DAVIDSON, N.C. - Embarking on their third postseason trip since 2020, Fordham University volleyball takes on No. 3 seed VCU Friday afternoon in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship. Davidson College will serve as the host site with Fordham playing at 3:30 p.m. following the first opening round game, with the winner taking on either No. 1 Dayton or No. 2 Loyola-Chicago the following day.

Ramses Challenge

Fordham Athletics has a continuing fundraising challenge this year across all sports; fans can pledge support for their favorite teams in the Ramses Challenge, making a recurring donation for every service ace from Fordham Volleyball this season! Click here to be a part of the challenge! The Rams had 163 service aces last year.

All-Conference Honorees

Highlighting the build-up to the A-10 Tournament, a trio of players Rams claimed All-Conference honors following the end of the regular season. Senior hitter Whitley Moody led the way with a selection to the All-Conference First Team, with Audrey Brown nabbing All-Conference Second Team honors. Whitney Woodrow would claim a spot on the All-Rookie team, while Moody and Mallory Lipski were tabbed to the All-Academic Team.

Woodrow marks the second straight season with a Ram on the all-rookie team, while Moody claims All-Conference four the fourth consecutive time in her career, making her second appearance on the First-Team list.

Weekend Outlook

In the penultimate contest of the regular season, Fordham pulled out a strong 3-1 victory over George Mason last Friday to officially secure a spot in the 2023 A-10 Tournament, earning the six seed after tying with Saint Louis for the fifth best record in conference play. 

Pacing a quartet of attackers with 100+ kills this season Whitley Moody leads the Fordham attack with 359 at an average of 3.90/set followed by Audrey Brown just back of her with 335 at 3.55 kills per frame. Currently that duo sits second and third in kills per set in the Atlantic 10,  while elsewhere on offense, Zoe Talabong has rattled off 217 hammers and Nailah Jenkins has slammed 149 to round out a well-balanced Rams' attack.

Assisting the attack this season, Whitney Woodrow has recorded 841 assists while averaging 8.01/set, ahead of Mackenzie Colvin who's tallied 179 at 3.38/set. Closing in on 500 digs for the season, libero Mallory Lipski has led the way defensively for the Rams with 494 digs (4.70/set), ahead of 305 from Moody and another 282 from Woodrow. At the net, Jenkins leads the block with 85.0 total ahead of 73.0 total from Tatum Holderied.

Scouting VCU

Finishing the regular season at 16-12 overall (13-5 A-10), VCU enters play with four players tallying 190 or more kills this season, led by Jasmine Knights at 271 hammers on the year. Assisting the Rams are a pair of players in AnnaBelle Tomei with 519 and Taylor Aguano with 459. Defensively, Anja Kujundzic has collected 508 digs, ahead of 262 from both Ana Brangioni and Kialah Jefferson, while at the tape, Knight leads the team with 129 total at 1.24/set.

Building the Playoff Puzzle

Dayton finds themselves safe atop the league table at 18-0 against conference opponents, followed by Loyola Chicago at 16-2 with the two earning first round byes in the tournament.