Volleyball at UNLV's Rebel Challenge this Weekend

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team (2-4) heads out on its furthest road trip of the season this weekend at UNLV's (3-3) Rebel Challenge, also featuring Cal State Fullerton (6-1) and Eastern Kentucky (0-6). The Rams will be seeking their first win streak of the campaign when they face off against the hosts on Friday at 1 p.m. ET. Fordham will then play Eastern Kentucky at 8 p.m. ET and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET.
 
Links for all matches are the same and can be found above. Video stream will not include commentary.
 
Last Time Out
The Rams took the first set in all three of their matches in last weekend's Rose Hill Classic but walked away with a 1-2 record as the team continues to find its footing and grow in confidence under first-year head coach Ian Choi. The Rams took the first two sets off Marist and led midway through the fifth frame but ultimately fell to the Red Foxes before falling in four to Charlotte, who went undefeated during the tournament. Fordham rebounded with a five-set thriller over Bryant in the weekend's final match, again winning the first two sets before dominating the final frame for its second win of the season.
 
Junior Kaitlin Morley was named to the All-Tournament team after posting 41 kills over all 14 sets, one of four players to appear in every frame. Morley averaged 2.93 kills and added 33 digs. Both McKenna Lahr and Joey Landeros chipped in 29 kills over the two days, while Makaela Tanaka assisted on 94 points and tossed up four aces, one fewer than team leader Claire O'Neil, who notched five. O'Neil also blocked a team-high 12 attacks, three ahead of senior Olivia LaPorta's nine. Morgan Williams continued her stellar run at libero with 62 digs, averaging 4.43 per frame.
 
Series Histories
The only school Fordham will see this weekend that it has a history with is Cal State Fullerton. The Rams have never played UNLV or Eastern Kentucky. Cal State Fullerton holds a 4-0 record dating back to 2000 but this will be the first time the two schools meet on a neutral court. The Titans have hosted the Rams on three occasions, most recently in 2009, and have traveled to the Bronx once, in 2002.
 
Atlantic 10 Standings
The Rams find themselves in a four-way tie for fifth place in the very early league standings, alongside George Mason, La Salle, and Rhode Island. Last year's runners up, Dayton, sit atop the league with a 5-2 record, while defending champs, VCU, have the opposite record of 2-5 and sit ninth ahead of Saint Louis, who are winless in six tries to begin the campaign.  
 
Atlantic 10 Ranks
Through two weekends, Williams finds herself within the top-100 nationally with 106 total digs, fifth in the A-10, while her 4.42 per set ranks 112^th and fourth, respectively. O'Neil's nine aces ranks 128^th overall and third in the conference. Morley's 82 kills sits 132^nd in the country and third in the conference.
 
Preseason Poll
Fordham has been 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
The Rams return home to host Manhattan next Wednesday night in the annual Battle of the Bronx at 7 p.m.