Volleyball Drops Two to Finish Lion Invitational

Box Score vs. Providence | Box Score vs. Columbia

NEW YORK – The Fordham volleyball team rounded out the Lion Invitational by dropping its final two matches of the weekend, 3-1 against Providence and 3-0 against Columbia, to fall back to .500 on the season at 7-7. The Friars improve to 10-4, while the Lions improve to 5-5.
 
The Rams struggled with their efficiency on the attack all day, failing to reach the .100 hit % mark for the first time all season, with a .056 clip against Providence in the afternoon. The team racked up the second-most digs of its season, with 73, but also committed 32 errors on offense, the third time this year they have eclipsed 30.
 
An Olivia Fairchild kill began the match but the Friars scored three straight points and were never troubled much in that first set, eventually taking it, 25-19. Fairchild totaled seven kills on 17 attempts but the team as a whole hit just .143. The group bounced back with a tight 26-24 second set to even things up, still hitting below .200 at .163, with Elise Benjamin's five kills leading the way. The Friars led 5-0 early and eventually 11-5 but Fordham buckled down and battled, winning its next eight points to take a two-point lead that they would quickly relinquish. Many lead changes later led to a dramatic final few minutes. A Fairchild kill and a block by both Benjamin and Natalie Martinez gave Fordham match point but couldn't convert, at least until it was again tied at 24 apiece. Fairchild killed off a set from Maddy Walsh and then delivered an ace to take the second set.
 
Coming out of the long break, however, Providence was much more efficient on the block and the Rams had easily their worst offensive performance of the season, hitting at a -.125 clip as a team in the third set, with no player garnering more than one kill, and just .019 in the fourth.
 
Fairchild's 14 kills led the way for the team but on 54 total attempts (.111), while Benjamin's nine kills are a new career-high. The freshman from Desoto, Texas hit at a team-best .292 clip, with just Fairchild and Kristen Ostach in positive numbers, displaying the team-wide struggles. Walsh tallied her first double-double in maroon and white with 33 assists and 12 digs, while four others dug in double figures: Grace Muller's 15, Morgan Williams' 14, Fairchild's 11, and Clarissa Cartledge's 11.
 
Fordham's struggles continued later in the night as Columba won the final match of the weekend in straight sets. The Rams hit at a nearly identical .053 clip, with 31 kills and 25 errors overall. Both Fairchild and Walsh enjoyed their second double-doubles of the day, Fairchild with a match-high 14 kills and 10 digs, while Walsh notched 26 assists and 11 digs. Williams led the way with 12 digs. Fordham blocked just one shot, split between Ostach and Martinez. Fairchild was named to the All-Tournament team for the four consecutive tournament.

With the day's struggles, Fordham opponents are now hitting a slightly better clip than the Rams, .185 to .183, as Fordham has racked up over 80 more kills than its opponents but 70 more errors. Fordham holds a 3-1 record at home and a 4-2 record on neutral courts, but a 0-4 record on the road against home teams.
 
Fordham is back in action Tuesday night at Stony Brook, the final nonconference game of the season. The Rams then start league play next weekend by hosting La Salle and Duquesne.