Women's Volleyball Concludes Play in Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Fordham women's volleyball team dropped both of its matches Saturday to conclude the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic inside Alico Arena. The Rams fell to the host Eagles in three sets (17-25, 16-25, 13-25), before losing in four sets to New Orleans (25-27, 25-22, 19-25, 18-25). With the two losses, Fordham falls to 0-3 this season.

Match One vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Freshman Breanna Jones recorded double-digit kills for the second straight match after registering a team-best 12. Senior Abigail Konovodoff dished out a team-high 23 assists, while sophomore Clarissa Cartledge led the way on defense with 12 digs.

In the first set, the Rams hung around early with FGCU, trailing by only three after Konovodoff's kill sliced the deficit to 14-11. However, the Eagles would stretch the lead back out to six before cruising to the 25-17 victory.

Jones produced the first three points for Fordham in the second set, which tied it at 3-3 early on, before FGCU took command with a 16-7 run to go in front by a score of 19-10. The Rams battled back with four unanswered points, including back-to-back kills from sophomore Molly Oshinski and Konovodoff, which cut the deficit to 19-14. But Fordham would only score two more points the rest of the set, as the Eagles took a 2-0 lead with a 25-16 victory.

The third and final set saw the Rams trail 12-3 right off the bat. However, they took advantage of poor play from FGCU and used a 7-2 flurry to slice the deficit to 14-10 and force an Eagles' timeout. FGCU then scored the next five points and would go on to clinch the match with a 25-13 victory.

Match Two vs. New Orleans
It was another freshman who led the way in kills for the Rams, as Natalie Martinez posted 13 while adding an attack percentage of .344. Sophomore Emily Fronk played only three sets and yielded the best match of her career, after posting her first career double-double with career highs of 28 assists and 14 digs. Senior Brianna O'Neil narrowly missed a double-double with 15 digs and nine kills, while Cartledge also produced 15 digs. Jones also just missed a double-double with nine kills and nine digs.

Fordham lost a heartbreaker in set one after having two chances to clinch the set when holding leads of 24-23 and 25-24, before the Privateers rallied off three straight to take the opener. The Rams trailed early on, but back-to-back kills from Konovodoff and Oshinski tied the set at 5-5. However, New Orleans would respond with seven unanswered and eight of nine to take a 13-6 lead.

Fordham answered with four in a row, including kills from Martinez and freshman Olivia LaPorta, which cut the advantage to 13-10. The Rams eventually scored seven of the next eight points to get back to within one at 14-13.

After the Privateers went back in front by three at 16-13, the Rams ran off six in a row to go in front by a score of 19-16. But New Orleans battled back with five straight to retake the lead at 21-19.

Fordham then tallied three in a row and four of five to regain the advantage at 23-22, before an O'Neil kill gave the Rams a chance to earn the set leading 24-23. New Orleans would then tie the game with a kill of its own, and Martinez gave Fordham another opportunity when her kill produced a 25-24 lead. However, the Rams could not close out the Privateers, who would go on to win 27-25.

The second set was almost a back-and-forth affair to start until a kill from Jones and pair from Ostach produced a 12-9 lead, which was short lived when New Orleans came back to deadlock the set at 12-12.

Fordham eventually went back in front by three at 16-13 and would extend the lead to six at 21-15. The Privateers climbed back as close as two, but a Jones' kill clinched the second set for the Rams, 25-22, and tied the match at 1-1.

In the third set, Fordham lead 5-3 early on, before New Orleans used a flurry to take an 8-5 lead. The Rams would then cut the deficit to one on three different occasions, but the Privateers answered back to go back in front 14-10.

A kill from Jones and two from Martinez once again navigated the Rams back to within one at 14-13. They then used a 7-2 run to regain the lead at 17-16. However, New Orleans captured the momentum and outscored Fordham, 9-2, the rest of the way to clinch the second set, 25-19, while taking a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth and final set, the Rams scored the first four points and led 6-1 after Fronk found Martinez for yet another kill. The lead quickly evaporated when New Orleans scored the next nine to take the lead at 10-6.

Fordham was never able to retake the lead the rest of the set, as the closest the Rams would come was when they trailed 11-9. The Privateers clinched the match with a 25-18 victory.

"A main focus for us today was communication, energy and being aggressive," Head Coach Gini Ullery said. "When we did that we executed, but when we didn't we fell short. (Natalie) Martinez really stepped up for her team, which helped her earn All-Tournament honors this weekend. We did a lot of good things this weekend. We just need to get everyone on the same page throughout the whole match."

Up Next
Fordham returns to action Wednesday, Sept. 2 when they host St. Francis Brooklyn inside the Rose Hill Gym for the 2015 home opener. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.