By Andrea Garcia
Olivia Fairchild celebrates after a point. (Courtesy of Fordham Athletics)
Volleyball dug further into their Atlantic 10 schedule with two conference games against the Duquesne Dukes and the La Salle Explorers. The women now stand at a 10-12 season record and 3-4 in the Atlantic 10.
On the road Friday night, the Rams fell to the Dukes in three close sets. Both teams kept a tight box score run up to 15 even. Duquesne edged out with a five-point run, giving them a lead at 17-21. While they set up a strong offense led by freshman Olivia Fairchild, Fordham failed to catch up to Duquesne’s lead. The service was traded each point until the set closed out, 21-25. The Dukes opened up the serve at the top of the second set. Fordham sided out to gather a short-lived three-point run. After two Duquesne kills, the Rams fought back with a four-point jump, giving them another lead at 7-3. The Dukes answered with two runs of their own, four and five points each propelled by Fordham errors. Duquesne kept their confidence in this lead, until Fordham tied up the game 23-23; however, Duquesne killed two more points from their outside hitters. The third set opened closely with neither team pressing more than two points a rotation. Duquesne showed their endurance halfway through the game to secure a four-point lead, which held until the match point, 21-25.
The women moved forward in their away series, and faced off against the LaSalle Explorers in Philadelphia. The match-off went to a shortened fifth set, in which Fordham was dropped by LaSalle.
The first two sets remained close through their durations. In the first set, both teams kept siding each other out, rarely possessing the service for two points at a time. LaSalle pushed a four point offensive run, edging out the Rams until the 23-25 conclusion. The second set matched the rhythm of the opening, but Fordham flipped in the box score in their favor. Fighting for their second winning set, the Explorers broke up the pattern of one play service possessions with three triple-point series, giving them a consistent advantage over the Rams to finish off the set, 22-25. Fordham came out in the fourth set with a four-point run of their own, but LaSalle claimed back their early lead with a three-point run. After repetitive side-outs, Fordham pulled ahead to finish the match at 25-21. Both teams owned two winning sets, bringing them to a fifth set. The shortened stanza kept in tune with the previous four sets, with both sides of the net catching up to their opponent’s short-lived lead. The Explorers again sided out, but pressed ahead for a three-point lead after Fordham. Fordham took advantage of a carry from LaSalle, but an outside corner kill and an ace marked the winning set for the hosts.
This Saturday, the women will play the University of Rhode Island Rams on their home court in Kingston.
The Fordham Ram 
