COLORADO SPRING, Co. – In their second game against a strong West Coast opponent, Fordham University Volleyball fell in straight sets to South Dakota Saturday.
Despite keeping pace in the early going, the Rams would see South Dakota use a big run to take a six-point advantage into the media timeout in set one, and the Coyotes would maintain their lead from there for the opening set victory.
Set two would see Fordham bring the fight from the start, taking a lead early and trading point-for-point with their opponents throughout. That fight would continue to the latter stages of the frame, before South Dakota pulled away late for a 25-20 win. From there the Coyotes would take control in the third as well, and despite another late rally by the Rams, would hold on for the straight set win.
Lauryn Sweeney would tally seven kills and six digs to pace the Rams in both categories Saturday, leading five different players with five hammers apiece. One of those was Audrey Brown who also tallied a solo block and a pair of block assists to lead Fordham defensively, while Lorenza Rosenkilde also slammed five kills along with a trio of block assists.
Taking control of the opening frame after the first handful of points, South Dakota would use an extended run to push a 15-9 lead in set one, and would continue to pull away to take a 25-14 win in set one.
A more closely contested second stanza would see the Rams and Coyotes exchange the first 20 points evenly, and the two would continue to joust for momentum, with South Dakota holding a two point lead at the media stoppage. Trying to build a lead from there, Fordham would counter quickly, forcing a timeout after bringing the set back to within one at 18-17, but the Coyotes would rally to take a five-point win.
South Dakota would once again take control in set three pulling away through the media break, before the Rams began to cut into the deficit, but the Coyotes would hang on in the end to take the win 25-20 to take the match.
The Rams return to the Tri-State area as they begin a stretch of nearly a month of games within the region, heading into Manhattan Sept. 7-8 for the Big Apple Tournament hosted by Columbia. The Rams will play three matches, all against Empire State foes, beginning with a doubleheader Friday against Manhattan and Syracuse, ahead of a single game against the host Lions Saturday afternoon.
