Hanover, N.H. – The Fordham volleyball team rebounded from a four-set loss to Hofstra in emphatic, record-setting fashion, defeating hosts Dartmouth in four frames while breaking the record for team digs, with 103, and individual digs as
Morgan Williams notched 42, four more than the previous record. The Saturday split moves the Rams to 6-3 on the year, with a 2-1 record in each of their three tournaments thus far.
"I'm really proud of every single one of our players for stepping up after a tough loss to Hofstra," Head coach
Ian Choi said, "Dartmouth threw a lot of different match-ups against us and our rotations were also varied, but our team seamlessly stepped into their roles effectively."
Williams' 42 digs became the new school record, previously Maria Rodenberg's 38 in five sets in 2013, and shattered the previous four-frame record that Williams herself had set two weeks ago at Georgia State, with 33.
"Mo's record-setting night is a testament to a team buy-in to our defensive systems and she'll be the first to tell you that she wouldn't have hit that school record without trusting her teammates." Choi added.
The Rams took the first set, 25-22, against the Pride but fell in the second, 25-21, and combined for just 28 points over the final two frames.
Elise Benjamin and
Kaitlin Morley each tallied eight kills, the former hitting .375 on 16 attempts, followed by six from
Olivia Fairchild and five by
Aria De La Rosa. Williams led the way with a match-high 20 digs, with Morley and
Makaela Tanaka tallying 12 and 11, respectively. Benjamin and
Bella Ureña each had three blocks to lead the defense, the latter coming off the bench with two solo blocks and three kills.
Fordham had 17 kills in the first and fourth sets against Dartmouth, finishing with 58 total, and hit .210 as a squad.
McKenna Lahr notched 14 kills and 14 digs, plus two aces, while Morley and Ureña each had 11, a new season-high for the latter and at a .556 clip on 18 attacks. Three Rams had double-doubles – Morley with 19 digs to go with her 11 kills and setters Tanaka and
Megan Brzozowski. Tanaka had 10 digs to go with 18 assists, while Brzozowski had 25 assists and a season-high 14 digs. Ureña had another two blocks,
Claire O'Neil had a team-high four to go with seven kills, and Fairchild had one solo block.
The Rams return to New York for three straight days of road matches this week, first at Manhattan on Wednesday at 7 p.m., followed by Columbia on Thursday at the same time and LIU Brooklyn on Friday at 6 p.m.
