Women's Volleyball Welcomes Lehigh Tuesday Night

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BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham women's volleyball team (8-14) looks to win its second straight match when it welcomes Lehigh (11-9) for a Tuesday night nonconference match inside the Rose Hill Gym at 7 p.m. Fans will be able to view the match for free online.

Last Time Out
The Rams are coming off a thrilling five-set victory over La Salle at home Saturday night. Fordham fell behind after dropping the opening set, 25-18, before taking the next two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-17. The Explorers tied the match up by taking the fourth set, 25-19, but the Rams persevered in the fifth and final set, 15-12.

Freshman Natalie Martinez manufactured a great overall match for the home team. She led the way in kills with 11, produced a season-high seven service aces to fall one short of the program record for a five-set match, and recorded a season-high six total blocks for top honors in the match.

Freshman Breanna Jones just missed a double-double for the second straight match with a team-high 12 digs and nine kills to go along with a season-best three assists, while sophomore Emily Fronk dished out 26 assists and chipped in seven digs and two service aces.

Also on defense, senior Brennan Delsing and sophomore Grace Muller recorded nine digs, while fellow classmate Molly Oshinski added eight. Freshman Olivia LaPorta produced five total blocks and added a service ace and six kills on offense.

With the first set tied at 5-5 early on, La Salle tallied seven in a row and 10 of 12 to take a 15-7 lead. However, Fordham quickly rallied and scored seven of the next eight to cut the deficit to 16-14.

The Explorers responded with the next five and seven of eight to take a commanding 23-15 advantage and eventually the set, 25-18, for a 1-0 lead.

The Rams spotted La Salle a 2-0 lead in the second set, and Jones' kill started a 12-0 run that moved Fordham in front, 12-2. After the Explorers cut the lead to 16-10, a Martinez kill started a 4-1 spurt to navigate Fordham back ahead by nine at 20-11.

La Salle then made a move and used a 10-2 flurry to climb back within one at 22-21. But a kill from sophomore Sarah Skelton and two attack errors allowed the Rams to escape, 25-21, and tie the match at 1-1.

Fordham led wire-to-wire in the third set and were never threatened. Leading 6-4, LaPorta started a 10-0 run with a kill, which increased the lead to 16-4. The Explorers fought back to within six at 22-16, but back-to-back kills from Martinez and Jones coupled with a service ace from Oshinski closed out the set, 25-17, for a 2-1 lead.

Eight ties occurred over the first part of the fourth set, with the last time coming at 14-14, as La Salle tallied four straight to take a 17-14 lead. The run turned into a 6-1 flurry, which stretched the advantage to 19-15, before back-to-back kills from LaPorta and Skelton made it 19-17. But the Explorers would go on to score six of the final eight points of the set for the 25-19 victory and a 2-2 tie in the match.

La Salle scored the first point of the final set, but the Rams led the rest of the way. Skelton's kill started four in a row and six of seven to give Fordham a 6-2 lead. After the Explorers crept to within two at 7-5, a service error and three straight Skelton kills stretched the lead out to six at 11-5.

The Explorers battled back one more time and cut the advantage to 14-12, but Delsing's first kill of the match clinched the set for the Rams, 15-12, and the match, 3-2.

Lehigh
2015 Season: 11-9 (4-2 PL)
When: Tuesday, Oct. 13 - 7 p.m.
Where: Bronx, N.Y. (Rose Hill Gym)
What You Need To Know: The Mountain Hawks saw its four-match win streak snapped Saturday in a home loss to American, dropping them to 4-2 in the Patriot League. Like Fordham, Lehigh owns wins over St. Francis Brooklyn and Saint Peter's, and the Mountain Hawks have played Atlantic 10 foes Rhode Island (L, 3-2) and George Washington (L, 3-0). Lehigh features two players with over 200 kills in Leah Turner (250) and Stephanie Slater (207). Turner also adds 158 digs, 30 total blocks and 19 service aces, while Slater chips in with the second-most total blocks on the team with 46. Amy Matula has dished out 549 assists from the setter position and adds 102 digs and 18 service aces. Ana Vrhel paces the squad in both service aces (30) and total blocks (75) while adding the third-most kills with 175, and Mariah Brantley leads the way in digs with 266 to go along with 46 assists and 12 service aces.

Up Next
The Rams return to action Saturday, Oct. 17 when they travel to Kingston, R.I. to take on Rhode Island in an Atlantic 10 match slated for 5 p.m.

Also, fans are encouraged to circle Friday, Oct. 30 on their calendars for the annual "Dig Pink" Match to help support the fight against breast cancer. Fordham hosts Saint Louis at 7 p.m., and fans are also encouraged to wear pink for a "Pink Out".