Volleyball Wins Third Straight

Bronx, N.Y. – The weather outside has started to warm up and so too have the Fordham University volleyball Rams who won their third straight match with a 3-1 Atlantic 10 win over George Mason University in the Rose Hill Gym for Fordham's first 3-0 Atlantic 10 start in school history.

Fordham took set one, 25-22, and dropped set two, 27-25, before the Rams came back to take sets three and four, 25-20 and 25-21, respectively.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 3-1 on the season, a perfect 3-0 in the Atlantic 10, while George Mason falls to 3-9 overall, 3-4 in the conference. The 3-0 conference start is Fordham's first since joining the Atlantic 10 in 1995.
 
"The bench really stepped up in this competition today and that team cohesion propelled our rally after a hard fought loss in set two," said head coach Ian Choi. "Very happy about the bounce back and total team effort today and proud to see our upperclassmen guide our freshmen in a way that'll keep Fordham Volleyball in the upper echelons of the Atlantic 10. I'm especially proud of our senior McKenna Lahr. She found her stride and has been setting the tone for us throughout this stressful COVID season, I'm grateful we can send her out with some wins."
 

Freshman Whitley Moody, the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, led the Rams with 18 kills, 18 digs, and four block assists, while fellow freshman Isabel Fichtel, who entered the match leading the Atlantic 10 with 2.08 blocks/game, added 12 kills and a game-high eight block assists. Senior McKenna Lahr added 13 kills and 17 digs and sophomore Megan Brzozowski recorded a season-high 49 assists.
 
In the first set, the score was knotted at eight when the Rams scored six of the next eight points to take a 14-10 lead, capped by a block assist from Fichtel and Bella Urena. Fordham then boosted the lead to 20-14, with two of the points coming on a Moody kill and service ace, before the Patriots climbed back into the match, eventually cutting the Fordham lead to two, 20-18. The teams were separated by two points later in the set, 24-22, but a Fichtel kill clinched the match for the Rams.
 
George Mason jumped out to a 16-11 lead in set two before the Rams came all the way back to take a 23-22 lead on a Moody kill. The match remained a one-point affair until the Patriots tallied two late points for the 27-25 win.
 
Set three was tied at 12 when Fordham scored six straight points to take an 18-12 lead, capped by a Brzozowski ace, and George Mason would get no closer than four points the rest of the set.
 
The Rams jumped out to a 5-2 lead in set four, thanks to a pair of aces from Moody, but the Patriot came back to make it a one-point set, 12-11. Back-to-back kills from Lahr started a 4-0 Fordham run and the Rams didn't trail by more than three the rest of the way.
 
The Rams return to action on Wednesday, March 16, when they host Rhode Island in the Rose Hill Gym at 6:00 p.m.