Volleyball Opens with 2-0 Start at New Orleans Invitational

New Orleans, La. – The Fordham volleyball team started their 2017 season in the "Big Easy" on Friday at the New Orleans Invitational, hosted by the University of New Orleans.  For the second straight year, the Rams got off on the right foot, picking up a pair of hard fought victories over Southeast Missouri State in four sets and New Orleans in five sets.
 
This marks the second consecutive season that Fordham has begun the season, 2-0.
 
In the opening match, Fordham used 15 service aces and a match-high 18 kills from Olivia Fairchild to pull out a four-set win over Southeast Missouri State.  Set scores were 25-21, 25-9, 18-25, and 25-19. Six of those aces belonged to Fairchild, tying a school record in four-set matches.
 
The Rams jumped out to 5-0 lead in the first set, but the Redhawks fought their way back to tie the score seven times with the final time at 21 all.  Fordham then scored the final four points to win the set, capped off by a block by Elise Benjamin and Breanna Jones.
 
Set two was all Fordham in a 25-9 set win, as the Rams hit .786, connecting on 11 kills in 14 attempts, while defensively holding the Redhawks to a -.050 attack percentage.
 
The Redhawks bounced back to win the third set, but Fordham re-established their attack, hitting .300 as a team in a six-point fourth set win.
 
For Fordham, Olivia Fairchild posted a match-high 18 kills to go with the six aces and five digs, while McKenna

Lahr had nine kills, seven digs, and four aces in her debut match for the Rams.  Elise Benjamin added five kills and four blocks with Maddy Walsh dishing out 27 assists to go along with three kills and two aces.
 
In match two on Friday, Fordham rallied from an 8-2 deficit in the fifth set to comeback and win a five-set thriller over host New Orleans.  Set scores were 25-20, 16-25, 27-25, 23-25, and 15-11.
 
The opening set saw the Privateers with a 20-18 lead, before the Rams reeled off seven straight points to win the set, 25-20, highlighted by a kill and three aces by Jones in that stretch.
 
New Orleans bounced back in set two to even the match at one set apiece, 25-16.  The Privateers hit .351 in the set, led by Rhyan Rand's seven kills.
 
The third set was a seesaw affair with 15 tie scores and eight lead changes.  The Privateers had set point at 24-22, before Fordham tied the score at 24 on kills by Fairchild and Nicole Freeley.  After trading points, Fairchild picked up another kill followed by a New Orleans error, giving Fordham the 27-25 set win.
 
Set four almost saw a repeat of the third set with New Orleans having set point at 24-22.  However, this time, a Fordham attack error gave the Privateers a 25-23 set win, forcing a fifth and deciding set.
 
New Orleans had everything going their way early in the fifth set, leading 8-2 at the changeover.  Then, everything changed, as the Rams would win 13 of the next 16 points to rally back for a 15-11 fifth set win, taking the match, 3-2.  Fordham got kills from five different players in that stretch and capped the victory with a block by Freeley and Sophia Plett.
 
For Fordham, Fairchild tallied a match-high 23 kills to go with nine digs, while Lahr recorded her first career double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs.  Morgan Williams registered a career-high 26 digs to go with seven assists, with Natalie Martinez adding five kills, four digs, and two aces.  Setter duties were split between Walsh and Plett with Walsh having 34 assists and Plett adding 13.
 
The Fordham volleyball team wraps up play at the New Orleans Invitational on Saturday, August 26^th with noon match against Alcorn State.