Volleyball Splits Saturday Doubleheader to Round Out Terrier/Rose Hill Classic

NJIT Box Score | Quinnipiac Box Score

Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team rounded out the 2016 Terrier/Rose Hill Classic with a doubleheader split on Saturday, with a five-set loss against NJIT preceding a sweep of Quinnipiac, to finish third in the tournament. NJIT finishes as champions, St. Francis Brooklyn as runners-up, and Quinnipiac as fourth place.  
 
"Our first two matches this weekend were great learning experiences for our team," head coach Gini Ullery said, "We didn't allow the occasional struggle to dictate our level of play and it was great to finish the weekend with a win."
 
The Rams faced a 2-0 deficit for the first time this season against NJIT in the Saturday matinee, but showed resolve and fight to claw their way back to force a fifth set. Fordham took a 9-4 lead in the first set on seven successful attacks and two errors, and held several five-point leads late into the set. However, starting at 17-12, the Highlanders went on a 13-6 run to take the first set, including a 9-3 run late. NJIT controlled the entire second set until its 25-17 finish.
 
Coming out of the long break, the Rams started off fast with a quick 3-0 lead, and pushing up to 7-3 before NJIT climbed back into a tie with four straight points. The teams traded points until Fordham gained the lead for good, 18-17, on an Olivia Fairchild kill, and finished with a 25-23 final line in a tight third set. With some momentum and relief of a new set, the Rams battled early before sprinting to a 25-19 result over the Highlanders to force a fifth set. Fordham took a five-point lead midway through the fourth and maintained at least that lead until the end.
 
The Rams gained the first point of the fifth set on an emphatic block by Natalie Martinez and Elise Benjamin to a great reaction from the home crowd, but the visitors buckled down and sprinted away with nine straight points, eventually settling for a 15-12 score after the Rams made things interesting with a small rally towards the end.
 
Fairchild led all players with 21 kills in the match on 56 total attempts (.179) and was joined in double figures by Molly Oshinski, who had 10 plus 12 digs for the first double-double of her career. Fairchild added 15 digs of her own for her second straight double-double. Maddy Walsh added 45 assists and Morgan Williams finished second among all players with 19 digs. Grace Muller chipped in a season-high 16 digs to make up four Rams in double figures. Defensively, Elise Benjamin led the Rams with five total blocks, right ahead of Natalie Martinez's four.
 
The Rams bounced back in a big way with a decisive three-set victory over the visiting Bobcats, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17. Fordham hit .168 as a team, played great defense, and allowing the Bobcats to hit just .017 on the afternoon, while winning every stat category. Natalie Martinez, who impressed off the  bench against NJIT, received her first start of the season against Quinnipiac and led all players with 11 kills, also adding two blocks. Fairchild piled up a career-high 17 digs while missing the double-digit kill mark for the first time this season with just seven, but hit at a .300 clip, her second-highest mark on the year. Elise Benjamin racked up a career-high seven total blocks to lead all players, while Walsh's 29 assists again were tops, as the sophomore transfer now has 292 on the young campaign.

Fairchild was named as Fordham's representative on the All-Tournament team.
 
"It was great to see the team come out and execute at a high level. Our focus was the first five and then push and then finish when we hit 20. We were successful with that." Ullery remarked.
 
Fordham is now 1-2 in five-set matches and 2-0 in three-set matches this season. The Rams have six days off before traveling up to Boston for the Northeastern Tournament, first facing the hosts on Friday evening before another Saturday twinbill featuring Binghamton and Presbyterian.