By Andrea Garcia
After a seven game away schedule, women’s volleyball was welcomed home to Rose Hill Gym to play its highest game in program history. Exactly 1,264 fans cheered to give the Rams their first win since early October. However, the team only saw a glimpse of this victory in an ill-fated five-set match against the George Mason Patriots.
The first set was quick-paced, and neither team took on more than a three-point run. Fordham’s 10 errors were enough to help George Mason pick up the first set, 25-17. The Rams opened the second set with a short-lived 3-1 lead. The Patriots responded to two more Fordham points with a lucky seven-point gain of their own. The score tied at 7-7, George Mason’s hitters charged at Fordham to turnover the lead. Both teams sustained their rotations to find the score tied again at 15-15. Within four rotations on their side of the net, the Rams were able to take advantage of Patriot errors and give their outside hitters a floor advantage, closing out the second set on a high note, 21-25.
Set three played out much like the first set, up and through the 19-18 turnaround when Fordham gathered up a four-point run, edging closer to victory at 19-21. Off a service error at 20-22, the Patriots pulled ahead in the final rotation with four kills and a Fordham hitting error to finally finish off the set, a tight 25-22. In what could have been the closing set for the Patriots, the Rams swung with more confidence than the prior sets of the night. Opening 6-1, Fordham fought for another winning set and secured another five-point run mid-set. This sustained Fordham lead postponed George Mason’s victory to a five set, closing 25-15. This shortened final set offered a lot of excitement for the sizable audience. The home-favorite pushed through a tight set and squeezed a four-point run for a 7-12 lead, but the visitors surprised with an eight-point closing series. The Rams’ losing streak thus continued with the 15-12 final set.
Everything took for a better turn on Sunday, Nov. 6 when the Rams rallied in support of their only graduating senior, middle hitter Kristen Ostach, against.
The first set was tightly-played up to the 23-23 mark, in which a push-two situation would secure the regular match set on either side of the team. Fordham did just that, finishing off the first set with a kill and a Colonial error. The second set was also closely-contested, but this time, the ball fell in George Washington’s favor at the 22-22 play. With three kills and a block, the Colonials pressed four points to finish the second set, 25-22. Action in the third set picked up in Fordham’s second rotation, the Rams putting forward a five-point run to take an early 2-7 advantage. The hosts kept this lead through the set, closing at 19-25. The Rams jumped into a fourth set with two bounce kills from their senior hitter. The set was close until the hosts pulled ahead to an early 5-10 lead, largely played out by three aces from Olivia Fairchild. Fordham grasped their lead aggressively and sought another four-point run mid-set to further their lead, 9-18. Point for a point, the teams kept siding each other out, and George Washington could not keep up. Winning the fourth and final set, 18-25, the Rams finally beat their five-week losing streak.
Women’s volleyball now stands 11-17 in their regular season and 4-9 in the Atlantic 10. Before heading off to next weekend’s Atlantic 10 Tournament, the team will finish off their regular season against the University of Rhode Island Rams at 2 p.m. this Saturday on their home court.
