After a five-game win streak, Fordham Volleyball was overtaken by La Salle University on Saturday, March 20. That came after they won their midweek home matchup against Rhode Island 3-0 before traveling to Philadelphia, where they notched their fifth conference win Friday night.

The 3-0 match against the Explorers marked the second time in the program’s history it had reached five consecutive Atlantic 10 wins. The Rams won the sets 27-25, 25-20, 25-20 and were led by freshman Whitley Moody in kills, propelling her to notch her third straight A-10 Rookie of the Week. 

Sophomore setter Anelisa Cartledge noted that La Salle was the most “defense-oriented” team they played and that the long rallies on Friday and Saturday kept them on their toes the entire match. 

On Saturday, the squad fell in their first five-set match of the season, losing 24-26, 26-24, 25-27, 25-19, 16-14. According to Cartledge, the stamina required in the hard fight and the lessons learned with the loss will help the team “identify things we can work on to head into the A10 tournament.”

Freshman middle blocker Isabel Fichel noted that “the whole team is hyped to get into the tournament for the first time.”

On Wednesday, the Rams will face off against Rhode Island at home again before traveling north to play them in Kingston. 

These final two matches could determine the fate of their seeding for the tournament since they are tied 5-1 with La Salle for the East Division, as Dayton and VCU are close for first in the West.