Volleyball's Run Ends in #A10VB Championship Game

Championship Central

Bronx, N.Y. – Playing in its first-ever Atlantic 10 Championship game, the Fordham volleyball team fell in three sets to Dayton, 25-27, 13-25, 18-25, at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh. The Rams finish the 2021 campaign with a 10-20 record.

"It was a transformative season for the history and culture of this program." Head coach Ian Choi said, "It's huge to get that validation from hours of hard work in the gym, film room, and team meetings. I can't express enough how different this team was from our first match in Fullerton to this team today. The attitude, teamwork, and trust are setting up Fordham volleyball for a bright future. I'm already excited for next season." 
 
Fordham was in control in the opening set, leading for much of the frame and holding a late 23-21 advantage after three consecutive points that forced Dayton into using its second timeout. Out of the break, the Flyers rallied with three points of their own to gain set point but the Rams staved them off then and two points later, but Dayton was able to take the set with a kill and a block.
 
The Rams led early in the second set, 6-4, but after that it was all Flyers for the remainder of the frame. Fordham battled in the third, rallying from nine down to get within four on two occasions, but Dayton maintained its distance and secured the title.
 
Megan Brzozowski and Mallory Lipski were named to the All-Championship team.
 
Whitley Moody led the offense with nine kills, hitting .250, while Bella Ureña and Aria De La Rosa added eight, the latter hitting a team-high .294. Brzozowski notched another double-double with 26 assists and 10 digs, while Lipski led the defense with 12 digs. Lauryn Sweeney posted a season-high 10 digs and two aces.
 
Lipski finishes her junior campaign with the second-most digs (544) and third-highest per-set average (4.86) in a single season in program history. Chloe Pejouan's 1.53 blocks per set rate is second-highest all-time, behind Izzy Fichtel's freshman campaign, with Fichtel's mark of 1.10 this year tied for sixth-highest. Moody's 1,167 attacks this year were fifth-most, while her 3.45 kills per set average ranks joint-ninth.