Box Score Nov. 15, 2008
Box Score
Kingston, R.I. -
In the most important match of the season with the winner advancing to next week's Atlantic 10 Championship, Fordham's Christi Griffiths recorded 16 kills and six blocks, while Katie Wells added 12 kills and five blocks, as Fordham defeated Rhode Island in four sets to clinch their third straight postseason berth. Final set scores were 19-25, 25-19, 25-23, and 25-23.
With the win, Fordham finishes the regular season at 18-15 overall, 6-7 in the Atlantic 10, while Rhode Island ends their season at 14-14 overall, 5-8 in league play. Fordham ties their best ever Atlantic 10 win total with six, while recording their third winning season in the past four years.
The match did not start well for Fordham, as Rhode Island built up a big early lead, and cruised to a six-point win, 25-19, behind six kills from Caitlin Welsh and three blocks from Lauren McIntosh.
Fordham returned the favor in set two, winning by the same score. Leading 10-9, Fordham got three straight points, highlighted by a block from Katherine Burrell and Jolanda Gunning-Snowden to go up, 13-9. Rhode Island pulled within two, 20-18, but Fordham responded with five of the next six points to close out the set.
With the match knotted at one set, set three came down to the wire with the scored tied at 18. Fordham took the lead on a kill by Katie Wells, and then extended the lead to three on consecutive blocks, first by Christi Griffiths and Jenna Hart and then by Griffiths and Gunning-Snowden. Fordham then had three set points at 24-21 with Rhode Island closing to 24-23 on back-to-back kills by Kayla Wilson. Kailee May however got the crucial set point kill at 25-23 to give Fordham a 2-1 set lead.
Set four also came to a nailbiting conclusion with the score tied at 19 all. Fordham got three straight kills from Wells, Burrell, and Gunning-Snowden to go up, 22-19. Fordham then pushed the lead to 24-20 for match point on a kill by Hart. Rhode Island though did not go away, avoiding three of those set points, the last on a service ace by Welsh. Griffiths though would not let the final match point go by, getting the kill and the match victory, 25-23, to send Fordham to the Atlantic 10 Championship.
Besides Griffiths and Wells, Kailee May posted a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs, while Jolanda Gunning-Snowden had seven kills and three blocks. Jenna Hart chipped four kills, 12 digs, and five blocks with Katherine Burrell dishing out 44 assists to go with three kills, 11 digs, and three blocks. Defensively, Megan Arend had a team-high 16 digs with Bianca Hernandez adding eight digs.
The Fordham volleyball team will now await results from the final two days of Atlantic 10 play to know who their opponent will be on Friday, November 21st. Regardless of the outcomes, Fordham will be the sixth seed at the Atlantic 10 Championship in Saint Louis, Missouri.
