Rose Hill Classic on Tap This Weekend for Women's Volleyball

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BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham women's volleyball team returns to action Friday and Saturday when the Rams host the 14th Annual Rose Hill Classic inside the Rose Hill Gym. Play begins Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. when Georgetown and Robert Morris square off for the first of four matches throughout the day. Fordham is slated to face Niagara at 1 pm. Friday afternoon.

Later on Friday, Niagara and Robert Morris meet at 4:30 p.m., while the Rams and Georgetown end the day with a 7 p.m. contest. Saturday features two matches, with Georgetown and Niagara playing at 10:30 a.m. and Fordham and Robert Morris ending the tournament at 1 p.m.

All Fordham matches will have a free video stream, while all six matches will have live stats.

Last Time Out
The Rams claimed it first victory of the season Wednesday night in dominating fashion when they swept St. Francis Brooklyn, 3-0, inside the Rose Hill Gym in the 2015 home opener. Fordham won all three sets by scores of 25-15, 25-14 and 25-18. Fordham was very balanced on the offensive side of the net en route to constructing a hitting percentage of .309. Freshman Breanna Jones and junior Kristen Ostach both had nine kills to pace the squad, with Ostach producing an incredible .900 hitting percentage. Freshman Natalie Martinez finished with eight kills, while sophomore Emily Fronk dished out a match-high 26 assists. A third freshman, Olivia LaPorta, added a season-high four service aces. Defensively, sophomore Clarissa Cartledge led the way with 14 digs, and senior Brianna O'Neil narrowly missed double-digit digs with nine. LaPorta also has two total blocks, including one of the solo variety.

Niagara
2015 Season: 1-2
When: Friday, Sept. 4 - 1 p.m.
Where: Bronx, N.Y. (Rose Hill Gym)
What You Need To Know: The Purple Eagles opened the season last weekend with a 1-2 record at the Wright State Invitational in Dayton, Ohio. Niagara lost its first two matches by identical 3-1 scores to the hosts and Evansville, before dropping Tennessee Tech in four sets. Statistically, the Purple Eagles are hitting at a .120 clip and have four players with 21 or more kills: Nicole Matheis (29), Melissa McGwin (29), Taylor Edmonds (25), Alex Stone (21). Setter Alexis Gray leads the offense with 86 assists and four service aces. Rylee Hunt is the team leader in digs with 63, with Matheis (39) and Gray (34) following behind. At the net, Alex Stone has a team-best 13 blocks, including 10 solo, while McGwin has compiled 10.

Georgetown
2015 Season: 1-2
When: Friday, Sept. 4 - 7 p.m.
Where: Bronx, N.Y. (Rose Hill Gym)
What You Need To Know: The Hoyas opened last weekend with a 1-2 record at the D.C. Challenge in Washington, D.C. and Fairfax, Va. Georgetown lost its first match to Atlantic 10 foe George Mason, 3-0, before falling in four sets to American. The Hoyas then broke into the win column with a five-set victory over Howard. Statistically, Georgetown is hitting at a .107 clip and has four players with 23 or more kills: Alyssa Sinnette (33), Ashlie Williams (25), Symone Speech (25), Liv King (23). Setter Paige McKnight leads the offense with 95 assists and adds five service aces, as Sinnette leads the category with six. Kenzie Higareda is the team leader in digs with 61, with Williams a distance second at 33. At the net, Speech has a team-best nine blocks, while King has compiled five.

Robert Morris
2015 Season: 2-2
When: Saturday, Sept. 5 - 1 p.m.
Where: Bronx, N.Y. (Rose Hill Gym)
What You Need To Know: The Colonials opened last weekend with a 2-1 record at their own invitational in Moon Township, Pa. They were swept by UMBC but rebounded in the second set to squeak out a five-set victory over the Retrievers. RMU then defeated Loyola (Md.), 3-1 to conclude the tournament. Earlier this week, the Colonials lost to local rival and Atlantic 10 foe Duquesne, 3-1. Robert Morris enters the tournament with the best hitting percentage out of the four teams (.190) and has the top attacker in Arden Fisher, who has 69 kills. She also ranks third on the squad with 47 digs and second in total blocks with 13. Setter Liz Campbell also has put up dangerous setting up her teammates with 152 assists, while Taylor Lord and Allie Yurkovich have 62 and 55 digs, respectively.

Up Next
Fordham returns to action Tuesday, Sept. 8 when it makes the short trip to Riverdale, N.Y. to face rival Manhattan in the "Battle of the Bronx" at Draddy Gym, with first serve slated for 7 p.m.