The St. John’s Women’s Volleyball team hosted the ninth annual Jack Kaiser Classic tournament this weekend in Queens, New York, and opened up their home slate with a 3-0 sweep. With the three wins, the Johnnies are off to their best starts since the 2018 season, 7-2.
The tournament did not come without some bumps in the road. The Red Storms’ first matchup on Friday against Siena College was delayed for more than an hour due to a leak on the court in Carnesecca Arena. Head Coach Joanne Persico apologized for the inconvenience to the crowd of fans as her crew swiftly set up nets and a clock in Taffner Field House.
The setting in Taffner Field House proved more intimate, as fans helped set up folding chairs and placed them right beside the court, sitting at ground level with the players.
According to Senior middle blocker Eleonora Tosi, the move gave the Johnnies a slight advantage. They hadn’t played in Carnesecca Arena since last season until their eventual second match of the night against Stony Brook later in the day.
Torch Photo / Sara Kiernan
“We are more used to [Taffner’s] court,” Tosi said in a post-game interview. “It doesn’t matter what surrounds the team, or what the atmosphere is. We create the atmosphere and we create our destiny.”
“Our mindset is that we have to defend the home court and we have to do all that it takes to come out victorious and simply give it our best,” said Tosi. As a junior, Tosi played in 104 sets for the Red Storm and tallied 165 kills with 87 total blocks. According to Tosi, the team’s motto throughout the season has been, “All it takes, all you got, all the time.” They are currently on a four-game win streak to start off the season.
St. John’s dominated over Siena in four sets, winning 3-1. Sophomore setter and right-side hitter Erin Jones led the Johnnies with 20 kills in the match. Jones was named the Tournament MVP after collecting 47 kills and 18 digs after their last match on Saturday.
The delay only allowed St. John’s three hours of downtime in between games, as opposed to the five that they should have been allotted. Throughout the second game, held in Carnesecca, players were seen paying extra attention to the court floor. Some even took it upon themselves to wipe down the floor with a Gatorade towel in between each point.
Torch Photo / Sara Kiernan
The tournament was played in honor of Jack Kaiser, the former athletic director and baseball coach at St. John’s University and played an instrumental role in the creation of the Big East conference. Kaiser passed away in May 2022. “This is a tournament in his honor, and he was at every game that we’ve ever played here since 1994. This is our 30th season,” Coach Persico said to the crowd before initiating a moment of silence for the late Jack Kaiser.
Along with celebrating the legendary Kaiser, the team celebrated their victories and hoisted up a banner in Carnesecca Arena for their 2022 appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
The Johnnies went on to sweep Stony Brook in three straight sets to finish out the first day of the tournament. Jones led the Johnnies again in kills with 16 in this match, and added on four digs as well. Junior outside hitter Giorgia Walther added 11 kills for the Red Storm, paired with three aces and eight digs on the night.
Stony Brook recovered in the second set to tie it with St. John’s and narrowly take the lead, 18-17. Both teams exchanged points to tie it up at 21-21, but St. John’s assembled a final 4-2 run together to finish the set.
As a veteran of the team, Tosi plays a big role in elevating her teammates to work together through tough matches. “We all have each other’s backs and we cannot just rely on one person,” Tosi said. “We’re all meant to do something. It’s not just 100 percent, it’s to give more than we got.”
The Johnnies powered through the third set to finish off the Seawolves. They jumped out to an early 13-2 lead in the third set and never looked back, finishing with a 25-13 set finish and a 3-0 match victory.
On Saturday the Johnnies closed out the tournament with a 3-0 sweep over Loyola. Notably, Tosi tallied a 60 percent clip in the third set against the Greyhounds. The Red Storm forced Loyola into 10 errors in the second set to take a big lead in the match.
Setter Wiktoria Kowalczyk and middle blocker Magda Stambrowska were named to the All-Tournament team after the Red Storm’s game against Loyola. Kowalczyk had 104 assists throughout the tournament and Stambrowska had five kills and five blocks against Loyola to seal the victory.
St. John’s will continue their home slate on Sept.15 at the Red Storm Invitational in Carnesecca Arena as they host Bryant University, University of Arkansas and Buffalo University. The first game will be against Bryant at 9:00 a.m. on Friday.
