TEANECK, N.J. – Making a short-trip across the George Washington this weekend, Fordham University Volleyball heads to the Garden State for a pair of games Friday and Saturday at FDU.
Weekend Plans
The Rams will take on Lafayette on Friday, Sept. 13 at 2:00 p.m. before battling the host Knights the following afternoon at 5:00 p.m. with Live Stats available through Sidearm stats for both games.
Big Shows on Broadway
Over three games at the Big Apple Tournament last weekend, a quartet of Fordham players matched or set a new career high in a plethora of categories, as the Rams claimed a pair of four set wins over Columbia and Manhattan. The standout performances were highlighted in part by a 24-kill performance by Whitley Moody in Saturday's win over the hosts Columbia, besting her previous mark by one kill late in the match.
Also at the tape, a pair of middles would have stellar hitting performances, with Sophia Kuyn and Tatum Holderied each tallying eight kills in a match without an error. Kuyn would tally her eight kills while hitting .615 to open the weekend against Manhattan, while Holderied would drill hers at a .592 clip, while also setting a new career best with six solo blocks, with four of those coming in just the first set. That would mark the most kills and best hitting percentage in a single match for both players.
Kuyn would also tally a career-high on the block against Syracuse last Friday, assisting on five of the Rams' season-high 13 total blocks on the night. Lauryn Sweeney would round out the list as she collected 11 digs against Manhattan.
Weekly Winner
Following a weekend that saw her set a new career-high on the attack while pacing the Rams' offense throughout the weekend, Whitley Moody was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Monday.
In a stellar week for the fifth year Ram, Moody rattled off 51 kills and collected 45 digs across three matches, averaging 4.64/set and 4.09/set at the Big Apple Tournament hosted by Columbia. Moody helped her team to a pair of wins over Manhattan and the host Lions, contributing 5.09 points per set in that span.
Scouting the Opponents
With six matches under their belts in 2024, FDU sits 2-4 on the year, coming off a win over Iona in four sets last Saturday at the UAlbany Invitational. Fordham holds a 4-2 all-time record against FDU, including wins over the Knights in each of the last two seasons. The Rams defeated FDU in four sets at last year's Rose Hill Classic, and claimed a five-set win at home in Sept. of 2022. Prior to that, the sides hadn't seen each other since 2012, when the Knights captured a four-set win in The Bronx, and Saturday's match will be just the second meeting in New Jersey, with four of the previous six matches held in the Big Apple.
At 4-2 on the season, Lafayette are riding high following a four-set victory over Virginia Tech last time out. Friday will mark just the fourth all-time meeting between Lafayette and Fordham, and just the second since the turn of the century, playing almost a year to the day, on Sept. 11, 2012, the first win in the series for Fordham. The Leopards would claim the first two meetings between the teams in consecutive years in 1993 and 1994.
Schedule Outlook
A 27-match slate awaits the Rams for the 2024 campaign, including 11 matches within the friendly confines of the Rose Hill Gymnasium. A nine-match non-conference slate has seen the Rams play in the first two of four tournaments to open the year already at Air Force and Columbia.
Following the trip to Jersey the Rams will host the 21st Edition of the Rose Hill Classic to close non-league play before an 18-game A-10 schedule to set the field for the six-team Atlantic 10 Championship in late November, hosted by Dayton. The conference season kicks off in two weeks in The Bronx, as Fordham takes on Saint Louis, Sept. 27-28.
Next Stop
The Rams head home to friendly confines of the Rose Hill Gymnasium for the first time this season as they welcome in Binghamton next Friday for the first of two days as part of the 21st Edition of the Rose Hill Classic. Hosting the Bearcats to start the tournament Friday, Saturday will see a neutral site battle between West Virginia and Binghamton, before the Rams take to the court once again that afternoon against Seton Hall in one final tuneup before A-10 play begins the following week.
