Volleyball Swept by Dayton on Saturday

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team capped off weekend in the Bronx with a loss to two-time defending A-10 champion Dayton on Saturday evening, 25-14, 25-15, 25-16. With the loss, the Rams fall to 10-11 (3-3 A-10) on the season, while the Flyers improve to 18-1 (5-0 A-10) overall.
 
"I thought we battled and showed a lot of heart and resilience," head coach Gini Ullery remarked, "We knew going in that this weekend was going to be tough but I thought our athletes came out to play and never gave up."
 
Fordham always had a tough task against a top-50 team in the country with an extremely balanced squad but to make matters worse, several Rams were missing due to injury and illness. Out were starters Elise Benjamin and Maddy Walsh and in went juniors Emily Fronk and Nicole Freeley.
 
The Rams and Flyers played at a breakneck pace in the first set, with the hosts displaying terrific effort and toughness, battling Dayton throughout with many lengthy rallies. Dayton persevered, though, and the Flyers balanced attack, with five different players tallying at least two kills, and their stout defense recording 6.5 total blocks. Reigning Co-Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week Olivia Fairchild and Dayton's Jessica Sloan, two of the country's top hitters, were tied with four kills apiece.
 
The match slowed down a bit in the second. Fordham kept things tight early on, including a 5-1 run to tie things up at 9-9, but the Flyers pulled away towards the middle of the set. The Flyers tallied 18 kills in the frame, including six on seven attacks from Kendyll Brown, and took the set by a similar score of 25-15. Fairchild added four more kills and four Rams notched a block assist.
 
Like the first two sets, the Flyers took a lead early on but the Rams rallied to even things up. In this frame, Dayton led 7-3 with just two kills and an ace, and the Rams battled back with a 4-0 run. Fordham kept things within three and four points until later in the set when Dayton finished the match on a 9-5 run.
 
Brown led all players with 12 kills (.857), while Fairchild tallied a team-high 10 (.029) and tallied three aces. Fronk added a season-high 20 assists and Morgan Williams dug out a team-best 10 balls.
 
Fordham will be on the road for the next three weekends as we reach the halfway mark of the conference season. The Rams will spend next weekend in Pennsylvania, first at Duquesne on Friday, October 14 at 7 p.m., and then La Salle in Philadelphia on Sunday, October 16 at 1 p.m.