By Anthony Pucik

The volleyball team began its year on a rough note. Facing a handful of tough competitors at the San Francisco Invitational, Rose Hill Classic and Hofstra Invitational, the Rams found themselves 0-10 heading into the Seton Hall Classic last weekend in search of their first win of the season.

They started off against the 8-3 Seton Hall Pirates and fell in straight sets 3-0. The first set was knotted at 14, but Seton Hall took control and went on to win 25-19. The second set was even closer; the Rams held a 17-14 lead at one point, but a seven-point run by the Pirates gave them the advantage and, eventually, the set, 25-22.

Seton Hall carried this momentum from the second set and went on to win the third with relative ease, 25-13. A trio of juniors, led the way for the Rams. Breanne Delsing had nine kills, Abigail Konovodoff had 23 assists and Grace Muller had 14 digs.

The Rams lost their second match in straight sets on Saturday, Sept. 20, against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. This match was almost identical in score to the match against Seton Hall, as the Blue Raiders took the first set 25-19. Fordham jumped out to an early 4-2 lead in the second set, but Middle Tennessee State fought back to tie it up. That was the last time the Blue Raiders trailed in the set, as they took 12-10 and 20-16 leads. Fordham cut the deficit down to one, but Middle Tennessee State was too much for the Rams to handle, as they fell 25-23 and down two sets to none.

Middle Tennessee State wasted no time getting ahead in the third set, scoring the first four points and pulling out to a 10-2 lead that eventually became 16-9. From there, the two sides alternated points until Middle Tennessee State scored five straight to take the set, 25-14, and the match. Graduate student Lisa Hipp topped the Rams with 11 kills, Konovodoff once again led the team with 25 while Muller had 16 digs.

The Rams’ final match of the tournament was against the Dartmouth College Big Green and featured three tightly contested sets, none of which went in Fordham’s favor. The Rams had the early lead in the first set 9-4 and extended it all the way to 16-10, but the Big Green’s 6-1 run brought them back within one. The two sides went back and forth from there, and Dartmouth was eventually able to come away with the 25-23 first set victory. The second set was even closer, as both teams were once again tied late at 20, but the Big Green once again outlasted the Rams and took the second set 25-22.

In the third set, Dartmouth jumped out to an early lead at 7-3 and then continued to 12-4. Fordham went on a run to bring itself within one point, but was unable to complete the comeback as Dartmouth swept the Rams, taking the third set 24-22. Hipp once again led the Rams in kills again with 11, Konovodoff in assists with 29 and digs with nine.

The Rams hope to earn their first win of the season on the road with the beginning of Atlantic 10 play on Friday, Sept. 26 when they take on George Mason at 7 p.m. They then travel from Virginia to D.C. to take on another A-10 foe, George Washington University on Saturday, Sept. 27.

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Anthony Pucik is the Assistant Sports Editor for The Fordham Ram.