Volleyball Hosts Cleveland State, Rider in this Weekend's Rose Hill Classic

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team is 4-0 after Wednesday night's sweep at Manhattan, the first time since 2010 a team has begun a campaign with four straight victories. No Rams team has ever won five straight to open a season but the 2017 iteration has an opportunity during its home opener on Friday afternoon to kick off the Rose Hill Classic. Fordham will host Cleveland State (1-2) on Friday at 2 p.m. and then Rider (2-2) on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham swept Manhattan on the road in the 37^th Battle of the Bronx on Wednesday night. The Rams and Jaspers battled in each set up until the midway point at which point Fordham would go on a run to take a comfortable lead each time on the way to a set win. Olivia Fairchild notched her first double-double of the season and led the team with 11 kills and 10 digs, Elise Benjamin matched a career-high with nine kills and led the team with three blocks, and freshman McKenna Lahr added nine kills, three aces, and six digs. The team, as a whole, served up 10 aces.
 
Fairchild, Lahr Named A-10 Player, Rookie of the Week
Fairchild and Lahr were integral to Fordham's weekend sweep down in New Orleans and were rewarded with the league's Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively. For Fairchild, the honor is the second of her career and Lahr's first. Fairchild won Rookie of the Week honors last season four times. Read more about it, here.
 
Scouting Cleveland State
The Vikings have played stiff competition thus far, falling in five sets to Alabama and in straight sets to nationally-ranked #25 Purdue, at Purdue, before bouncing back with a win over Oral Roberts in five sets to round out the tournament. Cleveland State's attack mainly falls to two middle hitters, senior Alexis Middlebrooks and sophomore Trinnity Hall, who have 40 and 47 kills, respectively, thus far. Middlebrooks has been efficient, doing so at a .337 clip, while Hall's at .262. Junior outside hitter Rachel Stove is next with 22 kills but has made just six errors in 39 attacks (.410). Middlebrooks also leads the team with three solo blocks and 12 total.
 
Scouting Rider
The Broncs, like Cleveland State, are riding a one-match win streak, defeating St. Francis Brooklyn in straight sets in their home opener. Last weekend, Rider competed at the James Madison tournament, winning its first contest against Sacred Heart in five sets, but were swept by both Gardner-Webb and the hosts after that. Jennifer Borio and Hailey Riede nearly share the team lead in kills with 36 and 35, respectively, the latter leading the team with a .253 attack percentage. Setting duties falls squarely to Veronica Koval, who's racked up 109 thus far. The duo of Evelyn Shanefield and Perry Williams have reached double figure blocks already, with the latter tallying three solo blocks.
 
Series History
Fordham has never played Cleveland State. The Rams have played Rider 12 times and trail in the all-time series, 7-5, dating back to 1990, when the Broncs won twice, once on neutral ground and once in the Bronx. The two schools have met four times since 2010 and the Rams have won three times, including most recently two seasons ago at the Maddie Bingaman Memorial Tournament, hosted by UMBC, when Fordham swept the Broncs. In that match, Breanna Jones led the Rams with 11 kills and nine digs, plus two solo blocks, while Nicole Freeley, Natalie Martinez, and Olivia LaPorta combined for 18 kills.
 
Aces in the Hole
Your Fordham Rams are Division I's leaders in service aces to this point, with 43. Lahr leads the charge with 12 but Fairchild has eight and five others have at least three. Fordham is averaging 2.87 per set, which ranks second in the country. Lahr's 12 ranks in the top-five in the country, while Fairchild sits at 22^nd. The Northeast Conference's Robert Morris is next with 38 aces, followed by Youngstown State and Austin Peay, with 32. Fordham finished last season ranked 14^th in the nation with 189 aces and had fifth-lowest number of sets played in the top-15.
 
Up Next
The Rams have one last home contest before an extended road trip, including eight matches and two tournaments. Next Tuesday night, September 5, Fordham will host Saint Peter's at 7 p.m.