ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Falling just short of a remarkable comeback effort Friday night, Fordham University Volleyball bounced back from trailing 2-0 with back-to-back set wins to send the match to a decisive fifth set. The Rams, facing match point, would score four straight to force extra points, before falling in heartbreaking fashion 18-16 in the final frame.
Pulling away in the opening frame, SLU captured a victory, and despite multiple runs by the Rams, took the lead again in the second, and went on to take the set and a two-set lead in the match. A resurgent Fordham offense would drill 32 kills in the next two frames, forcing eight attacking errors by the Billikens in set three. In the fourth, the visitors would register an impressive .471 attacking percentage with 17 kills and just one attacking error for the frame, the best statistical set for the Rams this season.
That record setting attack forced a fifth set, where Fordham would tally eight kills and held SLU to its sub-.200 hitting for the second time in the match. The home side would garner a lead midway through and eventually take a 14-10 lead, before another resilient run by the Rams would see them tie the score at 14-all and take the match to extra points, where the Billikens would eventually win-by-two at 18-16.
Leading the efforts in the Rams' outstanding fourth frame was Whitley Moody who slammed six of her team leading 22 kills in that set, while also tallying 13 digs on the night. Audrey Brown would drill 19 kills to follow Moody in addition to pacing the block with five assists at the tape, followed by Zoe Talabong on offense, who recorded her second consecutive double-double with a clean 10 hammers and 10 digs.
Fordham would tally 60 receptions on the night, with Mallory Lipski leading the efforts with 16 digs, leading a group of five players in double figures, and Ryan Naumann, who tallied nine digs for her side. Whitney Woodrow would tally 10 digs while orchestrating the offense to the tune of 55 assists, a career-high for the rookie setter.
Fordham and SLU will square off again from St. Louis tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
