Box Score Sept. 18, 2010
Box Score
New York, N.Y. -
After a disappointing five-set loss to Columbia on day one of the Columbia Invitational, the Fordham volleyball team responded with a pair of victories on Saturday, topping Fairleigh Dickinson in three sets and Bucknell in four.
With the two wins, Fordham goes back over the .500 mark at 8-7.
In the opening match of the day, Fordham's Christi Griffiths became the Rams' all-time blocks and blocks assists leader, and moved into second place on the career kills list, as the Rams topped Fairleigh Dickinson in three sets. Final set scores were 25-18, 25-21, and 34-32.
Griffiths moved past Marija Markovic's career blocks (351) and block assists (288) records, while passing Tihana Sarlija (1,192) for second on the Rams' career kills list. She now only trails Val Bosticco's all-time mark of 1,443 kills.
By tournament's end, Griffiths now stands at 1,217 kills, 359 total blocks, and 294 block assists.
In the match, Fordham jetted out to a two-set lead before the Knights made things interesting in set three, as it took 66 points to decide it. With Fairleigh Dickinson ahead, 23-21, Fordham received a kill from Kailee May and two from Griffiths to earn match point at 24-23. The Knights and Rams then seesawed back and forth until the Knights had set point at 32-31. Fordham then received three straight kills, two from May and the final from Griffiths to win the match.
For Fordham, May finished the match with 16 kills and 10 digs, while Griffiths had 12 kills. Mary Diamantidis dished out 42 assists, while Chelsea Moore had a season-high 21 digs defensively.
In the second match of the day, May posted a career-high 22 kills and .444 hitting percentage to go with six digs, as the Rams topped Bucknell in four sets. Final set scores were 29-31, 25-16, 25-20, and 25-22.
After dropping the first set, the Rams used a six-point surge in the middle of the second set to take control and even the match at one set apiece. Set three saw nine tie scores and five lead changes, the last at 12-12, as Fordham reeled off five straight points to lead 16-12, and go on to win by five.
The fourth set saw ten tie scores, the last at 22 all, before Fordham was able to connect on the final three points of the set and win the match.
Besides May's career-high performance, Katie Wells finished with 13 kills and three blocks with Griffiths adding 10 kills and three digs.
At the conclusion of the tournament, both May and Griffiths were selected to the All-Tournament team.
The Fordham volleyball team will next be in action on Tuesday, September 21st, as they play at Seton Hall, beginning at 7:00 PM.
