By Emmanuel Berbari

This past weekend served as a significant test for Fordham Volleyball.

Hitting the road with a 2-3 conference record and set to play Dayton and Saint Louis—the second and third-ranked preseason Atlantic 10 squads—Ian Choi’s group knew that a litmus test was in order.

Fordham was not predicted to finish within the top-half of the league, but following a red-hot stretch at the tail-end of non-conference play maintained high aspirations.

Friday night, the Rams were silenced at Dayton. Sunday afternoon, they fell short at Saint Louis, despite showing their well-established competitive nature.

Dayton’s 25-17, 25-17, 25-11 showing did not require beads of sweat. The Flyers recorded 21 more kills, nine more serve aces and 22 more assists. Dayton’s hitting percentage was an astounding .398, while Fordham’s came in at a lowly .118.

Lauren Bruns led the charge for the Flyers, piecing together a 16-kill effort with a .519 efficiency.

On Fordham’s side, no one accumulated more than seven kills, which came from Olivia LaPorta. Kaitlin Morley was held to an uncharacteristic .087 hitting percentage.

Dayton showed its prowess, making for a more dissatisfied trip to Saint Louis.

However, the Rams had no trouble turning the page against the Billikens, a group that has underperformed to the tune of a 3-5 league record.
Fordham narrowly grabbed the first set, 28-26, before relinquishing the next two and fighting out the fourth by three.

The difference between a positively looked-upon 1-1 trip and an 0-2, forgettable one rested on a decisive fifth set in a road atmosphere.
Saint Louis made easy work of Fordham in the fifth and turned the two-game swing into a “what could have been.”

The Billikens dominantly bested the Rams in every statistical category except blocks, but Choi’s group was able to hang around.

Morley registered a double-double, with 14 kills and 16 digs, and LaPorta surged to a bounce-back effort of her own, with eight kills, five blocks and a .333 hitting percentage. Elise Benjamin managed seven blocks and McKenna Lahr put up a double-double as well, with 10 kills and 15 digs.

Fordham fell victim to another dominant performance on the opposite side, as Saint Louis’ Maya Taylor went for 20 kills and nine digs.

Ultimately, the Rams left the swing at 2-5 in the record column that counts, and they will be eager to return to the Rose Hill Gym to square off with Davidson and VCU, the conference’s preseason top pick, this weekend.

The week did not go as planned, but it was not the Rams’ first or final chance to prove they belong.