Volleyball in Boston for Northeastern Tournament this Weekend

Northeastern Tournament Central
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team is on the road for this weekend's Northeastern Tournament up in Boston, hosted by Northeastern University. In addition to the Huskies (3-4), the Rams will face Binghamton (1-5) and Presbyterian (2-5) on Saturday.
 
Fordham will take on the hosts on Friday evening at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the Rams will first play Binghamton at 10 a.m. followed by Presbyterian at 4:30 p.m. All pertinent links and information can be found via the Tournament Central link above.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham took part in the Terrier/Rose Hill Classic, the 15^th iteration of the Classic, and finished third out of four teams, falling in two straight tight five-set affairs, first at St. Francis Brooklyn last Friday afternoon, and then to NJIT in the Bronx on Saturday morning, before rebounding with a clean sweep in the afternoon over Quinnipiac. Freshman Olivia Fairchild was named to the All-Tournament team after leading the team with 46 kills (.231) and finishing second in the squad with 42 digs, as well. Six Rams ended up with double-digit kills as head coach Gini Ullery went to her bench more often over the weekend, getting Natalie Martinez, Olivia LaPorta and Molly Oshinski more playing time. Martinez, who made her first appearance of the season in a small cameo on Friday, grew into a larger role on Saturday to the point where she started the final match against Quinnipiac and racked up a match-high 11 kills, while Oshinski's 16 kills were third-most across the weekend. Freshman Elise Benjamin continued to feature in every set this season and her 13 total blocks were tops on the team by seven. Libero Morgan Williams' 57 digs led all players, while Maddy Walsh's 118 assists were most of any player in the tournament. As a team, Fordham poured in 21 more aces to keep them atop the A-10 standings.
 
National/Conference Rankings
Fordham doesn't just lead the A-10 in service aces, they're also sixth in the country with 57, and are 14^th with 1.97 aces per set. The Rams, on a national level, are also in the top-100 in team kills (66^th – 342), total attacks (79^th – 925), and team digs (94^th – 379).
 
On an individual level, Fordham has several standouts. Fairchild's 18 aces so far have her ranked third in the country, while her 141.0 points are 11^th and 116 kills are 20^th in the nation. Walsh's 292 assists have the sophomore transfer ranked 13^th in the country, while Williams' 122 digs rank 44^th. Benjamin sits just outside the century mark (103^rd) with her 27 blocks.
 
Scouting the Opposition
Northeastern enter this weekend on a three-match skid after dropping all three contests at the Long Beach State/UC Irvine Mizuno Invitational. The Huskies faced tough opposition in Washington State, UC Irvine, and California, with the latter being the team's lone five-set match this year. A week earlier, the Huskies took three of four at the Florida Atlantic Invitational, losing to Drake but rebounding with wins over Bethune-Cookman, North Florida, and Florida Atlantic. On the attacking side, Jamie Bredahl leads with 73 kills but isn't too far ahead of Amy Underdown's 66, the latter's 3.47 kills/set pacing the squad, although she's played in one fewer match. Kristen Walding is the setter and has tallied 187 helpers on the year, while Gabrielle Eyl has racked up a team-high 135 digs.
 
Binghamton sits at 1-5 through two weeks and have won just four sets, three of which came in a sweep against Niagara on a neutral court. In the other three contests, the Bearcats have been swept. Lauren Kornmann leads the attack with 47 kills despite starting just three matches and playing in 14 of 19 possible sets. Her .201 hit percentage is also tops. Erin Shultz is next with 41 kills. Sarah Ngo has compiled 171 assists on the year, while Bailey Walker's 93 digs lead all teammates. Defensively, Morina Kristella has racked up six solo blocks among her 16 total. The Bearcats hit at a .133 clip as a team and are allowing a .259 mark to opponents.
 
Similarly to Binghamton, Presbyterian has failed to reach a fifth set in wins or losses. The Blue Hose are coming off five straight losses after opening the year with wins over South Carolina State and Mississippi Valley State at the Chattanooga Classic. Sierra Davis is the main attacker with 65 kills through seven starts and is hitting at a .241 clip. Sara Rogers is the team's setter and is four away from 200 assists on the season. Mikayla Register leads the team with 105 digs and is also dangerous on the serve as she's tallied 15 aces thus far. Ashton Stewart's 13 blocks is most in the squad.
 
Up Next
The Rams return home to host Saint Peter's next Wednesday night inside the Rose Hill Gym. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.