BRONX, N.Y. – With a hard-fought four-sets over George Mason in the penultimate game of the regular season Friday afternoon, Fordham University volleyball defeated the Patriots 3-1 to officially clinch a spot in the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship. The Rams had a pair of players tally 18 kills apiece to lead the team to its third postseason appearance since 2020-21 and first since reaching the A-10 championship game in 2021.
Our team committed to a high standard of execution all match but more impressively they found a way to finish a critical second set with impromptu rotations since we were out of subs," said Head Coach Ian Choi. "Credit to [Mackenzie] Colvin finding a way to get through the front row to help us win that one."
Colvin would lead the assist numbers with 23 on the night, along with seven digs and a single kill, but that one kill proved crucial in helping the Rams win an extended second frame to pull away in the match. Whitney Woodrow would tally 22 helpers, while both Whitley Moody and Zoe Talabong nailing 18 kills each, with Talabong completing a double-double with 14 digs.
Moody would tack on eight digs as part of 71 total by the Rams, led by Mallory Lipski, who collected 28 at the libero spot, while Nailah Jenkins tallied seven block assists to pace Fordham's efforts at the tape Friday night. Lauren Arzuaga would record five block assists and one solo, alongside six kills, with the Rams hitting .242 for the game, including an impressive .636 hitting in the fourth set, where they drilled 14 kills without a single hitting error.
The first two sets would go back and forth for most of the first hour of play, never breaking away by more than three points on either side, but Fordham would hold a slim lead late to take the opening set 25-23. An even closer second frame would see George Mason take a four point lead as the teams approached the midway point in the set, but the Rams remained strong to keep the game close as the set progressed.
Fordham would have set point at 24-23 before the Patriots tied the set, and would get six chances at taking the set, as the teams went point-for-point beyond to 30-all, the first of three straight points by the Rams to go up 2-0 in the match. Another close set in the third saw the home side take a narrow victory 25-23, but a resilient Fordham offense rattled off 14 kills on their best single-set hitting performance of the season at .636 with no errors, to secure a spot in the A-10 tournament.
"This team has gone through so much this year, and there's been an enormous amount of growth since we first started practice, preparing for our Foreign Tour in Japan in July," said Coach Choi. "This evolution is in large part to our captains, [Lauryn] Sweeney and Whitley [Moody]. The squad committed to the work and attitude required to achieve such ambitious goals. Incredibly proud of every single athlete and a well-earned accolade."
With their place in the postseason locked up, the Rams are still playing for seeding as they enter tomorrow's regular season finale at George Mason, with first serve set for 3:00 p.m.
