St. John’s Prepares for NCAA Tournament, Set to Face No. 13 National Seed Texas A&M on Thursday

The Johnnies return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007

For the third time in program history, the St. John's volleyball team is heading to the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm will face No. 13 seed Texas A&M on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET inside Reed Arena.
 
This marks the Johnnies' first appearance in the tournament since their Round of 16 run in 2007. The team also advanced to the Round of 32 in 2006.
 
St. John's was one of 32 automatic qualifiers for the tournament after the Red Storm took down then-No. 10 Creighton and then-No. 12 Marquette en route to claiming its second-ever BIG EAST Tournament title on Saturday night.

"The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind and last evening's selection viewing party was another special moment for this very special team," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "I know the players are appreciative of where they are, but they're not satisfied. It will be my job to work with my staff to prepare our team to go across the country and compete against No. 13 seed Texas AM on Thursday night, who is 12-1 at Reed Arena. The stakes get higher with each game and now it's win or go home. We will be the underdogs once again, so we are packing only our red jerseys."

The Johnnies enter the tournament with a 22-11 record this season. The Red Storm have defeated four AVCA Top-100 opponents in 2019 and notched 20 wins for the second straight season after posting a 23-12 record last year.
 
The Red Storm also capped off its regular season schedule by winning six of its last seven matchups and defeating five of its last six opponents in straight sets. 
 
St. John's is one of three BIG EAST schools to make the 2019 NCAA Tournament with Creighton and Marquette also earning bids.
 
The winner of Thursday night's matchup will play the victor of the first-round game between Oklahoma and Rice on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.