Friday, November 29
Milwaukee, Wis.
5:30 PM
Creighton University
24-5
0
vs
3
St. John's
21-11
1
2
3
F
St. John's
25
25
26
3
Creighton
17
23
24
0
Photo by: Steve Woltmann
#10 Volleyball Falls in BIG EAST Championships
11/29/2019 5:22:00 PM | Volleyball
St. John's dethrones the five-time tournament champs
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- The five-time defending BIG EAST Tournament champion Creighton Volleyball team was stunned in the semifinals of the 2019 event, falling in straight sets to fourth-seeded St. John's on Friday.
Scores of the match in favor of St. John's were 25-17, 25-23, 26-24. Creighton, which had won 30 of its last 31 sets played against the Red Storm, fell to 13-2 all-time against the Red Storm.
Rachele Rastelli led SJU with 13 kills, while Efrosini Alexakou added 10 kills and 12 digs. The Johnnies had 40 kills, 43 digs, one ace, eight blocks and hit .188 overall.
Creighton was paced by a match-high 14 kills from Jaela Zimmerman and a career-high 13 digs by Keeley Davis. Brittany Witt also had 13 digs and now stands 16 digs shy of Kate Elman's school-record of 2,054 career digs. Creighton had 36 kills, 41 digs, three aces and seven blocks while hitting .098.
Creighton surrendered a 7-0 run in the first set to fall behind 13-5 and never threatened that set.
The Bluejays played for much of the final two sets, only to rally late and tie the score at 23 in each frame. Unlike the regular-season meeting in Queens, when CU swept the Johnnies after surviving set points in two different sets, the Bluejays could not complete the comeback.
St. John's had a match point chance at 24-23 in the third set before a Zimmerman kill prolonged the third set. After a Red Storm kill, a ball Zimmerman hit was ruled long. Bluejay coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth challenged the call seeking a touch, but the original call was upheld as the Red Storm completed the upset.
With the win, St. John's advances to play second-seeded and 12th-ranked Marquette. The Golden Eagles swept third-seeded Villanova in the first semifinal of the day. Marquette won both regular-season meetings against SJU.
NOTES: Creighton had its five-match win streak snapped ... Creighton had been 13-0 all-time in league tournament play as a top seed ... Creighton had been the only team in the nation to win a league tournament each of the past five years ... Creighton fell to 46-2 in its last 48 matches against unranked teams and 26-2 all-time on BEDN.
Scores of the match in favor of St. John's were 25-17, 25-23, 26-24. Creighton, which had won 30 of its last 31 sets played against the Red Storm, fell to 13-2 all-time against the Red Storm.
Rachele Rastelli led SJU with 13 kills, while Efrosini Alexakou added 10 kills and 12 digs. The Johnnies had 40 kills, 43 digs, one ace, eight blocks and hit .188 overall.
Creighton was paced by a match-high 14 kills from Jaela Zimmerman and a career-high 13 digs by Keeley Davis. Brittany Witt also had 13 digs and now stands 16 digs shy of Kate Elman's school-record of 2,054 career digs. Creighton had 36 kills, 41 digs, three aces and seven blocks while hitting .098.
Creighton surrendered a 7-0 run in the first set to fall behind 13-5 and never threatened that set.
The Bluejays played for much of the final two sets, only to rally late and tie the score at 23 in each frame. Unlike the regular-season meeting in Queens, when CU swept the Johnnies after surviving set points in two different sets, the Bluejays could not complete the comeback.
St. John's had a match point chance at 24-23 in the third set before a Zimmerman kill prolonged the third set. After a Red Storm kill, a ball Zimmerman hit was ruled long. Bluejay coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth challenged the call seeking a touch, but the original call was upheld as the Red Storm completed the upset.
With the win, St. John's advances to play second-seeded and 12th-ranked Marquette. The Golden Eagles swept third-seeded Villanova in the first semifinal of the day. Marquette won both regular-season meetings against SJU.
NOTES: Creighton had its five-match win streak snapped ... Creighton had been 13-0 all-time in league tournament play as a top seed ... Creighton had been the only team in the nation to win a league tournament each of the past five years ... Creighton fell to 46-2 in its last 48 matches against unranked teams and 26-2 all-time on BEDN.
Team Stats
SJU
CU
Kills
40
36
Errors
19
25
Attempts
112
112
Hitting %
.188
.098
Points
49.0
46.0
Assists
40
34
Aces
1
3
Blocks
8.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
Creighton Volleyball Media Availability - 9/24/25
Wednesday, September 24
Creighton's Ava Martin Highlights - 9/22/25
Monday, September 22
Creighton Volleyball Postgame Press Conference vs. Kansas - 9/21/25
Monday, September 22
Creighton Volleyball Highlights vs. Kansas, 9/21/25
Monday, September 22
