LORETTO, Pa. -- For the first time in nearly three years, the Fordham women's volleyball team constructs a three-match winning streak, after the Rams rallied from down 2-1 to win at Saint Francis U, 3-2, in their first contest at the Red Flash Classic. The visitors dropped the first set, 27-25, won the seconds set, 25-23, lost the third set, 25-20, and won the final sets by scores of 25-20 and 15-11. With the victory, Fordham improves to 6-7 on the season, while the Red Flash falls to 2-11 overall.
For the third time this season freshman
Breanna Jones recorded a double-double, as she led the Rams with a team-high 17 kills and 12 digs. Freshmen
Natalie Martinez and
Olivia LaPorta each added 11 kills, while sophomore
Emily Fronk dished out a career-high 48 assists to go along with 12 digs for her third double-double of the season.
Senior
Brianna O'Neil chipped in a season-best 10 kills and eight digs, while fellow classmate
Brennan Delsing led the way with a career-high 22 digs and a season-high three service aces. Martinez tied a season high in service aces with five to pace the squad, while LaPorta and sophomore
Nicole Freeley, who also had seven kills, led the team with three total blocks.
Fordham led 7-2 in the opening set when Martinez delivered a kill, before the home team rallied to tie the set at 9-9. With the set tied at 10-10, the Rams scored four of the next five points, with two coming from Martinez on a kill and a service ace, which provided a 14-11 advantage.
Once again Saint Francis answered and tied the set at 15-15, before eventually taking an 18-17 lead. But kills from Martinez, La Porta and a block-assist from LaPorta and Jones moved Fordham back in front, 20-18.
The Red Flash tallied four of the next five points to retake the lead at 22-21 until a Martinez kill tied it at 22-22. Facing set point, Freeley tied it with a kill, and Delsing made it set point for the Rams with a service ace, but Saint Francis scored the final three points to take the set, 27-25, and a 1-0 lead.
Fordham jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the second set, as back-to-back service aces from Martinez capped the run. The Red Flash methodically fought back to eventually slice the deficit to 16-14, before the Rams crept back in front at 19-15.
However, Saint Francis came back to cut the lead to one at 20-19 and would do so two more times until Fordham went in front, 23-21, on an attack error. The Red Flash eventually knotted it up at 23-23, but a service error and a Jones' kill gave the Rams a 25-23 victory to tie the match at 1-1.
The home team led 6-2 early on in the third set, but a service ace from Delsing capped five unanswered to give Fordham a 7-6 advantage. Saint Francis scored the next three, before the Rams tallied for of the next five to retake the lead at 12-10.
Still leading by two at 14-12, Fordham saw its lead evaporate when the Red Flash used a 10-2 spurt to capture a 22-16 lead, which allowed them to take the third set, 25-20, and a 2-1 lead.
The Rams were down 4-2 to start the fourth set, but two service errors and a service ace from sophomore
Molly Oshinski produced a 5-4 lead, which eventually became 11-8 after the home team tied the set at 8-8.
Clinging to a one-point lead at 16-15, back-to-back kills from Jones and LaPorta started a string of five straight, with kills from O'Neil and LaPorta capping the run for a 21-15 advantage. Fordham then navigated to set point when O'Neil made it 24-18 with a kill, before a ball-handling error tied the match at 2-2 when the Rams took the fourth set, 25-20.
Deadlocked at 7-7 in the final set, Fordham took control when LaPorta delivered back-to-back kills to eventually manufacture an 11-7 lead. Back-to-back kills from Martinez and O'Neil made it 13-8, and Freely sealed the deal with a kill to clinch the set, 15-11, and the match, 3-2.
The Rams return to action Saturday when they take on Coppin State at 11 a.m. and High Point at 4:30 p.m.
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