PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Taking a trip to the Steel City this weekend, Fordham University Volleyball heads to Pittsburgh for a pair of matches at Duquesne Friday and Saturday.

Weekend Plans

The Rams will hit the court Friday at 6:00 p.m. against the Dukes and again Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. from Duquesne's UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Both matches will stream live on ESPN+.

Notable Nuggets

• Whitley Moody enters the series with Duquesne after a week that saw her tally 16 kills at Rhode Island, before back to back games with 18 hammers against George Mason.

• In those same three contests Whitney Woodrow tallied a double-double in each, tying her with Moody for the team lead, including a season-high 19 digs last time out.

• Lola Fernandez has donned the libero uniform the last handful of matches for Fordham, posting a career high 16 digs in Saturday's win over George Mason.

• The Rams' victory Saturday marked the fifth time this season that the Rams posted 10.0 or more blocks, with an even 12 against the Patriots.

• Fordham's 12 service aces Saturday was also tied for the most this season, the second time with a dozen aces in a match in 2024, having also done so against Lafayette on Sept. 13.

Dueling Duquesne

At 12-7 on the year, Duquesne sits at 3-4 in league play, after splitting last weekend's series with Rhode Island, taking the latter of the two matches in four sets. The Dukes have split each of their three A-10 series thus far, against George Washington and Saint Louis, and took a set in a 3-1 loss to Dayton in their first of two midweek meetings this year.

Hammer Time

Dominating the attack, especially of late, Whitley Moody is coming off three straight double digit performances, putting her past 200 kills for the year, while leading the team at 3.62/set, ahead of 151 from Audrey Brown, who sits second on offense, hitting at a 2.70/set clip.

In 13 of her 16 games played in 2024, Moody has tallied double digit kills, highlighted by a new career high with 24 hammers while hitting .447 in a four set win over Columbia on Sept. 7. Brown has notched 10 or more kills on eight occasions thus far, including a season-high 19 kills against Lafayette on Sept. 13.

Double Trouble

Moody has also tallied eight double-doubles this season, with Whitney Woodrow sitting tied with her after notching three straight coming into the weekend, including 31 assists and a season-high 19 digs last time out against George Mason on Sunday. 

Recording her first of the season against Lafayette, Ryan Naumann would tally 10 assists and 18 digs against the Leopards, and enters the weekend leading the team from the libero spot with 3.50 digs per set. Tatum Holderied would post her first career double-double with a career-high 10 kills against FDU where she also had a pair of solo blocks and eight block assists for 10 total blocks on the night.

Trouble at the Tape

Entering the weekend averaging 1.94 blocks per set as a team, the Rams have posted 10.0 or more total blocks on four occasions in 2024, most recently in game one against Saint Louis with an even 10, and the Rams have tallied 91.5 total blocks this season. 

Sophia Kuyn paces the team with 42.0 total blocks, leading a group of eight Rams with 10 or more, including Lorenza Rosenkilde and Moody with 35.0 and 32.0 respectively. 

Against George Mason

Trading point for point and set-for-set through four Saturday afternoon, neither side would give an inch in the final frame, as Fordham stormed back to claim a five set victory over George Mason at the Rose Hill Gym.A thrilling match all the way through, the Patriots would take set one by six points, and nearly took a 2-0 lead before Fordham snuck back late to take a 25-23 win in set two. 

After trading the next two sets, the final stanza saw the teams bring the fight from the first point to the last, with Fordham tying the match at 14-all, the first of three straight points to seal their first win in Atlantic 10 Conference play this season. Behind another stellar performance from Whitley Moody, the new program kills leader continued to extend that number, in her first game since breaking the previous mark Wednesday, rattling off 18 of the Rams' 37 kills on the night. 

Off a thrilling five-set victory over the Patriots Saturday, A grueling three set battle Sunday afternoon saw the Rams sent George Mason to extra points twice, but fell in straight sets. Controlling the opening frame most of the way, George Mason would open with a 25-18, but the rest of the afternoon would be held much tighter the rest of the way, going to extra points the next two sets. 

Set two would see the teams flip-flop the score start-to-finish, with the Patriots pulling away late to survive a Fordham rally, winning 27-25 to go up 2-0. Fordham would keep things close in the third set as well, holding the lead late, but losing the advantage point late, falling 26-24 to split the weekend series.

Making History

Recording the Rams' 13th point of the opening set Wednesday afternoon, and her fifth kill to that point in the match, Whitley Moody became the All-Time Program Kills Leader for Fordham Volleyball. Needing just five kills to break the mark of 1,443 set by Val Bosticco (1989-92), Moody would rattle off six kills in the first set alone, and would lead the attack hitting .308 for the match, drilling 16 kills and collecting nine digs along with a pair of service aces. 

Moody, who has also tallied more attack attempts than any other Fordham player in history, is on pace to set the program record for kills per set average for a career over her now five year tenure donning Maroon and White.

Next Stop

The Maroon and White return home for a stretch of three straight home matches, beginning next Friday and Saturday with a doubleheader against conference leaders, the nationally ranked Dayton Flyers.