By Andrea Garcia
L to R: Morgan Williams, Breanna Jones, Elise Benjamin and Olivia Fairchild get ready at the net. (Courtesy of Fordham Athletics)
After securing a third place finish at the Terrier/Rose Hill Classic, Women’s Volleyball swung over to the Northeastern Tournament in Boston.
Northeastern University opened the match with a powerful serve, but the Rams immediately sided out with two kills from freshman Olivia Fairchild and senior Kristen Ostach, respectively. After trading match points up to the 5-5 mark and substitutions on both sides of the net, Northeastern took the first major lead of the game off a five-point run, giving them a four point cushion over Fordham at 10-6. The Huskies held onto their lead as the Rams trailed behind, and Northeastern won the first set, 25-19.
Fordham led 6-5 at the top of the next set, mostly from front net attacks and an ace. Northeastern then went on a strong run, giving them a solid lead at 18-12. A Fordham timeout reset the women’s mentality, and the Rams closed the lead to 22-19. Ultimately, the Rams could not catch up, and Northeastern took the second set, 25-20.
The Rams charged to a third set lead at 9-3, held by four Fordham kills, four Fordham aces and an error on Northeastern’s side of the net. The host took the lead after an offensive front secured a seven-point run. It would become a back-and-forth affair and the score crept up to 23-21. An attack error from the Huskies and a kill by Fordham junior Molly Oshinski finished off a close set win for Fordham, 25-23.
After taking an opening lead with two Northeastern errors, Fordham fell apart in the fourth set. The teams kept pushing each other back through the first half of the set, until the Huskies took a three-point run into a double-digit score over Fordham, 13-9. Northeastern continued to pick up momentum and Fordham fell behind 21-12. Four straight errors brought the Huskies up to game point, and their front line closed up their third winning set, a commanding 25-15 box score.
The second day featured a doubleheader against Binghamton University and Presbyterian College.
The Rams first faced off against the Binghamton Bearcats. In the opening stages of the game, Fordham controlled the court with an easy 5-3 lead from three kills and a Binghamton attack error. Binghamton started to attack on Fordham and secured its lead midway through the set. The Bearcats held onto this lead, and closed off their first winning set, 25-20.
Binghamton opened the second set with the service, and kept a close lead over Fordham until 11-8. Fordham finally took the lead after a five-point run with kills from Ostach and Fairchild. However, the Ram’s strong offense was outrun by the Bearcats’ libero and defensive specialists. Fordham could not hold onto their lead for long, with the Bearcats playing off a seven-point run. Binghamton held tightly to its lead, winning the set, 25-18.
Much like their previous game against Northeastern, the Rams were able to bounce back and win the third set. A close score gave both teams an opportunity to side out and make a prolonged run, but the Rams held onto their slight lead. With two more kills, Fairchild and Benjamin completed Fordham’s victorious third set.
Binghamton shocked Fordham with an opening four-point run. The Bearcats distanced their lead until a Fordham timeout helped the Rams reset it, tying up the game at 8-8. The court witnessed another close game until Binghamton went on a five-point run, bringing the scoreboard up to 18-13. The Bearcats held onto their lead and finished off their win at 25-16.
After two tough four-set matches to start off the tournament, Fordham finished third in the tournament after a tight three set win against the Presbyterian College Blue Hose. In the first of the three, Fordham picked up an early 5-0 run off two kills and kept their lead to win the set 25-22.
Presbyterian found themselves in the lead at the 6-5 mark to start the second set, but a series of kills from Fairchild and freshman Kaitlyn Morley brought Fordham back on its feet. In the midpoint of the game, both teams rallied behind four-point runs, but Presbyterian reclaimed the lead, 17-14. A number of Presbyterian errors tied up the game at 19-19, and again at 22-22. Two kills and another opposing error closed off another set towards Fordham’s victory.
The third and final set of the match opened up with a commanding seven-point run from Fordham’s court. Presbyterian attempted to catch up with trading points, but another seven-point run secured a win for the Rams mid-set, carrying the box score to a 18-7 lead. Although Presbyterian fought back, Fordham’s win was wrapped up at 25-19 with a kill from Ostach.
The Rams return to Rose Hill Gym to play against Saint Peter’s on Wednesday, Sept. 14th. Over the weekend, face off against the University of Hartford, Providence College and Columbia University in the Columbia Invitational.
