Box Score
Bronx, N.Y. -- The Fordham volleyball team bounced back from its first loss of the season on Friday with a four-set victory over Rider on Saturday afternoon. The Rams defeated the Broncs 25-19, 18-25, 25-8, 25-23, to improve to 5-1 on the year, while Rider falls to 2-4.
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The Rams opened the match with five straight points, four coming on two kills by
Kaitlin Morley, one by
Olivia LaPorta, and two aces from
McKenna Lahr. used 12 kills and four aces in the first set to comfortably lead throughout and took the opening stanza, 25-19. The Broncs rebounded with their best offensive set of the match but the Rams struggled, making nine errors, to allow the match to be tied at one-all.
Coming out of the break, Fordham used several big runs for an one-sided set three. With the frame knotted at 5-5, the Rams scored 14 of the next 16 points, including five by junior captain
Breanna Jones, then finished the set with a 6-0 run after Rider gifted possession back with a service error.
Olivia Fairchild also struck five times in the frame as Morley added four.
The final set was tightly contested throughout, with Rider holding a slim lead off and on for the majority of it. With the visitors leading, 21-19, a Broncs service error and a Morley kill tied the game up before Fairchild put the hosts up briefly. Rider fired back with a pair of kills of their own to lead, 23-22, before Fairchild's 15th kill and two attack errors led to the final score.
Fordham was led offensively by sophomores Fairchild and Morley. Fairchild recorded her third straight double-double with 15 kills (.407) and 11 digs, while Morley, making her first start of the season, matched a career-high for the second day in a row with 14 kills and added a new personal-best 16 digs. Lahr returned from a one-match absence to tally six kills and six digs, plus four aces for a third time this season, while
Nicole Freeley tallied a season-high four kills and five blocks, two solo. Sophomore libero
Morgan Williams added three aces and led the squad with 19 digs.
Maddy Walsh also returned from a one-match absence and notched 25 assists and six digs.
Fairchild and Morley were named to the Volley in the Valley/Rose Hill Classic All-Tournament team.
The Rams host Saint Peter's on Tuesday night at 7 p.m., the final home game before an eight-match road stretch for the majority of September, including the first two Atlantic 10 contests.
