Volleyball Wins One, Drops Three to Open

Even before classes started, the Fordham volleyball team was hard at work. The season began with a tournament on the weekend of Aug. 26. The tournament, the Terrier Invitational, was hosted by St. Francis College.

The Lady Rams' first match was against Rider. Trailing late in the first set 20-16, they rallied to win seven consecutive points for a 23-20 lead. Freshman Chandler Moore and sophomore Krissy Buongiorno each had a block and a kill apiece in the streak. From there, they closed out the set 25-22, with Buongiorno recording the final point.

After a second set win by Rider evened the score at one each, Fordham trailed late in the third set. Once again, the Lady Rams strung together seven straight points. During that stretch, senior tri-captain Megan Arend had two aces. Fordham went on to take the third set 25-18. Rider won the fourth set and forced a deciding fifth set, which Fordham won 15-10 to take the match 3-2.

Though it had been scheduled to take on NJIT and the host St. Francis, Hurricane Irene forced the cancellation of those matches and the team was not in action until the following weekend at the Bucknell Invitational.

Fordham opened against host Bucknell. The Lady Rams took the first set rather handily, 25-19. They led by as many as 12 points during the set.

In the second set, Fordham had set itself up to win the set after a kill by junior Randi Ewing gave the Lady Rams a set point opportunity at 24-23. However, Bucknell strung together three straight points and won the set 26-23, tying the teams at a set apiece.

Bucknell won the third set fairly easily 25-18 but Fordham stayed alive by winning the fourth set by a 25-18 score, forcing a deciding fifth set.

In that final set, the Lady Rams fell behind early and could never catch up, dropping the set 15-8.

Senior tri-captain Brittany Daulton recorded a career-high 24 kills in the losing effort.

The following day, Fordham took on Manhattan College and Dartmouth for its final two matches of the weekend.

First up was Manhattan. Though Fordham would end up being swept by the Jaspers 3-0, all three sets were hotly contested.

In the first set, Fordham trailed by ten late 23-13, but put together a string of eight straight points to draw closer at 23-21. However, Manhattan scored the next two points and took the set 25-21.

The second set was even closer. Neither team had more than a two-point lead until up 23-21, Manhattan freshman Malia McGuiness won the set for the Jaspers with two straight kills.

The match's third set was arguably the most exciting as the score was tied seven different times, the last tie coming at 19-19. Manhattan then went on to win the set 25-22 and take the match 3-0.

The last match of the weekend came against Dartmouth. Dartmouth won the first two sets rather easily 25-18 and 25-13. While the third set was a little closer, Dartmouth won that as well, 25-21 and earned the 3-0 sweep.

"This past weekend was a big learning experience for us," Daulton said. "It is still early in the year and we are young. We are getting used to each other and really looking to come together as a team on the court. This past weekend showed us exactly what we needed to work on, and this weekend we will hopefully fix those areas."

Despite the slow start, the team still has high expectations.

"Last year we placed 5th in the Atlantic 10 Conference, this year we look to get 4th or higher," Daulton said. "This is going to take a lot of work but we are working towards that and, come time for conference play, we will be ready."

Following the trio of weekend losses, the Lady Rams dropped to 1-3 on the year. Their attention now turns to the annual Rose Hill Classic this coming weekend. The tournament, hosted by Fordham, will feature Siena, Colorado, Albany and St. John's.