Volleyball Hosts Saint Louis and Dayton this Weekend

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team (10-9, 3-1 A-10) is back in the Bronx and looking to keep its momentum up when it hosts last year's finalists this weekend for a back-to-back set. Friday night is the team's annual Dig Pink match, against Saint Louis (7-11, 2-1 A-10), with a 5 p.m. start. That may can be seen live on the A-10 Digital Network. Saturday's 5 p.m. match-up brings the two-defending Flyers of Dayton (16-1, 3-0 A-10) to the Rose Hill Gym.
 
Dig Pink
The Fordham volleyball team is working to help raise money for the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care's Bronx Oncology Living Daily program. Through the program, breast cancer patients can access free wellness and support services, including BOLD Wellness Workshops and the BOLD Buddy Patient Navigation Program. The BOLD Living program helps underserved breast cancer patients throughout the Bronx adhere to and complete their breast cancer treatment.
 
The team will begin its month-long raffle on Friday night and will announce the winners of several gift cards, two MAC product bags, a Tiffany's silver jewelry box, a Fordham swag bag, a Montefiore swag bag, and both Men's and Women's basketball tickets on November 4, during Field Trip Day.
 
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Last Time Out
The Rams were on the road at George Washington and George Mason last weekend on back-to-back days and walked away with two victories, improving to 3-1 in conference play and a tie for third place in the standings. Olivia Fairchild continued her tremendous play and earned conference Co-Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week honors, after tallying a school record 24 kills in a four-set match at George Mason.
 
Fordham swept the Colonials in straight sets despite not having an especially efficient attack on the night and allowing George Washington to make mistakes. The Rams were solid defensively, as well, blocking eight shots and leading the battle in digs, 39-38. Fairchild led all players with 18 kills at a .394 clip, her second-highest mark of the season. The freshman also added three aces and a team-high 11 digs for her eighth double-double of the year. Elise Benjamin continued her solid play with five total blocks, including one solo.
 
Against George Mason, the Rams were downed in the first set, 25-17, but it surely upset them as they came back with three straight victories for the four-set win, including easily controlling the final two frames. In that first set, the Patriots hit at a .333 clip, while the Rams struggled to a .086 mark. However, after that, Fordham was on fire, with 16 kills, 13 kills, and 16 kills in the next three sets, with the team hitting .429 in the final set. Along with Fairchild's record-setting 24 kills, senior Kristen Ostach tallied a season-high 11 kills and was nearly unstoppable at the net, also adding four blocks. Maddy Walsh reached 50 assists for the third time this season and the first time in a match that didn't go five sets.
 
National/Conference Rankings
The Rams remain atop the Division I standings in service aces thanks to 14 across last weekend's matches. Their 1.87 aces per set ranks 11^th, while the team is also in the top-100 in total attacks (40^th – 2,476), kills (46^th – 893), assists (48^th – 833), and digs (62^nd – 1,024). Fordham has reached the summit of the A-10, as well, in kills and ranks second in assists and attacks.
 
At the individual level, Fairchild and Walsh took minor steps back but remain in the top-10 in several categories. Fairchild has tallied the third-most aces in the country, with 44, while her 0.59 aces per set average is fifth. The Phoenix native is also sixth in points (372.0) and 10^th in kills (314). Walsh ranks sixth in the country and first in the A-10 with 753 helpers. Freshman Kaitlin Morley ranks 32^nd with her 26 aces, while classmate Morgan Williams is 85^th with 280 digs.
 
Series History vs. SLU
The Rams are just 1-16 all-time against the Bilikens dating back to the year Saint Louis joined the conference – 2005. Fordham's lone victory came on the road in 2011, a five-set win. Since, the Bilikens have won six straight, including both home and away in straight sets last year.  
 
Scouting the Bilikens
Last year's A-10 Tournament runners-up, Saint Louis has started this season at 7-11 but 2-1 in conference play. Saint Louis began 0-3, picked up a win at Illinois State, dropped all three contests at home at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic against Arkansas State, Western Kentucky, and Cal Poly, rebounded with a win over Virginia among three matches at the Bluegrass Battle at Kentucky,  won at Austin Peay, hosted the Biliken Invitational and defeated Omaha in straight sets but fell to Murray State and Illinois, before winning at Western Illinois to wrap up nonconference action. Like the Rams, the Bilikens defeated George Mason and George Washington, although it was in Saint Louis, and then fell to Dayton within Chaifetz Pavilion in three sets last weekend.
 
The team does not rank in the top-100 nationally in any categories but boasts one of Division I's top players in senior Danielle Rygelski. She ranks third in kills (373), fourth in points (412.5), and fifth in total attacks (892). Rygelski has won multiple A-10 Player of the Week awards already.
 
Series History vs. Dayton
Similarly, Fordham has struggled against the Flyers, winning just once against Dayton in 35 total matches dating back to 1995. Fordham's lone win came in 1997, a five-set win in the Bronx, and the Flyers have taken the last 29 matches, including home and away sweeps last year.  
 
Scouting the Flyers
The two-time defending A-10 champs, and conference champs six of the last seven years, are the team to beat yet again. The Flyers hold the best winning percentage in the country (.941) and are a perfect 4-0 on the road and on neutral courts, with their lone loss coming at home in three sets to Loyola Marymount. Dayton has picked up wins at home against George Washington and George Mason, plus a sweep at Saint Louis.
 
Dayton ranks third and fourth, respectively, in the country in assists per set (13.86) and kills per set (14.72) but just 66^th and 72^nd, respectively, in total assists (804) and kills (854), mainly because they consistently keep their matches short. Several Flyers contribute to the teams' success, but the hitting percentages of uber-efficient attackers Amber Erhahon (.441 – 7^th in country) and Kendyll Brown (.415 – 14^th) stand out. Jane Emmenecker leads the conference in assists per set (10.75) but just sixth with 570, again because the Flyers get off the court so quickly. Fordham faces a tough task against a team that is receiving votes consistently in the national polls.
 
Up Next
The Rams are on the road for the beginning of five-match stretch, with two contests next weekend in Pennsylvania. First up is Duquesne next Friday night at 7 p.m., followed by La Salle in Philly next Sunday at 1 p.m.