Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team saw its three-match winning streak ended on Friday night but rebounded in a big way by starting a new streak on Saturday, defeating St. Francis Brooklyn and Dartmouth, at home, each in four sets to wrap up the Battle of the Big Apple. With the wins, the Rams improve to 7-6 on the season with Atlantic 10 play on the horizon.
"Great total team effort against Dartmouth," Head coach
Ian Choi said, "We made exceptional defensive adjustments, mindful offensive decisions, and sustained a high level of execution throughout the entire match. Very proud of our players for their dedication and coachability."
Though the opening match against the Terriers started on the wrong foot for the hosts, with five unanswered points, the Rams regrouped and tied the set up, 8-8, with an 8-3 run. Eventually the Rams took the lead, 16-15, for good and saw out the first set with a 9-2 run. Since those opening points, Fordham closed out the set, 25-12. Both teams notched 12 kills but the Terriers had more errors, 10-4. St. Francis started the second set out with a lead, as well, and this time held onto it throughout the frame, winning, 25-17.
Fordham bounced back by leading the entire third set, forcing Terrier timeouts with leads of 8-4 and 13-5. The Rams committed just two errors in the frame and hit .308 as
Olivia LaPorta was introduced into the match and came away with a pair of aces and three blocks in the game. St. Francis started the fourth strong, leading, 8-2, to prompt a timeout by Choi, and his Rams responded with five unanswered points to get within one. After the visitors used their first timeout, Fordham kept its foot on the gas, took the lead, and bumped it up to five, 16-11. The Terriers rallied briefly but Fordham saw out the set, 25-22.
Choi opted to go with experience in his lineup in game two against the Big Green, inserting seniors
Olivia LaPorta and
Natalie Martinez and sophomore
Sophia Plett into the starting group. The move paid dividends as Martinez formed a formidable block with LaPorta, Benjamin, and others, while Plett ran the offense to the tune of 41 assists in the match.
The two schools traded blows throughout a thriller first set, culminating in a 24-20 Dartmouth lead late. The Rams would not go quietly, however, and rattled off four straight points to extend the set and eventually won four points later, 27-25. Dartmouth led early in the second set but, again, Fordham rallied, this time with an 8-4 run to take the lead, 15-12, at a Big Green timeout. At that point, the Rams had a 10-1 kill advantage but also a 6-3 margin in errors. However, from that point on, the Fordham offense committed just one error in attack en route to a 25-21 win.
Dartmouth withstood a couple Fordham rallies to take set three, 25-20, but the Rams answered with the opposite scoreline in set four to take the match, hitting .412 with 16 kills along the way.
The Fordham offense was in high gear for much of the afternoon, led by junior
Kaitlin Morley's career-best 22 kills. Martinez notched season-highs of 10 kills, six digs, and five blocks. Benjamin, coming off the bench for the first time in five matches, tallied a career-high eight blocks (one solo). Plett added a career-high 13 digs for a double-double, while
Morgan Williams tallied 20 digs.
Atlantic 10 play begins next weekend and for the Rams that means a standalone home contest against Rhode Island next Saturday evening at 5 p.m. That match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
