Philadelphia, Pa. – (August 28, 2026) – Despite a career-high 14 kills from
Bridget Woodruff and 16 kills from
Johanna Franzen, the Fordham Rams came up just short in the team's season opener on Friday, falling to Rider in five sets at the Cherry & White Invitational, hosted at Temple University.
Final set scores were 25-23, 9-25, 25-21, 21-25, and 15-12.
THE GAME
- The first set came down to the final two plays with the score tied at 23 all, but a pair of Fordham errors gave Rider the set win.
- Fordham bounced back with a dominant second set, hitting .435 on offense, while holding Rider to a -.107 hitting percentage in the 16-point set win.
- The teams then traded 25-21 set wins to force the fifth and final set.
- Rider got out to quick 5-1 edge in the final set, before Fordham pulled within one at 13-12 on a kill by Bridget Woodruff.However, Rider closed out the set with a kill from Cecilia DeCaro and a service ace by Anja Kelly to close out the 15-12 set win.
GAME NOTES
- Woodruff finished with a career-high 14 kills to go with seven digs and four blocks, while Johanna Franzen had 16 kills and nine digs in her Fordham debut.
- Giada Ianuale dished out 41 assists with nine digs and three kills in her first match as a Ram.
- Özge Özaslan finished with a match-high 17 digs with Tatum Holderied having seven kills and two blocks.
- Fordham is in action twice on Saturday, taking on host Temple at noon and Manhattan at 5:30 PM.
