Volleyball Heads to Columbia for Big Apple Tournament

Mar 17, 2024

Women's Volleyball 8/31/2023 9:23:00 AM

Women's Volleyball 8/31/2023 9:23:00 AM

NEW YORK – Coming off a thrilling opening weekend in North Carolina, the Fordham University women's volleyball team returns north to the Five Boroughs for a pair of matches as part of the Big Apple Tournament. Hosted by Columbia, the Rams will take on the Lions Friday night before a meeting with defending MAAC champion Quinnipiac the following afternoon. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Ramses ChallengeFordham Athletics has a continuing fundraising challenge this year across all sports; fans can pledge support for their favorite teams in the Ramses Challenge, making a recurring donation for every service ace from Fordham Volleyball this season! Click here to be a part of the challenge! The Rams had 163 service aces last year.

Starting off Strong

The Rams kicked off the 2023 campaign in style last Friday, taking down the host Seahawks in straight sets to open the UNCW Hampton Inn University Invitational. Whitley Moody paced the Rams offense as she slammed 17 kills, while Mallory Lipski collected 12 digs and Whitney Woodrow, making her collegiate debut, handed out 35 helpers across the three frames.

The following day saw Fordham hit the court for a pair of matches against Presbyterian and Stetson, going four sets to claim a victory over the Blue Hose, before taking a back and forth five set battle against the Hatters to claim the tournament championship. Moody would once again lead the Rams attack, combining for 36 hammers, along with a whopping 80 assists from Woodrow including 50 in the morning match. Lipski would total 58 digs in the two games, capping the weekend with a 36-dig performance in the win over Stetson, a career-high for the graduate student, who has now tallied 35 or more digs at least once in three of her now five seasons at Fordham.

Looking into the Lions

The Big Apple Tournament will mark the start of the 2023 season for Columbia, who will also host Virginia and Quinnipiac this weekend. The Lions will play both the Cavaliers and the Bobcats on Saturday to begin a stretch of seven games in eight days beginning Friday night. The Rams and Lions will square off at 7:00 p.m. Friday night.

Bobcat Beat

The defending 2023 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champions, Quinnipiac enters its second tournament of the season after going 1-2 at the Hokie Invitational last time out at Virginia Tech. The Bobcats went the distance in their first match of the year against Furman before falling in the deciding frame. Despite a straight set defeat against the hosts later that day Quinnipiac returned to action against Morgan State last Saturday and cruised to a three-set victory. Opening the weekend with a single match against Virginia, the Rams will take on the Bobcats at 2:30 p.m. Saturday before the Bobcats wrap the weekend against the Lions that evening.

NEXT STOP

The Rams will remain close to home, continuing a stretch of nine games in the Metro Area as they head to New Rochelle for a three-day tournament hosted by Iona. Fordham will open against the host Gaels on Thursday, Sept. 7, at 4:00 p.m. followed by matches with LIU and Boston College on Friday and Saturday.

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