Volleyball Travels to La Salle, Duquesne This Weekend

La Salle: Watch (to come) | Live Stats
Duquesne: Watch | Live Stats

Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team (10-9, 2-4 A-10) is back on the road for a pair of Atlantic 10 match-ups this weekend, first at La Salle (10-11, 1-5 A-10) on Friday night and then Duquesne (8-12, 3-3 A-10) on Sunday afternoon.
 
Links for streaming and live stats are still to be determined. This story and the schedule will be updated when they become available.
 
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
The Fordham volleyball program has partnered with the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Research and Colleges vs. Cancer for Sunday, October 22^nd's match against Davidson, the team's annual breast cancer awareness match. The program has set a goal of $2,000. Every home match leading up to that day there will be a marketing table set up for fans to make bids on a silent auction and purchase raffle tickets with some great prizes announced. There is just one more home match before next Sunday: VCU next Friday at noon. For more information and, most importantly, a link to donate, click here.
 
Last Time Out
The Rams hosted two perennial A-10 contenders last weekend in Dayton and Saint Louis, the former entering the season as three-time defending champions, and played them both down to the wire. However, the two matches ended in losses, in four sets against the Flyers and five against the Bilikens. Against Dayton, the visitors coasted to two identical 25-19 set victories before Fordham came out of the long break rejuvenated with a tight 25-23 win in set three and a tough 27-25 loss in set four, nearly forcing a fifth frame. The Rams did, however, go to five sets against Saint Louis the next night, but it was the Bilikens who had rallied to force it, winning set four, 25-21, and then easing past the hosts, 15-8, in the deciding frame. Olivia Fairchild was back to her usual ways, tossing up a match-high 19 kills against Dayton with 10 digs, two aces, and two blocks, then busting out for 15 more against the Bilikens with five more aces, seven digs, and four blocks. Maddy Walsh totaled 90 assists between the two matches, including a season-high 49 in just four sets against the Flyers, while Morgan Williams kept up her stellar defensive play with 43 digs. Sophomore Elise Benjamin made her first start in several weeks against Saint Louis, tallying a season-high five blocks.
 
Series Histories
The Rams own an all-time 38-8 record against La Salle, dating back to 1984. The Explorers won six contests between then and 1998 but just two since. In fact, Fordham owned a 30-match winning streak between 1998 and 2014, when La Salle won in five sets in Philadelphia. They got their eighth all-time win last year, as well, at home, again in five sets, as Fordham won in the Bronx, 3-1, earlier in the season. In the win at home, Fairchild led with a match-high 18 kills to go with 12 digs, while Kaitlin Morley also double-doubled with 10 and 11. Benjamin contributed seven kills and six blocks. In the loss at La Salle, Fairchild missed the five-set school record for kills by one, pouring in 34 at a .347 clip, to go with 12 digs. Maddy Walsh also tallied 52 assists.
 
Duquesne, however, has the one-sided advantage in this all-time series, owning a 34-4 record since 1995. Fordham won three matches between 1998-99 and once more, at home, in five sets in 2004, but the Dukes have rattled off 19 straight wins, including home and away last season. Fairchild and Morley each double-doubled in the home loss, while Fairchild broke the program's three-set record with 23 kills in the road loss a couple weeks later.
 
Acing the Test
The team enjoyed a day for the ages along the baseline last Sunday afternoon against George Washington. Olivia Fairchild broke what had previously been a five-way tie for most aces in four sets and matched the overall single-match mark, with eight. Her teammates were up to the task, as well, tallying 18 total on the day to match the all-time record. Click here to view the record book.
 
Aces in the Hole
Unsurprisingly, the Rams have moved up to the number one spot in all of Division I wit 2.22 aces per set and up to second overall with 151 total aces, behind just UMES' absurd tally of 176. UMES has, however, played in 16 more sets. Fairchild's recent hot stretch, with 33 aces over her last eight matches, has seen her rise all the way up to FIRST in the nation with 46 total. She is ahead of Claire Archibald at nearby Iona, who has 45, Wofford's Catie Cronister, 44, and Saint Louis' Sien Gallop, who has 43 and only tallied two last weekend. McKenna Lahr has 26 aces on the season, ranked 62^nd overall, while the pair rank second and 10^th, respectively, in aces per set, with 0.68 and 0.52. Fairchild is just six aces away from entering the all-time top-10 at Fordham.
 
Atlantic 10 Ranks
The Rams rank sixth with a .196 team attack percentage, fourth in opponent hit percentage (.193), fifth with 11.56 assists per set, fifth with 12.21 kills per set, sixth with 13.94 digs per set, and, of course, first with 2.22 aces per set.
 
At the individual level, Fairchild ranks first with her 46 aces, third with 3.54 kills per set, and third with 241 kills. Her and Olivia LaPorta are 10^th and ninth, respectively, with .276 and .279 attack percentages. Walsh's 480 assists rank fifth overall, as does her 7.74 assists per set rate. Morgan Williams' 287 digs and 4.22 digs per set rate rank fifth and sixth respectively.
 
During conference play, Fordham's ranks are nearly identical. However, Morley has seen her production increase since league play began, with her 3.65 kills per set ranking second among all A-10 players in-conference, same as her 73 total kills. Walsh also ranks second as one of only two setters in the league averaging more than 10 assists per set (10.32). Duquesne's Dani Suiter (10.83) is ahead of her.
 
Williams Digs Into History
Despite a loss to Cleveland State, sophomore libero Williams tied a program record with 22 digs in just three sets during Fordham's home opener. Williams' personal best is 26, set at New Orleans on opening day earlier this year. The talented sophomore's 4.22 digs per set average would become the new single-season record, as the second player to ever average more than four per set. The current mark is Jenn Shea's 4.10, set in 1994. She's also on pace to tally a top-three total digs number, as well.
 
Where They Stand
With Williams looking to set at least one single-season record this year, several others are on pace to enter top-10s, as well. Fairchild and LaPorta's attack percentage rates are just outside the top-10 in that category, while the former's 46 aces is 10 away from jumping into that top-10. Fairchild's 0.68 aces per set, though, would rank second right now, while Lahr's 0.52 mark would sit fifth. Fairchild's 3.54 kills per set rate also ranks fifth, as of now.
 
Up Next
The Rams return home for the final three home matches of their season. Next weekend, Fordham will host VCU on Friday at noon during the team's annual Field Trip Day event and then host Davidson on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the team's annual Breast Cancer Awareness match. Rhode Island follows the next weekend on Friday, October 27.