Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham volleyball team (3-8) begins Atlantic 10 play this weekend on the road at VCU (4-8) on Friday at 5 p.m. and at Davidson (4-6) on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Last Time Out
The Rams split last weekend's matches at the 18
th Rose Hill Classic, sweeping St. Francis Brooklyn but falling in a five-set thriller to Providence. Junior libero
Mallory Lipski was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week, her first career accolade from the conference, after averaging nearly six digs over eight sets on the weekend. Sophomore
Whitley Moody powered the Rams offense with 38 total kills, with junior
Aria De La Rosa enjoying a career-high 18 kills in the Providence match. In that one,
Megan Brzozowski also notched a personal-best 51 assists, while Lipski put up 31 digs, her first career 30-dig effort, and Bella Ureña added a career-high 20 digs with 14 kills.
Lipski Named A-10 Defensive Player of the Week
The Louisville native earned her first piece of league hardware by averaging nearly six digs per set over eight frames of last weekend's Rose Hill Classic. Read all about it
here.
Where They Rank
The Rams find themselves in the top half of every statistical category within the Atlantic 10 – 3
rd in hitting percentage (.198), 4
th in kills per set (12.07), 3
rd in blocks per set (2.02) to name just three.
At the individual level, several Rams are enjoying a terrific start to their seasons.
Chloe Pejouan leads the league with 1.57 blocks per set over 28 frames, the next highest player is Duquesne's Anita Parrott with 1.18. Moody is third with 3.90 kills per set and 4.25 points per set, while Brzozowski is second with 8.61 assists per set and Lipski is third with 4.47 digs per set. De La Rosa is also third with a .320 attack percentage.
In the Fordham program ranks, Moody's kills per set rate would be third-highest in a single season, Pejouan's blocks per set rate would be second-highest behind only teammate
Isabel Fichtel's freshman campaign, and Lipski's dig rate would be third-highest. De La Rosa's hit percentage is currently sixth-highest, as well.
Moody Named A-10 Player of the Week
Moody, the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and a three-time Rookie of the Week in the Spring, earned her first Player of the Week award and Fordham's first since 2017 two weeks ago. Read all about her weekend
here.
Series Histories
VCU – The (other) Rams lead the all-time series 9-3 since 1997 when the two met in neutral, nonconference action, a four-set Fordham win, before VCU joined the A-10 prior to the 2012 season. The Bronx Rams took that first A-10 meeting, too, in four sets, and a sweep at home in 2015, but the rest has been all VCU since, including a pair of sweeps home and away in 2019.
Davidson – Similarly, the Wildcats recent addition to the A-10 prior to the 2014 season has led to just nine meetings all-time, which Davidson has won six of, including a 4-0 record on its home court. The Wildcats won in four sets at home in 2019 but fell in five sets in the Bronx later that season.
Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll
As a result of their effort in the spring, the Rams were predicted by the league's head coaches to repeat their fourth-place finish in the
annual preseason poll, the highest Fordham has ever finished in it, besting the previous high of sixth in 2009.
VB Earns AVCA Team Academic Award
For the second straight year and third time in the last four, the Rams earned the
USMC/AVCA Team Academic award for programs with a cumulative 3.3 GPA or higher.
Up Next
The Rams play just one match next weekend – at Saint Louis on Saturday, October 2 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
