QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's head volleyball coach Joanne Persico, the only coach in program history, has announced that Shawna-Lei Santos, Briana Guzman and Yaidy Santiago have signed their National Letter of Intent (NLI) and will join the Red Storm for the 2012 season.

"We are very happy and pleased to welcome Shawna, Briana and Yaidy to our St. John's volleyball sisterhood," said Persico. "We are very excited about the signing of this dynamic class. It features a great mix of unparalleled athleticism and highly skilled players, who are going to find the court early in their careers and make an impact for us as we search for our fifth BIG EAST Championship. With the signing of this class, I could not be more excited about the future of St. John's volleyball."

Shawna-Lei Santos - 5-10 - Utility - Hawaii Kai, Hawaii - Sacred Hearts Academy

Santos, a 5-foot-10 utility player, was a four-year letterwinner at Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu, Hawaii. As a senior, Santos guided the Lancers to a second place finish in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) Championships. Santos has also been heavily involved with the United States High Performance, Junior National and Junior Olympics squads since 2006. She helped lead the GYA Blue High Performance team to a gold medal at the 2011 High Performance Nationals in Tucson, Ariz., this summer. With her team placing third at the event, Santos earned all-tournament honors at this summer's Junior Nationals in Atlanta, Ga.

"Shawna-Lei will be added to the list of many Hawaiian volleyball players who have found great success playing for the Red Storm here in New York. She is one of the most exciting athletes that we will be bringing in because she can play a variety of positions," said Persico. "She is one of the top defensive players in the state of Hawaii, but can also easily transition to the outside. She is a student of the game and a player we coaches enjoy training and watching compete. In addition to her athleticism, she has a phenomenal attitude, outgoing personality, and is passionate about helping others less fortunate in her community. We take pride in continuing to be able to attract this kind of player and person to our volleyball program here at St. John's."

Briana Guzman - 6-2 - Middle Blocker - Jersey City, N.J. - Science Park High School

Guzman, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker, is a two-time member of the All-Super Essex Conference First Team and a 2010 member of the All-Essex County Team. As a senior in 2011, she led Science Park to a New Jersey State Sectionals Championship and to the state finals. Guzman was named Science Park's Most Valuable Player (2011) and Defensive Player of the Year (2010). In her two-year career with the Chargers, Guzman set the school record with 216 blocks. This past summer, she was selected as one of 10 players from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut to compete on the Garden Empire Volleyball Association's High Performance Team.

"Briana is a multi-sport athlete that has an incredible physical presence. She is tall, strong, and has great leaping ability which will provide her the opportunity to be a phenomenal blocker," said Persico. "She is an athlete that learns very quickly. It's not going to take much time for her to adapt and get on the floor. In addition to her physical potential, Briana is a fierce competitor with a fantastic personality. She is the player that the fans and the community are going to fall in love with when they come see her play at Carnesecca Arena."

Yaidy Santiago will join Persico and the Red Storm for the 2012 campaign.

Yaidy Santiago - 6-0 - Outside Hitter - Guayama, Puerto Rico - Guamani Private School

As the team captain, Santiago led her club squad, Team Rags, to many tournament titles throughout Puerto Rico and was named to numerous all-tournament squads, including the Puerto Rico Under-21 National Championship, where her team won the gold medal. As part of Team Rags, she also qualified for the USA Volleyball Nationals in both 2010 and 2011 in the 16 and 17 open divisions, respectively. Santiago played her high school ball at Guamani Private School.

"I am really excited for Yaidy to join our program," said Persico. "She played on one of the most successful teams out of Puerto Rico over the past few years. As a solid outside hitter who has experience and poise, Yaidy will stabilize our ball control in crucial situations. A quiet but focused and steady player, Yaidy has a personality that makes her an outstanding teammate. She is accustomed to winning and I had the great privilege of watching her play in the finals of the AAU Under-17 Championships in Florida, where her team won the silver medal. We look forward to watching Yaidy reach all her academic and athletic goals here at St. John's through the years. The fans will really enjoy the ease in which she plays the complex game of volleyball."

For all the latest information on St. John's volleyball, please log on to www.RedStormSports.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the squad on Twitter at @STJ_Volleyball.