BRONX, N.Y. - An exhilarating first few weeks of the season have been leading up to this weekend for the Fordham University Volleyball team as the seven-win Rams return home for the first time in 2023 to host the Rose Hill Classic this weekend. The three-team tournament begins Friday afternoon when the Rams take on Dartmouth at 3:30 p.m.
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.
The Rose Hill Classic
The 2023 Rose Hill Classic will feature three days of matches at the Rose Hill Gym, with the Rams hosting Dartmouth on Friday night and FDU on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The weekend will also see the Big Green and the Knights square off on Saturday in a neutral-site game at 3:30 p.m. All games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available throughout the weekend at FordhamSports.com.
Notes from New Rochelle
The penultimate tournament for 2023, Fordham opened the Iona Invitational last Thursday, sweeping the host Gaels behind 18 kills from Whitley Moody, who would surpass 1,000 kills for her career in a four-set win over LIU the following day. That victory saw the Rams win their seventh consecutive match to open the season, the best start in program history, after two wins at Columbia's tournament the first week of September and three at the UNCW Tournament to open the year. Boston College would hand Fordham its first loss of the campaign last time out, but the Rams will have a chance to end non-conference play with their best record to date under Head Coach Ian Choi.
Dartmouth Deep Dive (Rams vs. Big Green - Friday, Sept. 15 at 3:30 p.m.)
Playing just six matches to date this season, the Big Green enters the weekend at 2-4 on the year, with wins over Seton Hall and Stonehill a week ago in Dartmouth's own tournament. At 2.54 kills per set, Ava Roberts leads the team with 43 hammers on the year, while Makenzie Arent has led the setter totals with 113 (4.91/set). Defensively, Arent and Emma Engstrom pace the receiving totals at around 2.5 per set apiece.
FDU 411 (Rams vs. Knights - Sunday, Sept. 17 at 1:00 p.m.)
The Knights enter the weekend looking to end non-conference play on a high note following a 1-10 start to the season. The lone win came in a 3-0 sweep of Rider at the Towson Invitational on Sept. 1st, before six straight matches that saw FDU fall in either four or five sets. A pair of players sit atop the kill totals averaging 2.91 per set, while at the setter position, Hannah Schmidt at 7.70 assists per set paces the team with 339 helpers on the year, while on the opposite side of the ball, Emily Van O'Linda is averaging 2.98 digs per set.
Next Stop
With the latter match of the weekend marking the end of non-conference play, Fordham volleyball will return to action to kick off the Atlantic-10 season with two more matches at the Rose Hill Gym. The Rams will open the conference slate on Friday, Sept. 22 at 7:00 p.m. in a meeting with Dusquesne before completing the back half of the two-game tilt with the Dukes on the following day at 2:30 p.m.
