Queens, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team fell twice on Friday to begin play at the Jack Kaiser Classic at nearby St. John's. The Rams fell in an intense five sets to the Red Storm, 25-18, 25-16, 21-25, 16-25, 9-15, before dropping the night game against Army, 14-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 13-15. With the day's results, Fordham moves to 2-6 on the year.
"Win or lose it was a fun match to coach." Head coach
Ian Choi said, "The team showed a lot of grit and cohesion throughout competition and it was awesome to soak in the moment in the fifth set. But we're thankful for the solid competition in this tourney. It certainly sets up the blueprint for our team to competitive in conference so we're excited to see how much better we can get."
Fordham was explosive out of the gates against St. John's, hitting .393 with four blocks and an ace in the opening set against St. John's and hitting .250 in the second frame with a trio of aces and blocks. The hosts regrouped, though, and rallied to win a close third set despite both teams hitting very efficiently. In the fourth, the Rams kept things close, getting within one, 16-15, but St. John's closed on a 9-1 run. The Rams and Red Storm were tied 7-7 in the fifth but a series of blocks and kills led the hosts to eking out the victory.
Senior Bella Ureña matched her career-high for a second time this year with 13 kills, adding 13 digs, both team-highs, while
Whitley Moody (12) and
Isabel Fichtel (10) reached double figures, the former chipping in 10 digs to double-double, as well.
Megan Brzozowski put up a season-high 40 assists with 11 digs, while
Mallory Lipski contributed 12 digs.
Aria De La Rosa chipped in six kills at a .455 clip, helping boost a team-wide hit percentage that threatened the program five-set record of .304 but ultimately finished at .216.
Against Army, it was the opposite as the Rams fell into a 2-0 hole and rallied to force a fifth set, only suffering defeat by a slim margin. The Black Knights' efficiency fell in every set while the Rams grew into the match, going from six kills in the opening frame to 14, 19, and 17 in the middle frames, but four in the final set.
Ureña went off for a career-high 18 kills, hitting .293, with 10 digs and a block, good for 20.5 points. Moody and De La Rosa each had 11 kills, while
Joey Landeros and
Chloe Pejouan had nine and seven, respectively. Pejouan led the defense with four blocks, one solo. Lipski had 26 digs and Brzozowski had a nearly identical line to her first match with 40 assists and 12 digs, plus three kills and two aces. Moody also added 12 digs in four of the five sets for her second double-double of the day, while freshman
Megan Kinney notched a pair of aces, as did De La Rosa.
The Rams finish up play at the Kaiser Classic against Boston College tomorrow at 1 p.m.
