Volleyball Hosts Rhode Island on Saturday to Begin A-10 Play

Live Stats
 
Bronx, N.Y. – Conference play begins this weekend and the Fordham volleyball team (7-6) will carry a 5-2 record over the last two weeks, including five wins in the last six matches, into Saturday's A-10 opener against Rhode Island (6-6). The lone match of the weekend is set for 5 p.m. in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
The match will not be streamed online but fans can follow live stats via the link above.
 
Last Time Out
The Rams saw a three-match winning streak snapped in straight sets at Columbia last Friday to begin the Big Apple Battle but the team rebounded with a pair of four-set victories on Saturday at home over St. Francis Brooklyn and Dartmouth to get over .500 for the first time this year. Junior libero Morgan Williams did match the program's three-set record for digs, with 22 against the Lions, though, for the second year in a row.
 
Facing the Terriers first, the Rams allowed five unanswered points to begin the match but regrouped quickly, tying things up at eight-all with an 8-3 run. Fordham kept its foot on the gas after that, taking the lead at 16-15, and seeing out the set with a 9-2 run, ultimately taking the first frame, 25-12, after those opening five points. After a second set loss, the Rams led through the entirety of set three and hit .308 as a group. Senior Olivia LaPorta entered the match and contributed a pair of aces and three blocks in the frame alone. St. Francis started the fourth set strong with an 8-2 lead, prompting a Fordham timeout, which led to five unanswered points by the hosts and a Terrier timeout. The Rams didn't let up, took the lead, and bumped it up to five, 16-11, capping a 14-3 run. The hosts eventually took the match with a 25-22 win in the set.
 
Coach Choi opted for more experience against a tough Dartmouth squad, inserting LaPorta and classmate Natalie Martinez, plus sophomore setter Sophia Plett, into the starting lineup. The move paid dividends as Martinez, LaPorta, Elise Benjamin, and others formed a formidable front line while Plett ran the offense to the tune of 41 assists. A thrilling back-and-forth first set ended dramatically. The Big Green held set point, 24-20, and Fordham not only rallied to tie the set up but also won it, 27-25, finishing with a 7-1 run. The Rams rallied again in set two, this time with an 8-4 run to take the lead, 15-12. At that point, the Rams held a 10-1 kill advantage but also 6-3 in errors. Fordham committed just one mistake in attack the rest of the way and took set two, 25-21. After Dartmouth battled for set three, the Rams offense was in high gear in set four, hitting .412 with 16 kills to take the match.
 
Junior co-captain Kaitlin Morley led the way with a career-high 22 kills against Dartmouth. Martinez stepped up in her starting role with season-highs of 10 kills, six digs, and five blocks. Benjamin, coming off the bench for the first time in five matches, tallied a personal-best eight blocks (one solo). Plett chipped in a career-high 13 digs for her double-double and Williams notched 20 digs.
 
Williams Named Defensive Player of the Week
Williams earned her first collegiate award with this past week's A-10 Defensive Player of the Week honor. The junior from Los Angeles was at the heart of the Fordham defense and helped the team to a 3-1 record. Williams tallied the aforementioned record 22 digs at Columbia and 65 total for the week. She averaged 4.79 per set over the four matches. Read more about her week HERE.
 
Williams is up to 4.26 digs per set on the season, which would be the new benchmark in a single campaign at Fordham. Williams nearly set the record a year ago, falling just .04 short of Jenn Shea's record of 4.10 in 1994. The libero's career rate of 3.82 is currently tops in program history by a wide margin, as well, a feat made the more impressive by the fact she has missed just one set in her Fordham career and none before this season.
 
Series History
Rhode Island leads the all-time series, 31-9, dating back to 1995 when Fordham joined the Atlantic 10. Rhody won all 10 of the matches between that year and the end of the 20^th century before Fordham won in straight sets up in Kingston in 2000 for its first series victory. The (Bronx) Rams enjoyed success between 2004 and 2012, totaling an 8-5 record during that time. Since, however, Rhode Island has won nine consecutive matches, including home and away last year.
 
Conference & National Ranks
Individual

• Morgan Williams 213 digs (A10: 3^rd, NCAA: 75^th)
• Kaitilin Morley 167 kills (A10: 5^th, NCAA: 114^th)
• Kaitlin Morley 187.0 points (A10: 4^th, NCAA: 120^th)
• Morgan Williams 4.26 digs per set (A10: 4^th, NCAA: 139^th)

 
Team

• 104.5 total blocks (A10: 3^rd, NCAA: 84^th)
• 65 aces (A10: 1^st, NCAA: 107^th)
• 565 assists (A10: 3^rd, NCAA: 112^th)
• 599 kills (A10: 3^rd, NCAA: 118^th)
• 713 digs (A10: 4^th, NCAA: 121^st)
• 2.05 blocks per set (A10: 4^th, NCAA: 145^th)

 
Preseason Poll
Fordham was selected to repeat its finishes of the past two years and end this upcoming season seventh it was announced in the Atlantic 10's preseason poll voted on by the league's head coaches. The Rams garnered 36 votes. Read more about it.
 
Up Next
Fordham remains at home for a pair of conference matches next weekend, hosting Duquesne next Friday night at 7 p.m. and welcoming La Salle on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.