Volleyball Dropped at Duquesne Friday Night

Box Score

Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Fordham volleyball team began its five-match road swing on Friday night with a three-set loss at Duquesne, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21. With the loss, the Rams' third in a row, Fordham falls to 10-12 on the season and 3-4 in conference play, while the Dukes improve to 15-6 (5-1 A-10). \
 
The Rams played Duquesne tough in all three sets, exchanging leads several times, but allowed the hosts to make one small run in each game. Fordham led for most of the first set but a 5-0 run with the Rams up 16-15 gave Duquesne some breathing room. The Rams jumped out to a 7-3 lead and led, 9-6, before the Dukes answered with a 9-2 run. Fordham kept things close, though, never letting the lead reach more than three and even tied the game up at 23-all with a 4-0 run including two straight Kaitlin Morley kills, but two Duquesne kills followed for the win heading into the long break.
 
The third set was another tense affair, with several lead changes in the early going. The Dukes used another small run, using a 7-4 run late to expand their lead to five, 21-16, and eventually holding on for the match victory.
 
Olivia Fairchild led all players and set the second school record of her season with 23 kills, one off her career-high set two weeks ago and the most kills in a three-set match in program history. Her 367 kills this year rank 10th all-time in a single season, as well, with at least seven matches to play. The freshman also added five digs, three block assists, two assists, and an ace. Morley tallied six kills and a match-high two aces, while returning starters Elise Benjamin and Maddy Walsh notched match-highs with six total blocks and 12 digs, respectively, the latter matching a career-high. Walsh added 35 assists for her fourth double-double of the season.
 
The Rams are back on the road on Sunday afternoon at La Salle at 1 p.m. That match can be seen live on the A-10 Digital Network.