Fordham Volleyball’s productive season came to an unfortunate end last week as they were narrowly edged out by the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Rams in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
The match was a back-and-forth effort, which began with Fordham taking the upper hand when they overcame a slow 8-2 start by VCU, eventually winning the first set 26-24. However, in set two, it was all VCU as they again dominated with a 9-2 run, this time finishing the effort. Fordham couldn’t get much of anything going, and would lose the second set 25-16. The third set was a balanced effort all around from Fordham, with senior Whitley Moody leading the group with three kills. Yet, it was not enough as they would drop the third set in a close 25-22. They would again rebound in the fourth, winning 25-21 in large part thanks to Moody, this time collecting an impressive eight kills. However, it was freshman Tatum Holderied that would get the clutch match-winning kill to make it a 2-2 game. Unfortunately for Fordham, in the fifth set to 15, they would end up losing 15-11.
The shortened final set surely didn’t bode well for a Rams team that plays from behind, and it was evident that when they started down 9-3 and climbed back to 13-10, a longer game could’ve helped tremendously. When you go to five sets though, anything can happen, and VCU just barely outplayed them.
Overall, the team ends on a positive 17-12 record with three players receiving conference honors for their play this season. A-10 awards named to Fordham players included none other than Moody receiving First Team all-conference honors, followed by sophomore Audrey Brown being named to the second team. Freshman Whitney Woodrow was named to the All-Rookie team due to her great performance this season in her first year. Lastly, the floor honors were granted to graduate student Mallory Lipski and Moody as they were named to Academic All-Conference.
Although the season might not have ended like they had hoped, it was still a huge step in the right direction for the Volleyball program, and the coaches and players have much to be proud of.
