Volleyball Begins Atlantic 10 Play at Davidson, VCU

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team (8-5) finished nonconference play with its most victories since 2012 and first winning record prior to league play since 2009, and now continue its lengthy road swing to begin Atlantic 10 action with trips to Davidson (7-6) and VCU (13-2) this weekend.  
 
Both matches will be streamed online, but, as of now, only Davidson has available links.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham finished 1-2 at the Battle of the Big Apple, hosted by Columbia, last weekend. The Rams fell in straight sets to the Lions last Friday night before rebounding with a Saturday doubleheader split, first sweeping St. Francis Brooklyn, then falling to LIU Brooklyn in four sets. Sophomore Olivia Fairchild was named to the All-Tournament team, the fourth time in four tries she has made an All-Tournament squad during out-of-conference action. Fairchild averaged 3.4 kills per set, 34 across all 10 frames, at a team-high .282 clip, adding 27 digs, three blocks, and serving up 11 aces. More impressively is that all 11 aces came on Saturday, vaulting the talented sophomore into the team-lead for aces and into the top-20 nationally. Classmate Kaitlin Morley continued her strong run of play with 26 kills and 21 digs, finishing second with three aces. Junior Natalie Martinez added 18 kills over seven sets, while Olivia LaPorta and Nicole Freeley combined to chip in 25 more. The duo kept up their strong defensive play, as well, with a combined 12 blocks. Sophomore libero Morgan Williams continues to dig at a historic rate, notching 40 total for the weekend.
 
Series Histories
Davidson and Fordham have only met four times prior to this year, with the Wildcats holding a 3-1 lead since entering the league in 2014. Fordham won the first contest, at home, 3-1, but Davidson has taken the last three, including a sweep on the road a year ago. Martinez led the way with 10 kills, while Maddy Walsh double-doubled for 18 assists and 12 digs. The team hit -.024 on the day, however.
 
VCU and Fordham have only met seven times, six coming since the Rams entered the A-10 prior to the 2012 season, and VCU holds a slim 4-3 lead all-time. Fordham won the first meeting in four sets in 1997, plus the first time in league action in 2012, but have lost the last two match-ups these last two years. Those two matches, like Sunday's, were on the road, the only games played in Richmond in the series. Fairchild tallied an inefficient 12 kills on the day in a sweep last season, adding six digs, as the team hit -.087 as a whole.  
 
Aces in the Hole
The Rams are the number one school in the nation in regards to aces per set, at a 2.22 clip, and fourth overall with 102 total. As mentioned, Fairchild's 11 aces on Saturday pushes her up to 24 on the year, good for 17^th nationally. McKenna Lahr, who missed time last weekend, is stuck at 20, but is still ranked in the top-50 (47^th). Fairchild's 0.52 aces per set rank 22^nd in the country, as well.
 
National Rankings
In addition to Fordham's prowess along the baseline, the Rams have players in the top-150 in several other categories, as well. Fairchild ranks 38^th overall, and first in the conference, with 4.64 points per set and her 213.5 points overall are 58^th. The sophomore is also 76^th the nation with 177 kills and 68^th with 3.85 kills per set. Williams' 4.37 digs per set rank 109^th and her 201 total digs ranks 118^th. The former mark would easily be the best single-season rate in school history if the season ended today.
 
Williams Digs Into History
Despite a loss to Cleveland State, sophomore libero Williams tied a program record with 22 digs in just three sets three weeks ago in Fordham's home opener. Williams' personal best is 26, set at New Orleans on opening day earlier this year. The talented sophomore's 4.37 digs per set average would easily be a new single-season record. She's on pace, also, to tally a top-three total digs number, as well.
 
Walsh Reaches 1,000 Assists
Junior setter Maddy Walsh became the 11th player in Fordham history to record 1,000 career assists early in the season and recently surpassed Lindsay Schedeler '04 to move into the all-time top-10. Walsh owns 1,191 career assists and will ascend to ninth when she hits 1,406, passing Mary Diamantidis '11.

Where They Stand
With Williams on pace to improve upon last year's numbers at the libero position and potentially set at least one record, there are several other players on pace to finish within a single-season top-10. Fairchild and LaPorta, with hit percentages of .312 and .280, respectively, would slide into the sixth and 10^th spots, as of now, while Fairchild's 3.85 kills per set would rank second all-time behind her record-breaking 4.30 mark from a year ago. Lahr's hot start from the baseline, with aces at a clip of 0.71 per set, would rank behind just Jenn Shea's 1994 mark, while Fairchild's 0.52 clip would rank just ahead of her tally last year, for fifth. For Williams, the only other player in Rams history to average over four digs per set was Shea in '94. The sophomore's 3.41 digs per frame pace last year ranked sixth all-time in a season. Her 201 total digs puts her on pace to finish near or at the top of the single-season digs list, as well.
 
Up Next
Fordham finally returns home for four consecutive matches, beginning with George Mason and George Washington next weekend. The Rams play the Patriots on Friday night, September 29, at 7 p.m., and host the Colonials on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Only the Friday night match will be streamed online.