Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham volleyball suffered five-set heartbreak on Friday evening, rallying to force a fifth set but ultimately falling, 20-25, 25-17, 21-25, 26-24, 11-15. With the loss, the Rams fall to 7-16 overall and 4-8 in Atlantic 10 play, while the Billikens improve to 17-9 and 10-3, respectively.
Saint Louis had 73 kills to Fordham's 60 but racked up 30 errors on offense, while the Rams had 26 of their own. The visitors hit .225 and had 16.5 blocks compared to the host's .184 and 13, respectively.
Bella Ureña enjoyed a phenomenal match, matching her career-high of 18 kills, hitting .364, with 18 digs and a career-high seven blocks, accounting for 21.5 points. Senior
Claire O'Neil made her first start of the season and fell just two kills shy of her career-best, with 13 at a .321 clip. Behind that duo,
Izzy Fichtel had 11 and
Whitley Moody had 10, the latter notching 10 digs for a double-double and the former leading the squad with eight blocks.
Megan Brzozowski piled up 49 assists to go with 12 digs, four blocks, and an ace, while
Mallory Lipski led the defense with 25 digs while netting her eighth career kill.
Chloe Pejouan played the final two sets and put up three kills and four blocks, as well, while
Ryan Naumann contributed 14 digs.
The Rams move forward to host VCU on Saturday at 5 p.m.
