BRONX, N.Y. -- Despite losing in four sets, the Fordham women's volleyball team battled to the very end Friday night in an Atlantic 10 matchup against Duquesne inside the Rose Hill Gym. The Rams dropped the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-15, before claiming the third set, 26-24. The visitors then pulled away late to win the fourth and final set, 25-20, to clinch the match. With the loss, Fordham falls to 7-14 (1-4 A-10) on the season, while the Dukes improve to 8-10 (2-2 A-10) overall.
Freshman
Natalie Martinez led the offense by tying a season high in kills with 14 and chipped in defensively by tying a season high in total blocks with four. Fellow classmate
Breanna Jones nearly collected a double-double with 11 kills and nine digs, while sophomore
Emily Fronk dished out 44 assists. Defensively, sophomore
Molly Oshinski recorded a season-high 11 digs, senior
Brennan Delsing added 10, and freshman
Olivia LaPorta registered five total blocks.
The opening set was tied seven times at the start until Duquesne took a small 11-9 advantage, before the Rams fought back to tie the set at 13-13. After the Dukes retook the lead at 15-13, junior
Kristen Ostach's kill started a 5-0 spurt that produced Fordham's largest lead of the set at 18-15.
Duquesne then responded with the next five and seven of eight to go in front by a score of 22-19. Fordham tallied three of the next four, with two coming from Martinez kills, which sliced the deficit to one at 23-22. However, the visitors scored the final two points to take the first set, 25-22, and a 1-0 lead.
The Dukes jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the second set, before the Rams rallied to deadlock the set at 5-5. Duquesne took control by using another 5-0 flurry to regain the advantage at 10-5.
Fordham climbed back to within three on four different occasions, with the last time coming at 15-12, but the Dukes scored the next four and ended the set on a 10-3 run to take it, 25-15, and a 2-0 lead.
Duquesne took a 5-2 lead to start the third set, and the Rams scored four of the next five, as back-to-back kills from Ostach and LaPorta tied the set at 6-6. Fordham then took its first lead at 8-7 on a Fronk service ace and increased its advantage to 11-9, before the Dukes came back to retake the lead at 14-12 with a 5-1 spurt.
The visitors continued to lead by two at 16-14, but three straight points from the Rams allowed them to regain the lead at 17-16 on another service ace from Fronk.
The set went back and forth with seven ties, with the seventh one coming at 23-23 when Ostach delivered a kill. That kill started the set-ending 4-1 spurt, as LaPorta tied the set at 24-24, and senior
Brianna O'Neil clinched the set with a kill for the 26-24 victory while slicing the deficit to 2-1.
Six ties occurred to start the fourth set, before Duquesne scored six in a row and eight of nine to take a 14-8 lead. But a kill from Martinez and three attack errors cut the deficit to 14-12.
The Dukes quickly produced separation by tallying six of the next seven points to go in front by a score of 20-13. Fordham fought back to within four three different times, before Duquesne closed the set out, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
The Rams return to action Saturday when they welcome La Salle to the Rose Hill Gym for another Atlantic 10 contest, with first serve slated for 7 p.m.
