Volleyball Begins A-10 Play By Hosting La Salle, Duquesne This Weekend

Friday: Live Stats
Sunday: Watch | Live Stats
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team (7-8) begins its Atlantic 10 conference slate with two matches at home this weekend, first against La Salle (8-7) on Friday night at 7 p.m. followed by Duquesne (9-5) on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
 
Sunday is also Community Sports Day. All fans are welcomed, with free admission, for a pre-game meet and greet with Fordham student-athletes from the baseball, men's soccer, women's soccer, and softball at noon inside the Lombardi Field House for fun and games, then to stand on the court during the national anthem, receive in-game recognition, a team poster giveaway, and post-game autographs! For more information, plus directions and parking information, click here.
 
Sunday's match can be seen live on the A-10 Digital Network, while Friday's contest can be followed along at the above link.  
 
Last Time Out
The Rams rounded out their nonconference slate with a road match at Stony Brook, falling in a five-set thriller. Though the team has struggled in true road contests this year, they did not on Tuesday night, hitting at a .265 clip as a team, the second-highest number this season, plus blocking a total of six shots compared to the Seawolves' two. Fordham also committed just 17 attack errors, the fourth-lowest total on the season, with the other three numbers coming in three and four set matches.

The two schools traded sets at the beginning, the Rams winning the first, 25-23, and the hosts taking the second, 25-22. Both teams came out of the long break looking to gain the upper hand and, despite the Rams' 14 kills and just two attack errors, compared to Stony Brook's .182 team hit percentage, the hosts would take the 2-1 lead in the match on a 26-24 set. Fordham showed its resilience in the fourth set, though, and barreled through Stony Brook towards a 25-19 decision, leading by as much as 11 at a couple points. The lone set that Fordham struggled in on both sides of the court would be the final one, as the visitors mounted a small rally but eventually fell, 15-11, to give the home team its fourth win of the year. Olivia Fairchild led all players with 18 kills (.261) and matched a career-high five aces on the night to boost her season total to 37 through 15 matches. Morley finished one short of her career-best mark with 13 on .303 hitting, while Ostach killed a season-high nine efforts, plus solo blocking two shots and three total,  as Benjamin and Oshinski ended with seven kills apiece. Walsh tallied 47 assists, while Williams dug out 12 balls on the night.
 
National/Conference Rankings
At the national level, the Rams are in a tie for the most aces in the country alongside Oral Roberts, with 116, which also leads the A-10 by a sizeable margin. Fordham's 1.93 aces per set mark is 10^th in the nation. Elsewhere in the top 100, Fordham ranks 32^nd and 33^rd in kills and assists, with 713 and 693, respectively, leading the Atlantic 10 in both instances, as well. The Rams are 30^th in total attacks, with 1,973, again tops in the league, as well, and are 54^th in digs, with 810, sitting in second in the A-10.
 
On the individual level, Fairchild ranks sixth in the country with her 0.62 aces per set mark and third overall with 37, while ranking atop the A-10 in both categories. Her 242 kills and 4.03 kills per set rank second in the league but eighth and 51^st in the country, respectively. Fairchild is also sixth in the nation with 289.0 points. Kaitlin Morley's 21 aces are third in the league and 40^th in the nation. Morgan Williams is fourth in the league and 57^th with 228 digs, while Walsh has 88 more assists than Kathryn Wood of La Salle's 509 in the league and sits fourth in the country, with 597 in 15 matches.
 
All-Time Ranks
If the season were to end today, here is where several Rams would rank in the school's single-season record book:
 
Fairchild would have the best kills per set average (4.03) by a pretty wide margin. Tasha Johnston's 3.82 in 2006 is currently tops. Her 224 kills in the first half, if kept up at her current pace, would put the freshman in the back half of the top-five. Fairchild's 0.62 aces per set clip would rank third all-time. Maddy Walsh would certainly enter the top-10 at her current assists pace, while her 9.95 assists per set average would rank ninth. Morgan Williams' 3.80 digs per set rate would rank second all-time and isn't too far off Jenn Shea's long-standing record of 4.10. Williams would fall somewhere in the middle of the top-10 at her current pace.
 
Scouting the Explorers
Fordham holds a 37-6 advantage in the all-time series since 1990, with an 18-0 record in the Bronx. The Rams defeated the Explorers in a thrilling five-set match last season inside the Rose Hill Gym.
 
La Salle started the season off with six straight wins but have struggled recently with a 2-7 record since. Last weekend they dropped all three matches at the Big 5 Tournament, hosted by Penn, also playing Temple and Villanova. The Explorers have a tough weekend slate with a Saturday night meeting up at Rhode Island right after Fordham tomorrow night. As a team, La Salle has tallied more kills, and more errors, than its opponents, and are hitting at a solid .212 clip. On the attack, the Explorers are led by freshman Devin Corah's 162 kills (3.18 k/s) at a .207 clip. Corah also leads the team with 23 aces and has garnered an A-10 Rookie of the Week award. Four players have between 94 and 104 kills, as well, with Ashley Fenton's .418 attack percentage standing out. Fenton is one of two in the squad to start every match, along with Kathryn Wood, who, as mentioned above, is second in the league with 509 assists. Defensively, Fenton has been hugely important on the block with 36 total blocks, six solo, along with Catherine Edgington's 33. Jensen Sharrits leads with 294 digs on the year, good for a 5.44 digs/set mark
 
Scouting the Dukes
Duquesne holds a 30-5 all-time record against the Rams since 1995. Fordham has won just two of 17 contests in the Bronx and lost in four sets last season in their only meeting.
 
The Dukes are at Rhode Island on Friday night before coming down to the Bronx two days later. After racking up eight straight wins, tying a program record, including sweeping the Popcorn Classic at Valparaiso, the Dukes dropped three straight matches at the Delaware Invitational, also featuring Missouri and Miami. Duquesne has similar numbers to the Explorers, with more kills (644-622) than its opponents and hitting a near-identical .211 clip. Maddie Bazelak paces the offense with 170 kills at a .194 clip. Molly Davet, Abbie Tezeciak and Madelynn Burnham are the other key cogs in the attack, with Trzeciak's .331 attack percentage standing out as tops by a wide margin. Dani Suiter sets and has 445 assists on the year and nine aces; Sammy Kline is tops with 19. Defensively, Kline leads with 209 digs and is helped out by Davet's 197 and Bazelak's 158. Kori Johnson has been a force on the block with 12 solo swats and 37 total, tied with Trzeciak for the team lead.
 
Up Next
The Rams are on the road next weekend for two games in two days, starting with George Washington on Friday night and then George Mason on Saturday evening. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.