .190 opponent hitting percentage.
Boehm ranks third in the BIG EAST with a .372 hitting percentage through league play.
Boehm (.325), Kemp (.303) and Taylor (.302) all rank in the league's top-10 hitting percentages across all matches.
Kelsey Niesen's 3.90 digs per set is good for fourth best in the league.
Emma Grace ranks ninth in league statistics with 3.31 kills per set and 10th with 3.23 digs per set, the only player in the top-10 of both categories.
The Musketeers average a league-leading 14.39 digs per set in conference play.

scouting the red storm

St. John's is currently 6-15 with a 2-6 mark in league play after a 1-1 week where they defeated Seton Hall before falling to No. 13 Creighton.
The Johnnies were picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll after posting a 24-13 record a season ago that led them to the NIVC Fab Four.
Erin Jones, Lucrezia Lodi and Rashanny Solano-Smith were all named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
Jones, a 2024 All-Conference selection, leads the Red Storm with 3.16 kills per set and has recorded five triple-doubles this season.
Solano-Smith averages 4.13 digs per set in conference play, good for second-best in the league.
Xavier leads the all-time series with SJU, 12-10, with the teams trading sweeps at home last season.

scouting the pirates

Seton Hall sits at 6-13 with an 0-8 BIG EAST record after two losses on the road last week to St. John's and No. 13 Creighton.
The Pirates were picked to finish eighth in the BIG EAST this season after finishing with a 6-12 record in 2024.
SHU returns eight players from last season's roster after graduating their 2024 kills, assists and digs leaders.
Freshman Sadie Reich leads the Pirates with 3.56 kills per set, good for seventh in the league.
Libero Rylee Nelson paces SHU defensively at 3.76 digs per set.
XU leads the all-time series with the Pirates, 17-5, after the teams split both matches last season.

big east standings

TEAM	CONF.	PCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Creighton	8-0	1.000	15-5	.750	W10
Xavier	7-1	.875	18-2	.900	W6
Villanova	6-2	.750	15-4	.789	W2
Marquette	6-2	.750	12-6	.667	W1
UConn	4-4	.500	15-5	.750	L1
DePaul	4-4	.500	11-8	.579	L2
Georgetown	4-4	.500	11-10	.524	W1
Butler	2-6	.250	9-12	.429	L1
St. John's	2-6	.250	6-15	.286	L1
Providence	1-7	.125	9-12	.429	L4
Seton Hall	0-8	.000	6-13	.316	L8

big east weekly honors

Sept. 2 - Margo Kemp - BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Week
Sept. 8 - McKinley Boehm - BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Sept. 8 - Macy Hatkevich - BIG EAST Setter of the Week
Sept. 8 - Emma Grace - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Sept. 22 - Macy Hatkevich - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Oct. 6 - McKinley Boehm - BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Oct. 6 - Emma Grace - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Oct. 6 - Margo Kemp - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Oct. 13 - Margo Kemp - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Oct. 20 - McKinley Boehm - BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Oct. 20 - Kelsey Niesen - BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week

preseason big east honors

BIG EAST Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
(first-place votes)

Creighton (10) 100
Marquette (1) 85
UConn 80
St. John's 79
Villanova 63
DePaul 53
Xavier 47
Seton Hall 31
Butler 29
Georgetown 27
Providence 11

Preseason BIG EAST Volleyball Player of the Year: Ava Martin, Sr., OH, Creighton

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team^
McKenna Brand, So., L/DS, UConn
Doga Kutlu, Gr., S, UConn
Emma Werkmeister, Sr., OH, UConn
Jaya Johnson, So., RS/MB, Creighton
Ava Martin, Sr., OH, Creighton*
Kiara Reinhardt, Sr., MB, Creighton*
Hattie Bray, Sr., MB, Marquette*
Natalie Ring, Jr., OH, Marquette
Erin Jones, Sr., S/RS, St. John's*
Lucrezia Lodi, Sr., OH, St. John's
Rashanny Solano-Smith, Jr., L/DS, St. John's
Abby Harrell, Jr., OH, Villanova
Campbell McKinnon, So., MB, Villanova
Margo Kemp, RS-So., MB, Xavier
^Denotes tie in voting
*Denotes unanimous selection