Box Score (pdf)
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team swept aside Saint Peter's comfortably on Tuesday night, 25-12, 25-18, 25-13, to improve to 6-1 on the season, while the Peacocks fall to 0-9 overall. The Rams will now head on the road for eight straight contests up until George Mason on September 29
th at the end of the month.
"We did a good job of getting ourselves in system in transition, which allowed us to be effective in the middle tonight," Head coach
Gini Ullery-Shrift said, "It's great to start 6-1 heading into our last two weekends of nonconference before league play begins. We're excited to see the different levels of competition on our eight-match road swing."
The Rams were in control from the jump, jumping out to an 11-4 lead in the opening frame, forcing a visitor timeout, and eventually settling in for a 25-12 win. Olivias Fairchild and LaPorta each tallied five kills in the frame, hitting .371 as a group. Saint Peter's battled early in the second set, trailing by four, 15-11, at the midway point, but Fordham saw the set out with a 10-7 run. LaPorta added four more kills and two blocks, while
Kaitlin Morley contributed four kills and the group smacked four aces. Set three played out much like the opening frame, with the Peacocks struggling to a negative hit percentage, while the Rams conjured up four more aces and 11 kills, led by
Breanna Jones and
McKenna Lahr with three apiece.
LaPorta led the way with 11 kills, matching her career-high for a third time, while also adding a team-high four blocks. The junior was efficient, too, hitting .625 on the night. Four others tallied between five and eight kills. Freshman setter
Sophia Plett made her second consecutive start and notched 31 assists and eight digs. Six different Rams had at least one ace, led by Fairchild's three.
The team's .319 attack percentage is the third-highest thus far this year, while it is the fifth time the Rams have counted double-digit aces. Defensively, Fordham notched a season-high 12 block assists for 6.0 total blocks, tied for second-most on the season, behind the performance against Southeast Missouri State (8.0). Tonight was Fordham's third sweep of the year.
The Rams embark on an eight-match road stretch beginning with this weekend's Grand Canyon Tournament in Phoenix. Fordham will also compete in the Battle of the Big Apple next weekend before beginning its conference slate on the road at Davidson and VCU. The next Fordham home match will be Friday, September 29, at 7 p.m.
