Newport News, Va. – Fordham volleyball freshman middle blocker Aria De La Rosa was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, the league announced on Monday afternoon. It is her first career conference accolade and it is the Rams' fifth this season after Morgan Williams' four Defensive Player honors.
 
"I'm proud of Aria. She's stepped up as a consistent offensive threat for us in the last stretch of conference play," Head coach Ian Choi said, "She'll be the first to tell you that her surge in swings is directly due to her teammates' trust and ability to get her the ball. She's worked hard all season and I'm happy to see her earn this award."
 
De La Rosa helped Fordham to a pair of five-set victories this past weekend to finish the regular season on a three-match win streak. The Portland, Ore. native recorded 11 kills in each match and hit a team-high .339, adding a team-high 10 blocks. De La Rosa finishes her rookie campaign with 177 kills, third-most on the team, with a team-high .236 hit percentage, while leading the front line with 86 total blocks and 78 block assists. She finished second with a 0.82 blocks-per-set average among players who qualified. De La Rosa played in all but one set this year (105).
 
Among freshman all-time at Fordham, De La Rosa's .236 attack percentage ranks joint-fourth with teammate Claire O'Neil's rookie campaign, while her 86 blocks and 78 assists each rank third. She is the first Ram to win the honor since McKenna Lahr won three in 2017 and just the 12^th in the Atlantic 10 era.